John D. Lee

John Doyle Lee (September 6, 1812 – March 23, 1877) was a prominent early member of the Latter Day Saint Movement who was executed for his role in the Mountain Meadows massacre.

Early Mormon leader

Lee was born in Kaskaskia, Illinois Territory and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1838. He was a friend of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint Movement. He was the adopted son of Brigham Young under the early Latter Day Saint Law of Adoption doctrine. In 1839, Lee served a mission with his boyhood friend, Levi Stewart. Together they preached in Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. During this period Lee converted and baptized "Wild Bill" Hickman. Lee practiced plural marriage and had nineteen wives (at least eleven of whom eventually left him) along with sixty-seven children.

He was allegedly a member of the Danites vigilante group, although this claim has been disputed. Lee was an official scribe for the Council of 50, a group of men who, in the days of Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham Young, worked together to provide guidance in practical matters to the church, specifically concerning the move westward out of the United States of America to the Rocky Mountains.