| 243 there, together with the horror of war in Europe, and the yellow fever plague in the South, as recited above, are all in fulfillment of what has been foretold.
On September 24, 1878, Elder Joseph F. Smith, of Utah, called on President Joseph Smith at Plano, Illinois. In his report to conference in October he made some statements which President Smith in the Herald for November 1, 1878, notices as follows:
We noticed in our issue for October 1 the fact that Joseph F. Smith, of the church in Utah, had called on his way west. He and Elder O. Pratt had called on their way east, during our absence at the fall conference, and expressed a desire to examine the manuscript copy from which we had published the New, or Inspired Translation, and compare it with the published copy. Of course, neither of them saw it at that time, as we were absent and the brethren of the office were not informed of the matter. These men then went on east. Soon after our return home, which we reached the second day after the adjournment of conference, we received a telegram from Elder Smith, dated at New York, asking whether he could be permitted to see the manuscript on his return. We replied that we could tell when we saw him. He called as we have published, when we assured him that we were willing that they should examine the manuscripts and compare the New Translation as published by the Reorganization, with them, provided they were authorized by their conference, or by President John Taylor to do so; that we would appoint a committee who should meet with them and they examine the manuscript together; but that we would not submit them to examination by any unauthorized persons. We further stated to him that if Elder Pratt should be authorized by President Taylor to call and make the examination we were willing to submit them to him in presence of a commission appointed by us; as, believing that we had done our work faithfully, we were not averse to its examination; and that it must be distinctly understood that we did not object to their examination and comparison with the published version, by a commission duly authorized by the church authorities.
We see it stated in the minutes of their late semiannual conference that Elder Joseph F. Smith in reporting his trip east mentioned the call upon us and its object, but that they "found no satisfaction." Now if this statement means that we refused, or showed an aversion to the examination of the manuscript by proper persons duly authorized to represent the church which Elders Pratt and Smith belong to, it misleads the people and misstates the fact. If it means that there was no satisfaction in their not being permitted to examine those records as individuals, or simply as elders of their church casually calling out of curiosity, we shall not dispute it; because they are the only judges of what pleases or displeases, of what is satisfactory or unsatisfactory to themselves. As
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