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Show 1 Church Sccrots arc osposocl was "begun gg-J LM ik - SfcOfy I" .U tjih of Religion of latter-day Saints. s? - Copyright, 90S, Don Carlos W. Musscr. :$F ClIS1. SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING 4-pV 4-pV CHAPTERS. r" Tn's ,nost Interesting story of -j 3kf Utah written by Don Carlos TUns- : I eer. detailing' matter in which the 4 mfc entire country Is Interested, was -b ?' begun In The Sunony Tribune of r - -Innunry J- The father of the 14" author Is a pillar In tho "Mormon r BA. church. Mr. Mnnscr, who tells tho 'b K story, was himself n missionary of ! ,nc Mormon church, who presided i E& aver the Turkish mission. He was q born In Salt Lake and knows I Ff "Whereof he speaks. The first J K chapter details the mnrrlaso of f KS tl,c husband of a third w!f after . E the latter had been matrJud six- -b .1 K lccn yours, durlajr which time ahe. - tCv had borne to tho honor and glory -BN r her husband seven children, to ! rt'-K hlB fourth wife, the last one be- -I- Mb- eonilnp tho favorite. The third -b f4f ""lfcs was 01,0 r hundreds of rr plural v.ivos fn Utah. -r MrJ The second chapter discloses how Imfa tho prophet officiate." at a re- v iM'4: markable wedding, and Martha b Iv antI -Elizabeth find favor In the 14. slKht of the Lord. The hero Is -I-'ZW'4 Introduced. The promptings of MW-b the. Evil One are overruled, the ; imt'b mission to ICnKlanu Is detailed and v Wt'b a buniinp testimony Is slvon. The third chapter treats of tho mmfc Word of the Lord according to that -b aK4 "lessod volume, the Dortrlno and ; f4 Covenant? which says It Is IETv "quick and powerful, sharper than -b a two-edged sword to tho dividing asundci of bolh joints ami mar- I r2 row." It also gives details of the -b dinner given by Elder Mahrud to r BK' Apostle Rcyarp. who reads his ( host a lecture on the observance -b of religious duties. gv' Chapter four talks about, the v Mormons being a peculiar people, - wjb and also details tho taking- of a . Mkb mission and a new wife by -b ' JSlder Muhrud, while a stake president expounds tho "Word of ! the Lord. Wk. CHAPTER V. ii Tho best; weapon to fight the devil Hwith, so 3oine one lias advised, is fire. fitoVc of Zion have tried this a number Hpf times and with pretty good snc- JiCcfls: for it certainly does annoy the jifphl beast to shake fire in iiis face. When you leant to use your enemies ' gnveapous in the struggle, 3-011 have Wgaiuod several advantages "over him !yon would otherwise not have. And not the least of these advantages is Hie ,iar he will receive in finding that 'ou can Jbe as mean and contemptible, )n occasion, as he nlwiys is. ' The enemies of God have found their iharpest and most powerful weapon to 30 deception; and the Saints, after osing several important engagements o them, were finally inspired to adopt ,heir weapons and style of fighting. Phoy met lying and perjury with lying ind perjury; deception with counter leccptiou, and broken pledges and jwntended to be kept. And in this way, !as will be seen later on, tho Saints KevontuaUy carried tho da- and sue-Iceeded sue-Iceeded in placing a figurative nooso Baronnd oveo Gentile nock in the val-(Wcys val-(Wcys of tho Rockies. fl write now of a time in Utah when Jgffidcrn, hirelings, aided and encouraged Wiry Gentiles and apostates "spotters L?and informers" as our venerable president presi-dent and prophet calls them were Ignore than ever active in stirring up trouble for the brothers and sisters piying in the new and everlasting cov-. cov-. Jen ant. -Thosp were indeed perilous days for i ithc faithful. Scores of our brothrcn, K Readers in Zion, were torn from their Vfrfmilies and thrust into prison for . -cbupeienee sake; and other scores, wlio B coukl afford it, went into exile to jKjovade tho process of the law. Many lqd into Canada, others to Mexico; psome had gono to Europe, and still Eoticrs to tho distant islands of the sea, Sand in this way the plans and designs ffpf- our enemies were frustrated in a (ftgreat measure. ijfr Taturally there was much suffering NKJrf Zion during this time. Wives wcro "Neglected by husbands, and children by Hplfathera. People became suspicious of Rtheir neighbors, and strangors travel-m travel-m iug through the land not only found it, l impossible to get