| Show slanderous HISTORY mr wilson odell of hominy falls 24 nicholas cholas county west virginia sends to the news on article written by one ane arthur alean and printed in the methodist episcopal advocate of sutton button in that state which deals with mormonism and its founder the prophet joseph smith mr odell states that he to is not a mormon but that mormon missionaries have often been at ills his house and that he regards them as perfect gentlemen he suggests that the C news reply to the clipping mr cleans ML eans article begins abruptly with this sentence among the greatest stains on americas history is mor monism mont sm this declaration is a rient clent index of what follows which embraces some sarcastic remarks about the people who become converted to mormonism and the reiterated assertion that the elders who convert them we oxe ignorant and illiterate if mr ablean lB lean were to make such statements and misrepresentations as are contained in his article on his own re and alleged information it would d be an easy matter to dispose e of trim him and his utterances to the satis of candid persons but he sup his assertions and his character loa tion of the mormon people by a lengthy quotations from the eclectic tot y of the united states the work named purports to give a condensed narrative of the early rise and progress of the mormon church and a brief biography of its prophet Ito oun under der it Is a crime in any historian to pervert truth and falsify history in the manner I 1 10 which these things were done by the author of the work quoted by mr alean he has made himself a deceiver of multitudes respecting spec ting sacred things and has placed upon an innocent people the burden of proving to the world orld that they and their leaders art are not guilty of the things with which he charges them but such a crime brings its own punishment ish ment in this age of free discussion and an omniscient and omnipotent press the truths of modern and current dieas story history cannot be suppressed nor perverted permanently and the writer who in the semi sacred character of a historian in a record designed tor for the instruction of posterity deliberately characterizes a people as lacking the atry virtues that comprise their most prominent traits will as certainly as the sun continues on his course in the heaven ft eavens be convicted of the alani ay he has perpetrated his writ M 8 will be distrusted his memory will U t detested and he will be consigned to ue the contempt and oblivion he deserves the account of mormonism Monnon ism given by th work relied upon by mr alean tow be briefly disposed of by simply that it was written from the standpoint tand poInt of a reckless enemy rather than of a painstaking and impartial investigator vesti gator and with a view to popularity rather than the presentation of truth this description with teore inore or less legs modification will fit a vast mom mase of literature purporting to give the truth about mormon history and doctrine which has issued from the press particularly in the united states during the lifetime of the religious u a society that has been the tae subject matter that society was long regard pd with almost unive universal asal prejudice and it was a rare thing for an author not a member of it to di dis play Courage enough to tell the truth about it this fact should be kemem in connection with the axiom that a mans friends rather than his foes should be applied to for correct information concerning him in the early history of christianity there e were two classes of historians one of whom held that jesus was an impostor a false teacher a blaspheme blasphemed i and a traitor to the state and that his followers imitated his crimes while the other declared that he was wab the embodiment of all that was pure and good and the very son of god while his followers taught and practiced a system of religion far in advance of any other known among men the people of that age were left to choose which records and witnesses they would believe it is so in this age in the case of the prophet joseph smith and his followers those who care nothing for the truth can easily read and hear about the mormons cormons an unlimited quantity of stuff that is false and g nd slanderous S I 1 a 8 much of which purports to be dignified and authentic history while those w who h really desire to know the truth can easily find it god has so arranged the matter tor for purposes dictated by his hib own infinite wisdom |
