William Call. Turned Tables. on the. American Frontier The Music. Page one. The Story. Page two. The Meaning. page seventeen

Transcription

1 William Call Turned Tables on the American Frontier The Music Page one The Story Page two The Meaning page seventeen

2 William Call 2016 All rights reserved Neither the music nor writing included in this box set may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means without prior permission of the copyright holder. Published by the composer/author Printed at Afton, Wyoming williamcall.net

3 The Music Symphony No. 6 has three parts or movements. The Airst is a setting of a song by Joseph Smith written in 1832 entitled The Lord Hath Brought Again Zion (complete text on page 2). Featuring orchestra, baritone solo, and chorus, it commemorates the 1831 establishment of Zion in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. The second part is an orchestral rendering of sentiments relating to the Mormon War and Haun s Mill massacre that occurred in Caldwell County, Missouri in In the war the Mormons led by Joseph Smith faced off against the Missouri militia and governor of the state, Lilburn Boggs. The third is a musical depiction of the Mountain Meadows massacre of 1857 that occurred in connection with the Utah War a contest between Brigham Young governor of Utah Territory and James Buchanan president of the United States. This movement is written for orchestra, tenor solo, and choir. It includes a setting of an 1839 writing by Joseph Smith and a hymn written in part by myself and in part by Joseph Smith. For these texts see pages 31 through 33. The Story 1. The Lord Hath Brought Again Zion In 1831 Joseph Smith called Mormon pioneers to leave their homes and go west for the establishment of Zion. It was a time of exuberance and excitement when young Americans sought adventure and opportunity. With the western frontier as a destination, Independence, Jackson County, Missouri was designated as the place where the New Jerusalem was to be built. By the spring of 1832 the Jackson County movement had grown to about 300 settlers. In September of that same year Joseph Smith inserted in what would become section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants a new song. This was a unique effort that would both memorialize the new Zionist endeavor and 1

4 demonstrate the author s maturing ability as an imaginative poet. For I, the Almighty, have laid my hands upon the nations, to scourge them for their wickedness. And plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in righteousness Until all shall know me who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be Ailled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying: The Lord hath brought again Zion; the Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel, according to the election of grace, which was brought to pass by the faith and covenant of their fathers. The Lord hath redeemed his people, and Satan is bound and time is no longer. The Lord hath gathered all things in one; The Lord hath brought down Zion from above; The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath. The earth hath travailed and brought forth her strength, and truth is established in her bowels; the heavens have smiled upon her, and she is clothed with the glory of her God, for he stands in the midst of his people. Glory, and honor, and power, and might, be ascribed to our God, For he is full of mercy, justice, grace and truth, and peace, forever and ever, amen. (Doctrine and Covenants 84: ) 2. Haun s Mill In 1833 the Mormons in Missouri found themselves at odds with local residents. They were offensive to their Missouri counterparts for various reasons: 2

5 - They believed their movement would grow and become the dominant force in the area. - As a result of their cohesion they tended to dominate the local economy. - They sent missionaries to proselyte the Indians as potential friends and allies. - They were anti-slavery and sympathetic to abolitionism. - They tended to vote as a group. Jackson County residents used a repeated pattern to evict the Mormons from their area. First, law enforcement ofaicials would allow terrorist tactics. When the Mormons responded in self-defense they were labeled as insurrectionists and attacked by the county militia. Once they were disarmed, the Missourians would beat them, destroy their homes, and burn their crops. The Mormons were driven from their homes in Jackson County into Clay County and then to other parts of the state. With the help of Alexander Doniphan a compromise was reached in Caldwell County was designated as a place for the Mormons to settle. The principle town in the county was Far West. Peace endured for a time, but when Joseph Smith arrived from Kirtland, Ohio in 1838 and more Mormons accompanied him, tensions again began to surface. Some Mormons settled outside of Caldwell County, which was deemed to be a violation of the compromise. Missouri residents again saw themselves politically and economically threatened. On October 27, 1838 Governor Lilburn Boggs issued Missouri Executive Order 44, known as the Extermination Order. It was written following the Battle of Crooked River in which the Mormons fought against the state militia. The Mormons went on the offensive, driving their opponents from the Aield. The governor, whose residence was in Independence near the proposed temple site, responded with the claim that the Mormons were in open deaiance of the law and that they must be treated 3

