A Lead in a Famous Mormon Massacre Case, 145 Years Later

Did Mormon leaders kill 120 pilgrims in 1870? It’s one of the worst massacres in American history. In 1857, 120 men, women. and children on a wagon train from Arkansas to California were killed. Exactly what happened in the Mountain Meadows Massacre is one of the greatest debates in Mormon history—some blame local Native Americans, others blame the Mormon leadership. Now, just days after The Rocky Mountain News in Denver published a lengthy special report on the atrocity, the National Park Service has announced a discovery that may prove Mormon leader Brigham Young ordered the killings. A Park Service volunteer discovered a lead sheet under several inches of dirt and rat droppings. On it was some writing, supposedly etched by John D. Lee, who was tried and executed for his role in the attack. “I do not fear athorty for the time is closing and am willing to tak the blame,” the sheet says. “I trust in God—I have no fear—Death hold no terror—Lord hav merci on this resless soul.” But the key line may be where he says the attack was “on order from Pres Young.” “The Mormon Church is reserved in its statements about the find,” says The Arizona Republic, but Glen M. Leonard, director of the Museum of Church History and Art, is standing firm. Young “definitely did not order” the murders, he tells The Rocky Mountain News. Likewise, the church-owned Deseret News begins its report saying that “several aspects of the discovery indicate it may be a hoax.” The Park Service is running authenticity tests.

Supreme Court very likely to uphold right to evangelize door-to-door “High Court Ridicules Ohio Limits on Solicitation,” says American Lawyer Media‘s headline summing up yesterday’s Supreme Court arguments. Other papers don’t go quite that far, but it’s clear that the village of Stratton, Ohio, probably won’t retain its ordinance requiring missionaries to obtain a permit before taking their message door-to-door. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, often seen as a swing vote on church-state cases, asked whether trick-or-treaters must have a permit for Halloween. After the gallery laughed, the justice insisted, “I’m serious.” Justice Anthony Kennedy asked Stratton’s lawyer, “You think it’s a beautiful idea that I have to ask the government for permission” to talk to neighbors about garbage pickup problems? Chief Justice William Rehnquist was reportedly the only one seemingly sympathetic to Stratton’s case, referencing last year’s murder of two Dartmouth College professors who were killed by phony door-to-door survey takers. But Justice Antonin Scalia dismissed such safety concerns. “We can all stipulate that the safest societies in the world are totalitarian societies,” he said.

War over Southern Baptist Faith and Message heats up againThe Baptist General Convention of Texas has responded to the Southern Baptist Convention once again. Now that the Southern Baptist Convention has begun to require all its missionaries to sign its statement of faith, the Texas convention says those who don’t want to have a way out: It has created a $1 million fund for just such missionaries. Already, reports The Dallas Morning News, “BGCT leaders said they had heard from more than 60 SBC missionary families who said they could not sign the affirmation and feared they would lose their jobs as a consequence.”

Courts:

French magazine loses privacy case | Two women sued for violation of privacy after news weekly published a photo of them praying under the headline “Is God misogynous?” (Associated Press)
Judging Pickering | Being prolife and believing that the Bible is the authority by which man’s conduct is judged are no basis for rejecting his nomination (Editorial, The Denver Post)
Scalia: Stuck in the past | While church authorities have recognized that the death penalty violates the fundamental moral teachings of Catholicism, Justice Scalia continues to cling to the ideas of the past to advance his own political beliefs. (Anne Thompson, The Washington Post)

Abuse:

Indianapolis Training Center subject of lawsuit | Juvenile offenders allege abusive treatment at Bill Gothard’s youth counseling center (WTHR, Indianapolis)
Also: Faith under fire (WISH, Indianapolis)
Sins of the father | For years, Boston’s cardinal kept on priests who had been accused of molesting children. Now Catholics across America are confronting similar scandals and questioning the secretive culture of the church (Newsweek)
Shamed by the sins of others | The innocent bear the scars of institutional failure. (E. J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post)
‘The talk’ in the church | Some experts say abuse cases could open up religious sexual discussions (ABCNews.com)
Bishop asks parents to look for abuse | Cardinal says scandal has hurt him deeply (The Boston Globe)
Abuse response varies by diocese | Many of the nation’s 194 dioceses and archdioceses are struggling to come to terms with a cultural change from a time when allegations of pedophilia were settled privately. (USA Today)
Hundreds now claim priest abuse | Lawyers report flood of alleged victims (The Boston Globe)
Protect children and the church | It is hard to imagine a more corrosive scandal than child sexual abuse—except for the systemic cover-up of such abuse. (Editorial, Chicago Tribune)
Catholic clergy ask forgiveness | Tuscon’s Catholic leaders say they have changed their policies to ensure allegations of child abuse are promptly dealt with (The Arizona Star)
Priest denies abuse and refuses to resign | A Roman Catholic priest in Lowell, Mass., the Rev. D. George Spagnolia, denied that he sexually abused a child 31 years ago. (The New York Times)
Also: Priest vows to fight sexual abuse charge | The Boston-area pastor says he has been wrongly caught in a sweep some compare to a witch hunt. (Los Angeles Times)
Also: Accused pastor proclaims innocence | In letter to Law, vows to fight ouster (The Boston Globe)
Polish prelate accused in sex case | The Vatican is investigating accusations that the archbishop of Poznan sexually molested young seminarians (The New York Times)
Also: Polish archbishop faces sex charges (Associated Press)
Philadelphia archdiocese dismisses accused priests (Reuters)
Also: Accused priests dismissed in Philadelphia (Associated Press)
Lowell priest quietly removed (The Boston Globe)
Hub Hispanics organize to support Law, church | Effort comes amid calls from some quarters for archbishop’s resignation. (Boston Herald)

