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Show GIVES PROOFS, YET PROTESTS. In an article underneath the title line, "Outsiders .Not Enemies," I he Dcserct News .makes an absurd ab-surd attempt to show that the non-Mormons non-Mormons are regarded by the church as the most valued friends of its people. peo-ple. In very truth they are, as they are proving themselves to be in their efforts to free tho honest Mormon from the yoke of priestly tyranny which haa borne heavily upon his neck for a half century and more. But for the News to say that it holds "outsiders" in friendly friend-ly regard and that this is the general attitude of the church, is the sheerest nonsense, the baldest hypocrisj- and falsehood, as tho whole history of the church will demonstrate. ' Besides, tho church organ thus disputes the doctrine doc-trine which has been constantly upheld up-held by the present head of the organization. organ-ization. At a stake conferouce held in St. George in 1901 the prophet proclaimed pro-claimed his attitude as follows: The Gentiles are coming anions us to buv our homes and land. We should not pell to them nor aid them, as they are the enemies of the kingdom of God. Said he. had never sought, to be a vast landowner, land-owner, but had never sold an inch of ground to an enemy of God's" work. Such is the report of that particular part of the Smith "sermon." as it is given by the Advocate, a Mormon paper pa-per published at St. George. Tho attitude at-titude of President Smith expressos the idea that the church leaders have been inculcating among tho Mormon pcoplo ever since they first came into this valley in 1847. It. is most viciously vindictive against. non-Mormons, and the Dcscret News knows that this, principle prin-ciple of ostracism has been very gener-ally gener-ally practiced toward the Gentiles bore. Especially is this true in the earlier times, when oven the Gentile life was not held in any too high esteem, es-teem, or as of any particular value by the more radical spirits in the Mormon church. Then there is the constant cry of thp hierarchs and their missionary representatives repre-sentatives to converts throughout, all the -world, to come out of Babylon; to gather to Zion and extricate themselves from the sin and corruption in which the enemies of God's -work were plunged, li has also, been the constant boast that tho Mormons were "peculiar" "pecu-liar" to themselves, being'entirely different dif-ferent from all other peoples in the world. Continually tho masses have been taught to regard themsclvcn as distinctive!' isolate from tho Genlilo world; that those who were not of them were against them; that the unbeliever in the Mormon religion after ho has been given an opportunity to embrace the gospel and had rejected it, was a thing to be loathed as a sinner hopelessly hope-lessly lost. In fact, President Smith, at Logan a couplo of weeks ago, declared de-clared that "to hear tho gospel and obey it will save us. but to hear it and reject it will condemn us." Finally, the very use by the News of the word "outsider" is a direct evidence ev-idence of the unconscious recognition by itself, oven while falsifying the whole, history and record of the church of tho existence of tho distinctive dividing di-viding line that tho church organ has always sought to sot up. If there are people here who are to be regarded as "outsiders" at all, then those who so look upon them must naturally conclude con-clude that they themselves are "insiders." "in-siders." And if that does not in-volvo in-volvo a most complete division, it will bo for tho News to illustrate it moro happily. The fact is that tho word "enemies" "en-emies" is scarcely ever out of the months of the high priests of the church when they refer to Gentiles or " outsiders. " The term hns . been used so much that perhaps it somo-tinies somo-tinies slips between their lips unintentionally; uninten-tionally; but slip it does, and it is full evidence of their inner thought; and if tho present attitude of tho News shall have the effect to prompt church speakers to discard the strife-breeding expression, Tho Tribune will give to it all of tho credit; that is due for a worthy move on the part of the church organ. By all means, let tho term drop. Gentiles, or " outsiders,' -' as thoy arc called for variation, aro tho real friends of tho Mormon people, and there is ample room here for both to dwell in prosperous harmony. But not under a priestcraft rule of lechery and lawlessness. |
