Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-11-13

who we found sitting with his wife, quiet,
pretty and graceful little woman of
| twenty-five, and three or four other
ladies. Mr.. Smith is man about thirty
five years. OF age, dressed in exceed
| ingy genteel style in black with low. cut
vest showing a spotless Shirt front, Hastily
adorned with plain gold studs. He has the
easy s.ir of travelled man, and good deal
Of the earnestness in conversation of
conscientious one, and the most remark
| tble flow, not to say overflow, OF CORE
| language we recollect ever to have heard.
| His information on everything pertaiuin-
| 10 his posito , the history OF tine world
| tncient and modern. his knowledge Of tie
| Bible and his E,hnn.o ,ical learning ar
| ,o,lred out in stream chat gives Ills nearer
| he feeling of being just 10 where at all.
! lie has tine face and remarkable forehead,
| md his bearing is that of d gentleman. -
| The apparent fairness with Which he spoke
| # his church, in not attempting to over
| 'stimate it in size or influence, was enga-
ging.
THE CHURCH.
| In answer to our questions, he gave us g
very detailed history of his church, which
| is the original Mormon Church. He rela-
| ted with great faith the tradition of its
| foundation which is. that in the year 800,
| B. c.. some of the Children Of Israel going
| to India by way of Arabia, sailed for this
country and started a new nation, some of
| the cities built by whom are discovered to
| this day in America. Later u war arose
| between the Nephites, the better part of
| them. called in the Book of Mormon ''the
dehghtsome people" and the Laimanites,
wild untamed people, in which the form
Ell We're finally destroyed. Tits history is
gotten from book written by one Nor
mon who was Nephite, and it is from this
man that the sect got the name of Nor
mon, and it was that book that they claim
was presented by an angel to Joe Smith, in
| 1898, the writing being Oh thin plates Of me-
| tai. Joe Smith thus became the Head and
Prophet of the people, with Sidney Rigdon
and VIM. Law. Counsellors, but when
Smith was killed, (Which event was pro-
! phesied in the Book of Mormon) instead Of
| the Leadership devolving on one of his
sons, Brigham Young seized it and as
sumed to be "Guardian' of the Church,
but not ''Prophet, Seer and Revelator"
He held that from 1874 to 1917, when he
went to Utah and took the position of Pre-
sident. The SONS OF Joe Smith have al
ways repudiated Brigham Young, and in
1872 the two younger of them went to
Utah to re-establish the old Church, but
were repulseG.
| BRIGHAM'S OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA.
| Several missionaries were sent by Brig
ham Young to Virginia, Elder Peck COM
ing first, followed by Elder Lewis, who
was followed by Elder II ,ltz, who Or
dained 0. E. Cleveland an Elder.
THE ORIGINAL CHURCH
reorganized in 1852 in accordance with the
s'Book of Doctrine and Covenants and
now numbers $4,000 members. 1t repu-
dates Brigham Young as an apostate, and
denounces the doctrine of Polygamy as in
famous. Here Elder Smith read to our re-
porter from the ''Book of Mormon,'' writ
| ten, as he said, 600 years B. Ca neat lit
| tie book bound in calf-in which Polygamy
| is classed with other deadly sins for which
a member is to be least out of the congre-
CATION The language is that ''the men,
| Der shall have one wife and no MORE" aid
''to love thy wife and none else,' is the in
| Junction The Elder was very bitter on
| the Brighamite theory of Poygamy. and
complained that the public uld not re-
| cogniZe the distinction between his Church
and the polluted one of Brigham. He
gave some very interesting descriptions of
the discovery of ancient ruins of cities in
America, to verify the history contained
in the ''Book of Mormon
He told us that he joined the "Church of
the Latter Day Sants,' which is the true
| name Of it, and which is almost altogether
| used since Brigham Young brought re-
proach Oh the name of "Murmon,' In 1866.
| having formerly belonged to ''Tne Church
| to Come The organization of the Lat
| ter Day Saints" in Church matters. is
sort of combination Of the Baptist and
i Methodist systems. He had been offered
| the position of Unitarian missionary of
the State of Illinois, a very responsible po-
sition, but he declined it. He WAS first
appointed to the mission in New England.
New York and New Jersey of the Il. D.
s." and is now in charge Of the mission to
Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary
land, New Jersey and Virginia.
THE SERVICES.
After long talk with the Apostle, during
which his wife had given him two OF three
signals that it was time for services we
adjourned with him to the store, the rear
of which had been fitted up with benches
and chairs for an audience. There were
about fifteen persons present, including
four ladies. The services opened with |
duet from the Saints Harp" a handsome
hymn book published by the denomination,
sung by the Apostle and his wife, and thena
HYMN familiar to all, in which all joined,
and then came a sermon from a text taken
from the Bib.e, 1t is not every one that
sayeth Lord, Lord" The sermon was
plain and practical, and pretty much what
we should hear ON any pulpit, except,
perhaps, an unusual stress about the value
of. laying Oh of hands" 1t was quite Or
thodox All the prayers We're offered in
the name Of the Lord Jesus Christ, aud
w re very earnest ones. The "Latter Day
Sants''' preachers take all their texts
from the Bible, the teachings of which do