Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Mark Twain and Salt Lake City


 Image result for mark twain
Mark Twain


When twenty-six year old Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) brother was appointed secretary to Nevada Territory, Samuel stopped over in Salt Lake City two days while traveling with his brother to his government appointment. Samuel stated that Salt Lake City was like a what?


a.      Zoo

b.      Jungle 

c.       Disneyland

d.      Fairyland


Yesterday’s answer:


a.      Presbyterian missionaries


When Henry Kendall, general secretary of the New School Presbyterian Church Board of Domestic Missions, visited Salt Lake City on his way to San Francisco in 1864, he found Brigham Young to be an affable conversationalist. Kendall inquired if he had any objections to the establishment of Protestant churches in Utah. Young replied, “No objection whatever on our part, or to sending missionaries to the Mormons either, if you like.” Young invited Kendall to speak at the Tabernacle where he preached to “a large, respectful, and attentive audience.” Young advised his people, “Accord to every reputable person who may visit you, and who may wish to occupy the stands of your meeting houses to preach to you, the privilege of doing so, no matter whether he is a Catholic, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Baptist, Free-will Baptist, Methodist, or whatever he may be; and if he wished to speak to your children, let him do so.”


R. Douglas Brackenridge, “Hostile Mormons and Persecuted Presbyterians in Utah, 1870-1900: A Reappraisal,” The Journal of Mormon History, Vol. 37, Summer 2011, 169.

No comments:

Post a Comment