Podcasts about Mormon pioneers

Have you ever heard of Pioneer Day, an official holiday in Utah? Many Utahans celebrate the day that Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah before Utah was settled. Many pioneers died on the trek across the plains, though many miracles took place on their journey to Utah. In this episode, we take a quiz to test our knowledge about the Mormon pioneers!

Hymn #30 - Come, Come, Ye Saints (also found for men's choir as #326) - with words by William Clayton and based on an English folk song (maybe) is a special hymn beloved by the Mormon Pioneers as they crossed the plains while trekking to the Salt Lake Valley. Learn about the circumstances surrounding Clayton's writing of the text, the lyrics he used as a metric guide, and get a brief lesson about shape note singing. Plus...five fun facts about Catholic Saints! Connect with us! Website: KnowingHymn.weebly.com Facebook Group: Knowing Hymn Instagram: KnowingHymn Twitter @ KnowingHymn Email: knowinghymn@gmail.com

This episode continues the adventures of Thomas L. Kane, who left his home in February 1858 and set out for Salt Lake City.  His self-imposed mission was to stop the Utah War.  His plan was, as his wife Elizabeth later wrote, was somewhat hazy:  “Tom's plan was to go in disguise to Utah by way of California, winter though it was, and make his unexpected appearance at Brigham Young's very gates, relying upon his own mental force and Young's knowledge of the sincerity of his goodwill to the Mormons. He actually intended to turn a whole people's will and make them ask for peace in the hour of their triumph.”  But before he could get to Brigham Young's gates, he first had to pass through the towns of Los Angeles and San Bernadino. At the time, both these towns were hornet nests of anti-Mormon frenzy.  On this episode, we recount:  o  How Thomas Kane assumed the identity of "Doctor Osborne," and came up with a cover story about needing to get to Utah to collect specimens of western flora. We recount how (somewhat ham-fisted) effort at undercover work.       o  Just how dangerous Los Angeles and San Bernadino were for Latter-day Saints in 1857 - 1858.  For background, we recount the (mis)adventures of William Wall, who passed through San Bernadino on his way home to Provo from a mission to Australia.  He was pursued by a lynch mob, but managed to evade them twice. But he had a final confrontation as he prepared to leave the City.  We recount how, as William Wall was surrounded, he bore a "powerful testimony of the Gospel."  Then, he bore a different kind of testimony with what he called a "splendid double-barreled shotgun" and a "good Bowie knife," impressing upon the mob that some of them would die along with him.     o The Vigilance Committee of San Bernadino's efforts to hunt the mysterious "Doctor Osborne."    o How Kane saved from the violence of the Vigilance Committee by Frances Swan Clark and Colonel Alden Jackson.  To learn more about the stories in this episode, please check out these (excellent!) sources:     o  Ardis A. Parshall, "Frances Swan Clark: A Kindness Remembered," essay posted 18 May 2008 and last visited on 6 November 2022, http://www.keepapitchinin.org/2008/05/18/frances-swan-clark-a-kindness-remembered-redux/.  I came across Parshall's essay in MacKinnon, At Sword's Point, Part 2 Chapter 7, n. 34, so thanks to both Parshall and MacKinnon!   o For the materials and sources in this story, we owe a special thanks to Utah War historian William "Bill" MacKinnon - His two-volume set, "At Sword's Point: A Documentary History of the Utah War to 1858" is an extraordinary resource for anyone interested in learning more about the Utah War. It is available on Amazon and Google Books.  Search Terms: Frances Swan (Kimball Clark) Clark, Winter Quarters, Thomas L. Kane, Patrick Kane, Utah War, Albert Sidney Johnston, "Doctor Osborne," George Clark, William Wall, William Pickett, Elizabeth Kane, James Buchanan, Brigham Young, Ebenezer Hanks, Los Angeles, San Bernadino, Mississippi River, Mormon Pioneers, Plural Marriage, Polygamy, Secret Identity, Vigilance Committee, Lynch Mobs, Old West, Colonel Alden Jackson,         

It's Pioneer Day in Utah, a time to celebrate the lives of those early Saints who crossed the plains and came to build up Zion. In this episode, I talk briefly about my own pioneer ancestors and encourage us all to add to their legacy.  

