Litchfield enquirer., 1870-06-30
Book Notides, Sc.

of the Salt Lake Reporter. Nationa Publishing O., Boston. The foregoing work, by Gentle resi-
 dent of Salt Lake City and editor of a Gen.
 tile paper in Corinne, is a valuable contri
 button to the stock of information regard ing the rise, progress, ,and present condition
 of the most remarkable superstition of ou,
 country and century. &sg5@t
 The supposed miraculous origin of the
 new faith is so absurd that it could only
 impose on the grossly ignorant. Joe Smith
 was, as his chief followers confess, ssof mean birth, wild, incorporate and even dishon est and tricky. Tt appears that a manuscript romance fell into the hands of Smith and Sidney Rigdon, written lg Rev. MT. Sol omon Spaulding, who with little altera- ton converted it into the Book of Nor mon. The whole account of the finding ol this work in Western New York, of it's pre- tended antiquity, and of its sacred charac- ter, is the most monstrous imposition on human credul1ty ever perpetrated. Never theless man of some property was found to furnish funds for the publication of the pretended translation in 1880, and the church of the Latter Day Saints was or ganized. They soon removed West start ing churches in Kirkland, Ohio, and in Western Missouri. They were driven from the latter place, in 1863 by mob, and compelled to take up their residence in countries north of the river. Smith, in the meantime, got in trouble about "wild-cat" bank he had started in Kirkland, and joined the Missou- ri Mormons. Here they had great trouble with the Gentiles, defied the law, and were
 finally expelled the State by the au- thorities. and Smith and others came near being hung for treason, murder, arson and other crimes of which they were probably guilty. They then removed to Illinois, making their headquarters at Nauvoo on the Mississippi river. They were at first we'll enough received, but their knavery, thieving, licentious practices, and their po- litical subserviency to the church, made them enemies. = Nevertheless they were much courted by both whigs and Dem ocrats, and obtained special military and civil privileges with view to gaining their political support. Smith was in league with Stephen A. Douglas who delivered him from 8 requisition of the Governor of Missouri on habeas corpus. He also relied on Gov. Ford, a Democrat, for protection. Under special promise that he should be secured against illegal violence he surren- dered himself, but was soon afterwards ta- ken from jail by mob and murdered. At this time, according to MT. Beadle, the Mormon sect numbered about 200, 900. He believes that they have been dwindling since. and ''are certainly losing in num- bers at present" a5 .,.s ..s .1.a
 Smith was murdered in 1844, and the quarrels between the Mormons and Gentiles grew more and more bitter, till at last they compelled to withdraw from the State in the winter of 1846. .and commenced their journey to Utah. Brigham Young was much abfer man than Smith; it was mainly through his en- ergy that the sect was kept together dur ing the troubles that followed the Proph- cts death and the hardships of the emi- grafton. -.s
 The history of Utah is 50 recent that it is hardly necessary to dwell upon it. One thing is evident; the faith could never have been supported but for the success of proselyting missions among the lower classes in Europe, not over one sev- enth of the Mormon population being of American birth. Although MT. Beadle fa- vors Congressional interference he is con- fident that the institution is doomed in Utah even without it. His exposition of the degrading effects of polygamy is very forcible, and the awful mortality among children, which results from want of prop CT care, indicates that the "peculiar sys- tenn" is by no means favorable to the in crease of population. Their gross immor- ality, bloody .fanaticism, and pitiable igno- rance make the Mormons public nuisance; but MT. Beadle fails to convince us that force will ever bring them to reason. He thinks that the complete ascendancy of the Church over the State is a much more dangerous evil than polygamy Of the decreasing prevalence of this practice, he says:- a. . :
 It is evident that polygamy culmnated in all it's worst features in 1856 since which time it has been slowly on the decline, and even without Government interference would hardly have en- dured much more than another generation. In these last statements l am aware that differ authority, particularly Judges Drake and Titus, and other D. s. officials, who have testified be- fore the Congressional Committee on the Terri tories. Nevertheless, suo is my conclusion from 8 mass of evidence given by persons, both in and out of the Mormon Church. and from a careful examination of the records. That polygamy has declined in the last five years is quite certain, from causes both within and without the church |;
 it is now almost impossible to induce a young girl brought up in Salt Lake City, or the northern settlements, to enter that condition, and the in- stances of plural marriage are confined almost entirely to young women just brought from Eu- rope. .eas. .L# ssag.s -4ds a. This work is sold by subscription only,
 and agents are desired in every county.