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Show IN POLITICS. AND WHY. It is no lougor a question whether tho Mormon church is in politics or not. Thcro is no longer any question as to how deep that church is in politics; it is in right up to its oars. Tho only thing that remains is to examine why the church is in politics. First, the church is in politics be-cause be-cause primarily the church is organized as a temporal kingdom. It has always been tho claim of tho church leaders that their jurisdiction extonded to every" ev-ery" human activity and their authority was complete over ovcrj member of the church in nil matters whatsoever where thoy choso to exercise that jurisdiction. This claim of authority ami jurisdiction of tho priesthood has all but universally beeu recognized by its membership. It is only the advanced thinkers and independent inde-pendent minds that havo been able within a comparatively few yenrs to throw olf tho obligations to obey the priesthood in all things. Fortunately for the State, and fortunately for those members, they havo become a groat host within the past eighteen years. The hope is that tho numbers of tboso independent thinkers will grow, and that finally personal independence will 1h the rule iu the Mormon church, and tho right of such personal independence ' 1 1 1 . , .1 j 1 1 .1 win uc oponiy aan iorrauuy excrciscu. Quite the rovorso hns been tho case heretofore, ns wo have said; tho claim and exorcise being the priesthood domination dom-ination and membership submission. Second, recognizing the fact that tho obligation to submit to tho priesthood in all things has beon materially weakened weak-ened within the past eighteen years, it remains to examine why that claim is vehemently assorted this year, and why tho priesthood has gouc into politics with its wholo force nnd strength, and is undertaking to dragoon its members into tho support of a preferred political party. This also ia somewhat of a remnant. rem-nant. The right of tho priesthood to control tho peoplo in politics was exercised exer-cised to force them as far as possiblo into tho Republican party. Theu there was a reaction against this, and afterwards after-wards the pendulum again swung in favor fa-vor of tho priesthood, and tho jurisdiction jurisdic-tion was resumed. It has boon fanatically fanat-ically exercised in favor of Prcsidont Roosevelt because of his susiaiuing of Apostle Smoot for Senator, and by reason rea-son of the favois that the church has cujoyed through tho Smoot nsceudcncj' and Presidential approval. There is added to this also the present year a pretended fear that there is to bo a jailing of tho criminal occlosinsts and that soino sort of proscription or por- J sccution is afoot. And Nephi L. Morris Mor-ris takes the ridiculous position that his church is bound to como to tho do-fenso do-fenso when people express a wish to frco Utah "from the clutches nnd the dominanco of a soltish, lawless, adulterous, adulter-ous, robbing priesthood." Aud he foola compelled to call upou tho people to voto the Republican ticket because Tho Tribimo called for the redemption of Salt Lake county from tho "clutches of a trcachorous, lawless, and treasonable treason-able hierarch'." Such transparent, humbuggery as this of course deceives no one. But it uhowa the estimation in j which President Morris holds the priest-j priest-j hood of his churcli and tho tendencies of their work. And Bishop WooJloy's trumpery plea that ho was about, to bo put behind tho bars to "languish and die," gives a tingo of humor to an otherwise oth-erwise rather somber campaign. Undoubtedly Un-doubtedly nil of the excuses, the patchwork patch-work remnants of an authority from which the priesthood has ofton announced an-nounced that it has divested itsolf, show the hypocritical pretenses and absolute ab-solute lack of foundation of any worthy reasons for tho church to bo in politics at all. There is absolutely no oxcuso for it, and yet tho church is in politics fully as muoh as it ever was open, pronounced, pro-nounced, vehement. It has been the stock refuge of tho church when accused, of boing in poli-tics, poli-tics, to make a bald denial; and no mat-tor mat-tor how complote the proof has beon j of church interference and control that doniul ban been exploited with a promptness, loudness, and apparent earnestness, ear-nestness, thnt would bfi well calculated to deccivo those who did not know tho fncls. This year, however, no denial is possible. Tho ccclesinsts arc out in full cry for tho Republican ticket. Thoro i3 no disguise about this, aud thero can bo no denial. And inasmuch an there is absolutely no reason or sonBe lo justify jus-tify that intrusion into politics, we can only concludo that tho church tendency to get into politics is a habit that has not thus far been shaken off, and that onco in a while tnkco hold of tho cedes-iasts cedes-iasts witb a grip that, thoy find to be quite irresistible, nnd thoy get out nnd wngo political warfare without cither excuse, reason nor sense. And that iu preciscb' what they are doing this year. |
