The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-27
STARTLING ADDRESS
IN TABERNACLE.
Church as a Commercial Trust
Is Defended by the
Speaker.
MAKES THREATS AGAINST
OPPONENTS OF M0RM0NISM
President of Ensign Stake Pays
Tribute to Dual Family and
Plurality of Wives.

An address which was startling In
its nature and which was one prolonged
sneer upon the Rev. y. E. Clemenson,
who delivered the stirring address be-
fore the Presbyterian association IN this
city on August 20, was delivered by
Nephi l.. Morris, the president Of En-
sign stake, at the Tabernacle Sunday
afternoon. Fully 1000 people listened
TO an address which was supposed to
| be an answer TO the charges made by
the Rev. Mr. Clemenson, and which.
under this guise proved to be de-
| fense of polygamy, a denunciation of
| the American party and the present adj
ministratlon, defense of the church as
| commercial trust, threat against
| those who opposed Mormonsm and
! tribute to the dual family and plurality
/ OF wives.
| east upon those who did not believe IN
| the Mormon creed and only sarcastic
| reflections for those who had ventured
TO assert their own beliefs. His utter
ences were such as 10 leave the infer
ence that Mormonism would prevail If
it had to be carried through seas OF
| blood, and the speaker In so many
words declared that the creed would
become the ruling religion of the world.
! even though a revolution result While
! the leaders who were present were loud
in their ''amens' to all that Mr.. Nor
ris said, those who were not followers
| of the elder were startled and shocked
at some of the arguments put up In
! defense Of practices which have time
and again been denied by the church
leaders.
Spoke Upon the Problem"
Elder Morris spoke upon the "Prob-
lem and quoted from Rev. Clemen~
son 8 address III detail, taking ii up in
| nine captions. In dealing with the
charge made by the Presbyterian min
lister that Mormonism Is mysterious,
| inscrutable. difficult, and an enigma
whose solution puzzles and battles the
thoughtful seeker after the Great
Truth, he said: 'Our thanks are due
the gentleman for wording in so eXcel-
lent manner thought that expresses
the idea promulgated in our earliest
church literature. The speaker went
/ on to say that the Bible predicted just
such a mysterious influence and that
it was Mormouism that was meant,
and that the bringing forth of the Book
4. OF Mormon contormed To the idea as
presented by the Former'day Saints.
In referring 10 the statement of Rev.
| Clemenson that the Mormons were n
peculiar people, and so on, the speaker
went on TO say that the Mormons had
been obstructcd in their efforts to bring
I about the true religion of God upon
earth by the Protestauts and Catholics
in every way possible,
After touching upon the caption of
Rev. Clemeuson 5 address wherein he
said that +" Mormonism is a well-defncd
philosophy of materlalism lacking In
the refined quality of spirituality,o the
/ speaker went on to say that the Nor
mon church believed in caring for the
temporal welfare OF man, and that II
did pay attention to this important
part of life IN its system. Here the
speaker took up the charge that the
heads of the Mormon church were IN
sort OF cooperative business for profit,
"Such an accusation is false, y shouted
the speaker, with vehemence, "aud the
very fact that the heads of the Mormon
church have always been poor men, men
who have had but little OF this worlds
goods goes TO refute such a statement.
| Mr.. Morris did not mention Joseph r,
who is now in Europe ENJOYING himself
''It was temporal well-being which
1 bigotry and hate of the prosecutors OF
the Mormons forced upon them in the
davs when the Lord s Amounted were
forced to leave Illinois and Missouri
when their wives and daughters were
ravishcd. when their fathers and sons
were killed. horribly mutilated, butch
crpd II was lust such awful perSecu-
tions as these that drove the Mormon To
the Rocky mountains, where ne had 10
establish "A cooperative method or gain
inc n livelihood, - declared Mr.. Morris.
Speaker Grows Bitter,
At this point the speaker grew bitter.
Where do YOU find a people among
other creeds,' he asked, his features
working with hatred as he spoke.
''wherc do YOU End Il people who are
true enough to their religion to come
into the heart of the desert and erect
to the glory of God a temple which
cost $3,500.00G. while they themselves
were almost starving, fighting the Bit
ter enemies that surrounded them'
! '"While the Mormon church teaches
that we shall look after the temporal
welfare of man, II also teaches that we
shall take care of the political and so.
! cial well being II was said last week
in the address of the reverend gentle
| man who knows so little about Nor
monism. as we'll as by others at differ
| ent times. that the Mormon church