Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-29
MoRMONIsM.
TIE MORMON CHURCH IN UTAH
TIE TITHIEG SYSTEM.
what Becomes of the Money-"It's No
booy's Business" say the Priests
The Missionary System.
SALT LAKE. October %. 1851.

SALT LAKE, October %, 1881.
A person who has not lived in Salt Lake
has no idea-nor can he obtain it outside
of Utah-of the peculiarities of the Nor
mon religion. There is no doubt that the
rank and file are firm believers in their
faith, but no one ever charges the leaders
of the church with taking the slightest
stock in it. Men of sufficient intelligence
to successfully handle the complicated ma
chinery of the church and make millions
out of its workings, would be the last men
to believe that their robberies and aggres-
sions came from the hand of divine revela-
| ton.
THE TITHING SYSTEM
| Is the keynote of the situation. Every
saint must pay his .tithes every month,
either in cash or the produce of the coun-
try. For instance on the railroad line,
when the hands are paid off, the 1.-THE col
lector gets his turn at the cash before the
men. All the year round one-tenth of all
that is raised by the Mormons goes into
| the Tithing- house at Salt Lake. From
| this institution the leaders of the church
draw their provisions. and delivery wagons
plainly marked "Tithing- house Delivery"
are on the go all the while, carrying pro.
visions to the houses of those who are so
fortunate as to hold Office in the churchs
| What becomes of this tithing fund no one
knows, or how much it amounts to no ons
knows, outside the men VINO handle it. In
early days Brigham Young had the entire
| disposal of the fund, and made out of the
church about million dollars year.
When the saints were inquisitive enough at
one of the semi-annual Conferences to ask
where the fund went to, he rose in the
pulpit and replied g You fellows ask me
where the tithing fund gees to. It's none
of your darn business where it goes (; know
where it goes and the Lord knows where
it goes. Now isn't that about enough ?"
1t is pretty we'll understood that some of
the money is used, or at least has been used,
to advantage in Congress. One Sunday at
the Tabernacle, Brigham, who was not IN a
happy mood, spoke as follows {" am the
lion of the Lord, and it's my time to roar.
| What do | care for lot of darned Con-
gressmen or what do care for the Gov
eminent can buy up all Congress with
my millions. / hold it in the hollow of my
hand" After Young's death, the Apostles
and the Elders and the Seventies supplant-
ed the Young regime with system by
which all of the leading officers could have
hand in dividing the spoils, and under
this John Taylor, the present Seer and
Revelator of the saints, cannot swing the
church sack as easily as his predecessor did.
| TT oooorI,pr,
to the general estimate, and the other
Apostles, Elders, ETC., have their share.
THE TEMPLE FUND
Is separate from the tithing fund, and
separate and distinct steal. There are
three temples under construction. The
big temple at Salt Lake has been twenty
nine years in process of construction, and
is not half finished. 1t is an imposing
structure, built entirely of granite. Its
! foundations are immense piers OF masonry,
and its walls thick and substantial. Re
garding the cost of the structure and its
architectural beauties many exaggerated
| statements have been made. 1t is plain
affair, and imposing only by reason OF its
size. Its prospective cost has been esti-
mated by rowing newspaper correspondents
all the way from five to fifteen millions OF
dollars. The facts of the case are that
there are contractors in this city
who would take the job of completing
the Temple for $3.50, 600, and do 1T In
twelve working months. Under the pres
ent system the work is done as matter OF
religious duty by men who come in from
all parts of the Territory once year and
put in two or three weeks time for their
board. Each good Latter Day Saint is ex-
pected to contribute 80 cents month for
the Temple, and the cash so collected is
handled by John Taylor and the Twelve
Apostles as Trustees in trust. When
this matter is fully understood the policy
of delay can be more fully appreciated.
The Logan Temple, a new affair, has drawn
nearly S400, 600 from the Saints. and the
Manti Temple, also a recent structure,
about $3.50 900. have seen neither of the
two last. named structures, but learn that
each is about half built.
THE MISSIONARY SYSTEM.
zach year missionaries are sent abroad to
preach the gospel of the saints to the
world. The new converts are recruited
from Norway, Sweden, Scandinavia and
England. Many used to come from Ger.
many, until Bismarck expelled the Mormon
preachers from the country. These mis-
sionaries are necessary to keep Mormonism
from dying out like fire for lack OF fuel
| Thousands of converts are made every
year, and when they come to the Territory
they work in the fields, and by helping to
develop the country add to the already
bursting exchequer OF the church. The
missionaries make converts by rep
resenting land where all may live
on an equality and thrive off the
products of rich country. There
is no hint of polygamous marriage or 1.-THE
paying. President John Taylor was once
Mormon missionary and preached in
France General Agramonte of this city
heard his discourse, and not long ago the
General, who is at present resident of
this city, meeting Taylor, spoke of having
heard him preach in France, and added ::
"Mr. Taylor, you said that there was no
poIygamy in the Mormon Church, and that
the charge was lie gotten up by enemies
of the Church to hurt its influ-
ence. At that time you had five
wives. How do you explain that?" Tay
lor replied General, you are an old SOL
der, and when soldier did you not obey
orders? l was under orders then, and |
obeyed them.'' Implicit obedience to the
directions of the heads of the Church is
one of the features OF the Mormon faith.
1t is a common thing for Mormons in active
business to be sent away on mission, and
when they return they find their
property in the hands of the
Church. Brigham Young accumulated
great amount of money in this way, and
the Saints so victimized submitted without
murmur. The Townsend House, at one
time leading hotel, fell into Brigham's
hands in this manner. He sent Townsend,
the owner, on mission to Europe, and
agreed to buy his hotel. He paid for it in
real estate to which he had no title, and
Townsend did not discover that he was
really dispossessed of everything until