Correspondence.

Auckland Star, Volume X, Issue 3081, 5 March 1880, Page 4

Correspondence.

MORMON INFAMIES,

To the Editor.

Sif,—As many people may not be awara of the marty-timevexposed frauds of M or . monism, I forward you an extract from v lecture delivered in Birmingham, which demonstrates from the mouths of the so. called "prophets and apostles" how the infamies of Mormoiiism. were gradually developed, how polygamy was deuied and anathematised until it could no longer be concealed, and was then justified, and how such diabolical acts as the seduction 0 [ honeat men's wives arc recognised rather as a meritorious religious act than othev. wise.—Yours, etc., Axti-Polygamy.

"In the next place we affirm that the Mormon Church is not the one church, or sect, of which Jesus ia the Head and Lord In proof of this it is not requisite to say much. Most of you know what Mormonism i«. There arc, however, thousands who yield themselves to this delusion, and some few of them now present But after all may not the Mormon church be the true church? 1! not-why not? Because-i It is built upon the foundation of inodera apostles and prophet?, who have been, by Mormon testimony, piO7ed liarp.-2. The Mormon church does not believe in theGoct of the Bible.—3. They legalise immorality Let us briefly notice these charges.

"1. Their apostles and prophets are proved liars. " Joseph Smith claimed to have received: the Book of Mormon by i'crtelation, but it > is proved a ro'iianco written by one Spalding. Smith claimed to translate the golden plates by supernatural aid, and to prove his having and translating these plates he calk certain witnesses. Now with this credibility of these men the system stands or falls. The Book of Mormon, which I have carefully read, contains a statement signed by eight witnesses, to the effect that the plates were shown to them by Smith, But this is pretty much a family affair, inasmuch as they c insist of three Smiths' four Whitmere, and one Page, a relation to Smith. Nearly the whole of them subsequently left the Mormons. These witnesses only testify that Joseph showed them the plates. But the same page con. tains a more important attestation fciguedby Henry Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, who say—'We declare with the words of sobenies?, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and lie brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates and the engravings thereon." Now, if an angel thus brought the plates from heaven, then Mor. monism is true. Here are three witnesses to a simple matter of fact. They knew whether it was so or not. Were these men honest ? is our only question. Well, Joseph Smith himself and the Mormons : know more about them than we can know. : Cowdeiy left the Mormons some time after, and before his departure Joseph seems to have discovered that he was not to be ■ trusted with money, and therefore,. in ; November, 1831, he obtained this revelation :—' Hearken unto me, saith the Lord your God, for my servant Oliver Conderv's saki. It is not wisdom in me that he be entrusted with the commands- and the moneys which he fhall carry into the land oE Zion, except one go with him who will be true and faithful.' Whitmer is nextou t\e list. Wbat ot him ? In June, 1838, a - paper was published, signed by 84 Mor. mons, from which these words are cited;— ' Oliver Cowdery, Daniel Whitmer, and L. E. Johnson, are united with a gang of counterfeiters, thieve, liars, and blacklegs of the deepest dye, to deceive, cheat, and defraud the saints out of their property, by every art and stratagem which wickedness could invent—even stealing not excepted.1 Very respectable witnesses truly I Likely men for angels to visit! But Harris is r.ofc accounted tor. lie surely will stand fia test. Joseph Smith, in the EM^/s Journal,, says—' There are negroes who wear white skins, as well as those who wear black ones. G. Fan ish and a few others, such as, Martin Harris, Joseph Cor, etc., but they : are as far beneath contempt, that a notice ; of them would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman to make.' So much for ths prophet-witnesses and early apostles ot Mormonisni. " 2. The Mormons believe not in the God*

