 |
| Warren Parrish is accused
of embezzlement and leading the attack on the Prophet in the Kirtland
Temple, blamed for the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society Bank. Co-conspirators:
Leonard Rich, John F. Boynton (h), Luke
S. Johnson, Stephen Burnett, Sylvester
Smith, Grandison Newell. Others denounced:
Warren Cowdery, Martin
Harris, Joseph Coe, Cyrus Smalling. Inflammatory
rhetoric reminiscent of Sidney Rigdon's "Salt Sermon" delivered
a few weeks earlier. |
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"Argument
to argument where I find it;
Ridicule to ridicule, and scorn to scorn." |
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Elders' Journal
Elders' Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints. Kirtland: October-November 1837; Far West: July-August 1838. Joseph Smith editor (actually edited by Don Carlos Smith) and Thomas B. Marsh publisher. Replaces Messenger and Advocate edited by Warren A. Cowdery. Name changed to Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Sidney is assistant editor. See Peter Crawley's Descriptive Bibliography, item 39.
1, no. 4 (Aug. 1838): 55–59. |
Libelous
publications
Priests and their satellites |
|
We are not in the habit
of noticing the many libellous publications which are abroad in the world,
designed to injure our character. We generally let the authors and publishers
of lies, take their own course, relying at all times on the righteousness
of our cause and the integrity of our course in the sight of God, our Heavenly
Father, and feel disposed at the present time to pursue this as our general
course. Indeed we have felt to pity the poor priests and their satellites,
seeing they had no better weapons to work with than lies, a great majority
of which they made themselves, but some were catered for them by men of
like passions with themselves. |
|
"We
would say to the patrons of the Journal, that we calculate to pursue
a different course from that of our predecessor in the editorial department.
We will endeavor not to scandalize our own citizens, especially when
there is no foundation in truth for so doing; we consider that when
a man scandalizes his neighbor, it follows of course that he designs
to cover his own iniquity. We consider him who puts his foot upon
the neck of his benefactor, an object of pity rather than revenge,
for in so doing he not only shows the contraction of his own mind
but the wickedness of his heart also."
[Joseph Smith, editor, Elders' Journal 1 no. 2 (Nov.
1837): 55–59.] |
8
years of lies
Seek to dethrone Jehovah and upset His kingdom |
|
We have always been assured
of this, that if they had any better weapons to have used against us, they
would have used them, but as they have not, it would surely be wrong to
deprive them of the best resort they have. And we feel the more willing
to do this, inasmuch as we have no fear of their efforts doing any injury.
They have been employed at it for eight years, making and publishing all
kinds of lies, till one would be ready to think that the very prince of
devils himself had by this time got wearied and would certainly be ready
to sneak back to his smutty kennel, and there seek repose. But instead of
this, at the appearance of every new liar, not only the prince himself but
all the flunkies that fly at his knell whether in the flesh or out of the
flesh, take new courage and put forth new efforts, and it would seem that
they really believe that by the assistance of a few more liars, they will
be able to dethrone Jehovah and upset His kingdom, and with Satan at their
head, establish an empire that shall forever defy the Son of God and so
completely destroy the Zion of the last days that He never will come down
and reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His ancients gloriously. |
Simpletons
They will perish! |
|
Poor simpletons! They
do not know that He who sits in the heavens is laughing at them, that He
has them in derision, and that after He has let them foam out their own
shame and completely work out their own damnation that he will speak to
them in His wrath and vex them in His displeasure, and that when His wrath
is but a little kindled, they will perish! |
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| Excommunicants
have their attention |
|
If we did not know that
the people of this generation love lies more than the truth, or at least
a great many of them, it would be a matter of some astonishment to us to
see with what eagerness they give audience to every hypocrite and iniquitous
wretch we detect in his wickedness, and bring to an account. It matters
not how scandalous is his conduct, the priests and all their coadjutors
rally around them the very instant they are excluded from the church and
listen with most intense interest to their lies; and soon, the papers are
filled with their lies and abomination. But such is the piteous situation
of the priests of all denominations, for there are no exceptions to be made.
