| Show hearren HEARKEN 0 YE LATTER DAY SAINTS AND ALL YE inhabitants OF THE EARTH WHO WISH TO BE SAINTS TO WHOM THIS WRITING SHALL COME 9 happening lately while on a preaching thip trip to bahe valley to pick up abood which wai was was lying on oil a table in the house where we were stopping we were surprised to find that it was the b book ook bearing the title on the outside of joseph smi smith th the prophet and on the title page I 1 biographical sketches of joseph smith the prophet and his progenitors for many generations by lucy smith mother of the prophet published for orson pratt by S W richards liverpool etc our surprise at finding a copy of this work w ork may be accounted for by the fact of our having advertised some come time agog ago that the book was in and that it should be gathered up and destroyed so that no copies should be pe left and kind from this I 1 we had suppose supposed d that chat not a single copy conj could oe ue found lp any of the houses house of the saint saints we now wish to publish our views and feelings respecting this book so hat they may be known to all the faints in all the world in in great britain diligence has been used in col meeting and in disposing of this work and we wish wih that saine same diligence cont trued n aed there and also exercised here au a 4 home until not a copy is left a the inquiry may arise in the minds of f somme persons why dp do you 6 want to destroy this book because wo we are acquainted acquIn ted with lii iti individual circumstances alluded to in it and know many of the statements to be false we could it go 0 o through 1 the ap bok hok ok and point out many false faise statements which it conr rains but we do not feel to dose flose do flo se it is i to say that it is utterly binic wire mire liable as a history as it contains many falsehoods and mistakes weirdo we do not wish suen such a book to be lying ising 6 oil on our otar shelves helves fc to be taken up in after years and read by oui our children as true history and wt therefore there fore expect the high priests ule the seventies the Eldert elders eiders lie the bishops and every one in the church male and female if they have such a book to dispose of it bo so that it will never le be read by any person again if they do not the responsibility of the evil results that may accrue from keeping it will ivill reat vest upon them bild not apon upon us UN without entering into all the details I 1 of the writing of this book and its production in print we v n may say that at the uline cline I 1 it wast waft vda written whick which was after atter the ibe mth death of the bro wro pro prophet p iel lel joseph I 1 mother smith was vas seventy years old ami awl d very forgetful haf mind nind had aured pred bred many severe shocks through losin losing 0 a beloved husband and four sons of exceeding promise to wolfom she was fondly att attached eclied three of whom had bad but rec ree recently regenil enil fallen victims to mabo j atie atle abid alid she could thel therefore lofb i re J scarcely arcely fcc recollect anything corr tv itly that irad i tian she employed aa an in lady laly ialy by the name of coray those thome mhd have read the history of william smith and who knew him k know now ehe the ts made in that book r esp ting him hini when he be c anie came out of ys tai fn bt lar ly fase fane lis jis alls inett of being the faithful man of god and se he saint which h aej th thre ere represented to have 0 been he was a wicked man and he publicly espre expressed sed the hope bope that his brother J oseph joseph would never get out of the hands of his enemies alive and he further said sald that if he had had bad the disposing p of him lie he would have hung 1 1 him years before I 1 when the book was written mother smith ent it to us to examine in company with some others who were acquainted quain ted with the circumstances alluded to in the book we read the manuscript and we soon saw that it was incorrect we paid the amanuensis who wrote the book for mother smith for a copy of the work and that copy is now in the historians to office and has been in our possession ever since we left ft nauvoo but the original manuscript was purloined we suppose from moth mother er smith and went into the hands of apostates and was purchased fd of them by orson pratt he had the work published in england we do not know that samuel W richards who printed the work knew know anything about the manner in which it was written or how br pratt obtained it he printed it we suppose as he would any other book but brother pratt had it printed and published it without saying a word to the first presidency or the twelve about what he was doing this is the way chebook the book came into being it was smuggled jug juggled led and foisted into existence as a book 0 the preface of this book was written by brother orson otson pratt in that he stated that the book was was mostly written previous to the death of the prophet and under his personal inspection spee spec tion ll 11 which statement is false faise and which brother pratt afterwards corrected in the deseret NEWS march 1855 1835 as ns follows r a t this work was first published in england in 1853 1 I procured the manuscripts while on my last mission in t the united states and was informed at the time