BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 O 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
THE NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION 
 
 OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST 
 
 OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. 
 
 BY ELDER HYRUM CK SMITH. 
 
 Herald Publishing House, Reorganized Church of Jesus 
 Christ of Latter Day Saints, Lamoni, Decatur Co., 
 Iowa. 
 
 EVERYWHERE I go in Utah I am confronted with the 
 question, "What was and is the need of a Reorgan- 
 ization?" It is a pertinent question, one of vital 
 importance to all Latter Day Saints. Calling 
 names, or denominating this one or that one an 
 apostate, will do no good, but simply engender 
 bitterness and remove farther away the ones we 
 wish to reach and benefit; but none should object 
 to being examined by what we find written in the 
 books; in fact there cannot be any other way to 
 Vidg<3 and decide the question. 
 
 An apostate is one who has departed from a 
 formulated system of belief or doctrine; and where 
 such formulated belief or doctrine is known, it 
 forms the only criterion by which to judge. All 
 Latter Day Saints will agree that the Church of 
 Christ was duly and properly organized on April 6, 
 1830, and that it moved along with great prosperity 
 until June 27, 1844, when its earthly leader was 
 killed. Prom that time it was scattered. Most of 
 the different fragments have become extinct; 
 either going back upon the faith entirely, or join- 
 Ing in with one of *the two organizations: some 
 with that in Utah, some with that known as the 
 Reorganization; until the contention now lies be- 
 tween these two organizations as to which correctly 
 represents the original church. 
 
 GOD'S WORD THE CRITERION. 
 
 My examination of the question at the head of 
 this article and as to who departed from -the faith 
 will be confined to the examination of doctrines 
 presented by the Utah Church, as it is that church 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 that has constantly propounded this question to me. 
 Other churches have what they call their disci- 
 pline; Latter Day Saints have the Book of Doctrine 
 and Covenants, which answers the same purpose 
 setting forth the doctrine and usages of the church! 
 Other church disciplines are man-made and can be 
 changed; ours we claim is God-made and cannot be 
 changed any more than God can change. So we 
 nave a sufficiently reliable and certain unchanging 
 rule by which to examine and determine what is 
 true and what is false doctrine; and to show that 
 the above is true we quote from that authoritative 
 standard: 
 
 "And again, the elders, priests, and teachers of 
 this church shall teach the principles of my gospel 
 which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon 
 in the which is the fullness of the gospel; and they 
 shall observe the covenants and church articles to 
 do them, and these shall be their teachings " 
 
 "Thou shalt take the things which thou hast 
 received, which have been given unto thee in my 
 scriptures for a law, to be my law^ to govern my 
 church; and he that doeth according to these 
 things, shall be saved, and he that doeth them not 
 shall be damned, if he continues." Doctrine and 
 Covenants 42:5, 16. (Utah edition 42: 12, 13, 59 3 60 ) 
 
 This plainly sets forth the fact that we must look 
 to the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of 
 Doctrine and Covenants for the doctrine or laws of 
 the church; and condemnation is pronounced upon 
 the one who departs from them if he indorses that 
 departure. 
 
 Especially are these three books made the cri- 
 terion by which the successor of the original 
 founder of the church was to be judged. Speaking 
 of Joseph Smith, the Lord says: 
 
 "I have given him the keys of the mysteries and 
 the revelations, which are sealed, until I shall 
 appoint another in his stead." 
 
 Then follows the statement: 
 
 "And again, thou shalt take thy brother Hiram 
 Page between him and thee alone, and tell him 
 that those things which he hath written from that 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. b 
 
 Bl,one are not of me, and Satan deceiveth him; for, 
 behold, these things have not been appointed unto 
 him; neither shall anything be appointed unto any 
 of this church contrary to the church covenants, 
 for all things must be done in order and by common 
 consent in the church, by the prayer of faith." 
 D. C. 27: 2, 4. (Utah edition 28: 7, 12, 13.) 
 
 THE SUCCESSOR TO JOSEPH SMITH THE MARTYR. 
 
 What do the church covenants say in regard to 
 the matter of a successor to Joseph Smith? I read: 
 
 "But verily, verily I say unto you, that noue else 
 shall be appointed unto this gift except it be 
 through him, for if it be taken from him he shall 
 not have power, except to appoint another in his 
 stead; and this shall be a law unto you, that ye 
 receive not the teachings of any that shall come 
 before you as revelations, or commandments; and 
 this I give unto you, that you may not be deceived, 
 that you may know they are not of me. For verily 
 I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me, sharil 
 come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told 
 you before, to teach those revelations which you 
 have received, and shall receive through him 
 whom I have appointed." D. C. 43:2. (Utah 
 edition 43: 4-7.) 
 
 There are several points in the above: The first 
 is that no one is to be recognized as leader to the 
 church and successor to the prophet unless he is 
 appointed by Joseph Smith himself; the second 
 (and the one I consider of the greatest importance) 
 is that the one appointed to succeed the then 
 leader of the church was to be ordained for an 
 especial purpose; viz., "To teach those revelations 
 which you have received, and shall receive through 
 him whom I have appointed." 
 
 This is a phase of the question that has been 
 entirely ignored by Utah Church writers. They 
 have considered the call that comes to a man suffi- 
 cient to sanctify him, and that henceforth he 
 should be above criticism, so far as his teaching 
 and practice are concerned; or in the language of 
 another: "Deeming the upright conduct as a 
 
4 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 matter easily dispensed with if so be they are 
 called." 
 
 JOSEPH SMITH'S TEACHINGS ON PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 The Prophet Joseph Smith gi<jes his views upon 
 that question in a letter found in the Millennial 
 Star, volume 17, page 85; (see also in the Utah 
 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, page 423,) 
 which reads as follows: 
 
 "Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. 
 And why are they not chosen? Because their 
 hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, 
 and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not 
 learn this one lesson That the rights of the priest- 
 hood are inseparably connected with the powers of 
 heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be 
 controlled nor handled only upon the principles of 
 righteousness. That they may be conferred upon 
 us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our 
 sins, or to gratify our pride, or vain ambition, or to 
 exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion, upon 
 the souls of the children of men, in any degree of 
 unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw 
 themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and 
 when it is withdrawn amen to the priesthood, or tllie 
 authority of that man. Behold I ere he is aware, 
 he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks; 
 to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. 
 
 "We have learned, by sad experience, that it Is 
 the nature and disposition of almost all men, as 
 soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, 
 they will t immediately begin to exercise unright- 
 eous dominion. Hence many are called, but few 
 are chosen." 
 
 In this we are plainly given to understand 
 that the approval of our work by God and the re- 
 cognition of our acts officially will not depend 
 entirely upon our call, but upon the righteousness 
 with which we use the power given us. So with 
 the one ordained and appointed to succeed the 
 Prophet Joseph. He was to teach those revelations 
 already given as well as to receive revelations to 
 govern the church in the future; and even in the 
 
NECESSITY FOB A REORGANIZATION. 5 
 
 receiving of future revelations nothing was to be 
 given contrary to the church covenants. 
 
 BRIGHAM AND HIS SUCCESSORS TESTED. 
 
 We shall uow proceed to examine the claims of 
 Brigham Young and his successors by the above, 
 ignoring entirely the pompous claim made by his 
 followers concerning his supposed transfiguration 
 before the people, wherein he is said to have 
 appeared and spoken as the Prophet Joseph, a 
 transaction that has more of the appearance of 
 spiritualism than of anything else, or an exhibi- 
 tion of his powers of imitation and mimicry, in 
 which those who knew him claim he was an adept. 
 
 We will simply call attention to the fact, in pass- 
 ing, that Brigham Young never claimed to have 
 been officially appointed by Joseph Smith as his 
 successor; so in that be claimed something had 
 been appointed to him contrary to the church cove- 
 nants, which declares that no one shall be ap- 
 pointed except it be through Joseph, and even 
 though he should so far transgress as to lose his 
 prophetic power, that he would still retain the 
 power to appoint another in his stead; and that 
 this should be a law unto the church. Here was 
 departure number one. The main departure from 
 the faith, or that which at least made every other 
 departure possible was Brigham Young's council 
 tending to the ignoring of the written word and 
 placing the "living oracles" above that which was 
 written. This seems to have been a common error 
 into which men have fallen in the past. The Jew- 
 ish nation relied more upon their Rabbis than 
 upon the law, and the tradition of the elders be- 
 came a stumblingblock to their acceptance of 
 Christ. Brigham Young was a shrewd man in 
 some respects. He saw the love the people had for 
 their martyred leader, and saw that nothing could 
 be forced upon them, unless it bore at least his im- 
 plied approval; consequently, every measure, no 
 matter how absurd, was given to the people as one 
 of Joseph's measures. One is forcibly reminded of 
 some of the transactions of the Jewish Rabbis, as 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 found in the Talmud. Rev. Bernbard Pick in hia 
 work, "The Talmud, What It Is?" relates the 
 manner in which one Hillel, a Babylonian, ob- 
 tained favor of the Jews and became the leading: 
 Rabbi in his day. 
 
 "On the death of Shemaiah and Abtalion there 
 were no qualified successors to take their place and 
 two sons of Bethera, otherwise unknown, occupied 
 it for a time. They were discussing one of the 
 trivial ceremonial questions of the day. It was the 
 grave problem (as it seemed to them) as to whether 
 the Paschal lamb might be killed on the Sabbath. 
 In their perplexity they asked, 'Was there none 
 present who had been the disciple of the two who 
 had been so honored?' (viz., Shemaiah and Abta- 
 lion.) The question was answered by Hillel, the 
 Babylonian. He solved the difficulty with reasons 
 from analogy, from the text and from the context. 
 They refused his decision until he ended by saying: 
 'Thus have I heard from my masters Shemaiah 
 and Abtalion.' Having before been regarded as a 
 stranger from Babylon he was now welcomed as 
 chief." The Talmud, What Is It? page 18. 
 