Every four years our children get to retrace some of the footsteps of the Mormon Pioneers, many of whom lost their lives on their trek west. It is a life-changing event. In this episode, Joseph, Grace, Emmalee, and Isaac join us to recount what they experienced; the fun, the funny, and the sobering realizations that we all drink from wells we did not dig, and stand on the shoulders of giants.

The Pioneers who first came to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 don't seem like they have a lot in common with the men who walked on the moon in 1969. But Boyd shows that they share much more in spirit than most people realize. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Charisse has mentioned before, she's a descendant of *Mormon Pioneers, who walked across the midwestern United States in the mid 1850s to escape religious persecution and “settle” the Salt Lake valley (spoiler alert: there were already people living there long before the Mormons arrived). In this episode, she dives into HOW early Mormons were received by the general public, WHY Mormons felt compelled to move their families to the then-wild west, and HOW life looked for all people living in the land we now know as Utah once the Mormons arrived. Whether you know anything about Mormon pioneers or Utah's history, this episode covers the basics along with some things even Charisse didn't know about her own heritage. This episode is not intended to be an expose on early Mormon Church history, but rather, an examination of the narrative Charisse was taught about her ancestors juxtaposed with other historical records. *The Mormon church is formally known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SaintsListener discretion is advised due to enjoyment of alcohol, adult language, and brief descriptions of historical violent events.Discover your own family history at https://www.familysearch.org/en/ (Please note that this domain is owned & operated by the Mormon Church)Find Charisse on the socials by searching for “The Existential Ginger.”View merch, checkout the new Patreon page, and listen to Charisse on other podcasts here: https://linktr.ee/theexistentialginger Brought to you by White Horse Media Grouphttps://therealwhmg.com/ -SOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE -http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/ny/miscNYC2.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_polygamy_in_the_United_States https://www.loc.gov/item/12020459/ https://utahcommhistory.com/2017/04/27/the-edmunds-act-of-1882/ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/132?lang=eng http://ilovehistory.utah.gov/people/groups/immigrants/mormons/index.html https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/journey-martins-cove-mormon-handcart-tragedy-1856 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-utah/ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/mountain-meadows-massacre?lang=eng&cid=14503511667&adlang=eng&source=google&network=x&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthM7TIUjz_JgEwBTaaXFLyLyzwmEE_MF4I7oZ02TA_Wd0_GGLwW9vCBoCVqYQAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthM7TIUjz_JgEwBTaaXFLyLyzwmEE_MF4I7oZ02TA_Wd0_GGLwW9vCBoCVqYQAvD_BwE “The West: An Illustrated History” by Geoffrey C. Ward“An Indiginous Peoples' History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

One of the key differences that separated the Mormon Pioneers from others. 

With Jeff Bezos blasting into space today, Boyd's monologue looks at the ways mankind has pioneered...from coming to the Salt Lake Valley to going to the cosmos. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shoshone Indians didn’t have fences.  They shared everything.  Imagine what it was like when Mormon pioneers started shooting deer and buffalo that Native Americans used for survival.  Indians didn’t understand the concept of private property and ignored fences to keep cattle contained.  Darren Parry, the author of Bear River Massacre describes how Mormon pioneers changed […] The post How Mormon Pioneers Changed Native Life (Part 3 of 9) appeared first on Gospel Tangents.

The story of the siege and massacre of approximately 120 California bound immigrants by Mormon settlers and Paiute Indians at Mountain Meadows (Washington County, 38 m. northwest of St. George) on September 11, 1857 is perhaps the second most well-known story in all of Utah's history behind only the epic story of the 1847 Mormon Pioneers. The massacred were hastily and incompletely buried after this horrendous event. Two years later in 1859 U.S. Army troops led by Major James H. Carleton, gathered the exposed remains and interred them in two mass graves. The finding of these graves in 2014 by Bassett is the focus of this Speak Your Piece interview. Guest Bio: Everett Bassett is a principal archeologist for Transcon Environmental, Inc., an environmental planning firm, with expertise in the pursuit of developing infrastructure for energy, communications, and mining. Previously Bassett worked as contact archeologist for a firm doing extensive work for the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining. He has degrees in biology, history and anthropology. As a young man Bassett worked as a logger and served in the United States Merchant Marines.

