Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-08-06

stand or fan on that Issue, In doing SO
the Reverend preacher 0ics into fits OF
rage and autics Of deuuuciation 'hot
cemport more with the old-fashloned
hell.nre deiyerances Of infant damno-
ton dlscourses than the printed pages
Of religious journal Here are Re"
of his choice expressions Shameless
concublnage" lust and cimoi' Inn
deity and perAdy;" ubiquitous doc
trlne and practlcc; satanic origin
fraud, despotlm ana lust" infamous
revelation "dcgmdatlon and infamy
ETC.. an Of which IS Of course highly
edifying ana convincing We have
quoted the opening paragraphs OF the
Reverend genleman's enuaon, BY way
of contrast wc here give his closing
sentences
"guah "a carcature of God and Of de
vlnply Inspired revelation deserves th9
eNecra'lCn VI every moral man ulll
the ud of time, ana ought to suffice W
convince every cOnsdcratc reader OF
the monace To- morality and to CHRIS
tian civilization that is involved in a
system Of religious faith ana practice
whose fostering mother Is thus Clearly
shown to be- the hra2en cmanoton OF n
uancless ana phamelcss outrage OF the
Christian religion and the Christian
home,"
The article Is chiefly composed Of
arguments CD against polygamy drawn
from stories that have no basis In
truth, gorbIod quotations from the
Book Of Mormon extracts from the
revelation on celestial marriage, twist
ed and perverted after the usual anti
thornton fashion and an araign-
ment Of the Mormon Church as com
posed OF three prominent hostile
sects" having three antagonistic theo-
ries OF the origin Of polygamy' The
author Of this false and absurd notion,
names The three as; The Brigham
ties the "Josephites," ana the Dis
ciples." Much space Is occupied BY
his explanations Of the antagonism OF
thcse alleged main branches Of the
Mormon church" forming what he
calls parayzing paradox"
The trouble Is that his whole theory
is myth There are no three main
or other branches OF the Mormon
Church, or as he subsequently and
correctly calls it, the Church OF Jesus
Christ Of Iatter-day Saints, In It's
very nature, constitution and doctrines
there is ana con be but one body Oh
church The sects that he names hayf
nothing to 60 %i,h this Church. They
are comparatively new and entirely IN
dependent organizations, as much S,
as any separate and individual
firms or corporations or associations
are or can be. They have no connection
whatever one has not sprung or grown
out Of the other. Their different dea
or theories do not count Tor or agalns
what is held By each or both Of thu
others
Does the preacher hold that the Pres
byterlan church, and the Episcopa
church, ana the Methodist church ar,
three main branches Of the Roman
Catholic church? II SO. the great re
liglous organization having rs cente
In Rome Mould utterly repudlate sucl
a notion We do not believe that elthei
OF the three would entertain IT for
moment but there Is Just as much rea
son for the claim that the chief Prot
estant srcts are main branches o
the Catholic church. as that the two ne
llgious bodies named in The Presby
terlan" are hostile sects of the Nor
mon Church
u IN o patent fact that all the Rev
erends OF ChnsteDdom who undertak
TO inform the public about Mormon
ism" exhibit Grass ignorance Of thei
subject and. In most Instances, vlru
lence and wrath coupled with dlrec
interpretations that reflect dlscred
It upon the authors and create wonde
why men Of their cloth can reconcile
their consciences with such untruthfu
ana ylndictiye utterances. "The Pres
byterian' has not added to its reputa
ton, either for yeracIty or respecta
billy by the publication Of the ram
bling article by Rev J. A Livingston
Smith