For to say the best of them, they have pleasure in lies, but in the truth
they have no pleasure, neither have they any part. |
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| Great
effort in last six months |
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Within the last six months,
they have been making one of their greatest efforts. The Church in accordance
with her laws, excluded from her fellowship a set of creatures whose behavior
would have disgraced a heathen temple, and as might have been expected,
they had recourse to the foulest lying and basest slander in order to hide
their iniquity. This served as a favorable opportunity to the persecuting
priests and their adherents. They gathered round them in swarms like the
flies round Esop's fox and opened both their eyes and ears to enjoy a good
feast of lies which pleased them more abundantly than any other sound could,
except the voice of Beelzebub the prince of the whole brood. His voice would
doubtless have been more delightful to them than an angel of light to the
ear of a prophet of the living God. |
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| Feast
of lies from Warren Parrish |
|
All these pious soul's
papers were put into requisition and this gang of liars, thieves and drunkards
were called upon immediately to write their lies on paper and let them print
them, so that all the world might have as great a feast of lies as they
had. Accordingly to work they all went with one accord. And after this mighty
mountain of bustle and human folly had filled its full time of gestation.
Behold! and lo! it brought forth a mouse!! From the bowels of Mr. Warren
Parrish and the priest's papers have flown abroad to tell the world of it. |
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| Granny
Parrish |
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No animal we presume
has been produced in the last century which caused more agony, pain and
groaning than this wonder of modern times, for during the time of gestation
and a long time before the birth thereof, he kept up such an unusual groaning
and grunting, that all the devils whelps in Geauga and Cuyahoga counties
in Ohio were running together to hear what was about to come forth from
the womb of Granny Parrish. He had made such an awful fuss about what was
conceived in him, that night after night and day after day he poured out
His agony before all living as they saw proper to assemble. For a rational
being to have looked at him and heard him groan and grunt and see him sweat
and struggle would have supposed that his womb was as much swollen as was
Rebecca's when the angel told her that there were two nations there. |
Leonard
Rich
John F. Boynton
Luke S. Johnson |
|
In
all this grunting business, he was aided by Leonard
Rich who, however, was generally so drunk, that he had to support himself
by something to keep him from falling down, but then it was all for conscience
sake. Also a pair of young blacklegs, one of them a Massachusetts shoemaker
by the name of John F. Boynton, a man
notorious for nothing but ignorance, ill breeding and impudence. And the
other by the name of Luke Johnson,
whose notoriety consisted, if information be correct, in stealing a barrel
of flour from his father and other acts of a similar kind. |
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Rich,
Boynton, and Johnson midwives for Granny Parrish
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Thus aided, Mamma Parrish
made a monstrous effort to bring forth. And when the full time of gestation
was come, the wonder came forth, and the priests who were in waiting seized
the animal at its birth, rolled it up in their papers and sent it abroad
to the world. But Rich, Boynton, and Johnson in the character of midwives,
waited around the bed of Mamma Parrish to get away the afterbirth; but
awful to relate! They no sooner got it away than mamma expired and the
poor bantling was left on the hands of the priests to protect and nurse
it without any other friend. |
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Little ignorant blockhead Stephen Burnett
Kirtland temple episode |
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A short time after the delivery of Granny
Parrish, a little ignorant blockhead by the name of Stephen
Burnett, whose
heart was so set on money, that he would at any time sell his soul for
fifty dollars and then think he had made an excellent bargain; and who
had got wearied of the restraints of religion and could not bear to have
his purse taxed, hearing of the delivery of Granny Parrish, ran to Kirtland,
got into the temple and tried withal his powers to bring forth something,
nobody knows what, nor did he know himself. But he thought as Granny Parrish
had been fruitful, so must he, but after some terrible gruntings and finding
nothing coming but an abortion, rose up in his anger, proclaimed all revelation
lies, and ran home to his daddy with all his might, not leaving even an
egg behind, and there sat down and rejoiced in the great victory he had
obtained over the great God and all the holy angels, how he had discovered
them liars and impostors. |
|
Original: Burnet
Stephen Burnett Letter (April 15, 1838) |
| Sylvester
Smith libel |
|
There
was also a kind of secondary attendant that waited upon this granny of
modern libels, whose name is Sylvester
Smith. In his character there is something notorious and
that is that at a certain time in Kirtland, he signed a libel in order
to avoid the punishment due to his crimes. That libel can be forthcoming
at any time when called for. And in so doing, has disqualified himself
for taking an oath before any court of justice in the United States. |
a libel: ¶ Minutes of August 11, 1834
libel: n. 1.
