The Handcart Tragedy — What They Won’t Tell You - Now we can celebrate the 24th with real zeal!
🚶♂️The Handcart Tragedy — What They Won’t Tell You
“Faith is not blindness. And obedience should never cost a child her life.”
We’ve all heard the story.
The brave handcart pioneers.
The brutal snow.
The last-minute rescue.
And the faith that never broke.
But what if the story you were told—
was only half the truth?
💸 It Started With a Budget—Not a Revelation
Brigham Young didn’t roll out the handcart plan because of revelation.
He did it because the Church was in debt.
So instead of safe wagons,
the Saints got carts.
Wooden wheels.
Cheap travel.
No margin for error.
And then he sent them west—late.
📜 Brigham Knew They Were Coming
Letters from August 1856 prove it:
Brigham knew the Willie and Martin companies were still coming.
Late. Under-supplied.
Still, he didn’t stop them.
And after the storm came?
After the bodies were buried in frozen Wyoming soil?
He said he didn’t know.
And he blamed others.
⚰️ More Dead Than the Donner Party
Over 200 Saints died.
That’s more than the infamous Donner tragedy.
And yet in our church history?
Brigham’s image stays polished.
The story gets cleaned up.
And the weight of this tragedy is rarely placed where it belongs.
🐑 “You Will Obey” or Be Cast Out
Some warned it was too late to go.
Levi Savage, a seasoned pioneer, pleaded with them to wait.
He was silenced.
Brigham and other leaders said to trust the Lord.
Trust the prophecy.
Trust the plan.
And if you didn’t?
You were labeled faithless.
🗣️ False Prophecy, Real Death
Apostle Franklin D. Richards told the Saints:
God would deliver them.
They would reach Zion.
They didn’t.
Many froze.
Many starved.
Many buried loved ones in snowbanks they had to dig with bare hands.
🏛️ Tithing for Mansions While Members Starved
While families dug up roots to eat,
Brigham built mansions.
Collected tithes.
Filled supply wagons with tobacco and liquor.
The famine was real.
The wealth gap was obscene.
🔍 The Church Changed the Story
Rescue teams were heroic—no doubt.
But what about the decisions that made rescue necessary?
Those were rewritten.
Sanitized.
Sanctioned.
And those who tell the fuller story?
Labeled apostates.
🧱 A Leadership Style That Shut Out Warning Voices
Brigham ruled by control, not by compassion.
He said:
“For the first time in your lives, you are without a prophet.”
He admitted he was not a visionary.
He left the role of prophecy to others.
And yet… the people followed him as if he were the mouth of God.
🕊️ Truth Is What Sets Us Free
We’re not here to tear down faith.
But to set it on a foundation that won’t crack under history.
Faith must have room for honesty.
Love must have space for mourning.
And Zion must be built on truth—not on legend.
🌄 Final Thought: The Real Zion Awaits
This isn’t about condemning Brigham.
It’s about seeing clearly.
So we don’t repeat the same mistakes.
So we don’t bury the truth with the bodies.
So we walk with the Lord in the light of day—not the shadow of revision.
Real prophets speak God’s words—not just what keeps the system running.
And if we ever hope to find the real Zion—
we’ll need real truth,
real repentance,
and real courage to face our history.
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