Ten Commadments:

Ten Commandments ban stands | U.S. Supreme Court decides not to act on Indiana judge’s injunction against a proposed display on Statehouse lawn (Indianapolis Star)
Also: Court won’t hear Commandments case | The court did not comment in refusing to hear an appeal from Indiana Gov. Frank O’Bannon, who wanted to erect a 7-foot stone monument on the statehouse grounds in Indianapolis. (Associated Press)
Also: Top court sidesteps church-state case (Chicago Tribune)
Also: Ten commandments appeal rejected (BBC)
High court’s inaction won’t affect courthouse plaque suit | While Indiana case stalls, Pennsylvania case continues (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Three judges order Ten Commandments displays taken down | But another judge in Tennessee county says he’ll leave religious codes in courtroom until ordered to remove them. (Associated Press)
Wilson County commissioners back posting commandments | Vote was unanimous and without debate (The Tennessean, Nashville)
Earlier: County considers support for posting Ten Commandments | June Griffin crisscrossed the state urging county commissions to approve such resolutions (The Tennessean)

Persecution:

New spate of attacks targets Christians | Violence against India’s Christian minority has surged this year, with reports of at least one attack each week in what church leaders are calling a “reign of terror” spreading throughout the country (The Washington Times)
War tensions tough on Christians in Iraq | Exodus tilting secular state toward Islam (San Francisco Chronicle)

Politics:

Church and state don’t mix | Social conservatism does not need to be forced upon us. It is inevitable because it is sensible. (Elizabeth Nickson, National Post)
What’s God got to do with it? | Can the attorney general be trusted to protect the rights of those whose spiritual life rests outside of the Judeo-Christian tradition when he has excluded them from the ranks of civilized people? (Robert Scheer, Los Angeles Times)

Church and state:

Mission’s rooftop cross violates city ordinance | The lighted sign has stood on the roof of the Orlando Union Rescue Mission men’s shelter for 40 years (The Orlando Sentinel)
Virginia governor to decide if national motto should be posted in courts | Meanwhile, state Senate approves measure requiring schools to display ‘In God We Trust’ signs. (Associated Press)

Crime:

Andersen tries to settle Baptist case | Accounting firm offers $150 million to the foundation’s bankruptcy trust. (USA Today)
Anger over `meditation for jail’ deal | A Christian group is outraged at a pilot project in which lawbreakers are avoiding jail and hefty fines by instead taking transcendental meditation courses. (The Sunday Times, Perth, Western Australia)

Church life:

From Air Force officer to rural pastor | The odyssey of Danny Rachel (State Gazette, Dyersburg, Tennessee)
Church’s rebirth transcends race | Black congregation welcomes white preacher in push to restore structure as well as flock (The Denver Post)
Disputed church rising again after work delay | Residents unhappy about the large concrete building in a field where people once walked their dogs (The Denver Post)

Pastoral integrity:

Pastor cites “improper relationship,” quits | Bell Shoals Baptist Church is one of the Tampa Bay area’s fastest-growing churches (The Tampa Tribune)
Sacked vicar returns to preach after third marriage plans | Twice-divorced vicar was fired seven years ago when he announced plans to marry again (Ananova)

Missions & ministry:

Aid worker claims set-up | Shelter Now’s Diana Thomas Peter Bunch say a Muslim family had persistently asked to see a Christian video called Jesus, and after they saw it the two American Shelter Now workers were arrested (AAP)
Earlier: Entrapment Suspected | Shelter Now leader believes workers were pawns in Taliban scheme. (Christianity Today, Jan. 18)
Chaplains help ease stress for police | Program targets officers’ tensions (Chicago Tribune)
AIDS victims need churches’ help | An interview with Franklin Graham (USA Today)
Michigan missionaries help out in Haiti | Group of 50 will immunize hundreds of children (Associated Press)