The Story of the Mormons | Page 5

that state. Times and Seasons was published at
Nauvoo from 1839 to 1845. Files of these publications are very scarce,
the volumes of the Times and Seasons having been suppressed, so far
as possible, by Brigham Young's order. The publication of the
Millennial Star was begun in Liverpool in May, 1840, and is still
continued. The early volumes contain the official epistles of the heads
of the church to their followers, Smith's autobiography, correspondence
describing the early migrations and the experiences in Utah, and much
other valuable material, the authenticity of which cannot be disputed by
the Mormons. In the Journal of Discourses (issued primarily for
circulation in Europe) are found official reports of the principal
discourses (or sermons) delivered in Salt Lake City during Young's
regime. Without this official sponsor for the correctness of these reports,
many of them would doubtless be disputed by the Mormons of to-day.
The earliest non-Mormon source of original information quoted is
"Mormonism Unveiled," by E. D. Howe (Painesville, Ohio, 1834). Mr.
Howe, after a newspaper experience in New York State, founded the
Cleveland (Ohio) Herald in 1819, and later the Painesville (Ohio)
Telegraph. Living near the scene of the Mormon activity in Ohio when
they moved to that state, and desiring to ascertain the character of the
men who were proclaiming a new Bible and a new church, he sent
agents to secure such information among the Smiths' old acquaintances
in New York and Pennsylvania, and made inquiries on kindred subjects,
like the "Spaulding manuscript." His book was the first serious blow
that Smith and his associates encountered, and their wrath against it and
its author was fierce.
Pomeroy Tucker, the author of "Origin and Progress of the Mormons"

(New York, 1867), was personally acquainted with the Smiths and with
Harris and Cowdery before and after the appearance of the Mormon
Bible. He read a good deal of the proof of the original edition of that
book as it was going through the press, and was present during many of
the negotiations with Grandin about its publication. His testimony in
regard to early matters connected with the church is important.
Two non-Mormons who had an early view of the church in Utah and
who put their observations in book form were B. G. Ferris ("Utah and
the Mormons," New York, 1854 and 1856) and Lieutenant J. W.
Gunnison of the United States Topographical Engineers ("The
Mormons," Philadelphia, 1856). Both of these works contain
interesting pictures of life in Utah in those early days.
There are three comprehensive histories of Utah,--H. H. Bancroft's
"History of Utah" (p. 889), Tullidge's "History of Salt Lake City" (p.
886), and Orson F. Whitney's "History of Utah," in four volumes, three
of which, dated respectively March, 1892, April, 1893, and January,
1898, have been issued. The Reorganized Church has also published a
"History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" in three
volumes. While Bancroft's work professes to be written from a secular
standpoint, it is really a church production, the preparation of the text
having been confided to Mormon hands. "We furnished Mr. Bancroft
with his material," said a prominent Mormon church officer to me. Its
plan is to give the Mormon view in the text, and to refer the reader for
the other side to a mass of undigested notes, and its principal value to
the student consists in its references to other authorities. Its general
tone may be seen in its declaration that those who have joined the
church to expose its secrets are "the most contemptible of all"; that
those who have joined it honestly and, discovering what company they
have got into, have given the information to the world, would far better
have gone their way and said nothing about it; and, as to polygamy,
that "those who waxed the hottest against" the practice "are not as a
rule the purest of our people" (p. 361); and that the Edmunds Law of
1882 "capped the climax of absurdity" (p. 683).
Tullidge wrote his history after he had taken part in the "New
Movement." In it he brought together a great deal of information,
including the text of important papers, which is necessary to an
understanding of the growth and struggles of the church. The work was

censored by a committee appointed by the Mormon authorities.
Bishop Whitney's history presents the pro-Mormon view of the church
throughout. It is therefore wholly untrustworthy as a guide to opinion
on the subjects treated, but, like Tullidge's, it supplies a good deal of
material which is useful to the student who is prepared to estimate its
statements at their true value.
The acquisition by the New York Public Library of the Berrian
collection of books, early newspapers, and pamphlets on Mormonism,
with the additions constantly made