Mormon History
Inflammatory Mormon Elder's Journal - 1838
Elder’s Journal
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.
Far West, Mo., August 1838
"Argument to argument where
I find it;
Ridicule to ridicule; and scorn to scorn."
We are not in the habit of noticing the many
libellous publications which are abroad in the world, designed to injure our
character. We generally let the authors and publishers of lies, take their own
course, relying at all times on the righteousness of our cause and the integrity
of our course in the sight of God, our heavenly father, and feel disposed at the
present time to pursue this as our general course. Indeed we have felt to pity
the poor priests and their satellites, seeing they had no better weapons to work
with than lies, a great majority of which they made themselves, but some were
catered for them by men of like passions with themselves.
We have always been assured of this, that if they had any better weapons to have
used against us, they would have used them, but as they have not, it would
surely be wrong to deprive them of the best resort they have. And we feel the
more willing to do this, inasmuch as we have no fear of their efforts doing any
injury. They have been employed at it, for eight years, making and publishing
all kinds of lies, till one would be ready to think, that the very prince of
devils himself, had by this time got wearied, and would certainly be ready, to
sneak back to his smutty kennel, and there seek repose. But instead of this, at
the appearance of every new liar, not only the prince himself, but all the
flunkies that fly at his knell, whether in the flesh or out of the flesh, take
new courage, and put forth new efforts; and it would seem that they really
believe, that by the assistance of a few more liars, they will be able to
dethrone Jehovah, and upset his kingdom; and with Satan at their head, establish
an empire that shall forever defy the Son of God, and so completely destroy the
Zion of the last days, that he never will come down and reign, in Mount Zion and
in Jerusalem and before His ancients gloriously.
Poor simpletons! They do not know that he who sits in the heavens is laughing at
them, that he has them in derision, and that after he has let them foam out
their own shame, and completely work out their own damnation, that he will speak
to them in his wrath and vex them in his displeasure; and that when his wrath is
but a little kindled, they will perish!
If we did not know, that the people of this generation love lies more than the
truth, or at least a great many of them, it would be a matter of some
astonishment to us to see with what eagerness, they give audience to every
hypocrite and iniquitous wretch, we detect in his wickedness, and bring to an
account. It matters not how scandalous is his conduct, the priests and all their
coadjutors rally around them, the very instant they are excluded from the church
and listen with most intense interest to their lies; and soon, the papers are
filled with their lies and abomination. But such is the piteous situation of the
priests of all denominations, for there are no exceptions to be made; for to say
the best of them, they have pleasure in lies, but in the truth they have no
pleasure, neither have they any part.
Within the last six months, they have been making one of their greatest efforts.
The church in accordance with her laws, excluded from her fellowship a set of
creatures whose behavior would have disgraced a heathen temple, and as might
have been expected, they had recourse to the foulest lying and basest slander,
in order to hide their iniquity. This served as a favorable opportunity, to the
persecuting priests and their adherents. They gathered round them in swarms,
like the flies round Esop's fox, and opened both their eyes and ears, to enjoy a
good feast of lies, which pleased them more abundantly than any other sound
could, except the voice of Beelzebub the prince of the whole brood; his voice
would doubtless have been more delightful to them than an angel of light, to the
ear of a prophet of the living God.
All these pious soul's papers were put into requisition, and this gang of liars,
thieves, and drunkards were called upon immediately to write their lies on
paper, and let them print them; so that all the world might have as great a
feast of lies, as they had. -- Accordingly to work they all went with one
accord. And after this mighty mountain of bustle and human folly had filled its
full time of gestation. -- Behold! and lo! it brought forth a mouse!! From the
bowels of Mr. Warren Parrish; and the priest's papers have flown abroad to tell
the world of it.
No animal we presume has been produced in the last century, which caused more
agony, pain, and groaning than this wonder of modern times; for during the time
of gestation, and a long time before the birth thereof, he kept up such an
unusual groaning and grunting, that all the devils whelps in Geauga and Cuyahoga
counties in Ohio, were running together to hear what was about to come forth
from the womb of Granny Parrish. He had made such an awful fuss about what was
conceived in him, that night after night and day after day, he poured out his
agony before all living, as they saw proper to assemble. For a rational being to
have looked at him, and heard him groan and grunt and see him sweat and
struggle, would have supposed that his womb was as much swollen, as was
Rebecca's when the angel told her, that there were two nations there.
