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Mormonism and Wikipedia/Oliver Cowdery

2010-11-23T02:14:16Z

KarenLyons:

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{{FAIRAnalysisWikipedia
|title=Oliver Cowdery
|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cowdery
|uplink=
|section=
|previous=
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|notes={{WikipediaDisclaimer}}
}}

{{CriticalWorkInfobox
|title=Wikipedia article "Oliver Cowdery"
|type=Website
|author=Controlling editors [[John Foxe]]
|affiliation=Protestant (Foxe)
|accuracy=Negative aspects emphasized and given undue weight and position within the article, with positive aspects subdued, relegated to footnotes, or omitted.
|templecontent=None
}}

=Introduction {{WikipediaUpdate|11/7/2010}}=

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
''Oliver Hervy Pliny Cowdery'''
|authorsources=
Prior to the winter of 1830-31, Cowdery generally signed his name "Oliver H P Cowdery", the "H P" standing for "Hervy" and "Pliny," two of his father's relatives. For unknown reasons Cowdery discontinued using his middle initials about 1831. Cowdery may have wished his name to match the form in which it was printed in the 1830 ''[[Book of Mormon]]''. <nowiki>[http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/NY/telescp1.htm]</nowiki>. It is also possible that teasing by the <nowiki>[http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/NY/wayn1830.htm#060130 ''Palmyra Reflector'']</nowiki> (June 1, 1830) about Cowdery's pretentious moniker may have influenced Cowdery to abandon the initials.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
(3 October 1806 – 3 March 1850) was, with [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]], a important participant in the formative period of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]] between 1829 and 1836, becoming one of the [[Three Witnesses]] of the [[Book of Mormon|Book of Mormon's]] [[golden plates]], one of the first [[Latter Day Saint]] [[Apostle (Latter Day Saints)|apostles]], and the [[Assistant President of the Church|Second Elder]] of the church.
|authorsources=
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

==Biography==
===Family background===
===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery was born October 3, 1806 in [[Wells, Vermont]]. His father, William, may have been a follower of sectarian leader [[Nathaniel Wood]] of Middletown, Vermont, whose small religious sect, the "New Israelites," practiced [[divining]] for buried treasure and for revelatory purposes.
|authorsources=
[[D. Michael Quinn]], ''Early Mormonism and the Magic World View'', Revised and enlarged (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1998), 34-36; [http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/quaderno/Quaderno5/Q5.C7.Taylor.pdf Alan Taylor, "The New Jerusalem of the American Frontier"]; Barnes Frisbie, ''The History of Middletown, Vermont in Three Discourses....'' (Rutland, VT: Tuttle and Company, 1867), 43, 62.
|response=
*The "Wood Scrape" affair refers to a group of rodsmen led by Nathaniel Wood who claimed to be able to locate treasure and receive revelation. Barnes Frisbie believed that "this system of religion inaugurated by the Woods was transmitted to the Mormons." Frisbie believed that there was a connection between a man name Winchell (or Wingate) with the "Wood Scrape" affair. Frisbie then attempts to link the man "Winchell" with the Cowdery family, saying, "I have before said that Oliver Cowdery's father was in the "Wood scrape." ''Early Mormon Documents'' editor Dan Vogel notes, however, that "Frisbie did not previously say that William Cowdery was involved in the Wood Scrape but rather that he had hosted Winchell at his place in Wells and that they were 'intimate afterwards." The association of Oliver's father with the Nathanial Wood movement is therefore tenuous at best, but apparently good enough for Wikipedia.
*Based upon the Frisbie account, an association between Oliver's father and the "Wood Scrape" incident is postulated by author D. Michael Quinn. In the cited source, Quinn describes the "Wood Scrape" incident (p. 36) and then notes:
<blockquote>
"A connection between William Cowdery and the Wood Scrape would help explain why his son Oliver had a rod through which he received revelations."
</blockquote>
*{{WikipediaNPOV|editor=John Foxe|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cowdery&diff=280397722&oldid=280321457}}(The addition to the wiki article was made by an anonymous editor, and then immediately cleaned up and cited by editor [[John Foxe]]). Based upon Quinn's assumption, the wiki editors seem to feel that one of the most important and significant aspects of Oliver's life is that his father ''may'' have been a follower of man who used divining rods. Why else would this be the first "fact" listed after Oliver's birth date and place?
*{{Detail|Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"}}
}}

