The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-07-06

church, TO which the Christian minis
ters made reference. and for the pur-
pose of demonstrating which they
quoted the modern Mormon authority.
The kingdom Of God is with the
Mormon church. literal, physical fact
There IS nothing spiritual about it, so
far as this life is concerned, They be-
lieye in putting their doctrine into
practice in the here and the now, with
out waiting for the hereafter. So that,
so far as the public safety is con.
cerned, the doctrine is decidedly harm
full to mankind, wherein 1t attempts TO
confer upon the church the functions
which belong TO the State.
Then there is the doctrine Of plural
ity of wives. That is for the present,
and it is being practiced at present.
The church has confessed to that fact.
Therefore, tho harmfulness of the be-
lief is in the practical expression of it's
workings in the daily life of the polyg
amist in the community. When the
church decided to rcpudiate portion
of the Orson Pratt book, the saints
were requested to tear out certain indl-
Gated leaves containing the objection
able doctrine. The Doc trine and Cove
nants contains a pretended revelation,
commanding the practice of polygamy.
The sentiment and Government of this
country compelled the Mormon church
to repudiate polygamy as a practice.
The church did so. But has any one
ever heard of the authorities of the
Mormon church requesting the saints to
tear out from the Doctrine and Cove
nants the leaves containing that polyg-
amous revelations Not that the Des-
eret News will speak Of.
The Government has never found il
to be necessary to compel any man or
set Of men to relinquish the infant
damnation theory, because physical eX-
preston of the belief can never come
under the Government. Hence it is of
no concern TO the courts, nor TO the
executive caretakers of the rights Of
the people. But with polygamy it is
quite different, A belief in the doc
trine has produced its immoral prac
tical results here within the jurisdic
tion of the, United States
The courts have not been called upon
to regulate the on1licting theories of
different individuals. as to whether in
the hereafter the damned are TO be
incinerated perpetually by means. Of in
termittent applications of burning sui
phur, or whether the eternally lost are
to be prodded with red-hot pitchforks
and at consistently persistent intervals.
But the courts have been required TO
pass upon certain acts of the Mormon
church which resulted from some Of the
beliefs entertained and taught by that
organization, and which have been
deemed a menace to the institutions
of this country,
Neither the Government nor the
courts have ever molestcd the Mormon
beliefs, except such of them whose
practical results in the here and now
have demonstrated them 10 be con-
trary to law and dangerous to the com.
munity.
The Tribune does not pretend to de-
fend or advocate any doctrine except
that of respect for the law, loyalty to
country and common Christian decency.
With a proper observance of these the
citizen may rest assured that he will
get along in the world very well, at
the same time being able to live at
peace with his neighbor. But the
Desert News is the special pleader for
crime, calling it religion, and the pro-
ponent of treason, calling it the service
Of God.
But, returning TO the dodge Of the
church organ, it is quite evident that
in the discussion of the subject Of
authorities the News sought out what
it considered to be the points through
which it could deliver the greatest
amount of sneering ridicule. And it is
equally plain that the ministers probed
the church in some very tender spots,
by confronting that organization with
its own authorities upon matters per-
tanning to its everyday existence. The
difference between the News and the
ministers is that the former has been
calling attention to ancient doctrine,
whose pretended harmful effects must
await the hereafter for demonstration;
while the latter have produced that
which concerns the citizenship OF this
country today and tomorrow, right here
in Utah.