Part I.

DEFENSE OF THE FAITH

AND THE SAINTS

BY

B. H. ROBERTS

AUTHOR OF

The Gospel

Outlines of Ecclesiastical History

New Witness for God

Mormon Doctrine of Deity

Etc., Etc.

VOLUME I.

Salt Lake City

1907

GENERAL FOREWORD.

Fifteen years ago, in announcing what was then a list of prospective

books, the writer declared his intention to publish a "Scrap Book,"

promising that it should be a choice selection of his miscellaneous

writings, and mentioned as among the probable articles, Corianton, a

Book of Mormon story; Mariam, a story of Zarahemla; Spirit Promptings,

etc., etc., all which are here recalled as foreshadowing the author's

intention at that time. About then, however, the writer's energies

began to be devoted more exclusively to doctrinal and historical

themes, and one circumstance after another arose which called him to

the defense of the Mormon faith and the Mormon people, so that the

character of his literary efforts were turned away from the line of

purpose fiction work he had proposed to himself. But the scrap-book,

nevertheless, became a possibility through the multiplication of the

defensive articles, though its character would be changed, owing the

change in the writer's line of work. Through the years have elapsed

since the "Scrap Book" idea was first entertained as a depository of

the author's miscellaneous writings, a great mass of material in the

form of discourses and papers, contributed to magazines and newspapers

has accumulated and it is from this mass of materials that following

collection of articles has been chosen; and as there is still much

material on hand, and the end of the writer's work is not yet in

sight, he has ventured to call this Volume I, indicating by that the

probability that other volumes in time will follow, if the writer is

not mistaken in his judgment as to the demand for such publications.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GENERAL FOREWORD

PART I

POSITION AND DEFENSE

I.

MORMONISM.

A paper submitted to the Parliament of Religions at the World's

Columbian Exposition, at Chicago, 1903

II.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHURCH TO THE CHRISTIAN SECTS: THE DOCTRINE OF

TWO CHURCHES ONLY.

An Address delivered at the Seventy-sixth Annual Conference of the

Church in April, 1906

III.

SOME RECENT LITERATURE ON MORMONISM

I. "The Founder of Mormonism" (Riley)

II. "The Mormon Prophet" (Dougal)

III. "The Lions of the Lord" (Wilson)

IV.

A BRIEF DEFENSE OF THE MORMON PEOPLE

I. Eastern Eulogy of Mormon's System ("M")

II. Defense of the Mormon People against "M's" Attack

V.

WHICH OF THE SECTS HAS PERSECUTED MORMONISM MOST?

I. A Letter to D. A. Holcomb, Esq

II. Views of a Jewish Rabbi (Reynolds)

III. Bishop Scanlan's Attitude

VI.

HOW!

A Discourse delivered in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, 1903, replying to

certain strictures by the Presbyterian General Assembly, convened in

Los Angeles, 1903

VII.

RELATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN AMERICA.

I. The Relations of the Church to the State

II. Jefferson's Contribution to Religious Liberty in America

VIII.

CONDITIONS IN UTAH--1905.

I. Speech of Hon. Thomas Kearns in the Senate of the United States

II. Answer to Senator Kearns

PART II.

BOOK OF MORMON CONTROVERSIAL QUESTIONS.

I.

THE MANNER OF TRANSLATING THE BOOK OF MORMON.

I. The Manner of Translation

II. Accounting for Evident Transcriptions of Bible Passages in the

Translation of the Nephite Record

III. Answer to Questions Respecting the "Manual Theory" of Translating

the Book of Mormon

IV. Correspondence on the Subject of the "Manual Theory" of Translation

II.

A BRIEF DEBATE ON THE BOOK OF MORMON.

I. The Objector's First Paper

II. The First Reply

III. The Objector's Second Paper

IV. The Second Reply

III.

"THE FIFTH GOSPEL"

A Reply to Rev. Wm. M. Paden's Criticism of Third Nephi,--the "Fifth

Gospel"

IV.

MORMON VIEWS OF AMERICA.

I. A Prophetic Incident

II. America the Land of Zion and of Joseph

PART III.

HISTORICAL AND DOCTRINAL PAPERS.

I.

THE LORD'S DAY.

A justification for Regarding the First Day of the Week as the

Christian Sabbath, or "The Lord's Day"

II.

ANGLICAN ORDERS--DECISION OF LEO XIII CONSIDERED--THE PROTESTANT

DILEMMA.

A Consideration of the Question of Divine Authority

III.

REFORMATION OR REVOLUTION?

A Study of the Great Sixteenth Century Movement Led by Martin Luther,

and Others

IV.

REVELATION AND INSPIRATION.

A correction of some misapprehensions that arose concerning Mormon

views on the subjects of Revelation and Inspiration during the hearings

had in the "Smoot Case" before the United States Senate Committee on

Privileges and Elections, 1903-1907

Part I.

Position and Defense.

I.

MORMONISM.

FOREWORD.

The following paper was prepared by the writer for presentation at the

Parliament of Religions, held at the World's Columbian Exposition,

Chicago, 1893. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not

invited to participate in the proceedings of that Parliament, although

Mormonism is the most distinctively American religious movement yet

developed in our country; and as such the position and doctrine of

the Church should have been of special interest in such a gathering

as the Parliament purported to be. Learning that the Church would not

be invited to the Parliament, under a sense of duty to make known

the faith and message to the world, her presiding authorities sought

opportunity for a hearing from the Parliament platform. After much

solicitation and persistent urging as to the right of the Church to

a hearing in such a gathering, a reluctant consent was finally given

for a presentation of the following paper. But after this consent was

given, a very unworthy effort was made by the President and chairman

of the Parliament to side-track the paper by asking the representative

of the Church to read it in one of the auxiliary departments of the

Parliament,--namely, the Scientific Department, which meetings were

held in a room capable of accommodating about fifty hearers, and

presided over by Mr. Mervin Marie Snell. In response to that suggestion

the writer, who had the honor to the representative of the Church to

the Parliament, replied that such a hearing as could be had in Hall

III (Scientific Department of the Parliament) was not the kind of

hearing the Mormon Church had asked for or could accept. She had asked

to speak from the same platform from which the great religious faiths

had spoken--Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism--from the platform

of Columbus Hall, where her position and principles could be compared

and contrasted with the viewpoint and doctrines of other religions,

by the enlightened thought of the age. The officers in charge of the

Parliament, however, refused to change the terms on which a hearing

could be obtained for Mormonism, and the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints had the distinction of being refused a hearing in the

World's Parliament of Religions.

I.

"MORMONISM."

One of the most instructive as well as the most important religious

movements of the nineteenth century is the rise of what the world

has learned to call "Mormonism." In an age which believed that

God's voice would no more be heard giving revelation; that said the

volume of scripture was completed and forever closed; that declared

angels would no more visit the earth to communicate the divine will;

and that sedulously taught that all miracles had ceased--the world

beholds a religion arising based upon these forces that men had been

taught to believe had forever become inactive. True, it has met with

many obstacles in consequence of making these rejected stones of

ancient Christianity the chief corner stones of its structure; but

notwithstanding the fierceness of the opposition it has aroused, it is

now so firmly established that it claims the respectful attention of

the world.

New religions, when struggling for existence in the face of adversity,

with few followers and no influence, may expect to be treated with

silent contempt by the supposedly orthodox; but when a religion has

fought its way through all opposition to a position of influence, and

counts within its pale hundreds of thousands of sincere and intelligent

followers, it gives proof that its doctrines contain some measure

of truth at least, and by reason of that fact, has a claim upon the

respect and thoughtful consideration of mankind.

Such is the position of "Mormonism." Sixty-three years ago [A] the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized with but

six members, in the State of New York. That organization was effected

in a log room not more than fourteen feet square, by men who made no

pretensions to ecclesiastical scholarship, but claimed to be directed

by divine revelation. It could but be expected that the great Christian

sects, by which the new church was surrounded, and that considered

themselves strongly entrenched behind a fullness of religious

truth--would scoff at the pretensions of these men. But when, after

a lapse of sixty-three years, the work having so humble an origin is

still in existence with a membership of over three hundred thousand,

it is time the scoffing ceased and earnest attention be given to its

pretensions, especially when account is taken of its history between

the two points indicated--its origin and present standing.

[Footnote A: This was written in 1893.]

Within that period it has fallen to the lot of the "Mormon" Church

to make more history than any other religious denomination of modern

times. Ridicule has laughed at it; Satire has mocked it; Bigotry has

refused to hear its defense; Hatred has slandered it; Intolerance has

armed the red, right hind of persecution against it; the Government

of the United States has seized upon and escheated its property; Mob

Violence has opposed its promulgation by murdering its missionaries

and driving its devotees from city to city, from county to county,

from state to state; and the Civil Authorities refusing the protection

guaranteed alike in state and national constitutions, at last permitted

those who accepted its faith to be exiled from their native country.

"Mormonism," however, has survived not only the violence which murdered

its prophets, burned the houses of the Saints, laid waste their fields

and destroyed their temples, but also an exodus which, for the distance

covered and the dangers encountered, has not a parallel in ancient or

modern history. Its followers settling in a desert land a thousand

miles from the frontiers of civilization, like drilled cohorts made

war upon the sterile elements of the inter-Rocky Mountain region, and

like magic there sprang into existence, as the result of their untiring

efforts and divine blessing, cities, towns, hamlets; temples, churches,

schoolhouses; peaceful homes surrounded by fruitful fields and

gardens and orchards, which, with the peace and good order everywhere

prevailing, challenge the admiration of all who become acquainted with

the Saints and the land they inhabit.

