Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-09-10

was murdered and We were driven from Illinois ;
but nothing was ever made up to me by the Church
nor by any one. / believe know how to acquire
property and how to take care Of it.
Ii. q. Can you give me any rational explana-
tion Of the aversion and hatred with which your
people are generally regarded by those with WHOM
they have been brought directly IN contact?
! b. Y. No other explanation than is afforded BY
the crucifxion Of Christ and the kindred treatmen,
Of Gods ministers prophets and saints in all ages
| H. G. know that new sect is always dsetied
and troduced-that it is hardly ever deemed re
spectacle to belong to one-that the Baptsts, Qua
kers Methodists, Universalists &c. have each ir
their turn been regarded in the infancy of thei
sect the ofscourng of the earth yet canno
remember that either of them were ever general,
represented and regarded by the older of hei
early days. as thieves, robbers, muiderers.
B. Y. If you will consult the cotenporary jew.
ish accounts Of the life and acts Of Jesus Christ,
you will find that he aud his disciples were accus-
ed Of every abomnable deed and purpose-robbery
and murder included. Such work is still extant,
and may be found by those who seek it.
II. G. What do you say of the so-called Danites,
or Destroying Angels, belonging to your Church !?
3. Y. What do yoa say? | know of no such
band, no such persons or organization. l hear OF
them only in the sauders of our enemies.
ii. G. With regard, then, to the grave question
on which your doctrines and practices are avowed-
ly at war with those of the Christian world-tba;
Of plurality of wives-is the system Of your
Church acceptable TO the majority Of its women? ?
B. \. They could not be more averse to it than
was when it was first revealed to US as the Divine
will. think they generally accept it, as Co, as
the will Of God.
H. G. How general rs polygamy among you ?
b. Y. | cannot say. Some of those present
I heads of the Church have each but one wife
others have more: each determines what is his in
dividual duty.
II. G. What is the largest number.of wives be-
longing to any ono man
Is. Y. l have fifteen | know of no one who has
more but some of those sealed to me are old la
dies whom regard rather mothers than wives.
but whom have taken home to cherish and sup
port.
IL. g. Does not the Apostle Paul say that
bishop shoulA he "the husband of ore wite?"
married man fitted for the Office Of bishop
But the Apostle does not forbid bishop having
more wives than one
II. G. Does not Christ say that he who puts
away his wife, or marries one whom another has
put away, commits adultery?
B. Y. Yes; ard hold that no man should ever
put away a wife except for adutery-not always
even for that. Such is my individual view of the
matter do not say that wives have never been
put away in our Church, but that 40 not approve
OF the practice.
II. G. How DO you regard what is commonly
termed the Christian Sabbath?
B. Y. As a dvinely appointed day OF rest
We enjon all to rest from secular labor on that
day. We would have no man enslaved to the
Sabbath, but we enjon all to respect and enjoy it,
Such is, as neatly as can rocollect, the sub
stance of nearly two hours conversation, wherein
much said incidentally that would not be
worth reporting, even if could remember and re-
produce it, and wherein others bore part; but
as President Young is the first minister of the
Mormon Church, and bore the principal part in
the conversation, l have reported his answers
alone to my questions and observations. The 9th
ers arpear uniformly to defer to bis views, and to
acquiesce fully in his responses and explanations
lie spoke readily, not always with grammatical
accuracy, but with no appearance of hesitation or
reserve, and with no apparent desire to conceal
anything, nor did he repel any of my questions as
impertinent. lie was very plainly dressed in thin
summer clothing, and with no air of sancmony
or fanaticism. In appearance, he is a portly,
frank good-natured, rather thick set man of fifty
five. seeming to enjoy life, and in no particular
hurry to get to heaven. His associates are plain
men, evidently born and reared to life of labor
and looking as little like crafty hypocrtes or swim
dlers as any body Of men l ever met.
The Absence of cant or suufls from their man
ner was marked and general. yet think 1 may
fairly say that their Mormonism has not mpover-
ished them-that they were generally poor men
when they embraced is, and are now in very COM
Portable circumstances-as men averaging three
or four wives certainly need to be.
If l hazard any criticism on Mormansm gener-
ally, will reserve them for separate letter, be-
ing determined to make this fair and full expose
of the doctrine and polty in the very words of its
Prophet so far as | can recall them. | do not be-
heve President Young himself could presen. them
in terms calculated to render them less obnoxious
right to add here, because said it to the assem-
bed chiefs at the close Of the above colloquy that
the degradation (or If you please. the rcs,riction)
of woman to the single Office of child-bearing and
its accessories. is an inevitable consequence of the
syotem here paramount.
have not observed sign in the streets, an ad-
vertisement in the journals, of this Mormon me-
,r0pclis, whereby woman proposes to do any.
thing whatever. No Mormon has ever cited to me
his wile's any womans opinion on any subject
no Mormon woman has been introduced or mas
spoken to me; and, though have been asked to
visit Mormons in their houses no one has spoken
of his wife Tor wivesl desiring to see me, or his
desiring me to make her Tor ,heir) acquaintance,
or Voluntarily indicated the existenes of such a
being or beings.