| 146 Thus we close some of the words spoken and written in defense of the red men of the West, words heard on high because of their favor for the descendants of a civilized and powerful people, a people once noble and great in the midst of the land, but who are now filthy, degraded, and loathed, and a prey to all, according to the Scriptures.
September, 1876, Elder Joseph Dewsnup wrote a detailed account of the Saints of Manchester, England, including himself, severing their connection with the people of Utah, and their union with the Reorganization, with the reasons assigned for these actions. He relates that they first became dissatisfied with the Utah organization because of the tyranny of the authorities sent there. They then through the instrumentality of Elder Thomas Taylor had investigated the claims of the Reorganization. He adds:
We had opened a correspondence with Elder Thomas Taylor, of Birmingham, the acting president of the Reorganization in this country, and through him we had been supplied with a number of tracts, which we had diligently perused, and which had had the effect of completely destroying the little faith we had in the divine authority of the priesthood and leaders of the church of Utah.
The tracts alluded to were entitled, "Brighamism," "Idolatry," "Reply to Orson Pratt," "Polygamy: Was it an Original Tenet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," "The Bible versus Polygamy," "The Basis of Polygamy," etc., and by the instrumentality of these works our eyes have at last been opened to the false position in which we had placed ourselves in sustaining the doctrines attached as part of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; for upon examination we discovered that they were contrary to the revelations of God, given through Joseph Smith the prophet. The immediate result of this was that a number of us at once placed our resignation in the hands of the proper authorities. We still continued our investigation, and at length, with one exception, we were satisfied that our duty to God required our identification with the Reorganization, which was accomplished on Saturday and Sunday, the 16th and 17th of September, 1876; and the Manchester Branch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is now an established fact, fourteen having been baptized, and six more requesting baptism. . . .
We have been trusting to the arm of flesh, but now our dependence is in the Almighty God; and praised be his holy name, for in our darkness he has given us light, and he has blessed us with true liberty; liberty such as always follows the profession and practice of the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have realized his soul-sanctifying promise, "Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest" and
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