Meantime, the Elders of the Church, full of sublime faith and trust in

God, without purse or scrip, have visited nearly all the nations of the

earth and have preached the gospel to them. Not, perhaps, with that

nice skill and polish which refined education in renowned institutions

of learning may give, but in the power and demonstration of God's Holy

Spirit; and nearly every nation under the whole heaven has given to the

new faith some of its sons and daughters. By reason of this missionary

work "Mormonism" is becoming recognized in the earth as one of the

potent religious forces of the age, and as such claims the right to

be heard in this Parliament, in giving expression to its faith and

distinguishing characteristics.

"Mormonism," like all religions which have any hold either upon the

intelligence or affections of men, has, as its foundation principle,

faith in God, the Creator of heaven and earth and the Power by

which they are sustained. But "Mormonism" not only believes in this

fundamental truth of all religions, but it has another belief equal

unto it, viz., that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and who through the

atonement made by him on Calvary, is the Savior of the world. These two

personages and the Holy Ghost, that divine Spirit which bears, record

of God and operates throughout the universe as his witness and agent,

constitute the God-head--the Holy Trinity, the Grand Presidency of

heaven and earth. In attributes, in purpose, in will, these three are

one; perfectly united in mind and action.

To this great Presidency, "Mormonism" teaches that man owes praise,

adoration, and as best of all worship--obedience; for submission of

the mind and the will to God, is alone true worship. Such a result

as this can only be obtained through faith, for he who cometh thus

to God must believe that he is. But the evidences of God's existence

are so overwhelming that none shall be able to find an excuse for

unbelief. Such evidences are to be found in the works of God as seen

in the works of nature. The orderly procession of the seasons proclaim

it; and when man uplifts his eyes from earth to the dome of heaven

stretched above him, he beholds, like the Psalmist, the evidences of

God's existence and of his majesty and glory. The unbroken line of

testimony of prophets and righteous men as recorded in the Jewish

Scriptures, both in the old and New Testament, bear witness of it.

But to this testimony, the common inheritance of all Christendom,

"Mormonism" adds special evidences of its own. It has prophets, who,

through righteousness and faith, coupled with the grace of God, have

stood in his presence, heard his voice, and beheld in part, his glory.

They bear record that God lives, and that Jesus is the Christ; and that

testimony, like the ancient prophets, they have sealed with their blood.

To the volume of Jewish scripture "Mormonism" adds a volume equal in

bulk and equal in importance to the New Testament--the Book of Mormon.

This book is an abridgement of more extensive records kept by the

ancient inhabitants of the western hemisphere, the existence of which

was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the ministry of an angel

and translated by him into the English language by means of the Urim

and Thummim hidden with the golden plates upon which the record was

engraven.

From this new volume of scripture we learn that the mercies and favors

of God are not confined to the inhabitants of the eastern hemisphere;

but he of whom it is said that he is "no respecter of persons," had

regard for the races of men who inhabited the western half of the

world. He raised up wise men and prophets among them to whom he

revealed his will, made known his purposes concerning the creation of

man, and taught him the way of life. Previous to the coming of the

Son of God in the flesh, their prophets taught this ancient people as

Isaiah, Jeremiah and others taught the Jews, to look forward to the

coming of Messiah, to make an atonement for the sins of the world.

And when Jesus had completed his mission to the Jews in Palestine, in

fulfilment of his own prophecy which says, "I lay down my life for

the sheep; and other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them

also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be

one fold and one shepherd,"--in fulfilment of this, I say, he visited

the land of America, revealed himself to the people, taught the same

divine truths which warmed the hearts and purified the lives of men of

good will in Palestine; gave them the same ordinances of salvation;

and organized the church in their midst for their instruction in

righteousness.

Of these things their poets sang, their prophets wrote; and when,

through wickedness, anarchy overthrew their civilization, righteous men

hid away their records that in the last days they might come forth and

be united with the testimony of prophets and men of God who had lived

in other lands; to the end that the evidences of God's existence, the

Messiahship of Jesus Christ, and the truth of the gospel might be so

increased that unbelief would have no excuse for its infidelity; and

that they who scoff at faith might be reproved and learn to believe.

One thing has occurred to me while in attendance at this Parliament

which has raised in importance the humble part allotted to me in it;

and that is, while we have heard from this platform voices from all

nations and races of men--voices from Asia, from Europe, from Africa

and the islands of the sea; we have had voices from the dead religions

and the living religions, and they have united in saying that in all

these lands and in all ages God has not left himself without witnesses

among them, but has raised up prophets among them who taught them at

least some measure of the truth--perhaps all they could accept and

incorporate in their lives. But where is the voice to tell us that God

remembered the races and nations which flourished for ages throughout

this whole western hemisphere before Europeans discovered it? Races

that had attained a high state of civilization, too, as proclaimed by

the ruins of their temples and cities. Are we to suppose that they

were without God while all the rest of mankind found him? Perish the

thought. If no other voice is to be heard proclaiming that God was just

and merciful to these races, and that he revealed himself to them--then

let the pleasing task be mine, and here in this august presence I

proclaim the revelation of their record which bears witness of God's

goodness to them; and that record is the Book of Mormon.

A word further in regard to that book. Men have usually satisfied

themselves as to its origin by accepting that flimsiest of all theories

that it was the production of one Rev. Solomon Spaulding, who wrote it

as a romance. This theory of its origin, without any investigation, has

generally satisfied those who have heard it. In 1886, however, the long

lost manuscript of the Rev. Mr. Spaulding unexpectedly came to light,

has been identified beyond the peradventure of a doubt, and is now in

the possession of President James H. Fairchild of Oberlin College,

Ohio, or rather is in the museum of that institution for the inspection

of all. It has been published by the Church, every word of it, with

even the erasures made by its author so far as they can be deciphered,

and lo there is not an incident, not a circumstance, not a proper

name either of place or person, nor any similarity of construction or

purpose common to the Book of Mormon and Mr. Spaulding's production.

President Fairchild himself says that whatever theory shall be put

forth for the origin of the Book of Mormon, the Spaulding theory must

be abandoned.

By accepting the records of the ancient peoples of America the

"Mormons" have double the amount of evidence for the existence of God

and the truth of the gospel that other people possess; and since faith

must ever have its foundation in evidence, the enlarged evidences

accepted by "Mormons" must account for that mightier faith which both

their sufferings and their works proclaim they possess.

In "Mormon" theology the atonement of Jesus Christ redeems all mankind

from the consequences of Adam's transgression, irrespective of their

belief or unbelief, their obedience or their disobedience, their

righteousness or their unrighteousness. It is manifestly evident that

the "Fall of Adam" was essential to the accomplishment of the divine

purposes of God in the earth-life of man; which earth-life was designed

for man's progress in that eternal existence which unquestionably is

his. But being a necessity from the nature of things, an essential to

the production of those conditions which would place man in a state of

probation, in which he might gain those experiences, demonstrate that

fidelity, and acquire the strength that shall make him both worthy of,

and able to bear, that eternal weight of glory designed of God for

those able to overcome the evils of earth-life--its temptations and

sins--the "Fall of Adam," I say, being necessary to bring to pass the

conditions of this earth probation for man, it is but just that there

should be some means of free and universal redemption from the effects

of it. For while man, may be held accountable for his personal conduct

under given conditions that do not take from him his freedom, nor the

power to will and to do what is required, he may not in justice be held

accountable for the existence of necessary conditions that establish

the state of probation under which he consents to work. Free and

universal redemption, therefore, is provided for man from those effects

that result from necessity; and hence the Church teaches that "men will

be punished for their own Sins and not for Adam's transgressions." [A]

[Footnote A: A slight alteration has been made in this paragraph since

the publication of this article in the _Improvement Era_.]

But quite apart from the transgression of Adam is man's individual

violations of the laws of righteousness--violations of the laws of

God in which man's agency is exercised; for he sins at times wilfully

and wantonly; knowing the right, he dares to do wrong. Here justice

has a claim upon him and may demand the payment of the penalty to the

uttermost. But the mercy of God as well as his justice is active, and

offers redemption from the consequences of individual transgressions on

the condition of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

These laws are not intricate, baffling the understanding. The

ordinances are neither numerous nor difficult of performance; but in

the plan of man's salvation, as in all other works of Deity, simplicity

marks its outlines and efficiency justifies its adoption. The laws and

ordinances referred to have not for their chief object the propitiation

of the anger of God as the old Pagan ordinances of religion had;

but on the contrary, by their nature and operation, they affect the

character of man, and are calculated to so purify and exalt his nature

as to prepare him to dwell in endless felicity in the presence and

companionship of his Maker.

Of necessity Faith in God and in this plan of salvation is of first

importance, and must be an active principle in the mind, for without it

men would consider themselves under no obligation to yield obedience

to any ordinance whatsoever. The reason the infidel does not repent,

or perform any other act of obedience, is because he has or pretends

to have no faith in the existence of God. As from the rising sun there

beams those rays of light which streak the heavens with glory, so from

faith spring those acts of obedience required in the gospel of Jesus

Christ. First among these acts is repentance, which consists not alone

in deep and heartfelt sorrow for sin, but coupled with it must be a

firm determination of amendment of conduct. It must be a godly sorrow

working a reformation of life. Following repentance comes baptism in

water by which men take on them the name of Christ, through which

ordinance also they receive, when it is preceded by faith and true

repentance, forgiveness of sins. But even after a remission of sins,

such is the weakness of human nature that man is not able to stand by

his own strength, he needs divine aid: hence, God has ordained that

through the ordinance of confirmation by the laying on of hands, the

Holy Ghost shall be imparted unto man as a comforter and guide, and by

giving heed to his voice man shall overcome the old inclinations to

evil, and at last so purify and sanctify himself that he will be worthy

to dwell in the presence of his God.