The story of the siege and massacre of approximately 120 California bound immigrants by Mormon settlers and Paiute Indians at Mountain Meadows (Washington County, 38 miles northwest of St. George) on September 11, 1857 is perhaps the second most well-known story in all of Utah's history behind only the epic story of the 1847 Mormon Pioneers. The massacred were hastily and incompletely buried after this horrendous event. Two years later in 1859 U.S. Army troops led by Major James H. Carleton, gathered the exposed remains and interred them in two mass graves. The finding of these graves in 2014 by Bassett, is the focus of this Speak Your Piece interview. Guest Bio: Everett Bassett is a principal archeologist for Transcon Environmental, Inc., an environmental planning firm, with expertise in the pursuit of developing infrastructure for energy, communications, and mining. Previously Bassett worked as contact archeologist for a firm doing extensive work for the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining. He has degrees in biology, history and anthropology. As a young man Bassett worked as a logger and served in the United States Merchant Marines.

In 1856 thousands of people traveled over 4,600 miles from Liverpool, England to Salt Lake City, Utah. They walked the last 1,200 miles of that journey pulling their meager belongings in small handcarts. Who were these people? Why did they make the journey? What was it like and why did two of these groups require a massive rescue effort involving 250 wagons and thousands of rescuers? All of this leads to another question: why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Listen to this episode to hear answers to all of these questions and more.

Guest BioReverend France A. Davis, pastor emeritus, of the Salt Lake City's Calvary Baptist Church, served his congregation as its pastor for over 45 years. In late December 2019 he stepped down. Still active in his congregation, still serving, he remains an influencer for his faith, and for Utah's Civil Rights efforts, and for the state's growing African-American community. Davis came to Salt Lake City in 1972 to teach and to attend graduate school at the University of Utah. He was appointed instructor in Communication and in Ethnic Studies, earning a distinguished teacher award from the university. Davis also retired as an adjunct associate professor in 2014.Davis has published several books, including a memoir, with co-author Nayra Atiya, entitled: France Davis: An American Story Told (see links below). Among numerous awards and recognitions, he was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Utah in 1993, the Salt Lake Community College in 1997, Dixie State College in 2002, an official citation from the Utah House of Representatives, in recognition of his outstanding service to Utah in 2006. He also received among other awards the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award, given to him at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC in 2014.SummaryDavis spoke to “Speak Your Piece” host Brad Westwood in detail about his first coming to Utah, his interactions with Utah society and its predominate church, the African American story in Utah--in Salt Lake City and Ogden--with the story beginning long before the Mormon Pioneers arrived in Utah. He describes his career efforts at furthering civil rights; what African American life was like in predominantly white Utah (including during Utah's pre 1970s, so called, “separate but equal” society), and his half century of service to the Calvary Baptist Church.  At the end of the second segment, Davis outlined what he describes as four essential actions Utah society must take, to further economic opportunity, equality and justice, for all of Utah's citizens.   Davis also describes his first Salt Lake City landlord, who after meeting him in person, rejected renting to him, despite paying an advance deposit. Davis also described his very first encounter with a LDS Church leader (which thereafter became extremely productive) when a security detail asked him to leave an airport elevator, so that the “president” could use it first. Davis refused, and awkwardly remained in the elevator with whom he later discovered was with LDS Church “president” Harold B. Lee.   With insightful personal detail Davis describes placing a marker on USU Price Campus in 1983, for African American miner Robert Marshall who was lynched and buried there, in Price, Utah in 1925, with a thousand spectators (Davis' life was threatened by coming to Price); how Salt Lake City's African American community was largely destroyed with the coming and enlargement of I-15 Freeway; Utah government's launching with his and other's insistence, of the Martin Luther King Commission; and finally his working relationship with Utah's governors (starting with Calvin Rampton and ending with Governor Gary Herbert) and with various LDS Church Presidents (starting with Gordon B. Hinckley and ending with current Church President Russell M. Nelson). Do you have a question or comment, or a proposed guest for “Speak Your Piece?” Write us at “ask a historian” – askahistorian@utah.gov URLs (book purchase links, associated exhibit, products, video links, etc.France Davis: An American Story (2012)

