The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-10-10
THE VOICE OF THE PAST,

violated the constitution by expressing
his views as an American citizen on
political sub iects'i That is one of tho
usual News provcrsious. II, however,
IL is willing TO 20 before its readers
ON that sort of thing, it can have but
little respect for their intelligence, and
The Tribune surely ought not 10 com
plain.
The News then proceeded TO Illus
trate its position by assuming. which
is not denied. that the President Of
the church and every other church OFF
cisl "has every right and prerogativc
which any other citizen has From
that it proceeded to say that there
might be objection to ecclesiastical Off
cisls Of other churches dealing with
political questions, and it claimed that
other ministers have not the training
for political and civil affairs that the
leaders of the Mormon church have, IL
lustrating that position by cardinals
of the Catholic church ~ and asking,
"Why should they offer political ad-
vicc7" It proceeded then TO state
that the officials of the Mormon church
are not "prelates, not bierarchs. y
seeing in these terms evidently some
touch of opprobrium. II held that the
Mormon church officials are common
American citizens, educated as other
citizens, with business interests a.
other citizens and is deduced from
this premise that they are competent
to give guiding counsel TO those other
"common American citizens as to
what they shall do in politics and civil
affairs; and with an affectation of in
genuousness it asks, "Why should they
be disfranchised, while saloonkeepers,
gamblers, and similar characters arc
trying, and not entirely without sue
cess, to run both newspapers, municipal
and State governments. As if any
question Of disfranchisement were in
volvedl We have yet to learn, how
ever, that saloonkeepers, gamblers, and
similar characters undertake to speak
in the name of the Lord. and to say to
those who cousort with them that they
ter do We find that any ministers of any
church other than the Mormon church
make any such claim of divine oracle
ship; nor is il found that those objec
tionable "prelates and "hierarchs -
issue their political harangues through
special church organs which "breathe
the spirit Of the gospel of Jesus
Christ on every page" The necessary
implication being that the political
harangue also, being contained on one
of those pages, "breathes the spirit OF
the gospel Of Jesus Christ When in
addition TO this it is remembered that
the Mormon people twice every year
sustain the general authorities as
revered and obeyed as such, the diff
ference between the utterances Of these
individuals on politics and civil affairs
through church channels ~ clear; and
the allegiance which they claim as their
right from their followers constitutes a
unique relation which these sustained
prophets, seers, and revelators bear to
their followers.
Pursuing it's parable, the News cites
the voices of the clergy lifted for free.
dom in the New England colonies as
against the arbitrary DEGREES Of n
autocratic throne. as on n par with the
outgivings of the chief priest of the
! Mormon church here TO directly the op-
posite purport. His idea is that it is
dangerous for the people to act Of their
own volition in important temporal
matters To avoid making the mis-
takes which frail humanity is prone TO-
it is the duty Of his followers 10 ask
counsel OF their superiors in the church
The idea Of comparing the voices OF
eminent preachers lifted up in behalf
OF freedom, without any claim to di
vine oracleship, TO the voices of per
sons who speak in the name Of the
Lord for the subjugation OF the peo
pie and for their subjectiug their own
independence TO the leadership OF as
sumcd divinelv guided revelators
would hardly have occurred TO any one
lees fatuous and stupid than the
editor OF the News. Because minister!
making 20 claim to inspiration have
raised their voices in past ages fol
freedom. therefore il is quite right 70,
living oracles. mouthpieces OF the Lord
in the present dsy 10 raise their voices
against freedom. against individual lib
ertv. and 70 the placing Of theil
followers IN subiugstion 20 theocracl
which makes the same claim 20 TEN
poral rs 10 spiritual rule. IS farragt
Of nonsense hard to conceive OF as com
ing from sane mind.
Everything was proceeding bar
moniouslv in this community until IN,
iarring note Of President Smith :
sigued political editorial in the I'm
provement Era appeared Nobody wa
: opposing the church: nobody : oppos
, ing the church now. But the leader