YES they were BILL HICKMAN was the Leader of these men, who would go out and KILL the unbeliever's and the trouble makers for the LDS CHURCH. PORTER ROCKWELL was arrested for the attempted KILLING of GOV. LILAN BOGGS. the leaders of the LDS CHURCH were men who wanted riches from its congregations. SMITH believed in MULITPLE MARRIAGES and YOUNG loved the POWER he had over the state NOTHING was done w/o his PERMISSION. PORTER ROCKWELL was the last of the Avenging Angels. He did not think twice about killing INDIANS OR WHITE MEN he would always say "IT'S AS EASY AS WHEAT". This movie gives a slight insight as to the MORMONS life. BUT MR. HESTON is no where near the iron fisted personality of the dictating PROPHET YOUNG. who said that is not a prophesying man. he would leave that to other MEN.

The movie is okay. It's not very accurate, but what do you expect from an old western staring Charlton Heston? Tom Berenger is good as a young member of the "Avenging Angels" learning about intrigue and scandal in his group. Kind of like Mission: Impossible, but in the West.James Coburn is excellent as Orin Porter Rockwell, an interesting enough character, they could have made the whole movie about him.Charlton Heston is Brigham Young....if you liked him as Moses, you'll like him here. If not, you won't.The basic plot of the movie is based on inaccuracies and exaggerations. There may or may not have been a group of "Avenging Angels" in early Utah. Whether there was or not, the group was not an official Church unit and neither murder, nor blood atonement, has been enforced or used by the Church at large.As long as you understand it's fictional, though, it's a decently interesting movie.

Tom Berenger who's a gun totin' sharp shootin' Mormon security man foils an attempted assassination of Brigham Young and is hardly thanked for his efforts. He investigates a little further and finds there's quite a complicated conspiracy at work.It's good to remember that this film is based on a novel, just as the DaVinci Code is. It's not anything remotely resembling real history of the Church of Latter Day Saints. For one thing as another reviewer pointed out the Transcontinental Railroad had been completed by 1872. Not only completed, but Brigham Young made money off it in every possible way.Brigham Young was a complex and charismatic leader who during the Civil War was practically treated like he was a ruling foreign power by both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. His task as best he saw it was to keep the spirit of the LDS church alive and not let it get too touched by outside influences. Of course no one plays a complex and charismatic religious figure like Charlton Heston. His Brigham Young is like his Moses if Moses had actually gone into Canaan and had the responsibility of building a nation as Joshua did.By the way the Mormons here show enough outside influence. They drink, they smoke, they indulge in extra-marital affairs just like a whole lot of gentiles do. Our protagonist Berenger is no exception.In the film 20th Century Fox did, Brigham Young with Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, and Dean Jagger we saw a bit of the colorful Mormon Scout Porter Rockwell as played by John Carradine. Here the part is played by James Coburn who's older and wiser. Rockwell's place is still hotly debated, he was devoted to Brigham Young for certain and his devotion led to some blood stained hands.I'm not sure how much controversy this made for TV western has caused among the LDS community. Apparently they were a lot smarter in handling this than other religions were with The DaVinci Code. If you remember this is a novel and not a factual retelling of events, you will get some insights into the LDS community.

There was an organization that existed in Utah after the Danites were disbanded. They were known as the Destroying Angels. The Mormons did kill people who were no threat to them in southern Utah. This was the Mountain Meadow Massacre on 11 September 1957. They killed over 100 men, women, and children on a wagon train from Arkansas. The only ones spared were children younger than 7. Even children as young as 9 were killed after the party was promised safe passage after turning over their weapons. Those left alive were given to Mormons in Utah to raise but eventually returned to their families back East. This was "The Crime of the Century" in the 1800's. There are some great books and many websites about it.