===''View of the Hebrews'' controversy===
===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
The Cowdery family also attended the [[Congregational Church]] of [[Poultney, Vermont]], where [[Ethan Smith]] was pastor.
|authorsources=
[[Grant H. Palmer]], ''[[An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]'' (Salt Lake City: [[Signature Books]], 2002), 58-60.
|response=
*{{WikipediaNPOV|editor=John Foxe|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cowdery&diff=381314589&oldid=381313388}}It should be noted that there was no "''View of the Hebrews'' controversy" during Oliver Cowdery's lifetime. The ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin did not gain any traction until the demise of the Spalding Theory in the late 1800's. The question is: Why is a "View of the Hebrews controversy" listed as the next major event in Oliver's Wikipedia "biography?" It is there simply because this is what the wiki editor wants people who read the article to see. A ''real'' biographer would not have manufactured a "controversy" and inserted it so prominently in the article.
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews}}
*{{Detail|Specific works/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins|l1=A FAIR Analysis of ''An Insider's View of Mormon Origins''}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
At the time, Ethan Smith was writing ''[[View of the Hebrews]]'' (1823), a book speculating that Native Americans were of Hebrew origin.
|authorsources=
During the colonial and early national periods many Americans speculated about a possible connection between the Hebrews and the Americans Indians. [[Richard Bushman]], [[Rough Stone Rolling]], 94-97.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}This is correct. There was much speculation that Native American had Hebrew origins. Ethan Smith's book was one example of a number of publications attempting to demonstrate that.
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
[[Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon|David Persuitte]] argues that Cowdery had a knowledge of ''View of the Hebrews'' and that this acquaintance significantly contributed to the final version of the ''Book of Mormon''.
|authorsources=
David Persuitte, ''[[Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon]]'' (McFarland & Company, 2000), 125: "Oliver Cowdery surely had a copy of ''View of the Hebrews''—a book that was published in his home town of Poultney, Vermont by the minister of the church his family was associated with. Considering his joint venture with Joseph Smith in 'translating' ''The Book of Mormon'' and the common subject matter, Cowdery could have shared his copy of Ethan Smith's book with Joseph, perhaps even sometime before Joseph began the 'translation' process."
|response=
*This is correctly identified as Persuitte's opinion in the article. Critics typically use B.H. Roberts' material compiled in [[Specific works/Studies of the Book of Mormon|''Studies of the Book of Mormon'']] to support this claim. Roberts indicated that critics could use ''View of the Hebrews'' to claim that Joseph used it as a basis for constructing the ''Book of Mormon''.
*{{Detail|Specific works/Studies of the Book of Mormon|l1=A FAIR Analysis of ''Studies of the Book of Mormon''}}
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Even noted LDS scholar [[Richard Bushman]] has written in ''[[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]]'' that though "Joseph Smith is not known to have seen ''View of the Hebrews'' until later in life, the parallels seem strong enough for critics to argue that Ethan Smith provided the seeds for Joseph Smith's later compositions."
|authorsources=
[[Richard Bushman]], ''[[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]]''(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 96.
|response=
*{{WikipediaNPOV|editor=John Foxe|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cowdery&diff=381285999&oldid=381252827}}These passages clearly illustrate a common tendency on the part of editor [[John Foxe]]. He typically identifies LDS scholars as "scholars" when they support a critical viewpoint, but identifies them as "apologists" if they support the LDS perspective. In this case, Bushman is clearly identified as a "noted LDS scholar" when his work is being used to support this critical claim.
*It is fair in this case to note what Bushman says immediately ''after'' the line quoted:
<blockquote>
But for readers of Ethan Smith, the ''Book of Mormon'' was a disappointment. It was not a treatise about the origins of the Indians, regardless of what early Mormons said. The ''Book of Mormon'' never used the word "Indian." The book had a different form and purpose than the earlier works on Indian origins. (Bushman, p. 96)
</blockquote>
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Nevertheless, Mormon apologists such as [[John W. Welch]] reject the connection and argue that there is little relationship between the contents of the two books.
|authorsources=
[[John W. Welch]], ''Reexploring the Book of Mormon'', 83-7, and ''A Sure Foundation: Answers to Difficult Gospel Questions'' (Salt Lake City: [[Deseret Book]], 1988); [[John W. Welch]], "An Unparallel" (Provo, Utah: [[FARMS]], 1985); [[Spencer J. Palmer]] and William L. Knecht, "View of the Hebrews: Substitute for Inspiration?" ''[[BYU Studies]]'' 5/2 (1964): 105-13.
|response=
*{{WikipediaNPOV|editor=John Foxe|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cowdery&diff=178701278&oldid=178686697}} Note that John Welch, Spencer J. Palmer, and William L. Knecht are not afforded the credentials of "LDS scholar," but instead are identified as "Mormon apologists." The use of the word "apologist" by the wiki editor is deliberate as it conveys to the layman that the person is "apologizing" for a position.
*Indeed, the distinction between scholars and apologists was important enough to wiki editor Foxe that when wiki editor "Iain1917" removed the phrase "Mormon apologists" in order to make the article more neutral, editor [[John Foxe]] reinserted it with the edit summary, "it needs to say 'Mormon apologists'."
}}
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews}}

===Youth===
===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery was reared in Poultney, but beginning at age twenty, he clerked at a store in New York for several years until 1829, when he taught school in the town of [[Manchester, New York|Manchester]].
|authorsources=
Lucy Cowdery Young to Andrew Jenson, March 7, 1887, Church Archives
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}} We finally encounter one of our first truly neutral facts in the wiki article.
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
While teaching, Cowdery lodged at different houses in the Manchester area, including that of Joseph Smith, Sr., who apparently provided Cowdery with additional information about the [[golden plates]] of which he had heard "from all quarters."
|authorsources=
[[Junius F. Wells]], "Oliver Cowdery", ''[[Improvement Era]]'' XIV:5 (March 1911); [[Lucy Mack Smith]], "Preliminary Manuscript," 90 in ''Early Mormon Documents'' 1: 374-75.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
*Lucy Mack Smith's comment (original spelling retained):
<blockquote>
Oliver requested my husband to take him as a boarder at least for a little while untill he should become acquainted with his patrons in the school. He had not been in the place long till he began to hear about the plates from all quarters and immediately he commenced importuneing Mr. Smith upon the subject but he did not succeed in eliciting any information from him for a long time. At length however he gained My husbands confidence so far as to get a sketch of the facts which relates to the plates. (''Early Mormon Documents'', pp. 374-375.
</blockquote>
}}

