In an old courthouse in St. George Utah I saw this beautiful quilt hanging on the wall. It is called A Remembrance and Reconciliation quilt. It tells the story of a horrific incident in Utah history referred to as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. 
In a New York Times article Sally Denton calls it “the darkest stain” on the history of the Mormon religion. On September 11, 1857 in a meadow in southwest Utah militiamen from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints attacked a wagon train of Arkansas families on their way to set up new homes in California. They killed 140 men, women and older children, saving only seventeen children under the age of eight. 
The head of the Mormon militia was a man named John D. Lee who was the adopted son of Mormon prophet Brigham Young. The church has labeled Lee a renegade zealot. He felt he needed get rid of infidels who might want to hurt the Mormons or infiltrate their territory. 
To this day there continues to be a great deal of controversy about exactly what transpired. How much did Mormon church authorities know about the massacre both before and after it happened? Did they try to cover up evidence or unfairly place blame elsewhere, including on a local group of First Nations people?
The quilt I saw in St. George has forty eight squares contributed by descendants of both the militiamen who helped Lee carry out the massacre as well as descendants of the Arkansas settlers whose ancestors were killed. A similar quilt is on display in Arkansas. It is a way to remember those who died and to express sorrow over what happened as well as provide an avenue for healing.
Green leaves on the quilt record the names of people killed. Red flowers record the names of the seventeen children who were spared.
I visited the home of Rachel Hamblin which was close to the massacre.The seventeen children whose lives were spared were first taken to Rachel’s house. She writes of that experience saying…“in the darkness of night, two of the children cruelly mangled and most of them with their parents’ blood still wet upon their clothes, and all of them shrieking with terror and grief and anguish”
The quilt tells a tragic and damning story but I have to give credit to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for having it on display where thousands of visitors can see it. 
As is the case with so many religious groups who must now confront the atrocities committed by their clergy and membership in the past, there is hopefully a growing realization that only transparency and honesty, admission of guilt and request of forgiveness, can help pave the way to a more peaceful future where no religious group believes it has a corner on the truth so all are accepted with love and are never seen as enemies.
Both wisdom from Buddhist and Hindu sources are included on the quilt
Mary’s father’s name was Joachim. Joachim was from Nazareth and Anne, Mary’s mother was from Bethlehem. We see Anne and Joachim here in a beautiful wood painting found in the Church of St. Mary in Krakow Poland. It is by artist Veit Stoss and was created in 1480. 
Anna and Joachim married when Joachim was 46 and Anne was 24. Their wedding is depicted in this 1476 codex illustration by Cristoforo de Predis. 
The conception of Anne and Joachim’s daughter Mary was something of a miracle. That miracle is recorded in a beautiful 1305 painting by Giotto di Bondone called Legend of St. Joachim and St. Anne Meeting at the Golden Gate. The Gospel of James records that an angel directed Anne and Joachim to go separately to the gate of the temple. When they met they kissed and Anne became pregnant. 
According to the Gospel of James Anne breastfed her daughter right after she came into the world and midwives were in attendance. There are hundreds of paintings depicting the birth of Mary. Above is The Birth of the Virgin by German artist Wolf Traut painted in 1513 
Here we see an image of Mary and her parents by Mexican artist Jose Alejandro Arango. At age two Joachim thought it was time they took Mary to begin her service in the temple but Anne begged him to let Mary stay home another year and so they waited till she was three years old. 
But………. in many famous paintings Anna and Joachim are depicted as being a big part of Mary’s life right up until her marriage. We see that in this 1842 painting of Mary and Anna called Education of the Virgin by French artist Eugene Delacroix 
and in this 1700 work called The Education of Mary by another French artist Jean Jouvenet which is part of the collection at the Uffizi gallery in Florence. 
This painting is called The Education of the Virgin and is by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens. It dates from 1625 and is in the Royal Museum in Brussels.It shows Mary as a young adult with her parents just before her marriage. 
It should be noted that there are many artists who have portrayed Anna and Joachim taking a very active role in the care and raising of their grandson Jesus. Like in Spanish artist El Greco’s The Holy Family painted in 1592. 
However as a result of the accident he is calling for an end to funeral processions. He thinks they are just too dangerous. Funeral processions are a tradition still practiced in some rural Manitoba areas, but infrequently in Winnipeg, and consequently many drivers simply don’t know the protocol surrounding them. That invites accidents. I tend to agree with Novak. If funeral processions are a hazard why have them, particularly at high traffic times of the day? Most families now lay their loved ones to rest in private services before or after the actual funeral. Often cremation has taken place and ashes will be scattered later so no trip to the cemetery is required.
I was struck by the fact that finding someone to blame was uppermost in many people’s minds. Why do we do that? The funeral procession issue is just one of a myriad we could use as an example of how finding someone to blame and ranting about them seems to be the first response. Why instead of laying blame can’t we have meaningful conversations, look at data, weigh possible options, propose alternatives, and find solutions? Why do we always look first for someone to blame?
The morning I was out on the Sea of Galilee, our group leader asked us to deliberately turn our minds away from all our concerns and distractions and take some time to reflect and meditate. This wasn’t easy. Although I tried to block it out, I could still hear the sounds of traffic on the highway near the sea. I could hear someone’s i-pod music and the chatty voices of tourists in neighboring boats. I thought about the drama that had occurred on the trip where I was helping to chaperone twenty-five teenagers. 
I had to concentrate so I could fill my mind with more peaceful things like the sound of the waves lapping up on the sides of the boat, the sight of a bird skimming the water, the beat of my own heart and the blessings of my trip so far. 
St. Francis of Assisi once said “Before you can proclaim peace with your lips you must be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.
