from Mosheim, who is considered the most reliable and unbiased historian, shows in part how these various innovations crept into the Christian church, and was adopted at an early day, and how finally the pure and unadulterated religion of Jesus was overthrown entirely by the great Beast, which is termed by John as the Mother of Harlots, who controlled the whole earth; whose inhabitants were made to drink of the wrath of her forni cations. This digression I think excusable, in view of the fact that from this time until the sixteenth century, when Luther rebelled, we deal entirely with a meager history of that great power, the Roman Catholic Church. And it is with a desire to state nothing but incontravertible historical facts that I enter into this work; to be charitable and fair, realizing that wrong impressions have gone out, and erroneous reports circulated about all religions; also that many persecutions have been heaped upon the Catholics as well as Protestants, believing that many martyrs have been identified with every faith, bravely withstanding the rack, the fire, and the variety of torments, with a fervent and zealous belief that they were serving God. Noble men and women, armies of martyrs, have had their blood shed for their religious convictions; and however wrong the cause represented, they have been honest and sincere, and God will honor them for their integrity, as they have manifested to the utmost the light and talent they possessed. I have lived in Catholic Ireland, in the town of Athlone, and became well acquainted with Catholicism, as it was brought to my notice. And after much travel and study, I am obliged to confess that I have never met purer and more virtuous people than the devout Catholic from a moral standpoint; their honor, reverence and devotion to their Priesthood are truly commendable; and amid all the ignorance, and gross darkness and error that fill their minds, we can find many beautiful traits of character; and we are compelled to say with Shakespeare, that "There is good in all things evil, could men but observingly distil it out." In the sixth century lived Dionysius Exiguus, who, in the year 530, gave us the vulgar era, or helped to change times and laws; our reckoning today is based on the knowledge of Dionysius, who was a renowned and learned man. The Sacrament was changed by Gregory the great into a grand ceremony, and it was elevated so that the populace might gaze upon it with adoration; it was also changed in its administration, THE SOUTHERN STAR. History of the Southern States Mission. (Continued from page 53.) Aug. 1, 1894. From North Carolina President Kimball went to South Carolina, where a very successful conference was held. Before leaving the state he and Elder W. G. Patrick visited Gov. Tillman and were assured by him that all should enjoy their rights as American citizens in the state of South Carolina. Wonderful development is being made by the Elders in following the instructions given by J. Golden Kimball just prior to his release from the Presidency of the Southern States Mission. Several of the conferences report sickness among the Elders. September President Kimball left Chattanooga on the morning train to attend the Middle Tennessee and Kentucky Conferences. He was attacked with a very distressing ailment, also with the chills and fever, and only with much difficulty and exertion was he enabled to attend the Conference. The Middle Tennessee Conference was held at Spencer, Van Buren county, in the Methodist church, which was kindly offered by J. R. Baldwin, the head Elder of that church in that district. A very intelligent congregation, including the President and professors of the college located at Spencer, assembled to hear "Mormonism" discussed. All were deeply impressed with the discourses delivered, and agreed that the "despised creed" had been much misrepresented. Mrs. Hill, a grand niece of Sidney Rigdon, a very intelligent and well informed lady, attended the meetings. She was very entertaining and kind to the Elders. At the conclusion of the conference the Elders presented her with a beautifully bound copy of the Book of Mormon. which she accepted as a "choice gift." Elders Heber C. Iverson and W. W. Bean were invited to participate in the commencement exercises of the college. Such hospitality is so seldom manifest toward the "Mormon" Elders that this particular demonstration is doubly appreciated. Sept. 15 and 16. East Tennessee Conference was held Sept. 22d and 23d near Jonesboro. All enjoyed themselves very much. An interesting incident connected with the conference was in the act of a lady and walked her son-in-law, who twenty miles, carrying a 5-year-old child, that About 2 o'clock p.m. on the 21st a telegram was received at the office from Elder Adelbert Key, stating that Elder Hyrum Carter was very ill. President Kimball wired to him to take Brother Carter to Seneca, S. C., and he would meet them there. Pres. Kimball left at once for Seneca. Upon arriving there he received another telegram to the effect that Elder Carter was dying. Brother Stokes was awaiting