===Book of Mormon scribe and witness===

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery met Joseph Smith, Jr. on April 5, 1829—a year and a day before the official founding of the church—and heard from him how he had received [[golden plates]] containing ancient [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] writings.
|authorsources=
''[[Joseph Smith—History]]'' 1:66.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Like Smith, who was a distant relative,
|authorsources=
[http://www.olivercowdery.com/family/Cdrygen1.htm Cowdery genealogy]
|response=
*{{WikipediaNPOV|editor=John Foxe|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cowdery&diff=96330657&oldid=93598894}} Although this bit of trivia is interesting, the wiki editor [[John Foxe]] wants to use it to strengthen the connection between Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and treasure seeking. Joseph and Oliver had never met, so the fact that they were "distant" cousins has no bearing on this, unless the wiki editor thinks that a tendency toward "treasure seeking" is a genetic trait.
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}}
*{{Detail|Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
during his youth, Cowdery had engaged in hunting for buried treasure and had used a [[divining rod]].
|authorsources=
''EMD'', 1: 603-05, 619-20; Quinn, 37.
|response=
*{{WikipediaNPOV|editor=John Foxe|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cowdery&diff=96330657&oldid=93598894}} Wiki editor [[John Foxe]] wants to strengthen the connection between Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and treasure seeking.
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Money digging}}
*{{Detail|Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery told Smith that he had seen the golden plates in a vision before the two ever met.
|authorsources=
[[Richard Bushman]], ''[[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]]'' (New York: [[Alfred A. Knopf]], 2005), 73; Grant Palmer, ''An Insider's View of Mormon Origins'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 2002), 179.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCITE}} The Bushman reference only talks of Oliver's "gift of working with the rod." We cannot locate a reference about Oliver seeing the plates in a vision on the page cited.
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
From April 7 to June 1829, Cowdery acted as Smith's primary scribe for the translation of the plates into what would later become the ''[[Book of Mormon]]''. Cowdery also unsuccessfully attempted to translate part of the ''Book of Mormon'' himself.
|authorsources=
''[[History of the Church]]'' 1:36-38; D&C 8, 9.
|response=
*{{Detail|Doctrine and Covenants/Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Before meeting Cowdery, Joseph Smith's translation had come to a near standstill after the [[lost 116 pages|first 116 pages]] were lost by [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]]. But after Smith met Cowdery, the manuscript was completed in a remarkably short period (April–June 1829) during what [[Richard Lyman Bushman|Richard Bushman]] called a "burst of rapid-fire translation."
|authorsources=
[[Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling]] (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 70."
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
On May 15, 1829, Cowdery and Smith said that they received the [[Aaronic Priesthood]] from [[John the Baptist]], after which they [[Baptism (Latter Day Saints)|baptized]] each other in the [[Susquehanna River]].
|authorsources=
''[[Messenger and Advocate]]'' (October 1834), 14-16; Bushman, 74-75.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
*See primary source: {{MAfairwiki|vol=1|num=1|start=14|end=16}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery also said that he and Smith later went into the forest and prayed "until a glorious light encircled us, and as we arose on account of the light, three persons stood before us dressed in white, their faces beaming with glory." One of the three announced that he was the [[Saint Peter|Apostle Peter]] and said the others were the Apostles [[James, son of Zebedee|James]] and [[John the Apostle|John]].
|authorsources=
Charles M. Nielsen to Heber Grant, February 10, 1898, in Dan Vogel, ed., ''Early Mormon Documents'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1998), 2: 476; ''[[History of the Church]]'' 1:39-42.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Later that year, Cowdery reported experiencing a vision along with Smith and [[David Whitmer]] in which an [[angel]] showed him the golden plates. [[Martin Harris (Latter Day Saints)|Martin Harris]] said he saw a similar vision later that day, and Cowdery, Whitmer and Harris signed a statement to that effect. They became known as the [[Three Witnesses]], and their testimony has been published with nearly every edition of the ''Book of Mormon''. Also in 1829, Cowdery received a revelation entitled "[[Articles of the Church of Christ]]", which directed the formation of the [[Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Christ]].
|response=
*{{WikipediaCITE}}The item regarding the "Articles of the Church of Christ" is a wikilink to another Wikipedia article which states that this was "an 1829 revelation purportedly given by God to Oliver Cowdery." In this article, the "purported" revelation has been assigned the status of "fact" by the wiki editor.
*According to the web site "Saints without Halos," the revelation "housed in the LDS Church Archives, is in Oliver Cowdery's handwriting. It draws on the Book of Mormon and contains wording from D&C 17 and D&C 18, both written June 1–14, 1829."
}}

===Second Elder of the church===
===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
When the Church was organized on April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith, Jr. became "First Elder" and Cowdery "Second Elder." Although Cowdery technically second in authority to Smith from the organization of the church through 1838, in practice [[Sidney Rigdon]], Smith's "spokesman" and counselor in the [[First Presidency]], began to supplant Cowdery as early as 1831. Cowdery held the position of [[Assistant President of the Church]] from 1834 until his excommunication in 1838.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCITE}}No sources are provided.
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
On December 18, 1832, Cowdery married Elizabeth Ann Whitmer, the daughter of [[Peter Whitmer, Sr.]] and sister of [[David Whitmer|David]], [[John Whitmer|John]], [[Jacob Whitmer|Jacob]] and [[Peter Whitmer, Jr.]]. They had five children, only one of whom survived to maturity.
|authorsources=
Maria Louise Cowdery, born August 11, 1835.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery helped Smith publish a series of Smith's revelations first called the ''[[Book of Commandments]]'' and later, as revised and expanded, the ''[[Doctrine and Covenants]]''. Cowdery was also the editor or on the editorial board of several early church publications including the ''[[Evening and Morning Star]]'', the ''[[Messenger and Advocate]]'', and the ''Northern Times''.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
When the Church created a bank known as the [[Kirtland Safety Society]] in 1837, Cowdery obtained the money-printing plates. Sent by Smith to [[Monroe, Michigan]], he became president of the Bank of Monroe, which the church had purchased. Both banks failed that same year. Cowdery moved to the newly founded Latter Day Saint settlement in [[Far West, Missouri]] and suffered ill health through the winter of 1837-38.
|response=
{{WikipediaCITE}}A citation is needed relating to the Church purchasing the Bank of Monroe.
}}

===Early written history of the church===
===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
In 1834 and 1835, with the help of Smith, Cowdery published a contribution to an anticipated "full history of the rise of the church of Latter Day Saints" as a series of articles in the church's ''[[Messenger and Advocate]]'', a version not entirely congruent with the later [[History of the Church|official history]] of the church.
|authorsources=
W. W. Phelps to Oliver Cowdery, December 25, 1834, ''EMD'', 3: 28
|response=
*{{Detail|First Vision/Accounts/Oliver Cowdery not aware of First Vision in 1834-35}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
For instance, Cowdery ignored the [[First Vision]] but described an angel (rather than God or Jesus) who called Smith to his work in September 1823, placing the religious revival that stimulated Smith to ask which church to join in 1823 (rather than 1820) and stating that this revival experience had caused Smith to pray in his bedroom (rather than the woods).
|authorsources=
Grant Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 239; Richard Abanes, ''One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church'' (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2002), 26; Vogel, ''EMD'', 2: 428.
|response=
*In the first installment, Oliver described the events leading up to the First Vision, and stated Joseph's age as 14. In the second installment, he said that he made a mistake and stated Joseph's age as 17, then proceeded to describe the vision of Moroni. It is not known why he switched between installments. Joseph had written his first account of the First Vision two years earlier in 1832.
*It should be noted that Joseph never uses the word "revival" in his description of the religious excitement that he observed in 1820.
*{{Detail|First Vision/Accounts/Oliver Cowdery not aware of First Vision in 1834-35}}
*{{Detail|First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't mention a revival}}
*{{Detail|First Vision/Religious revivals in 1820}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Further, after first asserting that the revival had occurred in 1821, when Smith was in his "fifteenth year," Cowdery corrected the date to 1823—Smith's 17th (actually, 18th) year.
|authorsources=
Cowdery also said that the final battle between the [[Nephite]]s and the [[Lamanites]] had occurred in the vicinity of the [[Cumorah|Hill Cumorah]], where Smith claimed he found the [[golden plates]]. There is little evidence for mass graves for tens of thousands of soldiers at the site and most modern Mormon [[apologists]] now argue that the events likely took place in [[Central America]]. ''Messenger and Advocate'', 1, no. 3 (December 1834),42, 78-79. “You will recollect that I mentioned the time of a religious excitement, in Palmyra and vicinity to have been in the 15th year of our brother J. Smith Jr.’s age — that was an error in the type — it should have been in the 17th. — You will please remember this correction, as it will be necessary for the full understanding of what will follow in time. This would bring the date down to the year 1823."
|response=
*The detail regarding the Hill Cumorah and lack of "mass graves" at the New York site is superfluous to a purported biography of Oliver Cowdery. ''Joseph Smith'' believed New York to be the site of the final battle as well.
*{{Detail|First Vision/Accounts/Oliver Cowdery not aware of First Vision in 1834-35}}
*{{Detail|First Vision/Accounts/1832/Doesn't mention a revival}}
*{{Detail|First Vision/Religious revivals in 1820}}
}}

