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,owen rickowenyahoo4com4       ,,the    
,,story ,,of ,,mormonism  ,and  ,,the   
,,philosophy ,,of ,,mormonism  ,by      
,james ,e4 ,talmage1 ,d4 ,sc41 ,f4 ,r4  
,s4 ,e4    ,,preface  ,the ,story of    
,mormonism as presented in the following
 pages is a revised and reconstructed   
version of lectures delivered by ,dr4   
,james ,e4 ,talmage at the ,university  
of ,michigan1 ,cornell ,university1 and 
elsewhere4  ,the ,story first appeared  
in print as a lecture report in the     
,improvement ,era1 and was afterward    
issued as a booklet from the office of  
the ,millennial ,star1 ,liverpool4  ,in 
#aiaj it was issued in a revised form by
 the ,bureau of ,information at ,salt   
,lake ,city1 in which edition the       
lecture style of direct address was     
changed to the ordinary form of essay4  
,the present or third ,american edition 

has been revised and amplified by the   
author4  ,the ,story has been translated
 and published abroad4  ,already        
versions have appeared in ,swedish1     
modern ,greek1 and ,russian4  ,the      
subject matter of ,the ,philosophy of   
,mormonism was first presented as a     
lecture delivered by ,dr4 ,talmage      
before the ,philosophical ,society of   
,denver4  ,it appeared later in the     
columns of the ,improvement ,era1 and   
translations have been published in     
pamphlet form in the ,danish and ,german
 languages4  ,the present publication of
 these two productions is made in       
response to a steady demand4            
,,the ,,publishers4  ,salt ,lake ,city1 
,utah1 ,march1 #aiad4    ,,the ,,story  
,,of ,,mormonism    ,,chapter ,i  ,in   
the minds of many1 perhaps of the       
majority of people1 the scene of the    
,mormon drama is laid almost entirely in
 ,utah2 indeed1 the terms ,mormon       
question and ,utah question have been   
often used interchangeably4  ,true it   

is1 that the development of ,mormonism  
is closely associated with the history  
of the long-time ,territory and present 
,state of ,utah2 but the origin of the  
system must be sought in regions far    
distant from the present gathering-place
 of the ,latter-day ,saints1 and at a   
period antedating the acquisition of    
,utah as a part of our national domain4 
,the term origin is here used in its    
commonest application--that of the first
 stages apparent to ordinary            
observation--the visible birth of the   
system4  ,but a long1 long period of    
preparation had led to this physical    
coming forth of the ,mormon religion1 a 
period marked by a multitude of         
historical events1 some of them         
preceding by centuries the earthly      
beginning of this modern system of      
prophetic trust4  ,the ,mormon people   
regard the establishment of their       
,church as the culmination of a great   
series of notable events4  ,to them it  
is the result of causes unnumbered that 

have operated through ages of human     
history1 and they see in it the cause of
 many developments yet to appear4 ,this 
to them establishes an intimate         
relationship between the events of their
 own history and the prophecies of      
ancient times4  ,in reading the earliest
 pages of ,mormon history1 we are       
introduced to a man whose name will ever
 be prominent in the story of the       
,church--the founder of the organization
 by common usage of the term1 the head  
of the system as an earthly             
establishment--one who is accepted by   
the ,church as an ambassador specially  
commissioned of ,god to be the first    
revelator of the latter-day             
dispensation4  ,this man is ,joseph     
,smith1 commonly known as the ,mormon   
prophet4  ,rarely indeed does history   
present an organization1 religious1     
social1 or political1 in which an       
individual holds as conspicuous and in  
all ways as important a place as does   
this man in the development of          

,mormonism4 ,the earnest investigator1  
the sincere truth-seeker1 can ignore    
neither the man nor his work2 for the   
,church under consideration has risen   
from the testimony solemnly set forth   
and the startling declarations made by  
this person1 who1 at the time of his    
earliest announcements1 was a farmer's  
boy in the first half of his teens4  ,if
 his claims to ordination under the     
hands of divinely commissioned          
messengers be fallacious1 forming as    
they form the foundation of the ,church 
organization1 the superstructure cannot 
stand2 if1 on the other hand1 such      
declarations be true1 there is little   
cause to wonder at the phenomenally     
rapid rise and the surprising stability 
of the edifice so begun4  ,joseph ,smith
 was born at ,sharon1 ,vermont1 in      
,december1 #ahje4  ,he was the son of   
industrious parents1 who possessed      
strong religious tendencies and tolerant
 natures4  ,for generations his         
ancestors had been laborers1 by         

occupation tillers of the soil2 and     
though comfortable circumstances had    
generally been their lot1 reverses and  
losses in the father's house had brought
 the family to poverty2 so that from his
 earliest days the lad ,joseph was made 
acquainted with the pleasures and pains 
of hard work4 ,he is described as having
 been more than ordinarily studious for 
his years2 and when that powerful wave  
of religious agitation and sectarian    
revival which characterized the first   
quarter of the last century1 reached the
 home of the ,smiths1 ,joseph with      
others of the family was profoundly     
affected4  ,the household became        
somewhat divided on the subject of      
religion1 and some of the members       
identified themselves with the more     
popular sects2 but ,joseph1 while       
favorably impressed by the ,methodists  
in comparison with others1 confesses    
that his mind was sorely troubled over  
the contemplation of the strife and     
tumult existing among the religious     

bodies2 and he hesitated4  ,he tried in 
vain to solve the mystery presented to  
him in the warring factions of what     
professed to be the ,church of ,christ4 
,surely1 thought he1 these several      
churches1 opposed as they are to one    
another on what appear to be the vital  
points of religion1 cannot all be right4
 ,while puzzling over this anomaly he   
chanced upon this verse in the epistle  
of ,st4 ,james3      ,if any of you lack
 wisdom1 let him ask of ,god1 that      
giveth to all men liberally1 and        
upbraideth not2 and     it shall be     
given him4  ,in common with so many     
others1 the earnest youth found here    
within the scriptures1 admonition and   
counsel as directly applicable to his   
case and circumstances as if the lines  
had been addressed to him by name4  ,a  
brief period of hesitation1 in which he 
shrank from the thought that a mortal   
like himself1 weak1 youthful1 and       
unlearned1 should approach the ,creator 
with a personal request1 was followed by

 a humble and contrite resolution to act
 upon the counsel of the ancient        
apostle4  ,the result1 to which he bore 
solemn record 7testifying at first with 
the simplicity and enthusiasm of youth1 
afterward confirming the declaration    
with manhood's increasing powers1 and at
 last voluntarily sealing the testimony 
with his life's blood17 proved most     
startling to the sectarian world--a     
world in which according to popular     
belief no new revelation of truth was   
possible4  ,it is a surprising fact that
 while growth1 progress1 advancement1   
development of known truths and the     
acquisition of new ones1 characterize   
every living science1 the sectarian     
world has declared that nothing new must
 be expected as direct revelation from  
,god4  ,the testimony of this lad is1   
that in response to his supplication1   
drawn forth by the admonition of an     
inspired apostle1 he received a divine  
ministration2 heavenly beings manifested
 themselves to him--two1 clothed in     

purity1 and alike in form and feature4  
,pointing to the other1 one said1 ,this 
is my beloved ,son1 hear ,him4  ,in     
answer to the lad's prayer1 the heavenly
 personage so designated informed       
,joseph that the ,spirit of ,god dwelt  
not with warring sects1 which1 while    
professing a form of godliness1 denied  
the power thereof1 and that he should   
join none of them4  ,overjoyed at the   
glorious manifestation thus granted unto
 him1 the boy prophet could not withhold
 from relatives and acquaintances       
tidings of the heavenly vision4  ,from  
the ministers1 who had been so energetic
 in their efforts to convert the boy1 he
 received1 to his surprise1 abuse and   
ridicule4  ,visions and manifestations  
from ,god1 said they1 are of the past1  
and all such things ceased with the     
apostles of old2 the canon of scripture 
is full2 religion has reached its       
perfection in plan1 and1 unlike all     
other systems contrived or accepted by  
human kind1 is incapable of development 

or growth4 ,it is true ,god lives1 but  
,he cares not for ,his children of      
modern times as ,he did for those of    
ancient days2 ,he has shut ,himself away
 from the people1 closed the windows of 
heaven1 and has suspended all direct    
communication with the people of earth4 
,the persecution thus originating with  
those who called themselves ministers of
 the gospel of ,christ spread throughout
 the community2 and the sects that      
before could not agree together nor     
abide in peace1 became as one in their  
efforts to oppose the youth who thus    
testified of facts1 which though        
vehemently denounced1 produced an effect
 that alarmed them the more4  ,and such 
a spectacle has ofttimes presented      
itself before the world--men who cannot 
tolerate one another in peace swear     
fidelity and mutual support in strife   
with a common opponent4 ,the importance 
of this alleged revelation from the     
heavens to the earth is such as to      
demand attentive consideration4  ,if a  

fact1 it is a full contradiction of the 
vague theories that had been increasing 
and accumulating for centuries1 denying 
personality and parts to ,deity4  ,in   
#ahbj1 there lived one person who knew  
that the word of the ,creator1 ,let us  
make man in our own image1 after our    
likeness1 had a meaning more than in    
metaphor4  ,joseph ,smith1 the youthful 
prophet and revelator of the nineteenth 
century1 knew that the ,eternal ,father 
and the well-beloved ,son1 ,jesus       
,christ1 were in form and stature like  
unto perfect men2 and that the human    
family was in very truth of divine      
origin4  ,but this wonderful vision was 
not the only manifestation of heavenly  
power and personality made to the young 
man1 nor the only incident of the kind  
destined to bring upon him the fury of  
persecution4  ,sometime after this      
visitation1 which constituted him a     
living witness of ,god unto men1 and    
which demonstrated the great fact that  
humanity is the child of ,deity1 he was 

visited by an immortal personage who    
announced himself as ,moroni1 a         
messenger sent from the presence of     
,god4  ,the celestial visitor stated    
that through ,joseph as the earthly     
agent the ,lord would accomplish a great
 work1 and that the boy would come to be
 known by good and evil repute amongst  
all nations4  ,the angel then announced 
that an ancient record1 engraven on     
plates of gold1 lay hidden in a hill    
near by1 which record gave a history of 
the nations that had of old inhabited   
the ,american continent1 and an account 
of the ,savior's ministrations among    
them4  ,he further explained that with  
the plates were two sacred stones1 known
 as ,urim and ,thummim1 by the use of   
which the ,lord would bring forth a     
translation of the ancient record4      
,joseph further testifies that he was   
told that if he remained faithful to his
 trust and the confidence reposed in    
him1 he would some day receive the      
record into his keeping1 and be         

commissioned and empowered to translate 
it4  ,in due time these promises were   
literally fulfilled1 and the modern     
version of these ancient writings was   
given to the world4  ,the record proved 
to be an account of certain colonies of 
immigrants to this hemisphere from the  
east1 who came several centuries before 
the ,christian era4  ,the principal     
company was led by one ,lehi1 described 
as a personage of some importance and   
wealth1 who had formerly lived at       
,jerusalem in the reign of ,zedekiah1   
and who left his eastern home about #fjj
 ,b4,c4  ,the book tells of the         
journeyings across the water in vessels 
constructed according to revealed plan1 
of the peoples' landing on the western  
shores of ,south ,america probably      
somewhere in ,chile1 of their prosperity
 and rapid growth amid the bounteous    
elements of the new world1 of the       
increase of pride and consequent        
dissension accompanying the accumulation
 of material wealth1 and of the division

 of the people into factions which      
became later two great nations at enmity
 with one another4  ,one part following 
,nephi1 the youngest and most gifted son
 of ,lehi1 designated themselves        
,nephites2 the other faction1 led by    
,laman1 the elder and wicked brother of 
,nephi1 were known as ,lamanites4  ,the 
,nephites lived in cities1 some of which
 attained great size and were           
distinguished by great architectural    
beauty4 ,continually advancing          
northward1 these people in time occupied
 the greater part of the valleys of the 
,orinoco1 the ,amazon1 and the          
,magdalena4  ,during the thousand years 
covered by the ,nephite record1 the     
people crossed the ,isthmus of ,panama1 
which is graphically described as a neck
 of land but a day's journey from sea to
 sea1 and successively occupied         
extensive tracts in what is now ,mexico1
 the valley of the ,mississippi1 and the
 ,eastern ,states4  ,it is not to be    
supposed that these vast regions were   

all populated at any one time by the    
,nephites2 the people were continually  
moving to escape the depredations of    
their hereditary foes1 the ,lamanites2  
and they abandoned in turn all their    
cities established along the course of  
migration4  ,the unprejudiced student   
sees in the discoveries of the ancient  
and now forest-covered cities of        
,mexico1 ,central ,america1 ,yucatan1   
and the northern regions of ,south      
,america1 collateral testimony having a 
bearing upon this history4  ,before     
their more powerful foes1 the ,nephites 
dwindled and fled2 until about the year 
#djj ,a4,d4 they were entirely          
annihilated after a series of decisive  
battles1 the last of which was fought   
near the very hill1 called ,cumorah1 in 
the ,state of ,new ,york1 where the     
hidden record was subsequently revealed 
to ,joseph ,smith4  ,the ,lamanites led 
a roving1 aggressive life2 kept few or  
no records1 and soon lost the art of    
history writing4  ,they lived on the    

results of the chase and by plunder1    
degenerating in habit until they became 
typical progenitors of the dark-skinned 
race1 afterward discovered by ,columbus 
and named ,american ,indians4  ,the last
 writer in the ancient record1 and the  
one who hid away the plates in the hill 
,cumorah1 was ,moroni--the same         
personage who appeared as a resurrected 
being in the nineteenth century1 a      
divinely appointed messenger sent to    
reveal the depository of the sacred     
documents2 but the greater part of the  
plates since translated had been        
engraved by the father of ,moroni1 the  
,nephite prophet ,mormon4  ,this man1 at
 once warrior1 prophet and historian1   
had made a transcript and compilation of
 the heterogeneous records that had     
accumulated during the troubled history 
of the ,nephite nation2 this compilation
 was named on the plates ,the ,book of  
,mormon1 which name has been given to   
the modern translation--a work that has 
already made its way over most of the   

civilized world4  ,the translation and  
publication of the ,book of ,mormon were
 marked by many scenes of trouble and   
contention1 but success attended the    
undertaking1 and the first edition of   
the work appeared in print in #ahcj4    
,the question1 ,what is the ,book of    
,mormon8--a very pertinent one on the   
part of every earnest student and       
investigator of this phase of ,american 
history--has been partly answered       
already4  ,the work has been derisively 
called the ,mormon ,bible1 a name that  
carries with it the misrepresentation   
that in the faith of this people the    
book takes the place of the scriptural  
volume which is universally accepted by 
,christian sects4  ,no designation could
 be more misleading1 and in every way   
more untruthful4  ,the ,latter-day      
,saints have but one ,bible and that the
 ,holy ,bible of ,christendom4  ,they   
place it foremost amongst the standard  
works of the ,church2 they accept its   
admonitions and its doctrines1 and      

accord thereto a literal significance2  
it is to them1 and ever has been1 the   
word of ,god1 a compilation made by     
human agency of works by various        
inspired writers2 they accept its       
teachings in fulness1 modifying the     
meaning in no wise1 except in the rare  
cases of undoubted mistranslation1      
concerning which ,biblical scholars of  
all faiths differ and criticize2 and    
even in such cases their reverence for  
the sacred letter renders them even more
 conservative than the majority of      
,bible commentators and critics in      
placing free construction upon the text4
  ,the historical part of the ,jewish   
scriptures tells of the divine dealings 
with the people of the eastern          
hemisphere2 the ,book of ,mormon        
recounts the mercies and judgments of   
,god1 the inspired teachings of ,his    
prophets1 the rise and fall of ,his     
people as organized communities on the  
western continent4  ,the ,latter-day    
,saints believe the coming forth of the 

