Healing at Mountain Meadows -- Mormonism's other 9/11

It begins like other 9/11 commemorations we’ve seen in the past,
and on this day 10 years after the events of 9/11 the sounds of
salutes and taps and the readings of the names is familiar.

Except these names are from a different 9/11 altogether—September
11th of 1857, one-hundred and fifty-four years ago today.

It really was September 11th, that day when a California-bound
wagon train crossing Southwestern Utah was attacked by Mormon
militiamen, killing approximately 120 men, women, and children,
most from Arkansas.  Many of the details are here in
excerpts from a ceremony held on September 11, 2011 on the same
site, marking the designation of this burial spot as a National
Historic Landmark.

A century and a half later, signs of healing and reconciliation
between the descendants of the perpetrators as well as
descendants of the 17 young survivors, is an encouraging work in
progress.  In the commemoration ceremony conducted by
Assistant Church Historian and Recorder Richard E. Turley, Jr,
there are remarks from Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Quorum
of the Seventy, himself the Church Historian, and representatives
of the three groups of survivor descendants.

You'll also hear about a remarkable set of quilts which have
literally brought both cloth squares and people together
representing all the stakeholders, making a hands-on memorial of
remembrance and forgiveness.

That's this week on The Cricket and Seagull.