that most of the work was vr ritten itten under the inspection of the P prophet but from evidences since received c I 1 it is believed that the greater P part i A of the manuscripts did not pass U under his review as there are items which are ascertained to be incorrect many of tho thor saints may not know that the book is inaccurate but those who have been instructed respecting its character angwill and will still keep it on their tables and nd have it in theli their houses as a valid and authentic history for their children to read need rebuke it is transmitting lies to post posterity to take suph a course and we nye know ow that the curse 11 F oa ojill v ret upon pon everyone every one after he to the knowledge of what 1 diere said who keeps the thee ze books for hi ren io learn and believe i 4 we wish those who have these books I 1 ta to either hand them to their bishops for them to be conveyed to the presidents or historians office or gend send them themselves that they may be disposed of and they will please write wyite their llames names in the flie books book with the tile name of the place where they reside and if they wish to hand them over without pay in return state so and if they wish to got get pay for them state whether vh ether they desire desie it applied on tithing the tile value returned in other books when we commenced this article we did not think of extending our comments J beyond the work already alluded AO TD we INIC consider it our duty however and advisable for us to incorporate with 1 this which we have already written hiir views upon other doctrines which have been axten extensively published and nyi widely redel received ved as the standard and authoritative doctrines of the church but which are tire unsound the views we allude 1 to and and A which we deem objection able have been published by elder orson pratt we vc have expressed our disapproval of f some of these doctrines through the columns of the 31 illegal aa published in 16 england and the DESERET NEWS of this city there are arb others however of a kindred ed charac ter which have not been alluded to 1 ini I public print that aiso also require bommen com moena roena in order that a correct understanding maybe mayhe may ie had by the saints ro respecting pectin them we do not wish incorrect and an nd to be handed down a ift to pos posterity ter 1 ity under the sanction of great names to be received and valued by future generations as authentic and reliable creating labor and difficulties for our successors to perform and contend with which we ought not to transmit to tb them the interests of posterity are to a certain extent in our hands errors in history and in doctrine if left uncorrected by us who are conversant with the events and who are arc re in a position to judge of the truth or falsity of the doctrines would go to our children as though we had sanctioned and endorsed them such a construction could very easily be put upon our silence respecting them and would tend to perplex and mislead posterity a andi n make the labor of correction an excene exceed d angly difficult one for them we know kno what sanctity there is is always attached to the writings of men who have passed away especially to the writings of apostles when none of their ries are left and we therefore feel the necessity of being watchful upon thase those points personal feelings and friendships and associations ought to sink into comparative insignificance and ana andl anal have no weight in view of consequences so momentous to the people and kingdom of god as these moss wrote the history of creation I 1 and we believe that he had the inspiration 1 of the almighty resting upon pon u him the prophets who wrote after him were likewise endowed with the spirit of revelation the apostles of jesus christ the savior of the world the personal witnesses of his ministry revealed many great and glorious truths to the people the Prop prophet liet joseph jospph in our own day was chosen of god and ordained as a seer and revelator and was wa made slade the means of bringing braingin 9 MU much ch knowledge to light respecting god and the things of god but none of these prophets and apostles no rno not even the son of god hini hihl himself self seif has ever been able to our knowledge to inform the world respecting the great first cause and to explain how the first organized being was originated they rhe never were able abie to reveal toman to man that every part of the holy spirit however minute and hi infinitesimal possessed every intellectual armoral or moral attribute possessed by the father and the son bon or that the spiritual personages of the father and the son and the holy ghost if organized at all must have been the result of the self seif combinations comb nations and unions of the preexistent pre existent intelligent powerful and eternal particles of matter the reader may inquire why they could not reveal this it was because there was no such fact in existence they were evidently content with the knowledge that from all eternity there had existed organized beings inan in an organized form possessing superior and controlling cont roling power to govern what brother pratt calls the I 1 seif self amov ing all wise and nil all powerful particles of matter and that it was neither rational