As a further means of grace, the Church of Jesus Christ recognizes

the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, by which men may frequently renew

their covenant with God and witness to each other that they are willing

to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, gratefully remember the

atonement he has made for them, express a willingness to keep his

commandments, and by doing so draw to themselves a constant renewal of

the Spirit of God.

Few and simple as these ordinances are, the Church teaches that in

order to be of effect they must be administered by divine authority. No

man can take the honor upon himself to administer in things pertaining

to God. He must be called by direct revelation from God, or be

commissioned by a divinely authorized power. Here is where "Mormonism"

comes in conflict with all Christendom. Men even in the early centuries

of the Christian era having transgressed the laws, changed the

ordinances, broke the covenant, and lost divine authority to administer

the of Jesus Christ--though the letter of the Gospel remained in part

with the world in the writings of the ancient Apostles--there arose a

necessity for the re-opening of the heavens and a restoration of that

priesthood which alone can administer the ordinances of salvation.

That is the significance of the revelations of God and the visitation

of angels to Joseph Smith. To him was revealed anew the gospel, to

him was committed a new dispensation of it, and angels bestowed upon

him the apostleship, the fullness of all priesthood which God gives

to man in the earth, and by its power Joseph Smith and those to whom

he transmitted authority preached the gospel. By the power of that

priesthood they organized the Church of Christ never more to be

destroyed; sustained and upheld by that power the Church has outlived

all the opposition arrayed against it, and stands today planted

impregnably upon the eternal foundations of truth.

But notwithstanding the absence of the gospel and the authority to

administer its ordinances, the children of God living through those

dark ages will not be deprived of its saving powers. That must be a

very contracted view of the great plan of human redemption which would

confine its operations to the brief span of man's existence in this

life. "Mormonism" holds no such view. On the contrary, it teaches

that the gospel is everlasting; that it walks beside man throughout

eternity; and means for its application to him have been provided by

the mercy of God. It may be that "Mormonism" does not stand alone in

this broad conception of the application of the gospel to our race;

but while others are speculating as to whether it is possible or not

for man to attain unto repentance and forgiveness of sins in his

future existence, "Mormonism" is erecting temples to the name of the

Most High, and within their sacred walls the Saints are vicariously

performing the ordinances of salvation for those who have passed from

the earth when the gospel and authority to administer it were not among

the children of men. Such is the conception that Mormonism holds and

teaches of the gospel of Jesus Christ and its application to mankind;

and surely one may see in this conception the fullness of that glorious

scripture which says: God, our Savior, would have all men to be saved,

and come unto the knowledge of the truth. (I Timothy 2:3, 4.)

If asked what the distinguishing characteristics of "Mormonism" are, I

should answer:

The acceptance of Jesus Christ as the full and complete revelation of

God to man, in person and in attributes; that as Jesus was and is,--for

to us he still lives, a resurrected, glorified man--so is God, the

Father--a perfected man. This is only saying that as "the Son is, so

also is the Father."

The belief that the spirit of man is in very deed the child of God--his

offspring; that men in reality are brothers to Jesus Christ, and to

each other.

A more pronounced faith than is possessed by other people in the

imminence of God in the world and in men, through the medium of the

divine spirit.

A positive belief in present and continuous revelation.

A broader conception of God's treatment of men in the matter of

revealing himself and his purposes to them.

Acknowledging an inspired priesthood, authorized to direct the affairs

of, and instruct the Church.

The possession of a living faith which lays hold of all the promises

made in the gospel of Jesus Christ; personal communion with God through

the Holy Spirit, and enjoyment of all the spiritual gifts and graces

granted to the saints in any age of the world.

If asked what special benefits "Mormonism" has conferred upon mankind,

my answer would be: 1st. That it presents to the world the fullness

of the gospel, with the authority to administer its ordinances; that

through obedience to it men may attain unto all those gifts, graces and

powers known to the ancient saints. It assures them that God in his

relationship to men, is the same today as he was nineteen centuries

ago, that the gospel is the same now as it ever was, and all spiritual

graces and powers that man ever attained to he may possess today. 2nd.

That in the testimony of modern prophets and saints the evidences of

God's existence and the truth of the gospel are so enlarged that the

unbelief which today distresses the religious world and limits the

extension of Christianity would be swept away. 3rd. That in the Book

of Mormon there is evidence of the authorship of the Jewish scripture

of which Christendom in the face of modern criticism--commonly called

the "Higher Criticism"--stands much in need. That criticism, as is

well known, is not directed so much to textual errors which may have

found their way into the great collection of sacred books, as it is to

utterly destroy the authorship and all idea of the divine inspiration

of them. This modern criticism has decided that Moses is not the

author of the Pentateuch, and indeed, the authorship not only of the

Pentateuch but of nearly all the prophets and even the books of the New

Testament is unsettled in the minds of many. The Book of Mormon gives

an account of a colony of Israelites that left Palestine six hundred

years before Christ, which colony carried with it a copy of the law of

Moses and the writings of the Prophets down to the days of Jeremiah.

These scriptures they preserved with great care, handing them down from

generation to generation, and from them both they and their descendants

learned of the hand dealings of God with his children in ancient times.

When the civilization of these people on the Western Hemisphere was

overthrown, and their records in order to preserve them were hidden by

righteous men, the truths which their fathers had learned from them

were preserved--though somewhat distorted--in their traditions. Thus is

accounted for the knowledge of the creation, the flood, the coming of

the Messiah, which Europeans found among the races inhabiting America

at the time of its discovery. Portions of the ancient Jewish Scriptures

which these colonists brought with them to America were transcribed

into the Book of Mormon, and there they stand in the translations

that have been made of it to testify not only to the existence of the

writings of Moses and the other prophets at least six hundred years

before Christ, but to testify also that the records which have come

down to us from the Jews are substantially correct. More important as

confirming the accuracy and inspiration of the Jewish Scriptures, more

potent to silence the new forms of unbelief which have arisen in modern

times, more powerful to confirm the faith of believers in God's word is

this new volume of scripture--the voice of nations of people who sought

and found God--than all the newly deciphered hieroglyphics of Egypt, or

the still more recent evidences that come from the ancient cities of

Assyria: and for this reason we make bold to invite the attention of

our Christian brethren to the consideration of this New Witness for God.

Besides preaching the Gospel for the salvation of men, "Mormonism" has

an especial mission, viz: to prepare the earth for the coming and reign

of Messiah. This mission authorizes the servants of God to warn mankind

of the judgments which shall precede that appearing, and to call upon

all men to repent of their sins, that they may escape the threatened

calamities. This preparatory work includes the gathering together of

the dispersed tribes of Israel and placing them in possession of the

lands which God, by covenant, gave to their fathers. It contemplates

the erection of a great city upon this continent of America to be

called "Zion," the abode of the pure in heart, from whence the law of

God shall go forth to all the world. It contemplates the restoration of

the Jews to the city of their forefathers, the rebuilding of Jerusalem,

from whence shall go forth the word of the Lord.

Then shall the earth rest from its wickedness, as all the prophets have

predicted; then shall peace and truth and righteousness spread over

all the world, and all the tribes and kindreds of men shall know how

pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Splendid as this consummation is, "Mormonism," instructed by divine

wisdom, looks even beyond it, and contemplates the time when this earth

shall receive even a fuller redemption, and become a celestial sphere,

the abode of resurrected, celestial beings forever, who shall dwell

always in the presence of God.

In conclusion, let me say that "Mormonism" accepts and includes within

its boundary-lines all truth. It is progressive and is destined

to become the religion of the age. Within it is scope for all the

intelligence that shall flow unto it. "Within its atmosphere is room

for every intellectual wing." It does not, as some have supposed,

thrive best where ignorance is most profound, nor does it depend

upon superstition and ignorance for its existence and perpetuity. It

possesses within itself principles of native strength that will enable

it to weather every storm, outlive all hatred born of ignorance and

prejudice; and it will yet prove itself to be what indeed it is, the

gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto Salvation to all those

who believe and obey it, the Church of Jesus Christ.

II.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHURCH TO THE CHRISTIAN SECTS: THE DOCTRINE OF

TWO CHURCHES ONLY.

FOREWORD.

The following is an address delivered at the seventy-sixth Annual

Conference of the Church, held at Salt Lake City, in April, 1906. The

remarks consider two very important statements in our authoritative

books. The first one is found in the Pearl of Great Price, where the

prophet Joseph states what the answer to his question was, when asking

the Lord which of the sects was the true Church, and which he should

join. Of that incident he said:

"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all

wrong; and the personage who addressed me said that all their

creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were

all corrupt:"

The second statement is in the Book of Mormon, where the declaration is

made that,

"There are, save two churches only; the one is the church of the

Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore,

whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God, belongeth to

that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is

the whore of all the earth."

The first of these statements, it is claimed, not only "unchurches

all Christians," but proclaims the universal corruption of individual

Christians. The second statement is generally supposed to stigmatize

the Church of Rome as the church of the devil. Both these questions are

considered in the article which follows.

II.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHURCH TO THE CHRISTIAN SECTS: THE DOCTRINE OF

TWO CHURCHES ONLY.

Among the things important for the Saints of God to understand, among

the things important for the world to understand respecting the

Latter-day Saints, is the relationship that we sustain to the religious

world; and I do not know that there is anything to which I could devote

the few minutes at my disposal to better advantage than in pointing out

that relationship, if I can obtain, through your faith and mine, the

liberty that comes from the possession of the Spirit of the Lord.