===Excommunication===
===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
By early 1838 Smith and Cowdery disagreed on three significant issues. First, Cowdery competed with Smith for leadership of the new church and "disagreed with the Prophet's economic and political program and sought a personal financial independence [from the] Zion society that Joseph Smith envisioned."
|authorsources=
*Cowdery, Oliver, ''Encyclopedia of Mormonism'', Vol. 1, 1992.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Then too, in March 1838, Smith and Rigdon moved to Far West, which had been under the presidency of Cowdery's brothers-in-law, [[David Whitmer|David]] and John Whitmer. There Smith and Rigdon took charge of the Missouri church and initiated policies that Cowdery and the Whitmers believed violated separation of church and state. Finally, in January 1838, Cowdery wrote his brother [[Warren A. Cowdery|Warren]] that he and Joseph Smith had "had some conversation in which in every instance I did not fail to affirm that which I had said was strictly true. A dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his and [[Fanny Alger|Fanny Alger's]] was talked over in which I strictly declared that I had never deserted from the truth in the matter, and as I supposed was admitted by himself." Alger, a teenage maid living with the Smiths, may have been Joseph Smith's first [[plural marriage|plural wife]], a practice that Cowdery opposed.
|authorsources=
[[Richard Bushman]], [[Rough Stone Rolling]], 323-25, 347-49.
|response=
*{{Detail|Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Fanny Alger}}
*{{Detail|Polygamy book/Introduction of eternal marriage}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
On April 12, 1838, a church court excommunicated Cowdery after he failed to appear at a hearing on his membership and sent a letter resigning from the Church instead.
|authorsources=
Bushman, 347-48. Among other things, Cowdery was accused of "virtually denying the faith by declaring that he would not be governed by any ecclesiastical authority nor Revelations whatever in his temporal affairs."
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
The Whitmers, [[William Wines Phelps]] and Book of Mormon witness [[Hiram Page]] were also excommunicated from the church at the same time.
|authorsources=
''[[Far West]] Record'', 165-66
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery and the Whitmers became known as "the dissenters," but they continued to live in and around Far West, where they owned a great deal of property. On June 17, 1838, President [[Sidney Rigdon]] announced to a large Mormon congregation that the dissenters were "as salt that had lost its savor" and that it was the duty of the faithful to cast them out "to be trodden beneath the feet of men." Cowdery and the Whitmers, taking this [[Salt Sermon]] as a threat against their lives and as an implicit instruction to the [[Danites]], a secret vigilante group, fled the county. Stories about their treatment circulated in nearby non-Mormon communities and increased the tension that led to the [[Mormon War (1838)|1838 Mormon War]].
|authorsources=
Richard Lyman Bushman, ''Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 349-53.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===Life apart from the church===
===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
From 1838 to 1848, Cowdery put the Latter Day Saint church behind him. He may even have briefly denied his testimony regarding the [[Golden Plates]] because in 1841, the Mormon periodical ''[[Times and Seasons]]'' published the following verse: "Or does it prove there is no time,/Because some watches will not go?/...Or prove that Christ was not the Lord/Because that Peter cursed and swore?/Or Book of Mormon not His word/Because denied, by Oliver?"
|authorsources=
[http://www.centerplace.org/history/ts/v2n18.htm ''Times and Seasons'' 2: 482]
|response=
*{{WikipediaNPOV|editor=John Foxe|wikipedialink=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Cowdery&diff=165820252&oldid=165758195}}Oliver reaffirmed his testimony many times and never denied it. Yet, this one poem is given precedence in the Wikipedia article, being quoted in full. Where are some of the many quotes in which Oliver reaffirmed his testimony? Not one is included, yet the wiki editor includes an entire poem to support the idea that Oliver ''might'' have denied it.
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Recant}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Nevertheless, there is no direct evidence that Cowdery ever denied his testimony, and he repeated it even while estranged from the church.
|authorsources=
Stanley R. Gunn, ''Oliver Cowdery, Second Elder and Scribe'' (Salt Lake City, 1962).
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
*Oliver reaffirmed his testimony even on his deathbed:
<blockquote>
Oliver Cowdery just before breathing his last, asked his attendants to raise him up in bed that he might talk to the family and his friends, who were present. He then told them to live according to the teachings contained in the Book of Mormon, and promised them, if they would do this, that they would meet him in heaven. He then said, ‘Lay me down and let me fall asleep.’ A few moments later he died without a struggle.{{ref|cowdery3}}
</blockquote>
*{{Detail|Book of Mormon/Witnesses/Recant}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
Cowdery studied law and practiced at [[Tiffin, Ohio]], where he became a civic and political leader. He edited the local Democratic newspaper until it was learned that he was one of the Book of Mormon witnesses. He did not recant his testimony, but he was still able to become assistant editor. In 1846, Cowdery was nominated as his district's Democratic party candidate for the state senate, but when his Mormon background was discovered, he was defeated.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCITE}}
}}