 So Brigham Young knew the power of the name 
 of Joseph Smith, and used it for all it was worth; 
 and no measure failed to carry if it was backed up 
 by the statement that "Joseph said this," or "Jo- 
 seph said that." 
 
 DEPARTURE NO. 1. 
 
 As a proof of his ignoring the written word, and 
 thereby forever establishing the fact that he was 
 not the one to succeed the Prophet, let us read 
 from the trial of Sidney Rigdon, as published in 
 the Times and Seasons, volume 5, the extracts we 
 quote being found on pages 647-666. The dishon- 
 esty and cunning of the man are displayed in the 
 use of Joseph and Hyrum Smith's names in connec- 
 tion with the measures of the Twelve. This is 
 found on page 647. His unfair statement of the 
 case is as follows: 
 
 "The business of the day will result in this thing: 
 all those who are for Joseph and Hyrum, the Book 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 7 
 
 of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the 
 Temple and Joseph's measures, and for the Twelve; 
 they being one party; will be called upon to mani- 
 fest their principles openly and boldly. Then we 
 wish all who are of the opposite parties to enjoy the 
 same liberty, and to be as decided and bold, and to 
 show their principles as boldly, and be as decided 
 as they are in their secret meetings and private 
 councils. -If they are for Sidney Rigdon and be- 
 lieve he is the man to be the first president and 
 the leader of this people, we wish them to manifest 
 it as freely as they do in other places; because this 
 will form anotlier party. 
 
 "We want all those who are for Lyman Wight 
 and his measures, to show themselves openly and 
 boldly; and all those for James Emmett and his 
 measures, to show themselves. We wish them to 
 withdraw to-day without fear and to be as bold 
 here as they are in other places. They may as 
 well show themselves boldly, for I know where 
 they live, and I know their names: I can point 
 them out if necessary." 
 
 Notice here, that he says the Twelve are for the 
 Book of Doctrine and Covenants, for Joseph, Hy- 
 rum, the Book of Mormon, etc.; and he says that 
 all are at liberty to vote against them if they please, 
 but they must do so evidently at their peril. If 
 you will turn to pages 665 and 666 you will read 
 that after. a number had spoken against Sidney 
 Rigdon that there is a call made for anyone that 
 wishes to speak in favor: 
 
 "President William Marks arose and said he 
 felt disposed to say a few words in defense of Elder 
 Rigdon. There has been a strong team against 
 him. They all seem to speak against him and 
 there is nothing said in his favor. I feel to take 
 up the^opposite side of the question and say some- 
 thing in his defense, for I have always been a 
 friend to Elder Rigdon. It has always been the 
 case before this High Council, that there are two 
 sides to the question; there are some to speak in 
 favor of the accused, but there seems to be only one 
 Bide to this subject. There has been many things 
 
8 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 said which I know nothing about. But as it has 
 always been the case before the High Council that 
 some should speak in the defense of the accused, I 
 feel to volunteer to speak in his behalf. It is no 
 more than right that both sides should be repre- 
 sented. I don't wish to justify any man in an er- 
 ror, but there is a trial before this church and 
 council." 
 
 Then follows an argument in behalf of Elder Rig- 
 don, in which Elder Marks brings to his aid copious 
 extracts from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. 
 And upon consulting the Doctrine and Covenants 
 we find that Elder Marks was right in insisting 
 that some one should speak in behalf of the ac- 
 cused. In section 99 (102 Utah edition), the minutes 
 of the organization of the High Council are given, 
 and we read there that the council is to be equally 
 divided and numbered: 
 
 "Those councilors who draw even numbers, that 
 is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 are the individuals who are 
 to stand up in the behalf of the accused, and pre- 
 vent insult or injustice." 
 
 In reply to this straightforward, manly speech 
 Brigham Young says, page 666: 
 
 "I have known that Brother Marks 'had no svi- 
 dence but the written word;' but if this people 
 have no evidence but the written word, it is quite 
 time to go to the river and be baptized for the re- 
 mission of their sins. . . . Brother Marks says, if 
 there are any ordained to offices equal with Elder 
 Rigdon he don't know it. He don't know all the 
 ordinations, nor be won't till he knows something 
 more than the written word." . . . 
 
 "As to a person not knowing more than the writ- 
 ten word, let me tell you that there are keys that 
 the written word never spoke of, nor never will." 
 
 This illustrates how much Brigham was in 
 accord with the Book of Doctrine and Covenants 
 and the Book of Mormon. Although he had just 
 stated that the Twelve, Joseph, and Hyrum, and 
 these two books formed one party, just as soon as 
 Elder Marks used the books against him, he re- 
 pudiated that which is written; and instead of 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 9 
 
 agreeing with the word which says that the Book 
 of Mormon contains the fullness of the gospel, he 
 said, "There are keys which the written word 
 never spoke of, nor never will." I agree with 
 Brother Brigham that his religious philosophy at 
 least contains things that God's written word never 
 spoke of; but pardon me if I do not believe that he, 
 Joseph, Hyrum, and the books form one party; I 
 must look elsewhere for a more consistent mixture. 
 Surely the reader can see that whatever the call of 
 Brigham Young may have been, he failed to carry 
 it out in accordance with righteousness and true 
 holiness. 
 
 DEPARTURE NO. 2. 
 
 To show that this departure is still maintained 
 and counseled in the Utah Church, I quote from 
 speeches of men who are supposed to be representa- 
 tive men in that organization. Elder Joseph E. Tay- 
 lor, counselor to Angus M. Cannon, President of the 
 Salt Lake Stake, said in a speech made in a priest- 
 hood meeting held in Salt Lake City, the minutes 
 of which appeared in the Semi- Weekly Deseret News, 
 of August 7, 1894: 
 
 "That he deprecated the conduct of certain per- 
 sons, members of the church, who were always 
 judging and criticising their leaders by what was 
 written in the books, placing the dead letter above 
 the living oracles. He showed that the written 
 word, being a record of the past, was not always 
 applicable to present conditions. Hence the ne- 
 cessity of inspired leaders, whose teachings had the 
 precedence of instructions given under other cir- 
 cumstances and conditions." 
 
 Elder Abraham H. Cannon, one of the Apostles 
 of the Utah Church, in a sermon delivered in the 
 Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at the October confer- 
 ence of 1894, is reported in the daily News as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 * 'Elder Cannon said he desired to speak against 
 a spirit that had been growing to some extent 
 among some of the younger members of this church 
 who had given their time to the study of theology. 
 
10 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 There was a danger against which they should 
 guard themselves, and this lay in a disposition to- 
 ward a criticism of the doctrines of the church as 
 presented by the living authorities. When any 
 counsel came from President Woodruff which 
 seemed to be in conflict with the written word of 
 God, we should follow the living oracles, and the 
 time would come when we would appreciate a 
 reconciliation of these." 
 
 Honest criticism never hurts the truth nor the 
 true man. Dishonest criticism hurts only the man 
 who uses it; so why wait for a reconciliation? Such 
 doctrine and teaching as this opened the door for 
 all manner of evil and was and is the direct cause 
 of every departure from the faith. 
 
 The Jewish Rabbis before alluded to, were sup- 
 posed by their followers to be infallible in their 
 decisions and counsels, and on one occasion Hillel 
 and Shammai gave their decisions on the question 
 of whether an egg laid upon the Sabbath day could 
 be lawfully eaten, and it happened that in this 
 famous dispute about the egg, as in similar ones, 
 Hillel was right against Shammai. Here was a 
 dilemma: the Jews had been committed to the 
 doctrine of infallibility for their Rabbis, so it is 
 reported that a voice was heard from heaven say- 
 ing: "The words of both are the words of the liv- 
 ing God, but the rule of the school of Hillel is to 
 be followed." "The Talmud, What It Is," page 24. 
 
 Some such method as this would have to be re- 
 sorted to in reconciling the teachings of the Utah 
 church leaders with the written word, but it is not 
 satisfactory to the honest seeker after truth; and I 
 must confess that I am cot so constituted that I 
 can appreciate it. 
 
 RULES OF CHURCH SET ASIDE. 
 
 We next notice the manner in which men are ex- 
 pelled from the church, and in which difficulties 
 are settled between members: 
 
 "And if thy brother or sister offend thee, thou 
 shalt take him or her between him or her and 
 thee alone; and if he or she confess, thou shalt be 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 11 
 
 reconciled. And if he or Fhe confess not, thou 
 shalt deliver him or her up unto the church, not to 
 the members, but to the elders. And it shall be 
 done in a meeting, and that not before the world." 
 D. C. 42:23. (Utah edition 42:88, 89.) This 
 agrees substantially with Christ's teachings in 
 Matthew 18:15-17: 
 
 * 'Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against 
 thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and 
 him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained 
 thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then 
 take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth 
 of two or three witnesses every word may be estab- 
 lished. And if he neglect to hear them, tell it 
 unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the 
 church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and 
 a publican." 
 
