I am always a bit puzzled by statements like this one made by GBSmith: “I remember believing for years that the saints were totally innocent in the Missouri business and victims, pure and simple, of Governor Boggs and the mob. Too bad it wasn’t true.”  Well, there is plenty of blame to go around both on the Missouri side and on the Mormon side.  Cooler heads certainly did not prevail.  Kenny Ballentine put together a documentary on the Missouri problem, and I blogged about it previously when I discussed his documentary film titled, Trouble in Zion.

Mormons weren’t blameless.  Missouri mobs weren’t blameless.  Here are some key events leading to the Haun’s Mill Massacre.

1)  July 1833, WW Phelps published an article in the Evening and Morning Star that Mormons wanted to welcome people of all color.  This is the reason the Missourians were upset.

2)  July 20, 1833.  Bishop Partridge is told to leave Jackson County immediately.  He refuses and is tarred and feathered.  Mobs destroyed the Mormon printing press in retaliation of the Phelps article.  Three days later, Partridge signs an agreement to leave the county.

3)  Oct 31-Nov 7.  Missourians incite hostilities against the Mormons.  Mormons flee Jackson County for Clay County.

4) In 1836, the Missouri legislature declares that Caldwell County will be set aside for Mormon settlement.  (This is the home of Far West.)  Non-Mormon Alexander Doniphan brokers a deal in the Missouri legislature to create the county.  This is partly to make a home for Mormons in recompense for Jackson County, but Alex Baugh has referred to this as a “Mormon reservation”.  Mormons were not supposed to settle anywhere outside of this county.

5)  In 1838, Joseph leaves Kirtland under the cover of night due to the Kirtland Bank Crisis.  Upon arriving in Missouri, he finds dissent among Missouri Mormons as well.  John Whitmer, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and WW Phelps are excommunicated.  Many of these dissenters opposed living the Law of Consecration.  Non-Mormons find the excommunications another reason to dislike Mormons.

6)  June 17, 1838.  Sidney Rigdon issues the “Salt Sermon.”  In the sermon, he referenced the scripture about “salt that has lost it’s savor”, and essentially issued an ultimatum that Mormon apostates should leave the county or be forcibly removed.  Most of the dissenters move south to Ray County, and find sympathy with anti-Mormons.

7)  July 4, 1838.  Rigdon issued another fiery patriotic sermon stating that the Mormons and Missourians would wage a “war of extermination…one party or the other”.  It seems the subsequent Extermination Order by Governor Boggs wasn’t quite what Rigdon had in mind.

8|  Aug 6, 1838 – Mormons in Daviess County were prevented from voting.  The Whig candidate said Mormons were only supposed to live in Caldwell County and should be ineligible to vote.  He was concerned that Mormons would vote for the Democratic Candidate, because Mormons were overwhelming Democrats back then.  A big brawl broke out that has often been called a “battle”.  There were exaggerated rumors that Mormons were killed.

9)  Aug 19, 1838 – Following the election, Missourians decided to expel Mormons from DeWitt, in Daviess County.

10)  Oct 18, 1838 – The Mormons decide to retaliate for the first time.  Known as the Daviess Expedition, a group of Danites (a secret Mormon militia group) led an effort to expel Missourians from Gallatin, Millport and Grindstone Fork.   Mormons plundered the property and burned the stores and houses to the ground.

11)  Oct 24, 1838 – The Battle of Crooked River.  Mormons attack and scatter the Missouri Militia.  Many of the Missouri Militia erroneously believe all others are killed.  Only 1 Missourian was killed, but 2 Mormons were killed:  LDS Apostle David Patten (known as “Captain FearNot”) and Danite leader Gideon Carter; 9 other Mormons were wounded.

12)  Oct 27, 1838 – Governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order; “the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace…”

13)  October 30, 1838 – The Hauns Mill Massacre; 18 Mormons are killed, ranging in age from 10-year old Sardius Smith, to 62 year old Thomas McBride.  These 2 deaths were particularly gruesome.

• After surrendering his weapon, 62 year old Thomas McBride was hacked to death with a corn knife.
• An enraged Missourian leveled his gun against the 10 year old boy’s head, and after proclaiming that ‘nits become lice” pulled the trigger, killing Sardius Smith instantly.

