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Show TABERNACLE DISCOURSES. There were two more or less notable speakers at Ihc tabernacle somces of the Mormon church on Sundny aflcr-noon aflcr-noon Apostles David 'O. McKay and Anthony W. Tvins. While these gentlemen gentle-men are comparatively young in t'hc quorum of apostles, the first is regarded as possessing a mind of somewhat fine texture, and the second is looked upon as being ono of Hard common sense, softened soft-ened by respect for things religious. The utterance of cither in his respective and special sphere usually commands some attention, as neither is of the old typo of hicrarchial ranter of strident stri-dent lone and reckless tongue. With respect lo one mattor treated by Apostle McKay, we find him reported report-ed as follows in the local morning organ or-gan of the church hierarchy (although our own report contains precisely (he same matter in effect, we quote a church publicist so as not to be accused of having "garbled" the apostle)-: 1.1c was Impressed by this spirit as artcctlng our social life, ho said, recently recent-ly durlnp the prohibition campaign, whon the strongest argument made against tho movement was that It would hurt business. "What a bnso argument." Iip exclaimed, "to insist that this business should be carried on becnuso It perhaps benefited some people ilnanr.lally, no matter mat-ter how many homes were broken up. women's virtue ruined and children left fatherless!" As pertaining to the moral indignation indigna-tion of Apostle Me, Kay in this mattor, we have, a sprmnn from high Mormon authorit- to quote, and an incident in Mormon community life to relate, which are particularly pertinent. At the sixty-eighth annunl conference confer-ence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held in the tabernacle taber-nacle in April, 18flS. President Joseph F. Smith preached a sermon. Tt was on the sixth of the month the anniversary anniver-sary of tho organization of the church. He mado extended reference to those whom he sarcastically dubbed "pious Mormons," who had been complaining at the inconsistency of tho practice of the 7j. O. M. I. of selling wines and olhcr intoxicating beverages,' in face of the pretended belief in tho "word of wisdom" as promulgated by the, church. It must be remembered that the Z. C. M. T. is the chief mercantile institution of tho church, presided over-and controlled con-trolled by tho higher church authorities. authori-ties. The complainants, Mr. Smith sliid, had peevishly called attention to the fact that liquor was sold "under Ihc symbol of the all-seeing eye and the sacred words, 'Holiness to the Lord.' " Upon that occasion, as is indicated in-dicated by the official report of the conference con-ference on file at the church historian histo-rian 'a ofricc, .loseph F. laid himself out to ,dorido what he deemed to be the thin-skinned and straight -laced piel-y of his complaining brethren. He even wont so far as lo accuse thorn of sneaking sneak-ing into the 'A. C. M. 3. drug department depart-ment 'under cover of night" to besot themselves of liquor in. tho blind-ligcr-likn quietude that the institution afforded. af-forded. As a ruin, -loseph F. is serious if not somber in his speech and even sometimes violently self-righteous but upon this particular, occasion he diverted divert-ed to the humorous and became toyingly flippant at the-expense of his brethren of the hypocrite, squad, ns ho appeared to view them. "Has it over injured me," he exclaimed with a twinkling rising inflection in his voice, "in nny sonsc of the word, because Z. C. M. T. drug store, kopt liquor for sale?" And speaking of the surreptitious guzzler of Mormondom, coupled with the habit of the entorririsiug Z. C."'M. I. of clandestinely clandes-tinely supplying sanctified satisfaction of his .burning thirst. Joseph F. he of the financial thrift mess explnined that "If he could not got it there, ho would not patronize Z. C. M. I. at all, but would go somewhere clso to deal." "What a base argument," repeating Apostle McKa", "to insist that this business should be carried on because it perhaps benefited some people financially!" finan-cially!" And now as lo (ho incident in Mormon Mor-mon community life which furnishes ouc example of certain evil offects described by Apostlo McKay. It was only Inst summer that Blder Alpha J. Higgs and ho is but one in many hundreds of like criminals plunged his family into the ruin deplored by. Sunday's speaker at the tabernacle, lie was engaged en-gaged as right-hand man to .Joseph F. Smith iu the publication of Tho-Improvement Era. an organ of the Mormon church pretendodly intonded to clovato the youth of Zion. and whose motto is "The Glory of God Is Intelligence." In the office was Miss Bessie Badger, omploj-cd as stenographer. Elder Higgs was a married man, nnd possessed of a splendid wife and beautiful family. But that fact weighed nothing as against tho '.' revelations of God to Joseph Jo-seph Smith." So, to put it briefly, ho married the girl in new polygamy as his protended second wife, and then rail away with lior to Canada. To imitate imi-tate Elder McKay's apt description of effect, Biggs broke up his home, he ruined tho virtue of Bessie Badger and ho left his children fatherless. And thcro are hundreds in the Mormon church just like him. Not all of them havo been found out, and under that circumstance the legal wives suffer in silence; the homes aro practically broken bro-ken up under suppression of sentiment; the virtue of tho women dragged into tho polygamous filth has been ruined; Ihc children arc practically left fatherless father-less because tho criminal scoundrel who is tho author of their being devotes all his alfontion to his latest and presumably presum-ably (at least to his perverted eye) more attractive conjugal acquisition. Yet. there is nothing done about these things bj the church, nor no apostles set up in tho tabernacle to declaim against them. Referring to Apostlo Tvins, it seems that he spoke principally upon doctrinal doctrin-al matters. But he Uttered a fatuity that should bo noted. He declared that he had read many books, but that he had never found one to brcatho so much of Christ and Christianity as does the Doctrine and Covenants of the Mormon church. Let us sec, as an instance. The teaching of Christ and Christianity is: "Take heed and do not treacherously against the wife of ly j'outh." Mala chi, iii, 15. And, "Whosoever putlcth away his wife, except it bo for fornication, forni-cation, and marriet h another, committcth adultery." Matthew, xi.w, I). And in order to establish this general Christian sontiincnt out of a work which undoubtedly undoubt-edly Mr. Ivins regards quilo as highly as ho docs the New Testament, we quote from I he Book of Mormon, Jacob ii.. 21: "Behold. David and Solomon 1 rub-had rub-had many wives and t;oncubincs, which thing was abominable before me, saith tho Lord." Yet we find the following in the Doctrine and Covenants (in which Apostle Ivins pretends to find the most exalted exhibition of the spirit of Christ and Christianity): And If he a Mormon who has observed certain ordinances and regulations of the ehure.hl have ten virgins given unto him by this law ftho law commanding the practice of polygamy! he. cannot commit com-mit adultery, for they belong to him. and they arc given unto him, therefore he Is Justified. We said that. Apostle Tvins is regarded' re-garded' as a man of hard common sense, but in this instance, it seems to us, he failed to exhibit that quality. |