of the Bible. " With us there is but one God—Tvboisa' Spirit—and they who worship him nrast' worship him iv spirit and in truth. TheS Mormon pod lias been gradually developed, I In tbeir Star (vol. vi., p. 21-2) we read-*-1 ' What is God ? He is a material organized^ intelligence, possessing both body and * parts. He is in the form of man, and is in ' fact of the same species. . . This being cannot occupy two distinct places at once,', therefore he cannot be everywhere present' In the fame periodical (vol. ix,, p. 24) m - read :—' To our branch of the kingdom . there is but one God, to whom we owe the:! most perfect submisFion and loyalty; yet] our God is just as subject to higher intel- $ licence as we should be to him.' In the'Millennail Star, No. 48, 1553, is a specimen;, of pure blasphemy in the form of a retela- ' tion. ' Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, saints and sinners!,■ When our futker Adam came into the./ Garden of Eden, he came into it with a I celestial body, and brought Eve, ouc of Ms wives, wi'ii him. He helped to make and:.-! organize this world. He is Michael, the * Archangel, the Ancient of Days, about" whom holy men have written anil spoken.) He is our Father and our God, and the I only God with whom we have to do.' Tins | if a sinful man—the one who brought fin and death into the world—placed upon the I throne of God, and Ho, {he Creator of all ( things, is turned adrift! ' Adam h tyie ■ only God we have to do with I' iurely ','>' these are latter-day sinners of the deepest j dye — the master-piece of hell is here I This, too, under cover of tb.e name of ' Christ!

" 3. They lcg.iliza immorality. " How so ? By making marriage and idivorce easy to auy extent that lust may - plead for. They begin early enough. We have seen that Eve was one of Adam'i, wires. Hear a few words frTn the Patriarchal Order, or Plurality of I Viva, by Elder' Orson Spencer -.—'Did Jesus Christ haves wifeiuhisresuiroctedstate?-Yes.' 'DidJcsns. Christ have any children, or will lie bare? —Yes : Isaih says, he shall see his seel' ' Had God, the f»ther of our Lord Jests Christ, a wife?-Yes. . . .' "May we not infer from this that more women than men will be saved?— Yes. Hence some men must have more than one," seeing that neither sex can bo in Clirist, without the other.' . . . ' What reward have men who have faith to forsake theit ; r3bellioi s and unbelieving wives in order to obey the commandments of God?—An hundred fold of wives in this world, and eternal life in the next.' Then tbeyteaca that 'it is the sole prerogative of God to appoint men to officiate in the ceremony of marriage.' The only men thus appointed fire the Mormon priesthood, and therefore you, in this country, who are otherwise mariicd aic living in fornication, and its young wife becomes a Latter-day Saint thi-ra is no reason why she should not give up her sinful connection with her lawtnl husband, and go oil" as the first or twenty-' iiisl, wife of the first Elder w!io may, fora few mouth", fancy licr romnny. ThU" system, they insist,' will üb.ilis-h formication and adultery. No doubt of it, for having made legal' the lustfnl irregularities now represented by those terms, and proclaimed them religious, they of course, in their estimation, cease to exist as crime and sin. " But this one doctrine supplies ample proof of gross imposition. The Book « Mormon records (jiod's severe displeasure against polygamy. But when that w published Smith had not conceived the idea of gratifying his lust in this direction. When Miss Brorherton escaiel trom ins clutches and made known attempts.» seduce, under the plea of revelation concerning spiritual wives, her statemenLw denounced as a vile fabrication. . >VneP others affirmed like things, the Mormonselders and prophets included— throughoutthis country called Heaven to witnessitliai no such doctrine was held—that the chart* was a base slander from the father of lies. The paper by Orson Spencer, fronr win«ni have read these vile extracts, promising to • man a hundred wives as a reward « leaving his one lawful partner, was pliolished in. Liverpool in 1853. But their book of revelations, called The Book oj Latrines and Covenants, published by Ur6oJj: Pratt in 1849, declares that, "Inasmuch" this church of Christ has been rcpioacliea with the crime of fornication and polygaiuj , we declare that we believe that one nw» should have one wife, and one woman »«• one husband, except iv case of death, wni either party is at liberty to marry agawThey designate polygamy a '^J^ say the church is slandered when cttar»» with it. It thus appears that the v prophets were the enemies of Mormonunu' for they made known to the woria » belonging to that system the evils wnn apostles and prophets then denounced » crimes, but which three years Mtcrw they defended and sustaiued by com revelations from heaven."