===Final Latter Day Saint contacts===

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
After Joseph Smith was assassinated, Cowdery's brother Lyman recognized [[James J. Strang]] as Smith's successor to the [[President of the Church (Mormonism)|church presidency]], and in 1847, Oliver moved to [[Elkhorn, Wisconsin]] near Strang's headquarters in [[Voree, Wisconsin|Voree]] and entered law practice with his brother. He became co-editor of the ''Walworth County Democrat'' and in 1848 he ran for state assemblyman. However, his Mormon ties were once again discovered and he was defeated.
|response=
*{{WikipediaCITE}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
In 1848, Cowdery traveled to meet with followers of [[Brigham Young]] and the [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles|Quorum of the Twelve]] encamped at [[Winter Quarters, Nebraska]], and he asked to be reunited with the Church.
|authorsources=
"Brethren, for a number of years, I have been separated from you. I now desire to come back. I wish to come humble and be one in your midst. I seek no station. I only wish to be identified with you. I am out of the Church, but I wish to become a member. I wish to come in at the door; I know the door, I have not come here to seek precedence. I come humbly and throw myself upon the decision of the body, knowing as I do, that its decisions are right." Stanley R. Gunn, "Oliver Cowdery Second Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Division of Religion, Brigham Young University," (1942), 166, as cited in ''The Improvement Era'', 24, p. 620.)
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

===== =====
{{WikipediaPassage
|claim=
On November 12, 1848, Cowdery was rebaptized into [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] by [[Orson Hyde]] of the [[Quorum of the Twelve]] in Indian Creek at [[Kanesville, Iowa]]. Cowdery never again held high office in the church. He developed a respiratory illness, and on March 3, 1850, he died in [[David Whitmer|David Whitmer's]] home in [[Richmond, Missouri]].
|authorsources=
Of Cowdery's death, David Whitmer said: "Oliver died the happiest man I ever saw. After shaking hands with the family and kissing his wife and daughter, he said ‘Now I lay down for the last time; I am going to my Saviour’; and he died immediately with a smile on his face." (Stanley R. Gunn, Oliver Cowdery Second Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Division of Religion, Brigham Young University. (Stanley R. Gunn: 1942), 170-71, as cited in Mill, Star, XII, p. 207.)
|response=
*{{WikipediaCorrect}}
}}

==References==
*Gunn, Stanley R. ''Oliver Cowdery, Second Elder and Scribe''. [[Bookcraft]]: Salt Lake City, 1962. 250-51.
*Legg, Phillip R., ''Oliver Cowdery: The Elusive Second Elder of the Restoration'', [[Herald House]]: Independence, Missouri, 1989.
*Mehling, Mary, ''Cowdrey-Cowdery-Cowdray Genealogy'' p. 181, Frank Allaben: 1911.
*{{cite journal | author=Morris, Larry E. | title=Oliver Cowdery's Vermont Years and the Origins of Mormonism | journal=[[BYU Studies]] | volume=39 | year=2000 | pages=105 – 129 | url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/byustudies,4245 | format=[[PDF]] | accessdate=2009-06-23 | issue=1}}
*[[D. Michael Quinn|Quinn, D. Michael]], ''Early Mormonism and the Magic World View'', Revised and enlarged (Salt Lake City: [[Signature Books]], 1998), 36-39.
* [[Dan Vogel]], ed., ''Early Mormon Documents'' ''[EMD]'' (Salt Lake City: [[Signature Books]], 1998), five volumes.
*[[John W. Welch|Welch, John W.]] and Morris, Larry E., eds., ''Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness'' (Provo, UT: [[The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship]], 2006); ISBN 0842526617.

==Endnotes==
#{{note|cowdery3}} Andrew Jenson, ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'' (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History Company, 1901), 1:246.

Latter-day Saint Temples/Baptism for the dead

2010-11-21T01:04:57Z

KarenLyons:

{{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}}
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{{question}}

=={{Question label}}==

# What is baptism for the dead?
# Is there any evidence baptism for the dead is an authentic ancient Christian practice?

{{CriticalSources}}

==Subtopics==
*[[/Refusing|Refusing baptisms for the dead]]

=={{Answer label}}==

===What is baptism for the dead?===

Explained Elder G. Todd Christopherson:

:Christian theologians have long wrestled with the question, What is the destiny of the countless billions who have lived and died with no knowledge of Jesus?{{ref|fn1}} There are several theories concerning the “unevangelized” dead, ranging from an inexplicable denial of salvation, to dreams or other divine intervention at the moment of death, to salvation for all, even without faith in Christ. A few believe that souls hear of Jesus after death. None explain how to satisfy Jesus’ requirement that a man must be born of water and spirit to enter the kingdom of God (see {{s||John|3|3–5}}). Lacking the knowledge once had in the early Church, these earnest seekers have been “forced to choose between a weak law that [allows] the unbaptized to enter heaven, and a cruel God who [damns] the innocent.”{{ref|fn1a}}

:With the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ has come the understanding of how the unbaptized dead are redeemed and how God can be “a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” {{ref|fn2}}

:While yet in life, Jesus prophesied that He would also preach to the dead [see {{b||John|5|25}}]. Peter tells us this happened in the interval between the Savior’s Crucifixion and Resurrection [see {{b|1|Peter|3|18–19}}]...

:Some have misunderstood and suppose that deceased souls “are being baptised into the Mormon faith without their knowledge” {{ref|fn9}} or that “people who once belonged to other faiths can have the Mormon faith retroactively imposed on them.” {{ref|fn10}} They assume that we somehow have power to force a soul in matters of faith. Of course, we do not. God gave man his agency from the beginning. (See fn11) “The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,” {{ref|fn12}} but only if they accept those ordinances. The Church does not list them on its rolls or count them in its membership.

:Our anxiety to redeem the dead, and the time and resources we put behind that commitment, are, above all, an expression of our witness concerning Jesus Christ. It constitutes as powerful a statement as we can make concerning His divine character and mission. It testifies, first, of Christ’s Resurrection; second, of the infinite reach of His Atonement; third, that He is the sole source of salvation; fourth, that He has established the conditions for salvation; and, fifth, that He will come again. {{ref|gtc2}}

==Ancient roots==
There is considerable evidence that some early Christians and some Jewish groups performed proxy ordinance work for the salvation of the dead. The most obvious of these is {{b|1|Corinthians|15|29}}:

:Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

Attempts to shrug this off as a reference by Paul to a practice he does not condone but only uses to support the doctrine of the resurrection are indefensible. Paul's statement makes no sense unless the practice was valid and the saints in Corinth knew it. This is easily demonstrated if we just imagine a young Protestant, who doubts the resurrection, who goes to his pastor with his problem. The pastor answers him, saying, "But what about the Mormons who baptize for the dead? If the dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead?" You know what the young doubter would say. He would say, "Pastor, they're Mormons! What's your point?"

