If they are the “outlaws” represented I want to find it out, & I have no objections to any body’s watching them closely, & will do so myself; <​for​> if they are rogues it will do good<​;​> & if they are honest it will do them no harm. The best way to preserve men honest is to <​watch them & closely.​> keep them so, and not give them too great latitude to practice rascality, <​but I have not been able to learn from the county <​of the court;​> or any one else that a mormon has ever been convicted of any great crime in this , what cannot be said of the rest of the citizens <​of the .​>​>

It was <​is​> a very curious deed to me that a prop[h]et should have any thing to do with war & much more that he should have command of the troops. but When I made known my surprize at this I was met with all that calmness & deliberation which characte[r]izes this popele [people] by a refernce to Moses, the great ancient prophet, who let led the Iraelites from Egypt to Jerusalem: & They say that Moses had the command of the troops & when they fought their enemies, according to his orders, & Aaron & Hur, he the two aiddecamps held up their General’s hands & the army of Is[r]ael preveald.

The<​y​> also referred me to Mormon, a prophet mentioned in their Golden Bible very similar in his history to that of Moses. He led the <​his​> people to battle in his day, & fought terribly. but Some may say that is fiction. Well, so be it, <​so,​> othrs may say Moses is a fiction. Well so be that also, every one to their liking,— I shall not <​stop​> decide for <​who​> them <​is​> right or who is wrong.— but if it was right to have a <​p[r]ophet,​> general Moses, & a <​pophet​>, gener[a]l Moronid, why is it not just as right say th[e]y to have <​a popeat [prophet]​> a Genrl Joseph? “And which is the most honorable, say they, if we are compelled to preserve our lives by force to rise up like men & <​fight,​> do it ourselves, or sit down in the chimney corner <​like cowards,​> & call upon God to do <​fight​> <​it for us.​> some bloody Job, for us that we are ashamed or afr[a]id to do ourselves, <​Just as though we wantd will to put Some dirty or bloody Job on our creator, which were​> unwilly [unwilling], or were too lazy, to do ourselves”

. April, 22, 1843 [p. [3]]