The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-08-27

lation In our day! A. Yes; the revelation
of John the Baptist to Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdry.. @. Are there more god:
thanon A. Yes; there are many. O.
What kind OF being Is Godf A. HE'S In
the form OF man. Q. Did the spirits Of
all men exist before they took bodies upon
the earthf A. Yes; they existed in the
spirit world. Q. Isit right that any branch
OF the Church OF Christ should call itseli
the Church Of England, or the Wesleyan
Methodist Church, or the New-Connection
Methodist Church, or the Reformed Meth
odist Church, or the General Baptist
Church, or the Particular Baptist Church
A. No; God particularly disapproyes Of
such names being applied to His Church
or any portion thereof. @. Are these
societies which Use these names branches
OF the Church OF Christi A. No; fol
they have been founded in the wisdom Of
this world by men who have not received
authority from God. @. Why Is this cali
ed the Church OF Jesus Christ OF Latter-Day
Saints? A. To distinguish it from the
Church that existed in former days, as
these are the latter days in which we live.
O. How was the name given to the
Church A. BY revelation from God,
through His servant, Joseph Smith. @.
What power and authority belong TO
the Melchizedek priesthood? A. To
hold the right OF presidency, to receive reve-
ation from Heaven for the guidance OF the
Church, and to hold the keys Of all Ms
spiritual blessings. Q. What Offices does
the Melchizedek priesthood include? A.
Apostle, seventy patriarchs, high priest,
and elder. @. Did Joseph Smith receive
the Mclchizedek priesthood! A. Yes;
after he had received the Aaronic priest
hood he was ordained to the Melchizedek
priesthood under the hands Of Peter, James,
and John, apostles OF Jesus Christ, who
held the keys OF the priesthood. Q. Did
Joseph Smith before his death bestow all
the keys and powers OF the holy priesthood
upon the twelve apostles? A. Yes; every
key that was necessary to save and
eXalt mankind in the celestial kingdom Of
God. Q. Which is the greatest dispense
ton? A. The dispensation Of the fulness
OF times, opened through Joseph Smith.
q. When and how was this dispensation
commenced? A. About the year 1920,
when Joseph Smith. who then lived at
Manchester. Ontario county, n. Y, was
praying to the Lord TO teach him the true
religion, a vision OF the heavens opened
unto HIM. Two glorious persons descended
towards him; and one, pointing to the
other, said: "This is Ny beloved Son;
hear Him." Q. Who were these two
persons? A. God, the Father, and His
Son, Jesus Christ. Q. What instructions
did Joseph Smith receive at this time
A. He was told that the religious societies
on the earth were teaching incorrect doc
trine, and that he must join none OF them.
q. Did Joseph Smith receive power TO re-
organize and build up the Church OF Jesus
Christ? A. Yes; on the 18th OF May,
1929, Joseph Smith ana Oliver Cowdry
went into the woods to pray. and while
praying a heavenly messenger-John the
Baptist, the forerunner OF Jesus-de-
scended in bright light, laid his hands
upon their heads, ordained them to the
AarOnic priesthood, and commanded them
to baptize and re0rdain each other This
they did, Joseph Smith baptizing Oliver
Cowdry and he baptizing Joseph, and then
Joseph re0rdaining Oliver and Oliver re-
ordaining Joseph. Q. Will the Lord in
flict great judgment upon the wicked: \.
He will visit them with war and famine,
plague and pestilenCe, until they are'utter-
" wasted" such are some OF the teach
ings OF Mormondom to the thousands OF
children who are growing TO manhood and
wOmanhOod in these territories. There is
not a word in this catechism about plu-
rality Of wives, and yet the doctrine Of
polygamy is one OF the doctrines Of
the Church, and has the same power in in
tluencing certain class of men to embrace
its tenets rs did the teachings of Mahommed.
No man can he restrained from thinking or
believing what he pleases. Every man may
make religion to suit himself. and it is
between him and his God to Judge and
decide whether il is good OF bad. But no
man or class OF men have the right to set
up code OF morals or conduct in defiance
to law, whether that law is written or I'M
written, and call it religious belief, to be
protected by The Constitution of the United
States. The Constitution guarantees to
every man the common law OF England
as it existed in 1916. 1t also guarantees
a republican form OF government to
every state. The common law OF England
did not recognize polygamy in any
shape but the right OF one man to have
one wife at time; and although the Con-
stitution does not say anything about the
marriage relation, il carries the common
law into the Territories OF the United
States, unless altered by Congress. And
it is as much the right and duty OF Con-
gress to punish polygamy as crime as it
would be if John Taylor should to-day re-
ceiye revelation. as a part Of the Mormon
religion, that to rob the Unitca States mails,
or to murder United States officer, or TO
levy war against the United States, is no
crime. provided it is committed by Nor
mon. SO much for what the Mormon cate
chism teaches.
MAMMOTH MONOPOLY.
/ made reference in my last letter to
"Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institute,'
and described its immense building at Salt
Lake City, which | inspected under the
guidance of Mr.. Hooper, its president.
now desire TO show its object. Were it
merely mercantile venture, with its
branch houses wherever the Mormons see
fit to locate them, it could do no harm. in
spite of the fact that it is mammoth and
powerful monopoly. But it aims to do
more than thls-it is the strong right arm
OF the temporal power of MOrmonsm.
III connection with the efforts to root out
Mormonism, | may say that the Mormon
cancer is being poulticed, when it needs
more heroic treatment. The Church is
working for time. 1t knows the longer it
lives the stronger it will grow, the deeper
1t will take root, the wider it will spread.
and the more difficult it will be i'm re-
moving it. Its only hope is in being let
alone; but ii you let it alone, the time will
come-and that not many years hence
when you must get rid of il as we rid
the South OF slavery. Let the people
awake to this great evil. Let them not
lie supincly on their backs because
Mormonism is not their neyt-door neigh
Dor. They have duty to perform to the |
future, ana that future will curse them and
call them towards il they do not deal with |
events as God places events before them. |
Mormonism had its birth in this lifetime,
and it should not live beyond it.