The Life of John Taylor: Third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SaintsRoberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
History
The Life of John Taylor: Third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Latter Day Saint churches; Taylor, John, 1808-1887
This was no attempt to justify the practice of one evil by pointing to
the existence of another; but to remind them of the fact that even if
Mormon polygamy was as bad as they represented it to be, there were
evils infinitely worse rotting and festering in their very midst, and
which they sought in vain to ignore, as they met them at every street
corner, flaunted in their public highways, and were disgustingly
placarded on their walls; while the victims thereof filled their poor
houses, shrieked out their madness in their asylums, lay slowly rotting
in their hospitals or sought relief in self-destruction. He referred
to these things to show up the hypocrisy of a generation that could
live in the midst of such social corruption, without an effort to check
its ravages; and at the same time pretend to be horrified at supposed
social evils existing in distant Utah. In this he further resembled
Tertullian, of whom it is said, that being arraigned as a criminal at
the bar, he accused and condemned his judges.
But while he uncovered for an instant the corruptions of monogamous
Christian communities, in order to reprove their hypocrisy, he by no
means regarded that exposure as a defense of plural marriage. His
defense of that doctrine he based upon the sanction which Almighty
God gave to it, as clearly demonstrated in holy writ; upon well known
physiological facts; upon moral and social necessities, and his defense
was unassailable.
While he was in New York a number of plans were suggested for the
overthrow of Mormonism. Among the more humane ones was that of the
American Bible Society, which proposed flooding the settlements of Utah
with Bibles, being under the impression, doubtless, that the Mormon
people did not accept the Bible as the word of God. Hearing of the
project Elder Taylor called at the office of the society and offered
his assistance in the enterprise, urging them to send well bound books,
and gave them the following advice through _The Mormon_:
"Our mountaineers never do things by halves or for appearance; if they
carry Bibles they mean to use them; they'll read them frequently and
thoroughly, too. We have a Bible that has kept us company many years
on our pilgrimage through life; it has dangled in our pockets many a
thousand miles, when, for the gospel's sake, we have visited towns,
cities and hamlets. We have had to patch it together frequently, and
in fact our friend has got so covered over with our own notes and
references, that a white spot is scarcely discernible. We would,
therefore, respectfully suggest to the managers of the American Bible
Society--if they propose doing real good to the inhabitants of Utah in
the Bible line--do it, gentlemen, respectably, for the inhabitants of
that Territory will probably use them as we have ours."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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