,book of ,mormon to have been foretold  
in the ,bible1 as its destiny is        
prophesied of within its own lids2 it is
 to the people the true stick of        
,ephraim which ,ezekiel declared should 
become one with the stick of ,judah--or 
the ,bible4  ,the people challenge the  
most critical comparison between this   
record of the west and the ,holy        
,scriptures of the east1 feeling        
confident that no discrepancy exists in 
letter or spirit4  ,as to the original  
characters in which the record was      
engraved1 copies were shown to learned  
linguists of the day and pronounced by  
them as closely resembling the ,reformed
 ,egyptian writing4  ,let us revert1    
however1 to the facts of history        
concerning this new scripture1 and the  
reception accorded the printed volume4  
,the ,book of ,mormon was before the    
world2 the ,church circulated the work  
as freely as possible4  ,the true       
account of its origin was rejected by   
the general public1 who thus1 assumed   

the responsibility of explaining in some
 plausible way the source of the record4
  ,among the many false theories        
propounded1 perhaps the most famous is  
the so-called ,spaulding story4         
,solomon ,spaulding1 a clergyman of     
,amity1 ,pennsylvania1 died in #ahaf4   
,he wrote a romance to which no name    
other than ,manuscript ,story was given1
 and which1 but for the unauthorized use
 of the writer's name and the           
misrepresentation of his motives1 would 
never have been published4  ,twenty     
years after the author's death1 one     
,hurlburt1 an apostate ,mormon1         
announced that he had recognized a      
resemblance between the ,manuscript     
,story and the ,book of ,mormon1 and    
expressed a belief that the work brought
 forward by ,joseph ,smith was nothing  
but the ,spaulding romance revised and  
amplified4  ,the apparent credibility of
 the statement was increased by various 
signed declarations to the effect that  
the two were alike1 though no extracts  

for comparison were presented4  ,but the
 ,manuscript ,story was lost for a time1
 and in the absence of proof to the     
contrary1 reports of the parallelism    
between the two works multiplied4  ,by a
 fortunate circumstance1 in #ahhd1      
,president ,james ,h4 ,fairchild1 of    
,oberlin ,college1 and a literary friend
 of his--a ,mr4 ,rice--while examining a
 heterogeneous collection of old papers 
which had been purchased by the         
gentleman last named1 found the original
 manuscript of the ,story4  ,after a    
careful perusal and comparison with the 
,book of ,mormon1 ,president ,fairchild 
declared in an article published in the 
,new ,york ,observer1 ,february #e1     
#ahhe3      ,the theory of the origin of
 the ,book of ,mormon in the            
traditional manuscript of ,solomon      
,spaulding will     probably have to be 
relinquished4  99 99 99  ,mr4 ,rice1    
myself1 and others compared it the      
,spaulding     manuscript with the ,book
 of ,mormon and could detect     no     

resemblance between the two1 in general 
or in     detail4  ,there seems to be no
 name nor incident common     to the    
two4  ,the solemn style of the ,book of 
,mormon in     imitation of the ,english
 scriptures does not appear in     the  
manuscript4  99 99 99  ,some other      
explanation of the     origin of the    
,book of ,mormon must be found if any   
explanation is required4  ,the          
manuscript was deposited in the library 
of ,oberlin ,college where it now       
reposes4  ,still1 the theory of the     
,manuscript ,found1 as ,spaulding's     
story has come to be known1 is          
occasionally pressed into service in the
 cause of anti-,mormon zeal1 by some    
whom we will charitably believe to be   
ignorant of the facts set forth by      
,president ,fairchild4  ,a letter of    
more recent date1 written by that       
honorable gentleman in reply to an      
inquiring correspondent1 was published  
in the ,millennial ,star1 ,liverpool1   
,november #c1 #ahih1 and is as follows3 

,,oberlin ,,college1 ,,ohio1            
,october #ag1 #ahie4      ,j4 ,r4       
,,hindley1 ,,esq41      ,dear ,sir3 ,we 
have in our college library an original 
manuscript of ,solomon                  
,spaulding--unquestionably     genuine4 
,i found it in #ahhd in the hands of    
,hon4 ,l4 ,l4 ,rice1     of ,honolulu1  
,hawaiian ,islands4  ,he was formerly   
state     printer at ,columbus1 ,ohio1  
and before that1 publisher     of a     
paper in ,painesville1 whose preceding  
publisher     had visited ,mrs4         
,spaulding and obtained the manuscript  
from her4  ,it had lain among his old   
papers forty     years or more1 and was 
brought out by my asking him to     look
 up anti-slavery documents among his    
papers4      ,the manuscript has upon it
 the signatures of several     men of   
,conneaught1 ,ohio1 who had heard       
,spaulding read     it and knew it to be
 his4  ,no one can see it and           
question its genuineness4  ,the         
manuscript has been     printed twice1  

at least2--once by the ,mormons of ,salt
     ,lake ,city1 and once by the       
,josephite ,mormons of ,iowa4     ,the  
,utah ,mormons obtained the copy of ,mr4
 ,rice1 at     ,honolulu1 and the       
,josephites got it of me after it       
came into my possession4      ,this     
manuscript is not the original of the   
,book of     ,mormon4                   
,yours very truly1                      
,,james ,h4 ,,fairchild4  ,the          
,manuscript ,story has been published in
 full1 and comparisons between the same 
and the ,book of ,mormon may be made by 
anyone who has a mind to investigate the
 subject4#a  ,footnote #a3 ,for a fuller
 account of the ,book of ,mormon1 see   
the author's ,articles of ,faith1       
,lectures #ad and #ae2 published at     
,salt ,lake ,city1 ,utah1 #aiac4        
,,chapter ,,ii  ,but we have anticipated
 the current of events4  ,with the      
publication of the ,book of ,mormon1    
opposition grew more intense toward the 
people who professed a belief in the    

testimony of ,joseph ,smith4  ,on the   
#fth of ,april1 #ahcj1 the ,church of   
,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints   
was formally organized and thus took on 
a legal existence4  ,the scene of this  
organization was ,fayette1 ,new ,york1  
and but six persons were directly       
concerned as participants4  ,at that    
time there may have been and probably   
were many times that number who had     
professed adherence to the newly        
restored faith2 but as the requirements 
of the law governing the formation of   
religious societies were satisfied by   
the application of six1 only the        
specified number formally took part4    
,such was the beginning of the ,church1 
soon to be so universally maligned4     
,its origin was small--a germ1 an       
insignificant seed1 hardly to be thought
 of as likely to arouse opposition4     
,what was there to fear in the voluntary
 association of six men1 avowedly       
devoted to peaceful pursuits and        
benevolent purposes8  ,yet a storm of   

persecution was threatened from the     
earliest day4  ,at first but a family   
affair1 opposition to the work has      
involved successively the town1 the     
county1 the state1 the country1 and     
today the ,mormon question has been     
accorded extended consideration at the  
hands of the national government1 and   
indeed most civilized nations have taken
 cognizance of the same4  ,let us       
observe the contrast between the        
beginning and the present proportions of
 the ,church4  ,instead of but six      
regularly affiliated members1 and at    
most two score of adherents1 the        
organization numbers today many hundred 
thousand souls4  ,in place of a single  
hamlet1 in the smallest corner of which 
the members could have congregated1     
there now are about seventy stakes of   
,zion and about seven hundred organized 
wards1 each ward and stake with its full
 complement of officers and priesthood  
organizations4  ,the practise of        
gathering its proselytes into one place 

prevents the building up and            
strengthening of foreign branches2 and  
inasmuch as extensive and strong        
organizations are seldom met with       
abroad1 very erroneous ideas exist      
concerning the strength of the ,church4 
,nevertheless1 the mustard seed1 among  
the smallest of all seeds1 has attained 
the proportions of a tree1 and the birds
 of the air are nesting in its branches2
 the acorn is now an oak offering       
protection and the sweets of            
satisfaction to every earnest pilgrim   
journeying its way for truth4  ,from the
 organization of the ,church1 the spirit
 of emigration rested upon the people4  
,their eyes were from the first turned  
in anticipation toward the evening      
sun--not merely that the work of        
proselyting should be carried on in the 
west1 but that the headquarters of the  
,church should be there established4    
,the ,book of ,mormon had taught the    
people the true origin and destiny of   
the ,american ,indians2 and toward this 

dark-skinned remnant of a once mighty   
people1 the missionaries of ,mormonism  
early turned their eyes1 and with their 
eyes went their hearts and their hopes4 
,within three months from the beginning1
 the ,church had missionaries among the 
,lamanites4  ,it is notable that the    
,indian tribes have generally regarded  
the religion of the ,latter-day ,saints 
with favor1 seeing in the ,book of      
,mormon striking agreement with their   
own traditions4  ,the first             
well-established seat of the ,church was
 in the pretty little town of ,kirtland1
 ,ohio1 almost within sight of ,lake    
,erie2 and here soon rose the first     
temple of modern times4  ,among their   
many other peculiarities1 the           
,latter-day ,saints are characterized as
 a temple-building people1 as history   
proves the ,israel of ancient times to  
have been4  ,in the days of their       
infancy as a ,church1 while in the      
thrall of poverty1 and amidst the       
persecution and direful threats of      

lawless hordes1 they laid the           
cornerstone1 and in less than three     
years thereafter they celebrated the    
dedication of the ,kirtland ,temple1 a  
structure at once beautiful and         
imposing4  ,even before this time1      
however1 populous settlements of        
,latter-day ,saints had been made in    
,jackson ,county1 ,missouri2 and in the 
town of ,independence a site for a great
 temple had been selected and purchased2
 but though the ground has been         
dedicated with solemn ceremony1 the     
people have not as yet built thereon4   
,within two years of its dedication1 the
 temple in ,kirtland was abandoned by   
the people1 who were compelled to flee  
for their lives before the onslaughts of
 mobocrats2 but a second temple1 larger 
and more beautiful than the first1 soon 
reared its spires in the city of        
,nauvoo1 ,illinois4  ,this structure was
 destroyed by fire1 but the             
temple-building spirit was not to be    
quenched1 and in the vales of ,utah     

today are four magnificent temple       
edifices4 ,the last completed1 which was
 the first begun1 is situated in ,salt  
,lake ,city1 and is one of the wonders  
and beauties of that city by the great  
salt sea4#b  ,footnote #b3 ,for a       
detailed account of modern temples1 with
 numerous pictorial views1 see ,the     
,house of the ,lord1 by the present     
author2 ,salt ,lake ,city1 ,utah1 #aiab4
  ,to the fervent ,latter-day ,saint1 a 
temple is not simply a church building1 
a house for religious assembly4  ,indeed
 the ,mormon temples are rarely used as 
places of general gatherings4  ,they are
 in one sense educational institutions1 
regular courses of lectures and         
instruction being maintained in some of 
them2 but they are specifically for     
baptisms and ordinations1 for           
sanctifying prayer1 and for the most    
sacred ceremonies and rites of the      
,church1 particularly in the vicarious  
work for the dead which is a            
characteristic of ,mormon faith4  ,and  

who that has gazed upon these splendid  
shrines will say that the people who can
 do so much in poverty and tribulation  
are insincere8  ,bigoted they may seem  
to those who believe not as they do2    
fanatics they may be to multitudes who  
like the proud ,pharisee of old thank   
,god they are not as these2 but         
insincere they cannot be1 even in the   
judgment of their bitterest opponent1 if
 he be a creature of reason4  ,the      
clouds of persecution thickened in ,ohio
 as the intolerant zeal of mobs found   
frequent expression2 numerous charges1  
trivial and serious1 were made against  
the leaders of the ,church1 and they    
were repeatedly brought before the      
courts1 only to be liberated on the     
usual finding of no cause for action4   
,meanwhile the march to the west was    
maintained4  ,soon thousands of converts
 had rented or purchased homes in       
,missouri--,independence1 ,jackson      
,county1 being their center2 but from   
the first1 they were unpopular among the

 ,missourians4  ,their system of equal  
rights with their marked disapproval of 
every species of aristocratic separation
 and self-aggrandizement was declared to
 be a species of communism1 dangerous to
 the state4  ,an inoffensive            
journalistic organ1 ,the ,star1         
published for the purpose of properly   
presenting the religious tenets of the  
people1 was made the particular object  
of the mob's rage2 the house of its     
publisher was razed to the ground1 the  
press and type were confiscated1 and the
 editor and his family maltreated4  ,an 
absurd story was circulated and took    
firm hold of the masses that the ,book  
of ,mormon promised the western lands to
 the people of the ,church1 and that    
they intended to take possession of     
these lands by force4  ,throughout the  
book of revelations regarded by the     
people as law specially directed to     
them1 they are told to save their riches
 that they may purchase the inheritance 
promised them of ,god4  ,everywhere are 

they told to maintain peace2 the sword  
is never offered as their symbol of     
conquest4  ,their gathering is to be    
like that of the ,jews at ,jerusalem--a 
pacific one1 and in their taking        
possession of what they regard as a land
 of promise1 no one previously located  
there shall be denied his rights4  ,a   
spirit of fierce persecution raged in   
,jackson and surrounding counties of    
,missouri4  ,an appeal was made to the  
executive of the state1 but little      
encouragement was returned4  ,the       
lieutenant- governor1 ,lilburn ,w4      
,boggs1 afterward governor1 was a       
pronounced ,mormon-hater1 and throughout
 the period of the troubles1 he         
manifested sympathy with the            
persecutors4  ,one of the circuit judges
 who was asked to issue a peace warrant 
refused to do so1 but advised the       
,mormons to arm themselves and meet the 
force of the outlaws with organized     
resistance4  ,this advice was not       
pleasing to the ,latter-day ,saints1    

whose religion enjoined tolerance and   
peace2 but they so far heeded it as to  
arm a small force2 and when the outlaws 
next came upon them1 the people were not
 entirely unprepared4  ,a ,mormon       
rebellion was now proclaimed4  ,the     
people had been goaded to desperation4  
,the militia was ordered out1 and the   
,mormons were disarmed4  ,the mob was   
unrestrained in its eagerness for       
revenge4  ,the ,mormons engaged able    
lawyers to institute and maintain legal 
proceedings against their foes1 and this
 step1 the right to which one would     
think could be denied no ,american      
citizen1 called forth such an uproar of 
popular wrath as to affect almost the   
entire state4  ,it was winter2 but the  
inclemency of the year only suited the  
better the purpose of the oppressor4    
,homes were destroyed1 men torn from    
their families were brutally beaten1    
tarred and feathered2 women with babes  
in their arms were forced to flee       
half-clad into the solitude of the      

prairie to escape from mobocratic       
violence4  ,their sufferings have never 
yet been fitly chronicled by human      
scribe4  ,making their way across the   
river1 most of the refugees found       
shelter among the more hospitable people
 of ,clay ,county1 and afterward        
established themselves in ,caldwell     
,county1 therein founding the city of   
,far ,west4  ,county and state judges1  
the governor1 and even the ,president of
 the ,united ,states1 were appealed to  
in turn for redress4  ,the national     
executive1 ,andrew ,jackson1 while      
expressing sympathy for the persecuted  
people1 deplored his lack of power to   
interfere with the administration or    
non-administration of state laws2 the   
national officials could do nothing2 the
 state officials would do naught4  ,but 
the expulsion from ,jackson ,county was 
but a prelude to the tragedy soon to    
follow4  ,a single scene of the bloody  
drama is known as the ,haun's ,mill     
massacre4  ,a small settlement had been 

founded by ,mormon families on ,shoal   
,creek1 and here on the #cjth of        
,october1 #ahch1 a company of two       
hundred and forty fell upon the hapless 
settlers and butchered a score4  ,no    
respect was paid to age or sex2 grey    
heads1 and infant lips that scarcely had
 learned to lisp a word1 vigorous       
manhood and immature youth1 mother and  
maiden1 fared alike in the scene of     
carnage1 and their bodies were thrown   
into an old well4  ,in ,october1 #ahch1 
the ,governor of ,missouri1 the same    
,lilburn ,w4 ,boggs1 issued his infamous
 exterminating order1 and called upon   
the militia of the state to execute it4 
,the language of this document1 signed  
by the executive of a sovereign state of
 the ,union1 declared that the ,mormons 
must be driven from the state or        
exterminated4  ,be it said to the honor 
of some of the officers entrusted with  
the terrible commission1 that when they 
learned its true significance they      
resigned their authority rather than    

have anything to do with what they      
designated a cold-blooded butchery4     
,but tools were not wanting1 as indeed  
they never have been1 for murder and its
 kindred outrages4  ,what the heart of  
man can conceive1 the hand of man will  
find a way to execute4  ,the awful work 
was carried out with dread dispatch4    
,oh1 what a record to read2 what a      
picture to gaze upon2 how awful the     
fact6 ,an official edict offering       
expatriation or death to a peaceable    
community with no crime proved against  
them1 and guilty of no offense other    
than that of choosing to differ in      
opinion from the masses6  ,american     
school boys read with emotions of horror
 of the ,albigenses1 driven1 beaten and 
killed1 with a papal legate directing   
the butchery2 and of the ,vaudois1      
hunted and hounded like beasts as the   
effect of a royal decree2 and they yet  
shall read in the history of their own  
country of scenes as terrible as these  
in the exhibition of injustice and      

inhuman hate4  ,in the dread alternative
 offered them1 the people determined    
again to abandon their homes2 but       
whither should they go8 ,already they   
had fled before the lawless oppressor   
over well nigh half a continent2 already
 were they on the frontiers of the      
country that they had regarded as the   
land of promised liberty4 ,thus far     
every move had carried them westward1   
but farther west they could not go      
unless they went entirely beyond the    
country of their birth1 and gave up     
their hope of protection under the      
,constitution1 which to them had ever   
been an inspired instrument1 the majesty
 of which1 as they had never doubted1   
would be some day vindicated1 even to   
securing for them the rights of         
,american citizens4  ,this time their   
faces were turned toward the east2 and a
 host numbering from ten to twelve      
thousand1 including many women and      
children1 abandoned their homes and fled
 before their murderous pursuers1       

reddening the snow with bloody          
footprints as they journeyed4  ,they    
crossed the ,mississippi and sought     
protection on the soil of ,illinois4    
,there their sad condition evoked for a 
time general commiseration4  ,the press 
of the state denounced the treatment of 
the people by the ,missourians and      
vindicated the character of the ,mormons
 as peaceable and law-abiding citizens4 
,college professors published           
expressions of their horror over the    
cruel crusade2 state officials1         
including even the governor1 gave       
substantial evidence of their sympathy  
and good feeling4  ,this lull in the    
storm of outrage that had so long raged 
about them offered a strange contrast to
 their usual treatment4  ,let it not be 
thought that all the people of ,illinois
 were their friends2 from the first1    
opposition was manifest1 but their      
condition was so greatly bettered that  
they might have thought the advent of   
their ,zion to be near at hand4  ,i     

stated that professional men1 and even  
college professors raised their voices  
in commiseration of the ,mormon         
situation and in denouncing the ,mormon 
oppressors4  ,prof4 ,turner of ,illinois
 ,college wrote3      ,who began the    
quarrel8  ,was it the ,mormons8  ,is it 
not notorious on the contrary that they 
were hunted     like wild beasts from   
county to county before they     made   
any resistance8  ,did they ever1 as a   
body1     refuse obedience to the laws1 
when called upon to do     so1 until    
driven to desperation by repeated       
threats     and assaults by the mob8    
,did the state ever make     one decent 
effort to defend them as fellow-citizens
     in their rights or to redress their
 wrongs8  ,let the     conduct of its   
governors and attorneys and the fate    
of their final petitions answer6  ,have 
any who     plundered and openly        
insulted the ,mormons ever     been     
brought to the punishment due to their  
crimes8     ,let boasting murderers of  