In all this grunting business, he was aided by Leonard Rich who, however, was
generally so drunk, that he had to support himself by something to keep him from
falling down; but then it was all for conscience sake. Also a pair of young
blacklegs, one of them a Massachusetts shoemaker by the name of John F. Boynton,
a man notorious for nothing but ignorance, ill breeding and impudence. And the
other by the name of Luke Johnson, whose notoriety consisted, if information be
correct, in stealing a barrel of flour from his father and other acts of a
similar kind.
Thus aided, mamma Parrish made a monstrous effort to bring forth. And when the
full time of gestation was come, the wonder came forth, and the priests who were
in waiting, seized the animal at its birth, rolled it up in their papers and
sent it abroad to the world; But Rich, Boynton, and Johnson in the character of
mid-wives, waited around the bed of mamma Parrish to get away the after birth;
but awful to relate! They no sooner got it away than mamma expired; and the poor
bantling was left on the hands of the priests, to protect and nurse it without
any other friend. A short time after the delivery of granny Parrish, a little
ignorant blockhead, by the name of Stephen Burnet, whose heart was so set on
money, that he would at any time sell his soul for fifty dollars; and then think
he had made an excellent bargain; and who had got wearied of the restraints of
religion and could not bear to have his purse taxed, hearing of the delivery of
granny Parrish, ran to Kirtland, got into the temple and tried withal his powers
to bring forth something, nobody knows what, nor did he know himself; but he
thought as granny Parrish had been fruitful, so must he: but after some terrible
gruntings, and finding nothing coming but an abortion, rose up in his anger,
proclaimed all revelation lies, and ran home to his daddy with all his might,
not leaving even an egg, behind, and there sat down, and rejoiced in the great
victory he had obtained, over the great God and all the holy angels, how he had
discovered them liars and impostors.
There was also a kind of secondary attendant, that waited upon this granny of
modern libels, whose name is Sylvester Smith. In his character there is
something notorious, and that is, that at a certain time in Kirtland, he signed
a libel, in order to avoid the punishment due to his crimes. That libel can be
forth coming at any time, when called for. And in so doing, has disqualified
himself for taking an oath before any court of justice in the United States.
Thus armed and attended, this modern libeler has gone forth to the assistance of
the priests, to help them fight against the great God and against his work. How
successful they will be, future events will determine.
A few words on the history of this priests helpmate may not be amiss.
He went into Kirtland Ohio some few years since to live, and hired his boarding
in the house of one Zerah Cole; he had not however been there but a short time
until Mr. Cole began to make a grievous complaint, about his taking unlawful
freedom with his (Cole's) wife. Parrish was, accordingly, brought to an account,
before the authorities of the church, for his crime. The fact was established,
that such unlawful conduct had actually taken place between (Parrish and Cole's
wife.) -- Parrish finding he could not escape, confessed, pleaded for
forgiveness like a criminal at the bar, promising in the most solemn manner that
if the church would forgive him, he never would do so again, and he was
accordingly forgiven.
For some considerable time, there were no outbreakings with him, at least, that
was known; but a train of circumstances, began at last to fix guilt on his head,
in another point of light. He had the handling of large sums of money, and it
was soon discovered, that after the money was counted and laid away, and come to
be used and counted again, that there was always a part of it missing; this
being the case repeatedly, and those who owned it, knowing that there was no
other person but Parrish who had access to it, suspicion of necessity fixed
itself on him. At last, the matter went to such lengths, that a search warrant
was called for, to search his trunk. The warrant was demanded at the office of
F. G. Williams Esq. but he refused to grant it, some difficulty arose on account
of it.
The warrant, however, was at last obtained, but too late, for the trunk in
question was taken out of the way, and could not be found, but as to his guilt,
little doubt can be entertained by any person, acquainted with the
circumstances.
After this affair, Parrish began to discover that there was great iniquity in
the church, particularly in the editor of this paper, and began to make a public
excitement about it, but in a short time, he had an opportunity of proving to
the world the truth of his assertion. A poor persecuting booby, by the name of
Grandison Newel, and who in fact was scarcely a grade above the beast that
perish, went and swore out a state's warrant against the editor of this paper,
saying that he was afraid of his life. In so doing, he swore a palpable lie and
everybody knew it, and so did the court and decided accordingly.
One of the witnesses called in behalf of Mr. Newel, was Warren Parrish. Newel
had no doubt but great things would be proven by Parrish. -- When the day of
trial, however, came, Parrish was not forth coming. Newel's council demanded an
attachment to bring him forth with and accordingly, Parrish was brought. But,
behold, the disappointment when Parrish was called! Instead of fulfilling
Newel's expectation, when asked by the lawyers, "Do you know of anything in the
character or conduct of Mr. Smith, which is unworthy of his profession as a man
of God," the answer was, "I do not." The countenance of Newel fell, and if he
had possessed one grain of human feelings, would went off with shame, but of
this, there is about as much in him as in other beast[s].