information on any Igscore, but were ofttimes embarrassed 1i their efforts to obtain essential nnforts in places where tho Saints ad previously been famed for their ospitality. So wide awake were the owcrs of evil that sought the down-ill down-ill of tho Lord's earthy kingdom ' lat it became nccessaiy for many of !io Saints to ive their children daily rill in the gentle art of porjnry, gainBl, such time when they would be iiminoned into court as witnesses, hcv v.'crc taught, to tell strangers olliiug at all, and to answer all ques-iuii.ions ques-iuii.ions asked tlicin in court and while LA under oath with "T don't know." "Who is your father l' "I don't knovr." 7i- "Who is vour mother:?,, J; ; "I don't "know." 3- "rIow many brothers and - sisters R Shavp you?" "I don't know." fm "Who told you to testify as you are jRloing?" f ' "I don't know." . .. . . ' "Jlow old arc you5" J ji', "T don't know." 1 P "What is vour name?" U "I don't k'uow." ' "Wiore do von live?" I '': "I don't know." I Young polvgjiniist wives with tho gdush of girlhood still upon them, to . iield the fathers of their children, would testify in the same manner. 4: Emma BecL'stead becomes 31 rs. Alexander Mahrud for time and Mrs. Joseph Brig- :j: t ham Johnson for eternity Safan is given considerable latitude in Zion. but the Saints. J X ever firm in their faith, learn to light him with lire. :j: J V V-1"1S 1 . 1 i ' ' I "AVhat is your name?" I ".Jennie Doe." "Is that 3'our married name?" "No." "Please state your full name.''' j "Jennie Doe." ; "Well, what is vour married names'" i "I don't know1:" "What is vour husband's name?" "1 don't know." "Who is the father of your child1?" "I don't know." "That is vour child, is it not''" " r don't know." "Would you recognize that child's father if von saw him?" . "I don't know." Occasionally there was found a i Saint (?) who would show Ihe white feather, and when such were arrested he would go into the court and address j the judge something after this manner: man-ner: "Your honor, I am guilty of the offense charged, and if you will excuse ex-cuse my wives and daughters from attending at-tending this trial as witnesses I will plead guilty, and I will promise you upon .my word of honor to obey the laws 01" this Nation in the future, and to use what influence T may have, to percundc my brethren to do likewise." The court was- generally anxious to uso such men as bait for others, and lie would therefore comply with their I reoncst. And besides respecting their wishes regarding the ladies of their j households, ho would impose a very flight fine and give them their free (loin. But there were not many of these turncoats, the Lord be praised, and the few there were would have been belter off had the" never been born. The Saints hato turncoats, and we manage to make it very unpleasant for them whenever the opportunity presents pre-sents itself, which is daily in Zton: and in the case of thoso who promised to obej' the law in tho future, while man- of their brethren were suffering exile or imprisonment, they by their action not only earned the contempt of ! tho Saints on earth, but. of nil the hosts of heaven as well. In tho language lan-guage of one of our leaders, "eternity is too short for such to repent in." and to, this Christian sentiment the honest in heart will answer. "Anion." But through all the suffering1 and, heart weariness of those da.ys. the Saints remained firm. From pulpits all over Zion, mighty men of God continued contin-ued to hurl anatlfemas against ihe Government, Gov-ernment, and to prophecy the destruction destruc-tion of all who dared to lift a hand against jion ana ncr sacrea traditions. The spirit of tho Lord rested mightily upon the Paithful, and they continued to marry and givo in marriage; to feast anil dance and sinff -the songs of Ziou while hell was filled with rage and madness unspeakable. Never for a moment was the question of submitting, submit-ting, to our enemies seriously considered by those holding the priesthood. Earth and hell might combine against the chosen of tho Lord, but so long as Ilis mighty priesthood was on earth, no great barm could come to us as a people. peo-ple. In fact at anj- Lime during tha(. cruel persecution, the Prophet could have stretched forth his hand and legions of angels, from the Throne of