In fact, we know that baptism for the dead was practiced for a long time in the early church. As John A. Tvedtnes has noted:

:... historical records are clear on the matter. Baptism for the dead was performed by the dominant church until forbidden by the sixth canon of the Council of Carthage in A.D. 397. Some of the smaller sects, however, continued the practice. Of the Marcionites of the fourth century, Epiphanius wrote:

:“In this country—I mean Asia—and even in Galatia, their school flourished eminently and a traditional fact concerning them has reached us, that when any of them had died without baptism, they used to baptize others in their name, lest in the resurrection they should suffer punishment as unbaptized.” (''Heresies'', 8:7.){{ref|tvedtnes2}}

Thus, baptism for the dead was banned about four hundred years after Christ by the church councils. Latter-day Saints would see this as an excellent example of the [[apostasy]]—church councils altering doctrine and practice that was accepted at an earlier date.

Tvedtnes continues:

:In early Judaism, too, there is an example of ordinances being performed in behalf of the dead. Following the battle of Marisa in 163 B.C., it was discovered that each of the Jewish soldiers killed in the fight had been guilty of concealing pagan idols beneath his clothing. In order to atone for their wrong, Judas Maccabaeus, the Jewish high priest and commander, collected money from the survivors to purchase sacrificial animals for their dead comrades:

:“And when he had made a gathering throughout the company to the sum of two thousand drachmas of silver, he sent it to Jerusalem to offer a sin offering, doing therein very well and honestly, in that he was mindful of the resurrection: for if he had not hoped that they that were slain should have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. And also in that he perceived that there was great favour laid up for those that died godly, it was an holy and good thought. Whereupon he made a reconciliation for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin.” (2 Maccabees 12:43–46.){{ref|tvedtnes2}}

=={{Conclusion label}}==

As one Church leader noted:

:The principle of vicarious service should not seem strange to any Christian. In the baptism of a living person, the officiator acts, by proxy, in place of the Savior. And is it not the central tenet of our faith that Christ’s sacrifice atones for our sins by vicariously satisfying the demands of justice for us? As President Gordon B. Hinckley has expressed: “I think that vicarious work for the dead more nearly approaches the vicarious sacrifice of the Savior Himself than any other work of which I know. It is given with love, without hope of compensation, or repayment or anything of the kind. What a glorious principle.”{{ref|dtc1}}

=={{Endnotes label}}==
#{{note|fn1}}John Sanders, introduction to ''What about Those Who Have Never Heard? Three Views on the Destiny of the Unevangelized'', by Gabriel Fackre, Ronald H. Nash, and John Sanders (1995), 9.
#{{note|fn1a}}{{Nibley4_1|start=101}}
#{{note|fn2}}{{s||Alma|42|15}}
#{{note|fn9}} See Ben Fenton, “Mormons Use Secret British War Files ‘to Save Souls,’ ” ''The Telegraph'' (London), 15 Feb. 1999.
#{{note|fn10}} Greg Stott, “Ancestral Passion,” ''Equinox'' (April/May 1998): 45.
#{{note|fn12}} {{S||DC|138|58}}.
#{{note|gtc2}} {{Ensign1|article=The Redemption of the Dead and the Testimony of Jesus|author=D. Todd Christofferson|date=November 2000|start=9}}{{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/2000.htm/ensign%20november%202000.htm/the%20redemption%20of%20the%20dead%20and%20the%20testimony%20of%20jesus.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0}} (Footnotes have in places been integrated into the main text; citation for has been slightly modified.
#{{note|tvedtnes1}}{{Ensign1|author=John A. Tvedtnes|article=Proxy Baptism|date=February 1977|start=86}}{{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1977.htm/ensign%20february%201977.htm/insights.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0#LPTOC7}}
#{{note|tvedtnes2}}{{Ensign1|author=John A. Tvedtnes|article=Proxy Baptism|date=February 1977|start=86}}{{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1977.htm/ensign%20february%201977.htm/insights.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0#LPTOC7}}
#{{note|dtc1}} {{Ensign1|article=The Redemption of the Dead and the Testimony of Jesus|author=D. Todd Christofferson|date=November 2000|start=9}}; citing “Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” ''Ensign'' (Jan. 1998): 73. {{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/2000.htm/ensign%20november%202000.htm/the%20redemption%20of%20the%20dead%20and%20the%20testimony%20of%20jesus.htm?fn=document-frame.htm&f=templates&2.0}}

=={{Further reading label}}==

==={{FAIR wiki articles label}}===
{{BaptismDeadWiki}}
{{TempleWiki}}

==={{FAIR web site label}}===
{{BaptismDeadFAIR}}
{{TempleFAIR}}

==={{External links label}}===
{{BaptismDeadLinks}}
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==={{Printed material label}}===
{{BaptismDeadPrint}}
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[[de:Taufe_für_die_Toten]]

[[fr:Temples/Baptism for the dead]]

Journal of Discourses/9/65

2010-11-21T01:03:37Z

KarenLyons:

{{header2
| title = [[../../]]
| author = Brigham Young
| noauthor=
| section=[[../|Volume 9]], CONTRAST BETWEEN THE RELIGION OF JESUS CHRIST AS ENJOYED BY THE SAINTS AND THAT OF PROFESSED CHRISTIANITY
| previous=[[../64|The Kingdom of God]]
| next=[[../66|Necessity of the Living Oracles Among the Saints Exhortation to Obedience to Counsel]]
| notes=Remarks by President BRIGHAM YOUNG, Bowery, July 6, 1862. REPORTED BY G. D. WATT.
(Online document scan [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/JournalOfDiscourses3&CISOPTR=9605&REC=9 ''Journal of Discourses'', Volume 9])
}}

{{page break|318|top}}
The religion of Jesus Christ gives light for darkness. The Gospel we have received is sent "to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." The life of a Christian is said to be full of pain, tribulation, sorrow, and excruciating torments; of fightings without and fears within, of anxieties, despair, gloominess, and mourning. His path is supposed to be spread with gins, pitfalls, and incertainties, but this is a mistake, for "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day," while the wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips, but the just shall come out of trouble."

