The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-26
A MOCK AND TRAVEsTY.

"It is the Kingdom of God with me
and not the accumulation of wealth,
was A part of the moonshiuc ladled out
to his congregation by the Divine DIS
sembler in the tabernacle on Sunday
last At least, that is the way in which
the Doseret News prints that part of
the prophetic cock and bull story.
In one sense, Joseph +. Smith was
correct--his idea of the consistent king
dom of God includes all the finance and
commerce and politics that the priest
hood can possibly grab. But his Profcs-
sion with regard to himself IS so ut
terly absurd, and is so deliberately
false, that one must surely be hoax
guzzler to place any confidence in 1t
whatever. When the clap-trap prophet
was on the witness stand in Washing
ton, the members of the Senate commit
tee endeavored to get from him some
information concerning the financial
condition of the church aud of It's presi-
dent. The committee g efforts in this
direction only resulted in disclosing
most astounding mess of Inconsistencies
the man who lied in order to escape the
traps of his "enemies. II counsel
for the protestants endcavored to show
by the testimony Of Smith that the
church was largely interested, through
him. in numerous commercial institu-
tions, then Smith would say that his
presence in the directorates of these
concerns was due solely to his personal
holdings therein If the effort was to
show that since he had become presi-
dent Of the Mormon church Joseph +.
Smith had accumulated a large amount
of wealth, then Joseph f. Smith would
say that the directorships, which he
held in numerous corporations were, by
reason of his holdings IN those institu-
tions as trustee -instrust, for the Nor
, mon church.
And so the shifty schemer, without
the suspicion of a blush, bounced FROM
one side of the fence to the other, in
order to maintain his grasp upon the
earning capacity, of the people who call
him prophet, seer, and reVelator. But
through it all, there remained the In
disputable fact that immense amounts of
money arc invested either by himself. or
the Mormon church, in commercial and
! industrial institutions throughout this
and other States-evcn so far away as
Canada and Mexico If Joseph i.
Smith shall endeavor TO screen the
} church from the charge of commercial
( ism by claiming for himself the inter
ests thus involved, then he must face
the alternative proposition that he has
/ personally appropriated the funds of
dollar in his life that did not come
to him from that organization-even
if one admit that he has earned any
! that he has received. And, taking this
! horn of the dilemma, the thrifty pro-
! phct will of necessity confess that he
! has taken unto himself that which did
not belong to him; because a mere
preacher Of the Word-as he calls him
self for financial and political gain
could not possibly accumulate, by any
legitimate means, the wealth with
which he has recently surrounded him.
self, If Smith shall say that his pres
cnce in the numerous enterprises of
which he testified is merely as trustee
ip-trust for the church, IL cannot be
otherwise than that he must admit the
truth of the charge made by the Ameri-
can party that the Mormon church ls
a commercialized so-called religious or
ganization,
But, in any event, what a travesty
upon religion and the service of the
Meek and Lowly Ore is represented in
the Smith remark Of Sunday, If there
is so much sin in the accumulation of
wealth, why is it that Smith has gath
cred together SO much, and is yet able
to hold up his head US the most right
eous of men, And if it is not Smith
who has dallied thus with sin, but rath-
/ er the Smith church, how can that or.