I feel prompted to remind Dan that the idea to pursue a defence of the slave-owning tyrant Brigham Young was not his. It was Redbrick Filmworks that pitched him the idea of Brigham Young for the second box office disaster project. Dan himself was reluctant, but devoid of any better ideas. Now, all of a sudden, and with himself cast in a starring role by the Producer (also himself) it's the absolutely most vital thing anyone has ever done since Jesus.One of the principal motivations behind our Becoming Brigham series (becomingbrigham.com) is our sense that Brigham Young has been libeled, traduced, and slandered to such an extent that even some innocent members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taken in — and their testimonies of the Restoration damaged — by the constant drumbeat of criticisms and misrepresentations. The attacks on Brother Brigham are, of course, challenging to faith in him as an apostle and a prophet. But they’re also distorted and unjust, when not just flatly false.
The distortions and falsehoods have flown thick and fast since his assumption of Church leadership. The wretchedly awful January 2025 Netflix miniseries American Primeval was an egregious example of such fictionalized pseudohistory, but it’s far from alone. I came across the following just yesterday, written by someone calling himself or herself skylark1250 in response (after a manner of speaking) to the interview that I did a while ago with Jasmin and Neal Rappleye and Steve Smoot at Informed Saints:
Young was a slave holder; read “The Other Slavery” with his taking children from American Indians to work in his wives houses and his farms. The Temple in Salt Lake City was built with the wealth stolen from the murdered families in this wagon train. Young took their gold and made himself a rich man. The cattle in the train, over 800 of them, were later branded with the church brand. The murderers stole money and belongings from the 120 people they murdered, and 38 children were killed. Young saw the wagon train when it came through Salt Lake. The train was advised to attend to their cattle by traveling to Mountain Meadows. It was grazing territory back then before floods changed the landscape. He wanted their wealth. But to steal it, he had to have everyone murdered. Young had blood on his hands. He was no Saint.
There is scarcely an assertion in skylark1250’s comment that would pass muster as accurate history with any serious scholar, Latter-day Saint or otherwise, who has devoted real attention to Brigham Young, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, or the question of slavery in Utah Territory. (See, for instance, my summary remarks at the 2025 FAIR Conference, on “Brigham Young and Slavery.”) Yet this is the kind of thing that we’re facing and that we’re trying to counter, and it’s why I’m asking people, if they have enjoyed or benefitted from Becoming Brigham, to share the series with others, whether in person or — and this would be very helpful — via social media. In the course of Becoming Brigham, we will be addressing every one of these issues — slavery in early Utah Territory, Brigham Young and race, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Brigham Young and violence, Brigham’s personal character, and more — with the help of expert specialist historians.
Dan, here's a thought - If your product doesn't interest people it might not be the people's fault...