The first revelation that the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith

had a bearing upon this subject. You remember that the Prophet went

to the Lord to ascertain which of all the sects of religion was his

church, desiring, of course, to unite himself with that church which

the Lord would designate as his. In reply to that question the Lord,

in substance, said that all the sects were wrong; that he did not

acknowledge them as his church; "their creeds were an abomination in

his sight; those professors were all corrupt;" [A] and the Prophet was

told that he must join none of them, but was promised that in due time

he would be used as God's instrument in the establishment of the Church

of Christ in the earth.

[Footnote A: The assertion, "those professors were all corrupt," must

not be taken as referring to the whole body of Christians; but rather

as referring to the teachers of their creeds--the "professors;" that

term not being used in the sense of "confessors" of the creeds, who

merely accept their doctrine from the teachings of the "professors."

This interpretation is justified from the immediate context of the

passage: "They (the professors) draw near to me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me; they (the "professors") teach for

doctrine the commandments of men." This context clearly proves that

the charge of "corruption" is limited at least to the teachers, to

the "professors," not to the whole body of Christians. Moreover, I

am convinced myself that the declaration is still further limited

to the "professors" who founded and by that act taught to the world

the creeds that are an abomination in the sight of God--a fact not

at all difficult of belief, or proof, upon an analysis of the creeds

themselves. And those who originally could form such conceptions of

God and man and the purposes of human existence, as the creeds teach,

were certainly men of warped understandings, men of perverted or

corrupted minds. But as to the whole body of Christians, we know that

there were at the time of the opening of this new dispensation of the

Gospel, and now, many who were not only not corrupt, except for the

ordinary weaknesses or "corruption" of our human nature,--but virtuous,

hungering and thirsting after righteousness, seeking after God, and

hindered from finding him only by the abominable creeds formulated by

the "professors" of the passage here considered.]

Because of this great revelation, by which the errors of ages were

swept aside and the ground cleared for the re-establishment of the

Church of Christ among men, it has placed us, in a way, in an attitude

of antagonism to the religious world. We have been resisted to some

extent because of this attitude of antagonism; and it is quite possible

that we ourselves have not understood the true relationship in which

we stand to the religious world, by more or less of misapprehension

respecting this great revelation. I rejoice in the plainness and

emphasis of this revelation, because from it I am made to realize

that there is a very important reason for the existence of the work

with which we are identified. I am glad to know that "Mormonism" did

not come into existence because its founders chanced to disagree with

prevailing notions about the form or object of baptism; that it did not

come into existence through a disagreement as to the character of the

government of the Church. From the revelation referred to I learn that

"Mormonism" came into existence because there was an absolute necessity

for a new dispensation of the gospel, a re-establishment of the Church

of Christ among men. The gospel had been corrupted; its ordinances

had been changed; its laws transgressed its truths so far lost to the

children of men that it rendered this new dispensation of the gospel

of Christ--miscalled "Mormonism"--necessary. I say that I rejoice in

the fact that "Mormonism" came into the world, and exists in the world

today, because the world stood and stands in sore need of it. But does

this re-establishment of the Church of Christ, this new dispensation

of the gospel, which we have received, make our relationship to the

children of men one of unfriendliness? I answer, No. On the contrary

our relationship to men is one of absolute friendliness, and we are

anxious to do the world good. We ought to understand that. We do

understand it. And it is important that the world should understand

it, that they may come to regard us in our true light, as friends of

humanity, and not enemies.

If you will look through some of the revelations given in the early

history of the church, you will find that from time to time the Lord

was under the necessity of correcting the ideas of the brethren

respecting their attitude towards religious world. The Lord said to

Martin Harris, by of correction:

"Thou shalt declare glad tidings, yea, publish it upon the

mountains, and upon every high place, and among people that thou

shalt be permitted to see. And thou do it with all humility,

trusting in me, reviling not against revilers. And of tenets thou

shall not talk, but thou shall declare repentance and faith on the

Savior, and remission of sin by baptism and by fire, yea, even the

Holy Ghost."

The Prophet also from time to time found it necessary to correct the

Elders of the Church in respect of their attacks upon other churches.

At Kirtland, in 1836, when many of the Elders were upon the eve of

taking their departure for their fields of labor, he instructed them as

follows:

"While waiting [for the Sacrament] I made the following remarks:

The time that we were required to tarry in Kirtland to be endowed

would be fulfilled in a few days, and then the Elders would go

forth, and each stand for himself . . . . to go in all meekness, in

sobriety, and preach Christ and him crucified; not to contend with

others on account of their faith or systems of religion, but pursue

a steady course. This I delivered by way of commandment; and all

who observe it not, will pull down persecution upon their heads,

while those who do, shall always be filled with the Holy Ghost;

this I pronounced as a prophesy." [A]

[Footnote A: History of the Church, vol. II, p. 431.]

In other words, because the Lord has opened the heavens and has given

a new dispensation of the gospel, it does not follow that his servants

or his people are to be contentious; that they are to make war upon

other people for holding different views respecting religion. Hence

this caution to the Elders of the Church that they should not contend

against other churches, make war upon their tenets, or revile even the

revilers.

At an earlier date still, the Lord had said to Oliver Cowdery and David

Whitmer:

"If you have not faith, hope and charity, you can do nothing.

Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil. Take

upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness." [A]

[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 18, 19-21.]

"The church of the devil" here alluded to, I understand to mean

not any particular church among men, or any one sect of religion,

but something larger than that--something that includes within its

boundaries all evil wherever it may be found; as well in schools of

philosophy as in Christian sects; as well in systems of ethics as

in systems of religion--something that includes the whole empire of

Satan--what I shall call "The Kingdom of Evil."

This descriptive phrase, "the church of the devil," is also used in

the Book of Mormon; and while in attendance at a conference in one of

the border stakes of Zion, a question was propounded to me in relation

to its meaning. The passage occurs in the writings of the first Nephi.

An angel of the Lord is represented as saying to Nephi, "Behold, there

are save two churches only: the one is the church of the Lamb of God,

and the other is the church of the devil." The question submitted to me

was, "Is the Catholic church the church here referred to--the church of

the devil?" "Well," said I, in answer, "I would not like to take that

position, because it would leave me with a lot of churches on my hands

that I might not then be able to classify." So far as the Catholic

church is concerned, I believe that there is just as much truth,

nay, personally I believe it has retained even more truth than other

divisions of so-called Christendom; and there is just as much virtue in

the Roman Catholic church as there is in Protestant Christendom; and I

am sure there is more strength.

I would not like; therefore, to designate the Catholic church as the

church of the devil. Neither would I like to designate any one or all

of the various divisions and subdivisions of Protestant Christendom

combined as such church; nor the Greek Catholic church; nor the

Buddhist sects; nor the followers of Confucius; nor the followers of

Mohammed; nor would I like to designate even the societies formed by

deists and atheists as constituting the church of the devil. The Book

of Mormon text ought to be read in connection with its context--with

the chapter that precedes it and the remaining portions of the chapter

in which the expression is found--then, I think, those who study it in

that manner will be forced to the conclusion that the prophet here has

in mind no particular church, no particular division of Christendom,

but he has in mind, as just stated, the whole empire of Satan; and

perhaps the thought of the passage would be more nearly expressed if we

use the term "the Kingdom of Evil" as Constituting the church of the

devil, in proof of which I submit the following passage from the Book

of Mormon---covering both the text and the context on the subject:

1. And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken

unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself

unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking

away of their stumbling blocks;

2. And if they harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God,

they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father [Lehi; an

Israelite]; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel;

and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land for ever;

they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of

Israel shall no more be confounded;

3. And that great pit which hath been digged for them, by that

great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his

children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell;

yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction

of men, shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter

destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the

soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end;

4. For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and

also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work

wickedness and abomination before him.

5. And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying,

Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent, it shall be well with

them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord

unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard, that whoso

repenteth not, must perish;

6. Therefore, wo, be unto the Gentiles, if it so be that they

harden their hearts against the Lamb of God;

7. For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work

a great and a marvellous work among the children of men; a work

which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other;

either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal,

or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts

and the blindness of their minds, unto their being brought down

into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and

spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I

have spoken.

8. And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words,

he said unto me, Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto

the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea. And it came to pass that

he said unto me, look, and behold that great and abominable church,

which is the mother of abominations, whose foundation is the devil.

And he said unto me, behold there are, save two churches only; the

one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church

of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the

Lamb of God, belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of

abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

47. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all

the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over

all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.

48. And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of

God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and

abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless,

I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God,

were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon

the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the

great whore whom I saw.

49. And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of

abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all

the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against

the Lamb of God.

50. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the

Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of

the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who Were

scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with

righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

51. And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was

poured out upon the great and abominable church, insomuch that

there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and

kindreds of the earth, and as there began to be wars and rumors

of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of

abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying, Behold, the wrath of

God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these

things:

17. And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out

upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable

church of all the earth, whose foundation is the devil, then, at

that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the

way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his

people, who are of the house of Israel.

I understand the injunction to Oliver Cowdery to "contend against no

church, save it be the church of the devil," to mean that he should

contend against evil, against untruth, against all combinations of

wicked men. They constitute the church of the devil, the kingdom

of evil, a federation of unrighteousness; and the servants of God

have a right to contend against that which is evil, let it appear

where it will, in Catholic or in Protestant Christendom, among the

philosophical societies of deists and atheists, and even within

the Church of Christ, if, unhappily, it should make its appearance

there. But, let it be understood, we are not brought necessarily into

antagonism with the various sects of Christianity as such. So far as

they have retained fragments of Christian truth--and each of them has

some measure of truth--that far they are acceptable unto the Lord;

and it would be poor policy for us to contend against them without

discrimination. Wherever we find truth, whether it exists in complete

form or only in fragments, we recognize that truth as part of that

sacred whole of which the Church of Jesus Christ is the custodian;

and I repeat that our relationship to the religious world is not one

that calls for the denunciation of sectarian churches as composing the

church of the devil. All that makes for untruth, for unrighteousness

constitutes the kingdom of evil--the church of the devil. All that

makes for truth, for righteousness, is of God; it constitutes the

kingdom of righteousness--the empire of Jehovah; and, in a certain

sense at least, constitutes the Church of Christ. With the latter--the

kingdom of righteousness--we have no warfare. On the contrary both the

spirit of the Lord's commandments to his servants and the dictates

of right reason would suggest that we seek to enlarge this kingdom

of righteousness both by recognizing such truths as it possesses and

seeking the friendship and co-operation of the righteous men and women

who constitute its membership.