In giving the answer Parrish did, he has given the lie, to all he has said, both
before the since, and his letter that is now going the rounds in the priest's
papers, is an outrageous pack of lies, or else he took a false oath at
Painesville; and take it which way you will, and the priests have but a feeble
helpmate in granny Parrish.
The truth is, at the time Parrish was called on to give testimony in
Painesville, he had not gotten his nerves so strengthened as to take a false
oath, and though he could lie most insufferably, still he had some fear about
swearing lies. But no doubt, if he were called upon now, he would swear lies as
fast as tell them; since he denies all revelation, all angels, all spirit, &c.
and has taken the liar Sylvester Smith by the hand, and become his companion.
Some time after Parrish had given in his testimony at Painesville, he began
again to rail, the church would hear it no longer and cut him off; he plead[ed]
with them to receive him back again; and in order to get back, he confessed all
he had said to be false, asked forgiveness for it, and by much pleading and
confession and promising reformation, was received back again.
Thus once under oath, and another time voluntarily, for sake of getting back
into the church, he confessed himself, that all that he had said, and all that
he had written were falsehoods; for his letter that is going the rounds in the
papers, is no more than a reiteration of what he had before declared, and denied
himself. This is the poor pitiful resort then, of the priests, in order to stop
the progress of the truth.
But this is not all concerning mamma Parrish. The next business we find him in,
is robbing the Kirtland Bank of twenty five thousand dollars at one time and
large sums at others, the managers had in the meantime, appointed him as Cashier
and F. G. Williams as President, and they managed the institution with a
witness. Parrish stole the paper out of the institution, and went to buying
bogus or counterfeit coin with it, becoming a partner with the Tinker's creek
blacklegs and in company with Julias Granger, in buying different kinds of
property with it, and devoting it to his own use and soon entirely destroyed the
institution.
He was aided by his former associates to take his paper, and go and buy bogus
with it from the Tinker's creek black legs and on the way coming home, they
would waylay Parrish and his gang and rob them, so they would lose the bogus
money; at last Parrish sold his horse and carriage for bogus money, and behold,
when he came home and opened his box of bogus, it was sand and stones. --
Parrish was somewhat chagrined at this, so he gets out a state's warrant, takes
his coadjutor, Luke Johnson, and off to Tinker's creek they go, Johnson as
constable. The pretended object was, to take the man who had them, the horse and
carriage, one for stealing them, and the others as stolen property. Coming to
the place where they were, Johnson takes after the man and drives him into a
barn. Parrish in the mean time, takes the horse and carriage, and clears to
Kirtland with it, and when Johnson had pretendedly tried to take the man, until
he supposed Parrish had got off with the horse and carriage, he ceased the
pursuit and went home.
For this, Parrish was taken by the sheriff of Cuyahoga county, his hands bound
behind his back, and held in custody until he paid two hundred dollars, and if
he had not paid it, he would have stood a chance for the work house.
Thus O ye priests, what a blessed company of associates you have got, to help
you on the work of persecution. You aught to rejoice greatly at the venerable
addition which you have added to your numbers. No doubt they are men as much
after your own hearts, as ever David was after the heart of God. And you, Mr.
Sunderland in particular, you have no doubt in Warren Parrish an help meet after
your own image and your own likeness. Congratulate yourself greatly in having
obtained a man after your heart to help you to lie and persecute.
O ye priests, but you are a heaven born race; and that all the world may well
know by the company you keep. You have got Warren Parrish for your associate; a
man notorious for lying, for adultery, for stealing, for swindling, and for
villainy of all kinds, but for nothing else. Are you not happily yoked together
with believers, precisely of your own character? surely you are, since it is
company of your own choosing.
For our parts, we shall consider it an honor, to be belied and persecuted by
such debauchees, in it we will rejoice as long as we have breath, knowing if
these men speak well of us, that we are not doing the will of God. For the
friendship of such, is enmity against God, and the friendship of God, is enmity
to such.
And then, O ye priests, we leave you with your holy company, until it shall be
said to you all, "Depart ye workers of iniquity, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil and his angels."
There is another character who has figured somewhat in the affairs of granny
Parrish, Doctor W. A. Cowdery. This poor pitiful beggar came to Kirtland a few
years since, with a large family, nearly naked and destitute. It was really
painful to see this pious Doctor's (for such he professed to be) rags flying
when he walked the streets. He was taken in by us in this pitiful condition and
we put him into the printing office and gave him enormous wages, not because he
could earn it, or because we needed his service, but merely out of pity. We knew
the man's incompetency all the time, and his ignorance and inability to fill any
place in the literary world, with credit to himself or to his employers. But
notwithstanding all this, out of pure compassion, we gave him a place and
afterwards hired him to edit the paper in that place, and gave him double as
much as he could have gotten anywhere else. The subscribers, many at least,
complained to us of his inability to edit the paper, and there was much
dissatisfaction about it, but still we retained him in our employ, merely that
he might not have to be supported as a pauper.