There is plenty of blame to go around both on the Missouri side and on the Mormon side.  Cooler heads certainly did not prevail. Previous to these terrible events of 1838, Mormons tried several times to get Governor Boggs to step in, but Boggs consistently said that he could do nothing.  When Mormons took matters into their own hands, Boggs issued the Extermination Order.  Certainly Boggs handled the situation poorly.

Obviously, Mormons have moved on from this tragedy, with no commemoration of these terrible events and Halloween.  Do you think it is wise to ignore this Halloween tragedy?

Tom Brokaw during a rehearsal, courtesy http://newsroom.lds.org/article/mormon-tabernacle-choir-tom-brokaw-remember-9-11

The past few days have brought a series of news stories remembering the terrible tragedy that happened 10 years ago.  I was curious to see if there would be any differences in our church services.  On the one hand, Music and the Spoken Word invited NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw to narrate a special tribute to the tragedy called Rising Above.  I watched the re-run of it Sunday night (since my church meetings were scheduled at the same time.)  I also note that President Monson wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post sharing thoughts about the tragedy.

My wife has tried to avoid watching the tributes because it brings back such terrible memories.  I’ve read elsewhere that Americans simply aren’t ready to watch movies about the tragedy (unlike things like Pearl Harbor) because it still seems too close the the tragedy.

Our ward did not do anything special to remember the day.  In sacrament meeting, we listened as a new family was invited to speak and introduce themselves to the ward.  The parents both gave excellent talks.  The wife spoke about service, and how we can all do better to serve.  Her husband followed along with the service theme, but did make a few remarks about the 9/11 tragedy.

Our stake has made a big push to start indexing records to help with genealogy.  I helped the YM/YW learn how to index records, and then did the same for priesthood meeting.  Unlike the news programs and KBYU, there was very little reminder about the tragedy.  So I”m trying to figure out if my bishop is like my wife–not wanting to remember bad memories, or if local leaders didn’t get any direction to try to remember this day.  I wonder why there isn’t more flexibility to remember special events at church, such as departing from the normal lesson schedule for 1 week.  What was your ward like?  Is this an important day to remember?

This is our “Pearl Harbor”.  While Dec 7 is known as Pearl Harbor Day, it isn’t a holiday.  I’ve wondered if 9/11 should be a holiday.  What do you think?

I was pleased to be invited to a screening of the film 17 Miracles (click the link to see a trailer). I had seen the billboards on my way into Salt Lake City every day, yet I really didn’t know what the movie was about. I could tell it looked like a pioneer movie, but really had no idea what to expect from the movie. I went with my wife and some friends Tuesday night and I wanted to give a review.   It was interesting to get their reactions to the film as well.  (If you want no spoilers, you should stop reading now.)

At the beginning of the film, the authors made a note that they took some liberty with the sequencing of events, but all of the miracles really happened.  The story follows a pioneer by the name of Levi Savage, played by Jasen Wade.  (My wife said he looks a lot like Brad Pitt, which may appeal to some of my female readers.)

I’ll try not to give away too much of the movie.  My wife said that the beginning of the movie (say first 15 minutes) made her very uncomfortable because it seemed as if this were the sort of movie you would watch at the Joseph Smith Building.  It portrayed all early Mormons as incredibly faithful, and they all desired to come to Zion (Utah).  The movie did not “feel” like a major motion picture.  Once the trek westward began, the people became more realistic.  I liked the movie, because director TC Christensen was able to create a movie that I feel would attract both faithful and intellectual Mormons (and I say this as a guy who generally doesn’t like pioneer stories.)

Savage was called to leave his family on a mission to Siam by Brigham Young in General Conference.  The movie shows the call, but not the mission, resuming the story as Savage is in Europe heading home from his mission.  Wanting to know more, I learned from Wikipedia that Savage never made it to Siam due to a Civil War there.  He did spend some time in Calcutta, India.  (Did you know there were missionaries to the Far East in the 1850′s?)

