The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-22

I Mr.. Smith-In the case of the Book
| Of Mormon; yes, sir.
| The only further reference to the sub
! ject that L have been able to find or
! that have seen referred to during this
J controversy occurs on page 4SS, where
the following questions and answers are
+ stated:
| Senator Dubois-Have you received
| any revelation from God, which has
i been submitted by you and the apostles
to the body of the church in their semi
/ annual conference, which revelation has
! been sustained by that conference
/ through the uphoIding of their hands?
Mr. Smith-Since when?
! Senator Dubois-Since you became
/ president of the church.
Mr.. Smith-No, sir; none whatever.
| Senator Dubois-Individual members
| or the church can receive individual
revelations, can they not?
Language Vaguely Employed.
/ Mr. Smith-If / may be permitted,
! the word revelation" is used very
vaguely here all the time. No man can
! get revelations at his Will. If a man
! is prayerful and earnest in his desire
! and lives d righteous life and he de-
sires information and Intelligence. he
| VIII inquire of the Lord, and the Lord
| VIII manifest TO him, through the pres
ence and influence of his spirit. his
mind and his will. That would be a
/ ANNNAclAlOl " the llulNlQudl-
| The Chairman-What is the answer
! to the question:
J Senator McComas-Is not that an an
( swer?
Senator Foraker-I think it is an in
telligent answer, and d very satisfac-
! tory one
Senator McComas-It seems to me it
! is full.
The Chairman want to hear what
the question was. Mr.. Reporter, viii
you please read it2
| The reporter read as follows:
Senator Dubois-Individual members
of the church can receive individual
revelation, can they not?'
Mr.. SMITH think L have answered
! that
| The Chairman-Very well; if you
think that is an answer.
] Senator DubOis-Have you received
I any individual revelations yourself
since you became president of the
| church under your own definition, even
OF a revelation?
! Mr. SMITH cannot say that I have.
Senator Dubois-Can YOU say that
you have not?
Mr.. Smith-No; can not say that ]
| have not.
Senator Dubois-Then you do not
know whether you have received any
such revelation as you have described,
or whether you have not?
/ Mr.. Smith-Well, l can say this: That
if live as I should in the line of my
| duties, 1 am susceptible, L think, of the
impressions of the spirit Of the Lord
upon my mind at any time, just as any
| good Methodist or any other good
| church member might be. And so far
| as that is concerned, say yes; I have
had impressions of the spirit upon my
/ mind very frequently, but they are
not in the sense revelations.
Mr.. Youns's Summary
| The foregoing testimony may be fair
ly summarized as follows:
That any individual member of the
church, for himself individually, and
the president Of the church, for the
! church as body, is entitled to inSpira-
/ ton or revelation (uSing the words
| anonymously; that President Smith
has never professed to have received Il
! revelation. except to the divine truth of
| MOrmOniSn, which came by inspiration,
by the spirit of God; that a revelation
might come to him, he believed, through
an audible voice, by inspiration known
| and heard only by himself, or by writ
! ing, as in the case of the Book of Nor
/ mon; that he had received no revela-
| ton, during his presidency, that had
| been submitted to a difference of the
| church; that the righteous and prayer
| full man may inquire of the Lord and
! that the Lord would manifest to him
his mind and viii through the influence
of his spirit, which would be d revela-
|
| individual revelations to himself are
concerned, he had had impressions Of
the spirit upon his mind very frequent
! ".
IN the three chief points covered by
his sermon March 10, and in his testi-
mOny before the committee, there is
absolute conformity, namely:
That God has revealed to him a.
| knowledge of the truth of Mormonism;
| that, during his presidency, he has not
! revealed to him any revelation to be
handed down as a guide to the church:
and that regarding individual reVela-
| tons" he believes that he has had i'm
eTesSiOns of the spirit upon his mind
| very frequently. The different concep-
lions of the words revelation and
inspiration" between President Smith
/ and his queStioners, and the confusion
/ with which these words were employed
both by him and them, are responsible
| for the only VarianCes and they are
obvious and easily explained. between
sermon and testimony.
! The statement in your editorial that
| President Smith had explained that
he had testified as he did because his
1 critics were trying TO get him into a.
! trap does not appear TO be justified
| by anything stated by President Smith
| as reported either in The Herald the
Tribune or in the News Your state
| Fnent seems to be an entirely tlDNvar-
ranted deduction from the assertion
! made by President Smith that his crit
les and inquisitors were endeavoring to
lead him into a ira p-tO say sonnet hing
not true-but he did not assert. nor I
respectfully submit does the record
/ Justify the assumption that he either
/ concealed or distorted the truth by rea-
son Of such attempt. Respectfully.
RICHARD w YOUNG.
Salt Lake, March 81.