| 404 was published in the Restorer, volume 1, page 101. Elder Briggs writes of it as follows:-
"In pursuance of our duties to teach truth and escape error, on arriving in Birmingham, learning that Mr. Orson Pratt, the champion of polygamy and chief expounder of celestial marriage, was in town, we addressed to him the following letter:-
"Mr. Orson Pratt; Dear Sir.-A sense of duty, the love of truth, and good will to my fellow man, prompt me in addressing you these lines. I have been for more than twenty three years a believer in the system of doctrines taught by Joseph Smith, and most of that time have been engaged in promulgating that faith; and believing that the system taught by the Salt Lake people is a corruption and perversion of the truth; that its leaders, acting without authority from God, are leading thousands into sin, spiritual and temporal bondage, social and moral degradation and crime; and as you are a prominent representative of this system, I invite you to come forward in a public manner, and defend certain leading doctrines held by your people: 1. That Adam 'is the only God with whom we have to do.' 2. That polygamy is an integral part of the gospel of salvation. 3. That the Salt Lake Valley is the place of Zion. 4. That Brigham Young is the successor of Joseph Smith in the Presidency of the Church.
"All of the above I emphatically deny. And if these are false, your system is false; and if they are true, there are, perhaps, none among you more competent to defend them than yourself. 'Prove all things, hold fast that which is good,' has been your motto; it is mine still. The motto in use at the Salt Valley, 'Do as you are told, asking no questions,' and 'uphold your President, right or wrong,' is an insult to every honest and religious man. Or if you choose, I will affirm that the acknowledgment of Adam as our God and Father in heaven is idolatry; that polygamy is an abomination in the sight of God; that Utah is not the place of Zion; that Brigham Young is an impostor and a son of perdition; and, lastly, that Joseph Smith, the son of Joseph Smith, Senior, is the true successor of his father in
(page 404) |
