The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1856-06-11


> Great Salt Lake City, and unanimously report
= ed constitution for the estate of Deseret .
This is move fraught with the utmost impol
:. lance to the country, and one calculated to ere
. ate no small excitement. There can be nothin
too severe said of SO monstrous system of i'm
> posture and wickedness as is ripening and fe<
= tering in the valley of the Salt Lake; and it
- the most Notifying fact that has occurred i
. the history of our institutions that such com
munity can claim right to be admitted int
. the constellation of States which form the Amer
lean Union, and demand a place for its pro
phets and saints in the senate and house of re
representatives. Of congress, there to enact law
for the government of the United States TIL
mormon history only demonstrates that we meet
some territorial legislation more definite thai
has yet been undertaken. The press has TO
years teemed with sketches ofthe saints moral
and fragments of their religious tenets. The
system is incongruous as to its parts, but sin
= gle in its end-the Strengthening and enrich
ment Of a hierarchy, at the expense of the de-
pendent dupes, who, once caught IN the trap Of
Deseret, cannot get away. When difficulty
presents itsefto the priesty- ex-governor, the So
luton is obvious and immediate-a new reve-
lation! The holy scrip tures are interpolatedi in
manner which leaves us in doubt which most
to admire, the ignorance or the impiety Of the
prophets. Converts are bought by indulgence
to their lewd passions and vices, and are re-
tanned by social tyranny which intimidates
the weak, and compels the outward conformity
of those whose reason revolts. The whole set
Element, or rather colony, is under a complete
system of espionage. The power of the priest
hood is absolute in all things. Where an at
tempt has been made TO appoint officers under
the authority of the general government, they
have found that they held sinecure; but not
in any covetable sense, for their situation was
that of men whose official existence was unre-
cognised The mormon community, according
to their own journal, let ''all such officials Sc
verely Alone" and continue to manage their
own district of country as they please. All tlis
we CLEAN from the report made to the secretary
of war by the late captain Gunnison, which has
been repeatedly confirmed by other officers of
the army Among the mostfevolting features
of the religious dogmas taught by these "lat- |
ter day saints is the Mahometan one of po-
lygamy and the inferiority of woman, to say
nothing of Joe Smith revelation, that 'no wo-
man can be saved unless she be sealed to some
saint woman can enter heaven without
a man to introduce her as belonging to him
self" And, Of course, the saint Or man can
introduce into the mormon heaven as many wo-
s1en as be, chooses. These knaves, if their fol-
overs are to be believed, have even dared to
proclaim that 'our Savior had three wives, all .
married by him at Cana of Galilee' The his
Dry Of the Book of Mormon is known by every
'ody who reads in America. It's origin has
'een published, together with all the crcum-
tances attending its conception and first public
appearance. 1t was the work of an invalid. 7
whose leisure mi ght have been better, if not
more probably, employed than in scribbling {
pretended history Of the lost tribes of Israeli
This manuscript fell into the hands of Joseph {
smith, who, with the assistance of several ac- Z
ualntances, published the book and founded t
n 1t the mormon community, beginning about l
1lrty years ago, with six persons, and number e
g 1t is said at this time nearly 200, OOO Per y
ecutIon builds up any sect, and with this for
lcr Icl ~, n
n the most transparent humbug ever imposed Fl
pom human credulity. 1t is not to be denied S
lat their operations have been conducted with [
onsummate skill and method. Immigration q
as been by them reduced to perfect system, e
i'd to temptation they have added terror in in
icing its increase. To repair as pilgrims to =
eseret has been inculcated as a religious du- i
. Deseret is considered but kind Of rail -
ad depot, on the route to Zion, from Whence f,
e SAINTS are to issue to govern the earth and
possess themselves of the garden of Eden, Al
nch they place in their abandoned Missouri a
'arters, and from this point they are to con- II
Ter the world. This new light upon ancient u
ography is not singular in people, one of II
nose prophets demonstrated from the Book of Z
cts that the mariners compass is no modern
7entlon, and cited the text, "And they fetched to
compass and came to Rhegium,' as evidence e,
that fact. Joe Smith, while at Nauvoo pro- of
unced Hebrew version of the psalms to be "
ly a portion of the Book of Mormon Such O
their erudtion and credulity; but the less of to
ldition they are numbered with the better 81
The question has now to be decided as to of
lat is to be done with these people? They in
, knocking at the door of congress, and de- e,
md to be recognised as an independent State he
d member of the federal Union, and this OF
nand will occasion no slight excitement in dc
cry portion of the country. Will congress, to
ing in view the peculiar religious tenets and
political and social customs of the mormons, -,
horse the prophets to adopt a constitution -
! organise a state government? Time alone
| answer the question. The present policy wv
o,, ,a,,f L. II, c.1-o