D&C/CHURCH HISTORY - LESSON 48
CHALLENGES TO THE KINGDOM - II

1. Introductory Comments.
2. Aftermath of the Utah War.
1. The Mountain Meadows Massacre.
1. B.H. Roberts: "The writer recognizes it as the most difficult of all the many subjects with which he has to deal in this History. Difficult because it is well-nigh impossible to sift out the absolute truth of the matter from the mass of conflicting statements made by witnesses and near witnesses of the affair; and equally difficult to reconcile the differences of contending partisans." (CHC 4:139)
2. Although occurring shortly after the discovery of troops on the way to Utah, I place this as a possible result of the war due to worry and fevered pitch of events at this time.
3. 1857: A group of overland immigrants were passing through Utah. This group was made up mostly of people from the state of Arkansas and a few from Missouri, numbering about 144 persons. They were reported to be a well to do immigrant company.
1. This company arrived in Salt Lake City during the last part of July. They camped out along the Jordan River. No particular note seems to have been made of their arrival. It was just another immigrant company heading to California.
2. From Salt Lake they turned south and traveled through Provo, Springville, Payson, and Fillmore.
3. No trouble was reported until after they passed through Fillmore. Evidently they, more particularly the Missouri contingent of the group, threatened the destruction of the town. They also boasted of their participation in the murders and other outrages that were inflicted upon the Mormons in Missouri and Illinois.
4. At Corn Creek, they poisened the springs which led to the death of an ox. The carcass was eaten by some Indians. It was reported that ten Indians died from the poisoned meat and also a considerable number of cattle from the poisoned water.
5. A son of a Mr. Robison of Fillmore died from handling the meat.
6. As the Fancher party passed through the southern settlements, they continued to boast of their participation in the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri. They threatened to stop and fatten their stock so there would be plenty of beef when U.S. troops arrived. They would then help to kill every Mormon in the mountains.
7. This conduct, along with the rumors that began to fly, created an unpredicable atmosphere.
4. The Fancher company passed through the settlements of Cedar and Pinto the first week of September and camped at a place called Mountain Meadows, a valley on a plateau north of St. George.
5. A council of leading men in the nearby southern settlements gathered to consider the question of how to deal with the Fancher party.
1. Some were in favor of destroying the party and some were not.
2. It was "unanimously decided" that action be suspended until a message could be sent to President Young to learn what the best course of action should be. James Haslem, from Cedar, was sent to Salt Lake.
1. President Young's message to Haslem: "Go with all speed, spare no horse flesh. The emigrants must not be meddled with, if it takes all Iron county to prevent it. They must go free and unmolested." (CHC 4:150)
3. Brother Haslem returned by relay of horses arriving at Cedar on Sunday, September 13. When he arrived and delivered his message to Isaac C. Haight, brother Haight broke into tears and said, "Too late, too late!" The attack was over.
6. The massacre.
1. Earlier in the week, several hundred Indians had gathered at Mountain Meadows and began an attack on the emigrant camp. The emigrants fought back and eventually repulsed the Indians killing some of their braves.
2. They sent runners to gather more tribesmen and also one to John D. Lee, urging him to come and join them. Lee reports that he found the Indians in a frenzy of excitement and demanded that he lead them in an attack on the camp. Lee said that the Indians threatened that if he did not join the attack, they would declare war upon the Mormons. We only have Lee's word to support this statement.
3. Lee called for settlers from Cedar to join him. By Thursday, between 50 and 60 white settlers had joined him and the Indians. They continued to debate the fate of the Fancher party. A plan was eventually settled on.
4. The slaughter was done in a joint action with the Indians in three to five minutes. Only three men escaped the first deadly assault and they were followed and killed. 17 young children were saved. All the other men, women, and children were slain and then given an imperfect burial.
7. There is no possible excuse for this horrible tragedy, but this even must be viewed in light of its times. And, hopefully, we can learn from the mistakes that were made and not let action be dictated by rumor and hysteria.
