The Mormon Puzzle And How To Solve It

Excerpt from The Mormon Puzzle; And How to Solve It The following pages have at least the merit of being addressed to a subject of living interest to the American people. Perhaps with the single exception of the labor problem, the Mormon problem is the most important question before the people of our country at the present time. It is a problem which has thus far been unsolvable by the moralist, the statesman, and the politician. It still remains a Puzzle. No feasible plan has yet been hit upon for getting rid of it. From the past failures to solve it, it would seem that the problem has either not been studied from the proper standpoint, or has been misunderstood. Accordingly, we instituted a careful study of the problem in all its different phases, and endeavored to conduct our investigation in a fair and impartial manner. In doing so we consulted the leading authorities, both Mormon and non-Mormon, and must here acknowledge our indebtedness especially to "New Light on Mormonism," by Mrs. Ellen E. Dickinson; "Illiteracy and Mormonism," by Henry Randall Waite; Professor Coyner's "Handbook on Mormonism;" Schaff-Herzog's "Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge;" and back files of the Independent, Christian Union, and Deseret News - all of which were freely used in the preparation of this volume. It has the merit of being the product of about two years' careful thought and research. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

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On September 11, 1857, a small band of Mormons led by John D. Lee massacred an emigrant train of men, women, and children heading west at Mountain Meadows, Utah. News of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, as it became known, sent shockwaves through the western frontier of the United States, reaching the nation's capital and eventually crossing the Atlantic. In the years prior to the massacre, Americans dubbed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the "Mormon problem" as it garnered national attention for its "unusual" theocracy and practice of polygamy. In the aftermath of the massacre, many Americans viewed Mormonism as a real religious and physical threat to white civilization. Putting the Mormon Church on trial for its crimes against American purity became more important than prosecuting those responsible for the slaughter. Religious historian Janiece Johnson analyzes how sensational media attention used the story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre to enflame public sentiment and provoke legal action against Latter-day Saints. Ministers, novelists, entertainers, cartoonists, and federal officials followed suit, spreading anti-Mormon sentiment to collectively convict the Mormon religion itself. This troubling episode in American religious history sheds important light on the role of media and popular culture in provoking religious intolerance that continues to resonate in the present.