| OCR Text |
Show Mrs. Orson Pratt's Testimony. <br> I had many conversations with Mrs. Pratt about affairs in Nauvoo, and especially about the character and life of Joseph Smith. The substance of her testimony was simply this: That Joseph Smith was the "most coarse-minded, profane, immoral and wicked man she ever knew;" that he scrupled at nothing to carry his point, whether in business, morals or religion; that his "immoral relations with scores of women in Nauvoo were perfectly notorious;" that his fraudulent and blasphemous revelation about polygamy was simply a "shrewd and cunning scheme to cloak over his own immoral life," in order to protect him from the wrath of his spirited wife, Emma, and enable him to retain his place at the head of the church. <br> When I asked Mrs. Pratt why Joseph Smith's fellow officials in the church did not expose him, she replied; "Many of the officials were as corrupt as he was. And those who were not, allowed themselves to be blinded by the lucrative positions of power and influence which a man with the immense power of Joseph Smith could keep them in." Now, I have never been able to find any motive which that aged mother, Mrs. Pratt, who was coming near the close of her life, had for telling me those things, other than that the truth required it. And I now ask the defenders of the false prophet what I and thousands of others who have had similar personal testimony, are to do with that testimony coming form truthful and reliable witnesses? <br><br> Judge Osborn's Testimony. <br> But according to the righteous Mosaic law, no man could be condemned except "at the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses." So we will give the testimony of a second witness, namely, that of Judge Marcus B. Osborn, who was a resident of Illinois for about thirty-five years after 1837, and died in this city on May 29, 1893, over 90 years of age. On account of his health, Judge Osborn spent the last twenty years of his life among the mountains of Utah and most of the time in this city. He was a mostly noble, lovable, intelligent Christian man, and had lots of friends among the Mormon people, many of whom he persuaded to drop Joseph Smith as a false prophet. In 1842, while living at Rock Island, Ill., there was so much said about "the prophet, Joseph Smith," that he determined to visit Nauvoo and see for himself what kind of a man Joseph Smith was. He stayed a day and a night at Joseph Smith's house, which was the public house of the place. And here is the testimony which Judge Osborn gave me about him: <br> "The first sentence Joseph Smith spoke to me was profane. His conversation was interspersed with coarseness and profanity. He was frivolous in manner and speech, and utterly lacking in that moral seriousness which we should expect in a prophet of God. I came away thoroughly convinced that he was a false and deceiving prophet, and used his pretended prophetical gifts to secure money and power for himself." <br> Judge Osborn also said that he had a jovial, dare-devil sort of manner about him that drew a certain class of men around him, who were always ready to shout for him. <br><br> Josiah Quincy's Testimony. <br> I am aware that the defenders of the false prophet are accustomed to quote a statement of Josiah Quincy, the Massachusetts statesman, after a visit to Nauvoo in 1843, as to the wide influence of Joseph Smith "upon the destiny of his countrymen." But Mr. Quincy did not commend that influence as a worthy influence. And he said something else which these defenders take pains not to quote. After saying that Smith seemed to him to have a keen sense of the humorous aspects of his position, Mr. Quincy relates the following conversation he had with the pretended prophet: "It seems to me, General, that you have too much power to be safely trusted to one man." The "prophet" replied: "In your hands or that of any other person, so much power would no doubt be dangerous. I am the only man in the world whom it would be safe to trust with it. Remember, I am a prophet." And then Mr. Quincv [sic] adds: "The last five words were spoken in a rich, comical aside, as if in hearty recognition of the ridiculous sound they might have in the ears of a Gentile." <br><br> The Historical Record. <br> Notice, now, in the second place, how this personal testimony in regard to the unworthy and immoral character and life of the false prophet is backed up and confirmed by the historical record. Take first, Pomeroy Tucker's "Origin, Rise and Progress of Mormonism," published by D. Appleton & <br> [Continues on next page.] <br><br> |
