The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-08-29
KANSAS NEWS.
Four Mormon Elders Are Work
ing EmpOria.
Are All Young Men and Active
HustIers.
DEPEND ON CHARITY.
Have No Money, But Always
Stay to Dinner.
They Hasten to Announce That
POlygamy Is Past.

Emporia, Aug. 29.-Today the county
commissioners were asked by the four
Mormon elders for the court room to
hold the meetings in. The commission
ers are in doubt, but the best they can
do will be to rent it of the county, but
that is not what the four gentlemen
want. They want a room that costs
them nothing, so if any charitable per-
son who has Mormonistic tendencies
owns a room, big enough for public
meetings. here is a chance to get it
used The Mormons, however, say that
the weather is pleasant and if they can
not procure a room they will speak on
the street.
These four elders are young men
about 20 or 30 years old. This is the
first state in which they have operated.
They worked in Chase county, where
they say they met with unusual sue
cess and have several in the almost
persuaded class. They have been in
Lyon county about two weeks and are
just beginning to lombard Emporia.
All are from Utah, but A. c. Jensen is
the only one directly from Salt Lake
City. He was a shipping clerk before he
went into the Mormon business. He is
a husky looking young fellow who is on
the inside of the business on account of
the double fronted, speekled waistcoat
he wears The three others wear cell
luloid collars and have more of a ten
dency to do the sanctimonious.
P. III. Jeppson was a school teacher,
]. B. Porter a bank cashier and T. S.
Seymour a farmer. All say they are
elders through no efforts of their own,
but through the divinely guided selec-
tion of the churchs big man. They
say they travel without purse or scrip,
emulating a style once set by the apos-
ties. Their church pays them no SAL
airy and they take up no collection, but
depend solely on what they can pick
up by the way of free will offerings.
An elder is supposed to work two and
a. half years before he retires to private.
life. BY that time if he is half
hustler he should have seen half the
United States.
Their method Of work is to make
house to house canvass in the day time
distributing tracts and secretly pray
ing for the spirit to cause the house to
tation to be extended to them for din
ner. In the evening the public meetings
will be held. No one is pre-eminent in
this business. They all talk and all
sing. They make no especial effort to
secure converts, but will merely work
up enthusiasm and pave the way for
the second lot of Mormons who are
coming to walk the way these have pre-
pared.
1t amuses these young men to talk
to them about polygamy and they
hasten to tell one that the day OF
po1ygamy is past. They believe in the
divine establishment of the institution,
but say that a manifesto in the church
did away with plural marriages even
before the civil law did. None of these
young men are so fortunate as to have
more than one wife. They say they be-
lieve the Bible from cover to cover and
then some
They expect to meet the preachers of
the town and it is possible some preach
err will offer them a pulpit some Sum
day. It is hardly probable, however.