Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-04-25
NEITHER scmsM NOR WAR,

The Baltimore sun Of recent date
touched editorally upon some Of the
foolish sayings Of speakers at the
Mothers Congress in Washington. The
following Is an EXCERPT from the suns
remarks
an the United states there Is free
dom OF religion. A man may affiliate
with any church ne may prefer or he
iNay abstain from assocIatug him
self with any religious body lie is
free 10 DO either OF these things, and
the law will protect hm from molesta-
ton II he should do either a church
may eXpel from SIS membership amy
person whom it considers unworthy
and IN so doing win exercise a right
which cannot be challenged on the
grounds OF doctrine or discipline The
Congress OF the United states and the
Legislatures of the several states do
not legislate on the subjects Of religious
faith and church discipline, They have
nothing 20 do with such matters
We fully agree with what the sun
says on this subject We commend
It TO the attention Of our contempor-
NIltN III AllN ANNlt oNIilN W Nll'lNl hllNf'A
10 be under the impression that the
accommodation OF two or three menu
bcrs Of the Church Of Jesus Christ OF
Iattor-day Saints Is Of national inn
portance. Every religious organization
has the undoubted right TO regulate us
own affairs and to execute it's own rules
and regulations, provided that they
do not Interfere with the lawful rights
OF individuals or OF society
II would seem that every rational
person can see that an individual who
Is not willing 10 comply with the con-
dltions OF membership In q religious
body. should be perfectly willing 10 re-
tire from II, and ought to do so I'm as
decent and graceful a manner as is pos
sibe. but there are people who arc
not IN the habit Of doing anything de-
Gently and In order and so what can
you expect OF them2
But why should there be any dis
turbance among other people because
the mormon" Church carries out its
own discipline in relation to recaicl-
trant members? II "a Methodist or
Baptist or Presbyterian refuses to be
governed by the established rules OF
the church to which he belongs, and
the hand Of fellowship is Withdrawn
from him. who makes a fuss about It?
Certainly not tho Latter-day Saints
They recognize the right OF each &C.
clesiastlcal organization to receive, re-
1ect or eXpel any person according to
the established rules Of that body. That
s. no concern of ours Nor Is 1t the
business of the State or the Nation to
interfere, unless the expelled indi-
vldual Ia deprived of liberty or property
or some material interest
Because couple or 80 OF defiant
members are repudlated by the Church
according to It's long established meth
DDS Of procedure ln such eases, there
Is no ground for the notion that there
is "schism' I'm the Mormon Church
There never was a time In It's history
when there were so few instances of
INSTRUMENTATION and defiance of It's
principles and discipline as now 1t
has been found necessary occasionally
from the very beginning of les estab-
lshmcnt to enforce the extreme penalty
which It has the power to execute, that
Is. communication. Doubtless It
always VIII be 80. Pruning is required
IN every orchard Dead limbs ought
10 be cut off,
But this ovclsion does not imply any
thing further Of punishment from the
Church. The individual who Is no long
or q member is not under ts Iurlsdic-
ton In any manner whatever II makes
no attempt to do anything further with
him. lie ls LETT I'm the hands Of his
God. There are many persons I'm Utah
whose connection with the Church has
hoen severed, and They dWoll among
their fellows UnmoeHed, enjoying all
the rights OF citizens and Of noghbors.
ln some instances even whom they spend
the gre0tor patt of thoir time and oucr-
gics IN yrfylng and abusing thc'r
once familiar friends aud co-religiou-
ists,
There is not the slightest ground for
the opinion cXpressud BY some of tho
papers alta distance chat Dhoro as con-
Hlct IN the Mormon Church for 90
was never more united and rum of cone
ddcpco IN lts leaders than It Sea today,
Nor is There any reason for the idea