The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-07
THE USUAL SLIPPED COG.


There is one thing always noticeable
in the outgivings of the Mormon church
leaders, and that is their evasions and
incohcrcnce. They start out In way
to give one the idea that they arc i'm
mediately coming to the point, and will
say something definite, certain, and I'M
portant But just before they get to the
point, the cog slips and the words wan
der away and arc lost in dismal
swamp Of slush and vagueness. The
idea given all the time to one who reads
such declarations as framed and adopt
ed, is that somebody has written some
thing positive and of consequence In
regard TO the matter in hand, but that
1t has been revised and the tuck taken
out of it by some vapid minds of un
certain calibcr who were either too
timorouS, too tricky. or too criminal
bent to allow of anything exact being
said.
That is the difficulty all through with
the most recent declaration Of princi
pies given out on Friday morning in
the tabernacle and adopted by the con
gregation. 1t goes without saying, of
course, that it was adopted as sub
mitted. In any other sort Of a gathering
there might be some discussion OF what
is assumed to be an important docu-
ment presented to the assemblage,
with the probability Of the appointment
of a committee 10 examine it and re-
port to the meeting what its conclu-
sions might be with respect 10 the mat
ter submitted; and there would always
be debate and liberty of opinion. Moth
ing Of this kind was DONE however, or
could be done in a conference. no mat
ter how important the subject dealt
with or how urgent the occasion for
dealing with it. The whole affair is
cut and dried, every one knows that
it is prepared beforehand under the
blundering, cvasIve direction of the in
ner priesthood-a crowd which is al
ways fearful of saying anything def
mite TO the public and timorous of COM
ing TO the point of any controvertcd
matter. And any one suggesting oppo-
sition. or even examination, would be
held as an apostate or on tho way to
apostasy,
All the points covered in this con-
tempiible document. however, are fully
understood by the inner circles of the
priesthood; from the higher TO the low
er they know that the whole matter is
merely intended as gloss TO blind the
eyes of the ''encmics or outsiders. 1t
is never a question at any time of
real Interpretation or a definite out.
giving or real earnestness of purpose
i'll any direction toward loyalty or
American Institutions, with the inner
circles of the priesthood. ii is always
an effort to show either by quotations
of impertinent, irrelevant, or neglected
prccepts that the church must ncces-
sariy from its written word or So
called revelations do something differ
ent from what in fact it is doing; and
that is the real trouble throughout this
whole business. The church leaders
make protest Of their loyalty, of their
good faith, of their earnest purpose,
and quote the word of God and the
word of wisdom, and tho word of Brig
ham, and the word of any other old
prophet and seer to the effect that thus
and so is and must necessarily be the
doctrine and practice Of the Mormon
church, At the same time that protesta
tiop and reference is merely for out
side consumption; on the inside it is the
n
amy. The whole matter puts one in
mind of the old contention here when
Salt Lake City run distilery and sold
the liquor made therein. 1t was con
tended in a suit involving the matter
that the city did not run this distillery
because there was no clause in its char
ter authorizing or allowing it to do So
the fact was. tho city had made the
tilcry' and sell the liquor, but the con
tention was nevertheless that tbeoret-
ically, and dc jurc, it had not done so
because it's charter did not specify any
such powers as belonging to the munic-
ipality. But the contention was in vain;
the fact was, the city had made the
liquor and sold it. In like manner the
Mormon church yainly appeals to its
theories, revelations, and precepts TO
prove that it does not do what, in fact,
it does do.
There is n law in this State against
unlawful cohabitation, and yet even
Joseph f. Smith did not have the bardi-
hood TO appear before the court and