Running parallel with these thoughts, I may be pardoned if I call your

attention to a remark I made in one of these general conferences some

time ago, to the effect that when misrepresentations are made of us,

or of our faith, or when persecution arises against us, it must not

embitter our minds, or make us feel hateful toward our fellowmen, or

lead us to regard the whole world as our enemies. We must keep the

sweetness of our own disposition. The language of the Savior wherein he

says, "Marvel not if the world hate you: it hated me before it hated

you, if you were of the world, the world would love its own," etc., I

contended then and believe now that the truth of that declaration will

be more plainly seen if we read it in this way: "Marvel not if the

worldly hate you." If the ungodly, if those who make and love a lie--if

such classes as these hate you, marvel not; for they were the classes

that hated the Christ and the light and truth that he brought into the

world, because their deeds were evil, and his light and truth were a

reproof to their evil ways. And as we say concerning the "Kingdom of

Evil," so we say with reference to those who hate the truth and make

war upon the righteous, they are not of any one cult, or confined to

any one sect or division of the religious world, but, unhappily, are

found here and there among all classes of people, among all Christian

sects, among all religions and sects of philosophy. We ought to rightly

divide, not only the word of truth, but the wicked and the ungodly from

those who in common with us are seeking to know God and to keep his

commandments. And there are millions who are hungering and thirsting

for that knowledge; and we from time to time shall find them and lead

them into God's temple of truth, where they shall be satisfied at the

feast that the Lord is preparing for all those who hunger and thirst

after righteousness.

The purpose of the Lord in instituting his Church in the earth is very

beautifully set forth in one of the revelations in the D&C, as follows:

"If this generation harden not their hearts, I will establish my

Church among them. Now I do not say this to destroy my Church, but

I say this to build up my Church. Therefore, whosoever belongeth

to my Church need not fear for such shall inherit the kingdom

of heaven. But it is they who do not fear me, neither keep my

commandments, but build up churches unto themselves to get gain,

yea, all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of devil;

yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that it is they that I will

disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center."

From this it very clearly appears that the purpose of God in the

introduction of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times was not to

destroy any truth that existed in the world, but to add to that truth,

to increase it, and to draw together all truth and develop it into a

beautiful system which men may rest contented, knowing God and their

relationship to him, knowing of the future and their relation to that

future.

We should present our message to the world in spirit of peace, charity

and longsuffering; and avoid contention; for as our Book of Mormon

tells us, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of God. I

would the world could understand the unselfishness of our motives in

presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ to them; if they could only know

that our only desire was that they should come to a knowledge of the

great principles of truth that are so comforting to us; that we desire

their repentance and acceptance of the fullness of the truth, only that

they might find favor with God, and share in our hopes of that eternal

life which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began--if our

fellowmen could be made to understand that this is our only purpose,

it seems to me that many of the barriers that now separate us from

our fellowmen would be broken down, and we would be able to reach the

hearts of the people. I believe that as time passes and we become

wiser in the methods of work we adopt, we will do that more and more,

causing not only hundreds of thousands but millions of our Father's

children to partake of those great blessings that the Gospel has

brought to us. To make known these truths and cause the children of

men to participate in the blessings that we ourselves enjoy, we yearly

send hundreds of our Elders to the various nations of the earth. They

sacrifice the pleasant associations of home, the society of wives and

children, parents and friends; they sacrifice professional advantages

and business opportunities; and sometimes sacrifice health and even

life itself to proclaim to the world the truth which God has made known

to us--enduring the world's reproach and contumely, because the world

does not understand them nor their message; and there is still need,

of the prayer on our part, "Father, forgive them, they know not what

they do." For the benefit of those who have passed away from the earth

without a knowledge of the great truths and saving power of the gospel

of Christ, we rear costly temples, whose spires pierce the skies of our

beloved Utah; and within them at great sacrifice of time and means, the

saints of God assemble to apply the principles and ordinances of the

everlasting gospel to those who have passed away without the privilege

of accepting them while upon the earth. A more completely unselfish

work than this does not exist among men. On every hand the work of God

bears the stamp of unselfishness upon it. Our Book of Mormon says:

"The laborers in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for

money, they shall perish." So through all the communications of God to

his people shines the glorious principle of absolute unselfishness.

Not only is it to be found in the words of our books, but a like

testimony is written in the works of the Latter-day Saints--in their

actions. Everywhere unselfishness abounds in the Church of Christ,

both in theory and practice. Now, if we can only get the people of the

world to understand this fact of unselfishness--this very genius of

Mormonism--if they could be made to know that Mormonism is here to do

good, to raise mankind from the low levels on which men are content

to walk to the higher planes where God would have them walk, that

they might have sweet fellowship with God, much of our difficulty in

preaching the gospel would disappear. May the Lord hasten the day when

the world shall know the Saints and the work of God better.

III.

SOME RECENT LITERATURE ON MORMONISM.

FOREWORD.

The following brief discussion of Mr. I. Woodbridge Riley's work, is

an address delivered at the Seventy-fourth Semi-Annual Conference of

the Church, held in Salt Lake City, Oct. 5, 1903. Mr. Riley's book of

446 pages is a well written thesis on the "Founder of Mormonism," and

was published in 1902. It is a psychological study of Joseph Smith the

Prophet. The purpose of the work is set forth in the author's preface,

as follows:

"The aim of this work is to examine Joseph Smith's character and

achievements from the standpoint of recent psychology. Sectarians

and phrenologists, spiritualists and mesmerists have variously

interpreted his more or less abnormal performances,--it remains for

the psychologist to have a try at them."

The work also has an introductory preface by Professor George Trumbull

Ladd, of Yale University, in which Mr. Riley's essay is very highly

praised. Indeed, the work was offered to the Philosophical Faculty of

Yale University as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and

before this the matter of the essay had been utilized in 1898 for a

Master of Arts thesis, under the title of "Metaphysics of Mormonism,"

so that from these circumstances we may venture the remark that Mr.

Riley's book is of a highly scientific character, at least in its

literary structure, and has already attracted some considerable notice

in the world.

I.

"THE FOUNDER OF MORMONISM."

Some of you perhaps are aware of the fact that I have been giving some

attention of late to the literature on Mormonism; not only that which

we ourselves publish, but that also which is Published by others. The

publications on Mormonism during the last five years, I believe, are

more numerous than in any twenty years previous to that time. The last

five years have witnessed an awakening of thought upon our religion.

More, and ever more attention is being given to it. More newspaper

articles, more magazine articles, more volumes--some of them quite

pretentious--have been written on Mormonism than ever before, and

indicate the universal interest taken in the subject. The books and

magazine articles have been written from various standpoints, some of

them in the old spirit of bitterness, and some of them are intended

to be written in a spirit of fairness. Yet I marvel at their author's

ideas of fairness. One work, written by a noted professor, pretending

to be an impartial history, and issued by one of the first publishing

houses in the United States, with the view, evidently, of establishing

a standard history of Mormonism, gives full credence to everything

that has been said against us, but the author frequently cautions his

readers against quotations he makes from our own works--and yet that

book is put forth as an impartial history of Mormonism! Some have

attempted to write from a philosophical standpoint, but with the result

that they plainly manifest that they have not yet reached foundation

principles upon which they can satisfactorily account for Joseph

Smith, the Prophet, and the great work he accomplished. When I see

men shifting their grounds, and advancing first one theory and then,

another to account for Mormonism, and there is confusion among them,

uncertainty, indecision--I know that the citadel of our mighty faith

is secure from harm from their attacks; that Mormonism cannot fall a

victim to their philosophies or their arguments.

Let me, for a little while, draw your attention to at least one of

the so-called philosophical solutions of Mormonism, a scientific

accounting for Joseph Smith. The work I allude to was offered to Yale

University as a thesis upon which the author hoped to secure, and I

think he did secure, the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. He candidly

confesses that it is an effort to account for Joseph Smith upon some

other hypothesis than that he was a conscious fraud, bent on deceiving

mankind. When an intelligent man makes such an announcement as that, I

know, and you know, that the theories heretofore advanced to account

for Joseph Smith, are unsatisfactory; that they are efforts which

have failed. The theory that Joseph Smith was a conscious fraud, an

imposter, has fallen to the ground. The charges frequently made and

persistently urged that Mormonism had its origin in deception and

conscious fraud have failed of their purpose. The floods of falsehood

with which some men have sought to overwhelm Mormonism have not

accomplished the end proposed. The Latter-day Saints, after more than

three-quarters of a century of existence, stand above all the floods

of falsehood that have been belched out against them. The work of God

has not broken down, it has survived; and the Saints smilingly pity

those who would make use of such contemptible means with which to

combat the truth of Almighty God. Now, however, we are to be treated

philosophically. And the philosophy that is advanced is, unconscious

hallucination in the mind of Joseph Smith; partly unconscious and

partly conscious possession of hypnotic power, by which the minds of

those around him were dominated and made to see things which in reality

had no existence; and while the Witnesses to the Book of Mormon, and

others testify of visions and voices from God honestly enough, still as

a matter of fact those revelations had really no objective existence,

but were mental hallucinations. And as for Joseph Smith, he was

deceived by epileptic conditions.

