Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-06-28

Ing: "A Year Among the Mormons"
This writer says he was taught
from boyhood to believe that all re-
llglous truth was embodied In the
Methodist church. no quote.
ION one corner OF cross road
stood a small frame building where
"a circuit rider OF thc Methodist faith
tore the hide from Presbyterian tcsh
! every sunday morulug and on another
/ corner. In the district school house,
q devoted band OF Calvinists bent the
! illogical pins for Wesleyan followers
! TO sit upon This rivalry was never
| conducted In q friendly spirit, but al.
| ways with accusations Of unfaitncss
| and sinister motives. Neighbor mis-
/ trusted nclghbor and % person 81 the
/ opposite faith was not 90 boz relied up
! ON Goa any matter where honesty and
truthfuluess were essential For near
! ly mile my uthcTs farm lay par
allcl 20 that of d pillar of Presby-
terrain society and as the Methodist
preacher ucHrlN always ate hiH fried
ChlcEcu 40 our home when his duties
called him into the uoighhorhoud,
there was little love between the two
/ families This difference FOO religion
made matters especially hard FOR tho
hogs Of our family for the Presbytcr-
fan ueighb Or had some very attractive
daughters Whose charms were hard
To resist, and the division fence was
usoG as weapon with which 20
fight ont the church quarrels For
e. while. "a tall virginia rail- fence was
maintained between the two farms,
and each neighhor Kept half Of 10
In condition. but when stock broke
through aud destroyed crops. many
words not licensed by good usage,
passed back and forth and finally two
fences, only Few feet apart. took
tho place OF one u used To be one
Of my duties, on hot summer day to
arm myself with an old brush sCythe
and cut the weeds and brambies that
grew luxuriantly between those two
fences think II was then that
also began 20 cut some Of my pre1u-
dices, seeing how useless and foolish
such things were. AMI NJ have mixed
with the outer world, 7 have continued
the slashing process 10 the great adj
vantage Of my mental horizon"
with brush and bra mblcs Of pretu-
dices cut down, Mr. Dorset tells the
story OF the exodus OF the Latter-da
Saints. and comments
Right or wrong as they have been
in their beliefs. they must have pos
scssed strong faith that sustained
them through the hardships Of their
long journey and the difficulties that
followed I'm the development Of Utah.
h'lF movement was ike lnht or lue
children OF Israel in passing through
the wilderness or like that of the
Pilgrim Fathers when they fled from |
England and took refuge upon the |
bleak shores Of Massachusetts
The writer pays glowing tribute |
to the genius Of Brigham Young, "the |
Moses who led the people into the |
unknown land and made for them |
great city and laws for their govern
mcnt u doubt" he adds. m Amer
lea has produced a greater mind. and |
had he turned his activity into another
channel he might today he ranked
with Washington, Lincoln, Grant and
Roosevelt"
Mr. Dorset admires the Church or
ganlzation as one Of the perfect en-
gines Of government OF the world He
explains the tithlng law and praises
the Saints for the stand they have
taken on the Temperance question. He
gives some attention 10 the question
OF polygamy. "the thing most laid
up against the Mormon Church. and
the thing hardest to excuse in the
mind of the average Gentle" He
does not offer any apology FOR that
practice. but ne asks everybody to
be fair. And in that spirit he says;
The Mormous love their homes J
most ardently, and virtue is cherished ;
and exalted. Practically all Mormon ,
parents have large families Of chill
drcn, end the labor and care necessary
to develop those children into noble
men and women, leave little time or
inclination for immoral practice"
The writer speaks highly OF the cd
vocational system of the Church and
predicts that many talented speakers,
singers musicians, artists and scien-
fists will come out of the west. He
closes as follows:
81 am not Mormon in belief. and
my inability 20 accept some things on
faith that seem so easy for many
others, would never permit me 10 be
a follower OF Joseph Smith. But I
am persuaded. after a year OF care
ful observation and study, that the
Mormous have Incorporated In their
religion quite as many essential truths
as has any other church, and that
10 n not becoming In u.s. the Geutiles,
to misjudge or throw stones al them"
The conclusion contained In this
closing sentence IS that 10 which ev-
cry honest investigator OF the history
and doctrines Of the Church must
come. We are pleased 20 record such
efforts IN behalf Of truth. and we ap-
preciate the broad minded, liberal
spirit of the papers that publish them.
That is the spirit Of the Master. while
the spirit OF persecution that still OPP
crates through many OF those who are
prominent in deuominational circles
IS The spIrIt OF the adNersarV