The discussion came off in accordance with this arrangement, and Mr. Hamilton was vanquished. "No great honor, however," says Elder Taylor, in his account of this affair, "as he was a very ignorant man."
Another minister delivered a course of lectures against him, to which he replied in his own hall—the Wellington Rooms. Another—a Mr. J. Curran—published a series of newspaper articles against Mormonism, to which he replied. At the same time the Rev. Robert Heys, a Wesleyan Methodist, published three pamphlets in opposition to his doctrines, to each of which he published a reply. Unfortunately, only one of these pamphlets—the second—has been preserved; but from it we may learn something of Elder Taylor's power as a debater, the power by which he earned his title of "Champion of Truth." It is not my purpose to follow the discussion in all its details, or even give an outline of it, but simply introduce a single paragraph that is a specimen of Elder Taylor's cogent reasoning.
His reverend opponent stoutly objected to Mormonism because it was based on a new revelation, and in his view the day of revelation had passed—the volume thereof was complete; and he maintained that the Bible itself forbids any more revelation being added to it, and as Mormonism claimed to have come into existence through revelation, it violated the prohibitions of the Bible, and therefore Mormonism was an imposture.
In support of this argument, he quoted three passages of scripture: First from Deuteronomy, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you;" second from Proverbs, "Every word of the Lord is pure, * * * Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar;" lastly, from Revelation, "I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book."
To this argument Elder Taylor replied:
"With astonishing confidence in the infallibility of his skill in biblical lore, Mr. Heys rapidly carries his readers along with him through the Old and New Testaments, and then, after showing them why they were written, he reveals the perfection of his knowledge by giving publicity to the following, which, for aught I know, he may consider a new discovery: 'Now of this complete and infallible rule (meaning the HOLY BIBLE) God has decreed and declared that nothing shall be either added to it or taken from it!' This certainly must be a new revelation, for such a decree or declaration is not to be found in the whole of the sacred writings! It is true, he quotes three passages—one from Deuteronomy, one from Proverbs, and another from Revelation; but not one of them contains the decree! That in Deuteronomy refers exclusively to the Book of the Law. If they declared the revelation of God to be complete, the other scriptures could never have been written. That in Proverbs refers to the portion of the sacred writings then in existence. If it is declared the Holy Scriptures were complete, there would not have been afterwards a continued written revelation. That in the Revelation refers to the Apocalypse alone, it being, when written, a separate book, unconnected with the other books of the New Testament which were not then collected; it could not, therefore, have reference to any other book or books of the Holy Scriptures. According to his own interpretation of the above scriptures, in quoting from Proverbs, he would reject the New Testament and all the prophets that prophesied after Solomon's day; and in his quotation from Deuteronomy, he would reject all the Bible but the five books of Moses. But let Mr. Hays take care that he himself is not incurring the curse by altering the meaning of the words of the very books to which the prohibition positively and particularly refers!"
Thus he followed his opponent in all his wanderings, as he promises to do in the beginning of the reply from which the above is taken—"lest he should 'pervert the truth' and 'darken counsel by words without knowledge.'" "And while pursuing him," he continues, "it will afford me no small degree of satisfaction and delight to observe the mists of error which he has spread around him, dissipated by the clear light of the gospel, and to behold the fair flowers of Paradise rising again unhurt in all their native beauty, from beneath the ruthless tread of his unhallowed feet."
Despite all the opposition that raged against him, Elder Taylor found a goodly number who were seeking for the truth, and sufficiently susceptible to the influence of God's Holy Spirit to receive his testimony and be baptized. These he organized into a branch of the Church, and, having placed the work in this island on a substantial footing, he returned to Liverpool.