''Mormonism Unveiled; or The Life and Confessions of the Late Mormon Bishop, John D. Lee (Written by Himself)'' is a book by John D. Lee, first published in 1877, just after the author's

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

for his complicity in the

Mountain Meadows massacre A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

. It was dictated to, and edited by, Lee's attorney, William W. Bishop. The book was composed between Lee's second trial (with its subsequent conviction) and his execution. It includes Lee's autobiography up until 1847, his confession to Bishop, the transcript of the 1876 trial, an account of Lee's death by

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

, and a biographical sketch of

Brigham Young Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...

. Lee portrays himself as a true believer who was set up as a

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

by Young and other church leaders. Some details have been brought into question, if they were not Lee's words, but rather inserted by the editor. The book was

out of print An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book that is ...

for almost a century.

References

External links

Text of ''Mormonism Unveiled''
at

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

Mountain Meadows Massacre History books about the American Old West History books about the Latter Day Saint movement American autobiographies LDS non-fiction 1877 non-fiction books Books published posthumously {{LDS-book-stub