1. Brother's Arrington & Bitton wrote: "It become historically understandable if not pardonable when viewed as the result of a combination of Mormon hysteria during the early stages of the Utah War, the rumors that this company was a reconnoitering party in advance of the main federal army, and the misbehavior of some members of the Fancher train, mainly a few hangers-on known as Missouri wildcats, who forcibly expropriated supplies and made profance, provocative boasts that they had participated in the Haun's Mill Massacre and other mob actions against the Saints. Add to this the volatile, agitated state of the Indian tribes, who had determined to attack the train because its members had poisoned some of ther wells, and the convegence of factors became such as to allow an explosion of passion that under most circumstances simply could not have occurred." (The Mormon Experience, p167)
2. Federal Troops In Utah.
1. Camp Floyd: About 4,000 federal troops were at first located at Camp Floyd. Another 3,000 non-Mormon suppliers, employees, and camp followers were located at "Dobietown" or "Frogtown" (now Fairfield).
2. A flourishing trade was built up between the Mormon villagers and the troops. This was a boost to the struggling Mormon economic trade.
1. At first the church discouraged trade, then shortly thereafter stated: "There is no sin in selling grain to the army, but the sin is in disposing of it for less than it is worth, and depriving the poor of obtaining sufficient for their wants."
3. Provo Canyon Road: Built by the church during the move south and used as a tool road.
1. During the occupation of the army, the suppliers Russell, Majors, and Waddell paid several thousand a year to the church in road tolls. Stated the suppliers: "Here a saintly keeper, slate in hand, kept tally of our wagons as they lumbered past, the toll being one dollar per ton, or $1,250 for our train.
2. The road belonged to the Mormon Church & Brigham Young.
3. Paying an enemy toll to enter his conquered territory was the height of absurdity.
4. In July of 1861, the camp was evacuated due to the outbreak of the Civil War.
5. An auction was held to sell off the government property left behind. At one auction $4,000,000 in property was sold for $100,000. $40,000 was bought in the name of Brigham Young and then most was turned over to the public works department. Property sold included iron, tools, livestock, stock feed, and food supplies.
3. Self-Sufficiency and Retrenchment.
1. Since arriving in Utah, their had been a continuing drive for self-sufficiency. This drive continued after the arrival of federal officers and may have been increased by the subsequent arrival of federal troops.
2. Cotton Mission: In October 1861, 309 families were called to go south to settle in Utah's Dixie and work to supply the territory with cotton, sugar, grapes, tobacco, figs, almonds, olive oil, etc.
1. Over the next decade+ about 4,000 persons were called to this area.
2. The first crop of cotton in 1862 yielded 100,000 pounds of seed cotton. A large portion of it was sent east and sold as a cash crop.
3. The cotton industry in Utah never became a big success and was mostly discontinued in the 1870s.
3. Deseret Telegraph line: With the upcoming completion of the transcontinental telegraph line, Brigham Young called for a North-South telegraph line connecting all Mormon settlements. A 500 mile line was in place and put into operation in 1867.
4. The Railroad: The railroad was coming west and the church was concerned about the effect the railroad might have on immigration, morality, and the continued drive for independence.
1. In December of 1867, Brigham Young organized the School of the Prophets (named after the Kirtland school). It was a successor to the Council of Fifty. The school was a forum or town meeting of leading high priest in which theology, church government, and problems of church and community were discussed and appropriate action taken. It became somewhat of an economic planning conference and resolved upon policies to deal with the incoming railroad:
1. Securing a contract to construct 90 miles of road from Echo Canyon to Ogden. This would reduce the number of undesirable characters poluting the Mormon communities. The income would also support the Utah saints and the church.
2. Established locally owned "cooperative" enterprises designed to prevent unemployment and make the communities less dependent on imports from the East. A number of manufacturing concerns were established including the Utah Manufacturing Company (wagons, carriages, & agricultural equipment) and Provo Woolen Mills.
3. Increase exports to the east. To become competitive some wage reductions were put into effect. The faithful were willing to sacrifice for the kingdom, but there were others who critized the church for this action.