 Let us see how Brigham Young and h ; s col- 
 leagues carried out this just and holy principle. 
 We turn again to the trial of Sidney Rigdon. The 
 church was in a condition when if she ever needed 
 to be handled with care and her subjects in a law- 
 ful manner it was then. Hearts were bleeding 
 over the severe blow that the church had received 
 in the murder of those whom they were wont to 
 look upon as their leaders and counselors. They 
 needed to be patiently and lovingly led and piloted 
 through this the darkest hour and the heaviest 
 trial that they had yet had to pass through. Their 
 martyred prophet had instructed them in the way 
 the powers of the priesthood should be exercised. 
 Hear him: 
 
 "No power or influence can or ought to be main- 
 tained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persua- 
 sion^ by long suffering, by gentleness, and by love 
 unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, 
 which shall greatly enlarge the soul without 
 hypocrisy, and without guiLe, reproving betimes 
 with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy 
 Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an in- 
 crease of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, 
 lest he esteem thee to be his enemy: that he may 
 know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the 
 
12 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 cords of death; thy bowels also being full of charity 
 towards all men, and to the household of faith, and 
 virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall 
 thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, 
 and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon 
 thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost 
 shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter 
 an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth, 
 and thy dominion shall bean everlasting dominion, 
 and without compulsory means it shall flow unto 
 thee forever and ever." Mill. Star, vol. 17, page 85. 
 (Utah Ed. B.C. p. 424.) 
 
 Did those holding the priesthood heed these wise 
 teachings? Let the record of events answer. Wil- 
 liam Marks was dropped from his quorum, the High 
 Council of Nauvoo, and from the presidency of the 
 stake, for no other reason than that he stood up in 
 defense of Sidney Kigdon before the High Council; 
 a thing which he not only had the right to do, but 
 which some of the High Council are in duty bound 
 to do, the law governing that body requiring that 
 half of its members shall stand in defense of the 
 accused. 
 
 "Elder S. Bent explained and said the reason 
 why the High Council dropped Elder Marks, was 
 because he did not acknowledge the authority of 
 the Twelve, but the authority of Elder Rigdon." 
 Times and Seasons, vol. 5, page 692. 
 
 Again we read: 
 
 4 'Elder W. W. Phelps arose and offered a motion 
 that Elder Sidney Rigdon be cut off from the 
 church, and delivered over to the buffetings of 
 Satan until he repents. Bishop Whitney then 
 presented the motion to the High Council, and the 
 vote was unanimous in the affirmative. Elder W. 
 W. Phelps then offered the same motion to the 
 church, upon which President Young arose and 
 requested the congregation to place themselves so 
 that they could see all who voted. We want to 
 know who goes for Sidney and who are for the 
 Twelve. He then called upon the church to signify 
 whether they was in favor of the motion. The 
 vote waa unanimous, excepting a few of Elder 
 
NECESSITY FOB A REORGANIZATION. 13 
 
 Rigdon's party numbering about ten. He then re- 
 quested those who were for Sidney Rigdon to. mani- 
 fest it, and as before-stated there was about ten. 
 Elder Phelps then motioned, that all who have 
 voted to follow Elder Rigdon should be suspended 
 until they can have a trial before the High Council. 
 An amendment was offered, as follows: k or shall 
 hereafter be found advocating his principles.' The 
 vote was unanimous in the affirmative." Ibid. 
 
 Not much "long-suffering, kindness, and love 
 unfeigned" about that proceeding sure. Not only 
 Is the above instruction in regard to dealing with 
 offenders entirely ignored here, but in the cutting 
 off, or suspending of those who voted in the nega- 
 tive, one of the very foundation laws of the church 
 was violated. 
 
 In a quotation previously made from section 27 
 Doctrine and Covenants (Sec. 28 Utah edition) the 
 law of common consent is laid down: 
 
 "For all things must be done in order and by 
 common consent in the church by the prayer of 
 faith." 
 
 Here were two parties placed before the church 
 for acceptance or rejection, to be voted upon in a 
 manner similar to the method used at our presi- 
 dential elections in the United States; and, the 
 majority cites the minority to trial. What a spec- 
 tacle for free men to contemplate! You have the 
 right to vote as you please, but remember that if 
 you do not vote for me, I will have you up before 
 the High Council and cut you off from the church 
 if you don't repent. All the sacred feelings of a 
 man who loves freedom would revolt at such a 
 spectacle; and yet they have the audacity to tell 
 us that God sanctioned such things, and chose 
 the very men who not only permitted, but who 
 abetted the wrong, as his only representatives on 
 earth. My mind goes back to a statement previ- 
 ously quoted: 
 
 "When we undertake to cover our sins, or to 
 gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise 
 
14 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 control, or dominion or compulsion, upon the souls 
 of the children of men, in any degree of unright- 
 eousness, behold the heavens withdraw themselves, 
 the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is 
 withdrawn, amen to the priesthood of that man." 
 But the chapter does not end here; we read on: 
 "Elder Hyde arose and stated that Elder Samuel 
 James had promised to preach a funeral sermon at 
 the request of President Young. He came at the 
 time appointed and preached anything but a 
 funeral sermon, and after he got through he said, 
 if Brigham Young wanted a funeral sermon 
 preached, he might preach it himself. He consid- 
 ered that this was unchristianlike conduct, and he 
 moved that Samuel James be disfellowshipped from 
 the church. The vote was unanimous. He further 
 said, Whereas Jared Carter has gone on some mis- 
 sion, contrary to council, under the new revelation, 
 I move that fellowship be withdrawn from him, 
 and that it be published in the next Neighbor and 
 Times and Seasons. The vote was unanimous. 
 Elder Amasa Lyman motioned that Samuel Ben- 
 nett be cut off from the church, for having re- 
 ceived a false ordination. The vote was 
 unanimous. Elder Lyman motioned that Leonard 
 Soby be cut off for the same cause, with Samuel 
 Bennett. Tho vote was unanimous. It was mo- 
 tioned and seconded, that Joseph H. Newton be cut 
 off from the church. The vote was unanimous. 
 It was motioned and seconded that John A. 
 Forgeus be cut off from the church. The vote was 
 unanimous." Ibid, page 687. 
 
 In none of these cases does the record show that 
 the accused were labored with; neither does it show 
 that they were cited to trial, nor that they were al- 
 lowed to speak for themselves; nor that there was 
 a chance to move for a new trial. But soap judg- 
 ment was taken upon them, and in the last two 
 cases not even the formality of preferring a charge 
 against them was gone through with all contrary 
 to the laws and usages of the church. Did these 
 men who that day sat in judgment on their breth- 
 ren correctly represent Christ, who is "full of com- 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 15 
 
 paseion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous 
 in mercy and truth"? (Psalms 86: 15.) 
 
 It may be urged that these were extraordinary 
 times and needed extraordinary measures; but thtre 
 is no time when God's law can be trampled upon 
 without suffering loss; and the more extraordinary 
 the times the closer should men have adhered to 
 the law and the testimony. There is special pro- 
 vision made in the law for such occasions as this 
 under consideration. In section 104, Doctrine and 
 Covenants (107, Utah edition) we read of the organ- 
 ization of the different quorums of the church. 
 The Presidency, the Twelve, and the Seventy, all 
 equal in authority. Specific directions are given 
 as to the manner in which decisions, to bo binding 
 on the church, shall be made: "And every decision 
 made by either of these quorums must be by the 
 unanimous voice of the same; that is, every mem- 
 ber in each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, 
 in order to make their decisions of the same power, 
 or validity one with another. (A majority may 
 form a quorum, when circumstances render it im- 
 possible to be otherwise.) Unless this is the case, 
 their decisions are not entitled to the same bless- 
 ings which the decisions of a quorum of three 
 presidents were anciently, who were ordained after 
 the order of Melchisedeo, and were righteous and 
 holy men. The decisions of these quorums, or 
 either of them, are to be made in all righteousness, 
 in holiness and lowliness of heart, meekness and 
 long-suffering, and in faith and virtue and knowl- 
 edge; temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly 
 kindness and charity, because the promise is, if 
 these things abound in them, they shall not be 
 unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord." 
 
 I am not going to deny here that the Twelve had 
 the right to regulate the affairs of the church at 
 the time of Joseph Smith's death; for I believe 
 they not only had the right, but that the law 
 makes it their specific duty to do so; and had they 
 not attempted to stand in the breach at that time 
 they would undoubtedly have been subject to just 
 censure; but I do deny their right to attempt to 
 
10 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 regulate contrary to the covenants and command- 
 ments, and the rules that had become fixtures in 
 the church law, not only by the command of God, 
 but also by having been accepted by the church 
 in legislative assembly. 
 
 THE MARTYR'S STATEMENT, ETC. 
 
 That the church needed to be regulated and that 
 it was trembling to its fall, I learn by a statement 
 made to W. W. Phelps by the Prophet Joseph 
 Smith, in a letter dated November 27, 1832; and 
 which partakes of the nature of a revelation from 
 God. The extract I wish to call attention to is as 
 follows: 
 
 "Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which 
 whispereth through and pierceth all things, and 
 oftentimes it maketh my bones to quake while it 
 maketh manifest, saying: 'And it shall come to 
 pass that.l the Lord God will send one mighty and 
 strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, 
 clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth 
 shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels 
 shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house 
 of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of 
 the saints, whose names are found, and the names 
 of their fathers, and of their children enrolled in 
 the book of the law of God: while that man, who 
 was called of God and appointed, that putteth 
 forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall 
 by the shaft of death, like a tree that is smitten by 
 the vivid shaft of lightning." Times and Seasons, 
 vol. 5, p. 673; Millennial Star, vol. 14, p. 284. D. C. 
 Utah Ed. p. 301. 
 
 Language could not be plainer than this, and the 
 interpretation could not be surer than that the ark 
 of God the church was trembling to its fall, and 
 that the man of God chosen and appointed Joseph 
 Smith would put forth his hand to steady it and 
 in that act would be smitten suddenly. One of the 
 very last official acts of Joseph Smith was to exer- 
 cise his appointed right to designate who should be 
 his successor, and following out the covenants and 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 17 
 
 commandments, appointed and anointed one from 
 his own posterity to succeed him, and while he 
 could not install a successor while he himself lived, 
 he could and did designate who that one should be; 
 and in solemn assembly anointed and blessed his 
 eldest son, Joseph, to that office, conferring upon 
 him all the powers that he himself held, as can 
 amply be proven. 
 