the arrival of President Kimball. He informed President Kimball that Elder Carter had died at 12:30 a.m. on the 22d. He died at Brother Tolits', eight miles south of Foreston, at a place called Jordan. According to Dr. Wilson, who attended Brother Carter, death resulted from malarial chills. Preparations were made and the body removed to Columbia, where it was embalmed and placed in a casket preparatory to being shipped west. President Kimball accompanied the body as far as Salt Lake City, where J. Golden Kimball took charge and accompanied the corpse to Morgan City, where it was interred. Of Elder Carter it can be truly said that he passed from this sphere of action leaving behind him the record of a life well spent in the Master's work. November This month opens with fine prospects for a continuation of conversions and baptisms, which have been particularly noticeable the last two months. The only evidence of the mob spirit since the affair at Colfax, N. C., occurred in the North Alabama Conference. ders Brinkerhoff and Stephen A. Smith and warned them to leave the country, as they did not want to hear them. The mob became so demonstrative that the Elders finally left the neighborhood. A mob of fifteen men visited El The promise made by President Woodruff, at the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, is being realized throughout the Mission. Elders are receiving but very little persecution. The Elders in Kentucky were challenged by a Christian preacher to debate. Elder F. C. Johnson was chosen to champion "Mormonism." He did it so ably that the preacher, smarting un and held in great awe by superstitious they might be present at the meeting and der the burden of defeat, canvassed the people, who believed in trans-substantia- be baptized. tion, that the emblems of the body Christ were actually transformed into His flesh and blood by the ungodly ritual. (To be continued.) of J. J. Christian, author of "Immersion the Act of Christian Baptism," says: "Dr. W. D. Powell, of Mexico, recently wrote from Athens, Greece, as follows: I found that all churches in Greece, Presbyterian included, are compelled to immerse candidates for baptism, for, as one of the professors remarked, the commonest day laborer understands nothing else for baptism but immersion. I visited the university and saw the magnificent library and museum. I asked the professor what baptism meant, and he said: It has but one meaning, to submerge, to immerse. Why do you ask? Register-Review, Oct. 8, 1898. The North Alabama Conference was not so peaceful as other Conferences attended thus far. It was apparent that some of the people in this locality were very bitter, as was later demonstrated by their actions. The warehouse in which the meetings were to be held was burned, and the hatred of the people was otherwise manifested before the Elders left. Sunday evening a gentleman came and informed President Kimball that a mob of one hundred men had formed to drive the Elders out. He was informed, as was the people, that Gov. Jones and the district judge had assured President Kimball that they would put down mob violence and punish the guilty parties. Whether or not this quieted the mob we do not know; however, they did not come to do any harm. Some sickness is reported among the Elders. surrounding country, preaching wherever he could against the "Mormons." This case vindicates the value of the instructions received, not to debate, because no good comes from it. (To be Continued.) DIED, At Bozarth, DeKalb county, Tenn., Jan. 11, 1900, Sister Amanda Kilgrow. Deceased was 50 years of age, and had been a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1894. She had been a patient sufferer from some kind of lung trouble for the past year. Sister Kilgrow leaves a husband, six children and a host of friends to mourn her loss, among the latter many "Mormon" Elders, to whom she has especialy endeared herself by her many acts of kindness. Elder Emery Berrus, REPORT OF MISSION CONFERENCES FOR WEEK ENDING DEC. 30, 1899. ABSTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE us Sister Martha Crutcher writes to from Kentucky, relating a case of healing. Her nephew had for a long time been afflicted with what the doctors called cancer. For four months they attended the child, applying every known remedy to them for this particular disease. At the end of this time they in formed the father of the child that the cancer was uncurable. At the earnest solicitation of Sister Crutcher, her brother requested Elders Thurber and Davies to annoint the child and pray for his recovery. They did so, and to quote the words of Sister Crutcher, "The child is entirely well; I saw him Sunday." Every week we have many such letters relating how the power of God has been manifest, and yet people (Christians?) say "Signs are done away." Elder R. L. Shepherd informs us that, as in the days of Jesus the " chief Priests" put them out of their synagogues because they dared to preach the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. He and Elder Joseph A. Wright attended church at Brookfield, Ohio, and requested the gentlemen in charge of the church to allow them the privilege to preach in their church. The Elders were requested to step out while the question was discussed. They did not get the church and were answered in a manner that indicated the contempt in which these gentlemen held the Elders. The next day Brothers Wright and Shepherd were allowed the use of the town hall, where they held two meetings to very appreci ative audiences. 