The author I am considering is at great pains to trace the ancestry

of the Prophet, pointing out their mental peculiarities and supposed

defects, leading up to the conclusion that these defects of mind in

his ancestors culminated in epilepsy in Joseph Smith. And hence, we

have as the explanation of Mormonism, epileptic fits in its Prophet,

whose hallucinations are honestly mistaken for inspired visions, with

partly conscious and partly unconscious hypnotic power over others! And

this theory is presented seriously to one of the first institutions of

learning in America as a rational explanation of how Mormonism came

into existence!

Ernest Renan, the French philosopher, when considering a similar

hypothesis to account for the Lord Jesus Christ, overthrew all that

kind of sophistry with this simple statement:

"It has never been given to the mere aberrations of the human mind

to result in the establishment of permanent institutions that

influence any considerable number of people."

In other words, the dreams and hallucinations of the epileptic end

in mere dreams and hallucinations; they never crystallize into great

systems of philosophy or into rational religious institutions. They

never crystallize into great organizations capable of perpetuating that

philosophy and that religion in the world. No matter how nearly genius

may be allied to madness, it must remain genius and not degenerate to

madness if it exercises any permanent influence over the minds of men.

It is a pleasure to find one's conclusions sustained by men of

recognized ability in any line of work on which they have specialized,

and in respect of which they are regarded as authorities. In such

manner I find the views, above set forth sustained by one eminent in

the domain of nervous diseases and psychiatry, Charles L. Dana, the

writer of text books on the foregoing subject, text books used in all

the great colleges and universities of our country, that give attention

to the subject. Following is his definition of paranoia, a disease

closely allied to that to which Mr. Riley assumes Joseph Smith was

subject. [A]

[Footnote A: This paragraph and the two quotations following have been

added since the above remarks were published as part of the proceedings

of the conference.]

"Paranoia is a chronic psychosis characterized by the development

gradually and soon after maturity of systematized delusions

without other serious disturbances of the mind, and without much

tendency to dementia. * * * With some the systematized idea takes a

religious turn, and the patient thinks he has some divine mission

or has received some inspiration from God; or the idea may take

a devotional turn and the patient become an acetic. It is not,

however, to be assumed that all promoters of new religions and

novel social ideas are paranoiacs. Many of these are simply the

natural developments, ignorance and a somewhat emotional and

unbalanced temperament. The characteristic of the paranoiac is that

his work is ineffective, his influence brief and trivial, his

ideas really too absurd and impractical for even ignorant men to

receive. I do not class successful prophets and organizers like

Joseph Smith, or great apostles of social reforms like Rousseau as

paranoiacs. Insane minds are not creative, but are weak, and lack

persistence in purpose or powers of execution." [A]

[Footnote A: Chas. Loomis Dana, Text Book of Nervous Diseases and

Psychiatry, 6th Edition, pp. 649-50.]

"A certain rather small percentage of epileptics become either

demented or insane. True epilepsy is not compatible with

extraordinary intellectual endowments. Caesar, Napoleon, Peter the

Great, and other geniuses may have had some symptomatic fits, but

not idiopathic epilepsy." [B]

[Footnote B: Chas. L. Dana, A. M. M. D., Text Book of Nervous Diseases,

3rd edition, p. 408.]

There is much glamor of sophistry, which may be taken for profound

reason and argument, in the work to which I am calling your attention.

But one word answers this "philosophical" accounting for our Prophet.

The work accomplished by him, the institutions he founded, destroy

the whole fabric of premises and argument on which this theory is

based. Great as was the Prophet Joseph Smith--and he was great; to him

more than to any other man of modern times was it given to look deep

into the things that are; to comprehend the heavens and the laws that

obtain there; to understand the earth, its history, and its mission. He

looked into the deep things of God--always, be it remembered, by the

inspiration of God--and out of the rich treasure of divine knowledge he

brought forth things both new and old for the instruction of our race,

the like of which, in some respects, had not been known in previous

dispensations. Hence I repeat that Joseph Smith was great; but great

as he was, rising up and towering far above him is the work that he

accomplished through divine guidance; that work is infinitely greater

than the prophet--greater than all the prophets connected with it. Its

consistency, its permanency, its power, its institutions, contradict

the hallucination theory advanced to account for its origin.

Let us look at this work for a moment. If one could but draw it clearly

in outline, and present it in its originality and greatness, it would

be its own witness of its divinity, for in all things it transcends the

mere wit of man. Take the Church organization for illustration; and

look at it with reference to its being an assemblage of means to the

accomplishment of an end. As I understand the Church of Christ, its

mission is two-fold; first, it is to proclaim the truth; second, it is

to perfect those who receive the truth. I think these two things cover,

in a general way, the entire mission of the Church. Is its organization

competent to attain those two mighty ends? Let us see; and first as to

the proclamation of the truth--the work really of the foreign ministry.

What provision has God made for that? He has in his Church, first of

all Twelve Special Witnesses, the Twelve Apostles, who were chosen

in the first instance, by the Three Special Witnesses to the Book of

Mormon. I remark in passing that there is a peculiar fitness in the

Twelve Apostles--the Twelve Special Witnesses being chosen by those

who had been made Witnesses for God by the great vision and revelation

he had given them concerning the absolute truth and correctness of the

Book of Mormon. Upon these Twelve Apostles rests the responsibility

of being witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ in all the world. That

is their special, peculiar calling. You can see, however, if you take

into account the extent of their field of labor--for it encompasses

the whole round world--that twelve men would not be adequate to meet

all the requirements of the foreign ministry. God knew this, and hence

he called into existence other special witnesses, to labor under the

direction of these Twelve, they holding the keys to open the door of

the gospel to all the nations of the earth; for all must hear it, from

the greatest to the least. The Twelve, I say, hold the keys of this

foreign ministry; and hence whenever there has been an opening of

the door of the gospel to a foreign nation, one or more of these men

holding the keys have been sent to do it. It was for this reason that

Heber C. Kimball, one of the Twelve Apostles, was sent to Great Britain

in 1837, to open the door of the gospel in that land; why Elder John

Taylor was sent to France and Germany; why Elder Lorenzo Snow was sent

to Italy and Switzerland; why Erastus Snow was sent to the Scandinavian

countries; why Parley P. Pratt went to Chili and opened the door of the

gospel to the South American republics; why, more recently, Elder Heber

J. Grant was sent to Japan to open a mission. The Twelve, then, hold

the keys of this ministry, and upon them devolves this responsibility

of opening the door of salvation to the nations. But after them, other

witnesses are chosen. These are the seventy apostles, or special

witnesses, the assistants of the Twelve; under whose directions they

labor. At first, two quorums of Seventy only were organized; but

with the promise of the Prophet that as the work should expand other

quorums would be organized, not only till seven times seven quorums

should be brought into existence, but until seventy times seven; "aye,"

said he, "until there shall be a hundred and forty and four thousand

seventies chosen, if the work of the ministry shall require it." So we

have continued organizing quorums of Seventy, to labor in the foreign

ministry, until now we have one hundred and forty-three quorums in the

Church--a body of nearly ten thousand men. They are special witnesses

of the name of Christ in all the world, and when their numbers are

considered, together with the privilege we have of increasing them, you

can see that ample provision is made, in this respect, for the work of

the foreign ministry.

But now let us consider their organization for a moment. Sixty-three

members with seven presidents, when the quorum is complete, constitute

a quorum. Suppose you were to send an entire quorum of Seventy bodily

into the world--I hope that will be done some day--you could break

that quorum into groups of ten. You could send with each group a

president. It should be remembered here that these presidents are

equal in authority. The council of a quorum of Seventy is made up

of seven presidents, not one president and six counsellors--but

seven presidents, equal in authority. For the sake of order in

administration, however, the right of initiative and presidency in

the council is recognized as being vested in the senior member by

ordination, not of age. And this principle is observed not only in

the case of the first or senior president, but all down the line in

the First Council, and in all quorum councils of the Seventies. By

this simple arrangement all confusion as to the right of presidency

is obviated; for no sooner does the council of a quorum, or any part

thereof, meet, in any part of the world than each president knows at

once upon whom the responsibility of initiative rests. But to return

to the groups of ten into which the quorum can be divided, with a

president for each group. You could break each group of ten into

five pairs, and scatter them out among the people, to bear effectual

witness of the truth of the gospel under the provision of the law of

the gospel; for it is the law of the gospel, one may say, for the

Elders to travel two and two, mainly for the reason, I suppose, that

God has declared that he would establish, his word in the mouth of two

or three witnesses; and it is good when bearing testimony to the world

that there should be the legal number of witnesses provided for in the

law of God. Moreover, there is a very much needed companionship and

sympathy provided for when the Elders travel two and two; and they are

a protection one to the other. You could scatter these groups of ten

in one or more states or countries; and they could occasionally meet

in group conferences, exchange experiences, give advice and counsel;

after which refreshing they could again divide into pairs, scatter

and so continue their ministry. Occasionally the seven groups of the

quorum could be brought together in general quorum conference, to take

counsel for making their ministry more and ever more effectual: to

readjust methods; to plan new campaigns; to strengthen each other by a

mutual exchange of experiences and sympathy; and do whatever else their

combined wisdom, helped by the inspiration of the Lord, would suggest

as right and proper to do in the furtherance of their high aim in

bringing to pass the salvation of men. Such are the possibilities of a

quorum of Seventy. It may become a veritable flying column of witnesses

for God, sweeping the earth with the testimony of Jesus, and calling

the inhabitants of the earth unto repentance! Can you think of this

beautiful arrangement for the foreign ministry as having its origin in

the alleged epileptic hallucinations of a man? Such a conception is

palpably absurd, and utterly revolting to reason.

