The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-04
1T is NOT THE SAME.


intermiugling church affairs with politi-
cal and civil affairs; this no doubt,
partly because of its inner conscious
ness that the pretense of separation Of
church and state are only pretenses IN
Utah, and the organ feels the need OF
iustifyinc the continuation of the doml.
native relationship of the church over
the State, in spite Of its pretcnses that
this has ceased.
On Wednesday evening. for instance,
in railing editorial directed AT those
il calls "'thc anti Mormon agitators,
il quoted extracts from an editorial IN
the Northwestern Christian Advocate
in support of the proposition that the
church should interfere in politics. But,
of course, the conditions under which
the Northwestern Christian Advocate
makes its plea are wholly different
from the conditions in Utah. This is
we'll known to the church organ here.
but il is willfullv ignored by II when
ever this question comes to the front.
The conditions under which the North
western Christian Advocate pleads for
such interference in politics, first of all,
are not such ms that thcre is an alleged
divincly ordained priesthood which
claims the right to rule in temporal as
we'll as spiritual affairs; there is no
solidarity of controlling sect with
head who is deferred to as the vice
gerent of God upon earth, and who SAYS
hatly that the man who admits hls
right to r,Ilc him spiritually and dc.
nies his right to rule him temporarily,
lies in the face Of God. There is no
firmly ccmented sect in the Advocate s
locality. comprising the majority of tho
whole community, which looks TO its
priesthood AS the very mouthpiecc of
God and who accepts as right and IN.
spired. the proposition that the voice
of God. as delivered through the mouth
of that priesthood, must he the voice
Of the people There is no ecclcslastl-
cal tyranny which is sufficient to com
pei voters 10 desert their party prlncl-
pies and party ticket and vote for the
| opposition party under the fanalIcal
priestlv denunciatou that if they do
not do so, they arc traitors to their
church. There is no solid sect having
the power TO carry elections at Will.
| where the priesthood arrogatcs TO itself
and the fellowship submits TO the AFRO
CANT claim, the right to direct voters
in their political and civil affairs be-
cause they arc the ccclesiasts Of their
church.
All these things being the rule in
Utah, this field is an entirely different
| one from any other in the United
| States. Elsewhere, there are various
sects. there is no danger Of any sec
tartan pricstlv rule. anywhere outside
of the Mormon priestly jurisdiction. No
where else do the ministers of any
sect assert and enforce their domina-
| tion in political and civil affairs upon
those who belong to their churches. No
where else do tho members of any
church accept as authoritative and
from God, dvincly ordained priest
hood which has the right to rule. And,
inasmuch as the Mormon priesthood in
Utah does assert that right and their
followers do admit il and conform to
the counsel given them from the
priesthood as from On High, the condi-
tlons here are such that no plea such as
the Northwestern Christian Advocate
makes. can have the least bearing upon
our situation, The ministers Of the
churches in communities such as the
Northwestern Christian Advocate is fa-
miIiar with, do not claim TO be divinely
inspired Of God. and do not claim the
right 10 rule their people in temporal
affairs, Nor do their people feel that
they are disobeying God and throwing
themselves open TO the charge Of apos
tasy, if they decline to receive in po
litical affairs the dictations Of THEN
ministers Nor do those ministers re
quire a member of their flock to follow
their dictation in temporal affairs.
member is not prosecuted or disfcl
lowshiped if lie refuses to vote as hi!
minister counsels him to vote He j,
not bounded and ruined in business, HI
is not ostracized socially, as would b,
the case of member Of the Mormon
church in Utah if he did refuse TO fol
low the frcnZicd counsel Of his priests
in politics
The difference on all these points il
quite well known to the chnrch organ
There is no reason whatever, therefore
why II should cite the case of TIT
Northwestern Christian Advocate j,
support of its position that the eccle
siasts have a right TO rule in politics
{ except to delude its own followers b,
deceptive and false pleas. The onl.
: other alternative in the showing of in
=, rankest sort Of dishonesty Of the churcl
organ would be that the claim of tn
2 priesthood here 10 rule temporarily L
s boycott, disfcllowship and ostraciz
a members of the Mormon church who d
i not consent to be dominated by th
/ priesthood in their temporal affairs, i
T given up. But 10 give up that clair
s would he TO abandon the whole fabri
Q of the sweeping claims on behalf o