The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-08-05


IN making good citizens?"
well you can look at the facts wa
the reply. st is forty-one years sine
the Mormons pitched their tents wher
the city of Salt Lake now stands. You
know the history of their expulsion
from Nauvoo, and the story of thei
pioneer band crossing the Mississippi
river on the ice. and the main body fol
lowing in detarhments. Within twt
years. more than 10000 people made {
journey of 2 .0G0 miles from Illinois
Iowa aud Missouri to the valley of the
GreatSalt bake. They had to sustain
themselves en- route, to grow their corr
and wheat, to grind their meal and
flour, TO provide their meat. to shear
their focks. spin the yarn and weave
the cloth for raimeDt. They bad to deal
with savage Indians, and, while doing
all this. they contributed 500 of the
flower of their manhood to help fight
the battles of their country against Lie
Mexicans. There is not in all the
annals of the human race another such
example of great body of people so
peaceably and successfully performing
such an undertaking. Their religion
alone enabled them 10 do it.
1.-The founding of their communities
| AH tAS oCSCA Va olSht 0oiG AohC,
and the redemption of these sterile
wastes, would not heve been possible
but TOR the Mormon .relig,on. From
| 10, 600, who gathered in Utah from the
banks of the Mississippi, the Mormon
people in the intermountain region have
grown to over 20 900 souls. They have
| colonlzed sterile ana inhospitable
| regions. Ninety per cent. Of the whole
| number are land owners, the title being
vested In eaco individual. and not in the
church or community, as commonly
supposed. There is not a settlement
without a school house. The thrift OF
the people Is the remark Of every
stranger who Wits a Mormon COM
munity. The absence of aims houses
and of paupers, of rum shops and of
gam bling nelis, Is always noted and
commented upon"
Tell M something about your mis-
sionaries?"
10 enable you to understand our
missionary systsIu," sud Mr.. Game, Il
must premise that IN Utah we have
ecclesiastical divisions Of the Territory
into stakes and wards. Each stake has
a president anu two Counselors;
greater or less number of wards, pre-
sided over by bishop aud two coun-
selOrs, compose q stake. AT each semi
annual conference OF the whole church
the presidents of the stakes present the
names of men residing within their
Jurisdiction who are available as mis-
sionaries, from those who are so cir
cumstanced as to be able to 60 and
preach the gospel. They are such as
are considered to be qualified for the
work, who are willing to go and are able
fn Yornui6o for hair so, sIiac IS
or who can be spared by their parents,
If unmarried, or who are without family
responsibilities. 1t is entirely volun-
tary service. Those who are able to do
so must bear their own travelling ex-
penses, while others have their travel
ing expenses paid 20 their missionary
fields by voluntary contributions from
their friends and neighbors. All must
support themselves while on missionary
duty"
us tithing compulsory"
mot at all. At one time, when the
church was established in Missouri,
there was law of tithing, one tenth of
the increase and income being an obi.
CATION to contribute to the Lord. But
tithlng is now simply voluntary obi
cation, and the conscience Of the con-
tributor is the only guide to his Civ
ing"
what is the total membership of the
Mormon cnur;h, and where does the
greatest success attend the labors of
your mission aries ?"
The total membership will probably
not exceed half mill on. Our mis-
slonarie OF course. hava met with the
greatest success IN the United states
They are still laboriDg in almost every
State and Territory. In England
Wales, scotland, Ireland, Denmark,
Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Ger |
many there is steady growth of the |
church. We have missions in Aus |
tralia, New Zealand and tn, Sandwich |
Islands. Toe spread of the Gospel |
among the Maoris OF New Zealand and |
the Sandwich Islanders has been verv |
marked, and tie ,orresp onding i'm |
provement OF those y. oIle has been &C
knowledge oy every one familiar with |
the WORK of our missionaries. Our
colonies in Mexico ard in British
Columbia sre flourishing. The infiu- |
ence of our mis- lonaries among the In
dams on this con inent has always |
been for eo)d. and the prevention of
more Than one bloody war has been
due to orr people. Ii IS the peculiar
mission of our church 10 convert The
Indians, who we believe are the de-
cendants of an ancient civilized people,
who possessed the true Christian faith
on this continent as recorded in the
Book of Mormon"
Tell me something of Mr.. Woodruff,
the acting head of tba church"
"WIlford WI odrutf, as president of
the Twelve Apostles, became the execn-
tive head of the church Oh the death of
President John Taylor. He was born
March l, 1897 il the town of Avon,
Hartford county. Conn, and is in his
year. He comes of good
Puritan stock, anu for
more than half Ii century has been ali
active. untiriAg and marVelously eff
Gent worker in the church. he was
baptised IN 1889 al soon after became
I'D intimate coml anton of the Prophet
los. ph Smith. From that time he be.
gan to jIUrnalize events transpiring
within his knowledge. recording them
by system of shorthand invented by
himself. A great part of his life has
been devoted to missionary work. and
his success was remarkable. During
seven months in Herefordshire.
and Worcestershire,
England, he and his feIIoW-laboj ers