OCR Text |
Show THE PLEA OF DESPERATION. . The awful exhibition that President Joseph F. Smith made of himself in the Tabernacle on Sunday, must bring confusion and humiliation upon every devout, earnest member of the Mormon church. In the eyes of every patriotic citizen not a Mormon, there can bo for that exhibition nothing but scorn and contempt.' That mutual admiration society of three, who are they? Penrose, Pen-rose, whose dally contempt for tho truth; whose b'rutal and fulse attacks upon Christian ministers; whose perversions per-versions of their utterances and vindictive vin-dictive assaults upon their characters have made his editorials the loathing of overy decent person who comprehends compre-hends the facts, was one of that trio. Another was Apostle Frances M. Lyman, Ly-man, who squarely testified under oath in Washington, that he is living In defiance de-fiance of the laws of God and of man. Tho third was President Joseph F. Smith, who testified also to the same thing in Washington, and also that he had received no revelations for the guidance of his church and whose especial business on Sunday last on the occasion referred to, was to explain that he had testified falsely with regard to the revelation matter, and whose statements were so Imbeclllc ns to be pitiful. The "revelations" he professed pro-fessed to have had are exacted from every eight-year-old boy when he Is baptized into the church. And yet, for the sake of these puerile "revelations," he was willing- to stand beforo tho country on Sunday and brand himself ns a perjurer! And what was the reason for this dreadful exhibition of childishness and mendacity? Ho explained It as because in Washington his "enemies" wero setting set-ting a trap for him! How do these gentlemen happen to be enemies to President Smith? They are distinguished distin-guished statesmen, Senators'" of the United States. Why should President Smith consider them his enemies? Why should he Bay that they were setting traps for him? Tho enmity was on his part alone. It Is his habit, as in his speech at St. George, to speak of all who are not of his flock, as his enemies. ene-mies. It 1b an absolutely false position posi-tion which he seeks to place those gentlemen gen-tlemen In, ono born of his own mean, Ignorant suspicion and malice. Of a like character Is his degrading suspicion that he was being led Into a trap. Those who were examining him in Washington arc high-minded gentlemen; gen-tlemen; nothing further from Ihelr thoughts was possible than leading him or any one else into a trap. Their special characteristics arc candor and good faith. It Is nn absurd libel to make the charge that they were leading lead-ing President Smith Into a trap, or had any such thought The Idea la the idea of the crafty fox, not of the civilized man. In giving voice to It, President Smith sinks himself to tho level of a hunted animal. And the mystery is, why ho Is content to tak,e that Ignoble Ig-noble position; and further how It 19 that a community In this land of liberty can possibly sustain as a religious leader lead-er a man who chooses to grovel, to sneak, to He, to openly perjure himself him-self and admit it, and all under tnc blasphemous and degrading plea that it Is for the glory of God. It has been the common talk for some time among' the Mormon people that President Smith testified as he did In Washington, to avoid the traps of his enemies, and that all the faithful would do the same under like circumstances. And further,- that he was justified In doing so. It 1b hard to credit anything so shameful. God help a people given over In the name of religion to falsehood false-hood so wholly as this course would Imply! And God pity the poor wretch who poses as a leader of that people, while wrapping himself In lies and steeping his mind with the delusion born of his own venomous hatred, that all his fellow-citizens are his enemies, and that the highest in the land arc setting traps for him! |