The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-29
THE HIERARCHIo EXToRTIoN

The cruelty of the Mormon tithe sys-
tenn could not be more elrectually dem
onstrated than in the attitude of some
OF the more inconsideraie and actually
ignorant block teachers who perform
the hierarchical taxing Grand
In the western part of the city live
two aged people who have paid tithing
for many years, The man is now so
feeble that he is utterly unable TO do
any work for the support of his family
Exhibiting filial devotion TO their pa
rents, the grown-up sons of this honest
couple-themselves hard workers for
very moderate pay-contribute as best
they are able to the maintenance of the
old folks. Not long ago, a teacher of
the Mormon church-by the way, a
foreigner who had only as yet acquired
make-shift knowledge of the English
langua uage-called at the home of one of
the sons and inquired If he was in the
habit of paying his tithing regularly.
The young man informed the ecclesias-
tlcal emissary that he did pay his tith-
ing by contributing monthly to the sup
port Of his helpless father and mother.
The son stated his belief that in so
doing he was paying the best tithing
that he could possibly pay in the world
But the ignorant block teacher declared
to the young man that he must not
look at the matter "in that spirit;D
that his action in refusing to pay the
money in to the bishop was "displeas.
ing in the sight of the Lord"
But Just here ray of the light of
freedom seems to have confounded the
tax gathercr for the bogus prophets.
With CLINT IN his eye that told the
bungling foreigner that he had said
enough, the son quietly informed his
visitor that he would no longer pay
money to the church to be "pro6taoly
invested by Joseph F. Smlth-for 10.
seph L. Smith-and leave his parents
to the mercy of the ward relief society
or the ward poor fund. He Furthermore
informed the oficious ecclesiastical
subordinate that he had some time ago
come TO the conclusion that Joseph L.
Smith was not only the wrong. man to
oiIcNk buc DuSlutsS dH1lIS or
members of the church, but that he was
totally unfit to be the president of that
organization.
All of which brings up the sucges-
tlon that the prophetic fraul is not
thoroughly aware of the growth of sen
timent against his lccherous practices
and his wholesale robbing tactics. They
may be far between. but here and there
is a young Mormon who is gradually
throwing off the shackles which he real.
ICES have been pressing his parents into
the mire Of submission during all of
their lives. These indepe ndcnts arc
learning that the sole object of the
spurious revelator and his hcnchmen
is to grasp all of the wealth and as
many Of the women as they may be
able TO take to themselves They are
coming to know that in the Mormon
church everything has been CONNER.
ciallzed. They arc discovering that sal
walton through the Mormon creed IS to
be gained only through business pur-
chase-that the man who pays the
largest amount of tithing is held hugh
est IN the ward-no matter what lis
comparative status in other respects,
They are gathering that if a poor Nor
mon has no money to give TO the sup
port Of the temple he must content
himself with the consolation that the
Lord will accept his willingness TO per-
form certain sacred work in lieu Of
the actual performance, which vas inn
possible to him. They are concluding
that their first duty is to their parents
to whose support they can more duti.
fully and more effectively contribute
by direct methods-without the iishon-
est middlemanning of Joseph T.. Smith.
Surrounded as he is by fawning