Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee by John D. Lee

This book was written in 1877 and is a first-hand account of the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre by the only Mormon convicted of participating in that heinous act of unadulterated human slaughter. This shocking autobiography was written as Lee sat in jail awaiting his execution for the slaughter of more than 120 men, women, and children and if taken at face value presents Brigham Young as a subhuman cretin.

The two major aspects of this memoir/book by J.D. Lee are the following:

First it must be acknowledged that J. D. Lee never recanted his belief in Brigham Young, the then prophet of the church, nor did he at any time say anything against Mormon Church doctrines. Given that it is hard to believe that the charges in his book were not fabricated by his lawyer or book’s publishers who like so many people at that time were out to hurt the Mormon Church.

Secondly, there is no living witness to clarify what really happened that day in Mountain Meadows, Utah and what is recorded as history is filled with conjecture making it difficult to sort fact from fiction. It is a known fact; however, that the Mormons were viciously attacked, murdered, and kicked out of every place that they attempted to settle in until the federal government stepped in during the early 1900s (see recorded historical events such as the Hauns Mill Massacre and the Joseph Smith, Extermination Act of Missouri by Governor Boggs). This being proven history, it would be no surprise if the Mormon settlers, of that day, did choose to react quickly to any threatening situation that they incurred in Utah. It is also well known that the sect that Lee encountered that dire day were a group of Arkansas Baptists who made it no secret that there was no love lost between them and the Mormons and in fact to this day they continue to expend much energy and money to defame the Latter-Day Saints.

While it is a shame that anyone seeking a new life would have participated in such a vile event, I am still unable to get a clear picture in my mind as to what actually occurred since the recounted events are filled with too many contradictions of myth to draw any sure conclusion. However, one cannot use the excuse of previous bad acts against a people to extract revenge on a group of people not connected to any of the others grievances suffered by the LDS people. So, while overall I have never experienced any violence from the LDS people and even have several family members who follow this doctrine, I have to believe that the culprits who committed this barbaric act will receive their punishment at God’s hands if they haven’t already.

One important thing to consider today, however, is that the Mormons I have known are generally a much respected group of society who like most of us only strive to live a good and honorable life with high standards and morals. Of course, like with the rest of society there will always be those out there who claim to belong to a particular group but only tend to cause others to look down on the group as a whole.

What surprises me the most about this book that has just recently been reprinted, after being out of print for 100 years, is being used by some otherwise intelligent people to condemn all Mormons as immoral and evil people. Yes, John D. Lee was executed for the murders in Utah but while he was a member of a gang that committed a vile act not all Mormons can be judged by his acts. For me, it is important to address the fact that this version of John D. Lee’s writings could easily have been manipulated by the editor to convey an anti-Mormon message. This book is also available in more Mormon friendly version recently released by the church under the title “A Mormon Chronicle”. In this version John Lee was a good man who found himself killing men, women and children in cold blood. It is offered as a means to understand how humans and in this case Lee came to do what he did. Certain similar massacres of Vietnamese civilians by US troops, the Cambodian killing fields, the Nazi concentration camps and Spanish Inquisition of similar value to help us see how easy it is for humanity to disintegrate under extreme duress.