Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-02-11
THAT MINIsTEHIALs REPORT,

The Ministerial Association Of this
city composed Of preachers OF the dlf-
ferent religious sects, has once more
placed Itself on record In bitter hostll-
ity 10 the Latter.day Saints, A dotu-
ment prepared for circulation IN the
East, entitled. Report on Mormon
Teachings and Practices" has already
been published In tho Deseret News,
People residing In this state who are
acquainted with existing conditions
here win recognize the numerous mis-.
representations which It contains
Il has been in preparation for some
time Spying and spottng has been
golng on In various parts Of the state,
by people supposed 10 be Christians
and 10 be engaged IN educational and
religious occupations Their ears have
been wide open to salacious scandals,
and their noses have been poked into
peoples private affairs, for the purpose
OF gathering up spicy morsels for the
pious preachers Of the association to
gloat over
But they were waiting for some ex-
cnse as peg on which to hang their
bag OF gathered rumors, They found
II In reported interview by a news
paper man In the East with Hon.
Perry s. Heath, a well known politl-
clan and the present publisher of the
Salt Lake Tribune The probability
that the exact language Of the gentle
man was not given In the papers that
printed his alleged remarks, does not
seem to be taken into account by the
ministers who quote them. However
taking the words attributed 10 him.
they simply convey his own impress
elons concerning affairs here, from
what he has actually seen and heard
In social and business Intercourse
with number of "Mormons"
His example might have been wen
followed by the ministerial traducers
who call his statements "grotesquely
~nd absurdly untrue They have
built their report on number Of
stories many OF them grossly false,
most Of them purposeIy exaggerated,
and the whole relating to very small
portion Of the population OF this state
and Of the Mormon part Of It. They
have heard this; they have been told
that; It has come to them from reli-
able parties, and 40 on, Their assertion
that because OF Mr.. Heaths testimony
they have therefore Instituted inqul-
Jies," Is manIfestly untrue. by their
own showing these Inquiries have been
going on for some time past, and they
have been engaged in the very pleasant
occupation Of hunting for notes In the
eyes OF Mormondom, so that by the
magnifying powers Of pulpit training,
they might be exhibited al mOnstrous
beams before the American public,
The position they take on the polyg-
pmy question, which seems to interest
tllelH Hplc ANhh dhNlhihS 'inN hhNNi
The sun, is founded on runors unsup-
ported by proof, alleged remarks by
'Mormon" preachers and teachers
which have not appeared In authentic
accounts Of the meetings at which they
were said to have been uttered, and
their own conjeotures OF what the
'Mormons' intend and have in view
President Joseph L. Smith personally
denies, most emphaticaly, having ut
tered the words attributed to him In
Tayson in 1895 lie never made them
inere or elsewhere The gross peryer-
sion OF his language Is similar to that
in the other cases mentioned by the
ministers and II they had any sense OF
shame they should hang their heads
md repent Of their readiness to adopt
learsay statements Of mems enemies
for established truth.
Analyze the document carefully, and It
win be seen in all It's weakness as TO
pretended evidence, and lack Of logic In
Its far-fetched reasonings and jumped
mt conclusions In one part OF It they
affect fear at the growth Of polygamy
IN Utah; IN another part they complain
of the exodus Of poygamists into Mex
ico on the south and Canada in the
north.
They entirely ignore the facts that
the great body Of the Mormon" people
are not and never were practical polyg-
nmists. That only a comparatively few
entered into the family associations
which trouble their pious souls. and
that this number Is rapidly diminish
ing by death, and, II the statements Of
these ministers are true, by Wholesale
departures from the domain of the
United states, leaving but a few such
specks on the face Of the country.
In their attack on Mr. Heath, they
seem to assume that the "Mormons'
whom he has met, and for whom he
has nothing but words OF praise, must
have been polygamlsts whereas the
probability IS that most Of them were
not Of that class, and what he stated
was doubtless entirely correct. The un-
reliability Of the tales told by people on
whom these ministers depend for tho
scandals In which they delight, aud the
reports made by 'Mormons' Of
speeches delivered by Mormon Elders
and others, has been demonstrated
time and time again.
The plain and simple truth Is that