The faith I have embraced has given me light for darkness, ease for pain; joy and gladness for sorrow and mourning, certainty for uncertainty, hope for despair. We talk about having grace to endure, and pray, "O Lord, give me grace to endure the pains I receive in this thorny path that leads to heaven, the scoffs and sneers of this unfriendly world, that I may bear the name of Jesus honourably while I live." It is right to pray for grace, but let me shape this prayer a little differently, and ask God my heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to open the eyes of my understanding, and teach me the truth as it is, then shall I see that I am walking in the light and not in darkness. "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The true people of God are far removed from that pain which the sinner and the ungodly constantly endure. They are removed from it as a people politically, and as families, and as individuals. Compare, for instance, the colonial history of the United States with the history of the settling of the wild and desolate regions of Utah by the Latter-day Saints, and you will learn that the sufferings of the first settlers here from Indian outrages and other causes, will scarcely supply enough for a comparison. And whole companies of emigrants to California and Oregon have been massacred, their flesh given to wild animals, and their bones left to bleach upon the plains. Almost fifteen years ago one hundred and forty-six souls started from Winter Quarters (now Florence) to settle in this Valley. We arrived herein safety, stayed thirty days, returned the same season, and {{page break|319|top}} not a single person was lost by the way. If any of our company was taken sick, there were a hundred prayers ascending to God for the recovery of that sick person. How is it with gold-hunters? Do they pray for their sick, and administer to them by the laying on of hands? No, they do not believe in any such thing, but the sick suffer and die. When any among us were taken sick we laid hands upon them and they were healed. I was told, on one occasion, by one of the camp, that Br. Taft had the mountain fever and could not live till morning; we dipped him seven times in the river, and the next day he was comparatively well.

Oh! what a great sorrow it is to be a Saint. How mournful the thought, when we contemplate the contrast between the Saint and the sinner? We have ease for pain, comfortable health for sickness, joy for mourning and light for darkness. "This is all very good," says one, "but your religion is so unpopular in the world." There is not another religion so popular as this in the courts of heaven. Without the garb of a Saint you cannot be admitted to the presence of the Father, and to Jesus, the Mediator between God and man. No religion is popular there but the religion of the Bible. Episcopalianism, Methodism, Quakerism, Catholicism, Prespyterianism [Presbyterianism], and all their collateral branches are unpopular in the celestial kingdom of God, while the religion of Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the patriarchs and prophets, Jesus and his Apostles, is the only acknowledged and popular system of religion with the sanctified ones in the presence of the Father and the Son. "But," says a Presbyterian, "Abraham was a polygamist." He was. "And you say that his religion is popular in heaven." It is the only religion acknowledged there. I have not time now to dwell upon all the points of Abraham's faith, but he did believe in a plurality of wives, and was a practical polygamist. And Paul says, "and if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Did Abraham believe in Presbyterianism? Not much. Did he believe in Quakerism? Not much. Each of the different sects of religion has some truth, and so far as they have the truth so far did Abraham believe. But is the religion of any one of the sects, as a whole, the religion of heaven? It is not. We all desire to join the popular party. Light, truth, and intelligence are the side that is popular with the heavens, and the side that will rule, govern, and control the nations. If we join that society we then all become popular with the popular party. Some people will render themselves ridiculously conspicuous on purpose to become popular. Their desire for popularity or notoriety is so great that they will not hesitate to do a mean act to gain it. The great majority want to be on the strongest, wealthiest, and most popular side, and to be connected with that family which is possessed of immense wealth, influence, and power. Many of my brethren of the Elders of Israel rise up here to speak to the people, and they cannot give utterance to their ideas. What is the matter? They are fearful of making a slight mistake in their language, which they think would make them unpopular. I wish they were as I am in this respect, and did not care what people may think or say, but pour out what the Holy Ghost shall give them to say, regardless of consequences. We all want to be on the side that will produce the most safety, the most joy, and the most sterling happiness. I can say, without fear of successful contradiction {{page break|320|top}} that the man or woman who believes that the religion of Jesus leads into a thorny path, does not understand nor enjoy the true religion of heaven.

We can say to all the world that the persecution which the Latter-day Saints have received, and the misery they may have suffered in consequence thereof, will not begin to compare with the misery and real suffering they are now receiving in the United States in consequence of war. In Missouri our bleeding feet stained the prairies, but now they are shedding each others blood to curdle and bake in the sun, or to be licked up by dogs and wild animals, while their flesh is given to vultures and wolves. We were invited to sign away our property to pay the expenses of our persecutors, and we were permitted, as a body, to take away as much of our moveable property as we could; but now the Secessionists are robbed and pillaged without mercy, their houses are burned over their heads, their barns are destroyed, their food and clothing are taken, and the women and children are left without anything to eat, drink, or wear, while their husbands, fathers, and brothers are either killed or taken prisoners. In the same manner the Secession party fall upon the Federals or Union-men, and whip them, rob them, and hang them up at their own doors and in the presence of their families. Then comes a third party who are called May-walkers or Jayhawkers, but more properly they are bucanneers or land-pirates, and they rob everybody that is left after the Union and Secession parties have done their worst. Have we ever suffered like that? I think not. When they come across a small settlement of Secessionists they plunder and destroy it, and when they come across a hamlet of Unionists they serve it in the same manner. Did the Latter-day Saints ever see such times? They never did. They never suffered anything in comparison to what the people in many of the States are now suffering.

It is right the brethren and sisters should have grace to sustain them in doing right, and it is right they should pray for it, but I would rather they possessed good sound common sense to begin with and know what to do with the grace of God when they received it.

I never try any other way to please people only by pleasing myself and my God. If I can please God I can please myself; then I care very little whether anybody else is pleased or not, because if they are pleased with God and godliness they will be pleased with me. When Elders preach or lecture among the Saints or to the world, if they do so to satisfy themselves they have done well. When you have pleased yourselves it is very probable that you have pleased human beings like yourselves.

When journeying the Saints organize as perfectly as they can for safe and comfortable travelling. We appoint one man to this duty, another to that, and every man attends to his duty. If a waggon is broken the captain at once arranges to have it put into travelling order. If there is a sick person in the camp, he either goes himself or details somebody to administer to the sick by anointing with oil, laying on of hands, and prayer. Perhaps a sister is fainting by the way; she is worn out; the journey is too much for her. The captain procures for her such nourishment as can be found in camp, to give her strength and ability to endure the further fatigues of the journey; doing everything he can to restore the sick to sound health, and giving them all possible comfort and aid. Is there the same care and fellow feeling manifested in the trains of emigrants who are passing over {{page break|321|top}} the country in search of gold? Each person is seeking to better his condition, and they have no interest that extends further than self. It is with them as with the man that prayed, "O Lord, bless me, my wife, my son John and his wife, we four, no more. Amen" They are for themselves, and not for the kingdom of God. They know that the world is going to destruction. They see the whole world in confusion—one party seeking to destroy another in the vain hope of building themselves up. The present Government of the United States is self-destroying as they are now proving.