6 as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace. The BaIle of Crooked River, C.C.A. Christensen The Haun s Mill massacre occurred on October 30, 1838 when a Missouri militia unit attacked a Mormon settlement on the banks of Shoal Creek in Caldwell County. The massacre occurred near a mill owned by Jacob Haun who was not a Mormon. The militia was led by Colonel William Jennings, the sheriff of nearby Livingston County. There were approximately 75 Mormon families living in the area, about 30 of them in the vicinity of Haun s Mill. In the latter part of the afternoon the militia rode into the community. Most of the Latter Day Saint women and children Aled into the woods while the men took refuge in the blacksmith shop. The widely-spaced logs of the building made it easy for the attackers to Aire inside. When the attack ended at least 17 Mormons were dead including 3 boys aged 8, 9, and 10. Thirteen Mormons were injured including a woman and a 9-year-old child. The killing of 8-year-old Sardius Smith was later justiaied by the saying, Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon. 4

7 Turned Tables Haun s Mill Massacre, C.C.A. Christensen Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders were arrested and jailed. They were later sentenced to be killed. Alexander Doniphan was assigned by the court to carry out the execution. He refused. The Mormon leaders were moved to Liberty Jail in Clay County. They eventually escaped and made their way from Missouri into Illinois. Liberty Jail Alexander William Doniphan 5

8 3. Mountain Meadows Mountain Meadows, 1877 lithograph, Unknown ArVst From Monday September 7 to Friday September 11, 1857 a series of attacks against the Baker-Fancher emigrant wagon train culminated in the mass slaughter of the emigrant party by members of the Utah Territorial Militia from the Iron County district. Among the assailants were some Paiute Native Americans. The militia, ofaicially called the Nauvoo Legion, was made up of southern Utah Mormon settlers. Intending to leave no witnesses and prevent reprisals, the perpetrators killed all the adults and older children about 120 men, women, and children. Seventeen children, all younger than 7, were spared. The wagon train comprised mostly of families from Arkansas, was bound for California on a route that passed through Utah Territory. Their arrival in Utah coincided with events relating to the Utah War (May 1857 to July 1858). Previous conalicts between the Mormons and federally appointed ofaicials ended in the ofaicials Aleeing the territory. In response President James Buchanan sent an army of 2500 men to Utah to enforce the law. For the Mormons, news that a military force was approaching renewed memories of the mob violence they had experienced in Missouri and Illinois. By the end of July 1857 the army was en route and Governor Brigham Young 6

9 was making preparations to confront them. Mormons were instructed to be ready to burn their homes if necessary and to move into the mountains where a guerrilla style war would be conducted. He also enlisted the aid of Indian tribes in the area as allies. The Baker Fancher party camped near Salt Lake City during the summer. In August they made their way south, passing through Corn Creek near Fillmore and then through Cedar City. Their encounters with Cedar City residents left some Mormons offended. Among them was Major Isaac Haight of the local militia. Haight with Indian Agent John D. Lee of Harmony discussed a plan to conduct an assault against the emigrants with the aid of Paiute Indians. When the emigrants stopped to rest at Mountain Meadows they were unaware of any danger. In a High Council meeting held in Cedar City on Sunday September 6, an agreement was reached to send a messenger to Salt Lake City to seek instructions from Brigham Young as to what course of action should be taken. A rider was dispatched. The round trip to the Mormon capital and back would take several days. The next morning on Monday September 7, the wagon train was attacked by Indians directed by Lee. Several emigrants and some Indians were killed or wounded in the attack. The Indians withdrew but continued shooting from a distance keeping the emigrant train under siege. A series of events led the Mormons to believe the emigrants knew there were white men among their assailants. Traveling to the Mountain Meadows area on Tuesday September 8, Philip Klingensmith killed one of two emigrants on their way to Cedar City seeking help. One of the emigrants escaped. Additionally, Lee believed his presence as a non-indian was known by the emigrants. The Mormons were fearful that knowledge of their involvement would lead to a confrontation with the U.S. military. Early Thursday morning, September 10, William Dame of Parawan, the senior militia ofaicer in the area, ordered the destruction of the emigrants. The next day Mormon militiamen approached the besieged wagons with a white Alag. They were followed by Lee who told 7

