Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-12-26

tise Of polygamy? Did or does poly
gamy have anything to do with the un-
questioned success and prosperity Of
the Mormon people? / think not.
Polygamy has been merely an incident,
and the disappearance OF polygamy has
In nowise lessened the formidable
growth of Mormon power. The secret,
] think, Is the secret of the amazing
growth and spread of early Christian
ity the putting into actual practise
| the Christian doctrine of the brother
hood of man--wlth them the brother
hood OF the Mormon man In particular.
once Latter-day Saint and all other
Saints are ready to lend you a hand,
and the organized and ably admins
tered mechanism of the Church lends
the new saint hand as well, and
these hands once extended are never
withdrawn, except for powerful and
we'll merited cause. The Mormon far
mef feels that back of his success Is
the ever helpful and protecting eye of
his Church In material as well as
spiritual things. The Gentle farmer
may succeed or may fail and who
cares; but the Mormon must succeed.
II he do not himself possess the in
nate power and force Of character and
judgment to get on, then men Will
power, and so he gets on even In spite
of himself. In certain sense, the
Mormons practise the doctrine of col
lective socialism, and that collective
unity is the secret, | think, OF their
wonderful accomplishment.
SECRET OF MORMON" SUCCESS.
The creed of the brotherhood OF
man, and of man within the Christian
pale, has been the secret OF Christian
ity where 1t has won success. The
failure to heed II and obey II Is the
cause of failure to every religious
movement that has come to nought.
And so long as the Mormon Church adj
heres TO the fundamental principle,
just so long will 1t continue to be a
power and a power OF increasing
weight.
And this cardinal principle is also
the secret of their missionaries sue
cess. All over the world there are, In
every state of the Union, In nigh
every land, and they serve without
recompense, without pay even as did
the early missionaries Of the Chris
tian church,
There is and always has been a good
deal Of cleverness In the leadership Of
the mormon" Church. II Is an old
uudEt liidl Ht SNto VI tift NHuINl 10
the blood of her martyrs" and the
Mormon" leaders have comprehended
this from the start. Not only have they
cultivated the Christian socialism OF
the early Church, but they have also
never fled from but they rather have
greatly proflted by real good case
OF martyrdom. The buffets and kicks
or the gentle world have helped, have
been essential. In welding the "Mor-
mon" believers into that political, re-
ligious and social solidarity so much
sought by the leaders They were driven
from New York, from Ohio, from Mis-
souri,, then from Nauvoo. They have
been shot, stoned, murdered by scores.
They have been imprisoned and har-
red by the federal laws very Justly
perhaps). But the effect OF ali this
has been only to make them stand to-
gether all the closer.
THE sMooT CASE.
Just now the attack upon Senator
Smoot Is profiting them immensely. He
sits by and smiles. He has only one
wife. He Is no more oath bound to his
own Church than is every Roman or
Greek archbishop vowed 10 his. A mat
ter OF conscience only. The effort TO
Dust him will probably fail, but It's a
BOOu tnlnB LOT tne inufCn 10 nave him
hammered. The more martyrs the few
er back-sllders The faithful line up,
stand pat the Church grows.
On the streets of Salt Lake City we
have noted the very few vehicles OF
fashion anywhere to be seen and, on
the other hand. the many substantial
farm wagons which generally seem to
be driven by woman accompanied by
one or more children more usually a
half grown boy. The men would seem
to be working on the farms, while the
come into town with the loads
OF produce. The faces. too. OF these
women were generally intelligent and
nor did they look brutal or
depressed.
In our own country we generally hear
the 'Mormons" denounced as polyga-
mists. In Utah and the nelghborlng
states you hear nothing about polyg. |
amy, and upon inquiry, was told that |
while once this tenet Of the Church had |
been urged and practised, yet that un-
Ter modern social conditions, which !