The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-05-19
Mormon Institutions, Customs
and Their Beliefs.
Have Made Desert to Bloom
as the Rose.
Non-M0rmons Must Keep Their
Mouths Guarded.
From Tuesdays Daily.

From Tuesdays Daily.
George E. Hair, special agent of the
government land office at Salt Lake
City, writes as follows to his mother,
Mrs. George R. Hair of Mankato:
81 believe 1 shall like Salt Lake very
much, even better than 1 did Durango.
The climate here is beautiful and much
farther advanced than in Colorado. In
Colorado, when l left, nearly every por-
ton of the state was under snow, and
severe storms were of almost daily oc-
currence In Salt Lake City, the lilacs
and Towering shrubs are in bloom, and
apple trees are a mass of blossoms.
Lawns look beautiful, all of them being
well kept. When the season has become
farther advanced, the city must be a
very beautiful place. In reality the
Mormons have made this desert of sand
blossom as the rose" They were the
ones who first made this section habit
able, and they must be given credit for
that at least.
'Last Sunday I attended services at
the big tabernacle and listened to a SER
mon by Brigham H. Roberts, the con-
gresham who was fired out of con.
gress a few years, ago because of his
being polygamist, with two wives.
The sermon was a good gospel sermon,
at times, and had it not been for an oc-
casional reference to the latter day
saints and direct revelations from God,
etc., You might have thought YOU were
in Methodist church. Just about the
time 1 would begin to think he was
preaching good straight gospel, and that
the Mormon religion was not as bad as
painted, my mind would revert to
Brigham Young, the Mountain Meadow
massacre, the seven wives of President
Smith, the present head of the church,
and the bunch of the Twelve Apostles,
who run things here, and I would sud-
denly find myself with mighty little re-
spect for the seeming devoutness of the
Mormons, and but little respect for
their religion. In telling some of the
Gentiles about the sermon 1 had heard
they laughed and said that Roberts
knew who he was talking to, and put
the best side forward, and that but
very rarely did they say anything at
the public services in the tabernacle
that might arouse the animosity of the
outsiders, or 'unbelievers,' as the Nor
mons call all those who are not of the
ELECT
."The tabernacle is wonderful build
ing, seating about five or six thousand
people, I should think. 1t has one of
the largest and best pipe organs of the
world, and it is played by one of the
finest organists in the country. The
choir numbers six hundred people, and
of course, the music is simply grand.
Last Sunday they opened the services
by singing what supposed was Amer
ica,' OF My Country, IT'S of Thee
That shocked me at first; to think that
they had the nerve to sing that song
made me hot. But after listening a
short time, I found it was some Nor
mon fol-de-rol set to the music of that
grand old tune. Then I was disgusted
There were about three or four thou
sand people present at the services.
Services are held only once Sunday,
at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Every
body goes, as much to hear the music
as anything else. They make spec
ialty Of that.
''While l was sitting in the taberna-
Gle, just before the show started, in
came Senator Reed Smoot and sat down
near me- He remained during the serv-
ices. 1 had seen Smoot in Washington,
and hence recognized him Immediately.
He is ice-looking and bright young
man. You know that he is not poly
gamist, although he is one of the
Twelve Apostles
"The receiver of public moneys in the
land office here is one of the Apostles
also. He is one of the king-pins of the
church. His name is George A. Smith,
a member of the original tribe of
Smiths, of the royal blood of the
church, one of the lineal descendants
of old Joe Smith, the founder of the
church. He seems to be very pleas
ant fellow, but of course is very de-
won't (?) Mormon. His chief clerk is
also a Mormon, having been a mission
airy to various European countries. and
being also one of their elders. From
this YOU can see that we have to keen