The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-17
AS TO INTERPRETATION.

Whatever may be the process OF
reasoning employed by the hierarchs, 1T
is quite evident that people who are
not religious bigots or insane fanatlcs
Will never be able to agree with 1t.
This observation results from perusal
Of the testimony of Joseph +. Smith
concerning God and revelation, ana
with regard to the effect of acceptance
or rejection of revelation upon per-
son s. standing in the Mormon church
When the professed prophet was
on the witness stand at Washington he
was examined to some considerable
length, in an effort to secure some SUP
stantlal exposition Of the beliefs enter
tained by him. But if the Senators
knew anything at all after they had
questioned Smith, it was merely that
either the revalator knew nothing about
his own belief. that he was purposely
misstating it If he did know, or that
all of his statements were made SIMPLY
to fit his own frame of mind, without
regard to truth or falsehood. Since the
issuance of the latest pronounccment of
the hierarchial fraud, however, a
struggling ray of light has been per-
mitted to fall upon the dark purposes
of the polygamous cult, in the following
words:
we refuse TO be bound by the inter-
pretations which others place upon our
beliefs: or by what they allege must be
the practical consequences OF our doc
trines. Men have no right 10 inpinae, pi,} 20
us what they think may be the Logical
deduction from our beliefs, but which we
ourselves do not accept. we are 10 pc
judged by our own interpretations and pS
our actions and not by the logic OF 9TH
ers as to what is or may be the result
of our faith,
That sounds like special interpola-
tion for the benefit of the self~contra-
dictory individual who claims to be a
prophet of the Lord, This man claims
to be divinely inspired; that he holds
the keys of the priesthood of God on
earth; that the will of tho Lord. as ex-
pressed through himself, Is the solo
guide TO which humanity should look
for eternal salvation in the here and in
the hereafter. With such one, 1T
would seem to the ordinary individual,
consistency and wisdom would be pre-
dominant twin traits. AS to Smith s
possession of either, it is only necessary
TO look into his own testimony. Speaking
Of revelation through the supposed
prophet to the church, portion Of the
testimony of Joseph T. Smith was like
this:
Mr.. Taylcr-Do you mean by that that
the church In conference may say TO you.
Joseph F. Smith. the first president OF the
TO tell us thls?'
Joseph F. smith.-They can say that If
they choose
Joseph +. Smith.-Yes, sir. they can.
And Il Is not binding upon them as mem
bers OF the church until they accept it.
Can any Christian mind conceive the
thought that mere man, even Nor
mon, can reject the word of Almighty
God and still remain member in good
standing in God own church? Yet
that is the view of the inspired Smith,
as indicated in the following:
Senator Hoar.-And still the one who
rejects revelation remains member of the
church?
Joseph +. Smith.-Yes. sir,
Senator Hoar,--In good standing. II
moral man.
Joseph F. Smith.-Ycs, sir,
But when it came TO point where
the crafty Smith desired to give to his
belief the stamp of Christianity, in that
the church which inculcates it would
not brook any disobcdience of the word
from heaven, the state of the prophetic
mind was thus
Senator Overman.-What became OF the
people who rejected the divine revela-
ton: were they unchurched?
Joseph F, Smlth.-They unchurchcd
themselves.
Just previous to giving this last bit
of information the particular Smith had
fetched the whole membership of the
Mormon church mp against a stumbling
block by asserting that revelation for
personal guidance was permissible and
possible to others than the prophet.
seer. and revelator himself. He did not
explain what would occur if tho presi-
dent of the church announced z certain
revelation for the guidance of the whole
church, and an elder in the church would
subsequently declare that he had re.
ceived revelation "for his own guild
anee. which forbade him to obey the
prophet. However unreasonable it must
appear to common thinkers here is the
testimony:
Mr.. Tayler.-Then any elder In rne
church may receive a revelation?
Joseph F. SnlIth.-For his own guild
ance.
Toying thus with the supposedly
sacred things of heaven and always
swapping his fingers IN the face of
earthly truth and human consistency,
! the ignorant fraud stumbled and lurch~