The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-07-18
PASSING 1T BY.

Because a learned divine of this city
! forbade the singing of a polytheistic
Mormon hymn at the funeral OF mem
Der OF the Presbyterian church, Nor
| mon apostle delivered a lengthy SER
mon in support of the doctrines enun~
ciated and idealized in the song. and
pertinently remarked concerning the
funeral episode that he passed by the
manifest impropriety" of that Presby-
terian minister's action on the funeral
occasion. The discretion of the pass
ing by was equal TO the valor of the
theological defense. II would take more
than ordinary courage for n Mormon
apostle TO talk at length about the i'm
proprieties, manifest or otherwise. of
evangelical ministers AZ funerals, ill
View of the usual practice OF Mormon
coff1ns an insult 10 the memory of the
dead and an outrage upon the feelings
OF the living.
II is notorious that nowhere else
among people who profess 10 be Chris
tians are such brutalities practiced ana
permitted s at funerals in the Mormon
church. From the highest In authority
down to the last bishop who has been
ordained by Senator Smoot" the
priests of the dominant church In Utan
are, as a rule. utterly regardless OF the
decencies OF human life when they
come TO talk about human death. With
IN a. few months past there have been
no more than the usual. and yet plenty
OF. startling illustrations OF the fact.
over the bier of a dead wife and moth
er, In the presence OF her children who
did not believe in polygamy. plural
marriage has been lauded by an apos-
tie OF the church as the only order of
in which a woman could be
assured of eXaltation I'm the kingdom
Of God. In another case, end before 8
widow and her children, the
one fault Of the dead man has been
reprehended from the pulpit by preach
ers who pointed down at his coffin and
said. with unsaintly gibes and murder
1us cruelty, that ne had gone TO the
Judgment scat 10 there answer for his
wisdom" OF the Mormon church. in
still another and most nota ole instance
he relatives of a dead man were told |
1t his funeral that il any one among
hem rejected the plan OF salvation az !
he same was interpreted by tho |
prophet who was speaking they !
would never see the face OF their be- |
owed one in the hereafter. And in |
'ther instances lengthy sermons have !
'een delivered In behalf OF tithng and |
n support of the other gratis Of the
hurch, and also long Trades have been |
Preached against the enemies" OF the
Mormon people as If the cold clay oI
he dead man could be terminated by a
or by hate. And so on,
nd so on TO the last limits OF blgotry
nd ignorance and pharisaism in imi-
alton Of that awful curse pronounced |
efore swooning mother by a Mormon
rophet over the coffin OF her only son:
He has gone'to perditlop he has gone
, perdItionl"
IT was well, therefore. for the distin-
uished speaker of the Mormon church
0 pass by what ne called the i'm
roprety." His criticism would have
cen too .glaring an affront to the COM
ION knowledge held by this commu-
ity.
So far as the particular case in ques-
ion is concerned. there does not ap-
ear TO have been anything unseemly
n the part OF the Presbyterian minis.
er. 1t is the common practice for the
ergyman who has charge of funeral
suggest or direct the choice of
ymns. II Doctor Paden did not like
le doctrine Of the Mormon hymn which
ngs of our mother in heaven" he
ad as good right TO object 10 It a.
postle Orson Il. Whitney has TO COM
lend it because he does happen 10 like
The issue between the two gentle
len is purely theological, and there
're there was no "improprIety" for the
-ormon apostle TO either condemn or
} pass by"
RANTTINE cITSpATNJ-r,