The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-05-08
THE HORIZONS.
Good Words for Them by One Who
 Lives Among Them.

|
 To the Editor of the Journal and Courier: Cottonwood, Idaho, April 20, 1901. l Noticing an editorial in your issue of April 18th an article entitled Brother ,Simonsen's Case" you quote one speaker
 at the Methodist conference. But other
 papers quote Brother Adams of Bethel
 as saying that the Christian scien-
 lists are only worthy to be compared
 with the Mormons.'
 Now am, as suppose, member of Grace M. E. church of New Haven
 though being absent have not attend
 ed that church in thirteen years. And while I have no objections to Brother
 Adams or anybody else giving verbal
 fits to the sect of people who miscall themselves Christian Scientists-whle not believing in Christ--I do object to
 Mormons being put in the same cate- gory I have lived most of the time for 1 the last thirteen years with Mormons
 near me, have had dealings with them in a business way, and must say for their credit that while have been lied to, cheated by, and stolen from, by the
 members of nearly every other church that Is called Christian I have never suffered any of these things by the Mor- mons.
 I am aware that the Mormons have
 a bad name in the East Especially
 that they have a plurality of wives. I am acquainted with and have met
 good many members of the Mormon
 church. and have never met but one
 man who had the name of having more
 than one wife, and he did not live with
 but one I have received men of that
 faith in my house and have broken
 bread with them in their own houses and have found them to be well quipped-according to recognized stan dards-for the exigencies of both this world and the world to come. That is. I have found them to be men of more than average physical strength and in- clined to use it in industrial pursuits, of more than average intelligence and anxious to cultivate by study, of more than average morality, as Is evidenced by the sincere and heartfelt family prayer that is a rule in Mormon house. holds; and by the further fact that drunken Mormon hardly exists; and none of the younger generation indulge in tobacco, tea, or coffee. I am not fa- miliar with any class of people who can show a better record whether they are religious or otherwise.
 Now as to tlfeir claims to being an evangelical church. First they claim to be the only church that Is called af- ter the name of Jesus Christ, i. e., their full title Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Second, they claim to be the only church that has the apostolic organization i, e., bishops, two classes of priests, elders, deacons, teachers, prophets, etc. Third, theA claim to be the only church that is looking for an actual millennium or terrestrial heaven, and to be working toward the fulfillment of their own prayer when they say Thy Kingdom come" Fourth they claim to be the only people who preach the gospel with out money and without price, as wit I ness their self-supporting missionaries, who are not allowed to take collection at any meeting they may hold in any 1 part of the world, but must each man pay his own way from means personal | ly accumulated before they were cant on their missions
 And If a sect may be justified by the | Holy Scriptures, I see no reason why the | Mormon people have not as much war !, rant in the Bible for their way of liv- | ng and belief as any other sect. If put 10 the test that St. John gives "A belief | -bot ies thp Nhrict and th1f (Sn1 | 1as raised Him from the dead" the Mormon church is evangelical.
 The fact in any case remains that the | Mormon church is growing faster than | my other. J. R. PATTERSON.