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Source: Church History Vol. 3 Chapter 34 Page: 663 (~1872)

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663 settlement of new lands, and opening branches of industry thereon; the setting up and running of printing presses, and the issuing of newspapers, periodicals, and books; the fostering of political influence by municipal charter, as in the city of Nauvoo, and the offering of the names of prominent men in the church for political preferment; the cultivation of the spirit of war by creating military organizations other than those provided by the State, and by the display of warlike dress, equipments, armament, and parade; and the introduction of secret orders.

"In writing of the foregoing measures, we expect to write of them as they now appear to us, and to state our convictions as to their real tendency to bring about the results intended, not as to the intention itself; for we are willing to concede at the outset that the intention may have been good, though the measure introduced may have been an error, and resulted in wrong.

"The establishing or bringing into working order, in an organized effort to promulge [promulgate] the gospel, the different officers authorized in the church, has always seemed desirable, and was only partially realized in the days of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. What the hindering causes were, is only left for our conjecture. Suffice it to say, that although a constant effort seems to have been put forth, up to the time of the death of these men, to secure such a knowledge of the working details of organized effort as would render the labor systematic and concentrated, the records found in the published works of the church warrant the conclusion that but very few were in possession of the knowledge of those details in sufficient degree to prevent or expose imposition if attempted.

"If we may judge from the present disposition manifested in opposition to proposed schemes for the further development and organization of the preaching element of the church, one difficulty to the proposed establishment was, the existence of a preponderating disposition to wait to be told what to do, rather than to do what was clearly pointed out as a present and necessary duty. This we recognize

(page 663)

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