A defamatory writing. … Any book, pamphlet, writing or picture
containing representations, maliciously made or published, tending to
bring a person into contempt, or expose him to public hatred and derision. …
It is immaterial with respect to the essence of a libel, whether the
matter of it is true or false, since the provocation and not the falsity
is the thing to be punished criminally. But in a civil action, a libel
must appear to be false, as well as scandalous. Blackstone. |
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Thus armed and attended,
this modern libeler has gone forth to the assistance of the priests, to
help them fight against the great God and against His work. How successful
they will be, future events will determine. |
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A few words on the history
of this priest's helpmate may not be amiss. |
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Parrish's
adultery
Confessed, forgiven |
|
He went into Kirtland,
Ohio some few years since to live, and hired his boarding in the house of
one Zerah Cole. He had not however been there but a short time until Mr.
Cole began to make a grievous complaint about his taking unlawful freedom
with his (Cole's) wife. Parrish was, accordingly, brought to an account
before the authorities of the Church for his crime. The fact was established
that such unlawful conduct had actually taken place between Parrish and
Cole's wife. Parrish, finding he could not escape, confessed, pleaded for
forgiveness like a criminal at the bar, promising in the most solemn manner
that if the Church would forgive him, he never would do so again, and he
was accordingly forgiven. |
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| Embezzlement |
|
For some considerable
time, there were no outbreakings with him, at least, that was known, but
a train of circumstances began at last to fix guilt on his head in another
point of light. He had the handling of large sums of money and it was soon
discovered that after the money was counted and laid away and come to be
used and counted again, that there was always a part of it missing. This
being the case repeatedly, and those who owned it knowing that there was
no other person but Parrish who had access to it, suspicion of necessity
fixed itself on him. At last, the matter went to such lengths that a search
warrant was called for to search his trunk. The warrant was demanded at
the office of F. G. Williams Esq. but
he refused to grant it; some difficulty arose on account of it. |
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The warrant, however,
was at last obtained, but too late for the trunk in question was taken out
of the way and could not be found, but as to his guilt, little doubt can
be entertained by any person acquainted with the circumstances. |
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| Finds fault with Joseph |
|
After this affair, Parrish
began to discover that there was great iniquity in the Church, particularly
in the editor of this paper and began to make a public excitement about
it. But in a short time, he had an opportunity of proving to the world the
truth of his assertion. |
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Persecuting booby, Grandison Newell
Charges Joseph Smith with attempted murder
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A poor persecuting booby
by the name of Grandison Newel and who in fact was scarcely a grade above
the beast that perish, went and swore out a state's warrant against the
editor of this paper, saying that he was afraid of his life. In so doing,
he swore a palpable lie and everybody knew it, and so did the court and
decided accordingly. |
|
Plot to Murder Grandison Newell |
Warren
Parrish testimony
Joseph blameless |
|
One
of the witnesses called in behalf of Mr. Newel was Warren Parrish. Newel
had no doubt but great things would be proven by Parrish. When the day of
trial, however, came, Parrish was not forthcoming. Newel's council demanded
an attachment to bring him forthwith and accordingly, Parrish was brought.
But, behold, the disappointment when Parrish was called! Instead of fulfilling
Newel's expectation, when asked by the lawyers, "Do you know of anything
in the character or conduct of Mr. Smith which is unworthy of his profession
as a man of God?" the answer was, "I do not." The countenance
of Newel fell and if he had possessed one grain of human feelings, would
went off with shame, but of this, there is about as much in him as in other
beasts. |
|
Parrish surprised
everyone when he would only say that Newell's name had been mentioned
several times at the bank.