4. The construction of a 37 mile church owned railroad from Ogden to Salt Lake and eventually other extensions.
5. ZCMI was organized to assist the saints in purchasing imported goods. Many merchants were considered hostile towards the interests of the church and taking advantage of the Saints.
1. At the October 1868 conference, a general boycott of outside merchants was announced.
2. Retail outlets were established in about 100 communities.
6. Word of Wisdom campaign: It had not been a binding commandment upon the Saints. The main reason for this was to help stop the cash drain from the territory and use the money saved to bring "the poor to Zion."
2. The Women's Relief Society.
1. To marshall support for these policies of continuing independence the Women's Relief Society was reorganized with Eliza R. Snow appointed as head.
1. States Arrington: "The object of the Relief Societies was to teach the poor to provide for themselves & to establish institutions and programs which would assist the poor to live more comfortably and those not so poor to live more frugally."
2. The Relief Society encouraged and supported the home industry movement.
3. They organized the Deseret Silk Association. Nearly every one of the 150 local Relief Society organizations had a silk project during the 1870s.
3. Retrenchement Societies.
1. After the formation of the Relief Society, President Young called for the formation of "Retrenchment Societies" among the young women of the settlements.
2. President Young set the pattern for these societies when he called his wives and daughters together in the parlor room of the Lion House in November 1869.
1. Said President Young at that time: "All Israel are looking for my family and watching the example set by my wives and children. For this reason I desire to organize my own family first into a society for the promotion of habits of order, thrift, industry, and charity; and, above all things, I desire them to retrench from their extravagance in dress, in eating, and even in speech. The time has come when the sisters must agree to give up their follies of dress and cultivate a modest apparel, a meek deportment, and to set an example before the people of the world worth of imitation.... "I want you to set your own fashins. Let your apparel be neat and comely, and the workmanship of your own hands. Wear the good cloth manufactured in our own mills, and cease to build up the merchant who sends your money out of the Territory for fine clothes made in the East." (GBK, p252)
3. Eliza R. Snow oversaw the organization of the "Young Ladies Department of the Co-operative Retrenchment Association" both within the Young household and through the Relief Societies to the rest of the territory.
1. The girls were taught to glean wheat, piece quilts, crochet, make hats, knit stockings, and to engage in many cultural activities.
2. The fruits of their efforts were donate to the P.E.F. and other worthwhile church projects.
4. These retrenchment societies eventually evolved into "The Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association" first organized in 1877.
3. The United Order of Enoch.
1. Motivated by the depression following the Panic of 1873 various cooperative movements were organized under the name of the United Order of Enoch.
1. Brigham City: In 1864 Lorenzo Snow organized a mercantile cooperative in which many citizens took shares.
1. Profits were dispersed in kind rather than cash. A tannery and woolen factory were built and operated. By 1874, 40 departments had been established covering almost every phase of industry and agriculture. The settlement became 85% self-sufficient.
2. Brigham City gained a reputation as a "hive of industry". It was one of the most prosperous and progressive settlements in the territory.
3. The Brigham City experiment was so successful that they barely felt the depression following the Panic.
2. Brigham Young was so impressed with the Brigham City enterprise that he wanted to extend such cooperative movements. Four types evolved:
1. The community contributed all their economic property to the Order and received wages and dividends depending upon their labor and property.
1. About half of these type of orders lasted only a year. Some in these communities refused to join. There were often arguments of its operation.
2. Brigham City type plans.
3. A modification of the Brigham City plan used in the larger cities.
1. Each ward would have a speciality. In Salt Lake City the 8th Ward operated a hat factory, the 11th Ward a tailor's shop, the 19th Ward a soap manufactury, the 20th Ward a boot and shoe shop.
4. A communal plan. All property was contributed to the Community.
1. The best known of these communities was that at Orderville, in southern Utah.
2. They ranged in size from 50 to 750. They ate at a common table and wore clothes from the same bolt of cloth. Labor was directed by a board lf management and life was regulated by a United Order bugler who signaled the community to rise, to eat, to attend to prayers, to go to work, to return from work, etc.
