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Show Nai!cd Tweoty-foyrth-Day-of-July Falsehoods "Without a guide, without a knowledge of the country, without reading tho notes of any traveler upon this earth, or seeing the face of a living being who ever set foot upon thin land, we wore led by tho hand of God through his servant i3rJg-ham, i3rJg-ham, through the difficult passes of these mountains, until we set foot upon this place," etc. Oration by George A. Smith, second counselor to President Brlgham Young, in tabernacle, July 24, 1S52. Annualh, on each recurring 24th day of July, hundreds of orations laudatory of the pioneers of Utah aro delivered by chosen representatives of the saints wherever there aro enough of them to celebrate Pioneer day. Tho observance of the day is entirely laudable, and too much cail hardly bo said In praise of the achievements of thoso virilo mon and women of 1S47. Tho only objection to those orations is that every ono of them is more or less saturated with falsehoods for tho purpose of "building "build-ing up tho faith of tho young" in tho divino mission of Mormomsm, And the above excerpt from President Smith's oration is a sample of Mormon falsehoods false-hoods told in 2ilth of July orations. To tho young Mormons who never crossed tho plains, nor over read a line of history except from Mormon sources, the country botwocn tho Missouri river and Salt Lake City was a trackless wilderness occupied by marauding savages sav-ages and wild beasts. Passing tho fact that Lewis and Clark in 1804 1805; and tho expedition under Wilson Price Hunt in 1810, went from the Missouri river to the mouth of the Columbia river in Orogon, thus proving prov-ing that, transcontinental travel was feasible, young Mormons, thoso who have the.privilego of reading The Tribune, Trib-une, are informed that as early as 1823, General Ashley of Missouri established a hunting, trapping and trading post on Green' river, near tho mouth of Ashley Fork, in northeastern Utah. In 1830 General Ashley sold out his business to William Sublbtto and James Bridger. The latter built a stockade fort on Ham's Fork and it was well known as the last frontier settlement west of the Missouri during tho years of pioneer travel. From 1821 to 1S30 a well-beaten pack trail existed between tho Missouri and Green rivers. In 1S31 Snbletto convoyed a small train t of wagons from tho Missouri as far as the Wind river mountains, where, owing to the drj'ness of the climate, tho wagons fell to pieces and wero abandoned. aban-doned. On Ma- 1, 1S32, Captain Bonnevillo left Fort Osage, on the Missouri, with twenty wagons loaded with merchandise, merchan-dise, and on the 261 h of Mav reached the confluence- of Laramie fork with tho Platte river, where, subsequently an army post, was established. On July 27 Captain Bonneville's train forded Green river and camped on the largo meadows known as Pierro's Hole. It was tho first train of wagons to enter Utah, a"nd preceded the pioneer train under President Young just fifteen years. Supposo somo hair-brained fanatic were to claim for Captain Bonneville's magnificent achievement that, "Without "With-out a guide," etc., "ho was led by the hand of God." etc., would not the Latter-day Saints charge him with being a lunatic'? The only difference between the achievement of Bonneville and Brig-ham Brig-ham Young was that tho former's jour-no.y jour-no.y was about 250 miles shortor than that of Presidont Young, and that tho latter, at least from Fort Laramio. had a plain wagon road to travel made by Oregon omigrants who followed Bonno-villo's Bonno-villo's route. And some of thoso wagon wag-on tracks reached as far as tho head of Emigration canyon, less than fifteen miles from the present site of Salt Lako City.. If God led Brighain "through tho difficult passes of theso mountains," then the Almighty must bo credited with making thoso wagon tracks to the head of Emigration canyon. Tho Mormon Battalion Fake. Another of the Mormon prophets' pot canards is their protcuso that the government gov-ernment of the United States demanded 500 men of tho Mormon refugees from Nauvoo. and whijc they were on route to the Missouri river. The suggestion to scud this communication communi-cation to Tho Tribune was made by El-dor El-dor Charles H. Hart, one of iho "soven presidents of the seventy," in his talk on the pioneers in tho tabernacle last Sunday, July 24. Elder Hart is iu excusably ignorant of the actual history of the enlistment of tho Mormon battalion bat-talion or he, like his superiors in tho priesthood, is a willful dispenser of falsehoods. In his ignorant, or willfully falso harangue of last Sunday Elder Hart read from "Bancroft's History of Utah," in which it is alleged that ""the draft of COO men for tho Mexican war was a sovero test of tho patriotism of tho Mormon people." "To the law and tho testimony" is ever the proselyting cry of the Mormon prophets and their ignorant representatives representa-tives who "carry the gospol to foreign lands," and it is with real plcasuro that the prophets and saints aro respectfully respect-fully referred to their own prophets for tho evidence that, brands such creatures as Joseph P. Smith, Recti Smoot, Charles II". Hart, et al., as tho. greatest aggregation aggrega-tion of ignoramuses since the stono age, or the most unsavory bunch of "inspired" "in-spired" prevaricators that ever lied in tho liamo, and "by tho authority of God " The effort of every 24th of July orator ora-tor is to impress on the minds of young Mormons that Joseph Smith, tho prophet, proph-et, saw in vision the Salt Lako valley, and that hud ho lived, he