BY
ELDER B. H. ROBERTS
AUTHOR OF
"THE GOSPEL,"
"THE LIFE OF JOHN TAYLOR,"
"OUTLINES OF ECCLESIASTICALHISTORY,"
"SUCCESSION IN THE PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH,"
ETC., ETC.
"Some millions must be wrong, that's pretty clear. * * * * 'Tis timethat some new prophet should appear."
PUBLISHED BY
GEORGE Q. CANNON & SONS COMPANY,
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.
1895.
Three quarters of a century have passed away since Joseph Smithfirst declared that he had received a revelation from God. From thatrevelation and others that followed there has sprung into existencewhat men call a new religion—"Mormonism;" and a new church, theinstitution commonly known as the "Mormon Church," the proper name ofwhich, however, is THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
Though it may seem a small matter, the reader should know that"Mormonism" is not a new religion. Those who accept it do not so regardit; it makes no such pretentions. The institution commonly called the"Mormon Church," is not a new church; it makes no such pretensions, aswill be seen by its very name—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints. This of itself discloses what "The Mormon Church" claims tobe—the Church of Jesus Christ; and to distinguish it from the Churchof Jesus Christ that existed in former days, the phrase "of Latter-daySaints" is added. "Mormonism," I repeat, is not a new religion; it isthe Old Religion, the Everlasting Gospel, restored again to the earththrough the revelations received by Joseph Smith.
At a glance the reader will observe that these claims in behalf of"Mormonism" pre-suppose the destruction of the primitive ChristianChurch, a complete apostasy from the Christian religion; and hence,from the standpoint of a believer, "Mormonism" is the Gospel of JesusChrist restored; and the institution which grows out of it—thechurch—is the Church of Jesus Christ re-established among men.
During the three quarters of a century that have elapsed since thefirst revelation was announced by Joseph Smith, the world has beenflooded with all manner of rumors concerning the origin of "Mormonism,"its doctrines, its organization, its purposes, its history. Booksenough to make a respectable library, as to size, have been written onthese subjects, but the books, in the main, are the works of avowedenemies, or of sensational writers who chose "Mormonism" for a subjectbecause in it they supposed they had a theme that would be agreeable totheir own vicious tastes and perverted talents, and give satisfactoryreturns in money for their labor. This latter class of writers havenot only written without regard to truth, but without shame. They areghouls who have preyed upon the misfortunes of an unpopular peoplesolely for the money or notoriety they could make out of the enterprise.
That I may not be thought to overstate the unreliability of anti-Mormonliterature, I make an excerpt from a book written by Mr. PhilRobinson, called Sinners and Saints.[1] Mr. Robinson came to Utahin 1882 as a special correspondent of The New York World, and stayedin Utah some five or six months, making "Mormonism" and the Latter-daySaints a special study. On the untrustworthiness of the literature inquestion, he says:
"Whence have the public derived their opinions about Mormonism? Fromanti-Mormons only. I have ransacked the literature of the subject,and yet I really could not tell anyone where to go for an impartialbook about Mormonism later in date than Burton's 'City of the Saints,'published in 1862. * * * But put Burton on one side,