begging and helpless     infancy answer6
  ,has the state ever remunerated even  
those known to be innocent for the loss 
of either     their property or their   
arms8  ,did either the pulpit     or the
 press through the state raise a note of
     remonstrance or alarm8  ,let the   
clergymen who     abetted and the       
editors who encouraged the mob          
answer6  ,as a sample of the press      
comments against the brutality of the   
,missourians ,i quote a paragraph from  
the ,quincy ,argus1 ,march #af1 #ahci3  
,we have no language sufficiently strong
 for the     expression of our          
indignation and shame at the recent     
transaction in a sister state1 and that 
state1     ,missouri1 a state of which  
we had long been proud1     alike for   
her men and history1 but now so fallen  
that     we could wish her star stricken
 from the bright     constellation of   
the ,union4  ,we say we know of no      
language sufficiently strong for the    
expression of     our shame and         

abhorrence of her recent conduct4  ,she 
has written her own character in letters
 of blood1     and stained it by acts of
 merciless cruelty and     brutality    
that the waters of ages cannot efface4  
,it     will be observed that an        
organized mob1 aided by     many of the 
civil and military officers of          
,missouri1     with ,gov4 ,boggs at     
their head1 have been the     prominent 
actors in this business1 incited too1 it
     appears1 against the ,mormons by   
political hatred1     and by the        
additional motives of plunder and       
revenge4     ,they have but too well put
 in execution their threats     of      
extermination and expulsion1 and fully  
wreaked     their vengeance on a body of
 industrious and     enterprising men1  
who had never wronged nor wished to     
wrong them1 but on the contrary had ever
 comported     themselves as good and   
honest citizens1 living under     the   
same laws1 and having the same right    
with     themselves to the sacred       

immunities of life1 liberty     and     
property4    ,,chapter ,,iii  ,settling 
in and about the obscure village of     
,commerce1 the ,mormon refugees soon    
demonstrated anew the marvelous         
recuperative power with which they were 
endowed1 and a city seemed to spring    
from the earth4  ,nauvoo--the ,city     
,beautiful--was the name given to this  
new abiding place4  ,it was situated but
 a few miles from ,quincy1 in a bend of 
the majestic river1 giving the town     
three water fronts4  ,it seemed to      
nestle there as if the ,father of       
,waters was encircling it with his      
mighty arm4  ,soon a glorious temple    
crowned the hill up which the city had  
run in its rapid growth4  ,their        
settlements extended into ,iowa1 then a 
territory4  ,the governors of both ,iowa
 and ,ohio testified to the worthiness  
of the ,latter-day ,saints as citizens1 
and pledged them the protection of the  
commonwealth4  ,the city of ,nauvoo was 
chartered by the state of ,illinois1 and

 the rights of local self-government    
were assured to its citizens4  ,a       
military organization1 the ,nauvoo      
,legion1 was authorized1 and the        
establishment of a university was       
provided for2 both these organizations  
were successfully effected4  ,it was    
here that a memorial was prepared and   
sent to the national government1        
reciting the outrages of ,missouri1 and 
asking reparation4  ,joseph ,smith      
himself1 the head of the delegation1 had
 a personal interview with ,president   
,van ,buren1 in which the grievances of 
the ,latter-day ,saints were presented4 
,van ,buren replied in words that will  
not be forgotten1 ,your cause is just1  
but ,i can do nothing for you4  ,the    
peaceful conditions at first            
characteristic of their ,illinois       
settlement were not to continue4  ,the  
element of political influence asserted 
itself and the ,mormons bade fair to    
soon hold the balance of power in local 
affairs4  ,the characteristic unity1 so 

marked in connection with every phase of
 the people's existence1 promised too   
much2 immigration into ,hancock county  
was continuous1 and the growing power of
 the ,latter-day ,saints was viewed with
 apprehension4  ,with this as the true  
motive1 many pretexts for annoyance were
 found2 and arrests1 trials1 and        
acquittals were common experiences of   
the ,church officers4  ,a charge1 which 
promised to prove as devoid of          
foundation as had the excuses for the   
fifty arrests preceding it1 led ,joseph 
,smith1 president of the ,church1 and   
,hyrum ,smith1 the patriarch1 to again  
surrender themselves to the officers of 
the law4  ,they were taken to ,carthage1
 ,joseph having declared to friends his 
belief that he was going to the         
slaughter4  ,governor ,ford gave to the 
prisoners his personal guarantee for    
their safety2 but mob violence was      
supreme1 more mighty than the power of  
the state militia placed there to guard 
the prison2 and these men were shot to  

death1 even while under the governor's  
plighted pledge of protection4  ,hyrum  
fell first2 and ,joseph1 appearing at   
one of the windows in the second story1 
received the leaden missiles of the     
besieging mob1 which was led by a       
recreant though professed minister of   
the gospel4  ,but the brutish passion of
 the mob was not yet sated2 propping the
 body against a well-curb in the        
jail-yard1 the murderers poured a volley
 of bullets into the corpse1 and fled4  
,thus was the unholy vow of the mob     
fulfilled1 that as law could not touch  
the ,mormon leaders1 powder and ball    
should4  ,john ,taylor1 who became years
 afterward president of the ,church1 was
 in the jail at the same time2 he       
received four bullets1 and was left     
supposedly dead4  ,joseph ,smith had    
been more than the ecclesiastical       
leader2 his presence and personality had
 been ever powerful as a stimulus to the
 hearts of the people2 none knew his    
personal power better than the members  

of his own flock1 unless indeed it were 
the wolves who were ever seeking to     
harry the fold4  ,it had been the boast 
of anti-,mormons that with ,joseph      
,smith removed1 the ,church would       
crumble to pieces of itself4  ,in the   
personality of their leader1 it was     
thought1 lay the secret of the people's 
strength2 and like the ,philistines1 the
 enemy struck at the supposed bond of   
power4  ,terrible as was the blow of the
 fearful fatality1 the ,church soon     
emerged from its despairing state of    
poignant grief1 and rose mightier than  
before4  ,it is the faith of this people
 that while the work of ,god on earth is
 carried on by men1 yet mortals are but 
instruments in the ,creator's hands for 
the accomplishment of divine purposes4  
,the death of the president disorganized
 the ,first ,presidency of the ,church2 
but the official body next in authority1
 the ,council of the ,twelve1 stepped to
 the front1 and the progress of the     
,church was unhindered4  ,the work of   

the ministry was not arrested2 the      
people paused but long enough to bury   
their dead and clear their eyes from the
 blinding tears that fell4  ,let us take
 a retrospective glance at this unusual 
man4  ,though his opponents deny him the
 divine commission with which his       
friends believe he was charged1 they    
all1 friends and foes alike1 admit that 
he was a great man4  ,through the       
testimony of his life's work and the    
sanctifying seal of his martyrdom1      
thousands have come to acknowledge him  
all that he professed to be--a messenger
 from ,god to the people4  ,he is not   
without admirers among men who deny the 
truth of his principles and the faith of
 his people4  ,a historical writer of   
the time1 ,josiah ,quincy1 a few weeks  
after the martyrdom1 wrote3      ,it is 
by no means improbable that some future 
text book     for the use of generations
 yet unborn1 will contain a     question
 something like this3 ,what historical  
,american     of the nineteenth century 

has exerted the most powerful           
influence upon the destinies of his     
countrymen8  ,and it     is by no means 
impossible that the answer to that      
interrogatory may be thus               
written--,joseph ,smith1 the     ,mormon
 ,prophet4  ,and the reply1 absurd as it
 doubtless     seems to most men now    
living1 may be an obvious               
commonplace to their descendants4       
,history deals in     surprises and     
paradoxes quite as startling as this4   
,a     man who established a religion in
 this age of free     debate1 who was   
and is today accepted by hundreds of    
thousands as a direct emissary from the 
,most ,high--such     a rare human being
 is not to be disposed of by pelting    
his memory with unsavory epithets4  99  
99 99  ,the most     vital questions    
,americans are asking each other today1 
have to deal with this man and what he  
has left us4     99 99 99  ,joseph      
,smith1 claiming to be an inspired      
teacher1     faced adversity such as few

 men have been called to     meet1      
enjoyed a brief season of prosperity    
such as few     men have ever attained1 
and finally 99 99 99 went     cheerfully
 to a martyr's death4  ,when he         
surrendered     his person to ,governor 
,ford1 in order to prevent the          
shedding of blood1 the ,prophet had a   
presentiment of     what was before him4
  ,i am going like a lamb to the        
slaughter1 he is reported to have said1 
but ,i am as     calm as a summer's     
morning4  ,i have a conscience void of  
offense1 and shall die innocent4  ,the  
,mormon people regarded it as a duty to 
make every proper effort to bring the   
perpetrators of the foul assassination  
of their leaders to justice2 sixty names
 were presented to the local grand jury1
 and of the persons so designated1 nine 
were indicted4 ,after a farcical        
semblance of a trial1 these were        
acquitted1 and thus was notice1         
sanctioned by the constituted authority 
of the law1 served upon all             

anti-,mormons of ,illinois1 that they   
were safe in any assault they might     
choose to make on the subjects of their 
hate4  ,the mob was composed of apt     
pupils in the learning of this lesson4  
,personal outrages were of every-day    
occurrence2 husbandmen were captured in 
their fields1 beaten1 tortured1 until   
they barely had strength left to promise
 compliance with the demands of their   
assailants1--that they would leave the  
state4 ,houses were fired while the     
tenants were wrapped in uneasy slumber  
within2 indeed1 one entire town1 that of
 ,morley1 was by such incendiarism      
reduced to ashes4  ,women and children  
were aroused in the night1 and compelled
 to flee unclad or perish in their      
burning dwellings4  ,but what of the    
internal work of the ,church during     
these trying periods8  ,as the winds of 
winter1 the storms of the year's deepest
 night1 do but harden and strengthen the
 mountain pine1 whose roots strike the  
deeper1 whose branches thicken1 whose   

twigs multiply by the inclemency that   
would be fatal to the exotic palm1      
raised by man with hot-house nursing1 so
 the new sect continued its growth1     
partly in spite of1 partly because of1  
the storms to which it was subjected4   
,it was no green-house growth1          
struggling for existence in a foreign   
clime1 but a fit plant for the soil of a
 free land2 and there existed in the    
minds of unprejudiced observers not a   
doubt as to its vitality4  ,the ,church 
soon found its equilibrium again after  
the shock of its cruel experience4      
,brigham ,young1 who for a decade had   
been identified with the cause1 who had 
received his full share of persecution  
at mobocratic hands1 now stood at the   
head of the presiding body in the       
priesthood of the ,church4  ,the effect 
of this man's wonderful personality1 his
 surprising natural ability1 and to the 
people1 the proofs of his divine        
acceptance1 were apparent from the      
first4  ,migration from other states and

 from foreign shores continued to swell 
the ,mormon band1 and this but angered  
the oppressors the more4  ,the members  
of the ,church1 recognizing the         
inevitable long before predicted by     
their murdered prophet1 that the march  
of the ,church would be westward1       
redoubled their efforts to complete the 
grand temple upon which they had not    
ceased to work through all the storms of
 persecution4  ,this structure1 solemnly
 dedicated to their ,god1 they entered1 
and there received their anointings and 
their blessings2 then they abandoned it 
to the desecration and self-condemning  
outrages of their foes4  ,for the mob's 
decree had gone forth1 that the ,mormons
 must leave ,illinois4  ,after a few    
sanguinary encounters1 the leaders of   
the people acceded to the demands of    
their assailants1 and agreed to leave   
early in the following spring2 but the  
departure was not speedy enough to suit1
 and the lawless persecution was waged  
the more ruthlessly4  ,soon the soil of 

,illinois was free from ,mormon tread2  
,nauvoo was deserted1 her #bj1jjj       
inhabitants expatriated4  ,colonel      
,thomas ,l4 ,kane1 a conspicuous figure 
at this stage of our country's history1 
was traveling eastward at the time1 and 
reached ,nauvoo shortly after its       
evacuation4  ,in a lecture before the   
,historical ,society of ,pennsylvania1  
he related his experience in this       
sometime abode of the ,saints4  ,i      
paraphrase a portion of his eloquent    
address4  ,sighting the city from the   
western shore of the mighty             
,mississippi1 as it nestled in the      
river's encircling embrace1 he crossed  
to its principal wharf1 and1 there to   
his surprise1 found no soul to meet him4
  ,the stillness that everywhere        
prevailed was painful1 broken only by an
 occasional faint echo of boisterous    
shout or ribald song from a distance4   
,the town was in a dream1 and the       
warrior trod lightly lest he wake it in 
affright1 for he plainly saw that it had

 not slumbered long4  ,no grass grew in 
the pavement joints2 recent footprints  
were still distinct in the dusty        
thoroughfares4  ,the visitor made his   
way unmolested into work-shops and      
smithies2 tools lay as last used2 on the
 carpenter's bench was the unfinished   
frame1 on the floor were the shavings   
fresh and odorous2 the wood was piled in
 readiness before the baker's oven2 the 
blacksmith's forge was cold1 but the    
shop looked as though the occupant had  
just gone off for a holiday4  ,the      
gallant soldier entered gardens         
unchallenged by owner1 human guard1 or  
watchful dog2 he might have supposed the
 people hidden or dead in their houses2 
but the doors were not fastened1 and he 
entered to explore1 there were fresh    
ashes on the hearth2 no great           
accumulation of the dust of time was on 
floors or furniture2 the awful quiet    
compelled him to tread a-tip-toe as if  
threading the aisles of an unoccupied   
cathedral4 ,he hastened to the          

graveyard1 though surely the city had   
not been depopulated by pestilence4     
,no2 there were a few stones newly set1 
some sods freshly turned in this sacred 
acre of ,god1 but where can you find a  
cemetery of a living town with no such  
evidence of recent interment8  ,there   
were fields of heavy grain1 the         
bounteous harvest rotting on the ground2
 there were orchards dropping their rich
 and rosy fruit to spoil beneath2 not a 
hand to gather or save4  ,but in a      
suburban corner1 he came across the     
smoldering embers of a barbecue fire1   
with fragments of flesh and other       
remnants of a feast4  ,hereabout houses 
had been demolished2 and there beyond1  
around the great temple that had first  
attracted his attention from the ,iowa  
shore1 armed men were bivouacked4  ,this
 worthy representative of our country's 
service was challenged by the drunken   
crowd1 and made to give an account of   
himself1 and to answer for having       
crossed the river without a permit from 

the head of the band4  ,finding that he 
was a stranger1 they related to him in  
fiendish glee their recent exploits of  
pillage1 rapine1 and murder4  ,they     
conducted him through the temple2       
everywhere were marks of their brutish  
acts2 its altars of prayer were broken2 
the baptismal font had been so          
diligently desecrated as to render the  
apartment in which it was contained too 
noisome to abide in4  ,there in the     
steeple close by the scar of divine     
wrath left by a recent thunderbolt1 were
 broken covers of liquor and drinking   
vessels4  ,sickened with the sight1     
disgusted with this spectacle of        
outrage1 the colonel recrossed the river
 at nightfall1 beating upward1 for the  
wind had freshened4  ,attracted by a    
faint light near the bank1 he approached
 the spot1 there to find a few haggard  
faces surrounding one who seemed to be  
in the last stages of fever4  ,the      
sufferer was partially protected by     
something like a tent made from a couple

 of bed sheets2 and amid such           
environment1 the spirit was pluming     
itself for flight4  ,making his way     
through this camp of misery1 he heard   
the sobbings of children hungry and     
sick2 there were men and women dying    
from wounds or disease1 without a       
semblance of shelter or other physical  
comfort2 wives in the pangs of          
maternity1 ushering into the world      
innocent babes doomed to be motherless  
from their birth4  ,and at intervals1 to
 the ears of those outcasts1 the sick   
and the dying1 the wind brought the     
soul-piercing sounds of the reveling mob
 in the distant city1 the scrap of      
vulgar song1 the shocking oath1 shrieked
 from the temple tower in the madness of
 drunken orgies4  ,this1 however1 was   
but the rear remnant of the' expatriated
 ,christian band4  ,the van was already 
far on its way toward the inviting      
wilderness of the all but unknown west4 
,but the wanderers were not wholly      
without friends2 certain ,indian tribes1

 the ,omahas and the ,potawatomis1      
welcomed them to their lands1 inviting  
them to camp within their territory     
during the coming winter4  ,welcome1    
said these children of the forest1 we   
too have been driven from our pleasant  
homes east of the great river1 to these 
damp and unhealthful bottoms2 you now1  
white men1 have been driven forth to the
 prairies2 we are fellow-sufferers4     
,welcome1 brothers4  ,in return much    
assistance was rendered by the white    
refugees to their1 shall ,i say savage  
friends8  ,if it was civilization the   
wanderers had left1 then indeed might   
the red men of the forest have felt     
proud of their distinction4  ,but the   
,indian agent1 a ,christian gentleman1  
ordered the ,mormons to move on and     
leave the reservation which a kind      
government had provided for its red     
children4  ,an order from ,president    
,polk1 who had been appealed to by      
,colonel ,kane1 gave the people         
permission to remain for a short season4

