New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-24
AN OVERLAND JOURNEY
XXI.
XXI.
THE MORMONS AND M0RAONIsM


.,;o,sS opportunities for studyiog the Mormons IN
.A.r socia or festye and 10 their devotional ss'eH'
,te,. OfpIiyate social interccurse-.hats Is intr-
.ssr,e between family and family Jndge Ina'
there isc comparatively litie here; between "''-
mo, and Gen.iles or strangers, OF course sun
Their religious services are much Ike bose 'h''
ke shared or witnessed in the churches % h''' "
.,, ro,,u,.r ,eets: the music rather oe"er
H. ,ou xill hear in an average "Viso'P
..,n,hlsoe in tte States; the prayers
-.,,;,s,t end full of JUNCTION; the 'ermols
adapted to tastes or needs different i'o" n'ne
They seemed to me rambling, dognadc' anu ia,
a;se,trd. in fact Eiier OrsOn Pratt, VINO preached
:, the uorpipg preiacea his harangue BY state
80. that he had been hard at work on his farm
throughout the week, and labored under conse-
~seut ply steal exhaustion. Elder John Taylor Il
Isheye he il oae Of the Twelve; at sl vents he ls
Ajsb aienitary 10 the Church, and man Of decided
natural ability spoke likewise in the afternoon
9th little or no premedtatiop. Now, believ
tia, every preacher should Do also sworker; Ink
10 SEQ one moving or pitching hay 10 he SHIRT
,keyes; and hear with etifcation an unletsred
but oevout ard earnest evangelist who, having
worked part of the week for the subsistence Of his
family, desOtes The rect of it 10 preaching the
gospel 10 small schoOLhouse or wsys;de gatherings
sfkesrers, SIMPLY for the good Of their souls. Let
Inn only be sure to talk good sense, and / will
excuse some bad grammar. Bat when preacher
N to address congregation Of one TO three thou
sand persons like that which assemblies twice each
Sabbath in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle, Insist
- 4 nf4
Nat be should prepare himself by stody and reiec-
ton, if not by writing, to speak directly to the
point This mortal life s too short aud precious TO
b wasted in listeLiDg TO rambling, loose jolnted
barangues, or even those which se'crally consume
an hour in the atterance, when they might be
boiled down and clarified until they were brought
within the compass Of half an hour each A thou
sand half hours, Rev. Sir have you ever pondered
TIER vsluel Suppose your time to be worth ten
times that Of an average bearer; stiD, TO take an
extra balfbour from h,usand hearers in order to
save yourst ore or fifteen hours labor in the due
and careful preparation of a sermon, is scsndaous
waite, which see not bow to justify. BE entfeat-
ed to repent and ameLd
The 0iscOurses 10 which listened were both In
teDsely and exclusively Mormon. Ttat is, they az
sum.d that the Mofmons were Gods peculiar,
ehoseD beloved people, and that all the rest OF man
kiDd are out of the ark of safety aud founderiogib
bestben darkness. am not edited by this sort of
preaching II reminds me forcibly of the Phari-
sses prayer: "Lord, / thank thee that am not as
"otber men are unjust extortiOners,' &c. do
not think good men delight in this assumption of
an exclusive patent for the grace of God, and am
quite cure it is not well adapted to the transforms
ton Of bad men into good 1t is too well calculated
to puff up its disciples with selfconcet aod spiritual
pride. That Jesus Christ is about to reappear on
the earth in all the pomp and splendor of mighty
eopqueror- be will then proceed to take veoge
aDee On bis enemies (mankind in general, whether
heather or nomiDally ChristiaD) and TO glorfy his
ekct 1.-THE Lat,erDay Saints or Mormons) were
treated by the Tabernacle preachers as propositions
TOO selfeydent to need demonstration. Having |
thus cbssused his enemies and gathered his elect
from the four winds Of Heaven" the Saviour |
is TO reign over them here on earth for thou
sand yesrs; at the end Of which period, they |
are together to be transferred to heaven OfcOurse,
had heard the Ike of this before, but it always
Sems 10 me very gross and wooden perversion of
tho magnificent imagery whereby the Bible fore
shadows great spiritual transformations. But the
spirit Of the Mormon religion appears to me Judaic
rather than Christian; and l readily believe that
Heber Kmbsll or at any rate one of the great
lights OF the Church. once said in convers alton with
. Geniile-"I do pray for my enemies. pray that
" they may all 20 to he'll" Neither from the pull
pit nor elsewhere have heard from Mormon one
spontaneous, hearty recognition Of the essential
brStbtrh of the entire Human Race-one gener-
Gus pray er for the enlightenment and salvation of all
markpd. On the other hand, have been dis inctly
E,,ea TO understand that my iIterlocutors expect
TO sit on thrones and To bear rule over muttQdes
in the approaching kingdom of God. la fact, one
sincere, dsvout man has to-day assigned that 10 Inc
q reason for polygsmy: he wants to quslify him
self, by ruling large and diversified family here,
for bearing rule over his principally in the new
earth" thu. he knows to be at hand. think be |
night far better devote few years to pondeiiog |
Christs saying 10 this effect, "lIe who would be |
"leas. in the Kingdom Of Heaven the same shall |
:" be greatest"
] was uudeceived with regard TO the Book Of |
Mormon. hsd understood that it is now vrtu-
an, N.e.ru,d or ct least neglected, BY the Church
IN il. services and min trations But Elder Pratt
gave US 81 nopsis of its contents and treated 1t
throughout IS of equal authority ~"u iu'pot'au'e
viii the Old and New Testaments. He ~ 10.
read from il, however, but FROM Malachi a1a
quoted text after text from the Prophets, which
be cited as predictions Of the writing and dis
coveIy Of this book.