45 17 167 91 2 22722 Where He Stands. Deseret Evening News. "House of Representatives, zona: rights of a state, I would surrender my commission, resign my position, and go home tomorrow. And this is putting it mild when compared to the feelings I bear on the subject just passed over. "What is to come and be reported as a finding of fact by the committee appointed for investigation, can hardly be foretold, but if the crusade that is now on, has anything like the influence ou that proceeding that it has had upon be imagined. To this, I protest always the proceedings just passed, it may well and everywhere. It is all I may be able to do, but it shall be done with all the earnestness I can command. "Wishing for the best, and fearing the worst, I am Your Obedient Servant, J. F. WILSON." 30th, replying to my inquiry of the 26th "In reply I desire to say to you, that "After looking into the matter, I be- "I did what I could to prevent what I deem an outrage upon constitutional regulation, that is, to stop; if I could in any way, the crusade or the effect of the crusade, in preventing Roberts from being sworn as a member, but it was of no avail. in, and therefore will not permit the "They will not permit him to be sworn sovereign state of Utah to be represent Elder O. M. Sanderson, who presided the case, so to speak, or at least tried ed upon the floor until they have tried in the Middle Tennessee Conference in the question of fact involved in the al1895 and 1896, now attending the Brig-legations of Tayler of Ohio. ham Young Academy at Provo, Utah, writes of his pleasant experience with the people while in the missionary field, and says: "I often sit in solitary reflection before my fireside and think of their goodness, of their kindness and charity. Kindly indeed is my esteem for them, and I trust that the friendship formed will bud, blossom and bear fruit through time and eternity. RELEASES. The following brethren have been honorably released to return home: H. Baird. J. T. Heninger. J. Farr. Do not save the loving speeches The following statements, made by President Lorenzo Snow, we hope, will suffice to explain the attitude of the Church on the much discussed subject of polygamy and unlawful cohabitation: "From the reading of the various editorials and articles of the public press it is evident that there is much misconstruction and misunderstanding as to the present attitude of the Church re specting the subjects of polygamy and that many good and conscientious people have been misled and much adverse criticism occasioned thereby, I feel it but just to both Mormons' and nonMormons' to state that, in accordance with the manifesto of the late President Wilford Woodruff, dated September 25th, 1890, which was presented to and unanimously accepted by our general conference on the 6th of October, 1890, the Church has positively abandoned the practice of polygamy, or the solemniza tion of plural marriages, in this and every other state, and that no member or officer thereof has any authority what ever to perform a plural marriage or enter into such a relation. Nor does the Church advise or encourage unlawful cohabitation on the part of any of its members. If, therefore, any member disobeys the law, either as to polygamy or anlawful cohabitation, he must bear his own burden; or in other words, be answerable to the tribunals of the land for his own action pertaining thereto. "My life-long friend, Dinsmore of Arkansas, and an old member here, took my view of it. He advocated it upon the floor. Richardson of Tennessee, the leader of the democrats in the house, made an able defense of the position, but it was all like pouring water on a duck's back. It was unheeded. Members on our side voted against the swearing of "With a sincere desire that the posiRoberts through fear of their constituen- tion of our Church as to polygamy and су. Petitions. seven million strong, unlawful cohabitation may be better unteemed in, and fanaticism has prevailed. derstood, and with best wishes for the "I look upon the result with the deep-welfare and happiness of all, this stateest of solicitude and grave alarm. I feel that the rights of the sovereign state of Utah have been trampled under foot by the flaming, fanatical passion of the hour. "I say now, as I have said to members in as strong language as I could control, that before I would surrender my own convictions upon the legal questions involved, and as it follows the constitution and the law, and to the sovereign ment is made, and is respectively commended to the careful consideration of the public generally. "LORENZO SNOW. "President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "The drying up a single tear has more Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore." -Byron. RESOLVE. CHATTANOOGA, TENN., SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1900. at their destination on the 20th of the He graduated from the public schools In December of 1897 Elder Elton received a call from the Prophet of God to perform a mission unto the Lord, and ELDER DAVID H. ELTON In May, 1880, the good parent died, leaving the mother a widow with twelve children. She struggled on, faithful and true to the Gospel, amid the adverse powers of a scornful, frowning world. Her honesty and stability in the van of truth won for her the respect and confidence of all her associates; and oftentimes, when asked why she did not relinquish her faith in what the world erroneously calls "Mormonism," she would President of the Chattanooga Conference. invariably reply with emphasis and earnestness: "Do you think I would give up the light of the sun for the dwindling of the rushlight? or the cream of religion for the skim-milk of sectarianism?" The spirit of gathering with the Saints had long rested upon her, and she was exceedingly desirous of joining the body of the Church in the vales of the far west. Having sent three sons ahead, the good mother, with the two youngest boys (the junior being the subject of our sketch), left Liverpool on the 2d of August, 1890, for Salt Lake City, arriving on the 21st of March of the following In April, 1899, at the North Carolina No. 9. dent L. R. Anderson at the head. He obeyed and arrived at Chattanooga on April 22d. When the Conference was duly organized in May, and Elder Christo Hyldahl appointed to preside, Elder Elton was chosen to act as his first counsellor. He held this position until Conference convened in Chattanooga on Dec. 16th and 17th, 1899, when President Hyldahl was honorably released to engage in other duties, and Elder Eiton chosen to succeed him in presiding over the Conference. At a later date he called to his assistance as counsellors Elders Jeddie Stokes and R. W. Smith. The appointment of Elder Elton as President of the Chattanooga Conference was in fulfillment of a prediction made concerning him before he left Salt Lake City, and it will be seen from a perusal of the above that he has traversed over a large tract of territory, and in many states, in order that this prediction might come to pass. Elder Elton is a ready thinker, apt and most interesting in conversation, a fluent speaker, and an energetic worker. His clear and simple way of explaining the Gospel makes him a very successful worker. He commands the respect of all his acquaintances and the love and confidence of his companions-those who know him best love him most. He has the assurance of the united efforts of his co-laborers in this Conference, and surrounded as he is with men who love and respect him, both as a man and also as a faithful servant of God, it is expected that the work over which he is called to preside will maintain the high standing it gained under the management of his predecessors. History of the Southern States Mission. (Continued from page 57.) December, 1894- This month begins under favorable auspices. Generally speaking, the Elders are being courteously received. What opposition they are encountering is of a "wordy" rather than a violent nature. A company of Elders arrived on the 9th from Utah and Colorado and were assigned to various Conferences in the Mission. On the 30th President Elias S. Kimball returned from Salt Lake with his family and has resumed his vigorous efforts in the missionary work. Thus closes the year 1894, which will hereafter be memorable in missionary annals as marking a notable transition in public sentiment favorable to the Latter-day Saints and principles and truths of "Mormonismi." January, 1895 This month and year opens under very favorable conditions. Elders are entirely free from sickness outside of slight colds. Owing to the extremely cold and inclement weather, Elders are not able to get out among the people to any great extent, but they are holding many meetings. ner. The Elders began to explain to him the real condition of affairs. With an oath he jumped up and secured his shotgun, then told the Elders to "git out." They obeyed in haste, and as they were leaving he warned them that if they turned around he would "blow their brains out." They were kindly received by a constable, who lived a little further down the road, who promised to protect them. Nothing more was heard of Kendale and the Elders went happily on their way. (To be continued.) On the 27th a company of seventeen Elders arrived in Chattanooga from Freedom of access is accorded the El- Utah. After spending two days in ders in many instances where heretofore | Chattanooga they were sent to various they were excluded. The city of Nash- Conferences of the Mission. vilel is now being canvassed by Elders H. C. Iverson and O. M. Sanderson, who are meeting with gratifying Pensacola, Fla., Mobile, Ala., Knoxville, Tenn., Owensboro and Paducah, Ky., are all being successfully