Zion in court
Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Edwin Brown Firmage and Richard Collin Mangrum (Urbana: University of Illinois Press), 1988.
, 384n17, |
| Liar |
|
In giving the answer
Parrish did, he has given the lie to all he has said, both before and since,
and his letter that is now going the rounds in the priest's paper is an
outrageous pack of lies, or else he took a false oath at Painesville; and
take it which way you will, the priests have but a feeble helpmate in Granny
Parrish. |
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Feared
giving false testimony
Now denies all revelation
Sylvester Smith |
|
The truth is, at the
time Parrish was called on to give testimony in Painesville, he had not
gotten his nerves so strengthened as to take a false oath and though he
could lie most insufferably, still he had some fear about swearing lies.
But no doubt, if he were called upon now, he would swear lies as fast as
tell them, since he denies all revelation, all angels, all spirit, etc.
and has taken the liar Sylvester Smith by the hand and become his companion. |
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Excommunicated
Repented and rejoined the church |
|
Some time after Parrish
had given in his testimony at Painesville, he began again to rail, the Church
would hear it no longer and cut him off, … and in order to get back,
he confessed all he had said to be false, asked forgiveness for it, and
by much pleading and confession and promising reformation was received back
again. |
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Confessed
lying
Returned to lying |
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Thus once under oath,
and another time voluntarily, for sake of getting back into the Church,
he confessed himself that all that he had said and all that he had written
were falsehoods, for his letter that is going the rounds in the papers is
no more than a reiteration of what he had before declared and denied himself.
This is the poor pitiful resort then, of the priests, in order to stop the
progress of the truth. |
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| Embezzled
from Kirtland Safety Society Bank |
|
But this is not all
concerning Mamma Parrish. The next business we find him in is robbing the
Kirtland Bank of twenty five thousand dollars at one time and large sums
at others. |
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| Managed
bank |
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The managers
had, in the meantime, appointed him as cashier and F.
G. Williams as president, and they managed the institution … |
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Counterfeit
Destroyed the bank |
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Parrish tore the paper out of the
institution and went to buying bogus or counterfeit coin with it, becoming
a partner with the Tinker's Creek blacklegs and in company with Julias
Granger, in buying different kinds of property with it and devoting
it to his own use and soon entirely destroyed the institution. |
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| Parrish
and Luke Johnson scheme |
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He was aided by his
former associates to take his paper and go and buy bogus with it from the
Tinker's Creek blacklegs and on the way coming home, they would waylay Parrish
and his gang and rob them, so they would lose the bogus money. At last Parrish
sold his horse and carriage for bogus money and behold, when he came home
and opened his box of bogus, it was sand and stones. Parrish was somewhat
chagrined at this, so he gets out a state's warrant, takes his coadjutor,
Luke Johnson ,
and off to Tinker's Creek they go, Johnson as constable. The pretended object
was to take the man who had them, the horse and carriage, one for stealing
them, and the others as stolen property. Coming to the place where they
were, Johnson takes after the man and drives him into a barn. Parrish in
the meantime, takes the horse and carriage … clear to Kirtland with
it and when Johnson had pretendedly tried to take the man, until he supposed
Parrish had got off with the horse and carriage, he ceased the pursuit and
went home. |
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| Parrish
fined $200 |
|
For this, Parrish was
taken by the sheriff of Cuyahoga County, his hands bound behind his back,
and held in custody until he paid two hundred dollars, and if he had not
paid it, he would have stood a chance for the work house.