 It is true that B. H. Roberts, of the Utah Church, 
 devotes several pages of his book on "succession" 
 to attempting to prove that Joseph never conferred 
 any blessing on his posterity, except to will them a 
 house to live in; but George Q. Cannon, in a ser- 
 mon delivered on the birthday of the Prophet in 
 1894, said that he did, and instructed the people of 
 the Utah Church to make the matter a subject of 
 prayer that Joseph's posterity may come into the 
 inheritance of the promised blessing. We need a 
 voice from heaven now to tell us which to follow, 
 Rabbi Cannon, or Rabbi Roberts; for of course both 
 must be right. 
 
 PROMISES CONCERNING JOSEPH'S SEED, ETC. 
 
 To show that these promises were made, I will 
 quote. Joseph says in his history: "December 6. 
 1832, I received the following: [Then follows the 
 revelation explaining the parable of the wheat and 
 the tares; and in that revelation we find the fol- 
 lowing:] 'Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto 
 you, with whom the priesthood hath continued 
 through the lineage of your fathers, for ye are 
 lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been 
 hid from the world with Christ in God: therefore 
 your life and the priesthood hath remained, and 
 must need remain, through you and your lineage, 
 until the restoration of all things spoken by the 
 mouths of all the holy prophets since the world 
 began.'" D. C. 84:3. (Utah edition 86:8-10.) 
 
 After all the quibbling done by Utah elders to 
 make it appear that Joseph Smith was not alone 
 referred to here, the fact remains that he at least 
 was referred to, and he is the only one of whose 
 
18 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. . 
 
 identity we are certain, in connection with this 
 revelation. 
 
 t But God does clearly reveal himself on the ques- 
 tion. In a later revelation in regard to the Nauvoo 
 House he says: 
 
 "Let it be built unto my name, and let my name 
 be named upon it, and let my servant Joseph and 
 his house have place therein, from generation to 
 generation; for this anointing have I put upon his 
 head, that his blessing shall also be put upon the 
 head of his posterity after him; and as I said unto 
 Abraham, concerning the kindreds of the earth, 
 even so I say unto my servant Joseph, in thee, and 
 in thy seed, shall the kindred" of the earth be 
 blessed." D. C. 107: 18 (Utah ed. 124: 56-58). 
 
 Did the Twelve recognize and acknowledge one 
 of the last acts of their martyred prophet? No. 
 They ignored this, or most of them did; and yet 
 Brigham Young as their spokesman could arise 
 before the people and say that the Twelve and the 
 measures of Joseph and Hyrum and the Book of 
 Doctrine and Covenants, etc., formed one party. 
 The Twelve as a quorum did not in their decisions 
 become unanimous. Three of the Twelve (to their 
 honor be it said) refused to follow the lead of Brig- 
 ham. These were William Smith, brother of the 
 prophet, Lyman Wight, and John E. Page. The 
 first two mentioned we know were loyal to the 
 cause of the eldest son of the prophet, and recog- 
 nized the official act of his father in his appoint- 
 ment. Lyman Wight always bore testimony that 
 he had his hands upon the head of young Joseph 
 with his father when he blessed him to be his suc- 
 cessor; and any claim contrary to this was scorn- 
 fully rejected by him. B. H. Roberts claims that 
 no such claim could be true, because of the silence 
 of history on the subject; but we find that he was 
 not careful enough in his search, for in a letter 
 written by James Kay, and dated St. Louis, Mis- 
 souri, November 22, 1845, he says that William 
 Smith and G. J. Adams were at that time in St. 
 Louis, advocating the claims of young Joseph. 
 He says: 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 19 
 
 "He [William Smith] contends the church is dis- 
 organized, having no head; that the Twelve are 
 not, nor ever were, ordained to be head of the 
 church; that Joseph's priesthood was to be con- 
 ferred on his posterity to all future generations, 
 and that young Joseph is the only legal successor 
 to the presidency of the church." Millennial Star, 
 vol. 7, p. 134. 
 
 This shows that uhe claim was made and had 
 advocates immediately after the death of the 
 prophet. But the main thing- that I want to show 
 is that the Twelve ignored the rule laid down in 
 the law that upon all things there should be a 
 unanimous vote in order to make their decisions 
 valid and binding on the church a wise provision 
 to protect the church from evil. 
 
 CONDITIONS, ETC., AND METHODS USED. 
 
 Every quorum of the church was divided upon 
 the questions at issue. Quite a number of the 
 Seventy, including some of the presidents, with 
 irew from Brigham Young's party and opposed his 
 measures. The High Council was divided, and in 
 order to get a set of men that would do Brigham's 
 will, the council was reconstructed, the recalcitrant 
 ones dropped, and more obedient ones were put in, 
 as anyone can see by the reading of the history of 
 those times, with the quotations above given. 
 
 Excuse is made for this that the clause inserted 
 in parenthesis in the revelation requiring unity 
 reads: "(A majority may form a quorum when 
 circumstances render it impossible to be other- 
 wise.) But note, it does not say that a majority 
 may form a decision, but a majority may form a 
 quorum; but when that majority is formed into a 
 quorum, all must without exception agree to its 
 decisions. The Twelve were present in full as a 
 quorum in Nauvoo, but they failed to agree, and 
 instead of going prayerfully and humbly to work 
 and forming measures from God's word upon which 
 they all could agree, they set the three disagreeing 
 ones aside, and went on to form a quorum out of 
 material that would agree to the theories set out by 
 
20 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 those who were ambitious of power, a most danger- 
 ous policy for the establishment of truth and the 
 carrying out of righteous principles. So with the 
 High Council. 
 
 At the beginning of Rigdon's trial sai4l council 
 was composed of Whitney, Marks, Rich, Bent, 
 Allred, Wilson, Cutler, Fulmer, Harris, Grover, 
 Johnson, and Sherwood; at its close, they were 
 Bent, Allred, Wilson, Harris, Huntington, Knight, 
 Cutler, Johnson, Sherwood, Grover, Benson, and 
 Pulmer. Three had been dropped out Whitney, 
 Marks, and Rich. Whitney and Rich were pro- 
 moted. Marks for daring to speak and vote his 
 sentiments and perform what it was his duty to do, 
 was entirely left out. So with all the other quo- 
 rums. 
 
 The departures from the law here are too numer- 
 ous to mention, so I will cease to enumerate and 
 pass on to the next. 
 
 The law as found in the Book of Doctrine and 
 Covenants provides for only seven quorums of 
 Seventy. 
 
 "And it is according to the vision, showing the 
 order of the seventy, that they should have seven 
 presidents to preside over them, chosen out of the 
 number of the seventy, and the seventh president 
 of these presidents is to preside over the six; and 
 these seven presidents are to choose other seventy 
 besides the first seventy, to whom they belong, and 
 are to preside over them; and also other seventy 
 until seven time seventy, if the labor in the vine- 
 yard of necessity requires it." D. C. 104: 43. (Utah 
 ed. 107:93-96.) 
 
 As soon as Joseph Smith was dead Brigham 
 Young and his associates organized enough at 
 least, to complete eleven quorums. At the Octo- 
 ber conference of 1844, one item of business reads: 
 
 "The remainder of the afternoon was spent in 
 filling up the quorums of seventies, and at the 
 close, eleven quorums were filled and properly 
 organized, and about forty elders organized ais a 
 part of the twelfth quorum." Times and Seasons, 
 vol. 5, page 696. 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 21 
 
 The reader can see that this, when compared 
 with the above quotation from the Doctrine and 
 Covenants, is a direct violation of law; but Brig- 
 ham had to have some place for his pets, and in 
 order to accommodate all he had to make places for 
 them, and this departure from the law has gone on 
 until there are in the Utah Church to-day over 
 one hundred quorums of seventy. 
 
 The law as contained in the books says: 
 
 "The president of the church, who is also the 
 president of the council [general High Council], is 
 appointed by revelation, and acknowledged, in his 
 administration, by the voice of the church; and 
 it is according to the dignity of his office, that he 
 should preside over the council of the church; and 
 it is his privilege to be assisted by two other presi- 
 dents, appointed after the same manner that he 
 himself was appointed; and in case of the absence 
 of one or both of those who are appointed to assist 
 him, he has power to preside over the council 
 without an assistant; and in case that he himself is 
 absent, the other presidents have power to preside, 
 In his stead, both or either of them." D. C. 99:6. 
 (Utah Ed. 102:9-11). 
 
 The latter clause of this was violated in denying 
 Sidney Rigdon his right, as one of the First Presi- 
 dency, to preside; the first part was violated when 
 the remaining members of the Twelve elected 
 Brigham Young President of the Church and 
 Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards his coun- 
 selors, without even the semblance of a revelation, 
 in December, 1847, at or near Council Bluffs, Iowa. 
 The taking of these three from the Quorum of the 
 Twelve only left six (as Wight, Page, and Smith 
 did not leave Nauvoo with them); and, as a 
 maiority alone could form a quorum, hence the 
 action was illegal from that standpoint. 
 
 A rather poor beginning towards regulating the 
 church, I hear some one say. Bad enough, surely, 
 but the end is not yet, and it seems as though 
 when men start out in the wrong way, the farther 
 they go the farther they stray. Jacob, in the 
 Book of Mormon, says: 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 "And were it not that I must speak unto vou 
 concerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice 
 exceedingly, because of you. But the word of God 
 burthens me because of your grosser crimes " 
 Jacob 2d chapter. 
 
