Page 242 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
P. 242
Around the World in 80 Days
that his brother Hiram is a martyr, and that the
persecutions of the United States Government against the
prophets will also make a martyr of Brigham Young. Who
dares to say the contrary?’
No one ventured to gainsay the missionary, whose
excited tone contrasted curiously with his naturally calm
visage. No doubt his anger arose from the hardships to
which the Mormons were actually subjected. The
government had just succeeded, with some difficulty, in
reducing these independent fanatics to its rule. It had made
itself master of Utah, and subjected that territory to the
laws of the Union, after imprisoning Brigham Young on a
charge of rebellion and polygamy. The disciples of the
prophet had since redoubled their efforts, and resisted, by
words at least, the authority of Congress. Elder Hitch, as is
seen, was trying to make proselytes on the very railway
trains.
Then, emphasising his words with his loud voice and
frequent gestures, he related the history of the Mormons
from Biblical times: how that, in Israel, a Mormon
prophet of the tribe of Joseph published the annals of the
new religion, and bequeathed them to his son Mormon;
how, many centuries later, a translation of this precious
book, which was written in Egyptian, was made by Joseph
241 of 339
