The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-02

Mr.. Hudson's sermon yesterday morning
upon Politics and Religion" was not in
any sense a political speech. On the con-
trary it was an unusually able and dig
nifed discourse of the true relation be-
tween these two great forces, which enter
so vitality into public thought and action.
He began by considering the minister's
relation to practical politics. He said
that the old conception of the ministry,
as a divinely appointed branch, had very
largely passed out of peoples minds, along
with other outgrown superstitions. To-
day the minister is recognized as a man
among men. Whatever special influence
he may have is derived from the people
themselves, and not from any super
natural source.
AT the same time he thought that the
minister has a certain influence, by virtue
of his position, which does not belong
to him as an individual. This influence
is given to him by the common con-
sent of people of all classes. parties and
factions who associate themselves to-
gether under his leadership for the pur-
pose of upbuliding the moral forces of
the community in which they live. Such
influence therefore becomes a moral
trust and the minister has no more right
to use it for political purposes than a
guardian would have to divert trust funds
to his own use, or than the judge Eoon
the bench would have to employ his judi
clay position for private gain to himself,
his family or friends. 1t is not a cues
ton of policy, but of principle. Life is
full Of renUnciationS. And this is one of
the minister's. that he shall avoid the
public dicussion Of political questions. and
devote the energies of his life TO the
fostering of moral and religious princi-
pies.
He recognized a possible exception in
cases where some predominat!ng moral
issue is involved in a political campaign.
But he believed such cases to be exceed
inSly rare. The constant danger is that
under the guise of a moral issue the min
lister VIII permit himself TO be used as
the tool of party or faction. He recog-
niZed also a reasonable distinction be-
tween the utterances of the minister in
his pulpit and the outside expression of
his views. Still the man and the office
are SO closely connected-it Is impossible
TO separate his influence as an individual
from his influence as moral and re-
lgious leader, that he believed it to be
the better rule for ministers to refrain
entirely from the public discussion of
purely partisan issues.
Passing TO the larger question he
thought that the same reasoning applied
with equal force to the church itself. Re
ligious societies, whether liberal, orthodox
or eclectic, have a certain concrete in
huence as such. Where a number of such
societies are held together by the ma
chinery of close organization, there is al
ways temptation to use this machinery
Tor political purposes. Such use, however,
is an abuse of trust. And like all abuses
its evil is two fold, 1t is a direct injury
to the public welfare and it reacts to
weaken or destroy the influence of the
church that lends Itself to such abuse
He did not fear any future union of
church and state. either in Utah or in the
United States at large. The whole genius
and tendency Of modern civilization is
against it. But what he feared was the
growing Indifference of the sses to the
work of religious societies, on account of
growing distrust of their purity of motive
What then. he asked, is the true re-
lation between politics and religion? This
depends upon what each means TO US. If
religion is merely superstition, eccIislatic-
ism and form, and if politics is a mere
scramble for office, then there can be no
relation between the two. But # politics
is in fact the application of ethics to the
administration Of public affairs, and if re-
ligion as represented in the church is the
organized effort of human lives to at
tain 10 higher ideas of living, then true
religion must ultimately express itself in
political action. II may not directly in
fuence the decision Of party controversies,
but it may and will develop those funda-
mental principles which ultimately de-
termine political policies. The man who
has any religion worth speaking of will
carry it with him into politics, in bust
ness AMI into all the practical relations
OF life. The real power of religion in
politics, therefore, must come through its
power over individual lives.
In order, however, that this may become
effective, il must reach the masses. But
the sad fact is that the masses are leav-
ing the churches. Religion, they say. has
would be truer to say that the churches
have forsaken the masses. 1t was not
the wealthy classes who built the great
cathedrals of the past They have been
built up through centuries by the pit
tanceS of the poor This is largely true
of all church property. But how are the
churches paying back the debt? 1t can
not be done by rituals and creeds, by
form and ceremony, by eXclusiveness and
pride. If religion is to mean anything
to the masses it must learn to express
itself, not in candles and canonicals, but
In brotherly love.
Again the church cannot hope to be
largely influential if il is content to lux
uriate in mere pious eXaltation, in fervor
OF spirit and the observance of outward
forms. 1t must seek an outlet in deeds
Feeling mus lead TO character building
1t must not, like Mary. sit idly at the
feet of Jesus, but it must go about with
Martha helping to do the worlds work.
Unless the churches shall come to real
ize the necessity of keeping in touch
with the masses they will soon sink into
insgnificance as force in the body
polite. But if they learn TO meet the
after our great cathedrals have crumbied
into dust, the power of religion will be
felt as vital force TO uplift and
strengthen and enable human life, and
give the world mighty impulse God
ward
At a meeting of the Sunday school it
was unanimously decided to change the
hour to 1890 Immediately following the
morning service.
1t was announced in the weekly calen-
dar that series of Sunday evening plat
form lectures upon current topics, would |
be given in Unity hall, beginning No
vember 18th, with lecture by Mr.. Hud-
People