The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-01
CHURCH LEADERS HYPooRIsIEs


The activities of Apostle Heber j.
Grant are certainly considerable. he
was up in the Oneida country, Idaho,
a few days ago, smoothing out the
rough places for the raScally elders
who have been sN1ndling the people
shamelessly in the matter of building
the notorious ditch. Almost before his
activity there could be we'll traced, he
was down in Salina preaching and sing
ing He sang to the Saints there the
iptcrrogative hymn, 'Who's on the
! Lords Side, Who9' and the report IS
| that the audience would have TO be
pretty strong OIL the Lord S side TO
stand that singing. The hearers could
we'll believe Apostle Grant when he
showed that he had arrived at that
stage OF musical performance only after
great perseverance and trial, both to
himself and to others. But when he
undertook to point out to his audience
that perseverance would win in all 9th
! er things as it had with him in sing
ing, that audience might very Justly be
excused from accepting the lesson,
since the performance after such enor-
nous trial showed such poor results;
they might justly doubt whether the
effort and perseverance were worth
while.
| During his remarks at the conference,
| Apostle Grant was very stiff on the pro-
hibition question, and delivered what
| is described as a "stirring sermon. ~
Later in the day, he spoke about the
redemption of the desert and sang two
more songs, apparently TO lncucate the
lesson that what had been done OH the
desert of these valleys, he had been
able TO do in the desert Of his voice.
And yet the audience did not seem
convinced that he had succeeded in the
redemption of his desert voice TO the
same extent that the pioneers In Utah
had succeeded in redeeming the ARID
ness of the desert conditions that they
found in some parts of the State.
We find the report of this conference
in the Salina Call of June oath. The
editor OF that paper commented on
Apostle Grant s prohibition talk, as
follows:
At the conference in Salina Apostle
Heber j. Grant voiced his sentiments
very strongly in favor OF prohibition. He
has long been out for prohibition. and
should be counted as the strongest advo-
cate in Utah for this cause. We are very
glad to note this. He was very specific
closing rested solely and wholly with the
people In a sense, this is true, But VIC
want TO go on record as saying that the
establishment OF prohibition and It's per-
manenCy rests wholly with the peoples
political and religious leaders. There was
never a moment between 1860 and 1900
but what the first presidency and the
twelve apostles of the dominant church
and the political regime OF the state could
have stopped the liquor traffic in Utah,
blotted 1t out complete tely and bantshed It
entirely. This is not idle talk, but the
naked truth, Why. then, has ii not been
done?
II will not do TO pass 1t up by saying
that these men live perfectly temperate
ord for prohibition. 1t takes more than
that to win battle II will take the
kind Of work that il takes TO spread the
gospel.
The apostle raped Richhed good and
hard. as he had learned the town was
going back 10 the open saloon. But Rich
field was never without the open saloon.
Ii was without the licensed saloon. hut
never without the open. liquor selling
soul-destroying, law -defying saloon That
city's failure TO enforce prohibition, or
any semblance OF prohibition and Its go-
Ing back to the open dive, will set the
good cause back five years in this county.
There is not the least doubt but that
the editorial writer on the ''CalI" is OK
actly right. The church position on
this whole question of liquor selling
| and prohibition is hypocritical to the
last degree. The church leaders could
have stopped the sale of liquor in Utah
ut any time. but their position has al
\ ways been that they did not want any
outsider to sell liquor in Utah;
they wanted the trade and the profits
from it all In their own hands. From
the settlement of this region, the Nor
mon leaders could have kept out liquor
if they had wanted to, but they did not
want to, On the contrary, they encour-
aged the making and drinking of liquor,
In the early days of the Territory, prior
to the imposition of the excise tax or
liquor, there were upwards of thirty
distilleries in Utah, all in Mormon set
! Elements and all run by the Saints. The
hypocrisy of the church leaders is no.
torious to any one who knows the his
| tory of this region. When the Salina
paper says that there never was O time
"but what the first presidency and the
| twelve apostles of the dominant church
and the political regime of the State