The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-06
THE CHURCH ON ITS DEFENSE,

the feeling created by its bad faith.
brokn pledges, defiance of law it
doesn t like, and against the inevitable
hostility which the reasonable attitude
its leaders assume toward the country
provokes, issued n solemn declaration.
This document is filed with the usual
protestations. denials, evasion, tricky
plays upon words, and attempts to im
pose upon the public with falsity and
deceit 1t opens with a wall about be-
ing misrepresented but there is no
substance to this complaint. If there
has been misrepresentation, it is only
such as the attitude of the false leaders
naturally invites from those not we'll
versed in its technicalities and tricks;
while the inevitable differences of those
who do know the system are denounced
all the more bitterly the more nearly
they give an exact picture of the sys
TEN. The moro perfectly and impartial
ly the theocratic system is presented,
the harsher are the protests from the
| priests; they demand all the time an
Interpretation that is contrary to the
plain written word, and different from
the meaning of the words used. Nat
urally, differences ensue; but those who
take the plain meaning are not to be
blamed. Why not revise the text, and
write it so that it will bear the mean
ing which the priesthood reads into it,
and not exactly the reversed
large portion of this address is TAX
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which we have no special concern. But
we may remark in passing, that the
protestations that the priesthood can
not be separated from the people, is
mere play upon words. The separation
! line is at the twenty-six ruling priests;
it will be found easy to separate these
from the people; they are in fact, al.
ready separated, and these twenty-six
are the ones who are constantly mis-
representing, robbing and abusing the
people, and getting them into trouble
with the country and with their neigh
| bors,
Mormonism is n friend to education,
1t is claimed; but this only means the
education it can control In its interest
! 1t is a high system of morality, too,
! this address says; this in spite of the
corrupt and indecent system Of polyg~
amy, and the defiance of law which the
leaders persistently manifest 1t is not
in commercialism, either, nor desirous
of monopolizing trade, this in spite of
the notorious and numerous business
enterprises of the church, and of
the ostracism and explosions of mem
bers who assert their right to engage in
| industrial pursuits and business on their
own account. The case of Mr. Smurth-
waite of Ogden is the complete refu-
tation Of this futile protestation.
The exercise of arbitrary power is
denied; and yet it has always been ex~
ercised; it is exercised today, and no
church member dare disobey on pain Of
communication and ruin in business
The present head of the church as
serted this power in his Provo address,
where he declared that if a man ad
mitted his right to COUNSEL (Which
means ordcr) in spiritual affairs and
denied his right to counsel in temporal
aHalrSs he Deu DeIore poQ.
The tithing system is excused; but
ii is still kept n close secret. 1T is de-"
MED that the wealth of the high church
officials came from their appropriation
of tithing to their personal use. But it
doesn t answer the question where they
got it, nor account for the tithes paid
in We submit that plain financial
statement showing what is in fact done
with the $2,000,000 year received in
tithes, and Of the sources from which
poor men suddenly becomes immensely
rich on accession to the church trus-
teeship would be worth more than big
volume of denials and protestations.
The usual protestation Of loyalty is
carried; but why is this always neces-
sary7 Why is the loyalty not apparent
to everybody, If it is not merely sham,
to be paradcd on occasion and when
it is expected 10 gain something by 1T!
Do other sects or people find 1t neces-
sary to be always protesting their loyal
ty TO the Governments No, these pro-
tests are made because the leaders
know that lip loyalty is the only kind
they have, and that the iInputations
against their good faith in this are on
ly too well founded.
The "Problcm Of Polygamy' IS dis
cusscd in a wholly eyasive spirit. The
success of the Mormon leaders i'll baf-
fling prosecutions against violation of
the law, the inability Of the Nation
to assert its power, the controlling SEN
timent here that either covered with
oblouuy or ran out of the Territory ev'
cry Federal official who undertook to
assert the National authority, the scan
dalous perjuries and lodgings of those
accused of polygamy whenever case
was undertaken against them III court
are treated as n liberation Of the prac
tice of polygamy by the Nation. Ac
cording to that logic, every erlmlna
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