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Thus O ye priests, what
a blessed company of associates you have got to help you on the work of
persecution. You ought to rejoice greatly at the venerable addition doubt
they are men as much after your own hearts as ever David was after the heart
of God. And you, Mr. Sunjderland in particular, you have no doubt in Warren
Parrish an helpmeet after your own image and your own likeness. Congratulate
yourself greatly in having obtained a man after your heart to help you to
lie and persecute. |
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| Liar,
adulterer, thief, swindler |
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O ye priests, but you
are a heaven born race, and that all the world may well know by the company
you keep. You have got Warren Parrish for your associate, a man notorious
for lying, for adultery, for stealing, for swindling, and for villainy of
all kinds, but for nothing else. Are you not happily yoked together with
believers, precisely of your own character? Surely you are, since it is
company of your own choosing. |
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For our parts, we shall
consider it an honor to be belied and persecuted by such debauchees. In
it we will rejoice as long as we have breath, knowing if these men speak
well of us, that we are not doing the will of God. For the friendship of
such is enmity against God, and the friendship of God is enmity to such. |
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And then, O ye priests,
we leave you with your holy company, until it shall be said to you all,
"Depart ye workers of iniquity, into everlasting fire, prepared for
the devil and his angels." |
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Warren
Cowdery
Worked in printing office
Incompetent
Charity case |
|
There
is another character who has figured somewhat in the affairs of Granny Parrish,
Doctor W. A. Cowdery. This poor pitiful beggar came to Kirtland a few years
since with a large family, nearly naked and destitute. It was really painful
to see this pious doctor's (for such he professed to be) rags flying when
he walked the streets. He was taken in by us in this pitiful condition and
we put him into the printing office and gave him enormous wages, not because
he could earn it, or because we needed his service, but merely out of pity.
We knew the man's incompetency all the time and his ignorance and inability
to fill any place in the literary world with credit to himself or to his
employers. But notwithstanding all this, out of pure compassion, we gave
him a place and afterwards hired him to edit the paper in that place and
gave him double as much as he could have gotten anywhere else. The subscribers,
many at least, complained to us of his inability to edit the paper and there
was much dissatisfaction about it, but still we retained him in our employ,
merely that he might not have to be supported as a pauper. |
|
For examples of Warren's writing, see Minutes
of June 6, 1835, ¶
Minutes of August 4, 1835, Managing
Expectations of Zion, 1837. |
| |
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By our means, he got
himself and family decently clothed and got supplied with all the comforts
of life, and it was nothing more nor less than supporting himself and family
as paupers, for his services were actually not worth one cent to us, but
on the contrary, was an injury. The owners of the establishment could have
done all the work which he did themselves, just as well without him as with
him. In reality, it was a piece of pauperism. |
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But now, reader, mark
the sequel. It is a fact of public notoriety that as soon as he found himself
and family in possession of decent apparel, he began to use all his influence
to our injury, both in his savings and doings. We have often heard it remarked
by slave holders that you should not make a negro equal with you or he would
try to walk over you. We have found the saying verified in this pious doctor,
for truly this niggardly spirit manifested itself in all its meanness. Even
in his writings (and they were very mean at best) he threw out foul insinuations,
which no man who had one particle of noble feeling would have condescended
to. But such was the conduct of this master of meanness. Nor was this niggardly
course confined to himself, but his sons also were found engaged in the
same mean business. |
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| Negroes
who wear white skins |
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His sons, in violation
of every sacred obligation were found among the number of Granny Parrish's
men, using all their influence (which however was nothing, but they were
none the less guilty for that, for if it had been ever so great, it would
have been used) to destroy the benefactors of their family who raised their
family from rags, poverty, and wretchedness. One thing we have learned that
there are negroes who wear white skins as well as those who wear black ones. |
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| Martin
Harris, Joseph Coe, Cyrus Smalling |
|
Granny
Parrish had a few others who acted as lackeys, such as Martin
Harris, Joseph
Coe, Cyrus P. Smalling, etc., but they are so far beneath contempt that
a notice of them would be too great a sacrifice for a gentleman to make. |
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Restrained
by Church
Let loose when excommunicated |
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Having said so much,
we leave this hopeful company in the new bond of union which they have formed
with the priests. While they were held under restraints by the Church and
had to behave with a degree of propriety, at least, the priests manifested
the greatest opposition to them. But no sooner were they excluded from the
fellowship of the Church and gave loose to all kind of abominations, swearing,
lying, cheating, swindling, drinking with every species of debauchery, then
the priests began to extol them to the heavens for their piety and virtue
and made friends with them and called them the finest fellows in the world. |
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Kirtland Apostasy
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