The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-27
HORRORS OF MoRMoNIsM.
Mrs. Caroline Miles Gives the Secrets of the
Endowment House to the Public.

Mrs. Caroline Miles Gives the Secrets OF the
Endowment House to tho Public.
Washington special.
Quite sensation was caused at o recent ses.
sion OF the House committee on judiciary by the
statements of Mrs. Caroline Miles, who was for
years the second wife of Mormon, and to the
committee detailed her experience in passing
through the ceremonies of what is known as the
Endowment House Delegate Caine having de-
MED her statements, she now reasserts them to
the public in the form of an interview with re-
porter of the Critic. She says that Caine like
every Mormon who has gone through the En-
dowment House, wears next to his skin the
robes which are put on during the ceremony,
and which are never left off by male or female
afterward. She says. however. that change is
allowed now and then for the sake of cleanliness.
but strip Mormon wherever he
may be found. aud it will be dis
covered that he has the endowment robe
upon his person. Mrs. Miles described the oaths
taken by the candidates to be something horri-
ble The first oath of the Aaronic or lesser
priesthood, wherein the candidate swears to up
hold the laws of the Mormon Church above
those of any power on earth, not excepting those
of the country in which he or she may live i'm
pose the penalty of having the throat cut from
ear to ear and the tongue torn out by the roots
for violation Of the same. The oath of the Sec
ond degree of the same order makes the woman
promise to have but one husband, though the
husband mag have as many wives as he pleases,
and the more wives he takes the better Mormon
he is considered to be. The penalty for break
ing this oath is to have the body sawn asunder
and cast into the sea. The third oath makes the
candidate swear revenge for the death of Joseph
Smith and iis brother Hiram, and the children
H. -. l.
in the same. The penealty for its violation,
whenever opportunity presents itself, being
disembowelment. A third oath is taken when
the highest order of Melchisedek is conferred,
the candidate swearing obedience absolute TO the
Mormon priesthood. There are peculiar grips for
these degrees. To lie for the church is consid-
cred in the Mormon religion not to be a sin. butt
on the contrary, to be highly commended and
duly rewarded.
"But you have violated the oaths which you
took in the endowment house. and yet none Of
the penalties have been visited upon you. How
did that happen2"
m ooh, had too many friends among the gen.
tiles. and there are too many gentiles in Utah
now for the Mormon priests to do as they please,
and besides my attracted much atten-
tention at the time that if / had disappeared
there would have been great many people who
would have wanted to know all about it, and
your Mormon does not like to have inquisitive
gentiles looking into his affairs with hostile in
tent Do believe that any of the penalties
have mentioned were ever visited upon apostates2
There is not doubt of it. When there were
comparatively few gentes in Utah the priests OF
Mormonism could do pretty much as they pleased.
There have been crimes innumerable committed
in the name of Mormonism. do not think that
any of the penalties would now be visited upon
apostateS unless the latter were without friendO
or influence. But the number of apostates is
small Everything is demanded by the
church. The man is controlled by the
priest. and the womand is subjected,
body and soul, to the man. In fact,
almost everything connected with Mormonism
has the effect of lowering woman and keeping
her in state Of subiugation. So great are all
the influences by which the women are sur
rounded that very few of them ever think oe
changing their belief or their mode of living.
The wife who is the most yielding to the hus-
band and who encourages him to take to HIM
self additional wives. is told that in the life here
after she will be queen, and the less obedient
spouse will be her servant, for you know that is
part of the Mormon belief that ia the other
world the increasing and the multiplying of the
kind goes on just as it does before death
Are there any differences in Mormon mar
riages2'
''Yes. there are three kinds of marriages. One
is for life and eternity, is for eternity, and
one is for life alone. A marriage for life and
eternity seals the two for both this and the other
world. A marriage for life is where one of the
parties has before been married for life and
eternity while marriage for eternity alone is
where the man marries the woman, but does not
live with her in this world.
"Are the candidates for matrimony denuded
of their clothing in the Endowment Housed"
'Yes, they stripped, washed and anointed
with oil before the endowment robes are put on.
The woman. when anainted, is perfectly nude.
The different portions OF the body from head to
foot are blessed during the anoirtment.f