St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1902-12-10
The Strength of Mormonism.

At the recent semi annual conference,
the seventy-second, held in Salt Lake
City, Opposite" Clawon gave these
figures. Said he: There are today 81
stakes in the Mormon Church, IA foreign
missions, 200, 900 souls in stakes of Zion,
and $4,000 in the missions-a total of
10000; $4,000 children under eight
years OF age; the first presidency and -
apostles, 200 patriarchs, $500 high
priests, 9,736 seventies, 10000 elders,
making a total of 6,744; 1880 priests,
900 teachers, 10000 deacons, total
of 25, 700, constituting the lesser priest
hood, or a grand total OF 60, 444 bearing
the prit sthood OF God. Connected with
the auxiliary associations OF the church
are 80, $50 members OF the Relief Society,
10000 officers and teachers in Sunday
schools and $4,000 children, % 600 in
the Y. M. M. l. A. and $4,000 in the Y.
L. F. |. A.; 4,O60 officers and 81, 9S8
children in the primary association;
about 10000 belonging TO the religious
classes of the church, the total of those
belonging to The auxiliary associations
reaching 264, 204 "
MORMONS AGAIN PREACH POLYGAMY.
A despatch to the New York Sun an
nounces the spread of the propaganda Of
polvgamy by Mormon M sslonaries in
N,braska, Kansas, and South Dakota.
Formerly the missionaries were content
simply to prosely tt tor their faith. They
were careful in order to ovrtome in
part at least the autipathy to anything
Mormon, to insist that the chur,h had
been reorgan zed and that polygamy
was no longer one of it's cardinal doc
trlnes.
The campaign now being prosecuted is
masked one. 1t is no longer insisted
on that polygamy has been banished
from the church. In d covert way it is
stated that they are now seeking con-
verts to the church because polygamy is
possible in Utah and Idaho where the
Mormons are the dominant power in
politics One of these missionaries is
quoted as having said recently that the
true Mormons have never relnquiShed
their polygamous beliefs, and that he ex-
pccted to secure many converts, because
most men are by instinct poygamous,
| and that in a church governed and run
as business organization plurality OF
wives is not only not burden, but a
distinct help to WORLDLY prosperity.
| These missionaries have been quoting
| l,aders OF the church as saying that the
law OF plural marriage is God given, and
| that 10 Mormon need fear man made
laws. They are also accused of tempting
their prospective converts with picture
| Of M IN tV1tt1 hU
reason of the fact that plurality OF wives
means larger families and that as the
average non Mormon family numbers nc
more than three children, in time the
whole earth will be filled by the true be
levers. They seek to prove that il
ancient days, according to both theil
Bible and that of the Christian Church
polygamy was not regarded as sin.
THE MORMON TITHING SYSTEM.
Some idea of the enormous revenue tn
Mormon Church receives from tithinl
may be gained through the following
item from a Utah correspondent:
Yesterday a Mormon young woman
told me that her father paid every tent
load of hay for tithing when he brough
it from the field. During the winter
when he sold the remaining hay he ais
gave every tenth dollar. Also with hi
cattle, he gives one-tenth Of what he has
and the next year he tithes the sam
stock over again, giving one.tenth OF al
thus including the cattle from which h
has paid tithing for many years plus tn
increase. This man is in moderate eli
cumstances, yet he pays $500 a yea
tithing. He asked the officials if, havin
once tlthed his hay and stock, he mus
again 1.-THE them when any were sold b
giving one-tenth of the amount realized
and was told that he must do so. Is