Can we successfully overturn the evidences presented by archeaologists for the great antiquity of man in America, and his continuous occupancy of it, and the fact of his stone age culture, not an iron and steel culture? Can we successfully maintain the Book of Mormon's comparatively recent advent of man in America and the existence of his iron and steel and domestic animal, and written language stage of culture against the deductions of our late American writers upon these themes? If we cannot, what is to be the effect of it all upon the minds of our youth? What is to be our general standing before the enlightened opinion of mankind? Is silence to be our answer? Again, will occur to thoughtful minds the difficulties attendant upon silence. In the last analysis of things silence would be acknowledgment of defeat. Silence in an age of free inquriy is impossible. An appeal to the old writers is of little value. The recent accepted authoritative writers leave us, so far as I can at present see, no ground of appeal or defense--the new knowledge seems to be against us. To stand up and say to the modern world we place our revealed truth against all the evidence and deductions of your science, and await the vindication of new evidence yet to be discovered, is heroic, but is it, and will it be convincing? Most humbly, but also most anxiously, I await the further development of knowledge, that will make it possible for us to give a reasonable answer to those who question us concerning the matters herein discussed.