Grace, would have descended to smite this Nation and magnify the name of tho Lord. Tho only reason this was not dono was the desire in the hearts of the Saints to first gather the honest nnd those who were seeking to serve God from the nations. They havo nearly all been gathered by this time and so the godless had better look out for the dreadful day of the Lord is at our doors. Rita, third wife of Bishop Mahrud, should have been a very happy woman. Por nearly sixteen years Rita was the favorite, and all that a woman's heart could wish for wns hers. She was permitted in this time to clothe seven choice spirits in the flesh, and all under the now and everlasting covenant, cove-nant, which to Latter-day Saints mcaus a great deal. According to the man-made laws of our country, these children of Rita's wore illegitimate, and without right of inheritance. According to tho way the Gentiles look at these things. Rita's children were brought into the world under a stigma, and were doomed to go through life greatly handicapped by that same stigma. The law would not rcooguizn them, and in giving thum bodies, both the bishop and Ritn had sinned grievously. And if one had listened lis-tened to the tipostates. he would soon have come to the belief that Bishop Mahrud and men of his ilk wcro bo-yond bo-yond redemption, and utterly unworthy unwor-thy the love and respect of their fel-lowri, fel-lowri, Of courso the SaiiitB know differently. different-ly. They understand that tho law of plural marriage is a much higher and more sacred one than any framed by nnd through tho wisdom of mere man here; on earth could possibly be. And coming from God, in answer to mighty prayer by the youthful Joseph, it is destined lo remain in force until tho earth shall crumble away; a law unto "the Lord's chosen people". And that it j will in tho near future provo tho salva-I salva-I tion of millions of souls who nro wait-ing wait-ing in the spirit world an oportunity to 1 bo born in the llcsh. no sane and thoughtful person will denv. Kita's children, far from being the objects of pity the outsiders seemed to regard theiii. are really princes of heaven, retained there in glory for ; ages to bo brought forth in the last da3"s, to assist in preparing the earth for the reception of the King of Kiugs, when lln shall come in Ilis mighty ma-jrsly ma-jrsly in reign. No other period of the world was glorious enough for those , spirits fore-ordained to take their I bodies in this dispensation and under the covenant referred to. They were all choice and tried spirits suitable in every way to this great work. Tins being understood, there could be no scruples in tho bishop's mind ou the score of begetting illegitimate children, chil-dren, and if Ifita had boon more faithful faith-ful an a daughter of Zion, there would never have arisen doubts in her mind on this important question. During the greater parr, of her married mar-ried life Hi la had been happ3 .Tlierc seemed always lo be a testimony'in her heart that ylie had done right "in marrying mar-rying the bishop when she did. During Dur-ing this period of happiness the bishop lived an her house, as Martha and Elisabeth Elis-abeth were on the farm, and Brother Mahrud 's business kept him in the city. So Jpng as the bishop was her daily companion, Hita seemed lo understand un-derstand tlie ways of the Lord and all thiugs went well. But when newly assumed as-sumed marital- obligations took the bishop from her side, she began to droop and wither like a flower. Grave perplexities per-plexities and fears entered her life. There were times when she felt that she had made a horrible mistake, and that in doing so she had worked irreparable irre-parable injury to Martha and Elizabeth. Eliza-beth. She was suffering one of those periods- when introduced in the first chapter of this narrative.' And now dearly beloved, I have Teachcd it point in my story where it seems to me proper to introduce the fourth wife of Bishop Mahrud. The name of this beautiful, and altogether charming woman was Emma Beekstead, and so she was known to the world Cor several yeais after becoming Mrs. Alexander Mahrud IV. