Smyrna times., 1859-09-01
Brigham Young and Horace Greeley


: Inc Tribune contains letter from Horace
Greeley, giving his recollections of a conyerso
ton with Brigham Young and several otbe,
| dignItaries of the Mormon Church. Mr. Gree
ley put some very direct and searching ones.
tons, and they were answered with equal blnnt.
ness aud plainness, but after all nothing new
was ELECTED. We copy few extracts:
II. Z. What is the position of your Church
with respect to slavery
Y. We consider it of Divine institution
and not to be abolished until the curse nro'
nounced on Ham shall have been removed from
his descendants.
- H. u Are there any slaves now held in this
Territory
b. Y. There are.
Ii. u. Do your Territorial laws uphold
slavery! r'0'O
B. 7. Those laws are printcd-vou can
read for yourself If slaves are brought here
/ oy those who owned them in the States. we do
not tavor their escape from the service of those
owners. ''''''
H. G. Am to infer that Utah. if admitted
as member of the Federal Union. will he q
Slave State!
g. Y. No; she will be a Free State. Slave
ry here would prove useless and unDroitabla
regard it generally as curse to the masters
myself hire many laborers and pay them fair
wages; could not afford to own them. Utah
Is not adopted for slave labor
ii. u. | understand that you reuuire each
member to pay over one-tenth of all he produces
or earns to the church
Is. I. That is requirement of our faith
There is no compulsion as to the payment.
H. u. What is done with the proceeds of
this tithng!
b. Y. Part of it is devoted to building tenn
pies and other places Of worship; part to help
ing the poor aud needy converts on their way
to this country; and the largest portion to the
support OF the poor among the Saints
ii. u Is none Of it paid to Bishops and other
dignitaries Of the church
Il. Y. Not one penny. No Bishop, no Elder.
no Deacon, or other church officer receives any
compensation for his official services.
Ii. G. How, then, do your ministers live?
Is Y. by the labor of their own hands, like
the first Apostles.
ii. e. What do you say of the eo,caled
DanItes, or Destroying Angels, belonging to t
your church! !
b. Y. What do yoW say! know of no such t
1and, no such persons or organization. hear /
u them only IN the ISLANDERS of our enemies.
ii. u. With regard, then, to the grave
question on which your doctrines and practices /
ire avowedIy at war with those of the Chris
ian worId-that OF plurality of wives-is the c
ystem of yonr church acceptable to the maio. t
ty of its women!
B Y. They could not be more averse to il r
han | was when it was first revealed to us as f
he Divine will think they generally accept T.
t, as | do, as the will of God.
II. q. How general is polygamy among YOU!
b. Y. could not say. Some of those pre-
cnt heads of the church, have each but one >
wife; others have more each determines what
S his individual duly.
H. g. What is the largest number Of wives "
elonging to any one man. :
b. Y. | have fifteen; | know no one who :
las more; but some of those sealed to me ore
Id ladies, whom | regard rather as mothers
han wives, but whom | have taken home to
hersh and support.
Ii. G. Does not the Apostle Paul say that a :,
lshop should be " the husband of one wife 70
b. Y. SO we hold We do not regard any =
ut married man as fitted for the office of ;,
ishop But the Apostle does not forbid bishop :,
aving more wives than one =
Ii. e. Does not Christ say that he who puts Il
way his wife, or marries one whom another +
as put away, commits adultery!
B. Y. Yes and | hold that no man should =
yer put away his wife except for adultery .
OF always even for that. Such is mn individual :;
lew of the matter. | do not say that wives
ave never been put away in our church, but
lat do not approve of the practice. a