[Key Excerpts] On the context: "In September 1857, at a time when the people of Utah were in a state of near hysteria over the approach of a federal army, a company of emigrants from Arkansas and Missouri passed through southern Utah on their way to California. The atmosphere of fear and hostility that pervaded the territory made their passage through it dangerous in the extreme." On the events: "The emigrant train was attacked at Mountain Meadows on September 7, 1857. After a five-day siege, the survivors were persuaded to surrender their arms under a flag of truce and a promise of safe conduct. They were then systematically killed — men, women, and older children — with only seventeen children under age seven spared." On responsibility: "While Brigham Young did not order the massacre, the climate of fear, the rhetoric of blood atonement, and the theocratic structure of authority in Utah created conditions in which local leaders felt empowered, even compelled, to act. The responsibility cannot rest solely on John D. Lee, who was the only person ever brought to trial and executed for the crime." On the cover-up: "For nearly two decades, a conspiracy of silence prevailed. The church and its leaders made every effort to suppress the facts, to shift blame to the Indians, and to protect those who were involved. This silence itself became a burden upon the community." On her motivation as a historian: "I feel that nothing but the complete truth can be good enough for the church to which I belong. Any organization which cannot stand investigation and survive it does not deserve to survive."