Letter from Asahel Hart Woodruff, 8 February 1838
Terre Haute .
Dear brother
I received your truly interesting
letter of 5th January two days since and I am happy in improving
an early opportunity to reply. I perused your letter of Nov
20th to Don C Smith published in the "Elders Journal" with
much satisfaction. The account you gave of your ministry
upon the "Island of the Sea" in that communication together
with other particulars in your last letter to me enables me to
form a pretty just estimate of the result of your labors. I am happy
my beloved brother to assure you that I rejoice in the success of
those ministers of the gospel of the Son of God who are not ashamed
to declare the truth in opposition to popular error. And although
I confess myself an incompetent judge of the merits of the "faith"
of the "Latter Day Saints" as a system of religion yet, I entertain
an erroneous impression if the struggle between popular secta-
-rianism ^(2)^ and "Mormonism" ^(1)^ is not a strife between liberty
of speech and toleration in religious opinion and their
antipodes – dumb sevility servility to the prejudices of
education and the trammels of an illiberal bigotry.
You make some allusion to the "reserve" and "distain" of some
of your friends on account (as you suppose) of your odd
religious profession. That the deportment of some of them should
be affected in some degree by this circumstance seems to me very
natural and indeed when we consider how very inconvenient
it is for most persons under the circumstances to appreciate
properly the character and motives of the "Saints" it is
reasonable to expect themat many will turn up their noses and
make wry faces. I do not however suppose that in the
care of your early acquaintances you have just grounds for
doubting their respect and confidence for as far as I am
acquainted with their views they give you much credit
for your devotion to such a cause. There is perhaps
nothing cause from ^by^ which we are so much anoyed in
the world as the misconstructions that are put upon
