Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1899-02-09

EDITOR TlMEs.-rt is needless for

OAAON AlMES.-1G Is R0eeQl6SS TOT
me to say to the enlightened portion of
the readers Of your valuable paper that
the Reorganized Church of Jesus
! Christ of Latter Day Saints Is relig-
ious body organized subject to the
laws OF our liberty loving government
and incorporated under the laws of our
much loved state of lowe; but to many
1t may not he known that it has been
decided by the high judicial tribunals
of the states of Ohio and Missouri that
we are the successors of the church
organized in 1880, which was proven
from the fact that we teach the same
principles and advocate the same prac-
I,tices as said original church, among
the most prominent are:
We believe in God the Father and
His Son, Jesus Christ and In the Holy
/, Ghost.
| We believe that men will be punished
for their own sins, and not for Adams
transgression
! We believe that through the atone
msnt of Christ all men may be saved by
obedience to the laws and ordinances
of the Gospel.
We believe that the first OF basic
principles of the Gospel of Christ are
Faith, Repentance, Baptism by INNER
sion for the remission of sins, Laying
on of Hands with prayer for the gift
of the Holy Ghost, Resurrection, and
Eternal Judgment.
We believe i'll the same kind of or
ganizstion AS existed in the New Test
ament CEnrct. and that all the bless
ings, pn""rs aud gifts of the Gospe!
are enjoyed in that organization as
was enjoyed i'll New Testament times
so far as faith is exercised in Gods
word.
We believe that marriage is ordained
of God, and that the law of God pro-
vides for but one companion in we'd
lock for either man or woman, and
that Those who have introduced the
doctrine of plurality of wives, the
Adam God theory, ETC., are apostates
and teach that which is opposed to the
word of God as contained in the Bible,
and strongly opposed to the teachings
of the Book of Mormon and the Doc.
trim and Covenants which the church
accepted as containing the truths of
God as early as 1885.
1t may be necessary for me to say
that the courts of the land have decided
that the church in Utah over which
Lorenzo Snow now presides is an
apostate faction of the church organ
ized in 1880, and has no right to the
claim of being recognized as religious
body to be upheld in their criminal
practices, such as poligamy WAS, and
IS as now sought to be foisted upon
the people in the practices of b. II
Roberts, who claims seat i'll the SEN
ate of the United States, while living
with three women whom he denomi-
mates as his wives, and trying to black
en- the character of the State of Utah
by claiming that the constitution of
that state permits those who were
living with two OF more women pre-
vions to the passage of the bill admit
ting it as a state to still continue to
live with them as their legal wives, and
while doing this blacken the character
OF the United States by claiming that
one of the states constituting the
sisterhood of states admits of such
criminal practice, while in other states
it would be penttentiary offense.
Besides in sense this would assert
that the Edmund's bill and the prose-
cutions under it were a farce, to be
confessed by the permission of b. II.
Roberts a self-confessed polygamist,
to he q member of one of the highest
assemblies, of the United States, the
law making power.
We, as people, believe that B. II
Roberts is q criminal and as such
should be so treated, because self-con.
fessed, and not to honor him with the
privilege of assisting to make laws for
our virtue loving people of the United
States.
In the services now being held at
Newton hall the faith of the Latter Day
Saints as it was from 1890 to 1874, and
again taught by the reorganization of
that people will be clearly presented,
and proven to be the original faith of
the saints of God in Bible times.
We invite all who are Bible students
to come and make careful examina-
tion of what is presented, they being
given privilege of christian critic
ism upon any point not clearly proven
Come one and all and hear the mat
ter presented. for Solomon says, "He
that judgeth matter before he hear
eth it. it is folly and shame unto him."
Yours very respectfully,
j. F. Mintun.