The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-09-05
Some Sunday Reading for the
Reverend Gentlemen.
MIR. E. H.. PIERCE'S POSITION.
A Few OF the Facts Anent the Recent
Religious Discussion Ia Brig
ham City-Who WIitsd.
To the Editor of THE HERALD.

IL III WhACh IC slSSuAilSS 10 LULON
the responsibility of a failure to debate
upon the shoulders of our local author
tiles. He then follows with a COPY of
an open letter sent to what he is pleased
to term The challenging party.
All this will sound very plausible to
your many readers unacquainted with
the facts, but to those who were present
and saw who "wilted" it will be read
with feelings akin to disgust and pity
for the minister.
We will go back to Wednesday, the
evening of his first lecture; the text was
The All Sufficiency of the Bible as the
Means of Salvation" taken from ID
Timothy, 3-15; his subject was not fol-
lowed closely, and at every opportunity
he would fly the track to get a fling at
the MormonS because of their belief
in newer revelation He assailed
the per onal God of the Bible, as re-
Yealed in modern times, and said the
God OF the Latter-day Saints was a
great big Mormon with many wives
He alta ked the Hook of Mormon, ap-
plied to it some of Ingersoll's pet
names for the Bible and com pared il to
Gulliver's Travels. He wound up this
part of his subject with the special
challenge published in J. BIS second
letter and headed "McNiece as a
Sport"
And now the Reverend gentleman
says none but the special cnal!enge was
given by him. Why, he was aggressive
from the very start, and almost every
complete sentence contained a banter.
We do not say the word challenge was
used, but it was implied from first to
last; in concluding he summed VI the
different subjects of his lecture, those
mentioned being most prominent. and
said: II stand here prepared to de-
fend these statements against any
and all who are disposed
to question them. 1 make these
sweeping charges boldly and without
fear of successful contradiction" These
may not be his exact words, but they
are nearly so, and if not verbatim will
be recognized by his hearers. He threw
down the gauntlet in language that
could not not be mistaken. There were
but few present on that evening, aside
from the PresbyterY, but all understood
this matter alike and he should not
blame US for taking him at his word.
Having engaged the tabernacle we ac-
cepted the issue and chose the three
prominent subjects, treated upon in his
lecture, and which he was SO well pre-
pared to defend, viz: his text, the
Godhead and the divinity of the Book
Of Mormon. We drew up rul IS to govern
the debate, which you have already
published and which were fair and i'm
partial throughout.
His challenge was given in public, but
our answer was to be in private. We
did not coincide with that idea exactly.
and so obtained a public hearing after
their benedictiOn had been said. The=
boaster then recalled the challenge, on
general principles, but repeated the
special clause, and again offered $50 in
gold to any person who would point out
one item of moral or religious truth re-
vealed in the Book of Mormon and per-
tanning to salvation, that the world did
not already have in the Bible (taken
from Lambs expose.) When we had
done this he would consider the other
questions.
We told him that was some hing that
could not be done; if it could the Book
of Mormon was not what il claimed to
be; gospel truths, as revealed in both
books, must of a necessity be the
same in every age and dispen-
Sation, because they are unchange-
able as God is interchangeable
that very proposition. aside from the
reward, was one the elders had used for
the last fifty years, and just so long as
he (McNiece) persisted in holding this
challenge out to the Latter day Saints,
50 long we must insist that he is an aG'
vocate of Mormonism. He seems to
have COMPOUNDED the Book of Mormon
with the Doctrine and Covenants in his
structures upon new revelation for the
guidance of the church. We did con-
sent, however, to meet him upon this |
question, also providing he would |
change the proposition to read "histof- |
zeal, moral or religious truth, &" but this |
he would not do. Having disposed of |
the subject at hand, we asked him il he |
was still anxious to meet us upon the
other? He said no, be had not cha :
lenged and would not meet us. We |
thu reversed the tables and challenged |
him, and others, to meet US in pubic |
on points of doctrine brought forward /
so prominently in their series of lee |
lures, conditions already published to |
govern; we asked for definite answer l
yes or no, then and there The reply |
was mo-" Mr.. McNiece saying he id |
not have to come all the way to Brig |
ham City to receive challenges; said he |
had had many opportunities to meet |
Mormon elders in public discussion in |
Salt Lake City, so the matter dropped. |
After the session was over and most |
Of the representatives had returned to |
their homes, the Right Reverend, thi3k- |
ing his actions would appear cowaFdiy |
if published and ventilated. bethought |
him of a Ioop-hole through which he |
might crawl and escape, and he said in |
the magnitude of his calling and high |
official standing, "BeholdWho are these;
Icannot meet this small fry; when l |
angle I must bait for bigger fish,"
So in the acceptance OF our
challenge, as published to-day. only
representative men" unjust confront
him the presidency of the Stake land
he would prefer ali threel are the only
nres. and then solely upon two subjects