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Show "SHALL THE PEOPLE RULE? The question, ''Shall the people rule?" which is propounded to the voters of the United States in this prosent campaign, has additional force and directness iu Ulnh ovor its use anvwhere clso in the United States. For hero only is thero a real denial of tho right of the pcoplo to rule. Tho doctrine has been proclaimed openly in the Tabernacle, from the rostrum ot the highest priesthood, that the people have no right to rule; that it is their business to obey the voice ol God. inu old maxim, vox populi, vox dei. was expressly cited und the re-verso re-verso of it given as tho true doctrine, vox dei. vox populi. 1 he people were to listen to tho voico ot God, and not to undertake to govern themselves, nor to tako tho initiative iu their own affairs; they must listen to the voice of God and obey it.. Aud how would this voice of God come to them? In what manner would they know that God was speaking? Why, the simplest thing in tho world. All that they have to do is to listen to tho priesthood. The high priests, the chief lenders of the church, being sustained sus-tained as prophets, seers, and rovelators, as a matter of course, aro the ones to ivc the "voico of God to this people." And Josoph F. Smith reinforces aud makes this evident, stating, the same thing in his own way. when he says, "Tho fact of the matter is. when a man says you can direct me spiritually, but not temporally, he lies in the presence of God." That doctrine is tho hierarchic hierarch-ic doctrine today. It has alwavs been the hierarchic doctrine. And that doctrine doc-trine emphatically denies the right of the people to rule. The application of that doctrine this year takes tho form of coerciug Mormon Mor-mon members of the Democratic party so that they shall abandon thoir party fealty and voto tho Republican ticket. President Joseph F. Smith, in his closing clos-ing address at the October conference, camo out flat-footed in support of the Republican Congressional candidates. Local ecclesiastical officials arc openly 1 zealous iu the same cause applying , their meddling interference to tho local ticket. At Mormon meetings, Mutual I Improvement association conferences, in ward assemblages, and in ever' possible pos-sible way. the doctrino is inculcated that the priesthood has the right to rule, and that it is tho duty of Democrats Demo-crats this 3'oar to listen to the voico of tho priesthood, abandon their party, and vote for the Republican candidates. It is true that a good many leading Democrats are openly resisting this church "counsel." But in doing so, they lay themselves open to church dis- J cipline, and after election they aro lia- bio to be called to account for what they s:i' and do. Then will come tho crucial timo for them. They will be required to give up w'hatever idea they have that it is the right of tho people to rule. The' will bo required, as they have been required before, to pivo up the idea that they have a right to their own political opinions and to take thuir own political action. Q'hcy will bo dragooned into acquiescence in the doc-triuo doc-triuo that it is tho right of tho priesthood priest-hood to rule, and that the man who admits ad-mits the right of the priesthood to guido spiritually and denies the riirht of that priesthood to guido temporally, "lies in tho presence of God," and is on the road to apostasy, Oh, no, whatovcr may be the practico and the theory in other parts of tho Republic, Re-public, in Utah the dominant ecclesiastical ecclesiasti-cal claim from away back, aud constantly con-stantly enforced, is that the people have no right to rule; that their chief right aud duty is to follow their filo leaders, obey the voico of the priesthood, priest-hood, and be guided iu all things, by tho voico of God as declared by that priesthood from time to timo in all matters mat-ters whatsoever. And that leaves no room for popular rulo or for tho right of the people to control their own political po-litical and civil affairs. It is tho right of tho priesthood to rule, and this right is onenly proclaimed and strenuously enforced. en-forced. And that is what is the matter with Utah. |