10 the emigrants he had negotiated a truce with the Indians and that they could be escorted safely back to Cedar City under Mormon protection. In exchange they were to turn over their weapons, livestock, and supplies. After an agreement was reached, the emigrants were led out of the fortiaication. Each adult man was separated and paired with a militia escort. When the signal was given by John Higbee of Cedar City, the militiamen turned and shot the male members of the party. The women and children were then ambushed and killed by more militiamen hiding in nearby bushes and ravines. Members of the militia were sworn to secrecy. A plan was set to blame the massacre on the Indians. Some of the property of the dead was reportedly taken by the Native Americans, while the remaining valuables and cattle were retained by the Mormons. Some of the cattle were removed to Salt Lake City and sold or traded. What was left of the personal property was delivered to the tithing house at Cedar City and auctioned off to local Mormons. Prominent men of the area involved in the massacre, who typically served as both religious and militia leaders, include Colonel William H. Dame stake president in Parowan, Major Isaac C. Haight stake president in Cedar City, Major John M. Higbee counselor to Haight, Private Philip Klingensmith bishop in Cedar City, and Major John D. Lee Indian Agent in Harmony. Dame with his three wives Haight 8

11 Higbee Klingensmith Lee DepicVon of Mountain Meadows in Harper s Weekly, August 13, 1859 The Meaning History repeats itself. Not exactly but in recognizable patterns. Everybody agrees, nobody argues, and yet we search in vain for an answer to the daunting question, why does violence persist? Why are violent tragedies commonplace in human history? It s the way we humans are, some will say. But is it? Are we stamped from a predetermined mold that dictates how we act? Is there anyone who doesn t recoil at the thought? We are adamant when it comes to free choice and self-determination. We are free to act as we wish and part of that wish is to not repeat the mistakes of the past. And yet, how many times must 9

12 people suffer at the hands of assailants who have come up against them to set things right? There must be something to learn from so many repetitions of the same patterns of behavior and the consequences that accompany them. The lessons of history should eventually sink in. Germany, France, Italy, and England have learned the hard way. After two world wars, millions left dead in the trenches, millions more wounded, and the European continent devastated, violence as a means of settling differences seems to have gone out of favor, at least for the present in those countries. Will it take that or worse for the rest of the world to catch on? We rationalize. We re so busy with work, family, and community obligations. Who has either the time or the patience to address the bigger questions? Crimes will be committed but probably not against us, and besides, we re not the culprits. We can t change what other people do. We believe we will stand before the judgment bar, but not to worry God is just. He knows we have our failings and will understand. Our time on earth is short, and when this temporal existence is over, eternity is the next step. We of the present, sense no personal responsibility for the heinous deeds of the past. Where were we when the Israelites were carried off to Babylon, or when the Christians were thrown to the lions? Did any of us march with King Nebuchadnezzar s army or side with the Roman emperor as ferocious beasts swarmed the coliseum? Of course not. We weren t there. We are here. Life on earth comes but once for each person. That s our belief, but can we be sure? As we will see, there is evidence in support of multiple lives that occur in cyclical patterns, but which is not supportive of life that begins at some point in time and then extends out indeainitely into the future. A key indicator that life is cyclical rather than linear is consciousness as opposed to memory. John Locke, the famous English constitutionalist, believed that human identity is conairmed by memory. His claim is that we know who we are because we remember what has happened to us since childhood. A series of connected scenes in 10