 So in the contemplation of this latter-day apos- 
 tasy I wish it were possible to leave out the grosser 
 departures from the faith, but the interests of truth 
 demand that all be told. A bolder stroke in the 
 departure from the faith was about to be made 
 but it needed preparation. The people must be 
 taken to a place where law could not reach them 
 So a resolution is passed to move in a body to the 
 West. (Milknnial Star, vol. 6, p. 197.) 
 
 UTAH IS NOT ZION. 
 
 It is asserted that the move to the valleys of the 
 mountains was Joseph's measure; that he prophe- 
 sied of it, etc. But I find nothing published in the 
 history of the church, that even hints at the idea, 
 until long after Joseph's death. I do find, how- 
 ever, that when Henry Clay suggested that Joseph 
 bniith should take his people to Oregon, that he 
 replies in this language: 
 
 "Why great God! to transport 'two hundred thou- 
 sand people through a vast prairie; over the Rocky 
 Mountains, to Oregon, a distance of nearly two 
 thousand miles, would cost more than four mil- 
 lions! or should they go by Cape Horn, in ships to 
 California, the cost would be more than twentv 
 millions !" Times and Seasons, volume 5, page 547 
 
 This letter is dated May 13, 1844; just I little 
 more than a month before his death. He would 
 hardly write that way about a move which he him- 
 self had under contemplation. But whether it 
 was Joseph's measure, or Brigham's, the move to 
 establish Utah as Zion, and a gathering place for 
 the saints, was a direct violation of the revelations 
 of God. 
 
 But something had to be done to establish the 
 doctrines Brigham and others had in contempla- 
 tion; it became necessary to go beyond the pale of 
 civil law. What they wanted was to form a gov- 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 23 
 
 eminent of their own. In a speech made at a 
 special conference held at Manchester, England, 
 December 14 and 15, 1845, Wilford Woodruff 
 said: 
 
 4< There is no safety under the government of tha 
 United States. It is time to go where we can en- 
 joy our rights, and no longer be hemmed in, but 
 be placed where Jacob's nobles shall be of them- 
 selves, and their governors shall proceed from the 
 midst of them." Millennial Star, vol. 7. p. 2. 
 
 In an editorial by the same man, I find this: 
 
 "We can at any rate by and by escape round 
 Cape Horn, and sail up the Pacific Ocean when in- 
 formed of their precise locality. All possible in- 
 formation will be given as it is obtained, and we 
 shall endeavor in our approaching General Confer- 
 ence to explain all things to the best of our ability. 
 Let the saints lift up their heads and rejoice, for 
 their redemption draweth nigh. Mark well the 
 signs of the times. Be thankful unto God that for 
 the present the saints must not gather within the 
 Jurisdiction of the States, save it be in the wilder- 
 ness, beyond the mountains." Millennial Star, vol. 
 6, p. 201. 
 
 These quotations show: first, that they did not 
 know where they were going, but that the general 
 Idea was that they were going to some place in 
 California; second, that they wanted to establish a 
 government of their own wherein their governors 
 should be from the midst of them, or from their 
 own number. 
 
 But we will now see what the church covenants 
 say in regard to the matter: 
 
 "Hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the 
 Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves to- 
 gether, according to my commandments, in this 
 land which is the land of Missouri, which i-s the 
 land which I have appointed and consecrated for 
 the gathering of the saints; wherefore this is the 
 land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion." 
 D. C. 57: 1. (Utah Ed. same.) 
 
 And that Zion should not be moved we read: 
 
 "I, the Lord will contend with Zion and plead 
 
24 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 with her strong ones, and chasten her, until she 
 overcomes and is clean before me; for she shall not 
 be removed out of her place. I, the Lord, have 
 spoken it. Amen.-D. C. 87:8. (Utah Ed. 90: 36? 
 
 And again: 
 
 -u? 1 ? 11 S ^ aU ? oi V 6 moved out of her P ] ace, not- 
 withstanding her children are scattered, they that 
 remain and are pure in heart shall return and come 
 to their inheritances; they and their children, 
 with songs of everlasting joy; to build up the waste 
 places of Zion. And all these things, that the 
 prophets might he fulfilled. And behold, there is 
 none other place appointed, than that which I have 
 appointed, neither shall there be any other place 
 appointed than that which I have appointed for the 
 work of the gathering of my saints, until the dav 
 cometh when there is found no more room for 
 them; and then I have other places which I will 
 appoint unto them, and they shall be called stakes 
 
 ' 
 
 tureen? thetaw. 6 ^ "^ " WM * 
 
 FALSE TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES. 
 
 I shall now content myself with presenting as 
 briefly as possible some further departures from the 
 faith, by quoting extracts from sermons delivered 
 by Brigham \oung and those who have adhered to 
 lm r\ C hey . left Nauvo an <* established themselves 
 in Utah, and the very first move they made after 
 arriving was to invalidate all the baptisms that had 
 been performed before that time, by being baptized 
 confirmed, and re-ordained again; thus treating 
 lightly one of the most sacred ordinances of God'a 
 law and house. And every one must submit to this 
 rebaptism as soon as they come to Utah, or be con- 
 sidered apostates. Brigham too, began to assert 
 his authority, claiming that he alone had the right 
 to dictate both in temporal and in spiritual thinga 
 Let us read what he says on these two points: 
 
 *I am the controller and master of affairs here 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 25 
 
 under Heaven's direction." Journal of Discourses, 
 vol. 1, p. 48. 
 
 "I will refer again to the brethren and sisters 
 who have lately come over the plains. My counsel 
 to them to-day is, as it has been on former occasions 
 to all who have come into these valleys, Go and be 
 baptized for the remission of your sins, repenting 
 of all your wanderings from the path of righteous- 
 ness, believing firmly in the name of Jesus Christ, 
 that all your sins will be washed away. If any of 
 you inquire what is the necessity of your being 
 baptized, as you have not committed any sins, I 
 answer, it is necessary to fulfill all righteousness." 
 Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 8. 
 
 The Book of Doctrine and Covenants teaches 
 that Christ is our Savior and God, to whom we 
 must look for salvation: 
 
 "And now, remember the words of him who is the 
 life and the light of the world, your Redeemer, 
 your Lord, and your God. Amen." D. C. 9: 18. 
 (Utah ed. 10: 70. Also D. C. 10: 12; Utah ed. 11: 
 28, 29.) 
 
 Brigham taught: 
 
 "Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew 
 and Gentile, saint and sinner! When our father 
 Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into 
 it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his 
 wives, with him. He helped to make and organize 
 this world. He is MICHAEL,, the Archangel, the 
 ANCIENT OF DAYS! about whom holy men have 
 written and spoken. HE is our FATHER and our 
 God, and the only God with whom we have TO DO." 
 Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 50. 
 
 The Bible teaches that Jesus was begotten of the 
 Holy Ghost: 
 
 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: 
 When his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, be- 
 fore they came together, she was found with child 
 of the Holy Ghost." Matt. 1: 18. 
 
 "And the angel answered and said unto her, The 
 Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of 
 l,he Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also 
 
26 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 that holy thing which shall be born of the3 shall 
 be called the Son of God." Luke 1: 35. 
 
 Brig-ham Young taught that Adam was the father 
 of Jesus Christ, and that he was not begotten bv 
 the Holy Ghost. Hear him: 
 
 'I have given you a few leading items upon this 
 subject, but a great deal more remains to be told. 
 Now remember from this time forth, and forever, 
 that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy 
 Ghost. I^will repeat a little anecdote. I was in 
 conversation with a certain learned professor upon 
 this subject, when I replied to this idea if the Son 
 was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be ver? 
 dangerous to baptize and confirm females, and give 
 the Holy Ghost to them lest he beget children, 'to 
 be palmed upon the elders by the people, bringic-g 
 the elders into great difficulties." Journal of DiS- 
 courses, vol. 1, p. 51. 
 
 Such language is actually blasphemous; and this 
 from a man who we are told represents Clir-ist! 
 
 We read again in the Book of Doctrine and Cov- 
 nants: 
 
 "And again, verily I say unto you, concerning 
 your debts, behold it is my will that you shall Bay 
 all your debts." D. C. 101:13. (Utah ed. 104:78.) 
 Then the Lord goes on to promise them that if 
 they will be diligent in trying to pay their debts he 
 will soften the hearts of their debtors, so they will 
 not press them, until they are able to pay. But 
 Brigham taught thus: 
 
 "I wish to impress another thing upon your 
 minds: An elder, who is willing to preach the 
 gospel, borrows a hundred or a thousand dollars 
 from you, and you never breath the first complaint 
 against him, until you come home to this valley; 
 but after you have been here for a few days, you 
 follow me round and fill my ears with complaints 
 against this brother, and ask me what he has done 
 with your money? I say, 'I do not know.' Thus 
 you are distressed and in misery, all the day long, 
 to get it back again. If an elder has borrowed 
 from you, and you find he is going to aposta- 
 tize, then you may tighten the screws upon him; 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 27 
 
 but if he is willing to preach the gospel, without 
 purse or scrip, it is none of your business what he 
 does with the money he has borrowed from you." 
 Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 340. 
 
 Rather a queer way to preach the gospel without 
 purse or scrip, when they are allowed to borrow 
 from whom they please and not obliged to pay it 
 back. It is & good way, however, to keep men from 
 apostatizing. 
 
 Some more of Brigham's teaching is directly in 
 point, and I quote it: 
 
 "I might here use a just and true comparison 
 which will apply to the church. The rulers of 
 Great Britain have tried to make every capitalist 
 identify his interest with the Government that has 
 sustained the kingdom, and is like a powerful net- 
 work around the whole. Apply this comparison to 
 the kingdom of God on earth. 
 