Guest BioReverend France A. Davis, pastor emeritus, of the Salt Lake City's Calvary Baptist Church, served his congregation as its pastor for over 45 years. In late December 2019 he stepped down. Still active in his congregation, still serving, he remains an influencer for his faith, and for Utah's Civil Rights efforts, and for the state's growing African-American community. Davis came to Salt Lake City in 1972 to teach and to attend graduate school at the University of Utah. He was appointed instructor in Communication and in Ethnic Studies, earning a distinguished teacher award from the university. Davis also retired as an adjunct associate professor in 2014.Davis has published several books, including a memoir, with co-author Nayra Atiya, entitled: France Davis: An American Story Told (see links below). Among numerous awards and recognitions, he was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Utah in 1993, the Salt Lake Community College in 1997, Dixie State College in 2002, an official citation from the Utah House of Representatives, in recognition of his outstanding service to Utah in 2006. He also received among other awards the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award, given to him at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC in 2014.SummaryDavis spoke to “Speak Your Piece” host Brad Westwood in detail about his first coming to Utah, his interactions with Utah society and its predominate church, the African American story in Utah--in Salt Lake City and Ogden--with the story beginning long before the Mormon Pioneers arrived in Utah. He describes his career efforts at furthering civil rights; what African American life was like in predominantly white Utah (including during Utah's pre 1970s, so called, “separate but equal” society), and his half century of service to the Calvary Baptist Church.  At the end of the second segment, Davis outlined what he describes as four essential actions Utah society must take, to further economic opportunity, equality and justice, for all of Utah's citizens.   Davis also describes his first Salt Lake City landlord, who after meeting him in person, rejected renting to him, despite paying an advance deposit. Davis also described his very first encounter with a LDS Church leader (which thereafter became extremely productive) when a security detail asked him to leave an airport elevator, so that the “president” could use it first. Davis refused, and awkwardly remained in the elevator with whom he later discovered was with LDS Church “president” Harold B. Lee.   With insightful personal detail Davis describes placing a marker on USU Price Campus in 1983, for African American miner Robert Marshall who was lynched and buried there, in Price, Utah in 1925, with a thousand spectators (Davis' life was threatened by coming to Price); how Salt Lake City's African American community was largely destroyed with the coming and enlargement of I-15 Freeway; Utah government's launching with his and other's insistence, of the Martin Luther King Commission; and finally his working relationship with Utah's governors (starting with Calvin Rampton and ending with Governor Gary Herbert) and with various LDS Church Presidents (starting with Gordon B. Hinckley and ending with current Church President Russell M. Nelson). Do you have a question or comment, or a proposed guest for “Speak Your Piece?” Write us at “ask a historian” – askahistorian@utah.gov URLs (book purchase links, associated exhibit, products, video links, etc.France Davis: An American Story (2012)

In this edition we share Lucius Clark’s audio retelling of how he and other Mormon Pioneers were kicked out of Mexico.Lucius Clark Book: https://amzn.to/39dazbjSubscribe: https://podcast.parkingthought.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/parkingthoughtApplePodcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parkingthought/id1480948351Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/3NhOTkGYI49zIvuGnYj4TH/overviewPodbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/6tp9d-af98f/Parking-Thought-Podcastmusic by Dyalla Swain http://soundcloud.com/dyallas

In this edition we share Lucius Clark’s audio retelling of how he and other Mormon Pioneers were kicked out of Mexico. Lucius Clark Book: https://amzn.to/39dazbj Subscribe:  https://podcast.parkingthought.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/parkingthoughtApplePodcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parkingthought/id1480948351Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/3NhOTkGYI49zIvuGnYj4TH/overviewPodbean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/6tp9d-af98f/Parking-Thought-Podcast music by Dyalla Swain http://soundcloud.com/dyallas AUTOMATED […]

For hundreds of years, the Jewish people have been the victims of violence, discrimination, and derision. Even in the information age, where we know more about each other than ever before, rather than receiving increased tolerance, Jews continue to be the target of hatred, bigotry, and deadly attacks, both around the world, and here in the United States. While in the religious minority in Utah, Jews in the Beehive state have found somewhat of a refuge dating back to the 1850’s, just years after the Mormon Pioneers settled the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. From that time forward, a special kinship has developed between the Latter-day Saints and the Jews, whose narratives of enduring religious intolerance have paralleled each other to a degree. A recent survey by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany indicates 22% of millennials are either unaware or unsure of what the Holocaust is. In this interview with Rabbi Sam Spector of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City, FOX 13’s Bob Evans examines the reasons for the growing ignorance of the Holocaust, the reasons for continued animus against the Jews, and how the Jews and Latter-day Saints are getting along in Utah.