would have led his people into tho "fastnesses of the mountains," where "a city would be built in a day." and where the "dovil could not dig them out;" and that Brighain Voung.was the successor of Joseph Smith's mission and visions. In tho borrowed language of the "Prophet " Joseph F. Smith. " I.ct facts be submitted to a candid world!" Tn a circular letter issued by the Mormon high council of Nauvoo wo find tho following: fol-lowing: "To the members of Mo church throughout the world: In the event of tho president's recommendation recommenda-tion to build blockhouses and stockade forts on the road to Oregon, becoming a law, we hayc encouragement of having that work to do." At that time Elder Jesse 0. Little, afterward mayor of Salt. Lake City, was in charge of the oastorn mission of tho Mormons, and to whom President Brig-ham Brig-ham Young wroto in part, as follows: "Temple of God, Nauvoo, January 20. 184(3. If our government shall oltcr any facilities for emigrating lo the western coast, embrace thoso facilities, if possible, as a wiso and faithful man." Elder Little, in nn appeal to tho president pres-ident and cabinet, closed as follows: "Tf you will assist us in this'crisis, I herewith pledge my honor as a representative repre-sentative of this people that the wholo body will stand ready at your call," Thus did tho Mormon God contemplate contem-plate moving his chosen people to Oregon. Ore-gon. Later, when the building of stockade stock-ade forts 011 the road to Oregon was abandoned by the government, the Mormon Mor-mon Deity Adam conceived the idea of moving tho saints to southern California. Cali-fornia. Sinn Broniuiu was dispatched around Cauc Horn with a shipload ot' saiuts" for a port near Los Angeles, nd to which point Brigham Young was on routo when ho was taken ill in Echo canyon near tho middle of July, 1847. In 184(3 Colouel S. W. Kearney was in charge of the post at Fort Leavenworth. Leaven-worth. ,On June 20 ho issued an order to. Captain J. Allen to proceed to Mt. Pisgah, la., a rendezvous of tho Mormon refugees, and onlist a battalion of Mormons Mor-mons for the Mexican war. Following is a part of the order: "Yon will havo tho Mormons to dis-tincth' dis-tincth' understand that I wish to tako them "as volunteers for twelve months, that thoy will bp inarched to California, rocoiving pay and allpwanco during tho above timo, and at its expiration they will bo discharged and bo allowod to retain as their private property, tho guns and accoutrements lo bo furnished them at this post." And it is well to add that, some of those guns were turned against the United States in the "Mormon war" in 1857-8. John D. Lee of tho Mountain Meadows Mead-ows massacre fame, was tho trusted agent of Brigham Young in collecting $5000 from the government as advance pay to the members of the Mormon battalion. bat-talion. Elder William Wood, a member of the battalion, gives tho Ho to Elder Charles II. Hart's assertion lhat tho battalion was drafted, and that it worked a hardship hard-ship on tho Mormon people. In tho Mil-lenial Mil-lenial Star, a Mormon organ published at Liverpool. England, volume 10, page 125, Elder Wood has tho following: "With this end in view we left (Nauvoo) (Nau-voo) and wero journeying with our teams, when the United Statos government govern-ment sent an invitation for so many men to enlist in the service for one year." Thus, according to Eldor Wood, it was an "invitation" instead of a "draft." Tho fact is, that when tho building of blockhouses was abandoned by the government, tho president of tho United States took Elder Littlo at his" word and accepted tho services of the 1 battalion. It was just 500 less mouths to feed in the long trek from tho Missouri Mis-souri river to Los 'Angeles, and $10 each advanced by tho government to aid tho expedition of Brighain Young. It Was a Godsend. That it was regarded as a godsend by Brigham Young, his advisors and the saints gcncralry, is proved by an address to tho English saints by Apostle John Taylor, Millonial Star, iNovoniber, 1S4G: "The president of tho United States is favorably disposed to ua (tho Mormons), Mor-mons), lie has Bent out orders to havo 500 of our brethren employed (not drafted) in an expedition that was fitting fit-ting out against California, with orders for them to bo employed for ono year, and thou be discharged in California, and to have their arms and implements of war given to them at the expiration of their term; and as there is no prospect pros-pect of any opposition, it amounts to tho same thing as paying them for going go-ing to the samo place where they wero destined to go without (pay). They also had the privilege of choosing their own leaders." In tho days of 1846 tho enlistment of tho. battalion was regarded as an interposition inter-position of Providence it was used as a miracle to strengthen the faith 6f tho saints. Today tho same incident is used by such blatant humbugs as Smith, Smoot, Hart, ot al., to prejudice young Mormons against the government that has been more thnu patient with Mormon Mor-mon crimes, treachery and treason for which the Mormon prophets havo been wholly responsible. The saintB "testify" "tes-tify" that thoy know that tho Mormon Mor-mon leaders are "prophets, seers and rovelators," but if tho prophets themselves them-selves would but testify to what they know to bo tho truth, thoy would tell tho saints and tho world that they and their predecessors have willfully and inexcusably in-excusably deceived and robbed a generous gen-erous and confiding people, whoso only fault is unquestioning credulity, during dur-ing more than eighty years. JOSiAlI F. GIBBS. |