 "Brethren,do you wish this heavenly government 
 to stand? There is no government more beautiful, 
 no confederacy more powerfull What shall we do 
 to accomplish this? Imitate the policy of that 
 earthly kingdom, identify our .interest with the 
 kingdom of God, so that if our hearts should ever 
 become weaned from loyalty to the sovereign, all 
 our earthly interest is bound up there, and cannot 
 be taken away. We must therefore sustain the 
 kingdom in order to sustain our lives and interests. 
 By so doing, we shall receive the Spirit of the 
 Lord, and ultimately work with all our hearts. 
 
 "This is a policy which I have not reflected upon 
 until this morningr, but before we get through with 
 the conference, I shall, perhaps, see it entered 
 into; not as the result of any premeditation in the 
 least, but when the condition of our temporal af- 
 fairs is read from the stand, you will find the 
 church in considerable indebtedness. If any man 
 is in darkness through the deceitfulness of riches, 
 it is good policy for him to bind up his wealth in 
 this church, so that he cannot command it again, 
 and he will be apt to cleave to the kingdom. If a 
 man has the purse in his pocket, and he apostatizes, 
 he takes it with him: but if his worldly interest is 
 
28 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 firmly united to the Kingdom of God, when he 
 arises to go away, he finds the calf is bound, and, 
 like the cow, he is unwilling to forsake it. Jf his 
 calf is bound up here, he will be inclined to stay; 
 all his interest is here, and very likely the Lord 
 will open his eyes, so that he will properly under- 
 stand his true situation, and his heart will chime 
 in with the will of his God in a very short time." 
 Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 202. 
 
 WRONG ON TEMPLE BUILDING. 
 
 Brigham also erred on temple building. I read 
 in the church covenants that the Lord in speaking 
 of the building of temples, says: 
 
 "My holy house, which my people are always 
 
 commanded to build unto my holy name " D C 
 
 107:12. (Utah Ed. 124:39). 
 
 It is rather hard to locate Brigham Young on 
 temple building, as he does not seem to be settled 
 in his own mind about it. He says: 
 
 "When the people refused in Kirtland to build a 
 temple, unless by a special revelation, it grieved 
 his [Joseph Smith's] heart that they should be so 
 penurious in their feelings as to require the Lord 
 to command them to build a house to his name. 
 It was not only grievous to him, but to the Holt 
 Spirit also. He frequently said, that if it were not 
 for the covetousness of the people, the Lord would 
 not give revelations concerning the building of tem- 
 ples, for we already knew all about them." Journal 
 of Discourses, vol. 1, p. 278. 
 
 A misinterpretation of the passage in the Doc- 
 trine and Covenants above quoted is evident. The 
 Lord there says he always commands when a house 
 is to be built unto him; but here in the statement 
 of Brigham it is said that he never does, unless 
 forced to do so by the covetousness of the people. 
 We find, however, that Brigham talks differently 
 soon afterward. This was uttered on February 14 
 1853; but on April 6, 1853, we have this from the 
 same man: 
 
 "Joseph not only received revelation and com- 
 mandment to build a Temple, but he received a 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 29 
 
 pattern also, as did Moses for the Tabernacle, and 
 Solomon for his Temple; for without a pattern, he 
 could not know what was wanting, having never 
 seen one, and not having experienced its use. 
 Without revelation, Joseph could not know what 
 was wanting, any more than any other man; and, 
 without commandment, the church were too few in 
 numbers, too weak in faith, and too poor in purse, 
 to attempt such a mighty enterprise." Journal of 
 Discourses, vol. 2, p. 31. 
 
 No comment upon the contradiction is necessary, 
 as it will be evident to all. The Utah Church, in 
 all the temples built, do not claim special revela- 
 tion for any one of them; but interpret the words, 
 "my people are always commanded to build," to be 
 a perpetual command to build; but such an inter- 
 pretation cannot be made without doing violence to 
 the language. If it had read "my people are com- 
 manded always to build;" then their interpretation 
 would have been all right; but it does not read that 
 way. 
 
 BRIGHAMITE ENDOWMENTS. 
 
 In regard to the endowments, Christ and Brig- 
 ham differed. Which shall we follow? Christ 
 told his disciples to tarry at Jerusalem until they 
 had been endowed with power from on high. He 
 told them what the endowment would do for them. 
 
 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 
 whom the Father will send in my name, he shall 
 teach you all things, and bring all things to your 
 remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." 
 John 14: 26. 
 
 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will 
 send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of 
 truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall 
 testify of me." John 15: 26. 
 
 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, 
 he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not 
 speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, 
 that shall he speak; and he will show you things 
 to come." John 16: 13. 
 
 Paul wrote that the fruit of that endowment is: 
 
30 NECESSITY FOB A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 r^ OVe ' J? P eace > long-suffering, gentleness, 
 goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Gal. 5: 
 u Zo. 
 
 And Peter wrote: 
 
 'VAccprding as his divine power hath given unto 
 us all things that pertain unto life and piodliness." 
 & Jreter 1:3. 
 
 All useful here in this life. Brigham represents 
 heaven as a great secret chamber, at the door of 
 which we must be able to give signs, grips, pass- 
 words, etc. Hear his definition: 
 
 'Let me give you the definition in brief. Your 
 endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the 
 house of the Lord, which are necessary for you 
 after you have departed this life, to enable you to 
 walk back to the presence of the Father, passing 
 the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled 
 to give them the key-words, the signs and tokens, 
 pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your 
 eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell." Jour- 
 nal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 31. 
 
 I am told here in Utah that the endowments 
 given in Kirtland were identical with those given 
 in the temples here; but Brigham says they were 
 not. Hear him: 
 
 "And those first elders who helped to build it 
 received a portion of their first endowments, or we 
 might say more clearly, some of the first, or intro- 
 ductory, or initiatory ordinances, preparatory to 
 an endowment. The preparatory ordinances there 
 administered, though accompanied by the adminis- 
 tration of angels, and the presence of the Lord 
 Jesus, were but a faint similitude of the ordinances 
 of tho house of the Lord in their fullness; yet 
 many, through the instigation of the Devil, 
 thought they had received all, and knew as much 
 as God; they have apostatized, and gone to hell. 
 But be assured, brethren, there are but few, very 
 few of the elders of Israel, now on earth, who know 
 the meaning of the word "endowment." To know, 
 they must experience; and to experience, a temple 
 must be built." Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 31. 
 Then follows Brigham J s definition of the word 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 31 
 
 "endowment" as given above. All those people, 
 and they are many, who testify that they received 
 their endowments in Kirtland and Nauvoo must be 
 mistaken, because Brigham says, "You did not!" 
 Only a few, and that a very few, received them. 
 Christ's endowments and teachings were open, as 
 witness the endowment of the apostles on the day 
 of Pentecost, where all the multitude witnessed it 
 and heard the apostles speak in tongues. 
 
 I read: 
 
 "The high priest then asked Jesus of his disci- 
 ples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I 
 spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the 
 synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews al- 
 ways resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why 
 askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I 
 have said unto them: behold they know what I 
 said." John 18: 19-21. 
 
 But Brigbam was afraid that people would ask 
 his followers what he taught. In speaking of some 
 who wanted their endowments he says: 
 
 "Well, he gets his endowment, and what for? To 
 go to California, and reveal everything he can, and 
 stir up wickedness, and prepare himself for hell." 
 Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p. 144. 
 
 Christ was not afraid of any revealments. He 
 stood there among his enemies, defying them to find 
 any fault with his teachings; but Brigham was 
 afraid of what his followers might reveal of his 
 doctrine and secret works. Did he represent Christ? 
 
 LYING. 
 
 "Thou shalt not lie: he that lieth and will not 
 repent, shall be cast out." D. C. 42:7. (Utah ed. 
 42:21.) 
 
 The repeating of this command in this nineteenth 
 century seems almost superfluous, but events have 
 proved that the repeating of the command was pro- 
 phetic of that which was to come. 
 
 From the death of the Prophet Joseph, until the 
 29th day of August. 1852. the literature of the Utah 
 Church is full of denials of polygamy. But now 
 Lht-.-y tell us that they were lying all this time, and 
 
32 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 that it was practiced as early as 1841. Orson Hyde 
 says in "Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p 83, that 
 they had more than one wife when they were in 
 Nauvoo; and George A. Smith says, in his autobi- 
 ography in the Historical fiecord, that he had us 
 many as five wives before he left Nauvoo. 
 
 In volume 12, Millennial Star, page 29, there is a 
 list of lies and their refutation by Thomas Smith. 
 These lies, he says, he took from a book by one 
 Bowes, and in that list I find the following: 
 
 "12 Lie. Joseph Smith taught a system of po- 
 lygamy." 
 
 Then follows the refutation of the lie, by quoting 
 the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. This was 
 published by Orson Pratt in 1850. Two years after- 
 wards, polygamy was publicly proclaimed by the 
 Utah Church leaders, and palmed off on Joseph 
 Smith, and given out to the saints as his doctrine. 
 If it was a lie for Mr. Bowes to say it in 1850, it was 
 a lie for Brigham Young to say it in 1852. 
 
 Andrew Jensen, in his Historical Eecord, says, iD 
 speaking of John C. Bennett, that he told some 
 very wicked lies about Joseph. He said he taughl 
 one thing in public and practiced another thing in 
 secret; and by this means was enabled to get some 
 of the sisters into trouble. But we are told now, 
 everywhere in Utah, that Joseph taught and prac- 
 ticed polygamy in secret, and denied it in public. 
 Was it a wicked lie for John C. Bennett to tell it 
 in 1842, and a sacred truth when told by Brigham 
 and his minions in 1852 to 1896? Does time make 
 then a difference in the sin? I could mention many 
 more instances, but let this suffice. 
 