It is the 172nd anniversary of the Mormon Pioneers arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24th, 1847. This episode consists of three interesting journal entries from three pioneers. I Walked to Zion: True Stories of Young Pioneers on he Mormon Trail by Susan Arrington Madsen

It is the 172nd anniversary of the Mormon Pioneers arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24th, 1847. This episode consists of three interesting journal entries from three pioneers. I Walked to Zion: True Stories of Young Pioneers on he Mormon Trail by Susan Arrington Madsen

Hello, and welcome! You’re listening to Song Stories, Quiet Stories episode 19, Mary Lee Bland. I’m your host, Carolyn Murset.   Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers arrived into the Salt Lake Valley of the American West, on July 24, 1847, where the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled after being forced from Nauvoo, Illinois, and other locations in the eastern United States.   Before I continue with Mary Lee’s story, I will first explain: Following the Mexican War which ended in 1848, Utah became an official territory of the United States in 1850, and in 1896 became the 45th state to join the union.   Pioneer Day is an official holiday in Utah commemorating the arrival Brigham Young and that first group of Mormon Pioneers. Celebrations include parades, rodeos, fireworks, dressing in pioneer clothing, and re-enacting a trek.  If you’re a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and live outside of Utah, your local congregation probably observes the holiday, too.   My dad was raised in northern Utah, and his ancestors crossed the plains shortly after Brigham Young did with that first group of saints. There is a monument at the mouth of Emigration Canyon named in honor of Brigham Young’s famous statement, “This is the Place”, honoring the Mormon Pioneers as well as the explorers and settlers of the American West.  One of these explorers, Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco is my fifth great grandfather from my mom’s Hispanic family, and was the map maker for the Dominguez Escalante Expedition in 1776. This multi talented renaissance man drew the first map of Utah. My next podcast episode will be about him.  Now, today you’ll learn about Mary Lee Bland my well loved Great, great, great grandma. She told her remarkable story  to an unnamed grand daughter who later transcribed and typed it, thus making it easier to read, copy and share. I first enjoyed reading it when I perused the stacks of family records and histories that I inherited a few decades ago. Listen to this story!   1817- I, Mary Lee Bland was born to Sarah Caldwell Lee and John Bland Jr.  in Kentucky  Years after my 3rd great grandma Mary Lee told her story, a well written 40 page history was found which revealed many more details than what I have in my three page account. These are a few of the new details: Mary Lee had blue eyes and blond hair.  Mammy Chloe was wet nurse for Mary Lee at the same time as her own son, Sammy.  William Fletcher Ewell practiced medicine among those who had no money.  Mary’s life sized portrait was in a gold frame and was saved from destruction by her brother; Zachary.    Have you started writing details about your life? Are you making progress. What questions do you wish you’d asked a family member or friend before they passed on. Family historians have encountered road blocks in verifying Mary Lee’s famous relative claims. It’s no doubt she was patriotic, though. How do you show others your patriotism.   Come back next time and I’ll tell you about a family member from my Hispanic mom’s family who ventured across the American Southwest from Santa Fe and back in 1776, while the 13 original colonies on our eastern coast were declaring their independence from Britain.    Until then subscribe to this podcast on your smartphone podcast app; or at iTunes or google play. Please Leave a five star review and a comment. Here at my website; mycarolynmurset.com have a look at my events page and my digital store. Thanks for listening. Thanks for writing. (The writing prompts are in bold lettering.)   I’m your host, Carolyn Murset.  Update: Mary Lee Bland is not a descendant of Richard Henry Lee, signer of the Declaration of Independence. They were third cousins, thrice removed. She was more closely related to Thomas Jefferson, as a second cousin, twice removed.    

The Mormon Pioneers traveled to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.  The first group, the Vanguard Group, consisted of 143 men (three of whom were black, two of those Priesthood holders), and two children.  They averaged between 14 and 20 miles a day.  From Fort Bridger, WY, they followed the way taken the previous year by the Donner Party.  The Donner Party had forged a trail, without which, the Mormon Pioneers might have perished because they then would have not arrived in the Salt Lake Valley until perhaps early September, too late to plant and harvest a crop.  Along the way, the Mormon Pioneers invented the modern odometer. 

