Show A BRILLIANT ARTICLE ELDER il W S R IO 10 CUT C E the mormon devotion sincerity atiel frugality tho forum for may contains an article from the pen of captain 0 E button on church aud state in itah it is written in an apparent spirit of fairness and is free from those bitter attacks which often disfigure anti mormon literature the writer gives due credit to the people of utah for many virtues recognizes the changed condition of public affairs in that territory and acknowledges the sincerity of tho voters who propose under self acting provisions of a state constitution to prohibit and punish polygamy bufa he is opposed to the admission of utah as a state for reasons that are not necessarily attested by the question oi r esons are founded upon alleged which exist chiefly in C in buttons imagination that lac of correct information on mormon affairs which the gentleman perceives in books and magazine articles without number is just as painfully exhibited in his own exposition of the mormon polity it is true as he that to those who know the framework and structure of mormon society polygamy is a more incident and minor circumstance it has been so hugely and so grotesquely exaggerated that it is viewed by even tho well informed as the one distinctive characteristic of the system known as mormonism the terms Mormon and polygamist have come to be almost synonymous and yet but comparatively few of the mormon people ever practiced plural marriage and today to day according to the reliable estimate not more than two thousand men in or one per cent of the whole population have a plurality of wives but the general misapprehension of alio facts on this question is not greater than captain buttons in regard to the relations of church and state in the mormon church and state he says are one and indivisible on this erroneous hypothesis ho makes many other statements equally incorrect for instance this people form a compact thoroughly organized and well dis society living under a government which is about as far removed from the republican form guaranteed by the constitution of the united states as it is possible io conceive the mormon has no civil liberty as wo understand it rulers of the cormons mormons are a belf con ed and self perpetuating body by which all subordinate officials win are of any real importance are ap pointed and the layman or elder has no voice or weight in the matter all this is doubtless in line with popular notions concerning the mormon system br t indisputable facto and the whole theory of mormon doc trine and discipline prove that thos assertions are erroneous in the church regulations and the ial government have always been en separate no man has ever belc any civil office by virtue of his eccles las position brigham youn was for seven years governor of utah but that was by federal appointment not by church authority other per sons holding prominent offices in tin church have occupied places of public trust under the laws of the united state and of the territory but the were duly elected by the votes of th citizens and served simply as secular officials the political machinery and that of the church have always been separate and are entirely dissimilar the politics of the majority are conducted under the rules of tin peoples party a distinctly political organization ita members hold theia prim ines and county and territorial conventions in which tickets are formulated alter due discussion aud then submitted to the people the elections ard conducted under secular laws every voter gentile jew or mormon is equal at the polls ahr ballot is strictly secret there are no means of discovering how an votes envelopes of uniform chloi and size are provided for the judges of election by the county courts voter brings his own ballot neatly folded and places it in one of envelopes which is deposited by judge in the ballot box but if it bean any mark or device it must bo reject e if two or more tickets are iu one envelope when the counting occurs the whole contents must b thrown out this is an anti repeat ing and absolutely secret ballot for six years all polygamists hav been today to day no mai can hold office or vote unless ho sub scribes to an oath pledging his obedi once to the laws is anything anti republic can in the form of government existing in utah has been established by the national power and not by the mormon church the people have jno voice in the appointment of the imposed upon them by the federal authority nor in the election of the president and senate of thu united states who mako the appointment the governor has the power of absolute veto over the the elected legislative assembly and neither a two thirds nor a unanimous vote of that body is equal to this ar one man power but these ain republican features of tho lovil government are nofa of church congiu they aro vestiges of the old despotic colonial system which still aua lace of our fair republic the mormon church of the most democratic ecclesiastical organizations on oarth achas not an officer from the president to the deacon who occupies his position without the free vote and consent of tho members captain button lefers to tao doctrine and covenants as a source 01 mormon authority it is regarded as a sacred book and with the bible and boob of mormon forms the mormon standard of faith and discipline it contains revelations to the church through their prophet joseph smith the following passages on organization are taken from that booekr af the priesthood three presiding high priests chosen by the body appointed and ordained to that office and upheld by the confidence fi faith and prayers of the church form a quorum of the presidency of the church no person is to be ordained to any office in this church where there is a regularly organized branch of the same without the vote of that church all things shall be done by common consent in the chuich by mu h grayer and faith for all things you shall receive by faith in the light of these revelations what can be thought of captain buttons statements that the rulers of the cormons mormons Mor mons as he pleases to call the leaders of the church are self ap pointed and that the layman or elder lias no voice in the matter and none in the appointment of subordinate officials it must be known to every person at all acquainted with mormon church usages that twice every year at their general conferences all the officers of the church are submitted to the vote of the members every baptized person male and female having an equal voice As to the relations of the church to the state the following from the same book will show that he is as greatly in error as in regard to the self constituted and self perpetual ing body of supreme rulers 1 quote again from the doctrine and covenants wo believe that governments were instituted of god bior the benefit of man ard that he holds men accountable for acts in relation to them either in making laws or edminister ing them for the good and safety of society we believe that no government can exist in peace except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience the right and control of property and the krotec alon of life we believe that religion is instituted of god and that men are amenable to him and to him only for the exercise of it unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and of others we do not believe that numan law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men nor dictate forms for public or private devotion that the civil magistrate should re atrain crime but never control conscience should punish guilt but uever suppress the freedom of the evl we do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil whereby one religious society is fostered and another pro ascribed in its spiritual privileges and he individual rights of its mem borss jis citizens denied we believe that ill religious societies have a right to leal with their