 ABOMINABLE TEACHING. 
 
 Th next departure from the lavr that I shall men- 
 tion will account for this lying propensity. I have 
 already quoted Joseph Smith's statement in regard 
 to the manner in which the power of the priest- 
 hood should be exercised, but I will give it again: 
 
 "No power or influence can or ought to be main- 
 tained by virtue of the priesthood only by persuasion. 
 by longsuffering, by gentleness, by meekness, and 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 33 
 
 by love unfeigned: . . . without hypocrisy, and 
 without guile." Times and Seasons, vol. 1, p. 132. 
 (Utah edition D. and C. 121:41, 42.) 
 
 In giving directions how the quorums shall render 
 decisions he says: ''it must be by 'faith,' 'virtue,' 
 'knowledge,' 'temperance,' 'patience,' 'godliness,' 
 'brotherly kindness,' and 'charity.'" 
 
 Now let us hear how Brigham's minions exer- 
 cised their priesthood, letting him be his own 
 witness: 
 
 U I have many a time, in this stand, dared the 
 world to produce as mean devils as we can. We 
 can beat them at anything. We have the greatest 
 and smoothest liars in the world, the cunningest and 
 most adroit thieves, and any other shade of character 
 that you can mention. 
 
 "We can pick out elders in Israel right here who 
 can beat the world at gambling; who can handle 
 the cards; can cut and shuffle them with the smart- 
 est rogue on God's footstool. I can produce elders 
 here who can shave their smartest shavers, and 
 take their money from them. We can beat the 
 world at any game." Deseret News, vol. 6, p. 291; 
 Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, p. 77. 
 
 Now comes the reason why they are all this, 
 liars, thieves, rogues, etc: 
 
 "We can beat them because we have men here 
 that live in the light of the Lord; that have the holy 
 priesthood, and hold the keys of the kingdom of 
 God. But you may go through all the sectarian 
 world, and you cannot find a man capable of open- 
 ing the door of the kingdom of God to admit 
 others in. We can do that. We can pray the 
 best, preach the best, and sing the best. We are 
 the best looking and finest set of people on the 
 face of the earth; and they can begin any game 
 they please, and we are on hand, and can beat them 
 at anything they have a mind to begin. They may 
 make sharp their two-edged swords, and I will turn 
 out the elders of Israel with greased feathers, and 
 whip them to death. We are not to be beat. We 
 xpect to be a stumblingblock to the whole world, 
 
34 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 6 Dd . WV f ^l"? ^^-"--Deseret Neics, vol 
 b,p. 291; Journal of Discourses, vol. 4 p 77 
 
 Quite a contrast between the manner in which 
 Joseph instructs his elders to use the^prTesThood 
 
 use W t e hX d th R T ay Bri ^ am instructe his efdersto 
 ise theirs. But you will remember that immedi- 
 
 Kre P b a n n^ riDg , the Vall fi ey < B "^am cauTd a 1 
 3 be rebaptized, and reconfirmed, and reordained* 
 and it is probable that here is where they laid 
 aside the true priesthood that was full of longfuffjr 
 ing, gentleness, mercy, and truth, and took upon 
 themselves that priesthood that caused them to be 
 the 'greatest and smoothest liars, and the most 
 
 six 
 
 John also says: 
 
 h?f W fi W8l in the Hght ' as he is in the , we 
 
 Jesus ChriS ffiQ 8 Wl ^ an ther ' and the blood ' 
 Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."- 
 A JOuQ ir 7. 
 
 i iffer u eiltl y 'rom either of these 
 ?* that there were s^s whi:h 
 Christ's blood, but oou d 
 
 "All mankind love themselves; and let these 
 fTrfA ? be ,, knov l n . ^ an individual, and he wouW 
 in i g t u to ha , ve hls blood shed - That would be 
 W^? g Jn e , mselves 6 T. en UQ to an eternal exaltation 
 wLln y iV, v 6 y Ur brothel -s and sisters, likewise 
 when they have committed a sin that cannot be 
 atoned for without the shedding of blood" Will 
 you love that man or woman well enough to shed 
 their blood? That is what Jesus cCrfst meant 
 * man r woman to love 
 
 He never tend any 
 
 . 
 
 chance whatever for exaltation; but if their Wood 
 had been spilled, it would have been better for 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 35 
 
 tliem. The wickedness and ignorance of the 
 nations forbid this principle being in full force; 
 but the time will come when the law of God will be 
 in full force. 
 
 -'This is loving our neighbor as ourselves; if he 
 needs help, help him; and if he wants salvation, 
 and it is necessary to spill his blood upon the 
 ground in order that he may be saved, spill it. Any 
 of you who understand the principles of eternity, if 
 you have sinned a sin requiring the shedding of 
 blood, except the sin unto death, would not be sat- 
 isfied nor rest until your blood should be spilled, 
 that you might gain that salvation you desire. 
 That is the way to love mankind." Journal of Dis- 
 courses, vol. 4, p. 220. Deseret News, vol. 6, p. 397. 
 Jedediah M. Grant, Brigham's counselor, says: 
 "I say there are men and women here that I 
 would advise to go to the president immediately, 
 and ask him to appoint a committee to attend to 
 their case; and then let a place be selected, and let 
 that committee shed their blood." Deseret News, 
 vol. 6, p. 235. 
 
 I am aware that there are hundreds of the people 
 in Utah that do not know, and will not believe, that 
 such doctrines have been taught. To such we have 
 only this to say: Search and see. Do not sell the 
 freedom to think for yourselves that God has given 
 you, and in time you will be delivered from your in- 
 tellectual and spiritual bondage. 
 
 You will notice that in the above quotations, es- 
 pecial mention is made of those who have 1- ft the 
 Utah Church, and of how much better it would have 
 been for them had their blood been spilled. This 
 was only one more link in the chain of bondage into 
 which the Utah leaders sought to bring the people 
 and to make it impossible, through fear of them, to 
 leave the church. 
 
 My mind reverts again to the promise made to 
 the priesthood, if they would only exercise its pow- 
 ers in righteousness: 
 
 "The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant compan- 
 ion, and thy scepter, an unchanging scepter of 
 righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 an everlasting dominion; and without compulsory 
 means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever 
 
 te! trie u t0 USe " com Pulsory means," hence 
 not have been acting righteously. 
 
 tn I p $ ?T n( ? t ; 10n With this WG wish to cal1 attention 
 to Faul's statement or instruction: 
 
 "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; 
 but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient: in 
 meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; 
 rGod perad venture will give them repentance to 
 the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may 
 recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, 
 who are taken captive by him at his will." 2 Tim. 
 - 
 
 . 
 
 Compare this with the following from Brighanr 
 T -if ay ' ther than apostates should flourish here, 
 I will unsheath my bowie knife, and corquer or die. 
 (Great commotion in the congregation, and a si- 
 multaneous burst of feeling assenting to the declara- 
 tion.) Now, you nasty apostates, clear out, or 
 Judgment will be put to the line, and righteousness 
 to tne plummet, '(voices generally, 'Goit; Goit ') If 
 you say it is right, raise your hands. (All hands 
 up.) Let us call upon the Lord to assist us in this 
 and every other good work. . . . I want you to 
 hear, Bishops, what I am about to tell you Kick 
 these men out of your wards." Journalof Discours w, 
 vol. 1, pp. 83. 84. 
 
 It is sometimes denied that anyone was ever in- 
 terfered with in Utah on account of their leaving 
 the Mormon Church; but I want to ask the candid 
 reader what in his opinion would have been the 
 chances for safety to an apostate, after the inflam- 
 matory speech just quoted, and, especially, when 
 the speaker was looked upon as the mouthpiece of 
 God? I say again, this man did not correctly rep- 
 resent Christ and his gospel. 
 
 In 1852, August 29, as everyone knows, the doc- 
 trine of polygamy was introduced by Brigham 
 Young. Of this I shall say but little, as it has been 
 handled by abler pens than mine. It is, however, a 
 direct violation of certain passages found in the Bi- 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 31 
 
 ble, Book of Mormon, and book of Doctrine and 
 Covpnants; such as: 
 
 "For this cause shall a man leave his father and 
 mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they 
 two shall be one fl^sh." Eph 5:31. 
 
 "Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath 
 been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, 
 against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; yet is 
 she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant 
 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue 
 of the Spirit. And wherefore one? That he might 
 seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your 
 spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the 
 wife of his youth." Mai. 2: 14, 15. 
 
 "Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken 
 to the word of the Lord: For there shall not 
 any man. among you have save it be one wife: and 
 concubines he shall have none: For I, the Lord God, 
 delighteth in the chastity of women." Book of 
 Mormon, Jacob 2: 6. 
 
 "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and 
 shall cleave unto her and none else." D. C. 42: 7. 
 (Utah ed. 42:22.) ... 
 
 "And again, I say unto you, that whoso forbid- 
 deth to marry, is not ordained of God, for marriage 
 is ordained of God unto man; wherefore it is lawful 
 that he should have one wife, and they twain shall 
 be one flesh, and all this that the earth might an- 
 swer the end of its creation; and that it might be 
 filled with the measure of man, according to his 
 creation before the world was made." D. C. 49: *. 
 (Utah ed. 49:15-17.) 
 
 Christ taught: . 
 
 "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his 
 wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 
 but I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away 
 his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causetn 
 her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry 
 her that is divorced committeth adultery." Matt. 
 
