View single post by CleburneFan
 Posted: Fri Aug 31st, 2007 11:28 pm
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CleburneFan
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Joined: Mon Oct 30th, 2006
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Mana: 
 Susan, just to clear up some matters. The Merikats' horses were from Kentucky, not the Merikat's themselves. The head of the group told the Mormon Bishop that he planned to take his beautiful horses to Cailfornia to conduct horse races because doing so would keep the miners out there from going to saloons, drinking and womanizing. The Bishop did not take kindly to the idea because, as he told his sons, gambling was an abomination---as was the Merikat woman who was dressed in riding pants and carried a gun!

The Bishop did inquire of the Merikat leader where they were from and he said they were from Arkansas but had some in the group from Missouri also. This upset the Bishop who had bitter memories of the bad treatment Mormaons had received in Missouri. He immediately became suspicious that the Merikats' true ambition was to run the Mormons out of Utah as well.

During the movie there are several flashbacks to the dangerous situation Mormons faced in Missouri, including the assassination of Joseph Smith. The Bishop determines that his flock will not be run out of Utah. He learns that President James Buchanan is sending troops to run out the Mormons and is convinced the Merikats are in cahoots with Buchanan. This seems to have precitpitated the visions that the Bishop begins to have in which God tells him the Merikats must all die to save their souls from their sins (and also save the Mormons from another disastrous scene of being expelled under threat of violence.)

If you can get past the sappy love story in the movie, you might actually find the story interesting.  Hubby and I both felt it had some striking parallels to Jim Jones's modern day massacre of his followers in Guiana and what eventually happened in Texas with the Texas Branch Davidians. All three events were the result of charismatic, but autocratic leaders who expected followers to unquestioningly "do or die". This movie portrays that  some who participated in the killings were extremely conflicted about what they were doing and were remorseful about it.