The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-14
THE oNE-WIFE M0RMONS.
CLAIM TO BE THE TRUE AND
ORIGINAL SAINTS.

ed to Observation-Disclosures o., Is
Their Holy PIace-JOseph Smith, n
Son of the Prophet, Is Their Presi-
dent, and Is a jolly Old Patriarch.
They Make Law-abiding Citizens
and Get Along Well With Their
Neighbors.
Washington, oct. 13.-The death of
Lorenzo Snow, President of the Nor
mon Church, draws attention to the
fact that Mormonism is like nearly cv-
cry other religious denomination. 1t
is a divided house. Like older denom-
nations, each of the branches claims
to be the original and, therefore, the
genuine. Salt Lake City is the holy
d place of the organization which has
just lost it's chief spiritual as well as
temporal head. Kirkland, Ohio few
hours ride from Pittsburg, is the place
toward which all deVout members of
the other branch, hope at some time
in their lives to turn their feet. Kirt-
land contains the Holy of NOTES.-THE
first temple ever built after the west
ward movement of the Mormons be-
gan. 1t was built in 1881.
1t was under the administration of
the first Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon
and other noted teachers of that per-
iod. that Lorenzo Snow came to the
conclusion that the Bible had beeen
supplemented by another deliverance
from the Most High. His birthplace,
Mantua, in Portage county, is about
twenty-five miles south of Kirkland,
which is now called Mulberry Corners
or something like that, by the Postof-
flee Department. About ten years ago,
the temple, which stands on high
HILL was rebuilt, and the anti
Mormons came from all corners OF the
earth to rejoice thereat.
The "Reorganized Saints"
The Mormons who regard themselves
as the only genuine, call their organl-
cation THE Recognized Church Of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
because the courts decided that while
the ancient seat at Kirkland was theirs,
the Utah branch was so well known as
1.-THE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints" that the Ohioans would
better take some other name. This
they did by putting in the word "Reor-
ganiZed." Joseph Smith, a son of the
Prophet, is President of the quorum of
Presidents which, when the member
ship is complete, consists of three men,
and is known as the First Presidency.
1t is seldom, however, that the quorum
is in that condition. The presidents are
chosen by inspiration, and it is some
times three or four years before the
chief officers of the organization, or
some one who is regarded as being es-
pecially favored of God, hears the voice
from above, mentioning the name of
the man fit to sit in the vacant place.
The practice with regard to vacan-
cies, is the same in both branches of
the denomination. There must be a So
called Divine communication. 1t is
worth while to note the fact that these
communications, strange as it may
seem, nearly always call for the pro-
motion of the ranking officer.
Are One-Wife MOrmOns.
About the only difference between
the branches is on the question of
wives. The Kirkland Mormons are
mongomists, and call the doctrine of
polygamy That awful abomination."
The Utah branch of Mormonism they
call Utahism. They pray for the re-
union of their church as often and as
fervently as the Pope prays for the re-
turn of those he is sure are in error.
| They pray that the rest of the Chris
tian church may receive the light that
lIley dIe lOllOWlIlSs lHdI Is TIE lS III
coming from, the book of Mormon and
the revelations that have been made to
Mormons. ON the question of the
genuineness of the revelations. they
rather startle the superficial by pro-
ducing a revelation published in Lon
don in 1881, wherein it is prophesied
that war shall break out between
the states lin South Carolina" and
that negroes and Indians shall take
- to- Il
scribing the red and black races can
not be recalled just now. Its appar-
ent accuracy may be attributed to
good guessing as to what would be
the result of the threat of secession
made by South Carolina About a
year later Andrew Jackson remarked
that he would hang the Governor of
South Carolina If he undertook to pre-
vent the collection of tariff duties.
'eOld Hickory" who. by the way was
somewhat of believer in the strenu-
Gus life, although he never invented a
phrase to describe it, also said that
the hanging would be as high as that
of Hannah.
Patriarch Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith, the head of the non
polygamist Mormons is a. liberal-mind-
ed. jolly old gentleman, with a white
beard, of patriarchial length and ap-
pearance, and reminds one of Senator
Stewart of Nevada. Although his life
is strict and pure, there is no bigotry
or austerity about him. Any man who
thinks he has a message of truth to
deliver is welcome to the pulpit when
President Smith is speaking. The only
man who he was ever known to exclude
was an obviously demented Canadian,
who claimed he was Christ come to
earth for the second time. The Cana
dian also claimed that it was impossi-
BILE for him to commit a sin.
Every order n Quorum.
The organization of the priesthood
commingling of the Old Testament and
the Christian system with a little of
their own invention thrown in. Every
order is a quorum, except that of the
high priest and the bishop. There is
only one high priest and one bishop.
The bishops duties are to look after
the finances of the church. Counting
downward the quorums are as follows:
The presidency of three members; the
apostles of twelve: the seventy mis-
sionarles sent out by the apostles; each
of the seventy is supposed to be the
beginning Of another seventy: the eld-
ers, usually consisting of all the
preachers in a designated district: the
deacons and the teachers. who are or
ganzed in the same way by districts.
Lamont, Iowa. is the Rome or what
ever name may he used TO describe the
abiding place of the head of the church.
There. President Smith lives. comforta-
bly, and quietly, editing the organ OF
the church the Saints Herald Only