IT IS CLEAR that the tragedy at the Mountain Meadows grew out of a complex chain of circumstances and that it involved many people. The secrecy which surrounded it, the mystery, the horror of it created stories and myths, folklore and songs, all dealing with one facet or another.

The complete—the absolute—truth of the affair can probably never be evaluated by any human being; attempts to understand the forces which culminated in it and those which were set into motion by it are all very inadequate at best. Yet bringing it into light in its proper setting has had some rewards.

For more than a hundred years, the families of John D. Lee have borne the opprobrium of the massacre alone. For that reason, they have welcomed every effort to probe the question; certainly no truth could be worse than the stories to which they were subjected. Now they have special cause to rejoice, for on April 20, 1961, the First Presidency and the Council of Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met in joint council, and: “It was the action of the Council after considering all the facts available that authorization be given for the reinstatement to membership and former blessings to John D. Lee.” Word of this was sent out to members of the family, and on May 8 and 9, the necessary ordinances were performed in the Salt Lake Temple. A complete record is in the files of the Latter-day Saints Genealogical Society.