BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Pratt, Parley Parker? An epistle of Demetrius, Junior; the silversmith, to the workmen of like occupation, and all others whom it may concern,—greeting: showing the best way to preserve our pure religion, & to put down the Latter Day Saints. Printed by J. Taylor; Smallbrook Street, Birmingham. [1841?]
Broadside 37 x 25 cm.
Traditionally An Epistle of Demetrius has been attributed to Parley P. Pratt. And this seems clear from the work itself, for it bears his distinctive style. The first edition of this work was published in Manchester, probably in 1840.
The context of An Epistle of Demetrius comes from Acts 19:21–41, which tells of the opposition generated by Demetrius, an Ephesian silversmith, to the teachings of Paul which posed a threat to the silversmiths who earned their livings making religious objects. The broadside makes a nineteenth–century Demetrius speak for the sectarian clergy in opposition to the Latter-day Saints, and it is hardly subtle in suggesting that the clergy attack the Saints only out of self–interest.
This edition of An Epistle of Demetrius is textually identical to the Manchester edition, except for the slight change in the title, the correction of one typographical error, one trivial word–change, and the change of Manchester to Birmingham in the first paragraph. It retains the phrase “for it is only about 10 years old,” referring to the age of the Church, suggesting that it was printed not too long after the Manchester edition. Printed at the bottom of the second column is Price One Penny.
The Birmingham Conference saw considerable activity during the year following its organization in March 1841. George J. Adams’s efforts there during October were particularly successful, bringing the expected anti–Mormon attacks. It seems reasonable to conjecture, therefore, that the Birmingham edition of An Epistle of Demetrius was struck off about the time of his visit there.
Excerpted and edited from Peter Crawley, A Descriptive Bibliography of the Mormon Church. Volume One, 1830-1847. (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, Religious Studies Center, [1997]). Item 135, p. 180.
Used by permission of the author and the Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University