THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE AND THE OATH OF VENGEANCE Numerous anti-Mormon temple exposés have alleged that from 1845 to 1927, participants in the endowment ceremony entered into an oath in which they swore actively to seek the destruction of the nation and the murder of Americans to avenge the blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Many authors and historians have accepted this alleged scenario without consideration of the substantial and persuasive evidence that this is an extreme distortion. In the last few years, several hundred thousand books have been sold asserting that the Mountain Meadows Massacre was an act of vengeance in fulfillment of an oath sworn to by all participants in the endowment ceremony. This astounding assertion is made without any acknowledgment or examination of the testimony and evidence that no such oath was required in the endowment ceremony. This paper supplies the long overlooked contrary sources

VAN HALE and WILL BAGLEY