The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-14
REVELATION HAD TO ORDER

Editor The Tribune-Some twenty
five years ago, when there was an edi
tion Of the Doctrine and Covenant!
published which contained the revela
tion on the eternity Of the marriage
covenant, including plurality of wives
1 purchased the book simply because
had never read the so.caled revelation
notwithstanding the fact that I haC
been raised in the Mormon church and
had been taught that polygamy, or 8
plurality Of wives, was authorized by
divine revelation and was part ot
the gospel plan, as much as baptism
for the dead or any other part of oul
faith. l Immediately set about reading
the revelation slowly and carefully
until ] came to paragraph so, which
reads as follows:
"And lct mine handmald, Emma
Smith, receive all those that have been
given unto my servant Joseph
There I paused. 'fAil those that
have been given unto my servant 10.
seph?' While J. nm willing to confess
that / have not very vivid recollec-
tion of my grammar lessons as taught
in my school days, yet [ do remember
thet "tEose' is a pronoun of the
plural number. / took tho book con
tanning The revelation and showed it
to an old man who had been an associ-
ate of the prophet Joseph Smith IN
Nauvoo, and asked him who "those -
were as referred to in the revelation on
plural marriage. The old man answered
at once. HThey were the prophet 8
wives. - "Tbat is Just what
thought + remarked; "and as a mat
ter of fact he had the wives first and
the revelation afterwards. - My friend,
seeing the impression that was made
- L.
the matter away by saying that the
revelation was not given July u, 1S43.
as stated In the book of Doctrine and
Covenants, but that it was given as
far back as 1888 or 1889. He told me
how that an angel of God had appeared
TO the prophet Joseph with a drawn
sword, and threatened to take the
prophets life if he did not accent the
doctrine of plurality Of wives, and that
prophet accepted the doctrine. o. that
angel I have often wondered if he
t Truman Q. Angel, if there is
any truth in the story / have often
been told since my conversation with
my old friend of the angel and the
drawn sword that this incident brought
the parting Of the ways-and probably
that IS trne, The story sounds too far
cical for me to accept as being true.
! once had q talk with another gen
tleman on this same subject, and I was
informed that after the prophet Joseph
had taken a number Of plural wives
certain members OF the church began
to question by what authority he, the
prophet, had those wives, and as n
matter of fact q schism was created
within the church on that account The
prophet Joseph went to Brigham Young
and asked counsel as to the best way
out Of the dilemma. FMaEe IL 4 doe
trlne of the church, was the counsel
of the astute Brigham. "That is just
what / will do" said the prophet Jo-
seph; "you are wise counselor,
Brother Brigham, and some day YOU
will become president of the church. -
Brigham did become president of the
church after the. big split came at
Nauvoo, some of the Mormon people
coming out West and others remaining
IN the middle western states
There. IS no doubt but right then and
there the nrophet Joseph Smith con
ceived the idea of giving sanctitv TO
polygamv by means OF supposed rcvcl.