Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-08-23
00lortester Daily Syn.
GREELEYs OVERLAND JOURNEY.
TWO HOURS WITH BRIGHAM YOUNG


who had expressed willingness to receive me
at 2P.M We were very cordially welcomed
at the door by the president, who led us into
the second story parlor Of the largest of his
houses The has three) where ] was introduced
TO Heber c. Kimball, Gen. Wells, Gen. Fergu-
son, Albert Darlington, Elias Smith, and sew
eral other leading men in the church, with two
tull grown sons of the president. After some
unimportant conversation on general topics, !
stated that had come in quest OF fuller knowl-
edge respecting the doctrines and poty of the
Mormon church, and would like to ask some
questions bearing directly on these, if there
were no objection. President Young ayowed
his willingness to respond to all pertinent in
quiries, and the conversation proceeded sub
stantially as follows:
H. Gam 1 to regard Mormonism (so-
called) as a new religion, or as simply new
development Of Christianity!
b. we hold there can be no true Chris
tan church without priesthood directly COM
missioned by and in immediate communica-
ton with the Son of God and Savior of man
kind. Such a church is that of the Latter
Day Saints, calledby their enemies Mormons
We know no other that even pretendS to have
present and direct revelations of Gods will.
H. Citizen | am to understand that you
regard all other churches protesting to be
Christian as the Church of Rome regards all
churches not in communion with itself-as
schismatic, heretical and out of the way of
salvation?
B. Yves, substantially.
II. G.-Apart from this, in what respect do
your doctrines differ essentially from those of
our Orthodox Protestant churches-the Bap-
fist or Methodist for example
Is. I've hold the doctrines of Christian.
1ty, as revealed in the Old and New Tesla
ments-also in the book of Mormon, which
teaches the same cardinal truths, and thus
only
II. G.-Do you believe in the doctrine of
the Trinity?
b. we do but not exactly as it is held
by other churches. We believe in the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, as equal, but not
ldentlcal-not as one person (being) We be.
lieve in all the Bible teaches on this subject
H. G.-Do you believe in personal devil
distinct, conscious, spiritual being, whose ma
ture and acts are essentially malignant and
eyil2
B. we do
II. G.-Do you hold the doctrine of eternal
punishment
b we do, though perhaps not exactly
as other churches do. We believe it as the
Bible teaches it,
II. G.-I understand thatyou regard baptism
by immersion as essential
b. we do.
ii. G.-Do you practice infant baptism
B. Y.-No.
IL. G.-Do you make removal to these val
leys obligatory on your converts?
B. Y.--They would consider themselves
greatly aggrieved if they were not invited
. hlther. We hold to such Il gathering together
of Gods people as the Bible foretells, and that
this is the place and now is the time appointed
for its consummation.
Ii. G.-The predictions to which you refer
have usually, l think, been understood to ind-
cate Jerusalem Tor Judea) as the place of such
gathering
B. Yves, for the Jews, not for others.
IL. G.-What is the position of your Church
with respect to slavery
b. we consider it of divine institution,
and not to be abolished until the curse pro.
nounced on Ham shall have been removed
from his descendants.
ii. Care any slaves now held in this Ter
B. Y.-There are.
II. G.-Do your Territorial laws uphold
slavery?
B. Y.-Those laws are printed you can
read for yourself If slaves are brought here
by those who owned them in the States, we do
not favor their escape from the service of those
owners.
IL. Gam l to infer that Utah, if admitted
as q member Of the Federal Union, will be
slave State F?
b. Y.-No; she will be a free State. Slay-
cry here would prove useless and Improbable.
regard it generally as a curse to the masters.
/ myself hire many laborers and pay them
fair wages could not afford to own them.
can do better than subject myself to an OBJ
legation to feed and cothe their families, to
provide and care for them in sickness and
health Utah is not adopted to slave labor.
H. G-Let me now be enlightened with re-
gard more especially to your church poty
understand that you require each member to
pay over one-tenth of all he produces or earns
to the church.
b. Y.-That is O requirement of our faith
There is no compusion as to the payment.
Each member acts in the premises according
to his pleasure, under the dictates of his own
conscience.
H. G.-What is done with the proceeds of
this tithing
b. Y.-Part of it is devoted to building tenn
pies and other places of worship; part to help
ing the poor and needy converts on their way
to this country and the largest portion to the
support of the poor among the Saints.
II. G-Is none of it paid to bishops and
other dignities Of the church?
b. Y.-Not one penny. No bishop, no ell
der no deacon, or other church officer, receives
any compensation for his official services. A
bishop is often required to put his hand in his
own pocket and provide therefrom for the poor
of his charge but he never receives anything
for his services.
H. Glow, then, do your ministers live?
b. Y.-By the labor Of their own hands,
like the first Apostles. Every Bishop, every
Elder, may be daily seen at work in the field
or tho shop, like his neighbors every minis
ter of the church has his proper calling by
which he earns the bread of his family he
who cannot or will not do the church's work
for nothing is not wanted in her service; even
our lawyers pointing to Gen. Ferguson and
another present, who are the regular lawyers
of the church), are paid nothing for their SER
vices / am the only person in the church who
has not a regular calling apart from the
church's services, and | never received one
tarthing from her treasury; If obtain any
thing from the tithing-house, ! am charged
with and pay for it, just as any one else
would the clerks in the tithing-store are paid
like other clerks, but no one is ever paid
for any service pertaining to the ministry. We
think man who cannot make his living
aside from the ministry Of Christ unsuted
to that office. / am called rich, and consider
myself worth $3.50, 900; but no dollar of il was
ever paid me by the church or for any service
as a minister of the Everlasting Gospel. |
lost nearly all had when we were broken up
in Missouri and driven from that State /; / was
nearly stripped again when Joseph Smith 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
oft.
II. G.-Can you give me any rational ex-
pIanotian nf tho ovarainn anJ hotrnd x.,;tl,