Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-04-12
Editor Who Says the Almighty
Will Not Hurl ThuuderbOlts
At Them.
WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT IT.
Society Women Who Have Shattered
The Preccpts Of Divinity and Every
Civilized Religion.

Sacramento Bee.7-In a recent editor
ial, the Deseret Evening News, publish.
ed In Salt Lake, gets In body blow at
Christian women" who have so much
to say, In clubs and through the press,
about the Smoot case. The News
quotes the following from a sermon
preached by Bishop Joseph NJ. Francis,
Of Indiana;
THE Weather classes do not want
children, claiming that they do not have
time to devote to them. A woman
cannot be a leader In society and raise
children. Both demand her attention.
and II Is getting to the sad point where
many women prefer society to chill.
dren'
The News goes on TO say:
Refined society was much more
shocked at the number OF President
Smiths children than even over the
fact that he acknowledged the wives
whom he welded previous TO the issu-
ance Of the manifesto so with the
course OF other 'Mormons' In the same
status. The Objectionable thing is that
children are born to those plural wives.
Punishment for this increase Is the de-
mand OF modern moralists of the school
Of suppression.
1T Will be found that the most We
hement outories against the 'Mormons'
on the part Of various societies, come
from women who are OF the class mem
toned by Bishop Francis. Understand,
we DE- not claim for moment that
there are no good, Christian women,
mothers OF children, and In every way
admirable, who protest against Nor.
monism' There are many such, who
do not understand the situation here
nor the principles by which Mormon
men and women are governed.
But We say that females OF the kind
that the Bishop proclaims against, will
be found among the most strenuous OF
anti Mormon and anti-Smoot de-
Chalmers. The evil he speaks Of Is a
real menace to the country, and II
Is crime against God and nature and
human enactments"
None can say the News has not
struck the nail very cleverly on the
head.
One may detest Mormon" polyga-
nous practises, but II he Ia a sensible,
well-read. intelligent man, man
with sane mind and q clean soul, he
viii not look down on the 'Mormons'
while at the same time applauding the
intentional birth-preventlon by society
women.
With the ancient Israelites, barren
ness In q married woman was q badge
OF disgrace. Sarah and Rachel are
instances OF Jewish women who lifted
up their voices and wept" when God
kept them childless Barrenness was
keenly felt by Jewish women In the
days Of the Lord, and Elizabeth, the
mother Of John the Baptist, rejolced
overmuch when God removed the
curse OF barrenness from her.
In these later days OF progress, new
ideas, and the New Woman. a wife
who thinks she Is somebody. has no
time to bear children. She makes vlr-
tue Of her intentional barTenness and
looks with contempt upon the Mormon
women, who are far better In the eyes
OF God than she s
For We do not believe the Almighty
will hurl the thunderbolts OF His
wrath at Mormon women, who have
followed what they believed TO be
revelaton--as Sarah and Rachel fol.
lowed Il, and as all the old patriarohs
OF the Bible followed it-and will
shower divine gifts upon society
women who, In their enforced barren
ness, have shattered the precepts OF
divinity az taught by every civilized
religion and broken as we'll the IN.
written salutary laws OF humanity.