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Alcxaiidcr Mxihrud IV. was Mrs. Alexander Mahrud Mah-rud 3V. for lime only; for eternity, she was Mrs. Joseph Brigham Johnson. She was permitted to become Mrs. Alexander Alexan-der Mahrud IV. for time only, through the deep piety and bigness of heart of the bishop, who married her in order to raise up posterity to the name, honor and glory of his greatly lament ed brother-in-law. Joseph B rich tun Johnson, who would have claimed her for both time and eternity but for the accident of death. Elder Joseph Brigham Johnson was a vcr promising son in Israel. He was tall, deep chested, broad shouldered, shoul-dered, open faced,. and bnt twenty -five years of age when he returned from his successful mission to the Hawaiian islands. is-lands. He was the youngest brother of Martha and Elizabeth and had. before be-fore departing for the mission field received re-ceived Emma 's promise that she would wait for him and become his wife upon his return. The wedding day had been named and tho preparations wcro made when the .Lord called Brother Johnson home, leaving Emma Beekstead overburdened over-burdened with her shattered hopes and broken heart. To Emma Beekstead, Joseph Brigham Johnson was tho personification of all that was truly desirable, on earth. Ilis was one of the sweetest spirits of heaven, heav-en, chosen before the foundations of J the earth were laid, to assist in the redemption re-demption of this dark and sinful planet. plan-et. Emma loved him with all the richness of her tender heart, and from tho day he whispered his first love to her and wrung from her her promise to be his, her little world was ono entirely en-tirely of sunshine and ,ong. The warble war-ble of birds, the babble of brooks and the sigh of the wind in the treo tops were all divinest inelodv to Emma, and every living creature that came to her notice, every object her eyes rested on, every sound that eaiuo to her by day and night seemed in some mysterious myste-rious way to speak of her lover and his love. And now on tin very eve of her marriage came the cold hand of death to change her day of sunshine lo a night of darkness. The idol of her heart wns allied from her side, and with her heart broken and her spirit crushed, she turned to God for that solace Ho alone is able to render. She had no mother, and so she stayed for a. rimo on the farm with Martha and Elizabeth, where the bruise of her heart received all tho comfort and tender ten-der nursing possible for one mortal to bestow on another. And it was at this old farm house, which grow dearer to her an the time passed, that Emma Beekstead saw much of Bishop Mahrud. Mah-rud. Affairs became too warm for the bishop in the city. TJ'nited States marshals mar-shals were exceedingly active, and liita s home was watched constantly. It thereforo seemed wisdom to spend more of hi3 time on the farm, whoro tnern vro-rn iniiiiiii.i,U .,! f linn- .iijji; llllllll and where he kepi, severul good reams and a light traveling carriage alwava in readiness for immediate llight. Bishop Bish-op Mahrud wao alwavs more or less interested in Emma" Beekstead and now that a great sorrow had pressed upon her he was more than over anxious to demonstrate his friendliness tor her. In many ways he strove to alleviate her sufferings and make bright and hopeful her future path. He en Hod her daughter, stroked her wealth of brown hair and kissed her on tho forehead; fore-head; nnd almost daily he reminded hor that tho Lord was over merciful, and that, in calling Joseph home he had acted wisely and for the bcsL Both at morniug nnd evening prayers Tiiyhop Mahrud called down the blessings bless-ings o the Lord upon Km ma, and mightily prayed that Ho who watchen tho sparrows fall and clothes tho lilv would show to his grief-stricken daughter daugh-ter Ilis will concerning her, and make plain her duty that her heart might cease its repining, and that her houI might ro-joice in tho Lord and ilia righteousness. Emnui tried hard to extract comfort from tho bishop's kind words, and as the days came and went she Keemcd to succeed quite 'well. One day na Brother Mahrud was "hiding up" in the farm house he called Eniiua to him, and v.