worked. success. Commendable zeal and faith has been exhibited by the Elders in entering and laboring in cities. On the 10th eight Elders arrived from the west and were assigned to various Conferences in the Mission. Jan. 30th another company were disposed of in the above mentioned way. Elder Joseph S. Geddes was appointed President of the South Alabama Conference, to succeed Elder Ridges, lately THE DARK AGES. BY ELDER A. ARROWSMITH. (Continued from page 63.) THE SEVENTH CENTURY brought a great and prominent character from the abode of spirits; a mighty reformer, who had, or appeared to have, a mission of blood and extermination; his name was Mahomet; he came on his mission the beginning of the century in the year 612; his youth was spent in peace and serenity. He operated caravans on the deserts of Arabia, in traffic with the East Indian market from Bagdad, and The Presidency of the Church have engaged in peaceful pursuits; but he had a mission to fill, and stood at the head written the office that they have called upon Elder Benjamin W. Scott, now in of an organization now counted by the hundreds of millions, and which was Florida, to surrender his letter of appointment, because it is rumored that he a scourge to Europe for over six hunis preaching Methodism-not "Mormon-dred years, holding in check the growing ism"-in his brother's pulpit. He has never reported to the office, though he has been in the field since June, 1894. February released. Elder Hugh W. Dougall, who has been laboring in West Virginia, was called into North Carolina to succeed Elder E. A. Griffin as President of that Confer ence. Extremely cold weather has prevailed in the south during this winter, yet the Elders have not suffered. The results following the house to house canvass are fruitful. Many communications are being received from investigators soliciting further information on the Gospel. The annual report of the Sunday Schools of the Southern States Mission gives a total of 409 officers, teachers and pupils. The result of the instructions given by President Elias S. Kimball during his visit among the Conferences, pertaining to tithing, is now beginning to bear fruit. From all parts of the Mission some tithing is being received. A mobocratic incident occurred recently in North Carolina. Elders Isaiah Cox and Charles H. Blake entered Ashboro, where they took apartments at one of the hotels. About midnight they were visited by a mob of fifteen men, who escorted them "out of town" and warned them never to return. The rain was falling in torrents, and no shelter could be found by the Elders. As a result of this exposure Elder Cox contracted a severe cold and has since been unwell. Elders Alma Andrus and Thomas Cooke, Jr., had a thrilling experience on the 17th of this month, while canvassing near Clinton, Hickman county, Ky. They approached a man named Kendale, who invited them to his home. They had conversed but a few minutes when Kendale began to abuse and slander the "Mormon" people in a very profane man sion, away from the haunts of men; and he had a high sensitive nature, good ability, and has left in the Koran many grand truths. Mahometans, Moslems, Mussulmans, Sarecens, are the names for the same class of people, and the faith of Mahomet is chiefly among the inhabitants of Turkey, Arabia and the northern portion of Africa, bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. Morocco and that portion of the world in this century was thickly populated by a class of people called the Moors, a warlike race that withstood the chivalry of Europe for years. In this age of iguorance and barbarism, when nations were compelled by force of arms to adopt Christianity, was it not high time for the Almighty to send this decimating scourge, as multitudes of His people, the Jews, were compelled by violence and force to accept the doctrines taught by Christianity, which were naturally obnoxious and repugnant to them; nevertheless they were taken forcibly, and baptized wholly against their will; this same method of converting was common in Spain and Gaul, and appeared quite successful. The whole world was in a darkened ignorant state, and there seemed to be no exercise of the individual manhood which education brings, but the masses were in total subjection to the Priest. The monasteries were full of corruption and deceit, so says the historian: superinduced by sordid ambition and were worldly emoluments; and they principally supported by men who had lived reprobate lives before God. Profligate sinners sought forgiveness of sins, by leaving their fortunes and all their earthly possessions to the monks, who did their praying for them. Thus the to commit all manner of abominations, and in the end of their career to get the prayers and absolution of an abominable priesthood, by paying a stipulated fee. Such became the custom in the influence of the enormities that were An ac Mecca, the beloved city of the followers of Mahomet, his birthplace, is visited annually by thousands of pilgrims. When praying, the worshiper of Allah invariably turns his face towards Mecca. They are the