"Once when Brigham [Young] advised [Orson] Pratt that certain of his writings were not 'sound doctrine,' Pratt replied that he realized it was not his prerogative 'to teach publicly that which the President considers to be unsound.' But he hoped 'that you will grant me as an individual the privilege of believing my present views, and that you will not require me to teach others...that which I cannot without more light believe in.' Brigham contended that, as the Lord's mouthpiece, he had an obligation to assure that the Saints were taught correct doctrine. Convinced that his own views were based on the written canon, Pratt was reluctant to admit error. Convinced he was right, Brigham nevertheless was loath to publicly criticized and demean Pratt, whose mind and energy were among the Church's most valuable assets. Brigham feared the dangerous effects of Pratt's logic; Pratt feared the dangerous extremes to which Brigham might go in his impromptu sermons. Thus there was a continuous tension between Pratt the philosopher and Brigham the Prophet.
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"'The trouble between Orson Pratt and me,' [Brigham] once said, 'is I do not know enough and he knows too much.'"
-Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses
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4 comments:
Orson or Parley?
Parley.
In looking for biographies about early Mormons I came across this book: http://www.amazon.com/Parley-P-Pratt-Apostle-Mormonism/dp/0195375734/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337657670&sr=1-4
It looks pretty cool and seems like learning about him would be an interesting point of view shift from Brigham Young.
Thanks for clarifying. I was asking because of the Orson in the final sentence/paragraph of your quotation. The book you mention does look interesting.
My mistake. The first quote is about Orson Pratt. I've modified the original post.
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