3. Evidently, these communities worked remarkably well.
4. The Orderville community operated farms, gardens, and orchards, a cotton farm, a poultry project, 3 dairies, a sheep enterprise, a steam sawmill, water-powered gristmill, and several molasses mills. Almost complete self-sufficiency was attained.
5. The Orderville community was not without its challenges. As local communities prospered from the mining boom at Silver Reef, some of the inhabitants of Orderville became jealous. Consider this story about a young man related by Mark Pendleton:
1. "As he gained stature, the pants he wore seemed to shrink, but as there were no holes in them, and no patches, his application for a new pair was denied. But where 'there is a will there is a way.' There was a big crop of lambs that spring. When the lambs' tails were docked, the young brother surreptitiously gathered them and sheared off the wool which he stored in sacks. When he was assigned to take a load of wool to Nephi, he secretly took the lambs' tail wool with his load and excanged it for a pair of store pants. On his return, he wore his new pants to the next dance. His entrance caused a sensation. The story is that one young lady rushed to him, embraced and kissed him. The president of the Order demanded an explanation, and when it was truthfully given, he said: 'According to your own story these pants belong to the Order. You are requested to appear before the Board of Management tomorrow evening at half past eight, and to bring the store pants with you'."
2. At the meeting, the brother was commended for his enterprise, but was reminded that all pants must be made of cloth from the same bolt. The Board of Management, being reasonable, decided to unseam the store pants and use the as a pattern for all new pants. This young man would get the first pair.
3. "The tailoring department was soon swamped with orders for pants. The elders of the Order protested. The boys went to work, as usual, but loafed on the job. It was noticed that the everlasting pants worn by the boys were getting thin in spots, and even some holes had developed. These boys were often on their knees when at prayers, or when weeding in the garden, but not much time was spent sitting down. Why was this unusual wear on the seat of the pants? When the elders saw the boys going in groups to the shed where the grindstone was housed, they became suspicious and investigated. Yes, the boys were wearing out their pants on the grindstone. The elders protested and then capitulated. A load of wool was dispatched to Washington Mills to trade for cloth. The tailor shop was a busy place. The boys were hard at work. The pants rebellion was over!" (GBK, p336)
5. By the late 1880's these orders faded and private enterprise became almost universal throughout the settlements.
6. One of the significant achievements of the various orders was the construction of the four early Utah temples.
4. The Raid.
1. The integration of Utah into the national mainstream was brought about by the increased contact with the rest of the country, trade, and eventually statehood. But statehood was not achieved until after the Raid and the elimination of the practice of plural marriage.
2. Laws against the Church & plural marriage.
1. While the Church was attempting to build an independent kingdom in the West, powerful groups elsewhere were seeking to strengthen federal controls. These groups included Western businessmen, Protestant ministers, & ladies aid societies indignant over plural marriage.
2. Several laws were passed that had an increasing affect upon the Saints in Utah:
1. 1862: An act of Congress in 1862 prohibited polygamy, disincorporated the church, & prohibited it from owning more than $50,000 in property.
1. This act, by itself, was able to accomplish little. The Church complied somewhat. Only 1 civil marriage was permitted, the others were called sealings. Most property was put in the hands of trustees. A large portion of the property was put under the name of Brigham Young.
2. 1866: The Wade Bill.
1. To have placed the Nauvoo Legion under federal control, officers in church prohibited from solemizing marriages, U.S. marshall to select all jurors, tax all real & personal property of the church in excess of $20,000. This bill failed to pass.
3. 1869: The Cullom Bill.
1. Some features of the Wade Bill included: Polygamy cases were the exclusive jurisdiction of federal judges, plural wives deprived of immunity as witnesses in cases against their husbands, cohabitation would be declared a misdemeanor. Authorized the President to send part of the army to Utah to assist in compliance. Failed to pass.
4. 1869: The Ashley Bill.