  ,the government of ,iowa had          
courteously assured them protection     
while passing through that territory4   
,as soon as the people were well under  
way1 a thorough organization was        
effected4 ,remembering the toilsome     
desert march from ,egypt to ,canaan1 the
 people assumed the name1 ,camp of      
,israel4  ,the camp consisted of two    
main divisions1 and each was sub-divided
 into companies of hundreds1 fifties1   
and tens1 with captains to direct4  ,an 
officer with one hundred volunteers went
 ahead of the main body to select a     
route and prepare a road4  ,at this     
time1 there were over one thousand      
wagons of the ,mormons rolling westward1
 and the line of march soon reached from
 the ,mississippi to ,council ,bluffs4  
,there were in the company not half     
enough draft animals for the arduous    
march1 and but an insufficient number of
 able-bodied men to tend the camps4     
,the women had to assist in driving     
teams and stock1 and in other labors of 

the journey4  ,yet with their           
characteristic cheerfulness the people  
made the best1 and that proved to be a  
great deal1 out of their lot4  ,when the
 camp halted1 a city seemed to spring as
 if by magic from the prairie soil4     
,concerts and social gatherings were    
usual features of the evening rests4    
,but another great event disturbed the  
equanimity of the camp4 ,war had broken 
out between ,mexico and the ,united     
,states4  ,general ,taylor's victories  
in the early stages of the strife had   
been all but decisive1 but the ,republic
 was on march to the western ocean and  
the provinces of ,new ,mexico and       
,california were in her path4 ,these two
 provinces comprised in addition to the 
territory now designated by those names1
 ,utah1 ,nevada1 portions of ,wyoming   
and ,colorado1 as also ,arizona2 while  
,oregon1 then claimed by ,great         
,britain1 included ,washington1 ,idaho1 
and portions of ,montana and ,wyoming4  
,it was the plan of the national        

administration to occupy these provinces
 at the earliest moment possible2 and a 
call was made upon the ,mormon refugees 
to contribute to the general force by   
furnishing a battalion of five hundred  
men to take part in the war with        
,mexico4  ,the surprise which the       
message of the government officer       
produced in the camp amounted almost to 
dismay4  ,five hundred men fit to bear  
arms to be drafted from that camp6      
,what would become of the rest8         
,already women and boys had been pressed
 into service to do the work of men2    
already the sick and the halt had been  
neglected2 and many graves marked the   
path they had traversed1 whose tenants  
had passed to their last sleep through  
lack of care4  ,but how long did they   
hesitate8  ,scarcely an hour2 it was the
 call of their country4  ,true1 they    
were even then leaving the national     
soil1 but not of their own will4  ,to   
them their country was and is the       
promised land1 the ,lord's chosen place1

 the land of ,zion4  ,you shall have    
your battalion1 said ,brigham ,young to 
,captain ,allen1 the muster officer1 and
 if there are not young men enough1 we  
will take the old men1 and if they are  
not enough1 we will take the women4     
,within a week from the time ,president 
,polk's message was received1 the entire
 force1 in all five hundred and         
forty-nine souls1 was on the march to   
,fort ,leavenworth4  ,their path from   
the ,missouri to the ,pacific led them  
over two thousand miles1 much of this   
distance being measured through deserts1
 which prior to that time had not been  
trodden by civilized foot4  ,colonel    
,cooke1 the commander of the ,mormon    
,battalion1 declared1 ,history may be   
searched in vain for an equal march of  
infantry4 ,many were disabled through   
the severity of the march1 and numerous 
cases of sickness and death were        
chronicled4  ,general ,kearney and his  
successor1 ,governor ,r4 ,b4 ,mason1 as 
military commandants of ,california1    

spoke in high praise of this            
organization1 and in their official     
reports declared that they had made     
efforts to prolong the battalion's term 
of service2 but most of the men chose to
 rejoin their families as soon as they  
could secure their honorable discharge4 
,but to return to the ,camp of ,israel3 
,a pioneer party1 consisting of a       
hundred and forty and four1 preceded the
 main body2 and the line of the         
migrating hosts soon stretched from the 
,missouri to the valley of the ,great   
,salt ,lake4  ,wagons there were1 as    
also some horses and men1 but all too   
few for the journey2 and a great part of
 the company walked the full thousand   
miles across the great plains and the   
forbidding deserts of the west4  ,in the
 ,black ,hills region1 the pioneers were
 delayed a week at the ,platte1 a       
stream1 which1 though usually fordable  
at this point was now so swollen as to  
make fording impossible4  ,here1 too1   
their provisions were well nigh         

exhausted4  ,game had not been          
plentiful1 and the ,mormon pioneers were
 threatened with the direst privations4 
,in their slow march they had been      
passed by a number of well-equipped     
parties1 some of them from ,missouri    
bound for the ,pacific2 but most of     
these were overtaken on the easterly    
side of the river4  ,amongst the effects
 of the ,mormon party was a leathern    
boat1 which on water served the         
legitimate purpose of its maker and on  
land was made to do service as a wagon  
box4 ,this1 together with rafts         
specially constructed1 was now put to   
good use in ferrying across the river   
not alone themselves and their little   
property1 but the other companies and   
their loads4 ,for this service they were
 well paid in camp provisions4  ,thus1  
the expatriated pioneers found          
themselves relieved from want with their
 meal sacks replenished in the heart of 
the wilderness4  ,many may call it      
superstition1 but some will regard it as

 did the thankful travelers--an         
interposition of ,providence1 and an    
answer to their prayers--an event to be 
compared1 they said1 to the feeding of  
,israel with manna in the wilderness of 
old4  ,after over three months'         
journeying1 the pioneer company reached 
the valley of the ,great ,salt ,lake2   
and at the first sight of it1 ,brigham  
,young declared it to be the halting    
place--the gathering center for the     
,saints4  ,but what was there inviting  
in this wilderness spread out like a    
scroll barren of inviting message1 and  
empty but for the picture it presented  
of wondrous scenic grandeur8  ,looking  
from the ,wasatch barrier1 the colonists
 gazed upon a scene of entrancing though
 forbidding beauty4  ,a barren1 arid    
plain1 rimmed by mountains like a       
literal basin1 still occupied in its    
lowest parts by the dregs of what had   
once filled it to the brim2 no green    
meadows1 not a tree worthy the name1    
scarce a patch of greensward to entice  

the adventurous wanderers into the      
valley4  ,the slopes were covered with  
sagebrush1 relieved by patches of       
chaparral oak and squaw-bush2 the wild  
sunflower lent its golden hue to        
intensify the sharp contrasts4 ,off to  
the westward lay the lake1 making an    
impressive1 uninviting picture in its   
severe1 unliving beauty2 from its blue  
wastes somber peaks rose as precipitous 
islands1 and about the shores of this   
dead sea were saline flats that told of 
the scorching heat and thirsty          
atmosphere of this parched region4  ,a  
turbid river ran from south to north    
athwart the valley1 dividing it in      
twain1 as a historian of the day has    
written1 as if the vast bowl in the     
intense heat of the ,master ,potter's   
fires1 in process of formation had      
cracked asunder4  ,small streams of     
water started in rippling haste from the
 snow-caps of the mountains toward the  
lake1 but most of them were devoured by 
the thirsty sands of the valley before  

their journey was half completed4  ,such
 was the scene of desolation that       
greeted the pioneer band4 ,a more       
forsaken spot they had not passed in all
 their wanderings4 ,and is this the     
promised land8  ,this is the very place 
of which ,bridger spake when he         
proffered a thousand dollars in gold for
 the first bushel of grain that could be
 raised here4  ,with such a ,canaan     
spread out before them1 was it not      
wholly pardonable if some did sigh with 
longing for the leeks and flesh-pots of 
the ,egypt they had left1 or wished to  
pass by this land and seek a fairer     
home8  ,two of the three women who      
belonged to the party were utterly      
disappointed4  ,weak1 worn1 and weary as
 ,i am1 said one of these heroines1 ,i  
would rather push on another thousand   
miles than stay here4  ,but the voice of
 their leader was heard4  ,the very     
place1 said ,brigham ,young1 and in his 
prophetic mind there rose a vision of   
what was to come4  ,not for a moment did

 he doubt the future4  ,he saw a        
multitude of towns and cities1 hamlets  
and villas filling this and neighboring 
valleys1 with the fairest of all1 a city
 whose beauty of situation1 whose wealth
 of resource should become known        
throughout the world1 rising from the   
most arid site of the burning desert    
before him1 hard by the barren salt     
shores of the watery waste4  ,there in  
the very heart of the parched wilderness
 should stand the ,house of the ,lord1  
with other temples in valleys beyond the
 horizon of his gaze4  ,within a few    
hours after the arrival of the vanguard 
upon the banks of what is now known as  
,city ,creek--the mountain stream which 
today furnishes ,salt ,lake ,city part  
of her water supply--plows were put to  
work2 but the hard-baked soil1 never    
before disturbed by the efforts of man  
to till1 refused to yield to the share4 
,a dam was thrown across the stream and 
the softening liquid was spread upon the
 flat that had been chosen for the first

 fields4  ,the planting season had      
already well nigh passed1 and not a day 
could be lost4  ,potatoes and other seed
 were put in1 and the land was again    
flooded4  ,such was the beginning of the
 irrigation system1 which soon became   
co-extensive with the area occupied by  
the ,mormon settlers1 a system which    
under the blessing of ,providence1 has  
proved to be the veritable magic touch  
by which the desert has been made a     
field of richness and a garden of       
beauty2 a system which now after many   
decades of successful trial is held up  
by the nation's wise and great ones to  
be the one practicable method of        
reclaiming our country's vast domains of
 arid lands4  ,it was on the #bdth of   
,july1 #ahdg1 that the main part of the 
pioneer band entered the valley of the  
,great ,salt ,lake1 and that day of the 
year is observed as a legal holiday in  
,utah4  ,from that time to the present1 
the stream of immigration to these      
valleys has never ceased4    ,,chapter  

,,iv  ,the dangers of the first         
company's migration were surpassed by   
those of parties who subsequently braved
 the terrors of the plains4  ,in their  
enthusiasm to reach the gathering place 
of their people1 many of the ,latter-day
 ,saints set out from ,iowa1 where      
railway facilities had their            
termination1 with hand-carts only as a  
means of conveyance4  ,today there are  
living in the smiling vales of ,utah1   
men and women who then as boys and girls
 trudged wearily across the prairies1   
dragging the lumbering carts that       
contained their entire provision against
 starvation and freezing4  ,such        
handcart companies were organized with  
care2 a limited amount of freight was   
allowed to each division2 milch cattle  
and a very few draft-animals1 with      
wagons for conveying the heavier baggage
 and to carry the sick1 were assigned4  
,the tale of those dreary marches has   
never yet been told2 the song of the    
heroism and sacrifice displayed by these

 pilgrims for conscience sake is        
awaiting a singer worthy the theme4     
,wading the streams with carts in tow1  
or in cases of unfordable streams1      
stopping to construct rafts2 at times   
living on reduced rations of but a few  
ounces of meal per day2 lying down at   
night with a prayer in the heart that   
they wake no more on earth1 a prayer    
which had its fulfilment in hundreds of 
cases2 the dying heaving their parting  
sighs in the arms of loved ones who were
 soon to follow1 they journeyed on4     
,the inevitable catastrophes and        
accidents of travel robbed them of their
 substance4  ,hostile savages stampeded 
their cattle1 or openly attacked and    
plundered the trains4  ,but on they     
went1 never swerving from the course4   
,these later companies needed no chart  
nor compass to guide them over the      
desert2 the road was plain from the     
marks of former camps1 and yet more so  
from the graves of friends and loved    
ones who had started before on the road 

to the earthly ,zion and found that it  
led them to the martyr's entrance to    
heaven1 graves that were marked perhaps 
but by a rude inscription cut on a pole 
or a board4  ,and even these narrow     
lodgings had not been left inviolate2   
the wolves of the plains had too often  
succeeded in unearthing and rending the 
bodies4  ,every company thus made the   
course the plainer2 each of them added  
to the silent population of the desert2 
sometimes half a score were interred at 
one camp1 and of one company over a     
fourth were thus left beside the prairie
 road4  ,now we traverse the self-same  
track in a day and a night1 reclining on
 luxurious cushions of ease1 covering   
fifty miles while dining in luxury2 and 
we avert the ennui of the journey by    
berating the railway company for lack of
 speed4  ,relief trains were continually
 on the way between the valley of the   
,salt ,lake and the ,missouri2 and the  
remnants of many a company were saved   
from what appeared to be certain        

destruction by the opportune arrival of 
these rescuing parties4  ,such relief   
came from those who were themselves     
destitute and almost starving4  ,brigham
 ,young with a few of the chief         
officials of the ,church1 and aids1     
returned eastward on such an errand of  
rescue within a few weeks after first   
reaching the valley4  ,the region to    
which the early settlers came was in no 
wise a typical land of promise2 it did  
not flow spontaneously with milk and    
honey4  ,drought and unseasonable frosts
 made the first year's farming          
experiments but doubtful successes1 and 
in the succeeding spring the land was   
visited by the devastating plague of the
 ,rocky ,mountain crickets4  ,they      
swarmed down in innumerable hordes upon 
the fields1 destroying the growing crops
 as they advanced1 devouring all before 
them1 leaving the land a desert in their
 track4  ,the people scarcely knew how  
to withstand the assault of this new    
foe2 they drove the marauders into      

trenches there to be drowned or burned2 
men1 women and every child that could   
swing a stick1 were called to the ranks 
in this insect war2 and with all their  
fighting1 the people forgot not to pray 
for deliverance1 and they fasted1 too1  
for the best of reasons4  ,and as they  
watched1 and prayed1 and worked1 they   
saw approaching from the north and west 
a veritable host of winged creatures of 
more formidable proportions still2 and  
these bore down upon the fields as      
though coming to complete the           
devastation4  ,but see6 these are of the
 color that betokens peace2 they are the
 gulls1 white and beautiful1 advancing  
upon the hosts of the black destroyers4 
,falling upon the people's foes1 they   
devoured them by the thousand1 and when 
filled to repletion1 disgorged and      
feasted again4  ,and they did not stop  
till the crickets were destroyed4       
,again the skeptic will say this was but
 chance2 but the people accepted that   
chance as a providential ruling in their

 behalf1 and reverently did they give   
thanks4  ,today the wanton killing of a 
gull in ,utah is an offense in law2 but 
stronger than legal proscription1 more  
powerful than fear of judicial          
penalties1 is the popular sentiment in  
favor of these white-winged deliverers4 
,every year come these graceful         
creatures to spend the springtime in the
 fields and upon the lakes of ,utah2 and
 right well do they feel their welcome1 
for they are habitually so tame and     
fearless that they may almost be touched
 by the hand before they take flight4   
,by the autumn of #ahdh1 five thousand  
people had already reached the valley1  
and the food problem was a most         
difficult one4  ,the winter was severe2 
and famine1 stark and inexorable1 threw 
its dread shadow over the people4       
,there seemed to be an entry in the book
 of fate that every possible test of    
human endurance and integrity should be 
applied to this pilgrim band4  ,without 
distinction as to former station1 they  

went out and dug the roots of weeds1    
gathered the tenderest of the coarse    
grass1 thistles1 and wild berries1 and  
thus did they subsist2 upon such did    
they feast with thanksgiving1 until a   
less scanty harvest relieved their      
wants4  ,it was at this time that the   
gold fever was at its height1 a         
consequence of the discovery of the     
precious metal in ,california1 in which 
discovery1 indeed1 certain members of   
the disbanded ,mormon ,battalion1       
working their way eastward1 were most   
prominent4  ,some of the ,mormon        
settlers1 becoming infected with the    
malady1 hastened westward1 but the      
counsel of the ,church authorities      
prevailed to keep all but a few at home4
  ,these people had not left the country
 of their birth or adoption to seek     
gold2 nor bright jewels of the mine2 nor
 the wealth of seas2 nor the spoils of  
war2 they sought and believed they had  
found1 a faith's pure shrine4  ,but the 
gold-seekers hastening westward1 and the

 successful miners returning eastward1  
halted at the ,mormon settlements and   
there replenished their supplies1       
leaving their gold to enrich the people 
of the desert4  ,but of what use is gold
 in the wilderness6  ,in the old legend 
a famishing ,arab1 finding a well filled
 bag upon the sand was thrilled with joy
 at the thought of dates--his bread2 and
 then was cast into the depths of       
despair when he realized that he had    
found nothing but a bag of costly       
pearls4  ,the settlers by the lake      
needed horses and wagons1 tools1        
implements of husbandry and building2   
and gold was valuable only as it        
represented a means of obtaining these4 
,gold became so plentiful and was withal
 so worthless in the desert colony that 
men refused to take it for their labor4 
,the yellow metal was collected in      
buckets and exported to the ,states in  
exchange for the goods so much desired4 
,merchandise brought in by caravans of  
prairie schooners1 was sold as fast as  

it could be put out2 and strict rules   
were enforced allowing but a            
proportionate amount to each purchaser4 
,within a few months after the first    
settlement of ,utah1 public schools were
 established2 and one of the early acts 
of the provisional government was to    
grant a charter to the ,deseret         
,university1 now known as the           
,university of ,utah4  ,up to #ahdi1    
,utah had no political history4         
,settling in a ,mexican province1 the   
contest to determine its future         
ownership by the ,united ,states then in
 progress1 the people in common with    
most pioneer communities established    
their own form of government4 ,but in   
,february1 #ahdh1 the treaty of         
,guadeloupe ,hidalgo gave ,california to
 the ,united ,states2 months passed1    
however1 before the news of the change  
reached the west4  ,early in #ahdi1 a   
call had been issued to all the citizens
 of that portion of ,upper ,california  
lying to the east of the ,sierra ,nevada

 mountains to meet in convention at     
,great ,salt ,lake ,city2 and there a   
petition was prepared asking of         
,congress the rights of self-government2
 and pending action1 a temporary regime 
was established1 under the name of the  
,provisional ,government of the ,state  
of ,deseret4  ,utah was not the choice  
of the people as the name of their      
state2 that word served but to recall   
the degraded tribes who had contested   
the settlement of the valleys4          
,deseret1 a ,book of ,mormon name for   
the honey bee1 was more appropriate4    
,the petition of the people was denied  
in part1 and1 in #ahej was established  
the territorial form of government in   
,utah4 ,concerning the period of the    
provisional government1 such men as     
,gunnison1 ,stansbury1 and other federal
 officials on duty in the west1 have    
recorded their praises of the ,mormon   
colonists in official reports4  ,but    
with the un-,american system of         
territorial government came troubles4   

