What I found interesting is how they discredited Lee's account. People make contradictory statements, and we can't read their motivations. But Lee has effectively been "wiped" off the record because some of his statements.
Several months after the first publication of the this conversation, another version of Lee’s confessions appeared under the title Mormonism Unveiled. It made the charge against Smith even stronger. “I have always believed, since that day, that General George A. Smith was then visiting Southern Utah to prepare the people for the work of exterminating Captain Fancher’s train of emigrants,” the book said, “and I now believe he was sent for that purpose by the direct command of Brigham Young.” The passage would be used by some writers as key evidence for saying that Smith and Young had planned the massacre.
These statements, however, would have required remarkable prescience on Smith’s part. Even if he knew which trains would take the northern or southern routes to California, it is doubtful he knew their behavior on the road would include making threats against the southern Utah people. Moreover, Lee’s attorney and editor, William W. Bishop, almost certainly reworked Lee’s “confessions” in Mormonism Unveiled to improve its sales, including the charges against Smith and Young. Bishop had a motive before making these changes as his legal fees were tied to the book’s royalties.
They know this? What if the "sale value" was there without "reworking"?
beastie wrote:Thanks for the heads-up, Jack, I'll have my sweetie TIVO it.
by the way, I'm about two thirds of the way through the book. I'll probably finish this weekend, but am going to take a few days to put together my response. I will say that, at this point, my opinion is that TAK's earlier assessment was fairly accurate. I will back that up in some detail later.
I will look forward to your comments.. When you are ready perhaps start a new thread so this one can die out.
God has the right to create and to destroy, to make like and to kill. He can delegate this authority if he wishes to. I know that can be scary. Deal with it. Nehor.. Nov 08, 2010