If there is one class of persons on earth who need comfort more than another, it is both the poor and rich who will not serve God. Those who serve him are comforted all the day long; they walk in the light of his salvation, dwell under the smiles of his countenance, and the works of their hands are abundantly prospered. Still some apostatize from all this light—from this great salvation—to get gold. The reason of this is not because they have to suffer so much for their religion, but because they have not enough good common sense. What is the grace of God? Who can define it? You say it is the favour of God. If you had good common sense, you never would be out of his favour. He is the Father of our spirits—the Great Ruler of the Universe. If we had enough common sense to understand things as they are, we certainly would choose to serve him, and be on the strongest side.

Do we intend to make our final abode in hell, or in heaven? If we mean to be in heaven we must become faithful Latter-day Saints; if in hell, we may be anything we please, no matter what I profess to be a Latter-day Saint. I believe that the Old and New Testaments were given by the inspiration of God, and since much adulterated by uninspired translators, which makes it necessary for one to have the Spirit of revelation from God to read and understand them. I believe the doctrine that the Lord taught to Adam in the garden, and that Adam taught to his children, that Enoch taught to his city three hundred and sixty-five years, preparing a people to go into the presence of God the Father. I believe the doctrine taught by Noah, who was instructed of God to build an ark to save himself and family from destruction in the great flood. I believe the doctrine Abraham taught, that Isaac, Jacob and the Patriarchs taught. I believe all the doctrine Moses taught to be the word of the Lord. I believe in the law of carnal commandments as he did; it was for them, and not for us. It was a yoke placed upon their necks because of their disobedience to the higher law of the Gospel. Jesus Christ removed that yoke, and told them to follow the law of the Gospel. Some Christians throw away all the Old Testament except some portions of the Prophets; but Moses had the Gospel; Jethro had the Gospel, and the house of Jacob were urged to receive it, but they would not; so the Lord told Moses to give them a law of carnal commandments that would be grievous for them to bear.

The people generally would not have the revelations which the Lord delivered to Joseph Smith, unless he would give them a law of carnal commandments like that which he gave to the children of Israel, and how long was it before they were in conversation with the spirit world, being led to destruction by strong delusion which God sent them, because they would not receive the truth? "And when they say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that {{page break|322|top}} mutter; should not a people seek unto their God?" They would not receive revelations from God, but, as they were told, God suffered them to have revelations that they would believe, that they might believe lies and be damned. Moses tried to give the children of Israel the law of the Gospel, but they would not receive it. The Gospel was revealed in those days, as much so as in the days of Christ and his Apostles. They had the Melchisedec Priesthood, and were entitled to all the promises and blessings then as in the days of the Apostles.

When Jesus came to preach the will of his Father, he came to his own, but they would not receive him. He said to them, "I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do that which ye have seen with your Father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, if ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not. Abraham." The Jews wanted to make laws to guide God and his children. They believed many of the doctrines that Abraham believed and taught. They practised polygamy, as did Abraham, the Patriarchs, Moses, David, and the Prophets down to the days of the Apostles.

Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of Heaven among men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman empire. That empire was founded on the banks of the Tiber by wandering brigands. When these robbers founded the city of Rome, it was evident to them that their success in attaining a balance of power with their neighbours, depended upon introducing females into their body politic, so they stole them from the Sabines, who were near neighbours. The scarcity of women gave existence to laws restricting one wife to one man. Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced this order of monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged. Thus this monogamic order of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers.

The Congress of the United States have lately passed a law to punish polygamy in the Territories of the United States and in other places over which they have exclusive jurisdiction. In doing this, they have undertaken to dictate the Almighty in his revelations to his people, and those who handle edged tools, unless they are skillful, are apt to cut their fingers; and those who hand out insult to the Great I Am, in the end, are apt to get more than they have spoken for.

Why do we believe in and practise polygamy? Because the Lord introduced it to his servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and the Lord's servants have always practiced it. "And is that religion popular in heaven?" It is the only popular religion there, for this is the religion of Abraham, and, unless we do the works of Abraham, we are not Abraham's seed and heirs according to promise. We believe in Jesus Christ the Mediator of the new covenant, who has introduced the Gospel for the benefit of the human family, to happily, exalt and glorify them in the presence of the Father, not to make them miserable, not to torture them, nor cause them to walk in the gloomy path of grief all their days. We rejoice in this Gospel, it is all glory, hallelujah, peace and comfort. We believe in following the admonitions and instructions of the ancient Prophets and Apostles, {{page break|323|top}} and of all good men in this our day.

I do not make these remarks to cast reflections upon any being, but we should strive to know the mind and will of God and to be filled with his Spirit. I wish the Saints to be filled with the Spirit of understanding; and I never want to again hear a, Saint say, "Oh, how we suffer for the religion of Jesus! We suffer more than the wicked, while at the same time, we are better clad, better fed and better looking, and our hearts are filled with joy, while the hearts of the wicked are filled with sorrow and mourning. All the cheerfulness, gladness, comfort, exuberance of spirit, joy, bliss peace and brightness of expression that can be bestowed upon individuals are possessed and enjoyed by the sanctified in heaven, and if we are prepared by the principles of eternal life, the same halo will shine through our countenance and make our faces bright with glory.

Whatever leads to vanity, lightness, and worldly-mindedness is not the joy of heavenly beings, but the nonsense of the wicked world. There are men in this kingdom who cannot discriminate between that which is of God and that which is not of him, and who are at a loss to know how far to go and not sin. The very moment you have a doubt upon your mind that what you do is not exactly right, then stop and pursue that course which you know is right, and in which you can enjoy the clear, warm, cheering, peaceful influence which cometh from God as an earnest that you are doing right, then shall you be blessed in all your works here below, and fill up your days in use fulness. I heard a man say, the other day, who is in the evening of his days, that if he had never done much good, he had never done any evil that he knew of God will receive all such in the heavens, when they put off this mortality.

I feel to bless and not curse. Had I the power I would rather avert an evil that I saw coming upon any individual or people, and see them lead into the path of blessings, though it should cause my words to fail.

May God bless you. Amen.

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