When the cuttle fish wishes to hide his true position it opens its spleen bag of black gall and squirts the inky substance into the water around it. There are, in the so-called Christian world of the nineteenth century, a great many professed "preachers of righteousness," who take a delight (apparently so, from the numerous instances thereof,) in using the same methods, and going through the same manoeuvres as the cuttle fish, when they wish to turn the public mind against that system of religion erroneously known as "Mormonism." This "cuttle fish hypocrisy" on the part of our good "Christian" friends is neither sound nor convincing. Preachers may rant and rage about "Mormonism;" they may howl and storm from their lofty pulpits; but after they have foamed and frothed, and their boiling anger is somewhat cooled, they look down upon this strange, peculiar sect called "Mormons," and behold! they grow, increase, and multiply in numbers. Let us reason for a few moments, Christian people, for we do not look down upon you with scorn, derision, contempt or hate. No! Our mission is one of peace and good will; our labor one of love, forgiveness, gentleness, and sweet charity. You know the Lord says through His servant Isaiah, "Come now and let us reason together;" and, if the Father of all mercies will condescend to reason with His erring children on the earth, have we not the right, and should we not exercise the same, by reasoning among ourselves? Yes! for "wisdom and reason make us men." To reason then; would it not be a great deal better for Mr. Baptist to preach Baptistism; Mr. Methodist to preach Methodistism; than for either of them to fight against and endeavor to tear down "Mormonism?" Yes! And why? For this reason: They are commanded by the Lamb of God to let their light shine, and in fighting "Mormonism" they are railing at what they suppose to be darkness, and not exhibiting the light they profess to possess. As well might you shout to a man who is struggling in the deep, "You are drowning," and not throw out a life line, or buoy, or any other means by which he might be saved, as to rave and abuse the doctrines and teachings of "Mormonism" without casting forth your precious beams of holy light which you lay claim to have. Why do modern Christians forever continue to slander the Mormon people, and fail to give reason or Scripture for so going? It is simply this, they, like the cuttle-fish, are desirous of concealing themselves, they are anxious to have the minds of the people turned from the shallowness of their own systems, hence they belch forth wild anathemas against the Latter-day Saints, hiding themselves at the same time behind this sectarian fog of error, heresy, vile abuse, and misrepresentation. They define "Mormonism" as being a system of lust, false, heinous, treacherous and vile. Their definitions of the subject - Mormonism - puts us in mind of the student's answer, when asked by a zoological teacher, "What is a crab?" The student's answer was this, "The crab is a red fish which moves backward." "Very good," said the teacher, "your definition is correct but for three things. First the crab is not a fish; second, it is not red; and thirdly, it does not move backwards." So it is with those who would define for you, that "Mormonism" is a system of lust, vice, and fraud. They are as far from knowing the truthfulness of what they speak, as the boy in the zoology department; i.e., they know nothing of its virtues, divinity, and praiseworthiness. You cannot draw water from a dry well. If the Christian world has light we shall expect them to produce the same, that we might walk in the paths of righteousness. As yet they have failed to bring the light of the Holy Scriptures to bear upon us, but have gone astray from all righteous precedents, and have resorted to vile abuse, mob law, and scandalous reports. These are the cogent arguments, the powerful reasonings, the spotless eloquence of those who pose as "Truth Reflectors" in the van of modern Christendom. The mason generally uses the materials at hand for the erection of the structure he has contracted to build; so do preachers, therefore we are forced to admit that better material, sounder logic, more honorable eloquence, and God-like conduct are needed in the sects of distorted and turbulent Christendom today. Brother, you can never build up your own church by striving to pull down one with kindred objects like as you profess to have. If your own cannot stand on its miry foundation you should keep perfectly quiet and let it have an early and peaceful death.