By our means, he got himself and family decently clothed and got supplied with
all the comforts of life, and it was nothing more nor less than supporting
himself and family as paupers; for his services were actually not worth one cent
to us, but on the contrary, was an injury. The owners of the establishment could
have done all the work which he did themselves, just as well without him as with
him. In reality, it was a piece of pauperism.
But now, reader, mark the sequel. It is a fact of public notoriety that as soon
as he found himself and family in possession of decent apparel, he began to use
all his influence to our injury, both in his savings and doings.
We have often heard it remarked by slave holders that you should not make a
negro equal with you or he would try to walk over you. We have found the saying
verified in this pious Doctor, for truly this niggardly spirit manifested itself
in all its meanness; even in his writings (and they were very mean at best) he
threw out foul insinuations, which no man who had one particle of noble feeling
would have condescended to. But such was the conduct of this master of meanness.
Nor was this niggardly course confined to himself, but his sons also were found
engaged in the same mean business.
His sons, in violation of every sacred obligation were found among the number of
granny Parrish's men, using all the[ir] influence (which however was nothing,
but they were none the less guilty for that, for if it had been ever so great it
would have been used) to destroy the benefactors of their family who raised
their family from rags, poverty, and wretchedness. One thing we have learned
that there are negroes who we[ar] white skins as well as those who wear black
ones.
Granny Parrish had a few others who acted as lackies, such as Martin Harris,
Joseph Coe, Cyrus P. Smalling, etc. but they are so far beneath contempt that a
notice of them would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman to make.
Having said so much, we leave this hopeful company in the new bond of union
which they have formed with the priests. While they were held under restraints
by the church and had to behave with a degree of propriety, at least, the
priests manifested the greatest opposition to them. But no sooner were they
excluded from the fellowship of the church and gave loose to all kind of
abominations, swearing, lying, cheating, swindling, drinking with every species
of debauchery, then the priests began to extol them to the heavens for their
piety and virtue and made friends with them, and called them the finest fellows
in the world.
Is it any wonder then, that we say of the priests of modern days, that they are
of satan's own making and are of their father the devil. Nay verily nay; for no
being but a scandalous sycophant, and base hypocrite would say other ways. As it
was with Doctor Philastes Hurlburt, so it is with these creatures. While
Hurlburt was held in bounds by the church and made to behave himself, he was
denounced by the priests as one of the worst of men, but no sooner was he
excluded from the church for adultery, than instantly he became one of the
finest men in the world. Old deacon Clapp of Mentor ran and took him; and his
family into the house with himself, and so exceedingly was he pleased with him,
that purely out of respect to him, he went to bed to his wife. This great
kindness and respect Hurlburt did not feel just so well about but the pious old
deacon gave him a hundred dollars and a yoke of oxen, and all was well again.
This is the Hurlburt, that was author of a book which bears the name of E. D.
Howe, but it was this said Hurlburt that was the author of it; but after the
affair of Hurlburt's wife and the pious old deacon, the persecutors thought it
better to put some other name as author to their book than Hurlburt, so E. D.
Howe substituted his name. The change however was not much better.
Asahel Howe, one of E. D.'s brothers who was said to be the likeliest of the
family, served apprenticeship in the work house in Ohio for robbing the post
office. And yet notwithstanding all this, all the pious priests of all
denominations were found following in the wake of these mortals.
Hurlburt and the Howes are among the basest of mankind, and known to be such and
yet the priests and their coadjutors hail them as their best friends and publish
their lies, speaking of them in the highest terms. And after all this, they want
us to say, that they are pious souls and good saints. Can we believe it? Surely
men of common sense will not ask us to do it.
Good men love to associate with good men; and bad men with bad ones, and when we
see men making friends with drunkards, thieves, liars, and swindlers, shall we
call them saints? If we were to do it, we might be justly charged with
"partaking of their evil deeds."
Therefore until we have more evidence than we have now, we shall always think
when we see men associating with scoundrels, that they themselves are
scoundrels. And there we shall leave them for the present, firmly believing that
when the day of decision has come that we shall see all the priests who adhere
to the sectarian religions of the day, with all their followers, without one
exception, receive their portion with the devil and his angels.