nor consistent with the revelations ie vela of god and with reason to believe that these latter forces besand and powers had existed prior to the beings who controlled oled and governed them but ta teach these ideas and to make them public to mankind after so many ages of ignorance respecting them has been reserved according to his own arguments for brother orson pratt we must do brother orson pratt the justice however to say that he has never claimed to know these things by revelation still he has published them to the world as facts and as doctrines of the church reh of hesli Je jesus suJ sus of tatter latter da day kihlst tn 1111 remarks iv which lich B bro P pratt akl mad great salt lake lak P 01 olty ty ja jan n 29 1860 4 r re e marks which were prompted in pon learning our views respecting th the lio llo ilo doctrines that he had publIA publisher liw alid anji W which cieli t he deliver delivered d withof grinj intimation I 1 intention while speaking in relation to the things which wele were deemed objectionable and erroneous by the first presidency and twelve he confessed that he had erred aind find done wrong in publishing them li he said that so far as revelation from the heavens is concerned I 1 have had none in xe relation lation to those points of doctrine and lie he further said on this same bame subject there is one thing I 1 will insure you of god will never reveal anything to me mey or to any other man which will come in contact with the views and revelations which he gives to the man who holds the keys we never need dve expect peet such a thing these remarks mere were re published in the IEsE lese DESERET lut iuT news i july 1860 and the first presidency appended to them the following comments S 41 elder pratt sus sustains taing an able character as far as ab strict morality tried integrity industry energy zeal faithfulness to his jelf gion glon tand and honesty in all business transactions are concerned but it willbe readily perceived from his remarks that he does not claim exemption from liability to err in judgment in relation to some points of doctrine br pratts preach ings and jand teachings upon the first principles of the gospel are excellent with regard to the quotations and comments in the seer as to adams having been formed out of the ground and from the dust 0 of the ground und ac it is deemed wisest to let iro that h a t subject remain without further explanation I 1 for it is written that we are to receive line upon line according to our faith and capacities and the circumstances attending our progress sg a in the seer pages page 21 24 and 25 par 22 br pratt states N all these gods are arc equal in power n glory jn dominion and in the possess possession ioli loii cfall of ail all things each possesses a falness of truth of knowledge of wisdom of light of intelligence each governs himself binau in all nil things by his own attributes I 1 and Is filled with love goodness m meroy merey e my and justice towards all the falness ruing ss of all these attributes Is what constitutes md god it Is truth light and love that we worship hap and adore these are the same in all worlds and as these constitute god ile he Is the tha same in all ail worlds 1 wherever you ou finda fina find a aulne falness of wis als dom knowledge truth goodness 1 love and ana such like qualities there you finsod nind find goa god in w ail all ills his glory power and majesty therefore if you worship these adorable perfection A yau you wor woi ship god 1 t seer page par 95 then there will be no being in cx ex intense that will know one parti demore demoro than what we know then our knowledge and wisdom and pow power erwill will be and cannot from thenceforth I 1 be inc ine increased ased 0 or expanded jn in the least degree 1 same page fir fin par pir 6 7 butchen but when they the saints become the father and the son and rec receive elyle a falness or of their glory that will be theand the end of all progression in knowledge know ledge because there wiil will M lil ill be nothing more to be learned the fatherland Fat herand toe son do not pro progress gress greas in knowledge and 1 wisdom because they already know all things past present and to come par 97 s there are none among them shem the gods dods ithal thu are in advance of the others in knowledge know ledgle though ame may haxe have ha e been gods a as anany many millions of as there are of dust in all tho the universe yet yett here herc Is not ON one truth that such sueh u c li are in possession of but what every othey god knows I 1 sone none W these gods are progress ing in knowledge ii neither either can they progress 11 ID the acquirement of any truth in his treatise entitled great first cause I 1 elG eig par 17 br pratt stags 1 all the organizations irions of worlds of minerals of sf vegetables of animals of men of appels ap gels ot of 1 b and of the spiritual personages personages of the father rather of the son and of the nois holy ghost must it organized at all have bave been the result of tb the e self combinations and unions of ot phe ithe pre ex intelligent powerful api eternal particles of substance these eternal forces and ani powers ac are the great first causes of all chingo thier and events that have had a beginning I 1 4 the foregoing quoted ideas and similar ones |
