Was Joseph Smith cut off for transgression? I answer, if the Lord is to be believed he was; for he expressly promises that if Joseph abided in him, he should stand in the office in which he was placed, until the coming of the Son of Man. If Joseph is not living, and the Son of Man is not come, he must, admitting the word of God, be cut off for transgression.

Admitting this fact, we must conclude, that he transgressed the law of God; the question then arises, how did he transgress the law of God? I answer, he taught the doctrine that a man could have ten wives; the Lord has declared "thou shalt have one wife, and cleave unto her and none else." Joseph taught that David did not sin in having many wives, only in the case of Uriah.