Tuesday, August 28, 2007

MMM

Many people know that there will be a movie released soon (September Dawn) that "portrays" the events of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. As with most Hollywood versions of history, this movie takes creative license to add to the story. Unfortunately, this story is altered to a surprising degree. Of course, I as a Mormon do not have very much credence when I make such a statement. Fortunately, many non-LDS people have made similar, and sometimes very pointed comments. A few of them have been well collected and posted on another blog. If you want a good explanation of the situation read here as well. The gist of it is that there were some members that did some very evil acts. Both members, non-members and anti-member historians all will agree that no evidence has been found to show the the church leadership sanctioned or encouraged these actions. Knowing the complete story makes this a non-issue as far as troubling church history goes.

7 comments:

Marisa said...

I'm off to read those links! It will be interesting to see what the movie is like when it comes out. In a way I don't want to patronize it, but I do want to check it out!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad the church came out with the Ensign article in July about the Mt. Meadows Massacre. They laid it all out on the line and didn't hide or sugar coat anything. It was perfect because it shows how the critics of the church who continue to hash this subject over and over, really have no ground to stand on. It is a mute point that anti's try to keep bringing up and twisting the facts. I also love how the critics of this movie, many of whom are not mormon, have seen this movie for what it really is: a weak attempt to defame the church. Like was said in one commentary, if they didn't have an agenda they wouldn't have distorted the historical facts so much. So, even though I know there will be some people who see this and will question their testimony or will be mad at the church, I think that most of the level headed americans that watch it will actually feel more sympathetic towards the church.

Bennett Family said...

you're awesome. good thoughts. i didn't realized the movie was coming out!

Bennett Family said...

how do i set my blog up to email me when people post new stuff? or can you even do that? i know you said you can set it up to get emails when people post to your blog, and i need to do that too!
thx...technogeek...jkoc! that's like the pot calling the kettle black. i'm a computer junkie myself! thx, nik

Anonymous said...

The Church is publishing a book about it.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=1776792

Chuck Gates said...

After reading your post, I decided to see how the movie was being received. Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/september_dawn/) and Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Dawn) both have compiled a great list of the negative reviews from non-Mormon critics. It seems to be widely viewed as "little more than wild-eyed anti-Mormon propaganda."

Richard Ebert, perhaps the best known movie critic in America, gave it 0 of 5 stars. He says, "There isn't anything to be gained in telling this story in this way. It generates bad feelings on all sides..." He even mentions the theory that it was created as a way to undermine Romney's campaign.

Anyway, Carson - I like your blog here. I will stop by to check it out more later.

Carson Calderwood said...

Chuck, Thanks for the comment...coming from you they are highly regarded.