As part of their migration to Zion, Emigrants from Europe generally took a boat to Boston or New York, boarded a train to Iowa City, and then began the handcart journey to Utah.  Prior to 1856, pioneers crossed the plain in heavy, expensive wagons.  However, emigrants from Europe had little money to purchase these wagons.  In order to solve this problem, Brigham Young came up with the idea of Handcarts that could be pulled by humans rather than animals.  Handcarts were less expensive and more maneuverable than wagons.  Young felt that handcarts would save money and be a faster mode of travel for these indigent travelers.

The first 3 companies proved that Young was right.  However companies 4 and 5 (the Willie and Martin handcart companies) met with the worst disaster of the handcart experience.  Lessons were learned, however, and the next 5 companies over the years learned from the experience–the last handcart company had 0 fatalities.  (Excluding Willie and Martin, the other companies generally experienced 1-13 deaths per trip.)  A new rule was made that no company would leave after July 7, handcarts were improved, and better supply stations were set up along the way.

I must admit that while watching this movie, it felt like I was watching the Titanic in slow motion.  Most of us are familiar with the story of these 2 companies and the many people that perished along the way.  It would be easy to place blame on certain individuals for this disaster, yet the movie showed the complexity of the problem.    I guess I hadn’t realized that most of the emigrants were from Europe.  None of them had any experience with the outdoors.  They trusted in their leaders and in God to help them through the journey.

The movie shows the pivotal point in Omaha, Nebraska.  James Willie was the leader of the group.  Levi Savage was a sub-captain.  Having served previously in the Mormon Battalion, Savage was a valuable resource for the journey because of his knowledge of the trail.  It was getting late in the year, and everyone knew they needed to head west.  There was trouble obtaining wood for the handcarts and they weren’t sturdy.  Willie led a campfire meeting to discuss the departure and promised that God would be with them.  He asked Levi Savage to give a few words.  Savage expressed concern to the group that they were leaving too late in the year, and felt that many would die along the way if they left.  He encouraged everyone to stay put in Omaha.

Willie scolded Savage for a lack of faith, and asked for a vote on whether the group wanted to head west.  Most of the group responded that they wanted to go.  (Wikipedia records that approximately 100 people stayed in Omaha.)  Savage responded with a passioned speech.  In a journal, James Chislett records that Savage said,

“What I have said I know to be true; but seeing you are to go forward, I will go with you, will help all I can, will work with you, will rest with you, and if necessary, will die with you. May God in his mercy bless and preserve us.”

I admit that my heart sank at this point in the movie, because we all knew the deaths that resulted from this fateful decision.  Mormons have a culture of “sustaining your leaders.”  Savage was called out and scolded for not having faith.  In hindsight, we all know that Savage was right, and Willie was wrong.  But it isn’t quite so simple to blame Willie completely for the disaster.  Later in the movie, Willie states the problems with staying in Omaha.  They had no money, supplies, or shelter to stay in Omaha, so staying there was a problem as well.  The problem is not so simple as blaming it all on Captain Willie.  He had to make the choice between two bad options.  In hindsight, it appears that he chose the worse option.  Of course, he didn’t have hindsight to know this.

It is at this point that the movie changed from a “church” movie to a “motion picture.”  As the rains came, handcarts got stuck in the mud and broke down, squabbling among the saints understandably occurred.  They realized that food was in short supply.  They dealt with rattlesnakes, wolves, and poor weather.  There were moments of fun and lightness, but it was clear to the pioneers that this was a much more difficult journey than any of them imagined.  Many times they only had flour and water to eat.  Sickness abounded, and the weak started to die.  Wolves often scavenged upon the corpses.

At Fort Laramie, there were no supplies, so the saints continued westward on increasingly meager supplies.  The bitter cold and snow took its toll.  There was a scene where they dug a mass grave as approximately 13 people had perished in the night.  Some men dug graves for the dead, and ended up being buried in the graves they dug due to exhaustion, starvation, and sickness.  A very touching scene involved the Cunningham family.  The mother returned to the tent to wake up her daughter, but the daughter did not respond, and the family realized she had frozen to death.  The ground was too hard to bury her, so they covered her with sagebrush, knowing wolves would probably devour her.  Heartbreaken, they left.

