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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows/Chapter 5
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Response to claims made in "Chapter 5: I Will Fight Them and I Will Fight All Hell"
| Chapter 4 | A FAIR Analysis of: Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows, a work by author: Will Bagley
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Chapter 6 |
Response to claims made in Blood of the Prophets, "Chapter 5: I Will Fight Them and I Will Fight All Hell"
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Response to claim: 77 - The author credits the report of Judge William W. Drummond on Mormon "murders"
The author(s) of Blood of the Prophets make(s) the following claim:
Author credits the report of Judge William W. Drummond on Mormon "murders."
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim is false
Question: Were 19th century Utah Mormons complicit in the deaths of Judge Leonidas Shaver, John Gunnison, and Almon Babbitt?
Two of these individuals were killed by Indians; the other died of natural causes and was not killed at all
Critics of Mormonism credit the story of Judge William W. Drummond of the Mormons' complicity in the death of Judge Leonidas Shaver, John Gunnison, and Almon Babbitt. However, two of these individuals were killed by Indians; the other died of natural causes and was not killed at all. The author ignores the biases of his source.
Noted one reviewer:
[Will] Bagley tries to support his fictional tale of a violent society by crediting the report of Judge William W. Drummond on murders committed by the Mormons. In a report that Norman Furniss and other authorities believe probably tipped the balance in favor of sending the army to Utah, Drummond charged that the Mormons engineered the murders of territorial delegate Almon Babbitt, Capt. John Gunnison, and Judge Leonidas Shaver. In spite of its flaws and prejudice, Bagley cites Drummond's report approvingly (77). In fact, Cheyennes killed Babbitt on the high plains, Gunnison died at the hands of Pahvant Utes, and Shaver died a natural death. [1]
Notes