Bagley's book Blood of the Prophets deals with the Mountain Meadows massacre and has won numerous awards, including a Spur from Western Writers of America and best book awards from the Denver Public Library and the Western History Association. The New York Review of Books described the study as “an exhaustive, meticulously documented, highly readable history that captures the events and atmosphere that gave rise to the massacre, as well as its long, tortuous aftermath. Bagley has taken great care in negotiating the minefield presented by what remains of the historical record.”
According to Robert M. Utley, "ver since 1857, the Mormon Church has vehemently exempted itself and Brigham Young from any complicity in this crime against humanity. Church-approved histories embrace this interpretation when they mention it at all. The official church historians and custodians of the massive church archives have carefully avoided the issue. Parts of the archives have been 'lost,' restricted, sanitized, and even manufactured. Mormon historians who probe beyond the prescribed limits face isolation at best, excommunication at worst. ... Such is the prospect for Will Bagley. ... Will Bagley has made a major contribution to western American history. Already, the church counterattack has begun. ... He is likely to take some painful personal hits, but his scholarship will withstand the professedly scholarly hits."
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