Then the mother remembered that she had been promised that her entire family had been promised that they would all walk into Zion together.  She returned to her daughter, insisting that her daughter would come to Zion with them.  She offered a prayer over her daughter, resembling a blessing that early Mormon women performed.  Following the blessing, she was inspired to boil some water and put it on her daughter’s neck.  The child revived.  The entire family entered Zion as promised, one of the 17 miracles.

In all, 68 of 404 (17%) died in the Willie company.  It turns out that the Martin company left 10 days after the Willie company and more than 145 of 576 (25%) perished in the Martin company.  As a comparison, 41 of 87  (47%) of the Donner party died.  At the end of the movie, the authors noted that the Willie and Martin companies were “average” for loss of life for pioneer travel.

You can’t help but feel intense gratitude for both Levi Savage and James Willie.  Savage knew the risks better than anyone, and did so much to help everyone cross the plains.  Willie sacrificed as much or more than anybody else to get as many people safely to Zion.  Savage went on to live in Lehi and then Tocquerville, Utah.  Willie was fondly remembered as a prominent church leader in Cache Valley, Utah.

The conflict between following your leaders and following your conscience in the face of bad decisions is wonderfully portrayed in the film.  The Wikipedia article discusses responsibility for the tragedy:

American West historian, Wallace Stegner, described the inadequate planning and improvident decisions leading to the tragedy when he wrote,^[36]

In urging the method upon Europe’s poor, Brigham and the priesthood would over-reach themselves; in shepherding them from Liverpool to the valley, the ordinarily reliable missionary and emigration organization would break down at several critical points; in accepting the assurances of their leaders and the wishful importunities of their own hope, the emigrants would commit themselves to greater sacrifices than even the Nauvoo refugees; and in rallying from compound fatal error to bring the survivors in, the priesthood and the people of Mormondom would show themselves at their compassionate and efficient best.

As early as November 2, 1856, while the Willie and Martin companies were still making their way to safety, Brigham Young responded to criticism of his own leadership by rebuking Franklin Richards and Daniel Spencer for allowing the companies to leave so late.^[37] However, many authors argued that Young, as author of the plan, was responsible. Ann Eliza Young, daughter of one of the men in charge of building the carts and a former plural wife of Brigham Young, described her ex-husband’s plan as a “cold-blooded, scheming, blasphemous policy.”^[38] Stegner described Richards as a scapegoat for Young’s fundamental errors in planning, though Howard Christy, professor emeritus at Brigham Young University, noted that Richards, as the highest ranking official in Florence, Nebraska area, was, in fact, the official who would have had the authority and capability to have averted the tragedy by halting their late departure.^[39]

Many survivors of the tragedy refused to blame anyone. Survivor John Jacques wrote, “I blame nobody. I am not anxious to blame anybody … I have no doubt that those who had to do with its management meant well and tried to do the best they could under the circumstances.”^[40] Another survivor, Francis Webster, was quoted as having said, “Was I sorry that I chose to come by hand cart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Hand Cart Company.”^[41] On the other hand, survivor John Chislett, who later left the Church, wrote bitterly of Richards promising them that “we should get to Zion in safety.”^[42]

In May 2006, a panel of researchers at the annual conference of the Mormon History Association blamed the tragedy on a failure of leadership. Lyndia Carter, a trails historian, said Franklin D. Richards “was responsible, in my mind, for the late departure” because “he started the snowball down the slope” that eventually “added up to disaster.” Christy agreed that “leadership from the top, from the outset, was seriously short of the mark.” Robert Briggs, an attorney, said “It’s almost a foregone conclusion … there is evidence of negligence. With leaders all the way up to Brigham Young, there was mismanagement.”^[43] On the other hand, Rebecca Bartholomew and Leonard J. Arrington wrote, “Memories of what was perhaps the worst disaster in the history of western migration have been palliated by what could also be regarded as the most heroic rescue of the Mormon frontier.”^[44]

So, what do you think of this story?  Does it make you interested to see the movie?