,at first1 many of the territorial      
officials were appointed from among the 
settlers themselves2 thus1 ,brigham     
,young was the first governor2 but      
strangers1 who knew not the people nor  
their ways1 filled with prejudice from  
the false reports they had heard1 came  
from the east to govern the colonists in
 the desert4  ,of the federal appointees
 thus forced upon the people of ,utah1  
many made for themselves most unenviable
 records4  ,some of them were broken    
politicians1 professional               
office-seekers1 with no desire but to   
secure the greatest possible gain out of
 their appointment4  ,with effrontery   
that would shock the modesty of a       
savage1 the non-,mormon party adopted   
and flagrantly displayed the carpet-bag 
as the badge of their profession4  ,but 
not all the officials sent to ,utah from
 afar were of this type2 some of them   
were honorable and upright men1 and     
amongst this class the ,mormon people   
reckon a number who1 while opposed to   

their religious tenets1 were            
nevertheless sincere and honest in the  
opposition they evinced4  ,in the early 
part of #aheg1 the published libels upon
 the people received many serious       
additions1 the principal of which was   
promulgated in connection with the      
resignation of ,judge ,drummond of the  
,utah federal court4  ,in his last      
letter to the ,united ,states           
attorney-general1 he declared that his  
life was no longer safe in ,utah1 and   
that he had been compelled to flee from 
his bench2 but the most serious charge  
of all was that the people had destroyed
 the records of the court1 and that they
 had resented1 with hostile             
demonstration1 his protests2 in short1  
that justice was dethroned in ,utah1 and
 that the people were in a state of open
 rebellion4  ,with mails three months   
apart1 news traveled slowly2 but as soon
 as word of this infamous charge reached
 ,salt ,lake ,city1 the clerk of the    
court1 ,judge ,drummond's clerk1 sent a 

letter by express to the                
attorney-general1 denying under oath the
 judge's statements1 and attesting the  
declaration with official seal4  ,the   
records1 he declared1 had been untouched
 except by official hands1 and from the 
time of the court's establishment the   
files had been safe and were then in his
 personal keeping4  ,but1 before the    
clerk's communication had reached its   
destination1 so difficult is it for     
stately truth to overtake flitting      
falsehood1 the mischief had been done4  
,upon the most prejudiced reports       
utterly unfounded in fact1 with a       
carelessness which even his personal and
 political friends found no ample means 
of explaining away1 ,president ,buchanan
 allowed himself to be persuaded that a 
,mormon rebellion existed1 and ordered  
an army of over two thousand men to     
proceed straightway to ,utah to subdue  
the rebels4 ,successors to the governor 
and other territorial officials were    
appointed1 among whom there was not a   

single resident of ,utah2 and the       
military force was charged with the duty
 of installing the foreign appointees4  
,with great dispatch and under cover of 
secrecy1 so that the ,utah rebels might 
be taken by surprise1 the army set out  
on the march4 ,before the troops reached
 the ,rocky ,mountains1 the sworn       
statement from the clerk of the supreme 
court of ,utah denying the charges made 
by ,judge ,drummond became public       
property2 and about the same time men   
who had come from ,utah to ,new ,york   
direct1 published over their own        
signatures a declaration that all was   
peaceful in and about the settlements of
 ,utah4  ,the public eye began to       
twitch1 and soon to open wide2 the      
conviction was growing that someone had 
blundered4  ,but to retract would be a  
plain confession of error2 blunders must
 be covered up4  ,let us leave the      
soldiers on their westward march1 and   
ascertain how the news of the projected 
invasion reached the people of ,utah1   

and what effect the tidings produced4   
,certain ,mormon business agents1       
operating in ,missouri1 heard of the    
hostile movement4  ,at first they were  
incredulous1 but when the overland mail 
carrier from the west delivered his     
pouch and obtained his receipt1 but was 
refused the bag of ,utah mail with the  
postmaster's statement that he had been 
ordered to hold all mail for ,utah1     
there seemed no room for doubt4  ,two of
 the ,utahns immediately hastened       
westward4  ,on the #bdth of ,july1      
#aheg1 the people had assembled in      
celebration of ,pioneer ,day4  ,silver  
,lake1 a mountain gem set amidst the    
snows and forests and towering peaks of 
the ,cottonwoods1 had been selected as a
 fitting site for the festivities4  ,the
 ,stars and ,stripes streamed above the 
camp2 bands played2 choirs sang2 there  
were speeches1 and picnics1 and prayers4
  ,experiences were compared as to the  
journeyings on the plains2 stories were 
told of the shifts to which the people  

had been put by the vicissitudes of     
famine2 but these dread experiences     
seemed to them now like a dream of the  
night2 on this day all were happy4      
,were they not safe from savage foes    
both red and white8  ,there had been    
peace for a season2 and their desert    
homes were already smiling in wealth of 
flower and tree2 the wilderness was     
blossoming under their feet2 their      
consciences were void of offense toward 
their fellows4  ,yet at that very hour1 
all unbeknown to themselves1 and without
 the opportunity of speaking a word in  
defense1 these people had been convicted
 of insurrection and treason4  ,it was  
midday and the festivities were at their
 height1 when a party of men rode into  
camp and sought an interview with       
,governor ,young4  ,three of them had   
plainly ridden hard and far2 they gave  
their report2--an armed force of        
thousands was at that hour approaching  
the territory2 the boasts of officers   
and men as to what they would do when   

they found themselves in ,mormon towns  
were reported2 and these stories called 
up1 in the minds of those who heard1 the
 dread scenes of ,far ,west and ,nauvoo4
  ,had these colonists of the wilderness
 not gone far enough to satisfy the     
hatred of their fellow-citizens in this 
republic of liberty8 ,they had halted   
between the civilization of the east and
 that of the west1 they had fled from   
the country that refused them a home1   
and now the nation would eject them from
 their desert lodgings4  ,a council was 
called and the situation was freely     
discussed4  ,had they not seen1 lo1     
these many times1 organized battalions  
and companies surpassing fiendish mobs  
in villainy8  ,the evidence warranted   
their conclusion that invasion meant    
massacre4  ,with tense calmness the plan
 of action was decided upon4  ,it was   
the general conviction that war was     
inevitable1 and it was decided to resist
 to the last4  ,then1 if the army forced
 its way into the valleys of ,utah on   

hostile purpose bent1 it should find the
 land as truly a desert as it was when  
the pioneers first took possession4  ,to
 this effect was the decision3--,we have
 built cities in the east for our foes  
to occupy2 our very temples have been   
desecrated and destroyed by them2 but1  
with the help of ,israel's ,god1 we will
 prevent them enriching themselves with 
the spoils of our labors in these       
mountain retreats4  ,there seemed to be 
no room for doubt that war was about to 
break upon them2 and with such a        
prospect1 men may be expected to take   
every advantage of their situation4     
,brigham ,young was still governor of   
,utah1 and the militia was subject to   
his order4 ,promptly he proclaimed the  
territory under martial law1 and forbade
 any armed body to cross its boundaries4
  ,echo ,canyon1 the one promising route
 of ingress1 was fortified4  ,in those  
defiles an army might easily be stopped 
by a few2 ammunition stations were      
established2 provisions were cached2    

boulders were collected upon the cliffs 
beneath which the invaders must pass if 
they held to their purpose of forcing an
 entrance4  ,the people had been roused 
to desperation1 and force was to be met 
with force4  ,in the settlements1       
combustibles were placed in readiness1  
and if the worst came1 every ,mormon    
house would be reduced to ashes1 every  
tree would be hewn down4  ,with an      
experience of suffering that would have 
well served a better cause1 this picked 
detachment of the ,united ,states army  
made its way to the ,green ,river       
country2 and there1 counting well the   
cost of proceeding farther1 went into   
camp at ,fort ,bridger4 ,many of the    
troops had almost perished in the       
storms1 for it was late in ,november1   
and the winter had closed in early4     
,colonel ,cooke reported to the         
commandant that half his horses had     
perished through cold and lack of food2 
hundreds of beef cattle had died2 yet   
the region was so wild and forbidding   

that scarcely a wolf ventured there to  
glut itself upon the carcasses4  ,in    
,cooke's own words we read that for     
thirty miles the road was blocked with  
carcasses--and with abandoned and       
shattered property1 they mark1 perhaps  
beyond example in history1 the steps of 
an advancing army with the horrors of a 
disastrous retreat4  ,with the army     
traveled the new federal appointees to  
offices in the territory4  ,cumming1 the
 governor-to-be1 issued a proclamation  
from his dug-out lodgings1 and sent it  
to ,salt ,lake ,city by courier2 he     
signed it as ,governor of ,utah         
,territory4 ,this but belittled him1 for
 by the very terms of the ,organic ,act1
 to uphold which was the professed      
purpose of his coming1 he was not       
governor until the oath of office had   
been duly administered and subscribed4  
,a few days later he went before his    
fellow-sufferer ,eckles1 the appointee  
for chief justice of ,utah1 and took an 
oath2 but why did he swear so recklessly

 when the one before whom he swore was  
no more an official than himself8  ,the 
army wintered at a satisfactory distance
 from ,salt ,lake ,city1 and such a     
winter1 according to official reports1  
the soldiers of our nation have rarely  
had to brave4  ,it was soon apparent    
that they need fear no ,mormon attack2  
orders had been issued to the           
territorial militia to take no life     
except in cases of absolute necessity2  
but ,general ,johnston and his staff had
 more than their match in battling with 
the elements4  ,communications between  
,governor ,young and the commandant were
 frequent2 safe conduct was assured any 
and all officers who chose to enter the 
city2 and if necessary hostages were to 
be given2 but the governor was          
inexorable in his ultimatum that1 as an 
organized body with hostile purpose1 the
 soldiers should not pass the mountain  
gateway4  ,in the meantime1 a full      
account of the situation was reported by
 ,governor ,young to the ,president of  

the ,united ,states1 and the truth      
slowly made its way into the eastern    
press4 ,president ,buchanan tacitly     
admitted his mistake2 but to recall the 
troops at that juncture would be to     
confess humiliating failure4  ,a peace  
commissioner1 in the person of ,colonel 
,kane1 was dispatched to ,salt ,lake    
,city2 his coming being made known to   
,governor ,young1 an escort was sent to 
meet him and conduct him through the    
,mormon lines4  ,the result of the      
conference was that the ,mormon leaders 
but reiterated their statement that the 
,president's appointees would be given  
safe entry to the city1 and be duly     
installed in their offices1 provided    
they would enter without the army4      
,this ultimatum was carried to the      
federal camp2 and to the open chagrin of
 the commandant1 ,governor ,cumming and 
his fellow appointees moved to ,salt    
,lake ,city under ,mormon escort1 after 
a five months' halt in the wilderness4  
,i believe that strategy is usually     

allowed in war1 and ,i am free to say   
the ,mormons availed themselves of this 
license4  ,at short intervals in the    
course of the night-passage through the 
canyon1 the party was challenged1 and   
the password demanded2 bon-fires were   
blazing down in the gorges1 and the     
impression was made that the mountains  
were full of armed men2 whereas the     
sentries were members of the escort1    
who1 preceding by short cuts the main   
party1 continued to challenge and to    
pass4  ,on their arrival1 the gentlemen 
were met by the retiring officials1 and 
were peaceably installed4  ,the new     
governor called upon the clerk of the   
court1 and ascertained the truth of the 
statement that the records were entirely
 safe4  ,he promptly reported his       
conclusions to ,general ,johnston that  
there was no further need for the army4 
,it was decided1 however1 that the      
soldiers should be permitted to march   
through the city1 and straightway the   
,mormons began their exodus to the      

south4  ,governor ,cumming tried in vain
 to induce the people to remain1        
assuring them that the troops would     
commit no depredations4  ,not so1 said  
,brigham ,young1 we have had experience 
with troops in the past1 ,governor      
,cumming2 we have seen our leaders shot 
down by the demoralized soldiery2 we    
have seen mothers with babes at their   
breasts sent to their last home by the  
same bullet2 we have witnessed outrages 
beyond description4  ,you are now       
,governor of ,utah2 we can no longer    
command the militia for our own defense4
 ,we do not wish to fight1 therefore we 
depart4  ,leaving a few men to apply the
 brand to the combustibles stored in    
every house1 at the first sign of       
plunder by the soldiers1 the people     
again deserted their homes and moved    
into the desert anew4  ,but the officers
 of the army kept their word2 the troops
 were put into camp forty miles from the
 settlements1 and the settlers returned4
  ,the ,president's commissioners       

brought the official pardon1            
unsolicited1 for all acts committed by  
the ,mormons in opposing the entrance of
 the army4  ,the people asked what they 
had done that needed pardon2 they had   
not robbed1 they had not killed4  ,but a
 critical analysis of these troublous   
events revealed at least one overt      
act--some ,mormon scouts had challenged 
a supply train2 and1 being opposed1 they
 had destroyed some of the wagons and   
provisions2 and for this they accepted  
the ,president's most gracious pardon4  
,,chapter ,v  ,after all1 the ,mormon   
people regard the advent of the         
,buchanan army as one of the greatest   
material blessings ever brought to them4
  ,the troops1 once in ,utah1 had to be 
provisioned2 and everything the settlers
 could spare was eagerly bought at an   
unusual price4 ,the gold changed hands4 
,then1 in their hasty departure1 the    
soldiers disposed of everything outside 
of actual necessities in the way of     
accouterment and camp equipage4  ,the   

army found the people in poverty1 and   
left them in comparative wealth4  ,and  
what was the cause of this hurried      
departure of the military8 ,for many    
months1 ominous rumblings had been      
heard1--indications of the gathering    
storm which was soon to break in the    
awful fury of civil strife4  ,it could  
not be doubted that war was imminent2   
already the conflict had begun1 and a   
picked part of the army was away in the 
western wilds1 doing nothing for any    
phase of the public good4  ,but a word  
further concerning the expedition in    
general4  ,the sending of troops to     
,utah was part of a foul scheme to      
weaken the government in its impending  
struggle with the secessionists4  ,the  
movement has been called not inaptly    
,buchanan's blunder1 but the best and   
wisest men may make blunders1 and       
whatever may be said of ,president      
,buchanan's short-sightedness in taking 
this step1 even his enemies do not      
question his integrity in the matter4   

