I needed to tell you my experience, with these people(LDS).
June 8, 2007
One year ago I had know idea what these LDS people were about.
Last year after getting into an argument with the owners of a Grocery Outlet store in Walla Walla, Washington, I was tricked into returning to their store by an LDS woman that was a librarian at the public library there. The argument that occured was over this woman who worked at the grocery store and had been harrassing me it appeared because I would not ask her out on a date. I wanted to ask her out on a date, but it was hard for me to do this because my father had just recently been killed while riding a bicycle, so I went to one of the store owners a Mrs. Nancy Wiley and asked her what was going on. I told her that it needed to stop. But it didn't stop!
Needless to say that after not shopping at their store for 6 months, I returned and shopped there again for approximately 5 weeks and when I saw an opportunity to ask this girl out, and when I did, the store owners son came out and told me I needed to leave that I was trespassing, but when I turned to leave he got really ugly on me and started to argue with me.
I told him that he was " a stupid american", walked down the street to another grocery store for about 20 minutes. On the way home walking across the park a police officer stopped me and cited me for trespassing, although he did mention that he thought it odd that Chad Wiley had waited in the front window of his store waiting to call the police, he told me not to even walk on the sidewalk on the street in front of their store.
I fought the charges, but to no avail, everything was just happening to fast around me.
This Chad Wiley fellow really creeped me out because I noticed he had unusually long skinny sideburns just like this mormon kid I went to high school with, at that point he was on the witness stand testifying against me. It was only then that I realized that I had run into a nest of "Morons". Upon looking for answers from this experience I came across your 1857massacre website. I have never been more horrified in my life after what I read! But I have to admit that I wasn't the least bit surprised after the way these people, Gary(Robert) and Nancy Wiley, and their son Chad, had treated me as a human being.
Upon looking at the list of clubbers and shooters I noticed one of them was a Robert Wiley, probably a direct ancestor of ....................................................anyways I hope I didn't bore you with this bit of information. I wrote a shorter version of this event when I signed the mtn meadows assoc. last weekend. I noticed today however that my signing had been completely removed...................................
Have the families (descendants) of the Mountain Meadows Massacre ever thought about having their families remains taken from their present burial site and reinterred in Arkansas? Would that be a possibility? I personally think that would be what I would want were I a descendant of a family member who had been murdered in that place.
I am an intern at the Wyoming Public TV station in Riverton, WY. We are currently working on a story involving a descendant of one of the survivors of the Mountain Meadow Massacre. His name is John Woody. I believe his grandfather's name was Howard Woody.
I looked through the list of survivors on your website, but didn't see any Woody's. Was that the complete list? Is there any way we can verify that his grandfather was a survivor?
We are also looking for pictures about the massacre or of the people involved.
Would you have any on file that you could email to us? Please let me know of any charges involved. We are looking for "jpeg" files of 300 dpi resolution.
I couldn't find a phone number for your foundation, so hopefully this email will work.
Thank you so much for your time.
I am an LDS convert and the feelings I have for the Lord have multiplied 10 fold since joining the Church.
Before my baptism the missionaries told me about two terrible tragedies in the church: The Hahn's Mill massacre in Missouri and the Mountain Meadows massacre in Utah. Only later did I learn that one was a massacre of Mormon's and the other by Mormon's.
Isn't two tragedies enough? I fear your site feeds on hatred and revenge rather than seeking forgiveness. Wasn't this the same year as the Utah war when 1/4 of the US armed forces were converging on Salt Lake City? Only God knows what is the full extent of the truth in both these massacres. They were both trying to preserve their rights and faith.
Your website is important. The LDS church is trying very hard to rewrite another piece of their history. As long as they keep trying to hid the ugly truths, it is hard to believe anything they say. The victims of this barbarity should not be forgotten, nor should the criminals involved, including those that reveled in their plunder. It was so horrific that I think that many people just don't want to imagine it. All the more reason that the site should be in the custody and care of appropriate stewardship.
It was so horrific that I think that many people just don't want to imagine it. All the more reason that the site should be in the custody and care of appropriate stewardship.
Your website and its links are very useful and very informative. I appreciate your efforts.
I decided to read for myself the account of the massacre to see exactly what happened. I happen to be a mormon now. I was raised catholic and my husband was baptist. well, I do feel for the people who were murdered as all of this was wrong. I do believe however that the prophet brigham young at the time was not aware that a few people in that area became so inflamed as to do this. I think though if you read the history of the mormon church that you will see that mormons back then were starved out and their children murdered and then the government of the united states put out an extinction order to kill mormons in that area.
Now that is a scary thing. Many things back then were political just as they are now. it was popular to go against the mormons back then and to kill a few here and there, esp to win elections.
I think that the people in that area went too far and when the letter came back from the then president brigham young about what to do it was an over and done with thing. You have to realize that time frame isnt like it is now with telephones and computers..it took awhile for information to get from one place to another...brigham young found out that the actual militia that was on its way into that territory ordered by the president of the united states to kill all mormons..ie and probably even babies.. as it was not part of the united states yet, had problems getting there and it wouldnt be for some time so the people in that area were told to let the travelors go through peacefully. However, to be aware of the militia still on its way into that area. However this note wasnt recieved until later.
Now the people then who were not members of the mormon church for very long as the church was not very old by then or didnt have a family history of the teachings of the church acted on their own accord. I think a lot of cover up by the people involved happened because they realized what they had done and didnt want anyone to be aware of it. they were ashamed. but as in all societies, you have your bad and your good and people who make mistakes really bad ones.
noted how you say ...the mormons killed these people which tells me that you hate mormons. why not say people that lived in that area killed the travelors from arkansas. How do you know that everyone there was a mormon there might have been a few people who were not mormons... the mormons in that area were people from all parts of the world. Utah wasnt a state yet..or was going to become one eventually...because saphronias statement said something about her going back to the states which would be in arkansas. The life of the mormons was not an easy one because FREEDOM OF RELIGION WAS NOT PRACTICED IN THE UNITED STATES BACK THEN... they were tortured and killed and every other kind of thing...and people are not perfect...they will get their just deserts for what they did.
however, I dont see any mormon trying to get recognition for the things that they went through...back then and all the suffering ...I never lived that...I am a present day mormon and know what I believe and joined when I was 26 yrs old and raised my kids that way and they are really good people. We are all sorry for what happened back then...as anyone should be. think about slavery and how the blacks were treated back then as well. so in our history there is so much wrong doing as in people are not perfect. I do know one thing though..it isnt good to dwell on the past. Its good to know it and learn from it so it never happens again. I do feel though that when one thinks about hating so much it becomes a part of him or her and then they become like the thing they hate...so God bless you and your family and may the Lord have mercy on your soul and take the hate out of it...thank you..vickie
ps think about how gracious and forgiving the Amish people were when their five girls were murdered by their milk man and the other five shot..they forgave instantly and even offered to help the family of the man who slaughtered their children..now that is true christianity..and an example of the pure love of Christ.