I was also saddened to learn that Margo Dydek suffered a heart attack on Thursday at age 37.  There aren’t many women I look up to, but at 7 foot 2 inches, Margo is definitely one of them!  I was a freelance sports writer, and covered the Utah Starzz back in the 1990′s when Margo played for the team.  Margo was a very nice, shy person to talk to.  She was born in Poland, and most recently coached in Australia.  Apparently she is in a medically induced coma in a Brisbane hospital.  I’m afraid of how things will turn out for her, and pray for a speedy recovery.

On a brighter note, I worked on the tv crew for the National Championships in Rugby on Saturday.  If you don’t want a spoiler, stop reading now.ESPN broadcast the National Championship game between BYU and Cal on ESPN, and is re-broadcasting the game on ESPNU on Sunday morning at 8 AM (I believe that is Mountain Time), so you’re welcome to watch it.  It is kind of a cross between football, basketball, and soccer, and there are some quite interesting strategies and rules that seem very foreign to football.

Before the college game started, the high school national championship was played between Highland High School and a team from Alpine, Utah called United Rugby.  Highland Rugby was featured in the film Forever Strong, and it’s a great movie.  Larry Gelwix is the coach, and the movie is based on a bunch of composite stories that Larry is familiar with over his 36 year coaching career.  I highly recommend the movie.

The game was a rematch of last year’s game in which United Rugby beat Highland.  This time, Highland won the rematch, and Larry took home his 20th national championship.  He also announced on ESPNU that he was retiring, and was glad to win his final match.  I watched the first half of the game, and was glad one of the guys on the tv crew knew the rules and strategy.  It’s the first rugby game I have ever watched, so I thought I would share a few rules.

In football, each side plays with 11 men.  In rugby, there are 15 and they play without pads or helmets.  The ball is shaped like an oversize football.  The oddest thing occurred at the very beginning of the game.  United kicked off to Highland in a manner quite similar to a football game.  The Highland player caught the ball, ran a few feet, and then kicked it back the other way!  I was quite shocked.  Field position is very important, so when you’re deep in your own territory, it is common to get the ball upfield to prevent the other team from getting a field position advantage.

A “touchdown” is worth 5 points and is called a “try.”  The score doesn’t count until the scoring team places the ball on the ground in the end zone.  After the score, they get to kick the ball through the uprights in a manner similar to football, but the “extra point” is worth 2 points.  When a team scores a “try”,  the location of the ball in the end zone is very important.  The ball is brought back approximately 30 feet, and the “extra point” is attempted.  There can be some really tough angles, so if it is a tough angle, the “extra point” is no guarantee.

If there is a penalty, a team may choose to kick off a tee (like a field goal) for 3 points.  Like football, it is hard to see the penalties.  There are infractions and penalties, but I can’t remember the difference.  Some penalties result in a scrum, which is kind of like a “jump ball” in basketball.  About 7-8 guys line up against each other, a team-mate rolls the ball in, and each team tries to kick it backwards to a team-mate.  Unlike football, forward passes are illegal.  The ball can be lateralled back to another team mate.  You can advance the ball forward by running.  If a guy is tackled, he sets the ball on the ground.  A teammate picks up the ball, starts running (like a quarterback sneak) or laterals the ball to someone else.  Play continues until the ball is dropped forward, or other penalty.  Fumbles are frequent.   Rugby is a much more fluid game like basketball–there are no huddles slowing the game down.  After a tackle, a team can start playing quickly, or take a little time to set up a play.

In football, you have 4 downs to make 10 yards, but there are no such limits in rugby.  You can be tackled a bunch of times for a gain or loss and it doesn’t matter.  If a lateralled ball is dropped forward, that is called a “knock”.  Play stops and I think a scrum is called.  If your team has the ball deep in your own territory, you generally want to kick the ball down field to get better field position.  Balls that go out of bounds have a throw-in like soccer.  On throw-ins, it is common for 2 players to lift a teammate in the air to receive the ball.

In high school, there are two 35-minute halves.  The clock counts up (instead of down) and never stops even for injuries.  When it reaches 35, the referee can add a few minutes, similar to “stoppage time” in soccer.  In college, the halves are 40 minutes.  I really enjoyed the game, and it was fun to learn.