most devout and religious people extant, and their charity and hospitality is truly commendable. quaintance of mine who labored among the Turks and Arabs, as a missionary, was almost won over to the Moslem faith by seeing such zeal and fervency manifest among them; he thought they were really a better people than the Christians, from a moral and religious standpoint. They accept Jesus as a Prophet, and have adopted many of His beautiful truths; the following in the Koran, the Mahometan Bible, is attributed to Jesus, and which are silent truths. "Never be joyful except when you look on your brother in love." "He who longs to be rich is like a man who drinks sea water: the more he drinks the more thirsty he becomes, and never leaves off drinking till he perishes." So much for Mahomet, the founder of this sect, who personally appears to have been a good man, lovable and kind in his family, and especially devoted to his wife (who was the widow of his master). She it was who gave him money and influence. His spiritual nature (like Moses and other Prophets) appears to have been developed in the desert; in seclu sixth century, and continued to an alarming extent during the crusades. Thus the coffers of the church were filled and enriched, while the clergy revelled in luxury and voluptuousness by their extortion and greed. Is there any wonder that the Saracen overran Europe, considering it part of his mission to exterminate the Christian; believing that if he died while engaged in such glorious (?) work his inheritance and bliss was secure in Paradise. This warlike and fanatical race were not subdued and conquered until the overthrow of Granada in the year 1492; and in that time (six centuries) millions of lives had been lost, sacrificed in a great religious war between two powerful factions, Christianity and Mahometanism. Europe was a veritable military camp during this time, and the country was filled with religious fanatics of all classes, rich and poor, high and low, all pretended followers of that meek and lowly Man of Nazareth, who said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." These fanatics would gird on their swords and murder their fellow-men in the name of religion. What crimes have not been committed in the name of religion? But the gross superstitions that beclouded the earth during the Dark Ages almost called for the vengeance of a just God, that He might eradicate and totally exterminate the whole human family because they had become a vile blot on the earth and a stench in His nostrils, and cause him to say (as He did before the deluge when He destroyed the antideluvians) that it repented Him that He had made man upon the earth. However, God is merciful and full of charity and long suffering, and because of this magnanimity, often the wrath of men turned to praise. is How many have passed judgment upon Mahomet, and other great men, and how ready we poor weak mortals are to adjudicate matters that God alone should determine. Our Father, as He sits enthroned in the heavens, is in possession of the white stone that constitutes Him a seer, and dwelling upon a planet of purity, like unto a vast Urim, He knows all things, even from the beginning, and He determined the times before appointed, and set the bounds of the habitations of the children of men. He knows the various qualification of every spirit that dwelt with Him; as in its primeval state it was subjected to a variety of tests, and comes here to be yet further tried. He saw the noble and the great, as they stood and shouted for joy, in the contemplation of His glorious designs. Jesus, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and all the Prophets He foreknew, and duly appointed them in their times and their seasons, to come on this planet, with the fullness of His Priesthood; with authority to administer His everlasting Gospel and play their parts as described in Holy Writ. THE SOUTHERN STAR. RABBI WEISS ON "MORMONISM." Text: Psalm 15:3. At the earliest infancy of religion, as themselves better than "Oh, Lord, who shall tarry in Thy we cannot state, but sure it is that the pure and holy, as it says: "He that walketh uprightly and work- Let us understand here, for once and forever, that Bible character is no criterion to go by. It is nowhere said in the Bible that we must copy the life of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Saul, David or Solomon; even Moses and the Prophets all lived in ages when the requirements of conduct and mode of life were different from the requirements of today. The life of any Bible character would not suit today; but the ordinances, laws and precepts laid down for our moral guidance are as valid today as they were when given. There may be some trivial matters that could perhaps stand a little amendation, but integrally they are good and a safe method to govern by our moral virtues. Take our text, that asks, who is considered truly religious, and the defining answer, could we make an improvement on it? Methinks not. Let us then see the various denominations, all calling themselves Christian, how they antagonize