This week, guest masochist Bryce Blankenagel from the Naked Mormonism podcast joins us to discuss the revisionist history of the Mormon church, as told by Mormons to children who aren't allowed to use Google. --- Hear more from Bryce here: https://nakedmormonismpodcast.com/ --- If you’d like to make a per episode donation, please check us out on Patreon (http://patreon.com/godawful) : http://patreon.com/godawful Our theme music is written and performed by Ryan Slotnick of Evil Giraffes on Mars. If you’d like to hear more, check out their Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars/?fref=ts) : https://www.facebook.com/EvilGiraffesOnMars/?fref=ts All our other music was written and performed by Morgan Clarke. To hear more from him, check him out here: https://www.morganclarkemusic.com/

John Pierce Hawley rode with the Fancher-Baker party through Utah for a short time. https://youtu.be/qkSvk8-L-FE Mel: On the way back, the Hawleys end up riding along for about a week with the Fancher-Baker wagon immigrant train, and then they go on their way. GT: So they got on their way before they got to the Mountain Meadows, Mel: Yes. GT:  Good thing for them. Mel:  Well, they still met up again. John says that he was very opposed to the plans to wipe out the train. GT:  So he was aware of these plans? Mel:  Early on [he was aware]. He was part of the men that were called out. GT:  So part of the Nauvoo Legion? Mel:  Well, it wasn't the Legion, though they were Legion members. Notice the units were not called out. They were called out by priesthood relationship, and family relationships. Look at the number of brothers, uncles, nephews, cousins, that are among those 50 men. You don't have a pattern, a militia organization. You have a pattern of family and relationships, and that makes sense. Was his pistol used in this atrocious crime? Mel:  Several Masonic Mormon scholars have suggested that John D. Lee gave Masonic signs and promises that the immigrants would be protected. Whatever. They were lured out and we have all read the stories of the massacre. The only small thing other than John Hawley's story that I've come up with would have been... GT:  Because you said the John Hawley was involved in the planning? Mel:  No, no, not at all. Let me finish this, then we'll go to John Hawley. Medical forensics work showed that there were a number of pistol holes in the skeletons and skulls of men, women and children. The only two revolvers that I can find in the Iron County Militia Musters: men who owned revolvers that were thought to be at the killing fields was Indian missionary Ira Hatch and John Pierce Hawley. Mel:  Now Hawley says that he did not approve. Hawley says he was not there. But his brother, George, was there. His brother, William, was there and at least one, if not both, actively participated.  Maybe George or William borrowed John's pistol. I don't know. But, also, there's another possibility for those pistol shots. Maybe revolvers were removed from the possession of the immigrants and then used against them.  But, there's indication that John could have been there. John D. Lee said John was there. Historian Mel Johnson tells us that Hawley was a vocal critic of the crime.   Check out our conversation…. John P. Hawley was opposed to the Mountain Meadows Massacre, but was his pistol used in the crime? Don't miss our previous conversations! 278: Mormon Pioneers in Texas & End of Wightites 277: More on the Zodiac Temple in Texas 276: Lyman Wight & Mormon Colonies in Texas 275: Intro to Hawley

We're continuing our conversation with Mel Johnson and we'll finish out the Wightites settlement in Texas.  What happened to them? https://youtu.be/ix4oFxboQQ8 Mel  49:24  After 1853 they take about a year to get down to their final colony place, down in Bandera, Texas, in Bandera County. It is West of San Antonio about 55 miles. Bandera is a typical Texas western town and county. The Frontier Times Museum is located there. I am the staff historian for the Frontier Times Museum. They have a good Mormon exhibit there and there they were for four years. That is where the colony finally dissolved, and more than half of the Wightites stayed in Bandera and their descendants are there today. Mel  50:21  They became cattlemen, they became storekeepers, they became farmers. They owned lots and built houses in Bandera. Some are still there. An 1865 RLDS revival mission came to Bandera, Texas after the Civil War, and all of the Banderites supported the Confederacy, so did the Mormons, they were very militant, very anti-union. GT  50:54  Because of states' rights because the Mormons wanted to practice polygamy and they thought that was the... Mel  50:59  And the government, the federal government had not protected them in Missouri or Illinois. GT  51:04  Right. Mel  51:06  And 40 of them were baptized into the RLDS church, and they had an active chapel there in Bandera for 120 years. For any of you watching and listening, I'm going to put in a plug for 2021 John Whitmer Historical Conference is going to be held in Fredericksburg, Texas. I am trying to get the leadership to organize tours down to Bandera and up to Burnet County into the cemetery. GT  51:42  What's the nearest airport to Fredericksburg? Mel  51:44  San Antonio. So there you have it!  Are you going to check out the JWHA meetings?  Check out our conversation…. Many of the Wightites joined the Reorganization. Don't miss our other episodes with Mel! Melvin Johnson on Life of John Pierce Hawley 277: More on the Zodiak Temple in Texas 276: Lyman Wight & Mormon Colonies in Texas 275: Intro to Hawley