Turn now for a moment to the home ministry of the Church, and what have

you? You have your stake organization, with its Presidency of three

presiding High Priests, aided in their counsels and labors by the High

Council of the stake, consisting of twelve High Priests. This council

also constitutes a judicial body for the settlement of difficulties

that may not be satisfactorily adjusted in the Bishop's courts. It is,

however, an ecclesiastical court of original as well as of appellate

jurisdiction. You have a Bishopric in the respective wards of the

Church, constituting the local presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood,

with quorums of Priests, Teachers and Deacons to aid them in the work

of their ministry. The Deacons take care of the house of the Lord,

and are to be assistants to the Teachers when occasion requires. The

Teachers are the watchmen upon the towers of Zion, and it is their

business to see that there is no iniquity in the Church--no backbiting,

no faultfinding, and that the members attend to their religious duties.

The Priests' duty is to visit the homes of the people and instruct

them in the gospel. Where they have sons or daughters who will not be

amenable to the instructions of parents, the priests with very great

propriety could be invited to meet with and teach them the sublime

truths of the gospel. In addition to these officers of the wards and

the stakes, there is in each stake a quorum of High Priests, and one

or more quorums of Elders. These constitute the standing ministry in

the stakes of Zion, and are authorized to teach the gospel, to warn

all men against evil, and to invite and persuade all men to come

unto Christ. These are the provisions made for the home ministry, in

the Church organization proper. Time will not admit reference to the

auxiliary organizations--the Sabbath schools, Improvement associations,

Relief societies, Primary societies, and Religion classes. But from

the fireside of the people to the public assembly of worship; from the

cradle to the grave, every provision is made for carrying on the work

of the ministry, at home, instructing the Saints in the things of God,

inviting all to come unto Christ; the object of the Church being to

lift to higher, and ever higher levels the lives of the Saints of God,

until they shall become perfect men and women in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Such are the arrangements, in brief, for the home ministry.

Notwithstanding the clear distinction between the foreign ministry

and the home ministry, the lines that separate them may be crossed

on occasion. You remember how Paul compares the Church of Christ to

the body of a man, and insists that every member and every organ is

necessary to the perfect working of that organism; that the head cannot

say to the feet, I have no need of thee; neither can the feet say to

the head, I have no need of thee; nor the hand to the eye, I have no

need of thee; all the members of the body, he argues, are necessary.

Now, what would you think of a body that possessed a right hand and

left hand, yet the right hand would not at need come to the help of

the left hand; or the left hand refuse to come to the aid of the right

hand? You expect the two hands and arms of a man's body to help each

other, under the direction of the intelligence of the mind. And so in

the Church of Christ: the home ministry and the foreign ministry cross

the line of separation as occasion requires, and come to the assistance

of one another in accomplishing the purposes of God. Sometimes the

officers who are particularly charged with the foreign ministry help at

home; the home ministry sometimes help in the foreign ministry; but all

work harmoniously together.

Rising above both these great divisions of the Priesthood, the home

ministry and the foreign ministry, stands, as the keystone in the arch,

the Presidency of the Church, having control over both departments,

and directing the work of God in all the world. No branch of the

Church, however remote, is beyond their oversight. No Elder, let him be

travelling where he will, is outside the pale of their authority. Talk

of catholicity being one of the marks of the true Church of Christ, as

our Catholic friends sometimes do, they shall find here in the Church

of Christ a catholicity equal at least to their own claims. The Church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the church universal; and the

President of the Church holds universal jurisdiction. Moreover, as

Prophet, Seer and Revelator of the Church he is the source through

which God speaks, not only to this people, not only to the Church of

Christ, but to all the inhabitants of the earth, and God will hold them

accountable for the use they make of the words he shall speak through

his appointed mouthpiece. Do not think that this man's authority is

limited to this Church alone. All the inhabitants of the earth are

children of God, and he will deliver his word unto them through his

prophet. I rather like the idea that all the inhabitants of the earth

belong to us--they are God's children, though some of them are in

rebellion and will not heed the commandments of their Father just

now. But here in the Church of Christ is the center of ecclesiastical

government. Here shine forth those rays of light that will grow

brighter and brighter until all the inhabitants of the earth are

enlightened by them.

Now, what do you think of this effort of philosophy, as set forth by

Mr. Riley, to account for Mormonism? How insipid, how foolish, how

inadequate are the theories of men to account for the organization of

this Church! The Church is its own witness! As the stars, "singing

ever as they shine, proclaim the hand that made them is divine,"

so, too, this work,--the restored latter-day gospel--the Church of

Christ--proclaims that it has a divine origin, and that there is in it

a divine power working out the purposes of God. Then let the imitators

go on. Let them choose "apostles," if they want to--and some of them

have them; let them have "seventies," if they want to, and some of them

have them; let them accept this doctrine and that doctrine until they

shall have the complete organization and the complete doctrine in form,

if they want to; but there is one thing they never can get, worlds

without end, and that is the spirit of this work, which gives it life

and power. This work will always be distinguished from the works of

men, in that there will be imminent in it the Spirit of God working his

sovereign will. And that is something they cannot imitate.

My brethren and sisters, I rejoice in the truth. I rejoice in the

gospel of Jesus Christ. It satisfies me completely. It responds to the

hungering of my spirit. It meets the demands also of my intellectual

nature. And as I see the growth of intelligence among men, an increase

of scientific knowledge, a broader understanding of the universe, a

comprehension of the extent and grandeur of the works of God, I see in

Mormonism that which rises up to meet this enlarged knowledge of men.

Mormonism teaches man that he is a child of God; it tells him that he

has in him divine elements that partake of the nature of God; that

after the resurrection he will live forever; and that he may go on

from one degree of excellence unto another until he shall attain unto

something that is truly great, worthy of a God to give, and worthy of a

son of God to receive.

I rejoice in these truths. They cannot be accounted for by any theory

that refers their origin to hallucinations of an epileptic's mind: They

are too substantial, too grand, too rational, too sublime, too soul

inspiring, to have any such contemptible origin. Their own intrinsic

value--their own self evident truth--the institution to which they are

committed as to a sacred depository for the benefit of mankind--The

Church--all this proclaims their divine origin.

NOTE. At the close of the above remarks, President Joseph F. Smith

arose and said:

"While I realize, as you all do, doubtless, that it may be wholly

unnecessary for me to say what I am going to say, yet I feel prompted

to say it, and let it go for what it is worth. I have been delighted

with the most excellent discourse that we have listened to; but I

desire to say that it is a wonderful revelation to the Latter-day

Saints, and especially to those who were familiar with the Prophet

Joseph Smith, to learn in these latter days that he was an epileptic! I

will simply remark, God be praised, that there are so many still living

who knew the Prophet Joseph well, and who are in a position to bear

testimony, to the truth that no such condition [as that suggested in

Mr. Riley's hypothesis] ever existed in the man. He was never troubled

with epilepsy. Of course, this may be unnecessary to say, after this

fallacious, foolish, nonsensical theory--this "fried froth"--gotten

up by vain philosophers to account for something they would like to

destroy from off the face of the earth, but are impotent to do it."

FOREWORD.

"The Mormon Prophet," is by Lily Dougall, author of "The Mermaid," "The

Zeitgeist," "The Madonna of a Day," "Beggars All," etc. The review

of the book which follows was written at the request of the editor

of the "New York Times Saturday Review," and appeared in that paper,

impression of September 23, 1899.

II.

"THE MORMON PROPHET."

It was expected that sooner or later some attempt would be made to

explain Joseph Smith, the "Mormon Prophet." Such was his character,

such the importance of the religion he founded, so remarkable and

thrilling the history of his people, that he could not be ignored.

Already of biographies there have been many, some written from the

side of sympathy and belief in his prophetic calling; more from the

standpoint of the polemic contemner. Even fiction before now has found

incidents in his career and elements in his character that promised

material for its purpose. But the fiction in the main has been "sorry

stuff," utterly contemptible from its distortion of facts and sickening

in its childish efforts to deny the Mormon leader or his people any

honesty of purpose, uprightness of intention, or praise for what they

have achieved. The latest work of Miss Lily Dougall, "The Mormon

Prophet," however, does not belong to that class of fiction. Here,

at least, we have a strong, clear-cut, purpose story, lofty in tone;

its incidents easily within the lines of probability, and singularly

free from the vulgarity of nearly all the writers of fiction who have

made their work at any point touch Mormonism. It is an honest effort

to account for Joseph Smith and his work; and, I may add, without

depreciating any one worthy of consideration, that it enjoys the

distinction of being about the first honest effort in the department of

fiction to account for the Mormon Prophet. This, it must be explained,

is not said in approval of the entire book or its purpose, but is said

of the story as unobjectionable fiction and the honesty of effort upon

the part of the authoress to solve what must have been to her, and what

is to the world, a difficult problem.

That Miss Dougall writes from intimate acquaintance with the early

history of the Mormons is apparent on every page; that she has followed

the order of events, all acquainted with the history of our people well

know; and if, as she explains in her preface, she has taken "necessary

liberty with incidents," those that she has used have not been

violently wrested, and those invented have not been much out of harmony

with the facts of history.

