The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-11-25
THE MORRISITES.


SPirttualistlo MOrmOnism-Ths Spirits
OF the old Prophets ReappeartnR ON
Earth-A Poor Woman Believes she is
Eves
From Gho Cairo Democrat. l4th
new and strange sect, folding TO a higher
or1eI OF sPlrltualism than the Andrew jackson
senool Oh Splritualists, was founded by Joseph
motifs, an Engllshman, in the town OF Weber
near near SAT- % Lake City, in the year 1860, The
creed 10 sometimes called Morrsism, and is
substantially as follows That the spirits Of
the old prophets, commencing with Seth (WbO,
according to Morris, was afterwards Moses).
eno running through the regular lineage of the
Melchisedeo priesthood-Enos, Canaan, Ma
halalesl, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech,
Noah, and 80 on down through Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Jesse, David, Solomon, ct al, to Jesus
Christ, the last OF the regular priesthood In all
about LA, ,O0O- are now reapPearing upon the
earth in the flesh; that he (Morris( was Seth,
the first of the priesthood, and that Joseph
Smith was the second, having preceded him, as
q forerunner, to establish hormonism.
h The york; TSIk OF ~ aoF 6e Ss osns called 6y himself
being only the gospel In part, The object
claimed by Morris was to establish a universal
tempoP kngdsom 9gsdnr on me n esrsR IN IN accordance
days the God of Heaven on earth would break
IN pieces all other kingdoms and governments
and be an Inheritance of the people of the
Saints Of the Most High, which people these
norrisites claim to be.
Upon one occasion Morris called on Brigham
Young, and told him that he was his brig
ham's5 superior and that God had sent him TO
take control of the Mormon Church. Brigham
Indignantly denied the justness of the CLAIM,
telling Morris to 60 back to the God that sent
him, and request that God to 'kiss his footD
Morris then went 10 Weber, thirty-fye miles
west Of Great Salt Lake City, and there esta.
blished himself. In the course of fourteen
months he had gathered around himself about
seven hundred men and women, composed of
the brightest inteects in the Mormon Church,
some OF the leaders being profound scholars
So rapid was the increase OF this sect that Brig.
ham Young became alarmed, and sent out an
army OF about one thousand soldiers, with Eve
pieces of artillery. This force came before the
camp of the MOrrisites on the 18th of June 1852
and began bombardment. On the third day
Morris surrendered, and, marching out, laid
down his arms. After the capituation, the
leader of the Mormon rabble, Robert T. Burton
sheriff OF Salt Lake county, deliberately shot
down Morris, and also woman who interceded
for his life. The Morrisltes then dispersed some
going to Nevada, some to California, some TO
Idaho, and Others to Montana, being protected
in their escape by United States troops, under
the command OF General Conner
lady went with that portion of the Morrs.
ties who fed to ldado, and was persuaded by
her husband to abandon her Church and return
to the States; but the old faith clinging to her
mind, she, in turn, endeavored to convince her
husband OF the correctness of her singular re-
hgious notions, and TO induce him to espouse
and prOmugate them from the sacred desk.
His refusal probably unsettled her mind aud 1T
Is now thought that she has yielded to an ire
sisti6le impulse to go abroad into the world,
and, by preaching endeavor to propagate the
religion OF her prophet, Morris
From the same, l7th.
In our Issue OF last Thursday we noticed the
mysterious disappearance of lady who hay.
ing become convert to N0rrisism-spiritual-
istic ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS to induce her
husband, now in this city, to undertake the task
OF converting the world to the new religion;
and falling in this lost her reason. The last
seen of her was at Mound City, from whence
she travelled on foot in the direction of the
Junction. One remarkable fact connected with
this strange affair Is that the lady firmly believes
her husband Is even superior to MOrris and
many of the Morrisites entertain the same
belief. In one OF his revelations--for he re-
Ceived and recorded the Words of God Morris
prOphesed that his mission would not be of long
duration--that he would come to a sudden aud
violent death The prophecy was fulfilled.
But he also declared that greater than he |
would come after him to accomplish the
work of the Latter Dayss and establish and
confirm, for all time, 1.-The fulness Of the gospel"
and erect, for the people of the Saints
a universal temporal kingdom. This prophecy
has not yet been fulfilled; but most of the Nor
risites, who are fanatics of the most decided
description, believe that the husband OF the
Lost Woman is their Coming Man" His wife
insist that he is Adam and she is Eve, and that
he was Gabriel before he was Adam. The gen.
tleman says be might have been induced to
believe the new religion had it not been for this
attempt to make him grand dignltary in the
Church of the Saints OF the Fulnes Of the
Gospel. He is too modest to accept the prof.
fered honor, and too weak 10 carry the load
even if he had sufficient assistance to induce
him TO attempt the task. He says he is almost
sure he was not Adam, and he is willing to be
sworn that he never was Gabriel. He is of the
opinion that, when he becomes crazy enough to
believe that he was ever anybody else than he
is, he will be just the man to lead the Morristes,
and he will then take up the rod Of authority
and proceed to his allotted task.