The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-10-20


years forty eight new religions have
sprung up. IL all these false beliefs
were studied, they would perhaps re-
| veal the fact that most Of them are
counterfeits of Christianity. II would
seem that religion is one Of the things
concerning which the American peo-
pie want TO be humbugged. the pol
son in these counterfeit forms OF
Christianity is, of course, carefully
concealed. A Mormon missionary, for
instance enters community and IN
PRODUCES himself as q member OF the
! Church of Jesus Christ, or Latter Day
Saints. when asked for his creed. ne
| says: I'VE believe in God. the Eternai
Father. and in his Son Jesus CHRIST.
and in the Holy Ghost" This All
sounds SO orthodox to the average per-
son that he IL willing to hear more
! from this man who is clothed In min
| isterisl sarb and seems TO have the
Scriptures at his tongues end. But
what are the real doctrines OF Nor
| monism? DIR. McNiece, Prespyte-
rian minister. who has spent thirty
years in salt Lake city and heard the
| Mormons preach repeatedly. and mas
! also studied their literature carefully,
says THE Mormon system is thor
/, oughly anti-Christian. While appro-
priating to itself Christian phraseoiogy
/ and New Testament names and fornls,
| il peryerts or denies every fundamen-
tai doctrine of the Christian religion,
Ii not only denies but ridicules the
| Christian doctrine of the spirituality
Of God, and teaches the people thai
1 he is big Man like Brigham Young
/ For Mormorism teaches that Auam II
the god Of this world. 1t denies that
Christ's atonement has anything 10 do
with our sins, but only with the sins
OF Adam To get rid OF our sins, We
must work out our salvation through
the teachings and forms and oral
nances of the Mormon Churcn. with
lts multiplied baptisms for the dead
As 70 the doctrine OF the HOY spirit
he saws: They teach that the Holy
Spirit ia kind OF ethereal substance
diffused through space. The purest,
most refined. and subtle of all these
substances tsuch as electricity, gal
yanism. maguetism) il that substance
called the Holy Spirit And oasest
nf ait Christ 10 represented as nav
ing plural wives. We say IT was
Jesus Christ who was married tat
Cana to the Marys and Martina,
whereby he couid see his seed before
ne was crucifled.'
How many converts would Mormon
missionaries make II all their doctrines
were made clear to the people from
the very first? The writer recalls the
rags 44f- a Young woman of good CHAR
acter who became SO carried away with
the preaching OF two Mormon elders
that despite the efforts OF her parents
and friends, she went to Titan, winch
the Morfnous had pictured to her as
a kind Of heaven on earth. She re
manned there for q year or So ana
came back heartbroken and in a pitt
f,ll plight with tears in her eyes she
declared that IL she had SUFFICIENT ecu
cation she would spend the rest OF
her days iecturing against MORMON
ism.
III In diffacult," says DIR. McNieee.
for any one to study this Mormon
system. as whole. without coming
10 the conclusion that there 10 some
thing IN ii seyond the power OF man,
something positively SATANIC Aho
does it not seem to be reproacn
on the christian Churches of this
country that. after eighty years, sach
a system OF downright heathenism
should still hold the people OF one OF
the great states OF the Vest In an
solute bondage. and through It's hier
archical power. BY means of coiolli-
cation, be able to influence the election
of senators and representatives IN CON
gress from Ave other states
1t is very plain why SO many new
religions are counterfeits OF Christian
tty. This fact .s cogently expressed
II, a recent editorial in the New orK
Christian Advocate, entitled naer
the shield of Religion" ANY reli-
zion would do as we'll for Christian
Science ss that which ii has traves-
tied, except that where Christianity IN
prevalent IL affords the most conven-
lent and influential medium through
which to operate. The Bible has snch
a deathless hold on the faith OF CIVIL
ffzed mankind that II provinces the
most available object to use as
fetish. II is mutilated under pretense
az a uess revelation by the Christian
scientists. but this is not realized py
their dupes who have never been close
students OF the Scriptures. II MIS-
Eddy had been born in the Orient
she would have built on the sacred
books OF the East. and would nave oeen
inst as successful, though II would NOT
have paid her so well, There YOU are
"a religion which Ia powerful ana
book which is venerated,
Tnsuspecting persons are led astray
h,- the teachings OF Mrs. Eddy before
they learn the real dostrines or Cnris-
tian Science what does Christian
science teach as to the doctrine OF
God and the SOUL That God is SUI
pre,uA, the only Life. substance. ana
/ intelligence or the unNotse a''u .'sN''
thar there Ia neither a personal deity,
* a personal devil. nor n personal man.
Jehovah fs not person. God IL
princIple" The term souls or spirits
is as improper as the term gods ap-
nIied TO the Supreme Being, Soul or
spirit signifies Deity and nothing else.
There are in reality no souls or spir-
its" What does Christian Science
teach concerning sin? sin. sickness,
~. aeath are only as beliefs" Mrs.
EDDY declares that God never forgives
sin. THAT God. which is Life. Truth.
and Love. never forgtres SIN: Tor life
DESTROYS death. trss.hs destroys error.
ara love destroys hate. These. there
fore. being destroyed. need no forgive
ness, AS to prayer. she says The
only beneficial effect of prayer Is on