Join us for this week's episode of Utah Weekly Forum with host Rebecca Cressman as she is joined by Alan Peterson, producer of the new movie, Trek. Listen in as they talk about the motivation for the movie, the history of trek and the Mormon Pioneers, and other Mormon related content.

Your Utah hosts Taylor Powers and Ethan Millard cover Shredfest, a pre- winter festival in Salt Lake that features a mountain of snow trucked in for the event.  This year it will also feature the Montana State Timbersports Team. They also talk about the Joshua Tree National Natural Landmark in Southern Utah. Joshua Trees were once distributed by a now extinct. giant sloth and they were named by Mormon pioneers.  All of this is true.

God’s people have often had to relocate to avoid oppression and destruction, and the Saints westward trek is reminiscent of past exoduses. Read how the journey of Lehi and his family finds interesting parallels to the Saints exodus to the West. Read at bit.ly/know357

Creative accounting and The Ark, BYU-Idaho professor fired for post on Facebook, wardrobe change in England, Saudi woman arrested for miniskirt video, BYU professor implicated in Hobby Lobby antiquities scandal, monument revisited, and Mormon Pioneers.

This week we profile a serial killer that forever left his mark on popular culture and talk about why the LDS church is based in Salt Lake City.

Some 70,000 Latter-day Saints crossed the plains into the Salt Lake Valley, and this is the story of the first company to make that journey.

In the first half of the program we discuss the controversy over the name Dixie State College. Some say the name Dixie holds negative connotations of slavery and the Confederacy. Others say that the southern Utah area has always been known as Dixie, and that the name hearkens back to the settling of the area by Mormon Pioneers. We talk with former president of Dixie State College, Doug Alder and UPR Southern Utah correspondent Chris Holmes.

On the verge of another Pioneer Day (July 24th and the 165th anniversary of the first Mormon pioneer wagon train reaching the Salt Lake Valley), Mormon Matters takes this opportunity to the current state of discourse and cultural practices (in the U.S. and abroad) surrounding those who sacrificed so much to cross plains, mountains, and seas in the quest to find a place where they could establish Zion. In this episode, panelists Joanna Brooks, Gina Colvin, and Joseph and Shalisse Johnstun join Mormon Matters host Dan Wotherspoon in discussing the ways they draw strength and part of their identity from U.S. pioneer or other ancestors, examine the mixed blessing contained in the mythologizing of the pioneers--faithful, never wavering, can do it all, bear all burdens with gladness--that so often dominates discourse about them, riff a bit on the practice in many stakes of every few years organizing handcart "trek" experiences for their youth, and discuss other possible (or better!) ways Latter-day Saints might still teach coming generations to value and honor the pioneers and their many gifts still alive in the church today without relying so heavily on idealized portrayals or forced, extreme measures.

In his new book, author and journalist Caleb Warnock is likely to surprise you with the obvious — I mean, the pioneers did eat all winter, right? So what did they do differently than we do with our brief three-month garden season? Could we do it their way today?  And why is cooking with "pioneer yeast" so much healthier and easier on the digestive system than today's quick-rise yeast?In this podcast, you'll get an interesting earful of useful and practical ways of living that were basic life skills until just the last 75 years or so. Did you know carrots weren't even orange until a couple hundred years ago and that they taste best if you leave them in the ground all winter? You do now!That's just the beginning of this week's journey into self-sufficiency.