members for disorderly conduct according to the auleb and regulations of such societies provided that such dealings be toi fellowship and good standing bui ve do not believe that any religious has authority to try men ob he right of property or life to take rom them this worlds goods or pui hem in jeopardy of life or limb leither to inflict any physical pun lehment on them they can only excommunicate them from their society uld withdraw from them their fellowship low ship these sentiments are in accord with commandments by revelation is for example wherefore bo subject to the powers that be until he reigns chobe right it is to reign and subdues ail enemies under his feet behold the laws which ye have received are the baws of the church and in this light hall ye hold them forth tor redress and redemption by the hands of those who ary placed as rulers and are in authority over you according to the laws and constitution of the people which I 1 nave suffered to be established and should be maintained for the rights und protection of all flesh according just and holy principles that every man may doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity according to I 1 ahe moral agency which 1 have givel unto them that every man mayba accountable for his own siny in the daj ui judgment therefore fore it is not right that any man should bo in bondage one to another and for this purpose have I 1 established the constitution ution of this land by the hands oi wise mea whom I 1 raised up unto this very purpose or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood only by persuasion by long suffering by gentleness and meekness and by love unfeigned captain ideas of power of a mormon bishop are as mistaken as his assertion that the bishop is appointed without the knowledge or consent of the people whose anaias he is co administer it is not true that he controls the occupancy of the land or fixes the allowance of water he has nothing whatever to do with either both are regulated by civil law land in utah is acquired and held by each in owner as elsewhere A much larger proportion of the inhabitants own the houses they dwell in and the land they till iban in any other part of the world and none of is held in common the title is vested in and may bo legally transferred at the bishop is not as captain informs the public thy chief functionary officer in the ho is a subordinate church and has no authority in affairs af pf state the water is not under his control by priority of diversion from its end do whose decisions are subject tp j dic ill revision water rights are matters of public record and of legal transfer in the settlement of newly opened districts some discipline and com of interests and co in labor are essential to success usually three practical denare selected and accepted by common consent as a bishop and his counselors to direct the affairs of the colony but the people who form the new settlement are not ordered there nor compelled by any force religions or otherwise to go there they mote of their own free will to better their condition and they appreciate the gratuitous advice and example of the experienced perien ced men who act as their leaders when occupying the public lands each mans acreage is determined by the colony usually in proportion to the amount of fencing he does for the common inclosure and his portion of water by the work he performs on the main canal dug for purposes of irrigation he obtains his land title from the national government and his water certificate from the local court there is no bondage in the system either of a bobial religious or political character that deserves the commendation men dation of every rational observer und would obtain the admiration of the world if properly understood the mormon system is a practical embodiment of the Thou love the lord thy god with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself it is not tolbo expected that arf imperfect mil perfectly live by a perfect principle but it is held them not merely as a sentiment to ami rebut aary commandment to obey a ard may reach by steady improvement therefore they are helpful to each other as well as worshipful to god and while each individual is owner of his own accumulations ions operation cooperation co for the general welfare is deemed a religious duty union is urged and mutuality of interests cultivated but the agency of each human being and his personal responsibility and accountability to god for his individual actions and the doctrine that the height of a muns eternal glory will be proportionate to his elevation and perfection of character are made the spur to his achievements and not any priestly force or lurid terrors or threats of present or prospective torment mormon operation cooperation co is voluntary mormon union is that of common belief and purpose and oneness of spirit and intent it is strange that people who have no words of admiration too strong for the christian injunction to unity ones a matter of sentiment should find fault with the cormons mormons and think them unworthy of the blessings of free government because they endeavor to carry those injunctions into actual overy day life captain button admits that here is no enforcement in the strict sense of the word that force is not necessary and that it would not be employed if it were and yet he talks of the arbitrary and capricious rule of a dictator and declares that suffrage is a farce and that the mormon is told by his bishop for whom no must vote and he obeys it is evident that the gallant officer like nearly every non mormon who writes on tuis subject advances his own theories ur repeats what he hs been told in relating what he has seen and explaining what he really understands lo 10 one will dispute with aim that large communities and im interests can be safely regulated only by fixed laws which must ibave the stable character of statutes ahey have neater been regulated otherwise in the territory of utah and bould not be under the government jt the proposed state the statute books are the witness of the feist as the constitution recently offered to congress gives proof of the other the gent lemans attempts to explain the establishment and decease of the united order to which he has added the ancient name of genoch tE is to oo 00 classed with his other endeavors u enlighten the public on something he dous not comprehend himself some years ago societies under the name of the united order were organized in a few settlements on the principle of communal labor the wealth land labor and capital were not as he asserts to become ahe property of the church and to bo managed at its discretion each boci efcy managed its own property and was a distinct organization when these societies disbanded the land reverted to its original owners and each shareholder received his proper proportion of the assets no general bankruptcy ever occurred in the history of utah and it is doubtful it any one but captain button over beard or thought of such a catastrophe on examination appears gent lemans objections to the adais son of utah as a Sta teare iff thai condition which he describes as the I 1 result of the establishment of the united order He ably had no intention to misrepresent he has given the cormons mormons Mor mons who have undertaken the movement for statehood due credit for sincerity Bince rity ho bays quite probably they are filling to make large promises to secure independence and with every intention to keep them he also admits in effect that the polygamy question a mountain in the eyes of the public is but a molehill in reality which the monogamous cormons mormons Mor mons who hold the the political power in der taken to dispose of if his supposed union of church and state solf perpetuating hierarchy land distributing bishops surrender of real arid personal property to the church etc fare myths and there jb not a community of |