13 which we are the main character tells us what kind of person we are and how we will act in certain circumstances. Memory is, however, Aleeting. It is sometimes erratic, and injury and disease can erase it. We are challenged to maintain it while we are alive. For it to survive death would be possible only by miraculous intervention. Our brain is like a computer. When it stops functioning so too does our memory. Consciousness like memory must be supported by tangible organs, and like memory it is not itself tangible. It isn t located anywhere and doesn t take up space. Unlike memory, however, it doesn t become ill and can t be injured. Even though we don t know what consciousness is, we know we are intermittently conscious and unconscious. A gap in our memory is disconcerting to say the least, but we expect our consciousness to turn on and off. An anesthetic makes us unconscious. When it wears off we become conscious again. During a normal 24-hour period we are both conscious and unconscious. Although memory is dependent on consciousness, the reverse is not the case. Consciousness is not dependent on memory. We are consciously aware of ourselves with or without a memory of the past. Consciousness comes with both a subject and an object. To be conscious means that some one is conscious of some thing. We are consciously aware of ourselves and of something other than ourselves. A life cycle consists of a series of conscious moments. Memory enables us to compare one moment of consciousness with another and to put a series of moments into a context. A life span runs concurrent with a memory of it. Contrary to Locke s claim, however, personal awareness is determined not by memory but by consciousness. The I or self of consciousness is present whenever we are conscious. At no time does our consciousness lack a subject. Our conscious awareness of ourselves is an indicator of our existence. Even after a loss of memory we still have an awareness of ourselves. Once aware that consciousness not memory is the essence of our existence, the birth of a newborn can be regarded as an awakening as that moment in time when a self that was unconscious becomes conscious again. That we have multiple 11

14 opportunities for conscious existence raises questions of vital concern. Multiple lives is much more than a novel idea. It opens up a wealth of possibilities, responsibilities, and con- Alicts. If after we die we live again where will it be and under what circumstances? Will it be a meaningful existence, or will it be as Thomas Hobbs said, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short? Hobbs was writing at the time of the English revolution when violence permeated English society. Violent crimes may sometimes seem justiaied when inalicted on people who are regarded as either wrongheaded or inferior or both. Inferiority is often equated with difference. People who are not like us are regarded as of a lower class or category. Racial and cultural differences are often accompanied by violence. We may turn to violence believing it is what justice demands. Violent acts may be our way of proving our superiority. History is replete with examples of such beliefs. Unless something happens to the contrary violence is likely to be as prevalent in the future as it was in the past. The older I get the more ominous is the approaching end. No one has to tell me I m getting along in years. True, people are living longer. There are more centenarians than ever before, yet even by today s standards 78 isn t young. If I haven t turned the corner into the homestretch as yet it will happen soon enough. It comes as no surprise that the closer we get to inescapable reality the more seriously we regard it. In my younger days I could put the thought aside, but more and more it is refusing to be ignored. I remember wondering aloud some time before my wife died where our parents and others had gone. It wasn t long until I was left to ask the question alone with no one to answer but myself. Common to all humanity is the daunting question of Ainality not just if death is the end but if it s the end of life as we know it. When we pass is it into an intangible, airy kind of existence? Of all the riddles the Sphinx could pose none is more formidable than an existence void of living things that see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. An existence without sensory perception is not only unsettling, it is unfathomable. 12

