Author Juanita Brooks’ legacy draws healthy turnout to history conference

ST. GEORGE — An organizer of a conference on a Southern Utah author and academic contributor was “blown away” by the attendance to recent panel discussions and a historic field trip.

Co-organizers with the keynote guest speaker for the History Conference (l to r): Cristina Rosetti, assistant professor of humanities at Utah Tech University; Steven E. Snow, emeritus general authority and historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Joseph Stuart, assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University, March 23, 2023, St. George, Utah | Photo courtesy of Cristina Rosetti, St. George News

People traveled from as far away as Idaho to Southern Utah to learn about Juanita Pulsipher Brooks, known for writing “The Mountain Meadows Massacre.” The book uncovered new first-person accounts of the 1857 tragedy. The site is 30 miles outside of St. George. Attendees were from Southern Utah and the Intermountain West.

“We did a tour of Mountain Meadows Massacre site and over 100 people drove out there,” Cristina Rosetti, assistant professor of humanities at Utah Tech University, told St. George News. “It was just great to see. Most of them were from the St. George area. But we did have quite a few people from the Provo area and from Idaho. I was so blown away.”

Historians recognized Brooks’ work “The Mountain Meadows Massacre” as the first book to fully document Mormon involvement. The massacre was a series of attacks during Sept. 7–11, 1857. The Utah War resulted in the mass murder of at least 120 Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train members. The wagon train mainly was families from Arkansas traveling to California on the Old Spanish Trail that passed through the Utah Territory.

In the book, Brooks showed that the Mormon militia was responsible for the massacre and that John D. Lee was the only militiaman executed.

“The church leaders decided to sacrifice Lee only when they could see that it would be impossible to acquit him without assuming a part of the responsibility themselves,” Brooks wrote.

The conference spanned Thursday through Saturday at the university. The Utah history gathering highlighted Brooks’ legacy and discussed her education. Brooks earned her many awards and honors in life and death, including three honorary doctorates from Utah institutions of higher education.

“We had 110 people at every session, which was way more than that could have anticipated, so it was really great,” Rosetti said.

The Utah history gathering highlighted Juanita Brooks’ legacy and discussed her education at Utah Tech University, St. George, Utah, unspecified date| Photo courtesy of Cristina Rosetti, St. George News

The Juanita Brooks Lecture Series featured panels with scholars from the Intermountain West. Some of the speakers included Barbara Jones Brown, Richard E. Turley Jr. and Paul Reeve. She said attendance was at least 110 people per session. Rosetti’s co-organizer was Joseph Stuart, assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University. She added that some of Juanita Brooks’ extended family was present at the event.

“We also did a Juanita Brooks Award where we honored Lester Bush for his contribution to Mormon history,” Rosetti said. “And his wife accepted the award on his behalf, which was really special.”

Thursday evening, Elder Steven E. Snow, emeritus general authority and historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, launched the event with his talk entitled, “Studying the Past to Effect a Better Present,” which he presented at the St. George Tabernacle.

“In her research and writing, there was always the possibility to publish the book that leads into a disciplinary action against Juanita by the church,” Snow said.

Snow said Brooks was brave and she shared her strong testimony of the church in the book. He said that her book shows that every life has worth and how important it is to document personal stories to leave a record for future generations.

He added that Brooks’s book also illustrates that a good life can change forever by making one disastrous mistake.

“We learned that good people can be quickly led to do horrible things, that the capacity to do evil lies with each of us,” Snow said. “And we must constantly be on guard to suppress the propensity to do evil instead of strive to do good.”

The Utah history gathering highlighted Juanita Brooks’ legacy and discussed her education at Utah Tech University, St. George, Utah, unspecified date | Photo courtesy of Cristina Rosetti, St. George News

Born in Bunkerville, Nevada, in 1898, Brooks went on to teach English and served as the dean of women at Dixie College (now Utah Tech University), her alma mater, from 1925-1933. In 2022, the Washington County Historical Society honored Brooks with a bronze statue for impacting LDS history.

The conference was co-sponsored by the Utah Tech College of Humanities, the Utah Tech Library, the BYU Charles Redd Center for Western studies, the University of Utah Mormon Studies Initiative, the BYU Maxwell Institute, Claremont Graduate University’s Mormon studies program, the O.C. Tanner Foundation and the Smith-Pettit Foundation.

To listen to some of the conference panels, click here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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