BYU vs Cal Rugby

The college game was another rematch.  Cal and BYU have met in the finals for 6 consecutive years, with BYU’s only win coming in 2009.  BYU was undefeated at 15-0 going into the match, while Cal was 28-0.  BYU beat Arkansas State last week to reach the finals, while Cal beat Utah.  (I’m sure there are plenty of Highland and United Rugby players on both BYU and Utah’s roster.)  Cal had won 21 national championships going into the match.

BYU dominated the first 20 minutes or so of the game, but couldn’t score.  Cal scored first, jumping to a 10 point lead before BYU finally got on the board, cutting it to 10-7.  Cal scored on a penalty kick going into halftime, making the score 13-7.

Following a short 10-minute halftime, Cal scored a “field goal” (they call it something else) and a try to make it 21-7.  BYU responded with a try and 2 point conversion to cut it to 21-14, but could not score again in the final 10 minutes.  It was a real fun game to watch.  I was glad to learn many rules and strategy from a guy on the tv crew.  If you have a chance to go to a rugby game, I highly recommend it!

A former defense attorney (Cameron Diaz) finds herself back in the courtroom when she and her husband (Jason Patric) are sued for medical emancipation by their 11-year-old daughter, Anna (Abigail Breslin), who is expected to donate a kidney to her dying older sister. The subsequent trial tests ethical boundaries and the limits of parental love. Joan Cusack and Alec Baldwin round out the cast in this powerful drama based on Jodi Picoult’s novel.

My wife said the book is quite a bit different than the movie.  If you want to see it fresh, stop reading now.  Otherwise, I have some spoilers below to talk about some of the ethical dilemmas from the movie.The family has 2 children–a boy and a girl.  The girl is diagnosed with Leukemia.  She needs a donor, but none of the family is a match.  The doctor says that the couple could conceive a genetically engineered baby to be a donor.  So here are the ethical questions.

1.  Is it ethical for the doctor to suggest genetically engineering for the purpose of donating?

2.  It is ethical for the couple to conceive a child for the purpose of saving another child’s life?

As the movie goes on, the genetically engineered sister becomes tired of all the medical procedures, and sues her parents for medical emancipation.

3.  Is it ethical for the parents to force a child to donate to her dying sister?

Ok, at this point, this is where the book and the movie diverge, so if you really want to watch the movie/read the book, STOP READING NOW.

The mother (played by Cameron Diaz) is a very determined mother who won’t let anything or anyone get in the way of what she believes is in the best interest of her dying child.  The dying girl tires so much of all the medical procedures and being sick all the time that she asks her younger sister to sue her parents.  They make a pact that the younger girl will take all the blame, because the mother will not accept her dying daughter’s wishes.  The whole family accepts the patient’s choice except the mother.

4.  Is it ethical to keep a person alive against their will?  Does the age of the patient have any impact on the decision?

In case you’re interested, I previously blogged about Euthanasia at Mormon Matters, comparing 4 cases.  What are your opinions?

The rabbi was aging, and spent some time in the hospital.  Pages 97-99 detail an interesting insight into one of these visits.

As we sat in the room, a commercial for an antidepressant drug flashed across the TV screen.  It showed people looking forlorn, alone on a bench or staring out a window.

“I keep feeling something bad is going to happen….,” the TV voice said.

Then, after showing the pill and some graphics, those same people appeared again, looking happier.

The Reb and I watched in silence.  After it ended, he asked, “Do you think those pills work?”

Not like that, I said.

“No,” he agreed.  “Not like that.”

——

Happiness in a tablet.  This is our world.  Prozac. Paxil. Xanax.  Billions are spent to advertise such drugs.  And billions more are spent purchasing them.  You don’t even need a specific trauma; just “general depression” or “anxiety,” as if sadness were as treatable as the common cold.

I knew depression was real, and in many cases required medical attention.  I also knew we overused the word.  Much of what we call “depression” was really dissatisfaction, a result of setting a bar impossibly high or expecting treasures that we weren’t willing to work for.  I knew people whose unbearable source of misery was their weight, their baldness, their lack of advancement in the workplace, or their inability to find the perfect mate, even if they themselves did not behave like one.  To these people, unhappiness was a condition, an intolerable state of affairs.  If pills could help, pills were taken.

But pills were not going to change the fundamental problem in the construction.  Wanting what you can’t have.

