[James E. Talmage]
The purpose of my visit [to Spanish Fork] is to examine the 'Relief Mine,' commonly known as the 'Dream Mine.' Many rumors of this alleged mine have reached me and much has been said concerning supposed inspiration by which the work has been undertaken and prosecuted. ... I found thirty men engaged in the work, each of whom is working for stock in the company, all having faith in the divine direction by which they say the mine was located. ... The shaft penetrates the limestone of the region and is absolutely devoid of any evidence of mineralization in the mining sense of the term. ... I considered it would be well for them to abandon this work and to take themselves to useful and profitable labor. It is astounding to see the great effort they have made in what I believe to be an undertaking directed by the spirit of misguided zeal, which I believe to be the spirit of evil. Work has been in progress here for about 18 years, and on the statement made by the men themselves, the expenditure in labor and money is largely in excess of $100,000.00. ... The whole undertaking appeals to me to be lacking in the ordinary elements of common sense;...
[James E. Talmage, Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951, Electronic Edition, 2015]
No comments:
Post a Comment