[Minutes, Quorum of the Twelve]
Quorum of the Twelve investigates Apostle Orson Pratt for rejecting Brigham Young's Adam-God teachings. This repeats a similar trial in Mar. 1858, and apostles vote to drop Pratt. Young intercedes to prevent the Twelve from disfellowshipping or excommunicating Pratt, but apostles do not restore him to full fellowship until the 5th of April. On 25th of July the Deseret News publishes a confession as the Twelve require Pratt to revise it.:
... President Young stated the object of the Meeting was to Convers upon Doctrinal Points to see if we see alike & think alike. ... He read it before the Company a peace prepared for the press written by Orson Pratt upon the Godhead. He Claimed that it was the atributes of God that He worshiped and not the person & that He worshiped those Atributes whether he found them in God, Jesus Christ Adam, Moses, The Apostles Joseph, Brigham or in any body Els. After the document was read President Young then Called upon the Twelve to express their feelings upon the subject. He called upon O Hyde to speak & he called upon J Taylor to speak. He spoke a short time. No one knew at the time (except the President & Carrington) who was the author of the document read.
Brother Taylor said he did not see it in that light. He worshiped a personage and not the Atributes. He thought God was Located and Could not worship the Atributes in any body.
President Young then Called a vote of the assembly and said if you understand this to be a Correct doctrin as here written I wish you [to] manifest it by saying yes. No one spoke.
President Young then said do I worship Atributes or the Dispencer of those atributes? I worship the Dispencer of those atributes and Not the Atributes. This is O Pratts Sermon prepared for the Press. I do not want to have it published if it is not right. Brother Orson Worships the Atributes of God but not God. I worship not the Atributes but that God who holds and dispenses. If Eternity was full of atributes and No one to dispens them they would not be worth a feather.
... Joseph Said to us I am a God to you. This was true and upon the same principles I am a God to this people & so is any man who is appointed to lead Israel or the Kingdom of God. ...
You might say I am your Counciller Dictator or your God. Either would be Correct. And they should obey your Just & righteous Command. Yet they should not worship you for this would be sin.
Orson Pratt has differed from me in many things, But this is a great principle & I do not wish to say you shall do so and so. I do not know of a man who has a mathamatical turn of mind but what goes to Far. The trouble between Orson Pratt & me is I do not know Enough & he knows to much. ...
Orson Pratt said I will speak upon this subject. ... In order to worship this God I said that I adored the atributes wharever I found them. I was honest in this matter. ... I must have sumthing more than a declaration of President Young to Convince me. I must have Evidence. I am willing to take President Young as a guide in most things but not in all. President Young does not profess to have revelations in all things. I am not to loose my agency. I have said many things which President Young says is Fals. ... When Joseph teaches one thing & Brigham seems to teach another Contrary to Joseph (I say seems to) I believe them as Joseph has spoken them and as the Apostle speaks of them.
... President Young said I ought to make a Confession But Orson Pratt is not a man to make a Confession of that I do not Believe. I am not going to Crawl to Brigham Young and act the Hypocrite and Confess what I do not Believe. I will be a free man. President Young Condemns my doctrin to be fals. I do not believe them to be fals. I believe President Young to be sincere in sayin that my doctrin is fals.
... If I had thought while in England that President Young worshiped a God without attributes I would not have written what I did. (The above remark was an unkind Cut in Orson Pratt he should not have said.") But I do not believe it yet I will not act the Hypocrite. It may Cost me my fellowship But I will stick to it if I die tonight I would say O Lord God Almighty I believe what I say.
...President Young said Orson Pratt has started out upon false premises to argue upon. His foundation has been a fals one all the time and I will prove it false. You have been like a mad stoubern Mule, and have taken a fals position in order to accuse me. You have accused me of worshiping a stalk or Stone or a dead Body without life or attributes. You never herd such a doctrin taught by me or any leader of the Church. It is as false as Hell and you will not hear the last of it soon. You know it is false. ...
President Young said Michael was a resurrected Being and he left Eloheem and Came to this Earth & with an im[mor]tal Body & continued so till he partook of Earthly food and begat Children who were mortal. (Keep this to yourselves). Then they died.
President H C Kimball Followed President Young and said Brother Orson Pratt has withstood Joseph and he has withstood Brother Brigham many times and he has done it to night and it made my Blood Chill. It is not for you to lead but to be led by him. You have not the power to dictate but to be dictated.
You say you are honest in the Course you are pursueing. I wish to ask you if you was honest when you said that if you had known that President Young worshiped a God without life or Attributes that you would not have written what you did. (O Pratt said I will recall that.) It was an insult to President Young and the Holy Priesthood which he holds. Evry man in this room who has a particle of the spirit of God knows that President Young is a Prophet of God and that God sustains him and He has the Holy Spirit and his doctrins are true. ...
But Brother Orson I have seen the day when you was in sorrow. It was when you was Cast out of your Quorum and out of the Church and that to in Consequence of pursueing the Same Course you are this evening. Then you Could both see feel & understand. Then argument Could reach you when you saw your glory and Crown departing from you. I beg of you to reflect and not let your will Carry you to Far in these things....
[Brigham Young] I once was ashamed of one thing which I did while in Missouri in Zions Camp. I got a revelation that God excepted our offering. I had the same thing revealed to me twice & that we should not go into Jackson Co. I named this to some of the Brethren a day or two before Joseph got a Revelation upon the same subject. I felt ashamed that I named it first. I knew whare we were going and I now know that when we go to Jackson County we shall go from the west. ...
I told Brother Joseph that he had given us revelation enough to last us 20 years. When that time is out I can give as good revelation as their is in the Doctrins & Covenants.
...It may be thought strange by the Brethren that I will still fellowship Elder Pratt after what He has said but I shall do it. I am determined to whip Brother Pratt into it and make him work in the harvest.
Orson Pratt said if I gratifyed my feelings I had rather go into the Canyon than to Preach. I have got to go to Tooele to get wood for my family.
Presidet Young said I will give you a mission in Tooele to preach & send word to the Bishop to get some man & draw up his wood. Brother Pratt has no business in the Canyon. The Lord does not want him there. F D Richard Dismissed the meeting.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]; Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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