I want to jump to the end of this particular story.  From page 102,

So have we solved the secret of happiness?

“I believe so,” he said.

Are you going to tell me?

“Yes.  Ready?”

Ready.

“Be satisfied.”

That’s it?

“Be grateful”

That’s it?

“For what you have.  For the love you receive.  And for what God has given you.”

That’s it?

He looked at me in the eye.  Then he sighed deeply.

“That’s it.”

I hope we can remember this lesson as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

I just spoke with Tom Kimball of Signature Books.  Tom knew Richard very well since Richard had published several books  through Signature.  I understand Richard’s funeral on Saturday in Lehi, Utah.  Tom expects Richard’s obituary will be available in the Salt Lake area newspapers in the next few days.

I understand Richard was mowing his lawn on Saturday.  He didn’t feel well, so he went in the house to rest.  He never woke up.  It’s really sad.  He was just 64.

When he wasn’t writing Mormon history, he worked as a clinical audiologist.  Ironically he lost hearing a few years ago.  Through technological advances, he regained his hearing. I had the pleasure to meet him at the Mormon History Association meetings this past summer.

He wrote for Dialogue: a Journal of Mormon Thought.  Here’s a list of articles he wrote for Dialogue.  Tom said Richard coauthored an article with Steven C. Walker on seerstones.  Tom said the article was ground-breaking in revealing new information.  Van Wagoner also wrote an article in 1995 for Dialoge showing that there were no contemporary accounts of Brigham Young being transfigured into Joseph Smith following the martyrdom.

Van Wagoner had just finished his part of a 3 volume biography of Joseph Smith to be published in the fall of 2011 or early 2012.  The Van Wagoner volume is titled, “Joseph Smith, the Life of the Mormon Prophet, Volume 1.  The early years, 1805-1831.”  (The  other authors are Scott Kenney and Martha Sonntag Bradley.)

As I mentioned before, this is a great loss in the Mormon History community.  He will be greatly missed.

UPDATE 10/12/2010.  The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting he died on Sunday, rather than Saturday.  ( wonder if it was the early hours of Sunday morning rather than Saturday night.)  Here’s the link to the Tribune:http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/50454913-80/utah-van-wagoner-mormon.html.csp

I loved this quote from the Tribune.

“I’ve long considered Richard one of the finest historians of my generation and a helluva nice guy to boot,” historian Will Bagley said in an e-mail to the AP. “His contributions to Mormon and Utah studies are beyond measure.”

1 THE heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.

2 I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;

3 Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son.

4 I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold.

5 I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept;

6 And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.

7 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;

8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;

9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.

10 And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.

Since God is the ultimate judge, and “who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God “, the LDS baptize all and let God be the judge.  (I previously discussed baptism for the dead from a non-LDS Irish writer.)

So, this phrase “if they had been permitted to tarry”, got me thinking.  Following my mission, another guy about my age returned home.  I believe he got home on a Thursday and was slated to give his homecoming address on Sunday.  (I’ll call him Ted.)  He went out with some friends on Friday or Saturday night, and was involved in a serious car accident.  Sitting in the back seat, his car was t-boned at an intersection.  The woman sitting next to him was killed, and he received some fairly serious injuries, resulting in a delay of his homecoming address for about a month (which he gave standing on crutches.)

While it is probably a bit morbid to think about, a few people speculated that if he had been killed the day after his mission ended, he was probably very righteous and would have gone straight to the Celestial Kingdom.  After all, he was probably living more righteously at that point in his life than at any other time.

Ted went on to college on the east coast (I stayed in the west), he majored in art, I majored in math, and our paths really never crossed much.  I ran into his parents a few times, and they told me about his art exhibits, but neither one of us really made much of an effort to maintain contact.  Enter Facebook.  I noticed that he was friends with some of my friends, so I thought I would “friend” him and see what he was up to.  To my surprise, he had posted his letter of resignation from the LDS church.  There were many messages congratulating him for his courageous decision.

So, it got me thinking, what happens to those that perhaps died on a mission or similar circumstance, but “if they had been permitted to tarry”, they might have become wicked.  (I’m not saying Ted is wicked—I’m not the judge, but just saying, “what if”?)  Can we really be so certain of anyone’s final judgment?