-hon they wcro quite alone he said1: v - i I "Daughter, the ways of the Lord J I are indeed strange to "mortals and far beyond the. puny comprehension of j j nion. The Lord giveth and the Lord takel.h away, blessed, bo the name of tho Lord.. We must not, wo daro not j call into question tho Lord's holy will, and it were ten thousand times Worse I than madness to nurse our sorrows and disappointments, while wishing they had never been. It behooves us as children of tho Most High to see nothing noth-ing but good in all that He does and to rejoice even though our hearts seem ready to break. God 'a. ways are not ours, but we should always endeavor to mako our ways tho Lord's. "Joseph is not dead; he has been called to a higher sphere of activity, and if you are faithful, you may sometime some-time in the futuro join him in that place where sorrow and sickness and suffering can never enter, nnd where nil are forever happy. Would you like that?" ' A. sweet smile illumined the pale face of Emma as she replied: "Yes, indeed. in-deed. How sweet and welcome the change called death, if it would but take mo to his side." "Yes, yes, daughter, I understand how-you i'cel, and 1 thank God for the purity, the tenderness and "the loyalty of your heart. But 3-011 have a mission lo perforin for Joseph bofore you can go to him. God has put it within your power to" do that for Joseph that will exalt' him among the gods and' iusure' him glories the mortal mind may not even dream "of. And if you are true to yourself and your God in this matter, mat-ter, you will have the eternal love of Joseph and such happiness as man mainover mai-nover know in this life, and but comparatively com-paratively few of the Saints may experience ex-perience in that life which is to conic. It is this holy mission that 1 wanted to talk to you upon, and I trust that you will take what I may say as being dictatod by the Holy Spirit for 'your good and in answer to. our prayers. "Como nearer, daughter, and sit on my knee. So, now I can talk to you with less effort. What a beautiful davit dav-it is without, and yet, those Gentile hounds have forced me to remain indoors. in-doors. But tho work of the Lord continues con-tinues to roll forth and tho idea 01 this government, or any other government govern-ment trying to put a stop to it is enough fo- make the angels of heaven laugh. A mouse may as well attempt to drink dry the Mississippi, as for the Congress of I ho United States to attempt at-tempt to thwart Jehovah in his determination deter-mination to raise up a righteous gen- nrnlimi ilivniirrli flin rirnpfinn liv ITiR chosen people, of celestial marriage." The bishop paused for a moment, but his fair auditor made no comment. She sat lightly on his leuee, as she might havo sat on her feather's had ho been alive, though with far less ease and comfort. Sho trusted the bishop as she would have done her father, for he had been cry Icind to her. and in her mind was no fear. To Emma Beck-stead, Beck-stead, tho bishop was a man of God, enjoying at. all times the companionship companion-ship of tho Holy Spirit, and she trusted him as a child "would have done. And yet, she felt straugc on his lap and as though it would be more 5u keeping with tho solemn question they were discussing if sho wcro to movo and occupy a chair. Indeed sho made tin attempt to do this, but thcro seemed some subtle force that held her. aud so she remaineAl. Bishop Mahrud was a man of exceptionally strong person-alit person-alit and his wishes were general' deferred de-ferred to by those who had in aDy dc-gico dc-gico learned to confide in him. "But, dear litllo girl, 1 invited you in to talk to you regarding your mission mis-sion in life," the bishop proceeded, "your duty to your maker and to Joseph. Jo-seph. You wcro to havo married Joseph, Jo-seph, and somowhero on the other sido of the veil he is waiting for you to fulfill ful-fill your promise. Tt pleased Almighty to cnll Joseph away before ho had wives or children, biit it does not follow fol-low that he is released from that divine di-vine commandment to bo fruitful ami multiply. i "Anil so while Joseph is in heaven I waiting for you to fulfill your promise to marry hiin he is not glorified; ho is not wiih tho Father and Son aud tho prophets Joseph unci Brigham and I I Jlyrum, nor can he ever bo with them until he has. lived that law. Jesus said, 'in my Father's house arc many -mansions,' and the, mansion Joseph in- j 1 habits now, and must continue to in- I habit until you ful fill your promiso aud marry him, is nothing more than a placo of defonlion in