By Jerald and Sandra Tanner
In our last mailing list we sent a photograph of letters written by the Mormon Apostles Mark E. Petersen and LeGrand Richards. In these letters the Apostles threatened to sue us. Since sending this page out we have received two interesting letters from our readers. One man, who has been through law school, made this statement in his letter to us:
I just got a copy of your handbill giving the threats from Apostles Petersen and Richards. If ever I saw a bluff Mark E. Petersen’s letter is one.
. . . Now just what could his attorney do by calling on you? And if Petersen is ignorant about what you have published concerning him as he implies, just what would be the point in having his attorney call on you? If you answer him you should ask him some of these questions and also ask him if he is not aware, with all his legal knowledge, that truth is a complete defense to libel.
When they start fearing the truth, their position is beginning to become precarious. Your good work is beginning to tell. Good luck and more power to you.
Another man wrote directly to LeGrand Richards and Mark E. Petersen and sent a carbon copy to us. In this letter he stated:
I am today in receipt of photostats of letters you each wrote to a publisher in Salt Lake City, threatening him with a lawsuit if he published certain documents. . . . These letters you wrote are such amazing and amusing attempts to bluff that I could not refrain from commenting on them. For certainly no one with even the most elementary smattering of common sense could be led to believe that you would be so ignorant as to institute legal action in such a situation even if you were certain of winning your case, getting many thousands of dollars in settlement, and succeeding in suppression of the published documents.
The reason I am so sure of this is that a lawsuit would result in the very publication, in much magnified and publicized extent, of the very things you are trying so desperately to suppress. They would then receive much more publicity and much more scrutiny and study than this publisher could otherwise dare to hope for.
. . . I must at least give you credit for having better sense than to proceed to carry out this ridiculous threat. However, should I be so fortunate as to be mistaken in that conclusion, and you do bring suit against this fine publisher, I hereby pledge myself to contribute from my own meager funds, $100 toward his defense—and to exert whatever energies I can toward bringing this entire matter to light, in the firm conviction that such an action would tend to lessen the stranglehold the church has on this brainwashed and dominated area.
It is interesting to note that Mark E. Petersen has returned from Europe to attend conference. Although conference is held only 14 blocks from Modern Microfilm Company, Mr. Petersen has not called on us. Apparently Mr. Petersen’s statement that “legal action will be instituted” against us amounts to nothing but a threat.
Hundreds of copies of the sheet containing the Apostle’s threats to sue us were circulated at the conference of the Mormon Church, and other than the fact that one man said he would have us arrested, there was no trouble
We are very anxious to have the sheet containing the threats of the Mormon Apostles widely circulated, and we will provide copies free to those who wish to help us distribute them.
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