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Source: Church History Vol. 3 Chapter 34 Page: 669 (~1872)

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669 of receiving and imparting necessary instruction to those wishing to avail themselves of its advantages. Such was evidently the intention of the establishment of the school or schools at Nauvoo; and the only bad feature that we now remember in connection with any of the literary institutions at Nauvoo, is that the library belonging to the 'Lyceum Association,' was grossly robbed of its books, at or about the time of the breaking up there. If a people would be free, they must be intelligent, and intelligence other than the light of the Spirit must be cultivated, and cultivation must be had in the schools; and these schools to be effective for the people, must be of and by the people.

"The Kirtland bank was a failure. Whatever may have been the intention, so far as honesty of motive may be implied, we have not a word to write; but we may be pardoned if we do assume that the supposed effect was to be the easing up of monetary stringency, by the issue and circulation of an equivalent to the hard facts of currency, gold and silver coin. That the bank as a scheme failed, may be more attributable to a failure to comprehend and carry out its business details, than to absolute dishonesty in its projectors. It was an unfortunate measure, and entailed a portion of shame and disgrace upon all involved in it, either by direct or indirect implication. We cannot defend it, as we believe it to have been an error-a grave error. Whether some of the parties engaged in it were overpersuaded, or voluntarily lent the aid and sanction of their names to it, we do not know; but we are satisfied that it was a prostitution of spiritual character, prestige, and forecast, to improper uses, in the vain hope that the end would justify the means; its failure might have been easily predicted, and was inevitable. We have stated all that we need to state when we write it as our conviction that it was an error.

"The organization and operation of joint stock companies was a favorite measure of the immediate past. We cannot write the history of them all, nor do we care to write the history of any; it is enough that they one by one perished,

(page 669)

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