,he was unjustly charged with favoring  
secession2 but the charge was soon      
disproved4  ,however1 it was known that 
certain of his cabinet were in league   
with the seceding states2 and prominent 
among them was ,john ,floyd1 secretary  
of war4  ,the successful efforts of this
 officer to disarm the ,north1 while    
accumulating the munitions of war in the
 ,south2 to scatter the forces by       
locating them in widely separated and   
remote stations2 and in other ways to   
dispose of the regular army in the      
manner best calculated to favor the     
anticipated rebellion1 are matters of   
history4  ,it is also told how1 at the  
commencement of the rebellion1 he allied
 himself with the confederate forces1   
accepting the rank of brigadier-general4
 ,it was through ,floyd's advice that   
,buchanan ordered the military          
expedition to ,utah1 ostensibly to      
install certain federal officials and to
 repress an alleged infantile rebellion 
which in fact had never come into       

existence1 but in reality to further the
 interests of the secessionists4  ,when 
the history of that great struggle with 
its antecedent and its consequent       
circumstances is written with a pen that
 shall indite naught but truth1 when    
prejudice and partisanship are lived    
down1 it may appear that ,jefferson     
,davis rather than ,james ,buchanan was 
the prime cause of the great mistake4   
,and ,general ,johnston who commanded   
the army in the west2 he who was so     
vehement in his denunciation of the     
rebel ,mormons1 and who rejoiced in     
being selected to chastise them into    
submission2 who1 because of his         
vindictiveness incurred the ill-favor of
 the governor1 whose posse comitatus the
 army was2 what became of him1 at one   
time so popular that he was spoken of as
 a likely successor to ,winfield ,scott 
in the office of general-in-chief of the
 ,united ,states army8  ,he left ,utah  
in the early stages of the rebellion1   
turned his arms against the flag he had 

sworn to defend1 doffed the blue1 donned
 the grey1 and fell a rebel on the field
 of ,shiloh4  ,changes many and great   
followed in bewildering succession in   
,utah4  ,the people were besought to    
take sides with the ,south in the awful 
scenes of cruel strife2 it was openly   
stated in the east that ,utah had allied
 herself with the cause of secession2   
and by others that the design was to    
make ,salt ,lake ,city the capital of an
 independent government4  ,and surely   
such conjectures were pardonable on the 
part of all whose ignorance and         
prejudice still nursed the delusion of  
,mormon disloyalty4 ,moreover1 had the  
people been inclined to rebellion what  
greater opportunity could they have     
wished8  ,already a ,north and a ,south 
were talked of--why not set up also a   
,west8  ,a supreme opportunity had come 
and how was it used8  ,it was at this   
very time that the ,overland ,telegraph 
line1 which had been approaching from   
the ,atlantic and the ,pacific1 was     

completed1 and the first tremor felt in 
that nerve of steel carried these words 
from ,brigham ,young3      ,utah has not
 seceded1 but is firm for the           
constitution     and laws of our        
country4  ,the ,mormon people saw in    
their terrible experiences and in the   
outrages to which they had been         
subjected1 only the mal-administration  
of laws and the subversion of justice   
through human incapacity and hatred4    
,never even for a moment did they       
question the supreme authority and the  
inspired origin of the constitution of  
their land4  ,they knew no ,north1 no   
,south1 no ,east1 no ,west2 they stood  
positively by the constitution1 and     
would have nothing to do in the bloody  
strife between brothers1 unless indeed  
they were summoned by the authority to  
which they had already once loyally     
responded1 to furnish men and arms for  
their country's need4  ,following the   
advent of the telegraph came the        
railway2 and the land of ,mormondom was 

no longer isolated4  ,her resources were
 developed1 her wealth became a topic of
 the world's wonder2 the tide of        
immigration swelled her population1     
contributing much of the best from all  
the civilized nations of the earth4     
,every reader of recent and current     
history has learned of her rapid growth2
 of her repeated appeals for the        
recognition to which she had so long    
been entitled in the sisterhood of      
states2 of the prompt refusals with     
which her pleas were persistently met1  
though other territories with smaller   
and more illiterate populations1 more   
restricted resources1 and in every way  
weaker claims1 were allowed to assume   
the habiliments of maturity1 while      
,utah1 lusty1 large and strong1 was kept
 in swaddling clothes4 ,but the cries of
 the vigorous infant were at length     
heeded1 and in answer to the seventh    
appeal of the kind1 ,utah's star was    
added to the nation's galaxy4  ,but let 
us turn more particularly to the history

 of the ,church itself4  ,for a second  
time and thrice thereafter1 the ,church 
of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day ,saints
 has been deprived of its president1 and
 on each occasion were reiterated the   
prophecies of disruption uttered at the 
time of ,joseph ,smith's assassination4 
,calm observers declared that as the    
shepherd had gone1 the flock would soon 
be dispersed2 while others1 comparable  
only to wolves1 thinking the fold       
unguarded1 sought to harry and scatter  
the sheep4  ,but ,mormonism died not2   
every added pang of grief served but to 
unite the people4  ,when ,brigham ,young
 passed from earth1 he was mourned of   
the people as deeply as was ,moses of   
,israel4  ,and had he not proved himself
 a ,moses1 aye and a ,joshua1 too8  ,he 
had led the people into the land of holy
 promise1 and had divided unto them     
their inheritances4  ,he was a man with 
clear title as one of the small         
brotherhood we call great4  ,as         
carpenter1 farmer1 pioneer1 capitalist1 

financier1 preacher1 apostle1           
prophet--in everything he was a leader  
among men4  ,even those who opposed him 
in politics and in religion respected   
him for his talents1 his magnanimity1   
his liberality1 and his manliness2 and  
years after his demise1 men who had     
refused him honor while alive brought   
their mites and their gold to erect a   
monument of stone and bronze to the     
memory of this man who needs it not4    
,with his death closed another epoch in 
the history of his people1 and a        
successor arose1 one who was capable of 
leading and judging under the changed   
conditions4                             
-----------  ,but perhaps ,i am         
suspected of having forgotten or of     
having intentionally omitted reference  
to what popular belief once considered  
the chief feature of ,mormonism1 the    
cornerstone of the structure1 the secret
 of its influence over its members1 and 
of its attractiveness to its proselytes1
 viz41 the peculiarity of the ,mormon   

institution of marriage4  ,the          
,latter-day ,saints were long regarded  
as a polygamous people4  ,that plural   
marriage has been practised by a limited
 proportion of the people1 under        
sanction of ,church ordinance1 has never
 since the introduction of the system   
been denied4  ,but that plural marriage 
is a vital tenet of the ,church is not  
true4  ,what the ,latter-day ,saints    
call celestial marriage is              
characteristic of the ,church1 and is in
 very general practise2 but of celestial
 marriage1 plurality of wives was an    
incident1 never an essential4  ,yet the 
two have often been confused in the     
popular mind4  ,we believe in a literal 
resurrection and an actual hereafter1 in
 which future state shall be recognized 
every sanctified and authorized         
relationship existing here on earth--of 
parent and child1 brother and sister1   
husband and wife4  ,we believe1 further 
that contracts as of marriage1 to be    
valid beyond the veil of mortality must 

be sanctioned by a power greater than   
that of earth4  ,with the seal of the   
holy ,priesthood upon their wedded      
state1 these people believe implicitly  
in the perpetuity of that relationship  
on the far side of the grave4  ,they    
marry not with the saddening limitation 
,until death do you part1 but ,for time 
and for all eternity4#c  ,this          
constitutes celestial marriage4 ,the    
thought that plural marriage has ever   
been the head and front of ,mormon      
offending1 that to it is traceable as   
the true cause the hatred of other sects
 and the unpopularity of the ,church1 is
 not tenable to the earnest thinker4    
,sad as have been the experiences of the
 people in consequence of this practise1
 deep and anguish-laden as have been the
 sighs and groans1 hot and bitter as    
have been the tears so caused1 the      
heaviest persecution1 the cruelest      
treatment of their history began before 
plural marriage was known in the        
,church4  ,footnote #c3 ,for treatment  

of ,celestial ,marraige and other       
,temple ordinances1 see ,the ,house of  
the ,lord1 by the present author1 ,salt 
,lake ,city1 ,utah1 #aiab4  ,there is no
 sect nor people that sets a higher     
value on virtue and chastity than do the
 ,latter-day ,saints1 nor a people that 
visits surer retribution upon the heads 
of offenders against the laws of sexual 
purity4  ,to them marriage is not1 can  
never be1 a civil compact alone2 its    
significance reaches beyond the grave2  
its obligations are eternal2 and the    
,latter-day ,saints are notable for the 
sanctity with which they invest the     
marital state4  ,it has been my         
privilege to tread the soil of many     
lands1 to observe the customs and study 
the habits of more nations than one2 and
 ,i have yet to find the place and meet 
the people1 where and with whom the     
purity of man and woman is held more    
precious than among the maligned        
,mormons in the mountain valleys of the 
west4  ,there ,i find this measure of   

just equality of the sexes-- that the   
sins of man shall not be visited upon   
the head of woman4  ,at the inception of
 plural marriage among the ,latter-day  
,saints1 there was no law1 national or  
state1 against its practise4  ,this     
statement assumes1 as granted1 a        
distinction between bigamy and the      
,mormon institution of plural marriage4 
,in #ahfb1 a law was enacted with the   
purpose of suppressing plural marriage1 
and1 as had been predicted in the       
national ,senate prior to its passage1  
it lay for many years a dead letter4    
,federal judges and ,united ,states     
attorneys in ,utah1 who were not        
,mormons nor lovers of ,mormonism1      
refused to entertain complaints or      
prosecute cases under the law1 because  
of its manifest injustice and           
inadequacy4 ,but other laws followed1   
most of which1 as the ,latter-day       
,saints believe1 were aimed directly at 
their religious conception of the       
marriage contract1 and not at social    

impropriety nor sexual offense4  ,at    
last the ,edmunds-,tucker act took      
effect1 making not the marriage alone   
but the subsequent acknowledging of the 
contract an offense punishable by fine  
or imprisonment or both4  ,under the    
spell of unrighteous zeal1 the federal  
judiciary of ,utah announced and        
practised that most infamous doctrine of
 segregation of offenses with           
accumulating penalties4  ,i who write   
have listened to judges instructing     
grand juries in such terms as these3    
that although the law of ,congress      
designated as an offense the            
acknowledging of more living wives than 
one by any man1 and prescribed a penalty
 therefor1 as ,congress had not         
specified the length of time during     
which this unlawful acknowledging must  
continue to constitute the offense1     
grand juries might indict separately for
 every day of the period during which   
the forbidden relationship existed4     
,this meant that for an alleged         

misdemeanor--for which ,congress        
prescribed a maximum penalty of six     
months' imprisonment and a fine of three
 hundred dollars--a man might be        
imprisoned for life1 aye1 for many terms
 of a man's natural life did the court's
 power to enforce its sentences extend  
so far1 and might be fined millions of  
dollars4 ,before this travesty on the   
administration of law could be brought  
before the court of last resort1 and    
there meet with the reversal and rebuke 
it deserved1 men were imprisoned under  
sentences of many years' duration4  ,the
 people contested these measures one by 
one in the courts2 presenting in case   
after case the different phases of the  
subject1 and urging the                 
unconstitutionality of the measure4     
,then the ,church was disincorporated1  
and its property both real and personal 
confiscated and escheated to the        
government of the ,united ,states2 and  
although the personal property was soon 
restored1 real estate of great value    

long lay in the hands of the court's    
receiver1 and the ,mormon ,church had to
 pay the national government high rental
 on its own property4  ,but the people  
have suspended the practise of plural   
marriage2 and the testimony of the      
governors1 judges1 and district         
attorneys of the territory1 and later   
that of the officers of the state1 have 
declared the sincerity of the           
renunciation4  ,as the people had       
adopted the practise under what was     
believed to be divine approval1 they    
suspended it when they were justified in
 so doing4  ,in whatever light this     
practise has been regarded in the past1 
it is today a dead issue1 forbidden by  
ecclesiastical rule as it is prohibited 
by legal statute4  ,and the world is    
learning1 to its manifest surprise1 that
 plural marriage and ,mormonism are not 
synonymous terms4                       
-----------  ,and so the story of       
,mormonism runs on2 its finale has not  
yet been written2 the current press     

presents continuously new stages of its 
progress1 new developments of its plan4 
,today the ,church of ,jesus ,christ of 
,latter-day ,saints is stronger than    
ever before2 and the people are         
confident that it is at its weakest     
stage for all time to come4  ,it lives  
and thrives because within it are the   
elements of thrift and the forces of    
life4  ,it embraces a boundless         
liberality of belief and practise2 true 
toleration is one of its essential      
features2 it makes love for mankind     
second only to love for ,deity4  ,its   
creed provides for the protection of all
 men in their rights of worship         
according to the dictates of conscience4
  ,it contemplates a millennium of      
peace1 when every man shall love his    
neighbor and respect his neighbor's     
opinion as he regards himself and his   
own--a day when the voice of the people 
shall be in unison with the voice of    
,god4    ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of        
,,mormonism    ,,chapter ,i  ,in this   

attempt to treat the philosophy of      
,mormonism it is assumed that no        
discussion of ,christianity in general  
nor of the philosophy of ,christianity  
is required4  ,the ,mormon creed1 so far
 as there is a creed professed by the   
,latter-day ,saints1 is pre-eminently   
,christian in theory1 precept1 and      
practise4  ,in what respect1 then1 may  
be properly asked1 does ,mormonism      
differ from the faith and practise of   
other professedly ,christian systems--in
 short1 what is ,mormonism8  ,first1 let
 it be remembered that the term ,mormon1
 with its derivatives1 is not the       
official designation of the ,church with
 which it is usually associated4  ,the  
name was originally applied in a spirit 
of derision1 as a nick-name in fact1 by 
the opponents of the ,church2 and was   
doubtless suggested by the title of a   
prominent publication given to the world
 through ,joseph ,smith in an early     
period of the ,church's history4  ,this1
 of course1 is the ,book of ,mormon4    

,nevertheless1 the people have accepted 
the name thus thrust upon them1 and     
answer readily to its call4  ,the proper
 title of the organization is ,the      
,church of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day
 ,saints4  ,the philosophy of ,mormonism
 is declared in the name4  ,the people  
claim this name as having been bestowed 
by revelation and therefore that1 like  
other names given of ,god as attested by
 scriptural instances1 it is at once    
name and title combined4  ,the ,church  
declines to sail under any flag of      
man-made design2 it repudiates the name 
of mortals as a part of its title1 and  
thus differs from ,lutherans and        
,wesleyans1 ,calvinists1 ,mennonites1   
and many others1 all of whom1 worthy    
though their organizations may be1      
elevating as may be their precepts1 good
 as may be their practises1 declare     
themselves the followers of men4  ,this 
is not the church of ,moses nor the     
prophets1 of ,paul nor of ,cephas1 of   
,apollos nor of ,john2 neither of       

,joseph ,smith nor of ,brigham ,young4  
,it asserts its proud claim as the      
,church of ,jesus ,christ4  ,it refuses 
to wear a name indicative of distinctive
 or peculiar doctrines2 and in this     
particular1 it differs from churches    
,catholic and ,protestant1              
,presbyterian1 ,congregationalist1      
,unitarian1 ,methodist and ,baptist2 its
 sole distinguishing features are those 
of the ,church of ,christ4  ,in an      
effort to present in concise form the   
cardinal doctrines of this organization1
 ,i cannot do better than quote the     
so-called ,articles of ,faith of the    
,church of ,jesus ,christ of ,latter-day
 ,saints1 which have been in published  
form before the world for over half a   
century4#d  ,footnote #d3 ,for extended 
treatment of ,mormon doctrine see ,the  
,articles of ,faith3 a ,series of       
,lectures on the ,principal ,doctrines  
of the ,church of ,jesus ,christ of     
,latter-day ,saints1 by ,james ,e4      
,talmage4  ,published by the ,church3   

,salt ,lake ,city1 ,utah2 #dhe pp4      
#a4 ,we believe in ,god1 the ,eternal   
,father1 and in ,his ,son1     ,jesus   
,christ1 and in the ,holy ,ghost4       
#b4 ,we believe that men will be        
punished for their own     sins1 and not
 for ,adam's transgression4      #c4 ,we
 believe that1 through the atonement of 
,christ1 all     mankind may be saved1  
by obedience to the laws and            
ordinances of the gospel4      #d4 ,we  
believe that the first principles and   
ordinances     of the gospel are3       
,first1 ,faith in the ,lord ,jesus      
,christ2 second1 ,repentance2 third1    
,baptism by immersion     for the       
remission of sins2 fourth1 ,laying on of
 hands     for the gift of the ,holy    
,ghost4      #e4 ,we believe that a man 
must be called of ,god1 by     prophecy1
 and by the laying on of hands1 by those
 who     are in authority1 to preach the
 gospel and administer in     the       
ordinances thereof4      #f4 ,we believe
 in the same organization that existed  

in     the primitive church1 namely1    
apostles1 prophets1     pastors1        
teachers1 evangelists1 etc4      #g4 ,we
 believe in the gift of tongues1        
prophecy1     revelation1 visions1      
healing1 interpretation of tongues1     
etc4      #h4 ,we believe the ,bible to 
be the word of ,god1 as far as     it is
 translated correctly2 we also believe  
the ,book of     ,mormon to be the word 
of ,god4      #i4 ,we believe all that  
,god has revealed1 all that he     does 
now reveal1 and we believe that he will 
yet reveal     many great and important 
things pertaining to the     ,kingdom of
 ,god4      #aj4 ,we believe in the     
literal gathering of ,israel and in     
the restoration of the ,ten ,tribes2    
that ,zion will be     built upon this  
the ,american continent2 that ,christ   
will reign personally upon the earth1   
and that the earth     will be renewed  
and receive its paradisiacal glory4     
#aa4 ,we claim the privilege of         
worshiping ,almighty ,god     according 

to the dictates of our own conscience1  
and     allow all men the same          
privilege1 let them worship how1        
where1 or what they may4      #ab4 ,we  
believe in being subject to kings1      
presidents1     rulers and magistrates1 
in obeying1 honoring and     sustaining 
the law4      #ac4 ,we believe in being 
honest1 true1 chaste1     benevolent1   
virtuous1 and in doing good to all men2 
indeed we may say that we follow the    
admonition of ,paul1     ,we believe all
 things1 we hope all things1 we have    
endured many things1 and hope to be able
 to endure all     things4  ,if there is
 anything virtuous1 lovely1 or of       
good report or praiseworthy1 we seek    
after these     things4--,,joseph       
,,smith4  ,this brief summary of ,mormon
 doctrine appears over the signature of 
,joseph ,smith--the man whom the        
,latter-day ,saints accept as the       
instrument in divine hands of           
re-establishing the ,church of ,christ  
on earth1 in this the ,dispensation of  

the ,fulness of ,times4  ,let it not be 
supposed1 however1 that these ,articles 
of ,faith are1 or profess to be1 a      
complete code of the doctrines of the   
,church1 for1 as declared in one of the 
,articles1 belief in continuous         
revelation from ,heaven is a            
characteristic feature of ,mormonism4   
,yet it is to be noted that no doctrine 
has been promulgated1 which by even     
strained interpretation could be        
construed as antagonistic to this early 
declaration of faith4  ,nor has any     
revelation to the ,church yet appeared  
in opposition to earlier revelation of  
this or of by-gone dispensations4  ,to  
most of the declarations in the         
,articles of ,faith1 many sects         
professing ,christianity could          
confidently pledge allegiance2 to many  
of them1 all ,christian organizations   
could and professedly do subscribe4     
,belief in the existence and powers of  
the ,supreme ,trinity2 in ,jesus ,christ
 as the ,savior and ,redeemer of        

