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Show Page 270 stood about the Gospel, let alone of the complexities of the physical universe. His Mormon convictions remained absolute: "I (have) received a testimony...that gave (me) knowledge that the work was of God; it was not through the administration of angels, or open vision, but through 6 the Holy Ghost." His firm, yet tolerant, sense of commitment and his long proximity to the Prophets made him a natural counselor to many who were troubled; the aging Brigham Young had to deal with the temporal needs of a Church under siege, and so doctrinal questions increasingly flowed to Orson instead. He commented on the relative powers of the priesthood offices, on baptism for deceased children (unnecessary, he deemed), and on the promises made to the "Lamanites." Letters came in frequently from Saints who trusted him, asking him questions about Brigham's statements, some of which seemed to equate God with Adam - Orson simply refuted the idea from the Bible. And to the question, which troubled many an elder, whether those who did not take plural wives were not fully living God's law, he responded: "Celestial marriage is a law of the Church, and plural marriage, when it is commanded, is likewise a law unto the individual so commanded." This distinction no doubt caused at 7 least one sigh of relief. Orson's loyalty exacted unremitting travel and office work as well. Assigned to revise the scriptures of the Church, Orson spent many hours poring over the revelations and the Book of Mormon, drawing detailed cross references, breaking up illogical or amorphous paragraphs into shorter verses, and re-arranging the texts in modest ways. Misspellings were corrected - "wrecked" becomes "racked" in Alma 27:29 - and modifying phrases and referent pronouns moved around to make much better sense. All in all, Orson Pratt was responsible for about three percent of the |
