The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-28
THE SYSTEM.

Tins of the system That Is nm ex-
preston now being used to account for
all sorts OF community and individual
alterations. The insurance presidents
misappropriated the moneys OF widows
and orphans. because their work was a
part of the system" Executive ofh-
GERS of government have been known 10
yield to improper influences because Of
previous contracts In their behalf under
the system" The muck -rakerS nave
made extrayagant and, in many In
stances. untrue assertions: but out of
their labor has come one definite and
just idea: that many Of the real or sup
posed evils are result Of "the system
rather than the result of individual de-
sire 10 do wrong.
In no other sphere in the United
States is the system" so all-powerful
as In the Mormon church. From
childhood to the grave the individual
Mormon is A part of its vast machinery
Not long ago Tho Tribune recounted
the experience OF a Mormon, more than
fifty years of age. who said that he had
never yet had time to determine wheth-
er he wanted to go on with the sys-
tenn" or not, he had been going on so
fast-he had been In some station OF
responsibility and under some definite
duty within the church from his ear
Hest recollection; he had been on mis-
sions; he had been IN Sunday-school
work and mutual improvement work;
all his social and financial affairs were
interviewer with his people; and what
ever expectations of eternal bliss his
mind had entertained had been asso-
ciated with "the system" OF salvation
as proclaimed in the faith of the
church. His complaint was that there
had never come into his life either the
opportunity for a pause or the chance
for a consideration. II the teaching
were not true. he had never yet taken
the time TO ascertain that fact. II 1t
were true. IT was good fortune and not
intelligent choice on his own part.
THE system" is all controlling. Take
the case of the individual Mormon In
any strictly Mormon community. His
friends and neighbors are all Mormons.
He has certain specific duties to per-
form within the church. He must pay
a mission to some foreign country. He
must speak we'll OF the authorities Of
the church at all times. All around
him Is the impeillng force of community
life. To resist, TO originate for himself
an individual insurrectIon, is to over
throw all the influence of environment.
probably all the teaching of parents.
and to launch out into-what? Around
him are none to offer sympathy-intel-
lectual. moral, OF commercial. He is
Immediately marked for ostracism If he
refuse to perform any one of the
duties appointed under "the system"
Neglect in 1.-THE payment is followed by
picious glances from his neighbors,
Refusal to accept n missionary call Is
denounced g apostasy.
And so the individual Mormon goes
on, many times rebelling against the
things which he sees are wrong but
which he alone Is powerless to correct
1t was a wise observation made ut the
last conference by a thoughtful Nor
mon. who said that II nine-tenths OF
the congregation were opposed to the
hierarchy there would be no way for
them to express themselves, because
there had been no inter-communication
between them. In other words, there is
no method in the Mormon church by
which men who desire to work out re-
form can relate themselves to each
other: and therefore each individual
goes on performing his part In "the
system" and supporting the projects OF
"the system"