Book theorizes Brigham Young ordered massacre

Salt Lake City Nearly a century and a half after California-bound pioneers were slaughtered by Mormon settlers and their Indian allies, a new book blaming the massacre on church leader Brigham Young is causing a sensation in the Mormon community.

Church historians vehemently disagree with the premise of “Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows.” But author Will Bagley says circumstantial evidence points to Young’s involvement.

“Claiming that Brigham Young had nothing to do with Mountain Meadows is akin to arguing that Abraham Lincoln had nothing to do with the Civil War,” Bagley writes. “His own words reveal that both before and after the massacre, Brigham Young recognized the likely results of his acts.”

On the shelves since late August, Bagley’s book is a best seller in Salt Lake City, headquarters of the Mormon church.

Above, a marker describes the Mountain Meadows burial site in the valley behind it in Mountain Meadows, Utah.

Poll: Most Americans pray regularly

Boston While less than half of Americans regularly attend religious services, more than 60 percent said they prayed once or more a day, according to a poll by The Christian Science Monitor.

A third who prayed regularly said they did so more after the Sept. 11 attacks, but more than 60 percent said the tragedy did not change the amount they prayed.

Less than a third of the more than 900 adults surveyed said the terrorist strikes made them more interested in participating in interfaith services.

Wyoming Christians oppose protests

Casper, Wyo. A group of Christian leaders has asked an anti-gay pastor and his Kansas congregation to stay away from Wyoming as the fourth anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard approaches.

The Central Wyoming Evangelical Fellowship wrote to the Rev. Fred Phelps of Topeka and his Westboro Baptist Church saying, “We do not believe the protests you are planning will glorify God.” More than 30 ministers and other members of the group signed the letter.

Phelps’ son, Fred Phelps Jr., dismissed the group’s objections as “irrelevant” and said they would have no effect on Westboro’s plans for a series of pickets next month.