the spirit world, which tho Saints know as paradise, a spiritual' prison. "Of course you will go through tho temple and be sealed to Joseph for eternity, but this is not sufficient, Emma, Em-ma, dear: Joseph must havo children rniscd up to his name's honor and glory on this side of the veil. On tho other Ptde there is neither marrying nor giving giv-ing in marriage. No. this nil has to be done in this world and those who arc called to heaven before I hoy havo wives or husbands or children are dependent de-pendent upon the loved ones they leave behind for any exaltation they attain in the hereafter. "God in Uis wisdom has mado this clear b- revelation to the prophet Joseph. Jo-seph. And so, while you may be sealed to Joseph for eternity, it will bo necessary, neces-sary, in order that 3'ou may fulfill your duty to him and to yourself, for you to many some one for iime ony.'"' Here Bishop Mahrud reached for tho small Bible on the center table, and, opening it at the twenty-fifth chapter of Deuteronomy, he read as follows: "If brethren dwell together, and ono of them die, and havo no child, tho wife of the dead shall not marry without with-out unto a stranger; her husband 'h brother shall go in unto her, and tako her to him to wife, and perform the dutj' of an husband's brother unto her. ' ' "And so you sec, dear," proceeded the bishop, closing the sacred book, "the house of God is a house of order, and the spirit of revelation has made our duty clear to me. T lovod Joseph enough to do anything possible for his eternal happiness. I love you both, in fact, and 3'0'ur welfare is, after serving God, the "greatest; desire of my heart; but above all, and over all, I love the Hacred institutions of high heaven, and I stand ever readj' to hvy all I possess on the altar of my religion aud to earnestly ear-nestly endeavor, " without thought of the cost, to live up to every requirement require-ment of the Lord." Emma's tear-stained face dropped to the bishop's shoulder, and his arm tightened around her waist ns he went on: "Dear little woman, I am more than interested in you. To me 3'ou have become, at once daughter and sweetheart, sweet-heart, i desire with my whole soul 3'our complete salvation. No henven-ly henven-ly vision vouchsafed me of Almighty stands out so gloriously clear as tho one wherein 3011 aro revealed as mine for this short life, for the sublime and noble purpose of perpetuating, ihrough out the endless ages to come, the name of our sleeping brother and husband," Tenderhy the bishop raised the blushing blush-ing face from his shoulder, and holding that beautiful head between his hands, he kissed and kissed again the luscious, trembling lips; and then drawing the shrinking form more tightly to his, he continued: "God has not 0013- made our dnt3 plain to us, he has kindled n love within with-in our breasts such as I have ncvor felt in all my life before; a love for TTic inilrniiod. fi ln'iiifr rliicM-r ffr Win triumph of His holy cause; and I ask 'on in tho fullness" of that great love, and in the name of that great cause, to consent to this thing, to be ni- wife, loved, cherished and honored above all else on earth, and for the exaltation nnd. eternal glory of 3-our first love, Joseph Johnson." That same week Emma Beekstead became Mrs. Alexander Alexan-der Mahrud IV. for timo, and Mrs. Joseph Jo-seph Brigham Johnson I. for otcrni'iy; and the foul fiend in the pit below, and all the imps of hell, raged and wailed aud gnashed their tooth for the cause of heaven had again triumphod, and the ultimate redemption of the world from its sins was more than over assured. as-sured. What is move blessed than to give and do for others? The noble, generous, gen-erous, self-sacrificing, self-denj-iug side J of Bishop Mahrud 's nature was never I more beautifully illustrated than in his , marriage to this beautiful girl, in or- dor- to promote the eternal happiness of one who had gono before. And what 4 a. lesson this should be to the Gentiles, ; they who love wickedness bettor than godliness darkucss better than light And how tho angels of heaven must have rejoiced and tuned their harps to a. new song, when Emma and Alexander Alexan-der stood before the veil in the holy temple aud consented to tho Great Sacrifice Sac-rifice for time only. (To be Continued Next Sunday.) |