The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-30
A TITHE. .GRABBER'S "TIME.

Tho Logan Republican, in its issue
of November 27, 1909, prints n report
of n sermon delivered by President
Joseph f, Smith in the Logan tabor
nacle on Sunday, November 2l, 1909.
President Smith said, in part;
But when we come to sum it up after
all, the largest portion OF our time Is OK
pended In gathering TO ourselves the
things OF this world. and but n small
portion OF our time is devoted 10 those
principles. those great gifts and blessings
cannot perish, which ''moth and rust
cannot corrupt" and which nothing can
destroy.
In this. as in other respects, Pres
ident Smith is regarded as the most
prominent figure in the church--an c1
emplar and ensamplc to the inhabitants
of all the world And his testimony
shows that he is living up to the part.
1t is a notable fact that ho seldom
breaches to the saints nowadays, con
tenting himself with merely addressing
them at the semi-annual conferences.
His sermon at Logan comes as break
in the rule. AS to the attention he pays
to 'those principles, those great gifts
and blessingsr of which he speaks. it
is only necessary to go to his Washing
ton testimony for information, There
in he confesses that SO far as devotion
to "principle' is concerned, he has
voluntarily chosen to disregard the
command of tho Almighty, reserving
to himself the right to obey or dis
obey God Just as he pleases. 1t is also
admitted by him (spoalSing of "those
great gifts'0 that while he pretends
to possess prophetic gifts he does not
exercise them-that he has never ut
tered a prophecy in all his life. Con
cerning the "gift' Of revelation which
he claims to have, he confesscs that this
also has lain dormant with him-that
he has never once received a reyela-
ton. lie pretends to bo a seer, and
is sustained as such by his church; but
not yet has he ever exercised the su-
perlor prescience presumed TO accom-.
pany the possession of this "gift.''
But there is n reason for all this.
Joseph f. explained it at Logan when
he said that "the largest portion of
our time is expended in gathering TO
ourselves the things of this world"
President Smith of the Mormon
church is also president of. or di-
rector in, moro than a score OF big
business concerns, AS such president
or director he draws his pay for attend,
ance upon meetings. There being money
in it, he prefers not to neglect these
duties to attend to those Of a relig
ious character So far as he is person
ally concerned, the "moth and rust'
scare holds no terrors-that doctrine
is well enough for the saints. For his
part, the foundations of the house OF
Smith are to be laid in sugar trust
transactions, stock dealings, real estate
sales and purchases, mercantile shop
ping, life and FIRE insurance policies,
knitting factories, publishing houses,
banks-and the 1.-THE graft.
So that, under these circumstances
how can there be much time for re-
ligious work, or attention to "prin-
ciples,' or cultivation of "gifts" Of
spiritual nature? AS n rule Joseph
f. wants to be the whole thing or
nothing; and in this case he presents
the greatest personal example of the
failing of which he complained at
I,opan