The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-11-03
IN THE MORMON HOMES.
aow They Bolster Up PoIygamy by Threat
in Their Greed.

HOw They Bolster Up POlygnmy by Threats
i'm Their Greed.
When good Mormon dies who has
"lived upto his religion" and has had
dozen or two wives and fifty or sixty
children, he does not become a mere
angel like an ordinary Christian-he
becomes a god with world of his own
to reign over. A Mormon wife who op
poses the polygamous marriage of her
husband goes to perdition and is "de-
stroyed." A Mormon who obeys the
mandates of the church in most re-
spects, but neglects to "go into po-
lygamy," becomes O mere angel, who
must be kind of celestial servant to
the gods and other angels. His wife
must share the same humiliating fate.
The doctrine of "blood atonement" is
simply this: That if an apostate's throat
is cut, the spilling of his blood upon
the ground will save his soul. If he is
left to die natural death, his soul will
go to perdition. A great many apostate
souls have been saved in Utah. This,
in substan ce, is the Mormon religion.
It's vagaries, however, are constantly
branching out in every direction, and
in the course of time an enormous intel
lect will be required to comprehend and
expound the entire system.
One of the oldest citizens of Miners
vile is Judge Rollins, who passed some
time in California in the very earliest
days of its settlement, and was formerly
the possessor of a handsome fortune,
which he lost in mining operations,
He is an American by birth and is
strongly attached to the Mormon faith.
If my memory serves me right he has
only two wives, with whom he dUeiis
in peace and contentment, l was su,-
prised that q man of his intell- ell, q
could believe in all the Mormon i,re ON
about visions, angels, revelations. The
casting out of devils, miraculous cures,
the laying On of hands, etc. He WAS
firm in the faith, however. He took me
over ono evening to witness o meeting
of the choir of the Minersville church.
The structure in which the little convo-
cation was held was plain and unpre.
| tending. The Mormons pay great at
tention to ythe musical department of
their religious services. The "young
people" present were gay and light
hearted, and in no wise different in
appearance from similar gathering in
Protestant community. They sang
I" the songs Of Zion" with effect, and
evinced great interest in the musical
art. Evidently the female portion of
them gave little thought to the dark
future which polygamy unfolded before
them. Afterward, at the judges house,
I met Captain Sam, an Indian chief,
who was on begging tour. The Nor
mons are liberal in their dealings with
the Indians, invariably treating them
with great kindness, regarding them as
the descendants of the Lamanites. who
conquered the Nephites. Considerable
success has been met with in converting
the Indians. The entire Navajo tribe
are said to have become Mormons.
saw a delegation from this tribe at
Beaver City. The chief was decked out
with feathers and gewgaws in manner
to quite come up to the standard Of one
of Cooper's copper colored heroes. The
humber members of the party were
also we'll adorned, and all were vel
armed and we'll mounted. They were {
fine body of red men, and in answer tt
an inquiry, stated that they were OF
their way to Salt Lake City "to asl
President Taylor question"
At the hotel in Frisco / met yer,
intelligent gentleman who had passeC
half lifetime in Utah, and had Travelled
through almost every portion of it. II
the course of an interesting conversa
ton he said:
/ was intimately acquainted with tn
| nh f1nn
talented son. He was man OF nobl
personal appearance, and of the mos
brilliant talents. l have heard hir
preach with an eloquence that drey
tears from the eyes of his Mormon list
eners. In the pulpit he was the EN-
bodiment of dignity, grace and intel
lectual power. Then, after the audi
ence had departed, have known hir
TO laugh and make sport of the de
luded creatures who had been listenin
to him. To me he made no secret c
the fact that he was an infidel of tn
most pronounced type. He took m
into the library once and pointed OF
elegantly bound volumes Of Hume, Vo
taire. Paine, Volney, and other distir
guished Writers of that school. II
believed in no existing religion. 1 n
preached him for continuing such d.
ception, and urged him to go forth int
the world and win the noble name h
abilities entitled him to. "Pshawp b
replied, with smile, /" the human rae
loves to be humbugged. Somebod
will get their money, and l might q
we'll have share of it.as anybody else
His mental splendors were clouded b
an unconquerable vice. At times /
drank to excess and made great troub
for the church. On one occasion, whe
| under the influence of liquor, he pcinte
, to party of Mormons on their way
J labor in the fields and deIi-ively /
J marked "There go some of my fath'
slaves" His contempt for human nai u
3 was unbounded. He died prenlatu
| death at Manti from the effects OF pr
5 tracted spree, He was the only resi-
a promising son in Brigham's fam'l j'
: San Francisco Chronicle.
Aged 116 Years.
e Centenarians in America must loo
e tn their Iaurels. French papers repo