Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-03-01
no the status OF dissenters.

In the Statesman Of Feb 81, 1854, Mr..
j. C. x. sIilligan, in writing upon the
same subject, expressed himself thus:
"rhe worst result will be to disfran-
chise them" Rut this is not the worst
result they wish, nor which they in
tend Read carefully the following
extract from an address delivered by
Rev. Z. 3. Graham, at a national re-.
form convention held at York. Neb,
and reported in the Christian Sta es-
man Of May 81, 1885: 1--WE might add,
in all justice, il the opponents of the
Bible do not like our government and
its Christian features, let them go to
some wild, desolate land, and in the.
naula Of the devil. and for the sake of
the devil, subdue it aud set up q gev-
eminent of their own on inGdel and
atheistlc ideas, and if they can stand It.
stay there till they die" That is prd-
ty heavy; but there is one more steh
that could be taken, and it is takeA
Rev. Jonathan Edwards says: "Tcler,
ate atheism? Sir, there nothing out
! OF hell that I would not tolerate as
soon" The "true inwardness" of this
last can he moro readily appreciated
when it is understood that this reyer-
end gentleman defines atheism to be
whatever opposes national reform, and
under the general head, "our DIRECTORS"
But forbear to quote further. This
is enough to show what d. DIS and
L. l.. DIS will dc when vested with civ
il power.
A minister Of the gospel is ordained
of God, but for what? To preach the
gospel; and not as too many ministers
nowadays seem to think, as ministers
of the law or politics. No minister
of the gospel was ever ordained as a
minister of the law, either moral or
civil; and when minister enters upon
any such work as that, he is doing a
work that Christ never sent him to do.
But this is what some ministers of the
gospel? y would do: send all their OPP
posers to the devil, and that, too, III
some "wi!d and desolate lands" and ev-
en- that is not enough, but they must
''stay there till they die" And that is
the national reform idea OF justice.
| That is the kind OF government they
propose under their Christian consti-
tuition. That is the way in which they
propose to convert men to the Chris
tian religion. That is the waJ in
which they propose to exemplify the
sublime Christian principles OF broth
erly love, and the means which they
will employ, that brotheriy love may
continue. That is the way in which
they are going to bring about the reign
of universal peace, even, as they say
the mellennium ITSELF. The reverse of
the golden rule becomes, to them, the
law and the prophets, viz: Therefore
ali things whatsoey We would not that
men should do to you, this DO We even
unto them: for this is the law of ma
tional reform. We are neither iafdels,
jews nor atheists, but as we dissent TO-
tally from the doctrines of the nation
al reform party, we suppose, of course,
that we shall be placed in Dr. Edwards
| catalogue of atheists, and we are will
ing to confess that we belong to that
fourth class to which to Mr.. Coleman
referred by the phrase, "and Others"
We do not deny that God is Soyer-
eign, nor that Christ is Ruler, nor that
the Bible is the Supreme law. We
freely confess all these. But while we
confess that Gods Sovereign we posi-
lively deny that he has delegated his
sovereignty to the national reform
party. While we confess that Christ
lis Ruler, we deny that he has chosen
the national reform party as his conf
DENTAL advisers in his rule, or that he
has appointed that party as his vice.
gerent in the United States, to rule
this country in his absence. While
we confess that the Bible is the SUI
preme standard OF human actions, we
deny in toto that tho author of the BIZ
BILE has appointed the national reform
party to be the infallible interpreters
of that booi- l. such Christianity as
t1ay propose shall ever become the law
Of the land. intolerance and persecu-
ton would surely follow
Many people think that those who
are directing attention to the dangers
Of religious legislation, are aXertsng
themselves 10 40 purpose, some claim
ing there 10 &C possibility OF the suc-
cess Of national reform, and others de-
cla.ing that there is no danger it does
succeed. But as the national reform
party is allied with Rome there is dan
ger. Then put with this the almos.
universal demand for more rigorous
laws, more vigorously enforced, for the
more strict religious observance of
very thing above all 9TH
ers at which the national reform move
ment alus-and the danger is increas-
y