Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-12-23

| to be sealed up to some Elder Cor time
| and eternity, TO be n star In his crown
| forever
Brigham Young's definition OF spirit
| ual wifeism was expressed thus:
II say to every man on the face OF
| the earth. II he wishes TO be saved, he
cannot be saved without a woman by
| his side, This IL spiritual wfelsm-
that IL, the doctrine OF spiritual Wives"
1T must be remembered, says
the author OF the recent STORY
Of the Mormons, that 1t Is a
part Of the doctrine Of polygamy that
woman can enter heaven only as sealed
to some devout member of the Mormon
Church, for time and eternity and
that the space around the earth Is
filled with spirits seeking some tab
ernacles Of clay, by means OF which
they may attain salvation, The Nor
mon women belieyc that the salvation
OF the sex depends on sealed mar
riages, and that the more children they
can bring into the world. the more
spirits they assist on the road to sal
vation
In the earlier days OF the Church,
the bringing OF n new wife into a
family produced discord and heart
lutHlTlENt WIN lnt tOIlll1B Vi ldltI ktH-
erations, schooled to look upon polyg-
amy as matter Of course II IL differ
emit All the testimony | can obtain in
regard TO the Mormonism OF today
shows that the Mormon women are now
the most earnest advocates of polyga-
nous marriages."
Said one competent observer In Salt
Lake City to me: "As the women OF
the South, during the war, were the
rankest rebels, so the women OF Nor
mondom are today the most jealous
advocates Of poygamy."
GROWING ALL THE TINE.
It is even said by many GentIles that
the Mormon Church IL the only great
religious organization which IL renlly
growing at a faster rate than the popu-
latlon, 1t Is doubtless the Jealousy and
fear aroused by this fact that Is the
handspring OF the agitation against
these excellent Christian people by their
'sourballed" Christian brethren OF 9TH
er creeeds.
] have personally known a good many
"Mormons," have sometimes attended
their church and have had them as col
lege ssmates--includng a grand
daughter of the prophet" Joseph
Smith, Without exception. believe
that their characters and their home
lives We're such that 1t would keep the
average good Methodist or Presbyterian
brother hustling to equal them. There
fore, when the strong arm OF the law
Is invoked by the good ladies OF the
Dorcas and X. Y. u. societies to pro-
tect the homes of the rest Of us from
the spread Of their ''pernicious influ-
ence," we smile indulgently and a
trlfie YEARLY, and murmur ''rodents!"
ACTS AS A BOOM.
care as little for the religious be-
liefs of the "Mormons'' as for those OF
the Hottentots or Baptists. Doubtless
they are all good enough for the people
who in their present stage of Develop
ment need them. Results, only, are all
that count, Inasmuch as methods are
OF no moment, | see no more reason for
this effort to change "Morrsonlsm" into
some more ancient ism than for Calvin
ism to be changed to "Mormonism"
When saints pitch into each other, the
rest. of us may well keep right on
cheerfully hoeing potatoes, knowing
that no good thing will suffer. III they
are prosecuted, the Latter-day Saints
should rejoice Persecution invariably
blooms" any sect
Here Is the way Ebert Hubbard, who
perhaps dips his tin dipper little deep
err into the well of truth than any man
of the century, sums up the case; and
| believe he reflects the plain, horse
sense Of the great mass OF unprejudiced
people:
EBERT HUBBARD QUOTED.
IF sects did not serve mankind they
would never be evolved--each sect, like
coal screen, catches certain sized
man, A reasonable amount OF super
stition Is q good thing for certain folks.
IT Is an aid to the imagination; the
fairy tale Is not bad for children. A
superstition Is a crutch--no man Will
keep II any longer than he needs II.
Don't take II away from him. Leave
him alone and he will throw II away
for himself. The wars OF the world
have been mostly caused by Eealots
who were trying TO make men exchange
one set of superstitions for another.
All are good-all are bad-it depends
upon Your point of view. What we
microbes think of God does not make
much difference TO God-we can only
mirror ourselves. As we change our
ideals we change our God. God Is get.
ting better all the time-higher, nobler,
wiser gentler kinder,
"A beautiful woman of so, with whom
conversed In Salt Lake city, said to
me; My sister and | married the same
man. we all lONtu anu ItNtTtHttu MIN
IN life My sister and | and our chill
dren live in loving memory OF him. He
never spoke TO us an unllind word i said
nothing, because there was nothing TO
say / thought of homogeneous mar
riages where little children run and
hide when they hear the coming foot
steps of their father OF drunken men
who beat their wives. and OF others
who bubble, quarrel and make their
house a hell, And ] asked myself this
question--'ls monogamy wholly good?'
And the inward answer was. 1T may
be and 1t may not. And then asked
myself this question, Is polygamy
wholly bad2' And the inward answer
was. IT may be and II may be notl' A
man In Utah may have three wives
and treat all with infinite tenderness:
and another may live In Boston and
have one wife, and use her to bat up
files.
THE PRoMIscUoUs GENTLE.
Laws for the suppression OF polyg-
amy are made by men 'lmperfectly
homogeneous. and are founded on the
idea that man by nature Is base and
his soul denled. We doubt that propo-
sition now--we are having more faith
In nature, and as our faith In God In
creases we govern less. The promls-
cuous Gentle is not much beyond the
fish; but polygamy demands a degree