Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-01-01

SCrlplurdi- Ana suggest tnut we tnen
spend another two or three nights.w when
1 can have an opportunity to look into
some of the frauds taught and prac-
tised by the Presbyterian church. "pre-
destination" Infant damnatlon," etc,
and test Its doctrines by the Scrip
tures.-F'rom statement of Melvin j.
Ballard, president of Northwestern
States Mormon mission, Portland.
My article before tho Ministerial as
ISOLATION on Mormonism was not n
church matter In any respect 1t was
merely a paper which was not at all
anxious to get into the columns OF the
press l do not desire to get into q
newspaper controversy with anyone. l
have nothing to say about the chal-
lenge.-Statement by Rev. G. L. Chal-
fant, whose paper before the assocIa-
tion last week has aroused the presi-
dent of the Northwestern States mis-
sion OF the Mormon Church.
Rev. Charles L. Chalfant. pastor OF
the Presbyterian church of Boise, has
been challenged-not to mortal combat,
but to meet on the forum of his own
church 4 missionary president of the
Mormon Church, Melvin j. Ballard OF
Portland, or. who has been aroused.
and apparently deeply, by the Boise
minister's nagelation of Mormonism
In & paper presented by him before a
recent meeting of the Boise Ministerial
association. The local divine stigma
tiZed Mormonism ns a fraud Mr. Bal
lard desires to debate the issue, taking
the affirmative of the question, in ef-
feet; Are the Doctrines of Mormon
Ism Scriptural?" He also suggests a
further debate in which he would as
sail some of the creeds of Calvinism.
The challenge Of the Boise minister
was sent to Hcbcr Q. Hale. head of the
local Mormon Church. with the request
that inasmuch as The Statesman had
published Rev. Chalfant's structures on
Mormonism it publish the communica-
tion of the Mormon missionary. The
Statesman advised the Presbyterian
minister of the receipt of the letter
and asked him for statement. He dis
missed the subject, at least for the time
being. with the few words quoted in the
foregoing.
TEXT OF MISSIONARIES LETTER..
The following is the full text of Mr..
Ballards letter:
Editor Statesman: Your issue of
November 10 has just been handed me
and my attention called to an article
appearing therein entitled Mormon
follows a synopsis of the remarks
made before the Boise Ministerial as
sociution by Dew. Charles l.. ChalfaiIl.
Having confidence In your policy OF
"a square deal" to all, 1 beg for
little space in which to point out some
Of the misStatements and absurdites
of this reverend's speech and to offer
him an opportunity to expose what ne
terms "the most stupendous fraud ever
perpetrnted" and volunteer my services
in exploiting this theme I do not In
tend to ask you, Mr., Editor for the
use of your columns in which to do
this, but ask only space for this one
letter.
The reverend begins by relating
what he calls Mormon history" when
in reality he refers to some events
which happened over 600 years before
Christ and has to do with the coming
OF Lehi and his colony from Jerusa
lem to the shores of America. This is
the first misrepresentation. as these
events have nothing to do with Nor
mon history"
The next error Is made when he
states that this Lehi gathered together
a company OF the sons of Judah and
the daughters of Israel The facts are
there were only two families. Lehi's
and Tshmaops, and neither were de-
scendants of Judah. There Is no such
statement made in their story as stat
cd by the reverend that they went into
q desert; but they frequently spoke Of
going into a Wilderness. There is a
vast difference between desert and
a wilderness.
Then he speaks with all the ribaldry
and Jest of Tom Payne or Bob Inger-
soil about their 10 years journey to
the promised land. and compares them
to Coxey's army. He surely has for
gotten the 40 years journey of Israel
under Moses to the promised land, and
if he will be honest he will find it as
easy to believe the story of Lehi's COM
ing to America as to believe that of
Moses journeying with Israel to the
promised land with its wonderful
miracles Now IL this reverend does
not like the story of the early settle
ment of America as given In the Book
of Mormon, perhaps his fertile brain
could give the world something better.
There were q people here. they came
from somewhere, and the Book OF
Mormon is the only effort worthy of
mention which pretends to give this
history; and to every truth seeker L
commend the reading Of this story
from the book itself. and not be con-
tent with scofIlng, untruthful criti-
cism such as that given by Reverend
Chalfant.
lie sun 10 lllS Olu WHICH
better informed people know to be
false, that Solomon Spaulding wrote
the story of the Book of Mormon. a
little investigation on this point will
reveal the fact that Joseph Smith
never did nor could have seen this
story. The original is now in the Ober-
lin college, Ohio, and competent per-
sons have examined 1T and found not a
single word or instance that corre-
sponds with the Book of Mormon and
that 1t could not have been of any
Book Of Mormon.
Another error stated by him is that
Sidney Rigdon helped to write this
book The fact of history is that he
never saw Joseph Smith until after the
Eook of Mormon had been Issued and
that he never heard of it or saw 1t
until O. printed copy. substantially as it
now is, was presented to him by one
of the elders of the Church
His story of Joseph Smiths walking
on the water etc. is absolutely false.
made out OF whole cloth and has not
ono particle of truth in it, He reiter-
ates another abominable fnlsehood
when he says the Mormon Church
taught and practised the doctrine of
blood atonement. 1 challenge him TO
produce tho proof and shall meet
him anywhere on any platform and
discuss this question with him. No
people in the world regret, abhor and
condemn tho Mountain Meadow mas
sacre more than do the Latter-day
Saints.
SMITH NOT A LAZY SCAMP"
He speaks of Joseph Smith being a
''lazy scamp" and that when he re-
celVed the visit OF Moroni in 1898 for