The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-06-27
SUNDAY SERVICES.


day, June 18th, 1882. commenced by
singing the hymn on the 44th page:
Jesus. from whom all blessings flow,
Great builder of the church below!
II nov Thy spirit mov-s my breast,
Hear, and fulfil thine own reQues:I
Prayer by Elder c. w. Penrose.
The hymn on page Alp was then
sung:
How dark and gloomy was the night,
When SAtau did his powers array
Against the Prince of Life and Light
and Judss aid his Lord betray!
APOSTLE GEO. @. CANNON spoke:
1t Is with peculiar feelings that l
stand bef0r you to-day, to speak.
Did l consult my feelings | should
prefer to look at you and listen 10
others. / am thankful at once more
being in your midst, and partaking
of that peaceful and sweet influence
which prevails among this much
| deSpised and terribly abused eople.
The contrast is very marked be-
tween the influences l have had TO
meet elsewhere and those which
surround me here. There have been
unpleasant things, but on the whole
have enjoyed myself much better
than had expected, and probably
better than some Of yoL might sup
pose. At no time have L
ever seen such an embittered
| feeling against the Latter-day
Saints as prevailed this last winter.
You have had opportunities of feel
ing it to an extent, and have seen
the effects in the results that have
been brought about. Had we been
like other people, we might have
been terribly alarmed at the mani
festations made. For a time it
looked as though all hell had been
let loose, and that nothing but the
destruction of the church would sat
isfy public clamor. If q person
came to this territory last winter
and visited you and examined the
condition of things he would have
found it difficult to understand the
cause of the excitement. throughout
the United States relative to you.
look npon this as one Of the most
extraordinary manifestations of the
times. But for the belief in unseen
powers, one could hardly understand
the influence operating on the pub
lie mind. To see 100000 of people
subject to a tornado of power,
whose reason had been dethIoned,
and madness rampant against
people quietly pursuing their custo-
mary vOcatiOns. It is supposed that
we live in an intelligent age, preach
ers claim that this is the browning
age for knowledge and truth, that we
are living in the full blaze of gospel
light; politicians claim that over
government is the fruit of the
thought and aspirations of past
generations; that is the boast
of the press and the pulpit. And
vet through these agencies this
whirlwind of passion has been de,
veloped. l had thought that If
this could destroy a people, we
should long ago have been buried
beyond recovery. The basest, most
unfounded and malignant false
hoods have been circulated. Men
and women who knew nothing
about us; preachers, editors
and others have lent themselves tc
do everything in their power to de-
stroy an honest people. What ha;
been our Offense? Wehav been &C
cused Of immortality. God knows i
that were a justification for destruc
ton, other communities woulC
meet with the greatest wrath
There is not another community
where virtue is more esteemed thar
ia this territory; and not one II
which more boys grow to manhood
in purity than here. AS l have re-
peatedly said, we believe in mar
rage, and open the doors to it; bu
we believe IN furnishing immoral
/ ity. All we can be accused OF l!
that we have embodied in our re
Iligion the practices of the patrl
archs, which we believe wCulC
check the vile practices now sap
ping the foundations of virtue IL
the land. There has been a great
deal of feeling over Utah, 2,4C(
miles distant from Washington. Ii
our practices had bad effects one
would hardly think they would be
felt at so remote a place. But al
the seat of government there
lis no law against adul
terry; no one can be punished for
violation of the marriage vow; that
is forgotten there. So with fornlca
ton, except in the most fragrant
cases. called the attention of Sen
ator Edmunds to the fact that one
would frequently see instances II
the evening papers of the finding o.
two or three babes in vacant lot;
and out of the way places, thrown
there by their inhuman mothers
And l asked him how far this bill
was intended to apply, and he salC
he hardly thought it would extent
to cases outside of Utah unless OF
sporadic character.
Now you see what the design is
it is not to punish immortality; i
that were the purpose, there wOult
be laws for the suppression of thes,
vices in the District of Columbia
The object is to strike down a pc
cuIiar feature of our religion. IL ha
no other object; it is because W,
make it part Of our religion.
have been told: eff you pIactic
immortality hI1t do not call il reli