The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-11-21

ity have become the recognized stand
ard OF morality among the civilized ma
tioas of the earth. as they are to-day?
Suppose, again. that a company o.
men with proclivities for the vile and
nnsavory analogous TO those possessed
by Mr.. Stoddard, should collect tn,
blind. the lame, the halt, the consump-
tive. the manned, the spawned, the
dyspeptic. together with the drunkard
thief, w1fe-beater, gambler. deoauchees
hariots and their plramours, and the
murderers, and after the whole collec-
tons from the almshouses, hospitals
cutters, cess pens and prisons had been
paraded before the gods, some upstart
should take it upon himself 10 elo-
quently exclaim: Behold, ye gods
such is the human race! Are they I'll
to liver" II Mr.. Stoddard and other
scayengers in the same boat with him
can imagine such a case they would see
an example of their argument; in fact
would see themselves as others see
them.
Sill another case: Take any Chris
tan congregation in the world, It mat
te-s not which or where you choose ;
;he members of Henry Ward Beecber's
church, perhaps as refined and highly
educated body of people as there is in
the United States, taught by as able q
minister as the world can boast of; take
them, purged as they are from al the
influences of the lower classes; take the
individual cases Of impurity among
that church membership, their who're
doms, the instances of cruelty and in
justice by husbands TO wives, and the
infidelity of wives TO their marriage
vows; let the family skeletons, usually
kept in the closet, be brought
out in plain view; let some Of
the wives tell of the anguish
wrung from their bleeding hearts By
the conduct Of their husbands; let the
bushes be seen that suffuse the cheeks
of the children in some Of these fsmi-
lies, and let it be known why they
blush-that it is for the fathers dis
grace, or a mothers wrongs, Then let
that whole congregation be judged by
the cases of cruelty, dishonesty and de
bsuchery, and on the first thought we
would wonder why the avenging Gods
permitted them to live. And then. on
second thought. we would say No, let
them livel Condemn not the whole for
the sins OF the few. Notwithstanding
the vileness of the corrupt, there are
still noble men and pure women among
them. notwithstanding there are
homes where love has long since ceased
TO dwell, and peace has fed. and there
IS nothing left but heart-burniHgs and
the slow consuming fires of jealousy
still, there are homes where |
love is law, where confidence
is supreme, where peace and |
happiness are perpetual, and those
Individual cases Of corruption do
not result from the system of morals
.aught by the pastor, but exist in vio-
ence, and are engendered in the hearts
Of those not yet regenersted by his
teachings. So with Aormonism. Many
Ire the evils that exist in Utah; but
so far as We can Judge,
Ices not teach nor tolerate those evils;
Ind as soon as they are brought to light
hey are stamped with the disapproval
IF the community where they occur.
What more can be done? Men there
Ire who marry several wives aud treat
Iome of them unkindly, unjusuy and
ven brutally: such men would do the
anne thing if they had but one wife
md those who do those things do them
n violation of the teachings Of the Nor
non Church. So that if you were to
Idmit the existence of ali the instances
# ignorance and evil doing
by these moral scavengers,
hese mental carrion-feeders. the fact
you'd still remain that this corruption
Ioes not result from the the teachings
# Mormonism, and that throughout
dormon settlements in the majority OF
heir homes, love is king. and peace and
rider are the rule; and above all, con-
idence in the faithfulness and purity of
husbands and wives is supreme.