The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-10-12
WHAT GOOD DOES HE DO?

Joseph f. Smith renders to the Nor
mon church in return for the ten per
cent which he demands out of the earn
lngs of his followers, There has been
some talk among thinking Mormons on
that subject, and The Tribune has
been made aware Of its nature.
IL is fact that the Mormon people
take some particular ability possessed
by their successive leaders and express
feeling Of prido therein. In the first
place, they look upon Joseph Smith
with high degree of reverence be-
cause 1t was through him that their
church was founded, There is serious
question In the minds Of many Nor
mon students as to precisely what part
Joseph played in the construction of
the creed advanced in the beginning
They feel sure that. on account of the
we'll known ignorance of Joseph Smith,
some person or persons of larger intel
ligcncc had hand in the affair. But
they do know that he was at least the
fgurehead and faced the world per
sonally, taking upon himself any and
all condemnation arising from the pre-
sentatiop of the peculiar Mormon be"
lief Then lie laid down his life for
his cause, which was the EXTREMIST sac
ri6ce that can be made by man; al
though at the last moment the Smith
cowardice showed itself and he would
fain have escaped the final consequences
of his own misdecds. However, it is
conceded that he did something for the
church in his way.
President Brigham Young is re
nowned for his great ability in ma
terial leadership, His was strong
hand in shaping the destinies of the
Mormon people along industrial lines
Members of the church will say that
had it not been for the forceful char
acter of Brigham Young destruction
would have overtaken the church III
the early days of Utah s settlement.
John TAYLOR, who succeeded Brigham
is looked upon by the Mormon people
as having been one of the foremost
ried it into the eastern States In his
younger DAYS, and later carried the
Mormon message into France and
Switzerland, establishing missions IN
those countries, In addition, he is Civ
en- credit for having faithfully remained
by the side of Joseph and Hyrum Smith
in their last hours on earth, receiving
almost mortal wounds at Carthage jail
when the two Smiths were killed.
Wiford Woodruff, following John
Taylor, was probably the best eXcm-
plar of mcekness and kindly serenity
that the Mormon people ever had. This
one trait was valuable TO the church,
in that it had the effect of calming
many stormy spirit within the organ
ization He also was one of the great
cvangels of the faith, being ono OF
those most instrumental IN spreading
the Mormon message throughout Great
Britain in the very early days of the
church Then he gave the manifesto OF
1890. which brought temporary peace
and Joy to the Mormon people, and
which temporary peace would have been
made permanent had the Injunction
contained in that document been re-
spectcd by ono who came later. 1t was
through the petition of Wilford Wood
ruff aud his associates that amnesty
came to the Mormon people; and all IN
all he did effective work for his fol
lowers.
Lorenzo Snow delivered the church
from its burden of debt. His reign was
short, and therefore not so much was
expected at his hands; but the Mormon
people considered that, between lifting
the church debt and effective proselyt-
ing work, Lorenzo Snow earned the
honor bestowed upon him.
Joseph +. Smith succeeded President
Snow. In the nine years of his incum-
bcncy he has become a multimilllonaire;
he has broken every pledge which
brought Statehood; he has rcarrayod
the Mormon people against the Nation;
he has plunged the church into tur"
moil, and has opened the old wounds;
he has set his people an unworthy ex-
ample in per6dy by impudently dcclar-
ing that he prefers to be defer rather
than a lover Of God. In all the others
there was some particular range of
mental strength; but in Joseph +. there
is absolutely none. His mind is so filed
with thoughts of avarico, mcndacity
and vindictivencss that there is not
room for decent sentiment or mental
breadth.
But the Mormon people pay Joseph
T.. Smith handsomely for his vicious
ness, simply because he happened to
| fall heir to his present position, ana
NOT because he had shown any ability
which would entitle him to recognition
and cnrichng opportunity.