The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-29
PASTORS BEGIN
 FIGHT AGAINST
 MORMONS HERE
Mrs. Alice Coleman to Speak In Bridgeport on Menace
 Of That Church.

Bridgeport pastors are taking an in
 terest in the campaign of representa-
 lives of the Mormon church in this
 vicinity, and following the warning
 issued a week ago, arrangements have been made to strengthen the alarm by
 addresses from the pulpits- A state
 ment issued today by Rev. F. c. Rlde- out, for the Pastors association, ex-
 plains the situation:
 Mrs. Alice B. Coleman, the talented
 wife. of the Honorable George w. Cole-
 man, founder of the Ford Hall Forum, Of Boston, will speak at a mass meet ing in this oity on f"The Menace Of | Mormontsr,' at o'clock. tuesday evening" Mrs Coleman, who is pres fdent of the Massachusetts Council for Patriotic Service, with headquarters in Fremont Temple, comes to Bridgeport upon the invitation of Rev. F. C. Ride out and under the auspices of the Pas tors association. Her address will
 deal with the Mormon question in a. plain and fearless way. She comes without any personal remun eration in
 order that she may cooperate with all
 those persons who love the dme-Worn
 and heaven blessed institutions of this our native land in an effort to make
 known more widely the dangers which
 threaten us through the, encroach-
 ments of these self-styled apostles of the full Gospel of Jesus Christ
 We people in New EngIandLthe
 land of the Pilgrims and the Puri- tans-too often, in our inertia and
 neglect, have a feeling of security, and we are too apt to tolerate such activity as is now going on in the city, a. systematic, house to house vis7
 itation, without even protest The travelling elders of the Mormon church
 now in Bridgeport, though ignorant of
 the fundamentals of good English speelh and the great sweep of the worlds history, are nevertheless
 adopts in quoting scripture with the
 intent of begui1ing the innocent and
 unwary. They attack the /church as
 lacking authority, and the ministry as
 hirelings. They claim that the Mor-
 mon churches is the only source of Divine Authority on earth and that present day revelations are as bind ing upon men as the revelations of former times The writer has a, state
 meth signed by two of these elders now working in Bridgeport in which they declare that tPoIygamy is right
 When% practised correctly and when God commands it. Tn, the year 1914
 President Joseph Smith of the Ador-
 mon church declared that Tt (poly-
 gamy) is the most vital principle of the gospel It involves the we'll springs of life The only reason that the Mormon church gave up po1ygamy, if indeed they have given it up, was because they were forced to give 1t up
 by the United States government.
 "A com mpendium of the Mormon
 Gospel edited no 1o1-ger ago than 1912 has this to say in wefence of poly gamy: Tft plural marriage be unlaw-
 ful, then is the whole plan of saIva-
 ton through the house of Israel a
 failure, and the entire fabric of Christianity is without foundation.' Josiah Strong declares that the Mor- mon church is the most complete or ganization in the world, and so highly centralized is the power that all the
 threads of authority are gathered up into one hand, that of the president, and A. w. Linn says, the real miracle in Mormonism is it's success in keep ing together in a republic like ours a
 membership who acknowledge its sl1-
 preme authority in politics as well as I in religion, and who form a distinct Organization which does not conceal it's purpose to rule tover the entire na- tion-'
 Mrs. Coleman is thoroughly con- versant with the subject and will un- cover the lid from the Mornonis1n of today. The place of the meeting will
 be announced from the city pu3pits
 next Sunday and it is hoped that a large attendance may be had
 For the Social Conditions Commits tee
 FRANK c. RIDEoTTr,,