The point at which her work is vulnerable is the point of view

from which she treats her subject. In studying the character and

achievements of Joseph Smith, she was evidently not ready to accept him

as a prophet truly inspired of God, nor could she accept the theory

of "conscious invention" as a reasonable explanation of his life's

work; for, had that been the source of his efforts in rounding a

religion, "it would not have left sufficient power to carry him through

persecution, in which his life hung in the balance and his cause

appeared to be lost;" nor could she believe "that the class of earnest

men who constituted the rank and file of his early following would

have been so long deceived by a deliberate hypocrite." "It appears to

me," she explains "more likely that Smith was genuinely deluded by

the automatic freaks of a vigorous but undisciplined brain, and that

yielding to these, he became confirmed in the hysterical temperament

which always adds to delusion self-deception, and to self-deception,

half-conscious fraud." She calls to aid of her theory--and with marked

skill, be it said--the inclination of the times toward superstition.

"In his day," she remarks, "it was necessary to reject a marvel or

admit its spiritual significance; granting the honest delusion as to

his vision and his book, his only choice lay between counting himself

the sport of devils or the agent of heaven; an optimistic temperament

cast the die."

This is Miss Dougall's point of view in the treatment of her subject,

and it is utterly untenable. The facts in which Mormonism had its

origin are of such a character that they cannot be resolved into

delusion or mistake. Either they were truth or conscious, Simon-pure

invention. It is not possible to place the matter on middle ground.

Joseph Smith was either a true prophet or a conscious fraud or villain.

Had his religion found its origin in the visions of his own mind,

without any connection with material objects, as was the case with

Emanuel Sweedenborg, then there would have been room for Miss Dougall's

theory; but the facts in which Mormonism had its origin had to do with

quite a different order of things. The ancient record of America,

revealed to Joseph Smith by an angel, and which was finally given into

his keeping to translate, was no visionary book--no mere creation of an

overwrought brain but actual substance, sensible to touch as to sight,

consisting of golden plates, with length, breadth, and thickness.

Each plate was about seven by eight inches in dimension, and somewhat

thinner than common tin; the whole bound together by rings made a

volume some six inches in thickness. These plates Joseph Smith claimed

to have handled, and during the time they were in his possession--some

two years--he frequently removed them from place to place in the most

matter-of-fact way. Others saw and handled them, also, not only the

three men to whom the angel Moroni exhibited them, and whose testimony

accompanies every Book of Mormon published, but eight other men, whose

testimony is also published in every Book of Mormon, testify that

Joseph Smith showed the plates to them; that they saw and handled

them, and examined the characters engraven thereon. It cannot be said

that Joseph Smith and these men were self-deceived in such things; not

even the "automatic freaks of a vigorous but undisciplined brain,"

could delude itself in such matters. The Book of Mormon plates had an

existence, and Joseph Smith and others who testified to the fact saw

and handled them, or they were conscious frauds and lied and conspired

to deceive.

So with many other manifestations which the claims to have received.

Many of them consisted of and conversations with resurrected

personages--men of flesh and bone--who laid their hands upon the head

of Joseph Smith and others who were with him. There was no chance for

self-delusion or mistake to enter into such transactions, and no theory

based upon the idea of Joseph Smith being "confirmed in the hysterical

temperament" can explain away these stubborn facts, however well

intentioned or skilfully worked out.

It is to be regretted that Miss Dougall has not extended her studies

of Mormonism beyond the Nauvoo period; had she done so she would have

escaped some errors that now appear in her work, such as treating

seriously the story of the Danite organization, which never had any

existence by reason of any sanction given it by Church authorities. Nor

would she have assumed so largely the ignorance of early converts of

Mormonism, upon which she depends strongly for the working out of her

theory Joseph Smith's character. Here in Utah, in the past, we have had

with us very many of those early converts to Mormonism; some of them

are still with us, and could Miss Dougall have met them she would have

found them people of rather superior intelligence and character, and

not at all the ignorant and superstitious persons they are generally

supposed to have been. Nor would she have committed the blunder of

saying that Mormons revered but one prophet. While it is doubtless true

that Joseph Smith will always hold a pre-eminence among the prophets in

the Church, yet the Mormons believe that all the men who have succeeded

him in the Presidency of the Church have held the same keys of

authority, possessed the same rights, and exercised the same prophetic

powers that were exercised by him.

In conclusion, let me say, it has been suggested that certain "claims

made for the early followers of Joseph Smith were later repudiated

by members of the sect." That is not true, so far as the Church

is concerned. What individual members scattered over the country

formerly occupied by the Saints, but over whom the Church has no

jurisdiction--what they may have repudiated of Joseph Smith's early or

even later teachings we cannot, of course, say; but for the Church,

it can be said that not one of the early claims or teachings of the

Prophet Joseph Smith has ever been repudiated, nor is there any

institution or doctrine of the Church, which did not arise from his

teachings; for all of which he is morally responsible. Such changes

as have taken place are but the natural developments of that which he

founded.

FOREWORD.

This review of Mr. Harry Leon Wilson's book was submitted to several

eastern papers for publication, but was not accepted by any of them.

The refusal of the article by the several eastern publications to

which it was submitted illustrates in a way the difficulties which

the Mormon people have now for a long time met with in correcting the

misrepresentations made of them, and from which they have suffered

so much. Here was a book of no small pretentious the work of a

popular author, pretending to deal with the historical facts and

character of a great people much in the public eye, and very much

maligned and seriously misrepresented by the writer of "The Lions."

Yet no correction of this misrepresentation would be allowed by the

publications to which this review was submitted. Mr. Wilson's book had

a wide circulation, and every consideration of fairness demanded that

the people suffering from its falsehoods should be heard if they asked

for that hearing and presented their case in a proper spirit, and in a

literary style suitable for such a controversy. Of the suitableness of

the article I shall leave the reader to judge. After being rejected by

eastern papers, it was finally published in the Deseret Evening News of

October 5th, 1903.

III.

"THE LIONS OF THE LORD."

I have just read the "Lions of the Lord," by Harry Leon Wilson. An

extended friendly review of it in a leading Utah paper volunteers the

statement that "Mr. Wilson gained his principal information during a

few weeks' visit in Salt Lake last fall, and some time spent over the

Schroeder Mormon library, now in Iowa." No one can doubt the accuracy

of the statement; the treatment of the theme bears every evidence of

the author's hasty and shallow thought upon the subject with which he

attempts to deal. But he "spent some time over the Schroeder Mormon

library;" yes, and what is more, he was undoubtedly "coached" by Mr.

Schroeder while at work in the library; for the salacious fiction which

that "gentleman" of unsavory reputation in Utah used to serve up to the

delectation of the readers of his "Lucifer's Lantern" is altogether too

evident in Mr. Wilson's book, and justly entitled him to recognition as

collaborator with Mr. Wilson in its production.

Since inadvertently the source of the author's inspiration and

information is disclosed, a word respecting Mr. Schroeder, the

should-be-recognized collaborator of Mr. Wilson, becomes necessary

in this review. Mr. Schroeder is known to fame in Utah first as a

lawyer who stands under the recorded public censure of the Supreme

Court of the state of Utah for unprofessional conduct, as is witnessed

in the tenth volume of the Utah Reports of the Supreme Court of the

state. Secondly he is known locally as the collector of a library on

Mormonism, in which prominence and preference is given to anti-Mormon

works redolent of that putridity so delectable to men of debased

natures and perverted tastes. Thirdly, and perhaps most prominently,

he is known as the author, proprietor, and publisher of "Lucifer's

Lantern," that may be described as an intermittent periodical-now some

time since happily defunct--most worthy of its title and its author. It

is into such hands Mr. Wilson unfortunately fell, and by such a person

he was evidently "coached," in his study of Mormonism.

The evidence of all this, apart from the inadvertent admission of

the friendly Utah reviewer, is to be found in the identity of the

sewer-stench that attaches to the work of both; in the use of the

same materials; and the adoption of similar methods. As for instance:

A somewhat eccentric writer in the early days of the Mormon Church

characterized a number of the prominent Church leaders under what

was to him descriptive titles, such as Brigham Young, "Lion of

the Lord;" Wilford Woodruff, "Banner of the Gospel;" John Taylor,

"Champion of Liberty." This evidently appealed to the erratic and

fantastical intellect of Mr. Schroeder, and led him to adopt as the

title of his intermittent, and now defunct anti-Mormon periodical,

"Lucifer's Lantern;" and on the title page of the last number of the

"Lantern" he gratuitously invents for Lorenzo Snow, then President of

the Mormon Church, the descriptive title--as he supposes--"Boss of

Jehovah's Buckler." Now, Mr. Wilson having his attention directed to

the descriptive title of early leading Mormon Elders invented by the

aforesaid eccentric, though friendly writer, conceived the idea of

making the chief character of his story of the number of those who had

received such titles, and hence confers upon "Joel Rae," the character

in his book about whom he centers all the horrors of his gruesome

tale, the blasphemous title--"Lute of the Holy Ghost!" Or was it Mr.

Schroeder; for one dreads to think that a man of the order of talents

of Mr. Wilson could stoop to the low blasphemy of such a performance;

while it is altogether in accordance both with the principles and

practice of his should-be-acknowledged collaborator, Mr. Shroeder;

for blatant atheism was and is the latter's pride and boast; and he

was wont, as we have seen by his use of it in "Lucifer's Lantern," to

ascribe fanciful titles to leading Mormons.

A word, in headlines, as to the story itself; that it is possessed of

dramatic force, and literary merit will go without saying when it is

known that its author is also the author of "The Spenders." That it

deals with elements capable of being so combined as to produce the most

intense human interest will be conceded when I say that it treats of

religious fanaticism--the faith--"fanatic faith," that

"Once wedded fast

To some dear idol,

Hugs it to the last;"

of love--the theme of the ages, the one theme ever old and ever

new--the theme perennial; with human passions and ambitions, the desire

for that most deceitful end of all human ambitions--the desire for

sanctity while living, and a reputation for holiness when dead. These

the elements of the story; and now the incidents: