The Story of Mormonism and The Philosophy of Mormonism

The Story of "Mormonism" and
the Philosophy of "Mormonism"

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Title: The Story of "Mormonism"
Author: James E. Talmage
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THE STORY OF "MORMONISM"
And
THE PHILOSOPHY OF "MORMONISM"
By James E. Talmage, D. Sc., F. R. S. E.

PREFACE
_The Story of "Mormonism"_ as presented in the following pages is a
revised and reconstructed version of lectures delivered by Dr. James E.
Talmage at the University of Michigan, Cornell University, and
elsewhere. The "Story" first appeared in print as a lecture report in the
_Improvement Era_, and was afterward issued as a booklet from the
office of the _Millennial Star_, Liverpool. In 1910 it was issued in a
revised form by the Bureau of Information at Salt Lake City, in which
edition the lecture style of direct address was changed to the ordinary
form of essay. The present or third American edition has been revised
and amplified by the author.
The "Story" has been translated and published abroad. Already versions
have appeared in Swedish, modern Greek, and Russian.
The subject matter of _The Philosophy of "Mormonism"_ was first

presented as a lecture delivered by Dr. Talmage before the
Philosophical Society of Denver. It appeared later in the columns of the
_Improvement Era_, and translations have been published in pamphlet
form in the Danish and German languages.
The present publication of these two productions is made in response to
a steady demand.
THE PUBLISHERS.
Salt Lake City, Utah, March, 1914.

THE STORY OF "MORMONISM"


CHAPTER I
In the minds of many, perhaps of the majority of people, the scene of
the "Mormon" drama is laid almost entirely in Utah; indeed, the terms
"Mormon question" and "Utah question" have been often used
interchangeably. True it is, that the development of "Mormonism" is
closely associated with the history of the long-time Territory and
present State of Utah; but the origin of the system must be sought in
regions far distant from the present gathering-place of the Latter-day
Saints, and at a period antedating the acquisition of Utah as a part of
our national domain.
The term "origin" is here used in its commonest application--that of the
first stages apparent to ordinary observation--the visible birth of the
system. But a long, long period of preparation had led to this physical
coming forth of the "Mormon" religion, a period marked by a multitude
of historical events, some of them preceding by centuries the earthly
beginning of this modern system of prophetic trust. The "Mormon"
people regard the establishment of their Church as the culmination of a
great series of notable events. To them it is the result of causes
unnumbered that have operated through ages of human history, and
they see in it the cause of many developments yet to appear. This to
them establishes an intimate relationship between the events of their
own history and the prophecies of ancient times.

In reading the earliest pages of "Mormon" history, we are introduced to
a man whose name will ever be prominent in the story of the
Church--the founder of the organization by common usage of the term,
the head of the system as an earthly establishment--one who is accepted
by the Church as an ambassador specially commissioned of God to be
the first revelator of the latter-day dispensation. This man is Joseph
Smith, commonly known as the "Mormon" prophet. Rarely indeed does
history present an organization, religious, social, or political, in which
an individual holds as conspicuous