Inspiration
    There is no way to peace; peace is the way - A.J. Muste
    Trending Posts
    • The Whole Book of Mormon in 15 Verses via gentlyhewstone.com
    • Thoughts on the Five Core Sacramental Symbols
    • Analysis of an Incredible Eve/Mary Artwork by a Roman Catholic Nun
    Trending
    • Nephi, Daniel, and the mysteries of God
    • The original order of books on the gold plates
    • Jordan Peterson on Nihilism and Patterns
    • The Life and the Light
    • Hope in trying times
    • Mormon, a perfectly positioned witness
    • Why are you not wearing the ribbon?
    • Family…It’s Worth Fighting For
    oneClimbs.comoneClimbs.com
    • Podcast
      • Apple Podcasts
      • Spotify
      • Anchor.fm
    • Topics
      • Atonement
      • Symbolism
      • Temple Prep
      • Temples
      • Notebook
      • Vlog
    • Study Tools
      • Etymology Dictionary
      • Lectures on Faith.com
      • LDSSymbols.com
      • LDS Architecture Blog
      • Number in Scripture
      • Interpreter Foundation
      • Isaiah Explorer
      • ScriptureNotes
      • Septuagint (English)
      • Strong’s Condordance
      • The Book of Isaiah (IIT)
      • Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
    • About
      • About oneClimbs
      • Contact
    oneClimbs.comoneClimbs.com
    Home»Articles»Indian Slaves “Purchased into Freedom”
    Articles March 20, 2019Updated:March 20, 20193 Mins Read

    Indian Slaves “Purchased into Freedom”

    I came across this story recently and it reminded me of the tragic complexity of history. We tend to look back and history through the narratives crafted by historians often get a glimpse of how hard some situations were to deal with.

    Sometimes you cannot change the situation around you, but you can still find a way to do the best with what you have.

    “One problem encountered by the Mormons in relation to the Indians was the rather extensive slave trade in the Great Basin. Various groups of Mexicans and Ute Indians circulated through the territory buying or stealing children of the weaker tribes for sale to Mexicans. Reputedly, each child would bring from one hundred to two hundred dollars and was condemned to a life-time of slavery in a Mexican village. The whole business was repulsive to the Mormons, but there was no easy solution, inasmuch as stopping the trade would suspend an important source of Indian revenue. The nature of the dilemma was illustrated during the winter of 1848-49 when a band referred to in contemporary literature as Cumumbah or Weber Utes came into the Salt Lake Valley desiring to trade. They had previously taken two girls about four and five years old as prisoners and wanted to sell them. When the Mormons declined, the enraged chief took one of the girls by the heels and dashed her brains out on the hard ground, “after which he threw the body towards us, telling us we had no hearts, or we would have bought it and saved its life.” Charles Decker, a young scout and brother-in-law of Brigham Young, moved quickly to prevent the same thing from happening to the other girl, and purchased her with his rifle and pony. He then took her to the home of Lorenzo Dow Young, a brother of Brigham, to be washed and clothed. John R. Young, son of Lorenzo, wrote:

    “She was the saddest-looking piece of humanity I have ever seen. They had shingled her head with butcher knives and fire brands. All the fleshy parts of her body, legs, and arms had been hacked with knives, then fire brands had been stuck into the wounds. She was gaunt with hunger, and smeared from head to foot with blood and ashes. After being washed and clothed, she was given to President [Brigham] Young and became as one of his family. They named her Sally.

    “After this experience Brigham Young encouraged his followers to adopt Indian children offered for sale…

    “…in urging the legislature to pass an Indian slave act that would decree the stopping of the trade, Brigham Young “drew a fine distinction between actual slavery to the Mexicans and purchase by the Mormons,” insisting in the latter case that the Indians were being purchased into freedom instead of slavery.”

     (The Mormon Experience, Arrington P. 150-151)
    Brigham Young
    Previous ArticleContention, False Flags, and Repeating the Past
    Next Article Entering the Darkness
    Steve Reed

      I created oneClimbs as a place to organize my thoughts and share my observations with anyone who might find the information useful. Though I may speak passionately or convincingly in some of this content, PLEASE don't simply take my word alone on anything. Always seek the truth of all things through study and prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.

      Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

      Inspiration

      "A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend." - Eric Hoffer

      New Post Email Notifications

      You can subscribe any time, and I will ONLY use your email to send you new post updates.

      Trending Posts
      • Articles, Atonement
        Thoughts on the Five Core Sacramental Symbols

        There are at least five core elements that are used in the ordinance of the...

      • Articles
        Analysis of an Incredible Eve/Mary Artwork by a Roman Catholic Nun

        My friend, Richard N. shared this image with me, and I thought it was fanta...

      • Symbolism
        A Professional Logo Designer’s Analysis of The Church’s New Symbol

        Ok, all joking aside, I was really intrigued by this new "symbol" or logo t...

      • Atonement
        Repentance: a process of addition not subtraction

        I came across this post the other day that had some interesting perspective...

      • Articles
        Characteristics vs. Attributes: Demystifying Lectures 3 and 4

        Every now and then you find an answer that is extremely satisfying almost i...

      Recent Comments
      • Dora Ruilova on The Mother, the Dove, Mercy, and the Holy Spirit: “OH WOW! You just confirmed a major impression that I received after the Spiritual Treasures talk by President Nelson. He…”
      • Dora Ruilova on The Mother, the Dove, Mercy, and the Holy Spirit: “Oh wow! That’s super interesting since we know that gender is so important.”
      • Dora Ruilova on The Mother, the Dove, Mercy, and the Holy Spirit: “I thoroughly enjoyed this article! It coincides with many of my own impressions.”
      • Steve Reed on Symbolism on my mind.: “Well, we sound like kindred spirits because I’ve been a logo designer for the past 30 years! I live in…”
      • Wendy Boomhower on Symbolism on my mind.: “Thank you so much for creating oneClimbs. It speaks to me. I have been studying symbolism for 10 years with…”
      Blogroll
      • Academy for Temple Studies
      • Bruce Charlton's Notions
      • Conner's Connundrums
      • Gently Hew Stone
      • Hemlock Knots
      • Interpreter Foundation
      • Isaiah Explained
      • Isaiah Explorer
      • Junior Ganymede
      • Latter-day Saint Architecture Blog
      • Latter-day Saint Temples
      • LDSSymbols.com
      • Leading Saints
      • Number in Scripture by E. W. Bullinger
      • Sixty Symbols
      • Spiritual Arson Podcast
      • Strongs Concordance
      • TempleStudy
      • The Ancient Context of Joseph Smith's Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar
      • Webster's 1828 Dictionary
      New Post Email Notifications

      You can subscribe any time, and I will ONLY use your email to send you new post updates.

      Inspiration
      "Which will we do most, murmur or ponder?" - Neal A. Maxwell
      About this Site

      I created oneClimbs as a place to organize my thoughts and share my observations with anyone who might find the information useful. All content on this site is considered a work in progress that is often updated when new insights are obtained.

      oneClimbs.com

      LecturesOnFaith.com  //  LDSSymbols.com

      © 2022 oneClimbs. All content unique to oneClimbs is fair use. All other content is property of the respective copyright owner. oneClimbs.com is not owned, controlled, or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All views and opinions are of the authors here who are solely responsible for their content and should not be interpreted as official statements of Church doctrine, belief, or practice, unless specifically stated and correctly referenced.

      Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.