That I may not be thought to overstate the unreliability of anti-Mormon literature, I make an excerpt from a book written by Mr. Phil Robinson, called _Sinners and Saints_. [1] Mr. Robinson came to Utah in 1882 as a special correspondent of _The New York World,_ and stayed in Utah some five or six months, making "Mormonism" and the Latter-day Saints a special study. On the untrustworthiness of the literature in question, he says: "Whence have the public derived their opinions about Mormonism? From anti-Mormons only. I have ransacked the literature of the subject, and yet I really could not tell anyone where to go for an impartial book about Mormonism later in date than Burton's 'City of the Saints,' published in 1862. * * * But put Burton on one side, and I think I can defy any one to name another book about the Mormons worthy of honest respect. From that truly _awful_ book, 'The History of the Saints,' published by one Bennett (even an anti-Mormon has styled him 'the greatest rascal that ever came to the West,') in 1842, down to Stenhouse's in 1873, there is not to my knowledge a single Gentile work before the public that is not utterly unreliable from its distortion of facts. Yet it is from these books--for there are no others--that the American public has acquired nearly all its ideas about the people of Utah." It may be asked why have not the Saints themselves written books refuting the misrepresentations of their detractors, and giving correct information about themselves and their religion. To that inquiry there are several answers. One is that they _have_ made the attempt. Perhaps not on a sufficiently extensive scale. They may not have appreciated fully the importance of doing so; but chiefly the reason they have not published more books in their own defense, and have not been more solicitous about refuting slanders published against them, is because of the utter impossibility of getting a hearing. The people to whom they appealed were hopelessly prejudiced against them. Their case was prejudged and they themselves condemned before a hearing could be had. These were the disadvantages under which they labored; and how serious such disadvantages are, only those know who have felt the cruel tyranny of prejudice. Now, however, there seems to be a change in the tide of their affairs. Prejudice has somewhat subsided. There is in various quarters indications of a willingness to hear what accredited representatives of the "Mormon" faith may have to say in its behalf. It is this circumstance that has induced the author to present for the consideration of his fellow-men this work, which is written, however, not with a view of defending the character of the Latter-day Saints, but to set forth the message that "Mormonism" has to proclaim to the world, and point out the evidences of divine inspiration in him through whom that message was delivered.