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Show UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY teaching of the so-called Adam-God theory, along with the “doctrine of blood atonement.” “Several brutal acts of violence” resulted from the latter teaching during the turbulent 1850s, which Turner claims were either “explicitly authorized” by Young or “condoned” by him (258–63). As for Young’s role in the infamous 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, Turner states that the Mormon leader “fomented the hatred and anxiety that made it conceivable for Mormons … to slaughter men, women, and children,” adding that his “saber-rattling, militia operations and Indian policy contributed” to the atrocity (280). In its aftermath, Young “denigrated the massacre’s victims and defended the Mormon murderers” and placed “full blame” for the massacre itself on the local Indians (309–10). Such observations prompt Turner to ask, rhetorically, “Could Young have accomplished what he did without leading his people into the darker chapters of Mormon history, such as the excesses of the [Mormon] reformation, the handcart tragedy, and the Mountain Meadows Massacre?” (410). Despite its deficiencies, John G. Turner’s Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet provides significant new information and presents the Mormon leader from a fresh, provocative perspective. It, moreover, chronicles Young’s own religious odyssey, including his tenacity in protecting both his church and dedicated followers. As the author astutely notes, Young’s “faith became his ‘all in all’” in that he “fully accepted that Joseph Smith was God’s prophet” and, following the latter’s death, saw “himself occupying a similar, divinely appointed position” (4–5). Turner’s important work, while not completely superseding Arrington’s American Moses (admittedly, an overly effusive work), is certain to stimulate debate concerning the validity of either scholar’s portrait. Indeed, the basic dilemma facing all Mormon Studies scholars, as sagaciously noted by Turner himself, is that “the field of Mormon history is a hall of mirrors, full of distorted and incomplete reflections of nearly every event” (viii). NEWELL G. BRINGHURST Visalia, California Civil War Saints. Edited by Kenneth L. Alford. (Provo and Salt Lake City: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University and Deseret Book Company, 2012. xxxiv + 569 pp. Cloth, $31.99.) THE WORD THAT IMMEDIATELY comes to mind when the reader first takes this book in hand is “Wow!” In thick and slick coffee-table form, the volume is heavy, both literally and figuratively. With the sesquicentennial of the Civil War upon us, a new book about how the Mormons dealt with 192 |
