Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-05-08
AN OPEN LETTER
To the Rev. Frank Swartwout of Superior.
Wisconsin,
Wisconsin

tan churches, Catholic OF Protestant,
ami compare their doctrines with the
teaching oil Cbfist aud tho APOSTLES,
and may easily arrive Mt the cOnclu.
sion that you have reachet, that the
churches are In an spOstate condition,
AMI "that the clcrRymen OF today
have no sauction OF the word Of Goo,
anu that they stoop to please IA uDre
generated peoi lr."
Fourth-One may truce through the
N hucnoly pa ies Of eccissiastical his.
tory, not only the departure from the
doctrines OF G rist, but also the depar.
ture rom the moral pfecepts Of the
Gospel which took place, and the DE.
cline In spiritual life which ell minat.
Ell in theisnorau oe, Intolerance, cruel
y,blgotry, operation, wickeuness aud
sbOmlnaula spiritual darkness of the
middle ages, which even ~ apo Ogis't
! admits was an iron agc, barren OF all
goodnee', n leaden age, nbOundinR
10 nli wickeduess; and u dark age, re-
msrkNbie Tor the scarcity Of writers
and men Of Learnt K. Christ lie repre-
senteu a. In Il very deep sleep, the
abip aa covered with worm, and there
were no disciples who by their cries
might wake Him, being themselves
asleep. Que has only to rehd this &C.
count OF moral depravlty anu spiritual
degeneracy to gallo an assurances that
the spiritual light OF the GIspei OF toe
Bic red II ldeemer had been taken
from men.
Fifth. Prophecy is history reversed;
that 10, events by prophecy are re.
corded bsioie they trauepire, aud there
Ia abu nJance Of such prophetic his DRY
to pr We that in the latter uay- men
would depnrl frDm the Gospel covsn nj,
aDd rs Cot q ence the severe juI IA =
me t. OF q u " ulu sweep over TIT
earth. Hear the wOrJs oil Isaiah Tor
| example: "Hne earth mOurneth anu
faieth away, tue world lanSuisheth
anu isdeth away, tue haushty people
Of the earti do lang uish. the earth is
| also dpfilej under the iuhabItants
| thereof" Here we may pause aud ask
why 10 III tuis calamIty ami distress
pred ctsd. Let the prophet anewer, Tor
| continuing right on he tays, 'Becaute
they have irInsgressed the iAws,
chauged the ordinauces, broken lbe
everlasting covenant. Therefore hath
u curse ,evOured the eartn. anu they
that uwell the'ein are de ate; tie
| fore the IN nbitaute II tue earth NJ.
| burned aud few men are lett" Isaiah
xxIv.) THIS judgment re'erre4 to IN
tue iast Cltusu u the quotation Is o.,
that SIN ia tgs over the inh bilauts Of
the earth. IL Il a caianity that has
never yet veItakcn the wOrlI, but II
Will over axe 1t, II must ~ so or the
Word OF CO. viii fail 10 the grOun1 uU.
luliilIeu; ami we have tue divine
Masters ASSURANCE That not one jJl
or title Of tue Word OF GU
tai fa.l 10, a. ~ 81
Au exs minalion OF the following
passages W Ii show that that the new
teslaIDe III also Is burJeueu WIN prOph-
ecy OF the aposlaey you have ais.
G. vered. Acts Xxx; ~ 81. fl FIN. ":
a. III Peer II; 3. III lhess. II; l.
IL.
do not know, Of courIc, which o
these lines OF fact anu aigum at lie
you to your conclusions, whether It
was one or more OF them or all OF
hem combine J., but | am sure that
any one oil ID, m w.ull conduct you
sliaig hit to y aur CONCLUSIONS. y, Their
is eli another means b. wuich you
coul d arrive at your conclusion, AMI,
judgi 4 from n tOhe OF your remarse
perhaps that is the one which IL II 4
enced you most, VIZ the state o the
Christian reli iOus world today after
nineteen ce tufies o suppose1 Christ
lastly. That condition cannot be
better described than by quoting Whist
James Anthouy FfauLs has saId o.
mas said OF the religious condition
existing IN Rjme in the closing years
OF the Oh Republic, Just previoss to
the lOunulug oi the trsG lEiumviate;
"Religion, once tue foundation Of
the laws al d rules oil personal conduct,
had subsideI into opiuion. the edu.
Gated, in the.r hearts disbelieveu II.
Temples were still built with increas-
ing spleDdor; the established form,
were BcrupuIously ob,erveu. PuUlic
men spake copventionshy OF provl-
dence, that they might throw ON their
opponents tho OuIum Of impiety; but
OF genuine belief that lie ha. any
serious meaning, t0ere was none re.
manning beyUIu the ciIc OF the
silent, patient, ignorant multitude.
The whols spiritual atm sphere was
saturated with caL't - can't moral,
cau't political, can't religious; an
silectatlon OF hign priuciple which
had ceased to touch the cUuuuct, anu
Il wed IN In an increasing volume OF
insiucere ami unreal speech. The
TRUST thinkers were thuss who, like
iJuSic ~ ~ MT iihhhiJ uuL tDolT TeAi
, cOuvlctiV.s, declared that Providence
was dream, anu that man anu tue
world he ! we'd In were material phe =
nomens, generating by natural forces
out Of cOsmic atoms, and Into atoms to
be again resolved"
Let one Try bow he may, be can.
not more tIuly describe the religion,
state Oi the world IN the closing decade
OF the nineteenth century than by
quoting this picture of religious en-
ulliUns In the Old Rlman republic.
Aud whoa euch conditions prevail no
one VIII attempt to say that here true
Christianity Is hourishiDg. Somt-
thil & mus, be wrong; and since IL Is
beyOnd question that tie pure rvlig.
ian OF Jesus Christ was e-iablished W
he personal ministry oil the S.n Of
Goa anu Hi own chosen apostles, TIM
something wrong must be that men
have departed Fl IN tho GOSPEL o.
Jesus Chri I, or, IL the language o