and oppose each other. Each holding pre-eminence over the Thus Pharoah, Nebuchadnezzar, Cy- others, qualifying itself the true religrus, Alexander, Caesar, Tamerlane, Na-ion, with the others, if not exactly false, He also foreknew and duly appointed the great reformers, Confucius, Brahma and Buddha, to enlighten His children in the far east; also a Socrates and Plato to enlighten the spiritually degenerate Greek; likewise a Mahomet to preserve a degree of intelligence and enlightenment during the age of spiritual darkness, and that His children might have that degree of spiritual light, that they alone could comprehend, just as He gave the carnal laws to Israel, when they were unable to grasp the higher laws of the Melchisedek priesthood, as given through His servant Moses; He sent them the carnal laws, which would school them into the acceptance of greater truths in their advancement as progressive beings. poleon and other great warriors were foreordained to their special missions, to play their part in the world's drama. All the statesmen and poets were known in the spirit world, and their various qualifications passed upon, and they come here in their times and seasons and reap that which they have sown. So our future will be largely determined by our present acts. 67 the most devout adherents to a religion, they have not the remotest conception of truth if they oppose and antagonize another religion. It is really irreligious, and un-American in principle that recognizes not the rights of all, in religion as in politics. That spirit that cried in ages past: "Oh, that's nothing, the Jew must be his Nathan the Wise, is alive yet to a burned!" as per Lessing's illustration in certain degree. That spirit that led a Bruno, a Huss, a Jerome, a Servetus, and many, many other good and noble men to the stakes, is still nestled in the bosom of some men, if not in quite a virulous form, malignant enough to prepare a very bitter cup for people of other religions. Again and again we read of some outrages that were perpetrated on some Mormon Elders that go about preaching and teaching their religion. Why they are not as entitled to their mode of faith as the other Christian denominations I cannot see. In my estimation the Mormon religion is not better nor worse than the other Christian denominations, but I discover a luminous reason that pleads their cause when the President of their organization, located here, invites honest criticism, stating that he is willing to correct any errors that may be pointed out to him in his faith and accept any truth that may be brought to his conviction. Now, that is honest and right. But it is claimed that Mormons are polyga mous. That I do not know, but I do know that it is by law prohibited and Still, it is punished if apprehended. claimed, they practice it on the sly. Perhaps some do, but is it not forbidden not thieves are to steal, yet hundreds of caught yearly. Will you blame Christianity for it because the thieves are Christians? It is a crime to murder, yet Should Chrismurders are committed. tianity be persecuted because the murderers belong to them? And the same reason should stand for Mormonism. If some Mormons commit crime will you hold all Mormons accountable for it? We have no right to treat Mormons worse than anybody else, especially when I have the reliable fact for my authority that in their state, Utah, every religion can hold forth with perfect freedom and safety. Who is the more magnanimous, they or the other Christians? yet not altogether as divine and GodThere is another class of religious peoaccepted. Not being a Christian myself, ple that are unjustly dealt with. That is the Seventh Day Adventists. They I consider them all right and all wrong; hold that Saturday is the seventh day all right in so far as honesty and earnestness is concerned. They follow the of the week, the day the Lord hath haldictates of their conscience, the convic-lowed to be the Sabbath, and since there they can see it as it was educated into tions of their hearts, and the truth as them. The Catholic is as right as I am; the Protestant is as right as the Catholic; the Episcopalian as the Methodist, Thus God has been ever merciful etc.; but they are all wrong when they throughout all ages; and we can see His impugn the motives of others and derohandicraft exhibited among all His chil-gate the religion of others. Any person dren, he he black, white, yellow or red, and the child's life in his primeval walk has undoubtedly determined his appointment in the flesh; thus we see the great variety of spirits. God desires all His children to come unto perfection and be like Him. (To be continued.) It is foolish to lay out money in the purchase of repentance. A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two different things. Silks and satins, scarlets and velvets, put out the kitchen fire. that carries in his bosom ill-will, that If you would know the value of money, proaching of others. They may be the go and try to borrow some. most ardent supporters of a church and is no evidence found in the New Testa- (See page 72.) |