15 We are conscious of ourselves as a subject and of something apart from ourselves as an object. Our perception tells us that something exists in addition to ourselves. Society teaches us, however, to focus not on what we as conscious entities perceive but on the interpretation of what we perceive. It comes as news to nearly everyone inculcated in our culture that perception is not of things but of qualities that modify things. When I look at my table I see the qualities :lat, level, smooth, black, and round. Each of these is opposed by a matching partner: :lat by wavy, level by slanted, smooth by coarse, black by white, and round by out-of-round. We have a bias for absolutes. We grow up believing in absolute good and absolute evil. Our belief is so commonplace we don t recognize it as a belief. We think it s just the way things are. We believe in absolute qualities but do not perceive them. We instead perceive opposing qualities such as good versus evil. Because qualities are perceived in opposing pairs, the removal of one of the qualities of a pair has the effect of removing the other also. Either both qualities are perceived as an opposing pair or neither quality is perceived at all. Our preference is for the ideal and from it comes a disconnect between an ideal we believe in versus the reality we perceive. When we refer to an absolute such as absolute good, our reference is to a quality we imagine rather than to one we perceive. Making the distinction between what we imagine and what we perceive is critical. Failure to do so leads us to rely on an imagined rather than a perceived reality. We grow up uncertain as to the meaning of the qualities physical versus spiritual. Science and religion are interpreters of these qualities. Science is focused on what is regarded as physical reality. Fundamental to religion is a belief in the reality of the spirit. We perceive the physical with our sense of touch. It is tangible. We perceive emotions (e.g., happy versus sad) and thoughts (e.g., true versus false) with our heart and intellect respectively. Qualities perceived by the emotions and intellect are intangible. Tangible and intangible are perceived as opposing qualities, and like all opposing qualities they are perceived as a pair or not at all. 13

16 We think of physical things as existing in a certain place at a certain time. We regard physical things as moveable from one place to another at one time or another. When we speak of a spirit we sometimes mean something that because it is intangible is not perceived by the senses. We also, however, sometimes regard a spirit as tangible. According to our belief, when a person dies the spirit separates from the body and goes to a place sometimes referred to as a spirit world. We are vague as to whether a world inhabited by spirits is tangible or intangible. We may believe that spirits perceive spiritually just as we perceive physically in the present. Spirits in their spiritual habitat see, hear, touch, taste, and smell spiritually rather than physically. Perhaps without fully realizing it, our beliefs minimize or even eliminate the difference between the tangible and the intangible. We are unable to deainitively describe a spirit as either tangible or intangible. How is a spirit body different than a physical body? What is the difference between seeing spiritually and seeing physically? Do spirit eyes function the same or differently than physical eyes? We may avoid asking such questions because when we do we realize how difaicult if not impossible it is to answer them. To perceive is to perceive difference. When we perceive qualities as either contrasting or comparative the difference between the qualities is apparent. That is not the case, however, when science refers to physical apart from spiritual as a separate absolute. The difference between physical and spiritual is not apparent because the reference is to physical only. Similarly, when religion refers to a spirit body the difference between physical and spiritual is not perceived. The two qualities may instead be regarded as relatively the same. When opposing qualities are separate they are two absolute qualities. When they are together they are one relative quality. Absolute versus relative are also opposing qualities. Maintaining the opposition between them allows difference to be perceived. When two absolute qualities (physical and spiritual) are perceived in opposition to one relative quality (physical/ spiritual), their relationship constitutes a compound in one. 14

17 For science physical and spiritual have at times been regarded as two absolute qualities. For religion physical/spiritual is sometimes regarded as one relative quality. In today s society there is an ongoing debate as to whether truth is absolute or relative. For the qualities absolute and relative to be meaningful, however, they must be perceived as opposing qualities in a compound-in-one relationship. We are taught to believe that if at the conclusion of our present existence there is no spiritual afterlife death will be the end. Once we focus on consciousness, however, we realize this is not the case. Memory is dependent on the condition of the physical body, consciousness is not. Unlike our physical condition consciousness doesn t age or degenerate. When we die we are unconscious because the system that supports consciousness has failed. Consciousness itself, however, is unaffected. At another time, when a support system is in place, our conscious awareness will continue. Memory is temporal. It begins and ends. When we are born we have no recollection of a previous existence. When we die we will have no recollection of our present existence. Consciousness by contrast is eternal. It neither begins nor ends. Because it is intermittent it seems to do so, but no, on the contrary. That it intermits is an indication of its ongoingness. Because it is intermittent our existence is cyclically recurrent. While each cycle has a beginning and an end, cyclicality itself neither begins nor ends. In each cycle the quality violent is opposed by calm, brutal by civilized, and callous by caring. Because none of these is absolute or relative only, none is predetermined. All qualities must be perceived in the context in which they arise. Even though in a future existence we won t remember the acts of our present life, that does not mean our acts do not matter. They serve as a precedent. Resulting from them are qualities that will be perceived at a later time. They in part determine the extent to which our future existence will be calm, civilized, and caring as opposed to violent, brutal, and callous. A summary of the above discussion is given in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:11. 15

