The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-10-01
STAND TOGETHER,
SAYSELDERG GODDARD
"Give Leaders the Support Due
as Representatives of the
Church.
GET INTO POLITICS,
DON'T STAY OUT
Young Elder Advises Hearers
in Tabernacle to Stand
by Each Other.

The usual services at the Taber-
nacle Sunday afternoon were dispensed
with and special programme and mus
ical for the benefit of tourists was
rendered instead. ]. J. Mcclellan pre-
sided at the organ.
In an address by Elder j, Percy
Goddard, an instructor at the utan
University, the political influence OF tue
church was taken up and dealt with,
several accusations were made against
the Henemies' and the venom dis
played by the speaker in some of his
assertions left no room for doubt as
to the attitude of the church and It's
leaders regarding the political situation
In the beginning of has address, the
young elder who was evidently chosen
some time previous to speak upon this
occasion by the leaders OF the church,
made known the fact that he was
E'proud TO be Mormon After MAX
ing the usual number of assertions TO
the effect that Joseph Smith was APP
pointed of God, that the prophet, rev
elator and seer of the present day was
appointed and ordained by God, that
the church believed III virtue and chast-
ity, the elder went on to say that the
so:called Christian people were ignorant
in their worship of God, that they were
as ignorant as were the Greeks at Attn"
ems when they set up great images to
the god that was unknown to them.
Urged to Stand Together.
After going on with this sort OF can't
for a time the political question
was taken up. Evidently at tho be-
hest of the leaders of the church, the
speaker declared with vehemcnce that
the church did not dictate a political
policy, that it was not in politics, that
il.o 1o,r1nrs nod M desires did
they make any requests of the people,
to vote any certain way. The young
elder, after consulting his notes, waved
his arms. sawed the air and with his
face livld, his eyes popping and his
every gesture indicating his desire TO
fulfill to- the letter his instructions as
to What he was to say, and how he was
TO say it, declared that. every man and
woman in the church exercised their
own ideas in voting. Then wadng bliss
on. unaware that he was contradlctIng
himself, the speaker declared that all
the Mormon leaders wanted was for
the followers of the creed 10 stand
together. stand togcther!' and to
"honor their leaders and give to them
the support due them as special repre-
sentativcs of the new belief on earth,
the only true religion
Continuing at the rate of about Two
hundred words q minute, the speaker
declared that the cry of the "enemies
of the church." as he styled the people
who refuse to believe implicitly all
that the Mormon leaders say. was that
fhe officers of the church should stay
out of politics. "Why should we stay
out of politics7,' "Why should we not
exert our influence in regard to who
shall govern our city and State, as to
who shall frame the laws which govern
us'' Every man in the church has a
right TO have his say IN politics and
there arc so many who hold Offices. so
many who are leaders Of one degree or
another, that if they did not have
their say in politics the Mormons would
not be represented at all. - Immediate
ly following this assertion, the speaker
prated about how the members of the
church should follow their leaders, how
thew should be governed by those APP
pointed by the Lord to rule over them
Says There is No Hierarchy.
In glaring contradiction TO this last
statement, The sneaker proclaimed in
a dramatic manner the alleged fact
that there was no hierarchy. "This
cry of hierarchy and the leaders in
politics, " exclaimed the elder, is only
the same cry that will go UP from the
defeated political enemies of the church
again as it has al lways gone up from
the defeated enemies of the church. 1t
will go up again, and still again as
an excuse for defeat in desire 10 rule
by those who are fighting the church
leaders in politics as well as in other
ways
Then, after again asserting that the
church and the church leaders do not
dabble in politics. thus adding last
contradiction TO some of his previous
remarks. the ambitious young elder
closed his remarks