The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-09-16
fHEDR. AND THE COY.
a Brief Criticism of Some Re-
marks Recently Made.
THE CLAIMS OF THE METHoDISTS.
Who Are the Real Traitors to American Rights
And individual American Liberties
Raising a Hell.
no the Editor Of THE HERAnp:

TO the Editor of THE HERALD:
The report of the reception given to
Minister Mavbry in Salt Lake on the
night of September II. contains some things
that should not pass without criticism.
Thus. for instance, "Rey. DR.. ]liff'' gave
salient features of Methodismn He said
there were in the country $4,000 pastors Of
the Methodist denomination sssubject to
reappointment every twelve months 1
call attention TO the fact that every enc of
those pastors believe himself to be ordained
OF God, to be representative Of the win
of God. Yet these 1900 pastors. priests
of God without doubt in their own esti-
nation and according to their theology, are
so completely under the control of their
priestly leaders that once year, or in tact
whenever it may be deemed necessary,
believe, those men are compelled to move
from place TO place whenever their leader
may please to send them, perhaps within
limits of certain bishopric and these Il, 900
men, vowed to do the will Of their leaders
and preach their peculiar doctrines, move
to do the viii over them in precisely the
same way that Mormon elders go here or
there as directed by their leaders. Differ
ences there may be in doctrine, but the
methods are very like. Both stand on the
Bible as the infallible word and win of
God: both believe in Jesus Christ, not only
as the Redeemer of fallen man, but also
as the divine Ruler of the world, and both
believe that the government of this world
viii not be in accord with Gods will until
Jesus Christ becomes in fact its Immortal
king" The Mormon church lives out
more complete submission 10 the will of
God as shown in the Bible than the Metho-
dist church does. Why, then, should the
Mormon church be condemned and the
Methodist church accepted as divine!
There is something wrong in this bust
ness. What is it Polygamy MOI Not
for one moment do the Rev. DR.. Lift and
Governor Thomas believe that polygamy
marks the difference between the Mormon
and the Methodist churches. They know
that the young men and women of Nor
mondom do not practice polygamy. If not,
let them show the evidence that they do.
These gentlemen know that the social
Questions of the day are as open to criti-
cism in one church as another the world
over. They know that the Mormon people
are as moral and as Virtuous as the mem
bers of any other church in the land. Why
then, condemn the Mormons2 Because
as priesthood they want to destroy the
government of the United States and put
&ACOOAdIt ll 1Oo pldCC. nave
on another occasion had a word to say
about claim, but it is a topic tina. should be
continually repeated until, like the rank
and poisonous weed it is, it shall be driven
out OF the field of thought. There is abso-
lutely not shadow of truth or justice in
the claim, and men like DIR. Lift ana the
governor OF Utah must know this. They
must know that even if every Mormon
were sworn to live only for the purpose of
destroying the constitution of the United
States it would be but the dream of vision
aries and could never by any possibility
become a realization. But the fact is. and
DR.. lift and Governor Thomas can easily
learn it il they do not yet know it, the
Mormons are the only Christians in the
world who have one word of admiration for
the constitution of the United States as a
heaVen-born instrument The Methodist
church is working in sympathy with the
National Reform association to upset
that constitution, change its character, put
'iGod' INTO ii, make this Christian
nation. with Jesus as its king" Now, if
we are to judge people by what they say
and do, the Methodist church, claiming
that we have a Goddess government" and
working to make it otherwise, are almost
more infinitely dangerous as voting and
preaching element than the Mormons can
be. Such being the fact, it follows that
Governor Thomas and DR.. Tiff either do
not know what they are doing when they
array themselves against the Mormon
church. or they are - well, what are
theys
Governor Thomas said: ultimately. the
gentle majority will prevail in this terri
tory" He says this with confidence
Doubtless he is correct. Utah can contain
a large population. As the country fills up
with immigrants the Mormon majority
must decrease until it stands even with the
Ia fall lol- -.
every anti Mormon in Utah looks at this
question in this way. Every anti Mormon
in Utah knows there is no more danger TO
be anticipated from the existence of the
Mormons IN this country than there is from
the Chinese. As a matter of fact believe
there is danger for US in the Chinaman,
but none in the Mormon. But leaving my
opinion out, 1 say the anti Mormon element
in Utah is sure in its heart that Mormonism
is not a dangerous thing.
What, then, IS the matters The Nor
mons have been able to withstand every
persecution put upon them and to grow.
Their success has excited the envy of ad-
venturers, the jealousy of politicians and
the enmity Of priests, and the three have
combined to kill the new and prosperous
issue. But it will not die. Whys Because
it hsd as great, even a greater man at its
head than planted Methodism deep in
the soil of emotion John Wesley and
Brigham Young might in some WAYS
have stood as pair OF great brothers.
But Brigham had the harder task of the
two. Both, however, succeeded because
they had the talent of commanding people
and teaching them obedience. The human
race goes TO hell fast whenever it refuses
TO be commanded wisely. Revolutions
come from unwise commanding of men.
Progress is the result of wise submission
to wise command. Brigham Young made
Mormonism a grand success, the grandest
success as yet achieved on this continent
as movement for the amelioration of a De },
pie. But that man does not live who can
prove that Brigham was not true Ameri-
can. lnheritng the spirit of the Green noun
talns and the men who were never known
to falter in allegiance 10 the constitution
OF course, you can refer me to quotations
from Brigham's sermons-I have scores of
them-that inanifest-what A hostility
toward the constitution of the United
States Never! The most bitter Mormon
hater cannot ind it, Brigham denounced
the administration Of the law and COM
PEELED the nation to respect his will but he
said no word against the constitution.
Hence, l say it is evidence of a pico,o
sense OF the real situation in Utah for its
governor to side with the Methodist or any
other sect, and use his influence or voice to
strengthen the false notion that the Nor
mons. because they are Mormons, are dis
loyal, and the Methodists and what not are
loyal because they are anti Mormon. If
Governor Thomas win take the trouble tn
look the matter over carefully he will find
that he is not making an enviable record in
tins particular. If the governor and the
DOCTOR are right, then every person not a
Christian is disloyal whether Mormon or
not. They do not say it, but that is the
logic Of what they do say and their position.
Carry that out and nine tenths of the
non-Mormons in Utah would have to be
put down as disloyal and be DISTINGUISHED