The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-06
"A PLAIN STATBMENT.o


today under Its own title OF Wrong
and IRRATIONAL deserves careful con-
sidcratIon by thinking people. 1t Is
one of the best illustrations which has
recently come TO public notice OF the
perhdy, hypocrisy and rampant false
| hood OF the Mormon church organ.
From its first paragraph to Its close
it abounds in misleading word and
misleading intent.
The News criticIses the Chicago In
terror because that great weekly does
not depend upon .''plnin statements
| given by Mormon writer's" Where are
such plain statements 10 be found
concerning the present situation? And
| upon which set OF statements. plain or
| otherwise emanating from such quar-
ter. shall the commentator rely? There
is no kind OF statement made by Nor
mon authority upon the subject OF the
great question OF today which is not
/ explicitly contradicted by statement
| emanating from equally good author
| ity. One proof will be sufficient, Jo-
seph Z, Smith, president Of the church,
| testified In Washington that he did not
| receive revelations from God. and
when he returned homo he made an
equally plain" statement to the con-
gregation of his Mormon adherents
that his testimony In Washington was
untrue and was delivered for the pur-
pose OF escaping a trap set by his "en-
cmies." To this might be added scores
OF cumulative proofs that n plain
statement by the present Mormon
prophet is plain falsehood
The Deserct News becomes very In
dgnant at the suggestion that the
Mormon church has endeaYored to
square itself with the public opinion
Of the country" 1t says that every
one knows the folly OF such a charge.
Then more shame 10 the Mormon
church, Public opinion I'm this country
becomes the law of this country. Pub
lie opinion in the United States Is the
result of the centuries of enlightening
progress through which man has waged
his battle against old error, The
church which does not seek TO square
itself with the public opinion of the
country is lacking In an American
quality. The News is right, but not in
sion. The Mormon church has not usu-
ally sought to bring itself into accord
with the law and the sentimentality Of
tho age, but it has always made stren-
uous endeaVor 10 appear to be In con-
sonance with the statutes of the land
and with the opinion of thinking men.
In Nauvoo the revelation which COM
manded the practice OF plural marriage
was withheld from public knowledge
In the United States because It would
contravene public opinion; and to
square Itself with public opinion, the
church authorized its elders to deny,
and compelled it's leading women to
deny, that polygamy had been either
practiced or taught In the church, al
though such men and women were then
living in polygamy. The present HE
raTchS pretended to give up the prac-
tice of plural marriage in 1890, in or
der to square the church with public
opinion. The present herarchs pre-
tended to abandon political control. In
order TO square the church with pub
lie opinion. The hierarchs pretended
to retreat from the utilization OF the
public schools for the teaching OF It's
offensive doctrines, in order to square
the church with public opinion. The
church nnenp6 the h0rk 1npr n IFS
ecclesiastical edifice and permitted
the unspeakable Tanner to stink
out of his position as superin-
tendent OF its schools, in order to
square the church with public opinion,
The church pretended to expel polyg-
amous apostles, Taylor and Cowley. IN
order to square itself with public opin-
ion. The church inserted patriotic
songs of America in It's hymn book in
1905 in order to square itself with pub
lie opinion. II the News shall take
refuge In the truthful claim that all
are hypocrisles and vain pretenses 1t
would only make the shame more man
ifest. 1t is a double offense TO the de-
cent elements Of civilization that these
black-maeic hierarchs shall outrage
law by their fragrant violations and
shall insult sentiment by a shallow
prctense of abandonment of crime. The
Mormon church has done little else
than To try TO square Itself with the
public opinion OF the country. and 1t
has with rare exception sought TO ac-
complish this end-as it is seeking
this, end today-by hypocrisy and de-
ceit,
The character OF the Deseret News
utterance is illustrated by It's method
of dealing with the Taylor and Cowley
case. In reply to the Interior II says.
I'm the case under consideration the
action that was taken occurred on the
2Sth day OF October, 1906" That is
nice plain statement from the organ OF
the Lord, What was the action taken
on that imDortant date, The DeSeret |