The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-05-19

while about our duties. I am told that
/ will strike plenty of Mormons in my
travels about the state, and that most
of my business will be with them. From
this YOU can see that a fellow must
keep his p's and q's and not say too
much or he will get himself disliked.
"My office is situated right in the
heart of MormOnism. just across the
street is the Temple, started in 1858,
and completed in 1898, beautiful gray
granite building, in which no unbeliever
is ever allowed, and in which all Nor
mons are not allowed either. In this
temple is the Holy of Holies,' in which
only the apostles, priests, and Gods
Amounted (?) are allowed. This tenn
pie is only used for the higher rites of
the church, such as marriages, etc., also
the marriage ceremonies of those who
marry in the spirit, for eternity, and not
for earthly marriages. You know the
Mormons have custom of marrying
for eternity. If a fellow wants an
other mans wife, and cannot get her
on earth, they go into the temple and
through ceremony which gives her to
him after death and for all eternity.
A fellow can go into the temple and
marry Queen Victoria or any other dead
woman, if he has the price and will
take the obligation. And, vice versa, a
woman can marry any dead man she
wants to. This strikes me as taking
advantage of fellow-marrying him
when he cannot say anything against
it, or protect himself.
'In the same block with the temple.
is the great tabernacle that I have al
ready described. Another large build
ing in the same block is devoted to the
meetings of the Apostles and the coun-
sellors, the business end of the church.
"Then across from the church, just
about a halfblock east, is the cele-
brated Lion House, where the business
offices of the church are. Adjoining this
building is the Beehive House, the old
nome of Brigham Young, where he lived
with all his twenty-one wives, except
his favorite wife, who lived across the
street in a big palace he built for her.
In this Beehive President Smith now
lives with his seven wives and twenty
one children. Of course, it is a very
large house-it takes large house for
that kind of a family.
"Old Brigham is buried in private
cemetery of his own about one block
from his old nome, on what used to be
his private grounds, but now separated
from them. Here he lies encased in ce-
ment, covered by a big block of gran
lite, and surrounded by bunch of his
late wives. Seven or eight of them are
buried there, but where the rest of
them are, do not know. OF course,
Ann Eliza, the nineteenth wife, who
bolted the establishment, and wrote a
book, is not there.
Immediately in front of the office is
the old tithing yard, surrounded by a
stone wall about twelve feet high. In
this enclosure in early days the mem
bers used to bring their tithes, one
tenth of which they raised, for the
church. The high wall served also as
a protection from the Indians, and the
pugnacious white man who did not
like the way Brigham Young ran
things, and would occasionally try to
take shot at the Mormons. All over
the city the remains of those old walls
can still be seen. They were regular
forts in those early days.
"All in all. this is very interesting
city, and I am going to devote my spare
time to reading up on the history of
the Mormon church, and refresh my
memory regarding things that occur
red years ago. Everybody here, who is
not Mormon, is called Gentle, Jews
and all. This is the first country |
ever was in where Jew was a Gentle.
But he is here.
ssI eynpct TO take n trin Monday down