Since yesterday was Pioneer Day, I thought I’d share my thoughts on one of my favorite Pioneer Hymns.  Most of you are probably familiar with Come, Come Ye Saints.  It was one of my sister’s favorite songs, and she requested that it be played at her funeral.  While I always liked the song, I can rarely sing it without getting a bit emotional as I think of my sister.

She was the oldest in my family.  My father was a convert, and always referred to her as “the pioneer” of the family.  Perhaps that is why she liked the song so much.  The last verse is the one that always causes me to think about my sister.

And should we die before our journey’s through,
Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again to see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh, how we’ll make this chorus swell-
All is well! All is well!

My sister died from a brain tumor.  She struggled through radiation and chemotherapy for nearly 2 years before succumbing.  I often feel like she died before her journey was through, but I am glad she is free from toil and sorrow too.  I often wish her life was spared again, but it wasn’t.

She left behind 4 small children under the age of 10.  Three of them are in college now, and the other is a senior in high school.  They have coped very well, and are excellent people.

My brother died 4 years ago in a tragic auto accident.  He was about the same age as my sister when she died (36).  He also left behind 4 small children under the age of 7.  At the funeral, the closing song was “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.”

I can remember singing this song at the end of meetings, and thinking it was a nice song to end the meeting.  I planned on meeting everyone the next week at church again.  But when it was played at the funeral, it took on a whole new meaning.  I usually can’t sing the song anymore, but I love to listen to it.

God be with you till we meet again;
By His counsels guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again.

Refrain

Till we meet, till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus’ feet;
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.

I can’t wait to see my brother again.  So, what are some songs that touch your heart?

Wooden led UCLA to 7 straight National Championships, an 88 game winning streak, 38 straight NCAA tournament wins, and 10 NCAA championships in 12 years, before retiring in 1975.  He was known as the Wizard of Westwood (a nickname he didn’t like.)  Here are some excerpts from from that piece.  (I’m not sure everyone that was interviewed, so if you know, please tell me and I’ll update the post.)

Dick Enberg,  “John Wooden is about as perfect a sports personality as anyone I’ve met in my 40 years of broadcasting.  The man was a sports Abraham Lincoln.  He was a Winston Churchill.  He was a scholar.  He was a teacher, plus he was a good person.”

Walt Hazzard? “Wooden’s style was laid back, it was honest, it was direct.”

Jamal Wilkes, “He can say so much with so few words.  For instance, he used to say this: ‘Be quick, but don’t hurry.’”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “It’s about what is correct, not who is correct.”

Wilkes, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Unknown, “Do not mistake activity for achievement.”

Bill Walton, “Happiness begins when selfishness ends.”

Unknown, “He might have been more like a Methodist minister than a basketball coach.”

….

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “It was not necessarily wins and losses, but how he affected young men’s lives.”

Frank Deford, “Mr Wooden had this triangle, this pyramid of all the qualities: character, fortitude, honesty, truth, and if you lived up to the pyramid, then you won games.”

Unknown, “Winning and losing was not talked about during the year.  There may be a halftime speech that revolved around the vocabulary word, enthusiasm, or industriousness.    He would attack the situation by the pyramid’s success.”

Bill Walton, “All the human’s values, all the personal characteristics that he preached to us that we would need in our life to eventually be successful, that’s what the pyramid is all about.”

Dick Enberg, “John Wooden is a very religious man.  In some ways, he treated the game religiously.  It wasn’t just winning, you wanted to win the right way.  You want your players to look the right way.  You wanted them to behave the right way.

Unknown, “I think he’s going to be remembered as the curator of the traditional values, the man who took all those one-room school house values out of Indiana, took them to a place, UCLA, this campus that was in ferment in the 60’s  and somehow not just safeguarded them through that time, but was able to win championships.”

I heard John Wooden speak to in around 1990.  He was an amazing personality, and will be missed.  He really was a wonderful Christian man.  Don’t miss the video on Wooden’s love letters on the same page.  His wife died 24 years ago on March 21, and he wrote a letter to hear on the 21st of every month after her death.