Show IDEAS OF AN when I 1 first received my copy of your paper I 1 was rather afraid that I 1 should not find my little contribution published therein thinking before I 1 opened it that you might have consigned it to the waste paper basket but when I 1 saw the piece was there headed refreshing candor I 1 felt it to be a cheerful compliment I 1 hinted in the letter referred to at the trouble and distress to which the church has been put for I 1 may say nearly sixty years and even now there seems no abatement in the tyrannical calumny which is continually heaped upon the saints of god this reminds me of what is sung and repeated in the church of england every sunday As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be but we will slightly modify the latter portion of the sentence and say and ever has been but the latter day saints have a promise that was never made to any former dispensation namely that the kingdom and the greatness thereof will be given to the saints of the most high wherein righteousness and justice shall be administered to au 0 you mr editor and many others are throwing light upon the dark deeds of some men but this appears to me to be a waste of time because you cannot convince such people of their error they still go on in the same pernicious way yet I 1 know that you will continue to work and it is right that you should do so when I 1 recall the scenes through which the saints have passed from the very commencement of this work I 1 do not see why we who have not gone through such ordeals should not be called upon to taste the bitter cup and I 1 ask myself the question shall I 1 be able to stand the trying dayap day I 1 am not privileged to obtain my salvation on any easier terms mave we are often urged upon to be more truly united but what ou ought to be the intrinsic merit on wh which 1 h our union should be based jesus said thou shall love the lord thy god with all thy heart with all thy soul an 3 with all thy strength and thy neighbor as thyself this first commandment shows us that it will require all our energies to keep in subjection that which is spoken ken of by st paul the next command teaches us tie to be kind to the stranger it does not teach us to make surprise parties and presents for the well to do and neglect those who are needy it forbids us to have respect for persons in judgment so that we be not transgressors of the law jaw it does not encourage fanaticism or blind zeal it teaches us as st paul has it it to respect men of low degree it is a shortsighted short sighted policy for our brethren to hold back their ti things on account of the confiscation in my opinion they should be all the more anxious to make up tip for shortage for we should realize that the church must be under a heavy expense perhaps the they think our supreme fathers at washington ington will return their ti tithing ng ou out of the spoils or probably they ey expect act the real ireal estate man will han hand over his tithing in then look what the church aul wul w I 1 get from those brethren who have sold their good homes for such large sums of money and cannot purchase others we have been counseled not to sell our homes to our enemies we assert now from dan to beersheba that we have the best country in the world invite people le to come and live among us s and br bring ling us a little of title the babylon which we so gladly left behind perhaps we are ion longing ing for the flesh pots ts of egypt wen then when election aay day comes we shall find we have sold our birthright for a mess mesa of opposition slander and abue but you know we must have opposition if we have to sell our good homes and our lands to get it well Ws its all right anyway perhaps ame this is the mysterious way in which the lord is moving he will maki make use of this opposition in order to try us but there are others who will have to trouble themselves besides ter day saints the whites and the blacks the bald slickers the white caps and many others are now making things lively in the states but the sheriff sometimes b by a kind of presto changes chanes zie the white cap into a black it is contended by some that they ought to have the privilege of holding their meetings but do not those meetings incite men to crime of the most fearful description so with the meetings of the anarchists they may go off one of these days with a terrible racket then we shall say we did not know the guns were loaded when the participators participatory in the haymarket tragedy were convicted petitions were got up all over the country and also in Euro peto have the murderers set free mark the difference when joseph and hyrum smith were murdered how many petitions were got up then who raised a voice against that diabolical deed either in this or any other country very few if any outside of their brethren one party were reckless and indiscriminate murderers in the other case innocent men were murdered in cold blood 0 consistency cytlou thou art a precious jewel indeed I 1 congress has not yet passed a law to favor anarchist depredations but the states must have anarchists ff so there will be plenty of opposition yet and in this respect outstrip the mormons cormons Mor mons by a long way A man named joseph once said they would friend I 1 will take your advice and the WEEKLY too directly I 1 learn who is the agent at this place I 1 F january 28 1889 |