The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-01-06
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.

Religious liberty is not tantamount TO liberty
ofconscience. Despotism may prevent the ex-
preston Of religious feelings distasteful TO the
ruling powers ola commonwealth; it NAV kill
torture, or expel those who give vent to certain
opinions; but it is powerless as to the innermost
convictions of the individual.
Practically considered, religious liberty means
the freedom Of the individual to give public ey
preston to his religious creed to unite with
members OF the same persuasion for public wor
snip and Fellowship, and TO live up to his reIi
gious convictions The state has certainly tb4
right to forbid practices offending public NOR
atty under the pretext of religious opinions
such as polygamy or slavery. But if the state
claims to uphold religious liberty it must give
free scope to all creeds within legal limits. and
must not allow any religious persuasion to be
the cause Of civil disabilities.
Even thus defined religious liberty is not
complete. Religious belief is SO powerful n
factor in the mental constitution of men that il
not only forms the closest bond of human
brotherhood but inevitably strives to extend il.
self by drawing others into the same fellowship
Every living creed, therefore, tends to propa.
ganulsm. We want to make others par
tlcipate in what we have recognized to he trna
a religious community which renounces mis-.
slonary activity is dead or petrified = = :
But, in states which claim to be civilized the
days Of forcible conversions are gone. They ad.
NIT only OF peaceful propagandism. and that
activity is protected as the necessary compile.
ment of religious liberty Edinburgh Reuieae.
free scope within legal limits THAT
is all the members of the dominant church
ask for here; that is what it is proposed TO
deny to them. Disfranchisement for mem-
oershp IN certain church is nothing
more nor less than persecution. 1t is sim
ply punishment for belief.
No one here assumes to question the
right of the state to deal with practices
What IS objected to is the alleged right of
the state to impose civil disabilities unon
those whose belief and worship are said IN
be of such character that certain practices
will necessarily follow, SO that the punish
ment might us well precede as follow the
commission of actual offenses.
We deny the wisdom of any man to as.
sumo that since Gas he judges the belief of
his neighbor is so and so, therefore the az
tons OF his neighbor will be thus and so
and can as well be anticipated by civil dis
abilities as followed by certain punish
ments.
The Mormon people deny that fbarrinr
the practice of polygamy, which is now dis,
continued) there is anything in their reli-
gion which encourages crime of any sort
whatever, or which inculcates any species
OF dlsloyalty. They declare that the whole
teaching they receive is precisely the re-
verse, and is intended to discourage crime
and promote obedience TO civil authority.
Iheir proof OF this is their doctrine. acts,
and words: and they object to strained con.
structions of their dogmas and creed NV
those who know nothing of them and nv
those who would profit by thier disfran.
chisement
A small ring of persons in this territory
however, who would profit immensely
from the disfranchisement of three-fourths
OF the people of Utah, assume to interpret
Mormon creed, and to find therein some.