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Show WHAT THEY MEAN BY LIBERTY. In another column of this page of The Tribune is printed a letter from ono classed as an apostalo who indicates indi-cates in his communication that he is somewhat intimate with tho workings ' of tho Mormon priesthood. Porhaps many of our readers will be unable fo agree with our correspondent wherein where-in he says that ho has received some special assurance from the Almighty, but they will admit that his right to make the inquiry stated, and lo re ceive the answer suggested, is oqual in. legitimacy to that professed by the priesthood of the Mormon church. But there is no question that most of them will be able to coincide with tho opinion opin-ion he expresses, that there is nothing to fear, in the end, from tho hatred and intolerance which the high priests exhibit. Upon numerous occasions The Tribune Trib-une has called attention to the fact that a reasoning analysis of the priestly priest-ly attitude of Mormondom reveals many gross errors. As a natural result, re-sult, the conclusion is that, unless reformed, re-formed, the cult cannot stand permanently. perma-nently. The correspondent seems to have been made to feel the ostracizing sting of the holy ones, in compan' with others who "have gone astray " It is evident that he has been persecuted because be refused to subject himself to such "liberty" as the Mormon church permits to its members. In other words, he has been hounded about in his social and business relations on account of the fact that he has intelligently intel-ligently refrained from bending his neck to the ecclesiastical yoke. Yet, it would 6eem, he is confident in his ability to beat the prophets in their game; and doubtless he will succeed in doing so if he maintains his independence independ-ence of spirit and his courage in contending con-tending for his rights. He probably has discovered, as have many others, that the fight is hardest at the beginning; begin-ning; that familiarity with freedom engenders en-genders contempt and loathing for the slavery of fanaticism. He has come to know that any fearless and determined man, once broken away from the priestly priest-ly rule, is a living terror to the cowardly cow-ardly priests. Only by the successful deception of the people into a belief that the prophets, seers and revelators of the Mormon church are possessed of some extraordinary special favor with the Almighty are tho governing officials offi-cials of that organization able to maintain main-tain their hold upon and power over the people. Therefore, any man who is brave enough to deny their authority, in the open realm of thought and ' speech, at once becomes the object of" their most bitter hate. Through his reasoning, and in his success in spito of his apostasy, others of the downtrodden down-trodden may find sufficient encouragement encourage-ment to also throw aside the self-assumed authority and power of tho priesthood. Consequently, tho steal thy malice of the cult is directed toward him, and he at once becomes the object of tho venomous priestly hatred and of tho cowardly ccclesinsticnl fear. After a while, however, the persecution, persecu-tion, ceases that is, if the object of it continues to go his defiant way in unharmed interest and in erect consciousness con-sciousness of his own rights. Even tho la3' saints, who at first obediently sneer at him nnd slavishly foretell all manner of evil to come upon him, begin to respect re-spect him. After thoir wonderment has ceased over the fact that tho independent inde-pendent one has not fallen dead before reaching the end of the block, nor been stricken with some frightful blight, on account of his disobedience of the scryants'of God, the rank and file assumo that ho is a pretty good fellow after all, So that the only way to have freedom in the Mormon community com-munity is to get out from under and fight for it. Our correspondent, uses one expression expres-sion which is significant. He speaks of "the woman who until recently has claimed to be m3r mother." It indicates indi-cates the hateful lengths to which tho priests have gone in order to make him feel the poisonous fang of priestcraft, Tt is more than likely that the otherwise other-wise good woman has been persuaded thnt her son has disgraced his parent age; that, ho is on tho high road to perdition; per-dition; that to own him would be to disrespect tho priesthood of God. But the lesson to be drawn is plain, and it has several features. The hatred which is set, in pursuit of tho independent independ-ent spirit has no place in nn3' Christian denomination, and it is therefore henthon and is alien to the teachings of the one who established tho great work for mankind. A113' cause which must, depend upon persecution of tho unboliover, as its chief defense, is based upon wrong principlo and must finall3' (otter to the ground. And, as the correspondent concludes, there is nothing to fear from unrighteousness, provided ono havo tho eounigo of his own convictions. Finullj-, instead of liberty within the 'Mormon church there js slavery; in the place of benevolent government thcro is cruel tyrunny. The priest- cult deserves the opposition of all decent .men, and the more Olsons Micro are, the sooner will como a demonstration dem-onstration of tho truth that falsehood, h3pocrisy, and deceitful injustice must alwa3's .yield to tho superior forco of logic, inornlity and Christian patriotism. |