1. Provided for the dismemberment of Utah by transferring portions of it to Nevada, Wyoming, & Colorado. Failed to pass.
5. 1874: The Poland Act.
1. Strengthened the 1862 law by transferring to federal judges jurisdiction over criminal, civil, and chancery cases in Utah; and transferred to federal officials the duties of the territorial attorney general and marshall; and gave federal judges considerable leeway in the selection of jurors.
6. 1882: The Edmunds Act.
1. Put teeth into the 1862 law. Provided heavy penalties for the practice of polygamy, cohabitation with a polygamous wife defined as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $300 and 6 months in prison; anyone guilty of polygamy or cohabitation declared incompetent for jury service and also declared them ineligible for public office and disfranchised them.
2. Rudger Clawson, a leader in Brigham City, and later to become one of the Twelve, was Convicted of polygamy in October 1884. In March 1885, Clawson's appeal was denied and the constitutionality of the this law was upheld.
3. This began the period known as The Raid.
4. Between 1884 and 1893 there were 1,004 convictions for unlawful habitation and 31 for polygamy.
5. Church leaders considering their covenants as sacred, refused to abandon their marriage ties. In 1885, most Church leaders went "underground."
1. President John Taylor's last public appearance was in the Tabernacle in February 1885. He died while in hiding on July 25, 1887. His counselors also went into hiding.
1. Joseph F. Smith, went to Hawaii and did not return until 1889.
2. George Q. Cannon, was probably the most sought after because of his influence. He seldom spent two nights in the same place and was pursued all over the west.
1. In February 1886 he was captured while enroute to Mexico. He escaped during the return trip to Salt Lake, but was later recaptured.
2. He forfeited $45,000 in bail and went to Arizona.
3. He finally surrendered after Wilford Woodruff became president and served nine months in the Utah penitentiary.
7. 1887: The Edmunds-Tucker Act.
1. Amended the Edmunds Act and provided:
1. The Corporation of the church as a legal entity was dissolved.
2. The Attorney General to institute proceedings to forfeit and escheat all property, real and personal held in excess of the 1862 limitation of $50,000.
3. Perpetual Emigrating Company to be dissolved.
4. Abolished woman suffrage in Utah, disinherited children of plural marriages; prescribed a test oath for voting, holding office, & serving on juries.
5. Required all marriages to be certified by certificate in the probate courts, wiped out all existing election districts, and dissolved the Nauvoo Legion.
3. The Church's Response.
1. The policy of asking certain members to hold church property in trust was extended. This included the tithing office, the Church Historian's office, the office & residence of President Taylor, the lots on which Zions Savings Bank, ZCMI, and other church enterprises were erected. And numerous other properties.
2. Separate non-profit associations were organized to hold other properties such as the St. George, Logan, and Manti temple associations.
3. Other property was sold outright, to be held for the Church. Tithing property was transferred to the stakes and ecclesiastical authority there.
4. As a result of the Edmunds-Tucker Act and court action, the federal government confiscated property with a value of over $1,000,000. Included:
1. The temple block.
2. Tithing yard and offices.
3. Historian's office.
4. Office of the President of the Church.
5. Church farm in SLC.
6. 30,000 sheep.
7. Stock in the Deseret Telegraph Company, and the Gas Company.
5. The Edmunds-Tucker Act was tried and eventually appealed to the United States Supreme Court where it was upheld on May 19, 1890.
1. The court indicated that the state had a "perfect right to prohibit polygamy" and to apply the misdirected church properties to "other charitable objects".
2. In September 25, 1890 Wilford Woodruff wrote in his journal: "I have arrived at a point in the history of my life as the president of the Church...where I am under the necessity of acting for the temporal salvation of the Church."
1. It was on this date the President Woodruff issued the Official Declaration which proclaimed an end to polygamy among the Mormons.
2. The Manifesto eased the pressure of the raid. What was left of Church property was returned in 1894. Statehood was finally achieved in 1896.
6. Arrington concluded that "The temporal Kingdom, for all practical purposes, was dead--slain by the dragon of Edmunds-Tucker."