18 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility. Knowledge of QualiVes Absolute Difference Not Perceived ContrasVng ComparaVve Difference Perceived RelaVve Compound in One Absolute RelaVve 16

19 Had the assailants at Mountain Meadows known the end from the beginning, would they have initiated that Airst Monday morning attack? Participants typically believe violence will be short, casualties few, and consequences manageable. As events transpire surprises inevitably arise. At some point leaders may wonder who is in charge as they struggle to maintain control. Measures may eventually be taken that no one initially believed would be necessary. When the costs are higher than the winners can afford who is the victor? In Missouri after Governor Boggs issued the Extermination Order and Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders were sentenced to be executed, Alexander Doniphan simply refused to follow orders. He apparently did not believe the verdict against the Mormon leaders was just and was not of a mind to go along with the consensus that the Mormons alone were the problem. He was a Missourian but did not believe himself obligated to side with the majority opinion. The result was that Joseph Smith and other Mormon leaders would live and the State of Missouri would be free of the stain a kangaroo court decision and hasty execution would have left on it. Colonel Dame of Parowan found himself in a much different situation. He held himself responsible as the leader of the communities under his charge. The U.S. government was the enemy. He had no reason to kill the emigrants other than to protect his people from the approaching army. The Mormons were the aggressors, and their aggression was the cause of the difaiculty. How different things would have been had they not seen violence as an option. But once they had taken the Airst fatal step they saw no way out other than to silence any report that would condemn them as perpetrators of a reprehensible crime. They found themselves in a no-win situation. Without realizing it, they had fallen into a trap from which they could not release themselves without permanent damage. And the damage is still with us today. Some have said that an ofaicial statement admitting responsibility would allow the atrocity to be forgotten. Gestures have been made, ofaicial or otherwise, in that regard. The story has been told as accurately as the limits 17

20 of historical analysis allow. Guilty parties have been identiaied, and neither Brigham Young nor James Buchanan has escaped criticism. Nonetheless, the memory of human irrationality and willingness to commit Alagrant crimes hangs on, at times waning and at times more vivid than ever. Something stands in the way of a Ainal catharsis. IdentiAication of the guilty parties is not enough. When the ancient Israelites proclaimed themselves to be a chosen people a pattern was set. It has been repeated many times by many groups including the Mormons. The disconnect between behavior attributable to God s people and the thought of those same people slaughtering innocent men, women, and children and then attempting a coverup is irreconcilable. We are all human. No human is above making mistakes even those that lead to the most distasteful of memories. It s only when we claim that we are above what it means to be human that an irreconcilable difaiculty arises. Only then do we Aind ourselves at odds with ourselves, only then do we attempt to be something we are not, and only then do we try to forget something that refuses to be forgotten. The symphony ends with an adapted setting of a poem that was inserted in a longer text by Joseph Smith in 1839 while he was incarcerated at Liberty Jail. God shall give you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now; Which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory; A time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest. All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth 18

21 upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And also if there be bounds set to the heavens or the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars All the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of times According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the eternal God of all other gods before this world was, That should be reserved unto the Ainishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest. (Doctrine and Covenants 121:26-32) I wrote the initial 6 lines of the closing hymn and adapted lines 7 and 8 from the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 12:47. When to Zion we all come, To the New Jerusalem; We through river valleys wend, Worlds and worlds without an end. When we see creation s birth, There behold the infant earth, Old things are done away, All have become new. 19

22 An Emigrant Wagon Train 20