Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-06
DENOUNCE POLYGAMY.
Western Pennsylvania Mormons in
.t Session in Pittsburg.
CREED OF LATTER DAY SAINTS.
Delegates Arrange to Attend the Worlds
Fair at the Next Conference.
ONE WIFE rs DECLARED TO BE ENOUGH

flttsburg by the Seml-annual meeting OF
the Pittsburg and Kirkland district Of the
Latter Day Saints of the Church of Jesus
Christ. The meeting was held in Odd Eel
lows Hall, Fourth avenue. There were 100
people present, 80 of whom were delegates.
The church has 400 members in this dis
trict The principal feature Of the meeting
was history of Mormonism and the de-
nouncing of the heresy Of polygamy., The
local members all believe in one-wife
Christianity.
Rev. Grover Griffith, President Of the
district, presided Rev. ". w. Blair,
President of the General Conference. was
Honorary President and Rev. Lorenzo
Purcell Associate President. Rev. Mr.
Blair was associated intimately with Joseph
Smith, Jr, the son of Joseph Smith, the
father Of Mormonism.
Devotional exercises characterized tie
opening of the session and were conducted
| by Rev. Mr.. Blair. The minutes of the last
| called for from the missions in the Pitts
burg and Kirkland district which has branches
in Wheeling, Pittsburg, Beaver, Conneaut,
| Fairview, Sharon, Washington, Blakes
| Mills, Lake View, Kirkland, Warren and
| Church Hill. Pittsburg is the largest of
these, containing 164 members Wheeling
| comes next with 100 members, and is fol-
lowed by Kirkland and the others by less
numbers. The entire district has mem-
bership of 400. The reports were from the
elders and deacons and referred merely to
the general condition of their respective
branches.
Where the Money Is Spent.
R. H. Hughes, of the Pittsburg mission,
spoke of the labors and the success attend
ing them. He said that although the Pitts
ago it has not vet church for the reason
that their money was spent in missionary
work and in charity. After hearing these
reports, the report of Frank Criley, agent
of Bishop Kelly, was heard. 1t was
financial statement of the expenses of
organization and of conferences during the
year and of expenses of the Bishop. These
amounted to s., ,S97 IS; the receipts to meet
this were S2,O57 81 The report of the
special fund was heard. The special fund
is one providing for call of the Bishop
aside from usual district expenses, and a
call to the entire church for "Home for
Aged" and educational purposes, also for
church buildings where necessary. The
revenues to this reached about 50, ,6OO for the
last six months.
The business following this was the cleo
tion of delegates to the next General Con-
ference to be held April at Independence,
Mo. The Pittsburg district is entitled to
16 delegates. The chosen ones were NJ. H.
Bond, Benjamin Powell, j. L. Bair, w. H.
Garrit, D. w. Williams, w. &C. Noble,
Frank Reilly, Thomas Griffith, Mrs. Har-
riet R. Griffith, Mrs. Emma Garrit, Miss
Jennie Evans, Mrs. 7. Criley. Sister Jolly,
Joseph Curry, Ralph Smith and Miss Linnie
Barker.
The Old Officers Reelected.
On motion President Lorenzo Powell was
continued for one year. and all of the other
officers and elders were also continued, ex-
cept the recording secretary, who refused to
serve further. Thomas Hatfield was chosen
to succeed him.
A motion was then made by Frank Reilly
that all delegates to the general conference
on April be instructed to vote for holding
the following session at Plano, Ill, in June,
1893. This motion was made with the view
of allowing the members to visit the Worlds
Fair. This motion was carried. 1t, was then
decided to hold the next district conference
at Kirkland on the first Saturday and Sum
dav of September.
Rev. Mr.. Blair then made an eloquent
speech, giving history of the organization
of the church and Of mormonism. His re-
marks in substance were: On April 6, 1880,
sthe church was organized in New York City
with six members called Latter Dav Saints.
The news of this organization spread over
the world with remarkable rapidity, and
its spirit was caught up and the church in
creased and sprung up everywhere. Its
founder was Joseph Smith, and on June 27,
1914, he and his brother, H. S. Smith, were
assassinaied at Carthage, Ill There were at
that time about 200, 900 members. Divi-
eli nd ,h-Ii ivici ,horc
quarrels and prosecutions, divided the
church. Brigham Young passed to the
West and finally settled in Utah, in the
Salt Lake Valley. He had majority of
the people with him and settled in that
beautiful locality, but established afterward
a rule that was an outrage on the enlight-
enment of the nineteenth century.
In August, 1852, he established poiyg-
any and bigamy. Then large bodies
of the church teR away in Europe and
elsewhere, joining other sects. The same
was true in America and Canada. In
Europe there were 30, 900 of the creed.
The History of Reorganization.
In 1860 Joseph Smith, Jr., son Of the
seer and prophet, reorganized the church
with $50 members. He met obstacles on
and the devip' to contend with. Brigham
Young was denounced, and the new
organization, under good Christian
faith and law began to prosper, and now it
has missions in many European countries,
in Asia, in the Pacific Islands, and is strong
in America and Canada. The gospel of
their creed and practice is confined to the
New Testament alone. The reorganized
church has stood hand in hand with the
Government, and to-day is God-tearing,
Christian and true and pure.
The session then closed. To-day the |
services will be of entirely devotional char
acter; prayer service at 9:15 A. NJ, con-
Quoted by Elders Powell and Blair; at 2
P. NJ sacramental service, and at 7:15 P. NJ. |
preaching.
A section of the creed of this church is: |
"We believe that marriage is ordained of |
God, and that the law of God provides for |
but one companion in wedlock, for either |
man or woman, except in cases where the |
contract of marriage is broken by death or
transgression.
"We believe that the doctrines of plu- |
rality and a community of wives are heresies |
and are opposed to the law of Goo"
The book of Mormon says: Wherefore,
my brethren, hear me and hearken to the |
word of the Lord: For there shall not any |
man among you have save it be one wife,
and concublnes he shall have none, for I,