 C, O1 OO 
 
 'l was told by a lady who had been a polyganaous 
 wife, that when she was sealed to the man to whom 
 she belonged, he having taken three women, two 
 

 NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION 
 
 tl..SUJ 00 "' 0b '* ted "" ''"'"lion clna bj 
 
 by 
 
 hted0a 
 
 aawl th! 1 the great cities T flnd ng 
 
 THE REORGANIZATION. 
 I have now traced the apostasy of the church 
 
 MormoDism, in all its phlses, has had o bear the 
 stigma, and which has made it hard to teach th 
 people those pure principles of which it oriel! 
 nally composed. There were those, however who 
 did not partake of the evil, but held themselves 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 39 
 
 aloof from all factions, only nominally partaking of, 
 or identifying themselves with the various organi- 
 zations just long enough to prove that they had de* 
 parted from the faith. To these the Lord spoke 
 almost simultaneously with the establishment of 
 the culminating evil, polygamy, in Utah; and they 
 were told to organize themselves, and God would 
 send a leader from tbe seed of the Martyr. And in 
 1854, January 29, at Zarahemla, Wisconsin, thus 
 came the word of the Lord to these faithful 
 ones: 
 
 "Ye ask truly, but ye ask amiss: cleanse ye your- 
 selves of all bitterness and come before me as one 
 man, and prove me hereby, saith the Lord, by the 
 voice of his Spirit; and lu! I will scatter the dark- 
 ness, and thy watchmen, oh! mine Israel, shall see 
 eye to eye, and this remnant shall arise out of ob- 
 scurity and out of darkness. Uphold the first elder, 
 qr senior, by your faith and prayers, and I will give 
 you knowledge and strength, even hidden wisdom, 
 concerning this remnant, of whom I have spoken it), 
 days of old, whom I. have appointed to speak com 
 foirtably unto the captives, and give them bread 
 and water in their journey. Therefore seek the 
 preparation, for that which I have promised, even 
 power over false spirits and disease; and if you seek 
 it in unity, with all your hearts, I will bless the 
 sacrifice, and you shall have peace and joy, beyond 
 that which you have before tasted in Zars.bemla.," 
 -The Messenger, vol. 2, p. 37. 
 
 Christ says: "The truth shall make you free." 
 John 8: 32. 
 
 Error, then, would have the opposite Affect, and 
 would bring them into bondage. God recognized, 
 then, the necessity of a Reorganization "to speak 
 comfortably to the captives," and that has been our 
 endeavor as ministers of the Reorganization; to 
 speak words of comfort to blind, bleeding Israel 
 everywhere. But, like Israel of old, so modern Is- 
 rael says, "We will not hearken to the watchmen, 
 neither will we walk in the good old way," wherein 
 is rest to their souls. 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 NOT DEAD ISSUES. 
 
 What I have written is not written because I 
 have malice toward any, but to show that there 
 was and is to-day a need of a Reorganization I ex 
 
 sss b rtc ftHssS^eK-fls 
 S^wjf^SSSSiS 
 
 to-aay ana not the Mormonism of thirty years affo?" 
 And that these things "are all dead issues " To 
 this I reply, that so long as there shall be one per? 
 son holding to the belief that Brigham Young was 
 the true and lawful successor of Joseph Smith the 
 Mar X r u and that he was acknowledged b^God as 
 such, the doctrines set forth by Brigham Young 
 will never be dead issues. If any man says that 
 is representing the Mormonism of to-day (! use the 
 term "Mormonism" to designate the people in 
 Utah), and not the Mormonism of thirty years LO 
 then he tacitly acknowledges that all we claim of 
 Mormonism as taught by Brigbam Young and hk 
 colleagues is true; and by ackaowledginl this ac- 
 knowledges that they were not and afe not correct 
 representatives of the faith. 
 
 I would that God would work upon the heart* 
 Of - t ? e .,y un er ^embers of the Utah Church 
 
 a iJ gel members of the Utah Church 
 and older ones, too, for that matter until thev 
 would arise and emancipate themselves from the in- 
 tellectual and spiritual bondage in which they are 
 and come out into that glorious liberty vouchsafed 
 under the true gospel law. I do not blame the 
 
 ospe aw. do not blame the 
 younger members of the ministry of the UtahChurch 
 for being ashamed of what has been done and 
 said and for declining to be bound by the sermons 
 preached by Brigham Young in earl/ days; but let 
 them renounce the men as well as their sentiments, 
 
 a t a ^ U ^ T 11 ' B u ut n as lon as the de ree o 
 God stands, that men shall be judged according to 
 their works, just that long men cannot be accept^ 
 We i to Goa and preach and practice things contrary 
 
 ' 8 " 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 41 
 
 T "believe the sentiment ex pressed by one of Utah's 
 leading young men, as quoted below, is the senti- 
 ment of thousands; but they hesitate to express 
 tnem. Frank J. Cannon, son of George Q. Cannon, 
 in a speech at the Republican Convention at Min- 
 neapolis, Minnesota, in 1892, when opposing the 
 seating of certain delegates in that convention, 
 said: 
 
 "When the Republican party declared in its 
 platform that it would exterminate the twin-relic 
 of barbarism, it fought one with 'the sword, and it 
 fought one with intelligence. Thank God it con- 
 quered. It conquered with the sword; and when it 
 had finished its work in the .South, it wrote with 
 the hand of peace Fiat finis. Now it has accom- 
 plished just so much in Utah by schoolhouses, by 
 newspapers, by law, and by the growth of intelli- 
 gence in the younger people of the Territory. I 
 say that now has come the time to let the angel of 
 peace write with the hand to Utah again, that it 
 may no longer curse the nation with the annoyance 
 which has always been springing up in the demand 
 for legislative measures. We want freedom: where 
 ahali we appeal for it except to the Republican 
 party, which is the only guardian of freedom? T 
 say if you seat these men, you seat them on the old 
 issue; they do not know that Brigham Young is 
 dead. He died when I was in knickerbockers, and 
 I decline to be responsible for old sermons that he 
 uttered in the early days of Utah." 
 
 Politically, perhaps, the old issues may be laid 
 aside; but from an ecclesiastical standpoint the old 
 issues will and must come to the front in determin- 
 ing who represents Christ and who does not. Mr. 
 Cannon here admits that the doctrines introduced 
 by Brigham Young have cursed the nation, and if 
 they have cursed the nation they could not have 
 been of God. 
 
 My only apology for writing this is that the Utah 
 Church is making a desperate effort to get a foot- 
 hold in the East, and the saints and others need 
 fortifying against its encroachments; and I pra> 
 
NECESSITY FOR A REORGANIZATION. 
 
 au the 
 
 
 . heart and a wil- 
 
 m // wMff and obedient shall cat the 
 
 good oniie land of Zion in these last days- and the 
 rebdhom shall be cut off out of the land ofiion? and 
 for I -. T aW)a2/ 'u and shal1 not inherit the land: 
 ' Say thatheebellious are n t of the 
 
 be plucked 
 
 those 
 
 Agam; it is said by the people in Utah that:- 
 
 An^fnfh ^ We a / e rig:ht ' bec a u se Daniel says: 
 And in the days of these kings shall the God of 
 
 stroll ."I* H P t a k ^ gd m ' Wh{oh sba11 never be dl 
 Deonle hn? d A 6 ^^om.hM not be left to other 
 >e 
 
 Deonle hn e e o oter 
 
 >eople, but it shall break in pieces and consume all 
 
 D mS &nd sha11 stand for 
 
 Dan 
 They predicate their claim to bein? riffht unon 
 
 not h^ff f* l^ Daniel sa y 8 " the kingdom sh P aU 
 not be left to other people. But we of the Reor- 
 
 dato 8 Th an v, Wlth , equal propriet y make Se*S 
 Joseph aSStifiSP 11 ' a ?, co l din ? to * statement by 
 two hnnH ^ *V ef re J alluded t0 ' c nsisted of about 
 two hundred thousand members at the death of ita 
 
 Mv ,?]*, ^ST?,* tha ? the Utah leaders ca n Possi- 
 bly claim that followed Brigham Young to Utah 
 
 were between ten and twenty thousand.^ The ma^ 
 jority of its recruits have been from the countries 
 of Europe mostly Scandinavia and England, and 
 those who have been born here now compose the 
 largest part of their membership. While on the 
 o th-r hand, the Reorganization is largely composp^ 
 'f tn >se who either were members of the old churcl, 
 
NECESSITY FOR A RKOKG AN 1ZATION. 43 
 
 r their children; and one by ono it has absorbed 
 .til the small factions that sprung up at the death 
 of Joseph Smith. A large number of its ministers 
 are sons of elders in the early church. Its Presi- 
 dent, and the President of its Twelve Apostles, are 
 sons of the founder of the church; so we could make 
 the same claim, and with much more propriety, be- 
 cause the inheritance of the priesthood and its offi- 
 ces are the birthright of the seed of Joseph and 
 some of his colaborers. And we say to all Israel, 
 that we are not only preaching the Latter Day Saint- 
 ism of to-day, but the Latter Day Saintism of thirty 
 and sixty years ago; having had no occasion to 
 change, having never taught anything that has 
 cursed the nation, nor the individual; but that un- 
 changeable law of liberty, that truth that shall 
 make you free; that perfect law of God mentioned 
 by the Psalmist David. We have never had to 
 apologize for the doctrines taught by our leaders, 
 neither have we had to reverse our doctrines. We 
 have laid well our foundations in God's holy law, 
 and have continued therein as a church. 
 
 NOTE. Page two, close of third paragraph, 
 should read, "if he continues in that departure."