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Show ITS FALSE PRESENTATIONS. Kvcii Tribune renders have come to acknowledge ac-knowledge the- truth for which the News has stood nil these years, that Latter-day Saints, as '.inoricnn citizens, have rights and duties not in any way nffected by ! thoir religions belief or church affiliation. 1 Dcserut News editorial, April 1, 1900. ! The Tribune is the paper which has : stood always for those rights and pleaded with the Mormon people to rise up. free and untrainmeled, and exercise them. But the bigoted and autocratic hierarely, claiming the Divine right to rule, in things temporal as well as spiritual, spir-itual, has alw.-13's held the people down. Does the Deseret News believe that the fundamental principles of what it, calls the gospel are unchangeable that they were the same esterdny as tliC3-aro tliC3-aro toda3 and that they will be tho same tomorrow and forever'? The Tribune Trib-une is quite sure that this is the doctrine doc-trine that the church organ and its kind have been advocating ever since the church was organized on April G, 1S30. If it is sincere in thnt belief, it is rather strange that' it should proceed now, at this conference time, c5pcciull-, to deny the faith that has obtained in its church sinco I he very beginning. It is an established doctrine and rule of the Mormou church that the prophets, seers, and revelators of that ' organization arc alone entitled to announce the laws aud beliefs which shall govern the membership. member-ship. Thcu we must appeal lo these authorities for guidance in matters of this kind. Hence we go to the late President John Taylor, who preached a sermon in the old bowery in Salt Lake 011 August 2. lSii7. In that sermon President 'IVylor said: Thero are others of yon thaL have taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, and some of you. not understanding correct cor-rect principles, may. perhaps, feel qualms of conscience., and think, probably, that If wo undertake to resist the powers that are seeking to make aggression upon us, we an- doing wrong. No such thing. Let your conscience sleep at ease, let It be quiet; it Is not us who nro doing wrong. It is others who are committing wrong on us. We will rally around the standard and bid them defiance In the name of the Lord God of Israel. Journal of Discourses, volume 5, paces 110 and tfiG. It ina- bo contended ly the Deseret News that at the time Mr. Taylor uttered ut-tered the words which we quote from him he was not the president of tho Mormon church; but we can scarccy ' j sec the utiliu'of au argument of that nature, iua'smuch as the church organ will assert that 110 man rises to high position in the church except by stcad-ih stcad-ih progressive steps in observance of the laws and ordinances of the organization. organi-zation. At the time' that Mr. Tiylor preached that sermon he was one of the twelve anostles. and he laler fmwini(l- ing Brigham Young) became president. Hi this advancement, according to tho professions of thu News, the Lord recognized rec-ognized his st end 3- worth, and rewarded hhn in accordance. Hcsidos, had Apostle Apos-tle Taylor preached false doctrine at that time, nobod.y who knows tho character char-acter of the man will doubt for a 1110- incut that President Brigham Young would have immediately afterwards arisen in the pulpit and chastised the bluuderer. On these several accounts we are constrained to accept Apostlo Taylor Tay-lor as having been orthodox. But let us see what Apostle Ta3Ior meant 1)3- "the powers that are seeking seek-ing to make aggression upon us." He meant nothing in tho world hut the Government of tho United States and its representatives. At that time Utah was uiider a Territorial form of control. con-trol. Its premature appeal for Statehood, State-hood, made while the church leaders 1 were endeavoring to establish here for I all time u condition that was altogether I repugnant to Americans and American I institutions, had been denied by the H Federal Government naturally. Wash- ington sent out officinls to take charge 1 of the Nation's interests in Utah Terri- ' j toiy. aud it was against theso ! lie of the first presidency am ,fl tolate was aroused. Irflllll Now,' note the leaching. tl the cfTcct that the oath of allegrly1' the country must not bo i)orinif' stand in the way of msistnimo r Nlie Government of th roniitry-WJ j is "the truth for which the -Nfof I stood all 1 hose years," as i5 weTf 1 I lo lhal specinl pleader for aiVe ; closiasfienl InwlcsHies and trpaJ' have ever existed 'in the history El t"""mil"il-v- ' JSnlfB |
