Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-08-21
MORMONISM.

All the Monitor wishes to say in
regard to the Mormons and their pos
sible emigration to Vermont, is that
it will not applaud the coming of
sect or religion that uphoIds and
teaches polygamy, thing condemned
by state and national law.-Barton
Monitor.
The Monitor is mistaken. The
Mormon church neither upholds nor
teaches polygany. 1t is not in their
church creed. e A class of Mormons
practiced polygamy at one time and
doubtless would today if they could;
but this is non the fault of the church
any more t1an it would be the fault
of the chureh if a Methodist or Bap-
fist comn4tted the same sin.-Ex-
press and standard.
The MONITOR may be mistaken but
the megs Statement that polygamy or
it's teachings are not in the Mormon
creed does not proveit. We presume
mkhe Express and Standard refers to
Nd Particles of Faith" when it says
reed," for the Mormons have no
reed. To be sure in 1912 document
rom the pen OF Joseph Smith some
what resembling a creed was pub
lished but it is practically impossible
to set forth exactly and clearly the
prime p e of Norman thee logy; be-
cause first, there is the theory of
continuous revelation abiding in the
church and, second, Mormon theoi-
ogy abounds in such an extraordinary
admixture of superstition, of philos-
ophy and fanaticism that it is difficult
to disentangle them ar reduce them
to anything like an orderly system.
Appended to this document of Smiths,
later called the ARTICLES of Faith"
are beliefs given in revelation to
prophets since this was written.
Among the appended beliefs is
revelation on poly gamy claimed by
Smith to have been given him In 1912
which recommended plural marriage
and from that time to this polygamy
has been practiced and taught among
the Mormons and has been as much
part of their belief as any revelation
given to their leaders; and here let it
be remembered that one of the Nor
mons distinguishing peculiarities is
the belief of continual inspiration
through the medium of the head OF
their church.
But, it will be said, "Did not Will
fred Woodruff in 1890, then president
of the Mormon church, issue docu-
ment prohibiting polygamy?" To be
sure he did but it was manifesto
only, made to gain Statehood for
Utah, and from Woodruff without
claim of revelation from their Deity,
and the polygamous revelations sup
posed to have been made to Smith in
1912 have never been stricken from
their beliefs and were printed in their
Articles of Faith'' in 1898. Rev. r. G..
McNiece, d. D., who has been q work
er in Utah more than 20 years and abb
soluteiy knows what he ia talking
about says: We know that official
representatives of the church are
publicly teaching polygamy over the
state. To be specific, at convention
of Mormon young peoples. societies
on the 18th of June, 1895, one of the
twelve apostles, in an address, as re-
ported in two daily papers in Salt
Lake City the next morning, stated
that "belief in polygamy is as much {
part of the Mormon faith today as il
ever was" and that the young people
''could not deny this part of the Nor.
mon belief without at the same time
denying the prophet Joseph Smith.
In referring to certain belief tn,
Express and Standard said. recently
We are determined to BSR9ve this
because-well-be cause we want *