Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-04-12
AN INTERESTING LETTER,


ton or stale ISLANDERS against the Lat
ter-Day Saints ana irreyerent bur
lesques OF their doctrines, has resulted
In great good to the cause Of truth. Il
has created an interest In Mormon
affairs and principles which has given
the Elders good opportunities to reach
the people and expound the Gospel res
tored to earth in the latter days our
readers Will remember references made
In these columns 70 discussion,
through the Sacramento papers, be-
tween Dr Frederick Cllft and SOME
opponents, in which Elder Gift By no
means came out second best We no.
tlce In the Sacramento Record-Union
Of April O. the following letter, which
was written in reply TO some queries
Of correspondent We reproduce II
because II touches on some points Of
interest to the general public as well as
to our people, and so show the liber-
atty OF the publishers Of that inhuen-
tial paper. in giving space TO COM
municatlons touching on Mormon
subjects.
II Is necessary TO explain that dis
cusslon has arisen over the origin OF
the word Tehama which IL the name
OF county in California. and also Of
province IN Arabia The same name
is given to a Masonic lodge in sacra-
meuto. II IL supposed to have had It's
origin In H0waii. so far as California
is concerned. Hut how the Hawailans
| obtained il and how Il came TO be
known TO tho Indians Of Tie Pacific
coast, does not very clearly appear.
Some remarks on the subject having
been made by Dr. Gift, IN answer TO
Mr.. $. II, Gerrlsh, reply was made
through the Record Union by Mr.. Win
field j. Davis, and DR., Gift refers to
his structures In the letter to the Rec
ord-Unlon which we give In full below
Eds. Record Union II Is true as
Mr.. Davis says, there Is no tribe so
rude that II has not attempted history
and II Cortez and his myrmldons had
not destroyed the religious and other
writings OF the Aztecs, the ancient his
tory Of this country might not be so
profound a secret II ls the instinct
OF man to perpetuate record, II
only on stone for decipherment BY a
Layard or Ruskln. II is however,
q fact that names of places and tribes
are perpetuated long after language
and other details are lost. The ac-
curaCy of the New Testament results
from the fact that Greek became q
dead language. So with the name Te- |
hama.
Foreign governments and individuals |
are unearthing the ruined cities OF |
Asia. What has been done by Amer- |
can government or milllOnaires toward |
exploring the mighty ruins of Copan, |
Palenque, and the thousand and one |
buried cities OF Mexico and Central |
America, whose civilization was prior |
to, or coexistent with that Of Asia7 The /
results already attained by private re-
search have startled those who deny the |
native races Of America a history AS
records are being unearthed today In |
Asia, confirming the sacred history OF |
the Jews. 80 will explorations of bur.
led American cities confirm the sacred
history OF the Jaredites and Nephites.
Albert Gallatln, the American politi-
clan and scientist In his work on the
Indian Languages. concludes from
pathological research that their arrival
writing OF the first colonlsts) could
not have been long after the dispersion.
Chambers Encyclopedia under Me
aragua, states, the Aztecs were pre-
Ceded by another race, likewise civil
lied. and Lord Klngsborough in his
Antiquities. pub. 1881, page 40, proves
similar facts and adds 'Xeua led a
colony to the new world. The con-
stfuCtlon Of ships seems TO be an OBJ
stacle to many. but JOsephus. Book l..
page 8, referring to the dispersion az
ter The Tower Of Babel says. there
were some who passed over the sea In
ships Profane history shows that
the Israeltes, who dwelt on the shores
Of the Mediterranean, were expert sail.
ors and II the history OF the House OF
lsrael-the stick Of Joseph. Ezekiel 81
iG-is accepted, we find that Ether des.
cribes how these ships were built and
Mr.. Davis admits that
there is some evidence that the Indians
are descendants Of the lost tribes OF
iFlhFit anu 1 lfAfi w fNuhll h1loApIg |
Of the American Indians pub. l775, |
for further proofs.
who were the people that possibly
brought the name Tehama from Ara
bia TO this country in b. G. 6OO2 Fer
nando Monteslnos' History Of Peru
says. That nation was orig
mated by people led by -four broth
ers. the youngest, became the
FIRST OF a long line Of sovereigns. Does
this corroborate sacred history? Yes.
Jacob /. 81 and a reference to my first
letter shows that the landing took place
noar Valparaiso Dr. lie PlongeOn. who
has spent years In the study Of the
ruins of Yukatan. announced In 1895
the discovery Of the sacred alphabet uf
the Mayas stating It was striklngly
Identical with that OF the Egyptians
both In structure, words and charac-
tiers. The Book Of Mormon published
in 1890 page 569, verse 30, says, We
have written this record IN the ,
which ara called among us
the reformed Egyptian Was this all
guess-work and Invention on the part
II Joseph Smith? Genesis Is accepted
ls history because claimed to have been I
inspired 10y God ana because proved to
be such by various patent facts pro-
luced by thcologlans, biologists and !
scientists. and by evidences which are {
still being accumulated from the ruins $
u Asia, These are accepted az true.
Why2 Is II because God has taken no {
part In revealing them? D
My proposition u.s. that n God pre-. q
served the history Of creation and OF !
he Jews why should he not have pre- 0
served the history Of the American pco. y
Dle2 Is " because they were less cv- 7
llzed? The ruins Of the cities of Cen. I
RAJ America proclaim the contrary Is I
{ because they have become subject
a the white race and are In q state Of
The Jews were even more
10 In Egypt and Babylon submit Il
hat the claims Of the Book ~ Mormon | "a
re not so visionary as some suppose- q
hat IL was mifaculously preserved by n
God. and that It Is being confirmed | a
las after day by historians. scientists T..