mankind2 in man's individual            
accountability for his doings2 in the   
acceptance of sacred writ as the ,word  
of ,god2 in the rights of ,worship      
according to the dictates of conscience2
 in all the moral virtues2--these       
professions and beliefs are as a common 
creed in the realm of ,christendom4     
,there is no peculiarly ,mormon         
interpretation1 in the light of which   
these principles of faith and practise  
are viewed by the ,latter-day ,saints1  
except in a certain simplicity and      
literalness of acceptance--gross        
literalness1 unrefined materialism1 it  
has been called by some critical        
opponents4  ,the gospel plan as accepted
 and taught by the ,latter-day ,saints  
is strikingly simple2 disappointing in  
its simplicity1 indeed1 to the mind that
 can find satisfaction in mysteries     
alone1 and to him whose love for        
metaphor1 symbolism1 and imagery are    
stronger than his devotion to truth     
itself1 which may or may not be thus    

embellished4  ,the ,church asserts that 
the wisdom of human learning1 while     
ranking among the choicest of earthly   
possessions1 is not essential to an     
understanding of the gospel2 and that   
the preacher of the ,word must be       
otherwise endowed than by the learning  
of the schoolmen4  ,mormonism is for the
 wayfaring man1 not less than for the   
scholar1 and it possesses a simplicity  
adapting it to the one as to the other4 
,a few of the characteristically ,mormon
 tenets may perhaps be profitably       
considered4  ,mormonism affirms its     
unqualified belief in the ,godhead as   
the ,holy ,trinity1 comprising ,father1 
,son1 and ,holy ,ghost2 each of the     
three a separate and individual         
personage2 the ,father and the ,son each
 a personage of spirit and of           
immortalized body2 the ,holy ,ghost a   
personage of spirit4  ,the unity of the 
,godhead is accepted in the literal     
fulness of scriptural declaration--that 
the three are one in purpose1 plan and  

method1 alike in all their ,godly       
attributes2 one in their divine         
omniscience and omnipotence2 yet as     
separate and distinct in their          
personality as are any three inhabitants
 of earth4 ,mormonism claims that       
scriptures declaring the oneness of the 
,trinity admit of this interpretation2  
that such indeed is the natural         
interpretation2 and that the conception 
is in accord with reason4  ,we hold that
 mankind are literally the spiritual    
children of ,god2 that even as the      
,christ had an existence with the       
,father before coming to earth to take  
upon himself a tabernacle of flesh1 to  
live and to die as a man in accordance  
with the fore-ordained plan of          
redemption1 so1 too1 every child of     
earth had an existence in the           
spirit-state before entering upon this  
mortal probation4  ,we hold the doctrine
 to be reasonable1 scriptural and true1 
that mortal birth is no more the        
beginning of the soul's existence than  

is death its end4  ,the time-span of    
mortal life is but one stage in the     
soul's career1 separating the eternity  
that has preceded from the eternity that
 is to follow4  ,and this mortal        
existence is one of the ,father's great 
gifts to his spiritual children1        
affording them the opportunity of an    
untrammeled exercise of their free      
agency1 the privilege of meeting        
temptation and of resisting it if they  
will1 the chance to win exaltation and  
eternal life4  ,we claim that all men   
are equal as to earthly rights and human
 privileges2 but that each has          
individual capacity and capabilities2   
that in the primeval world there were   
spirits noble and great1 as there were  
others of lesser power and inferior     
purpose4  ,there is no chance in the    
number or nature of spirits that are    
born to earth2 all who are entitled to  
the privileges of mortality and have    
been assigned to this sphere shall come 
at the time appointed1 and shall return 

to inherit each the glory or the        
degradation to which he has shown       
himself adapted4  ,the gospel as        
understood by the ,latter-day ,saints   
affirms the unconditional free-agency of
 man--his right to accept good or evil1 
to choose the means of eternal          
progression or the opposite1 to worship 
as he elects1 or to refuse to worship at
 all--and then to take the consequences 
of his choice4  ,mormonism rejects what 
it regards as a heresy1 the false       
doctrine of pre-destination as an       
absolute compulsion or even as an       
irresistible tendency forced upon the   
individual toward right or wrong--as a  
pre-appointment to eventual exaltation  
or condemnation2 yet it affirms that the
 infinite wisdom and fore-knowledge of  
,god makes plain to him the end from the
 beginning2 and that he can read in the 
natures and dispositions of his         
children1 their destiny4  ,mormonism    
claims an actual and literal            
relationship of parent and child between

 the ,creator and man--not in the       
figurative sense in which the engine may
 be called the child of its builder2 not
 the relationship of a thing            
mechanically made to the maker thereof2 
but the kinship of father and offspring4
  ,in short it is bold enough to declare
 that man's spirit being the offspring  
of ,deity1 and man's body though of     
earthy components yet being in the very 
image and likeness of ,god1 man even in 
his present degraded--aye1 fallen       
condition--still possesses1 if only in a
 latent state1 inherited traits1        
tendencies and powers that tell of his  
more than royal descent2 and that these 
may be developed so as to make him1 even
 while mortal1 in a measure ,godlike4   
,but ,mormonism is bolder yet4  ,it     
asserts that in accordance with the     
inviolable law of organic nature--that  
like shall beget like1 and that         
multiplication of numbers and           
perpetuation of species shall be in     
compliance with the condition each after

 his kind1 the child may achieve the    
former status of the parent1 and that in
 his mortal condition man is a ,god in  
embryo4  ,however far in the future it  
may be1 what ages may elapse1 what      
eternities may pass before any          
individual now a mortal being may attain
 the rank and sanctity of godship1 man  
nevertheless carries in his soul the    
possibilities of such achievement2 even 
as the crawling caterpillar or the      
corpse-like chrysalis holds the latent  
possibility1 nay1 barring destruction1  
the certainty indeed1 of the winged     
imago in all the glory of maturity4     
,mormonism claims that all nature1 both 
on earth and in heaven1 operates on a   
plan of advancement2 that the very      
,eternal ,father is a progressive       
,being2 that his perfection1 while so   
complete as to be incomprehensible by   
man1 possesses this essential quality of
 true perfection--the capacity of       
eternal increase4  ,that therefore1 in  
the far future1 beyond the horizon of   

eternities perchance1 man may attain the
 status of a ,god4  ,yet this does not  
mean that he shall be then the equal of 
the ,deity he now worships nor that he  
shall ever overtake those intelligences 
that are already beyond him in          
advancement2 for to assert such would be
 to argue that there is no progression  
beyond a certain stage of attainment1   
and that advancement is a characteristic
 of low organization and inferior       
purpose alone4  ,we believe that there  
was more than the sounding of brass or  
the tinkling of wordy cymbals in the    
fervent admonition of the ,christ to his
 followers--,be ye therefore perfect1   
even as your ,father which is in heaven 
is perfect4  7,matt4 #e3dh47  ,but it is
 beyond dispute that in his present     
state1 man is far from the condition of 
even a relatively perfect being4  ,he is
 born heir to the weaknesses as well as 
to the excellencies of generations of   
ancestors2 he inherits potent tendencies
 for both good and evil2 and verily1 it 

seems that in the flesh he has to suffer
 for the sins of his progenitors4  ,but 
divine blessings are not to be reckoned 
in terms of earthly possessions or      
bodily excellencies alone2 the child    
born under conditions of adversity may  
after all be richly endowed with        
opportunity1 opportunity which1 perhaps1
 had been less of service amid the      
surroundings of luxury4  ,we hold that  
the ,father has an individual interest  
in his children2 and that surely in the 
rendering of divine judgment1 the       
conditions under which each soul has    
lived in mortality shall be considered4 
,mormonism accepts the doctrine of the  
,fall1 and the account of the           
transgression in ,eden1 as set forth in 
,genesis2 but it affirms that none but  
,adam is or shall be answerable for     
,adam's disobedience2 that mankind in   
general are absolutely absolved from    
responsibility for that original sin1   
and that each shall account for his own 
transgressions alone2 that the ,fall was

 foreknown of ,god--that it was turned  
to good effect by which the necessary   
condition of mortality should be        
inaugurated2 and that a ,redeemer was   
provided1 before the world was2 that    
general salvation1 in the sense of      
redemption from the effects of the      
,fall1 comes to all without their       
seeking it2 but that individual         
salvation or rescue from the effects of 
personal sins is to be acquired by each 
for himself by faith and good works     
through the redemption wrought by ,jesus
 ,christ4  ,the ,church holds that      
children are born to earth in a sinless 
state1 that they need no individual     
redemption2 that should they die before 
reaching years of accountability1 they  
return without taint of earthly sin2 but
 as they attain youth or maturity in the
 flesh1 their responsibility increases  
with their development4  ,according to  
the teachings of ,mormonism1 ,christ's  
instructions to the people to pray ,thy 
,kingdom come1 thy will be done1 on     

earth as it is in heaven was not a      
petition for the impossible1 but a      
fore-shadowing of what shall eventually 
be4  ,we believe that the day shall yet 
come when the ,kingdom of ,god on earth 
shall be one with the ,kingdom in       
heaven2 and one ,king shall rule in     
both4  ,the ,church is regarded as the  
beginning of this ,kingdom on earth2    
though until the coming of the ,king1   
there is no authority in the ,church    
exercising or claiming temporal rule or 
dominion among the governments of earth4
  ,yet the ,church is none the less the 
beginning of the ,kingdom1 the germ from
 which the ,kingdom shall develop4  ,and
 the ,church must be in direct          
communication with the heavenly ,kingdom
 of which the earthly ,kingdom when     
established shall be a part4  ,of such a
 nature was the ,church in so far as it 
existed before the time of ,christ's    
earthly ministry2 for the biblical      
record is replete with instances of     
direct communication between the        

prophets and their ,god4  ,the          
scriptures are silent as to a single    
dispensation in which the spiritual     
leaders of the people depended upon the 
records of earlier times and by-gone    
ages for their guidance2 but on the     
contrary1 the evidence is complete that 
in every stage of the ,church's history 
the ,god of heaven communicated his mind
 and will unto his earthly              
representatives4 ,israel of old were led
 and governed in all matters spiritual  
and to a great extent in their temporal 
affairs by the direct word of           
revelation4  ,noah did not depend upon  
the record of ,god's dealings with ,adam
 or ,enoch1 but was directed by the very
 word and voice of the ,god whom he     
represented4  ,moses was no mere        
theologian trained for his authority or 
acts on what ,god had said to ,abraham1 
to ,isaac1 or to ,jacob2 he acted in    
accordance with instructions given unto 
him from time to time1 as the           
circumstances of his ministry required4 

,and so on through all the line of      
prophets1 major and minor1 down to the  
priest of the course of ,abia unto whom 
the angel announced the birth of ,john  
who was to be the direct fore-runner of 
the ,messiah4  ,when the ,christ came in
 the flesh he declared that he acted not
 of himself but according to            
instructions given him of the ,father4  
,thus the ,messiah was a revelator1     
receiving while in the flesh            
communication direct and frequent from  
the heavens4  ,by such revelation he was
 guided in his earthly ministry2 by such
 he instructed his disciples2 unto such 
he taught his apostles to look for safe 
guidance when he would have left them4  
,during his earthly ministry ,christ    
called and ordained men to offices in   
the ,church4  ,we have a record of      
apostles particularly1 numbering twelve1
 and beside these1 seventy others who   
were commissioned to preach1 teach1     
baptize and perform other ordinances of 
the ,church4  ,after our ,lord's        

departure1 we read of the apostles      
continuing their labors in the light of 
continued revelation4  ,by this sure    
guide they selected and set apart those 
who were to officiate in the ,church4   
,by revelation1 ,peter was directed to  
carry the gospel to the ,gentiles2 which
 expansion of the work was inaugurated  
by the conversion of the devout         
,cornelius and his household4  ,by      
revelation1 ,saul of ,tarsus became     
,paul the ,apostle1 a valiant defender  
of the faith4  ,holy men of old spake   
and wrote as they were moved upon by the
 ,holy ,ghost and depended not upon the 
precedents of ancient history nor       
entirely upon the law then already      
written4  ,they operated under the      
conviction that the living ,church must 
be in communication with its living     
,head2 and that the work of ,god1 while 
it was to be wrought out through the    
instrumentality of man1 was to be       
directed by him whose work it was1 and  
is4  ,mormonism claims the same         

necessity to exist today4  ,it holds    
that it is no more nearly possible now  
than it was in the days of the ancient  
prophets or in the apostolic age for the
 ,church of ,christ to exist without    
direct and continuous revelation from   
,god4  ,this necessitates the existence 
and authorized ministrations of         
prophets1 apostles1 high priests1       
seventies1 elders1 bishops1 priests1    
teachers and deacons1 now as            
anciently--not men selected by men      
without authority1 clothed by human     
ceremonial alone1 nor men with the empty
 names of office1 but men who bear the  
title because they possess the          
authority1 having been called of ,god4  
,is it unreasonable1 is it              
unphilosophical1 thus to look for       
additional light and knowledge8  ,shall 
religion be the one department of human 
thought and effort in which progression 
is impossible8  ,what would we say of   
the chemist1 the astronomer1 the        
physicist1 or the geologist1 who would  

proclaim that no further discovery or   
revelation of scientific truth is       
possible1 or who would declare that the 
only occupation open to students of     
science is to con the books of by-gone  
times and to apply the principles long  
ago made known1 since none others shall 
ever be discovered8  ,the chief motive  
impelling to research and investigation 
is the conviction that to knowledge and 
wisdom there is no end4 ,mormonism      
affirms that all wisdom is of ,god1 that
 the halo of his glory is intelligence1 
and that man has not yet learned all    
there is to learn of him and his ways4  
,we hold that the doctrine of continuous
 revelation from ,god is not less       
philosophical and scientific than       
scriptural4    ,,chapter ,,ii  ,the     
,latter-day ,saints affirm that the     
authority to act in the name of         
,god--the ,holy ,priesthood--has been   
restored to earth in this dispensation  
and age1 in accordance with the inspired
 predictions of earlier times4  ,but1 it

 may be asked1 what necessity was there 
for a restoration if the ,priesthood had
 been once established upon earth8      
,none indeed1 had it never been taken   
away4  ,a general apostasy from the     
primitive ,church is conceded in effect 
by some authorities in ecclesiastical   
history2 though few admit the entire    
discontinuance of priestly power1 or the
 full suspension of authority to operate
 in the ordinances of the ,church4      
,this great apostasy was foretold4      
,paul warned the ,saints of             
,thessalonica against those who claimed 
that the second coming of ,christ was   
then near at hand3 ,for1 said he1 that  
day shall not come except there come a  
falling away first4  7,,ii ,thess4      
#b3c47  ,mormonism contends that there  
has been a general falling away from the
 ,church of ,christ1 dating from the    
time immediately following the apostolic
 period4  ,we believe that the proper   
interpretation of history will confirm  
this view2 and1 moreover1 that the      

inspired scriptures foretold just such a
 condition4#e  ,footnote #e3 ,see ,the  
,great ,apostasy3 ,considered in the    
,light of ,scriptural and ,secular      
,history1 by ,james ,e4 ,talmage4       
,published by the ,deseret ,news1 ,salt 
,lake ,city1 ,utah2 #agf pp4  ,if the   
,priesthood had been once taken from the
 earth no human power could re-establish
 it2 the restoration of this authority  
from heaven would be necessary4  ,the   
,church claims that in the present age  
this restoration has been effected by   
the personal ministrations of those who 
exercised the authority in earlier      
dispensations4  ,thus1 in #ahbi1 ,joseph
 ,smith and ,oliver ,cowdery received   
the ,lesser or ,aaronic ,priesthood     
under the hands of ,john the ,baptist1  
who visited them as a resurrected       
being--the same ,baptist who by special 
and divine commission held the authority
 of that ,priesthood in the dispensation
 of the ,meridian of ,time4 ,later1 the 
,higher or ,melchizedek ,priesthood was 

conferred upon them through the personal
 ministrations of ,peter1 ,james1 and   
,john--the same three who constituted   
the presidency of the apostolic body in 
the primitive ,church1 after the        
departure of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ by
 whom it was founded4  ,that the claim  
is a bold one is conceded without       
argument4  ,the ,church of ,jesus       
,christ of ,latter-day ,saints professes
 to have the ,priesthood of old restored
 in its fulness2 and1 moreover1 while   
acknowledging the right of every        
individual as of every sect or other    
organization of individuals to believe  
and practise according to choice in     
matters religious1 it affirms that it is
 the only ,church on the face of the    
earth possessing this authority and     
,priesthood2 and that therefore it is   
,the ,church and the only ,church of    
,christ upon the earth today4  ,it holds
 as absolutely indispensable to proper  
,church organization1 the presence of   
the living oracles of ,god who shall be 

directed from the heavens in their      
earthly ministry2 and these1 ,mormonism 
asserts1 are to be found with the       
,church of ,jesus ,christ4  ,mormonism  
emphasizes the doctrine that that which 
is ,caesar's be given unto ,caesar1     
while that which is ,god's be rendered  
unto him4  ,therefore1 it teaches that  
all things pertaining unto earth1 and   
unto man's earthly affairs1 may with    
propriety be regulated by earthly       
authority1 but that in the performance  
of any ordinance1 rite1 or ceremony1    
claimed to be of effect beyond1 the     
grave1 a power greater than that of man 
is requisite or the performance is void4
  ,therefore1 membership in the ,church1
 which1 if of any value and significance
 at all1 is of more than temporal       
meaning1 must be governed by laws which 
are prescribed by the powers of heaven4 
,mormonism recognizes ,jesus ,christ as 
the head of the ,church1 as the literal 
,savior and ,redeemer of mankind1 as the
 ,king of kings and ,lord of lords1 as  

