Ben Crowder <crowderb@blankslate.net> http://www.blankslate.net/lang/etexts.php This etext was originally transcribed into Palm format by Rick Owen <rickowen@yahoo.com>. Reformatted for Project Gutenberg by Ben Crowder <crowderb@blankslate.net> THE STORY OF "MORMONISM" And THE PHILOSOPHY OF "MORMONISM" By James E. Talmage, D. Sc., F. R. S. E. PREFACE _The Story of "Mormonism"_ as presented in the following pages is a revised and reconstructed version of lectures delivered by Dr. James E. Talmage at the University of Michigan, Cornell University, and elsewhere. The "Story" first appeared in print as a lecture report in the _Improvement Era_, and was afterward issued as a booklet from the office of the _Millennial Star_, Liverpool. In 1910 it was issued in a revised form by the Bureau of Information at Salt Lake City, in which edition the lecture style of direct address was changed to the ordinary form of essay. The present or third American edition has been revised and amplified by the author. The "Story" has been translated and published abroad. Already versions have appeared in Swedish, modern Greek, and Russian. The subject matter of _The Philosophy of "Mormonism"_ was first presented as a lecture delivered by Dr. Talmage before the Philosophical Society of Denver. It appeared later in the columns of the _Improvement Era_, and translations have been published in pamphlet form in the Danish and German languages. The present publication of these two productions is made in response to a steady demand. THE PUBLISHERS. Salt Lake City, Utah, March, 1914. THE STORY OF "MORMONISM" CHAPTER I In the minds of many, perhaps of the majority of people, the scene of the "Mormon" drama is laid almost entirely in Utah; indeed, the terms "Mormon question" and "Utah question" have been often used interchangeably. True it is, that the development of "Mormonism" is closely associated with the history of the long-time Territory and present State of Utah; but the origin of the system must be sought in regions far distant from the present gathering-place of the Latter-day Saints, and at a period antedating the acquisition of Utah as a part of our national domain.