Chapter 11 Ten John Ferrier's Conversation with the Prophets

Three weeks had passed since Jefferson Hope and his companions had left Salt Lake City.It pained John Ferrier to think of the loss of his adopted daughter when the young man returned.But the bright, happy face of his daughter persuaded him to submit to the arrangement more than any argument.He had already secretly decided that no matter what, he would never let his daughter marry a Mormon.In his opinion, this kind of marriage is not a marriage at all, it is simply a disgrace.Regardless of his views on Mormon doctrine, he was unwavering on this issue.However, he had to keep his mouth shut on this issue, because in the world of Mormonism, it is very dangerous to make remarks that violate the teachings.

Indeed, this is very dangerous, and dangerous to such an extent that even those saints who are highly respected in the church only dare to talk about their opinions on the church in secret, lest if a word is revealed, it will immediately cause disaster.People who were persecuted in the past have changed into persecutors out of revenge, and they have become even more severe and extremely cruel.The Inquisition of Seville, the laws of apostasy among the Germans, and the vast operations of the Italian Secret Party, etc., are all compared with the net of the Mormons in Utah. The erratic presence of this invisible organization, combined with the occult activities associated with it, makes it doubly terrifying.This organization seems omniscient and omnipotent; yet, what it does is neither seen nor heard.Anyone who dares to oppose the church will suddenly disappear.Neither his whereabouts nor what happened to him is known.The wife and children leaned on the door to watch, but the father never returned, never to return to tell them what happened to him at the hands of his secret judge.A little carelessness in speech or indiscretion in action will immediately lead to death; and no one knows what this terrible force is hanging over their heads.It is no wonder, then, that people are alarmed and fearful; that even in the deserted places they dare not secretly question the power that oppresses them.

At first, this mysterious and terrible power was only against those apostates.Before long, however, its scope expanded.At this time, the supply of adult women has gradually become insufficient.Without enough women, the dogma of polygamy is useless.Strange rumors then circulated of emigrants being murdered and travelers' tents robbed in places the Indians had never been.At the same time, a strange woman appeared in the inner room of the Mormon elders.They were haggard and weeping, with an indelible fear on their faces.According to the legend of the vagrants in the mountains, at dusk and twilight, they saw groups of armed bandits wearing masks on horseback, galloping past them silently.These stories and legends were just scraps and pieces at first, but they became more and more obvious. After repeated verification, people knew that this was what someone did.To this day, on the desolate prairies of the West, "Avenging Angel" and "Avenging Angel" are still evil and ominous names.

Learning more about this criminal organization will only deepen, not lessen, the horror already aroused in people's minds.No one knows who is counted in this brutal organization.The names of these brutal, bloody operations under the guise of religion are strictly kept secret.The friend to whom you tell your displeasure with the Prophet and his church may be one of those who come at night with a stick and a blazing fire to wreak havoc.Therefore, everyone has doubts and fears about his neighbors, and no one dares to speak his mind. One fine morning, John Ferrier was about to go out into the wheat fields when he heard the latch of the front door click.He looked out of the window and saw a strong middle-aged man with light brown hair walking along the path.He was taken aback, for it was none other than the great Brigham Young himself who came in.He was terribly frightened, for he knew that such a visit would be fatal to him.Ferrier hurried to the door to meet the Mormon leader.However, Yang was very indifferent to his reception, and he followed him into the living room with a straight face.

"Brother Ferrier," he said, sitting down, looking sternly at the farmer from under his pale lashes, "the true followers of God have always treated you as good friends, and when you When you were dying of starvation in the desert, we rescued you, shared our food with you, brought you safely to this valley chosen by God, gave you a large piece of land, and let you live under our protection. Come on, slowly get rich and get rich, isn't it like this?" "Yes," replied Ferrier. "For all this we have made only one condition, and that is, that you must profess our true religion and obey its rules in every respect. You have promised to do this; but if your report is not If it is false, it is at this point that you have been negligent."