the ,one whose right it is to reign on  
earth1 who shall yet subdue all worldly 
kingdoms under his feet1 who shall      
present the earth in its final state of 
redemption to the ,father4  ,it is his  
right to prescribe the conditions under 
which mankind may be made partakers of  
his bounty and of the privileges of the 
victory won by him over death and the   
grave4  ,the ,church claims that faith  
in ,god is essential to intelligent     
service of him2 and that faith1 trust1  
confidence in ,god as the ,father of    
mankind1 as the ,supreme ,being to whom 
all shall render account of their deeds 
and misdeeds1 must lead to a desire to  
serve him and thus produce repentance4  
,faith in ,god and genuine repentance of
 sin1 of necessity1 therefore constitute
 the fundamental principles of the      
gospel4  ,it is reasonable to expect    
that after man has developed faith in   
,god1 and has repented of his sins1 he  
will be eager to find a means of        
demonstrating his sincerity2 and this   

means is found in the requirement       
concerning baptism as essential to      
entrance into the ,church1 and as a     
means whereby remission of sins may be  
obtained4  ,as to the mode of baptism1  
the ,church affirms that immersion alone
 is the one method sanctioned by        
scripture1 and that this mode has been  
expressly prescribed by revelation in   
the present dispensation4  ,water       
baptism1 then1 becomes a basic principle
 and the first essential ordinance of   
the gospel4  ,it is to be administered  
by one having authority2 and that       
authority rests in the ,priesthood given
 of ,god4  ,following baptism by water1 
comes the ordinance of the bestowal of  
the ,holy ,ghost by the authorized      
imposition of hands1 which constitutes  
the true baptism of the ,spirit4  ,these
 requirements1 designated specifically  
the first principles and ordinances of  
the gospel1 ,mormonism claims to be     
absolutely essential to membership in   
the ,church of ,christ1 and this without

 modification or qualification as to the
 time at which the individual lived in  
mortality4  ,then with propriety it may 
be asked3--,what shall become of those  
who lived and died while the ,priesthood
 was not operative upon the             
earth8--those who have worked out their 
mortal probation during the ages of the 
great apostasy8  ,furthermore1 what     
shall be the destiny of those who1      
though living in a time of spiritual    
light1 perhaps had not the opportunity  
of learning and obeying the gospel      
requirements8 ,here again the inherent  
justice of ,mormon philosophy shows     
itself in the doctrine of salvation for 
the dead4 ,no distinction is made       
between the living and the dead in the  
solemn declaration of the ,savior to    
,nicodemus1 which appears to have been  
given the widest possible               
application1--that except a man be born 
of water and of the spirit he cannot    
enter into the ,kingdom of ,god4  7,john
 #c3a-e47  ,mormonism proclaims         

something more than a heaven and a hell1
 to one or the other of which all       
spirits of men shall be assigned1       
perhaps on the basis of a very narrow   
margin of merit or demerit4 ,as it      
affirms the existence of an infinite    
range of graded intelligences1 so it    
claims the widest and fullest gradation 
of conditions of future existence4  ,it 
holds that the honest1 though1          
perchance1 mistaken soul who lived or   
tried to live according to the light he 
had received1 shall be counted among the
 honorable of the earth1 and shall find 
opportunity1 if not here then in the    
hereafter1 for compliance with the      
requirements essential for salvation4   
,it teaches that repentance with all its
 attendant blessings shall be possible  
beyond the grave2 but that inasmuch as  
the change we call death does not       
transform the character of the soul1    
repentance there will be difficult for  
him who has ruthlessly and willfully    
rejected the manifold opportunities     

afforded him for repentance here4  ,it  
asserts that even the heathen devotee   
who may have bowed down to stocks and   
stones1 if in so doing he was obeying   
the highest law of worship which to his 
benighted soul had come1 shall have part
 in the first resurrection1 and shall be
 afforded the opportunity1 which on     
earth he had not found1 of doing that   
which is required of ,god's children for
 salvation4  ,and for all the dead who  
have been without the privileges1       
perhaps indeed without the knowledge1 of
 compliance with ,christ's law1 there   
shall be given opportunity in the       
hereafter4  ,nevertheless1 this life of 
ours is no trifle1 no insignificant     
incident in the soul's eternal course1  
having but small and temporal           
importance1 the omissions of which can  
be rectified with ease by the individual
 beyond the veil4  ,if compliance with  
the divine law as exemplified by the    
requirements of faith1 repentance1      
baptism1 and the bestowal of the right  

to the ministrations of the ,holy       
,ghost1 are essential to the salvation  
of those few who just now are counted   
among the living1 such is not less      
necessary for those who once were living
 but now are dead4  ,who are the living 
of today but those who shortly shall be 
added to the uncounted dead8  ,who are  
the dead but those who at some time have
 lived in mortality8  ,christ has been  
ordained to be judge of both quick and  
dead2 he is ,lord of living and dead as 
man uses these terms1 for all live unto 
him4  ,how then shall the dead receive  
the blessings and ordinances denied to  
them or by them neglected while in the  
flesh8  ,mormonism answers3 ,by the     
vicarious work of the living in their   
behalf6  ,it was this great and         
privileged labor to which the prophet   
,malachi referred in his solemn         
declaration1 that before the great and  
dreadful day of the ,lord1 ,elijah      
should be sent with the commission to   
turn the hearts of the fathers to the   

children and the hearts of the children 
to the fathers4  ,elijah's visitation to
 earth has been realized4  ,on the #crd 
of ,april1 in the year #ahcf1 there     
appeared unto ,joseph ,smith and ,oliver
 ,cowdery1 in the temple erected by the4
  ,latter-day ,saints at ,kirtland1     
,ohio1 ,elijah the prophet1 who         
announced that the time spoken of by    
,malachi had fully come2 then and there 
he bestowed the authority1 for this     
dispensation1 to inaugurate and carry on
 this labor in behalf of the departed4  
,as to the fidelity with which the      
,latter-day ,saints have sought to      
discharge the duties thus divinely      
required at their hands1 let the temples
 erected in poverty as in relative      
prosperity--by the blood and tears of   
the people--testify4  ,two of these     
great edifices were constructed by the  
,latter-day ,saints in the days of their
 tribulation1 in times of their direst  
persecution1--one at ,kirtland1 ,ohio1  
the other at ,nauvoo1 ,illinois4  ,the  

first is still standing1 though no      
longer possessed by the people who built
 it2 and no longer employed for the     
furtherance of the purposes of its      
erection2 the second fell a prey to     
flames enkindled by mobocratic hate4    
,four others have been constructed in   
the vales of ,utah1 and are today in    
service1 dedicated to the blessing of   
the living1 and particularly to the     
vicarious labor of the living in behalf 
of the dead4  ,in them the ordinances of
 baptism1 and the laying on of hands for
 the bestowal of the ,holy ,ghost1 are  
performed upon the living               
representatives of the dead4#f          
,footnote #f3 ,for a detailed treatment 
of ,temples and ,temple labor among the 
,latter-day ,saints1 including a study  
of the doctrine of vicarious labor for  
the dead1 see ,the ,house of the ,lord1 
a ,study of ,holy ,sanctuaries ,ancient 
and ,modern1 including forty-six plates 
illustrative of modern ,temples2 by     
,james ,e4 ,talmage4 ,published by the  

,church3 ,salt ,lake ,city1 ,utah2 #ccf 
pp4  ,but this labor for the dead is    
two-fold2 it comprises the proper       
performance of the required ordinances  
on earth1 and the preaching of the      
gospel to the departed4  ,shall we      
suppose that all of ,god's good gifts to
 his children are restricted to the     
narrow limits of mortal existence8  ,we 
are told of the inauguration of this    
great missionary labor in the spirit    
world1 as effected by the ,christ       
himself4  ,after his resurrection1 and  
immediately following the period during 
which his body had lain in the tomb     
guarded by the soldiery1 he declared to 
the sorrowing ,magdalene that he had not
 at that time ascended to his ,father2  
and1 in the light of his dying promise  
to the penitent malefactor who suffered 
on a cross by his side1 we learn that he
 had been in paradise4  ,peter also     
tells us of his labors--that he was     
preaching to the spirits in prison1 to  
those who had been disobedient in the   

days of ,noah when the long-suffering of
 ,god waited while the ark was          
preparing4  ,if it was deemed necessary 
or just that the gospel be carried to   
spirits that were disobedient or        
neglectful in the days of ,noah1 are we 
justified in concluding that others who 
have rejected or neglected the word of  
,god shall be left in a state of        
perpetual condemnation8  ,mormonism     
claims that not only shall the gospel be
 carried to the living1 and be preached 
to every creature1 but that the great   
missionary labor1 the burden of which   
has been placed on the ,church1 must of 
necessity be extended to the realm of   
the dead4 ,it declares unequivocally    
that without compliance with the        
requirements established by ,jesus      
,christ1 no soul can be saved from the  
fate of the condemned2 but that         
opportunity shall be given to every one 
in the season of his fitness to receive 
it1 be he heathen or civilized1 living  
or dead4  ,the whole duty of man is to  

live and work according to the highest  
laws of right made known to him1 to walk
 according to the best light that has   
been shed about his path2 and while     
,justice shall deny to every soul that  
has not rendered obedience to the law1  
entrance into the kingdom of the        
blessed1 ,mercy shall claim opportunity 
for all who1 have shown themselves      
willing to receive the truth and obey   
its behests4  ,it will be seen1 then1   
that ,mormonism offers no modified or   
conditional claims as to the necessity  
of compliance with the laws and         
ordinances of the gospel by every       
responsible inhabitant of earth unto    
whom salvation shall come4  ,it         
distinguishes not between enlightened   
and heathen nations1 nor between men of 
high and low intelligence2 nor even     
between the living and the dead4 ,no    
human being who has attained years of   
accountability in the flesh1 may hope   
for salvation in the kingdom of ,god    
until he has rendered obedience to the  

requirements of ,christ1 the ,redeemer  
of the world4  ,but while thus decisive1
 ,mormonism is not exclusive4  ,it does 
not claim that all who have failed to   
accept and obey the gospel of eternal   
life shall be eternally and forever     
damned4  ,while boldly asserting that   
the ,church of ,jesus ,christ of        
,latter-day ,saints is the sole         
repository of the ,holy ,priesthood as  
now restored to earth1 it teaches and   
demands the fullest toleration for all  
individuals1 and organizations of       
individuals1 professing righteousness2  
and holds that each shall be rewarded   
for the measure of good he has wrought1 
to be adjudged in accordance with the   
spiritual knowledge he has gained4  ,for
 such high claims combined with such    
professions of tolerance1 the ,church   
has been accused of inconsistency4  ,let
 it not be forgotten1 however1 that     
toleration is not acceptance4  ,i may   
believe with the utmost fulness of my   
soul's powers that ,i am right and my   

neighbor is wrong concerning any        
proposition or principle2 but such      
conviction gives me no semblance of     
right for interfering with his exercise 
of freedom4  ,the only bounds to the    
liberty of an individual are such as    
mark the liberty of another1 or the     
rights of the community4  ,god himself  
treats as sacred1 and therefore as      
inviolable1 the freedom of the human    
soul4     ,know this1 that every soul is
 free     ,to choose his life and what  
he'll be2     ,for this eternal truth is
 given1     ,that ,god will force no man
 to heaven4     ,he'll call1 persuade1  
direct aright1     ,bless him with      
wisdom1 love1 and light2     ,in        
nameless ways be good and kind1     ,but
 never force the human mind4  ,mormonism
 contends that no man or nation         
possesses the right to forcibly deprive 
even the heathen of his right to worship
 his deity4  ,though idolatry has been  
marked from the earliest ages with the  
seal of divine disfavor1 it may         

represent in the unenlightened soul the 
sincerest reverence of which the person 
is capable4  ,he should be taught       
better1 but not compelled to render     
worship which to him is false because in
 violation of his conscience4  ,in      
further defense of the ,latter-day      
,saints against the charge of           
inconsistency for this their tolerance  
toward others whom they verily believe  
to be wrong1 let me again urge the      
cardinal principle that every man is    
accountable for his acts1 and shall be  
judged in the light of the law as made  
known to him4  ,there is no claim of    
universal forgiveness2 no unwarranted   
glorification of ,mercy to the degrading
 or neglect of ,justice2 no thought that
 a single sin of omission or of         
commission shall fail to leave its wound
 or scar4  ,in the great future there   
shall be found a place for every soul1  
whatever his grade of spiritual         
intelligence may be4  ,in my ,father's  
house are many mansions1 7,john #ad3b71 

declared the ,savior to his apostles2   
and ,paul adds1 ,there are also         
celestial bodies1 and bodies            
terrestrial2 but the glory of the       
celestial is one1 and the glory of the  
terrestrial is another4  ,there is one  
glory of the sun and another glory of   
the moon and another glory of the stars2
 for one star differeth from another    
star in glory4  ,so also is the         
resurrection of the dead1 7,i ,cor4     
#ae3dj-db74  ,the ,latter-day ,saints   
claim a revelation of the present       
dispensation as supplementing the       
scripture just quoted4  ,from this later
 scripture 7see ,d,c1 ,sec4 #gf71 we    
learn that there are three well-defined 
degrees in the future state1 with       
numerous1 perhaps numberless1           
gradations4  ,there is the celestial    
state provided for those who have lived 
the whole law1 who have accepted the    
testimony of the ,christ1 who have      
complied with the required ordinances of
 the gospel1 who have been valiant in   

the cause of virtue and truth4  ,then   
there is the terrestrial state1         
comparable to the first as is the moon  
to the sun4  ,this shall be given to the
 less valiant1 to many who are          
nevertheless among the worthy men of the
 earth1 but who perchance have been     
deceived as to the gospel and its       
requirements4  ,the telestial state is  
for those who have failed to live       
according to the light given them2 those
 who have had to suffer the results of  
their sins2 those who have been of      
,moses1 of ,paul1 of ,apollos1 and of   
any one of a multitude of others1 but   
not of the ,christ4  ,we hold that there
 is a wide difference between salvation 
and exaltation2 that there are infinite 
gradations beyond the grave as there are
 here1 and as there were in the state   
preceding this4  ,mormonism is          
frequently spoken of as a new religion1 
and the ,church as a new church1 a mere 
addition of one to the many sects that  
have so long striven for recognition and

 ascendency among men4  ,it is new only 
as the springtime following the darkness
 and the cold of the year's night is    
new4  ,the ,church is a new one only as 
the ripening fruit is a new development 
in the course of the tree's growth4  ,in
 a general and true sense1 ,mormonism is
 not new to the world4  ,it is founded  
on the gospel of ,christ which antedates
 this earth4  ,the establishment of the 
,church in the present age was but a    
restoration4  ,true1 the ,church is     
progressive as it ever has been2 it is  
therefore productive of more and greater
 things as the years link themselves    
into the centuries2 but the living seed 
contains within its husk all the        
possibilities of the mature plant4      
,this so-called new1 modern gospel is in
 fact the old one1 the first one1 come  
again4  ,it demands the organization and
 the authority characteristic of the    
,church in former days1 when there was a
 ,church of ,god upon the earth2 it     
expects no more consideration1 and      

scarcely hopes for greater popularity1  
than were accorded the primitive        
,church4  ,opposition1 persecution1 and 
martyrdom have been its portion1 but    
these tribulations it accepts1 knowing  
well that to bear such has been the lot 
of the true ,church in every age4       
,mormonism is more than a code of       
morals2 it claims a higher rank than    
that of an organization of men planned  
and instituted by the wisdom and        
philosophy of men1 however worthy4  ,it 
draws a distinction between morality and
 religion2 and affirms that human duty  
is not comprised in a mere avoidance of 
sin4  ,it regards the strictest morality
 as an indispensable feature of every   
religious system claiming in any degree 
divine recognition2 and yet it looks    
upon morality as but the alphabet from  
which the words and sentences of a truly
 religious life may be framed4  ,however
 euphonious the words1 however eloquent 
the periods1 to make the writing of     
highest worth there must be present the 

divine thought2 and this1 man of himself
 cannot conceive4  ,it affirms that     
there was a yesterday as there is a     
today1 and shall be a tomorrow1 in the  
dealings of ,god with men2 that         
,through the ages one increasing purpose
 runs2  and that purpose1--the working  
out of a divine plan1 the ultimate      
object of which is the salvation and    
exaltation of the human family4  ,the   
central feature of that plan was the    
earthly ministry and redeeming sacrifice
 of the ,christ in the meridian of time2
 the consummation shall be ushered in by
 the return of that same ,christ to     
earth as the ,rewarder of righteousness1
 the ,avenger of iniquity1 and as the   
world's ,judge4  ,the ,church holds that
 in the light of revelation1 ancient and
 modern1 and by a fair interpretation of
 the signs of the times1 the second     
coming of the ,redeemer is near at hand4
  ,the present is the final dispensation
 of the earth in its present state2     
these are the last days of which the    

prophets in all ages have sung4  ,but of
 what use are theories and philosophies 
of religion without practical           
application8  ,of what avail is belief  
as a mere mental assent or denial8  ,let
 it develop into virile faith2 vitalize 
it2 animate it2 then it becomes a moving
 power4  ,the ,latter-day ,saints point 
with some confidence to what they have  
attempted and begun1 and to the little  
they have already done in the line of   
their convictions1 as proof of their    
sincerity4  ,for the second coming of   
the ,redeemer1 preparation is demanded  
of men2 and today1 instead of the single
 priest crying in the wilderness of     
,judaea1 there are thousands going forth
 among the nations with a message as    
definite and as important as that of the
 ,baptist2 and their proclamation is a  
reiteration of the voice in the         
desert--,repent ,repent6 for the        
,kingdom of ,heaven is at hand4   ,the  
philosophy of ,mormonism rests on the   
literal acceptance of a living1 personal

 ,god1 and on the unreserved compliance 
with his law as from time to time       
revealed4