Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-12-20
MISSIONARIES AND TACT,

The payctte, ld0ho, Independent or
December rs devotes over a column to
an attack ON the Deseret News As
usual, 1t Is, as far as we can see. with
out the slightest provocation.
Some time ago we quoted prominent
Japanese statesman who. In very
friendly spirit stated that Christian
missionaries with whom he had come
IN contact, had exhibited remark
able lack of tact. He related some
Instances as an illustration OF this. aud
we reproduced some OF these in
stances. We added some comments
TO the effect that Just as nations send
trained men to perform the diplomatic
service, so It II necessary for churches
to commission only competent men to
act as their representatives in the mis-
sion field
The Payette Independent considers
this valid reason for n bitter assault
upon the Mormon" Church and Nor
mon" missionaries. Our contempora-
ry thinks It strange that we should find
fault with missionaries OF any church
for their lack Of tact and goes on to
say that the missionaries of the Nor
mon Church stand foremost in this
regard II charges that our mis-
sionaries not only lack tact, but that
they sometimes force their religious
views on people who do not want to
hear them. 1t further alleges, that
there are cases where the lack of tact
on the part of the Mormon" mission.
airy has even become n crime.
Reasonable readers will, of course,
ask for proof OF such broad state
ments. They will naturally ask
whether a single instance can be pro-
duced in which Mormon" missionary
has forced himself upon any one un-
willing to listen TO him, or commit
ted any ndiscreton Of that kind, not
to say crime. our contemporary
anticipates this natural question, and
answers II BY relating a genuine
hunchausen story, concocted by an
anti Mormon publication, about a
certain Colorado man who was found
living with two sisters. The Inde-
pendent repeats the tale that this
man had taken his second wife at the
urgent advice of a Mormon mission
airy, who had converted the man and
the two women to his faith and had
made them believe that Ia poygamy
they would find favor in their adopted
church and grace in the eyes OF the
Almighty" That is the Independents
proof Of criminal lndiscretion on the
part OF Mormon" missionaries!
fortunately, there IL not word Of
truth in that story, and IL our contern-
porary has no better evidence. it's case
Is hopelessly lost. The man referred to
had not taken q second wife at all, and
such relations as he had sustained with
the Unfortunate victim Of his lust, were
not at the advice OF Mormon" mission
aries. He never was converted TO the
Mormon" faith, and he did not even
know what the Mormon" faith Is. The
man, when his attention was
called to the fabrlcatidns OF the
anti-"Mormon" publication concern
ing him, denounced them as be.
ing untrue In some particulars and
willully distorted in others. He did
state that he had hunted up a Nor
mon" Elder and asked him to perform
marriage ceremony. and that the Ell
der had told him that It was impossible
TO comply with his request Was that
criminal indiscretion on the part Of tn,
Elder? We refer our contemporary -
the Deseret News of october 81 for a
full report
The case of this fellow is entirely df-
ferent from the conception OF it formed
by the Independent. he had heard. he
said, that polygamy was practIsed IN
Utah, but not from Mormon Elders,
or Mormon publications. lie had evil
IDENTIFY taken the false reports circulate
ed about Utah by her enemies, for
granted as SO many do, and misled by
those reports he thought he could live IN
this State unmolested, in the relations
he had assumed In other words, the
many ldlSc reports dDuul lNaHi anu
not indiscretion on the part OF Nor
mon Elders, are responsible for the
ease referred to- The Deseret News
has done its best to place Utah in q
correct light before the world, by ex-
posing time and again, the malicious
falsehoods published by enemies, but
Notwithstanding these efforts, Il Is evil
dent that the falsehoods sometimes bear
fruit, and this is one OF them. We hope
our contemporary IN Idaho will be able
TO see, that In this instance It has abb
solutely no foundation for It's attack
upon us
The Independent, on reading our ar
ticle on lack OF tact In the missionary
field. evidently. jumped ut the wrong
conclusion, that the News" made an
attack on the missionaries Of other
churches, There Is however, not a
sentence In the entire article to Justify
that conclusion. We spoke OF lack OF
tact In missionaries In general. and had
no Intention OF singing out those OF
other churches, and compare them with
those of the Latter-day Saints. on the
contrary, we felt quite certain that the
missionaries OF our own Church would