Ferrier stretched out his hands and replied: "Then how can I be negligent? Did I not pay the public funds as required? Did I not go to church? Did I..." "Where are your wives, then?" asked Jan, looking around. "Call them out, I want to see them." Ferrier replied: "It is true that I have no wife. But there are not many women, and many need them more than I. I am not alone, and I have my daughter to serve me." .” The Mormon leader said: "I came to talk to you about your daughter. She has grown up and is a flower in our place in Utah. There are many high-ranking women here. All the characters have taken a fancy to her."

John Ferrier groaned secretly when he heard this. "There are many rumors out there that she is betrothed to some heathen. I don't want to listen to them. It must be the gossip of boring people. What does the thirteenth of St. Joseph Smith's canon say ? 'Let every young girl in Mormonism marry a chosen one of God; if she marries a heathen, she commits a heinous sin.' That's what it says in the scriptures. Since you believe in the holy teachings , you shouldn’t have allowed your daughter to destroy it.” John Ferrier made no answer, but kept playing with his whip. "On this issue, you can test all your sincerity. The Four Saints have already decided this way. This girl is still young, we will not let her marry an old man, and we will not completely prevent her from choosing. We There are plenty of these elders, but our children have needs. Stangerson has a son, and Drebber has another, and they are more than happy to take your daughter into their house. Call her Choose one of them. They are young and rich, and both are Orthodox. What have you to say on the matter?"

Ferrier was silent, frowning, and silent for a moment. At last he said: "You must give us some time. My daughter is still very young, and she is not yet ready for marriage." "Give her a month to choose," Yang said, standing up, "after the month is over, she will give me an answer." When he passed the door, he suddenly turned around, blushed, and sternly shouted, "John Ferrier, if you want to smash an egg against a stone, and dare to disobey the order of the Four Sages, It would be better if both of you father and daughter died on Mount Blanca!"

He waved his fist threateningly, turned around and walked away.Ferrier could hear his heavy feet rustling on the gravel path before the door. He sat with his elbows on his knees, trying to figure out how to tell his daughter about it.At this moment, a soft hand suddenly held his hand.He looked up and saw his daughter standing beside him.As soon as he caught sight of her pale, frightened face, he knew that she had heard the conversation. She saw her father's face, and said, "I can't help it, he's so loud, it can be heard all over the house. Oh, papa, papa, what shall we do?"

"Don't you be alarmed," he said, drawing her close to him, and stroking her chestnut hair with his thick hand, "we'll find a way. Your love for that lad won't Lighten up, will you?" Lucy didn't answer, but held the old man's hand tightly, sobbing silently. "No, of course not. I don't like to hear you say you would. He's a promising lad, and he's a Christian. That alone makes him a better guy than anyone here, no matter what. How they worship and pray, and don't care how much they preach. Tomorrow morning a group of people are leaving for Nevada, and I'm going to send Hope a letter to let him know how bad we are. If I have any sense for this young man If you understand, then he will definitely come back as if riding a telegram."

Lucy burst into tears when she heard her father's description. "When he comes back, he'll be sure to find a solution for us. But it's you I'm worried about, Papa. People have heard--heard the dreadful things about the opposition of the Prophet, and that anyone who opposes him met with terrible disaster." Her father replied: "But we haven't objected to him yet. If we do, we'll really be on our guard. We've got a whole month to go. When it's up, I think we'd better Get out of this place in Utah." "Leave Utah!" "That's the way it should be." "But what about the Grange?" "What can be sold, we try to sell it for money. If we can't sell it, we have to forget it. To be honest, Lucy, it's not just now that I think of doing it. As for submitting to anyone, it's I don't care as much as people here submit to their goddamned prophet. But I'm a free American, and I don't like anything here. I think I'm too old, Can't do it like them. But if he's going to come and run amok on my farm, he's going to get shotgun bullets in his face." His daughter disagreed, saying, "But they won't let us go." "When Jefferson comes back, we shall soon be out. In the mean time, you must not trouble yourself, my dear daughter, and don't cry your eyes swollen, or if he sees you If you look like this, you will definitely come to trouble me. There is nothing to be afraid of, and there is no danger at all." John Ferrier spoke these words of comfort to her with firmness and confidence.However, that night, she saw that he was different from the past, bolting the doors one by one very carefully, and taking down the old rusty shotgun hanging on the bedroom wall and wiping it clean. , loaded with bullets.

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