Salt Lake Tribune | 1908-10-29 | Page 14 | Losing Faith in Religious Leaders

mm FAITH !N RELIGIOUSJ-EAOERS Jesse Will Kniglit Speaks Plain!7 Against Church Jn-i Jn-i terfering in Politics. j PRESIDENTS AND BISHOPS ! MUST KEEP HANDS OFF Action of Church-Republicans Will Keep Up the Strife and Turmoil in Utah. Jesse William Knight, Democratic , candidate for governor of Utah, .is bit-, bit-, ter against tho action of certain eccle-, eccle-, siasts who are making an etTort to keep tho church in politics. He declares that if religion is for anything, it is for poaco and not for strife and contention. Mr. Knight's father is. the heaviest tithe-payer to the dominant church. His, contributions havo reached the sum of , $100,000 per annum. Jesso Will Knight is also a tithe-payer. Like his father, ho is a member of the dominant church, and a prominent member, top. His word counts for a great deal with the Latter-day Saints. Ho camo into Salt Lake Wednesday aftor a tour in the southern counties in the state. Hero is what he says: I Eolicion Is for Peace. i I believe that the entire stato Democratic Demo-cratic ticket will be elected next Tuesday. I and that Mr. Bryan will carry Utah. I I feel that e-ery Latter-day Saint should resent the attempt to drajr our honored church into the political mire, as has been and Is being done by Republican politicians politi-cians In sacred meetings. If religion is for anything-, it is for peace, and not for strife ami contention. I do not sco how any president of a stake, or any bishop of a ward, or a bishop's bish-op's councilor, or any oilier Latter-day Saint who has tho pood of all the people at heart, can resort to such methods as are belnj? used In stakes and wards of this state. I tlrmly bellevi; that such methods will react against thorn. 1 know that in many cases Republicans have come to me and said that they did not sanction such methods; that they regarded re-garded their religion as too sacred to bo drnirced Into the political mire by Republican Re-publican politicians and Republican office-seekers. office-seekers. Authorities Should Interfere. If the Democratic party was to resort to tho same kind of methods as the Republican Re-publican party Is uslnp In tills campaign. I would sny that It deserved defent. I feel that If the church authorities do not put a stop to this method of campaigning, thousands of good Latter-day Saints will j lose faith in their religion and their re-llgioiis re-llgioiis leaders. I consider the paramount Issue In this i campaign to be peace In Utah peaco among all classes. I do not .believe this condition will be brought about by the success suc-cess of the Rf publican ticket at tho election elec-tion of next Tuesday. On the contrary, should that party be successful at tho polls, the strife In Utah will srow, and It will continue to grow Just as Ion? as present conditions are allowed to exist.