Mountain Meadows Massacre/Personalities

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Mountain Meadows Massacre: Personalities

Anonymous source: "Argus"

Summary: Critics are often less than selective in their use of historical sources. Critics who wish to exploit the Mountain Meadows Massacre to attack the Church frequently cite an anonymous source signed "Argus."

Thomas Kane: cover-up?

Summary: Critics who use the Mountain Meadows Massacre to attack the Church often mention non-LDS Col. Thomas Kane. Kane was a good friend to the Mormons prior to Joseph Smith's death, and he was also briefly involved in the Massacre issue.

Bishop Philip Klingensmith

Summary: Critics often use the testimony of (former) Bishop Philip Klingensmith on the Massacre.

Thomas Kane: negative portrayal

George A. Smith carried orders?

Summary: Critics wish to make Brigham Young and apostle George A. Smith complicit in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Thus, some claim that prior to the massacre, George A. Smith is claimed to "have carried orders to Cedar City leaders to incite their people to avenge the blood of the prophets" (Denton, 186).

Worries about Capt. Stewart Van Vliet?

Summary: Critics who use the Mountain Meadows Massacre against the Church argue that Brigham Young hid knowledge of the massacre from U.S. army representative Captain Stewart Van Vliet. They use this as evidence of Brigham's duplicity and complicity in the attacks.

Charles W. Wandell - the "Argus" source