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Show I KILL THE GRAFT Editor Tribune- So far as I can discover, dis-cover, and I have visited the meetings of tho Saints in many allien, the Mormons Mor-mons of Utnh. and certain Mormon settlements set-tlements in- Idaho and Wyoming, aro about the only communities that pay any tithing. 1 doubt if there Is a ward or stake In America outside of the places named lhat Is much more than self-supnorting. self-supnorting. So far ns 1 can- discover the only places where tithing is exacted are where the saints arc very numerous and where the "church" Is master of the engines and Implements of persecution. persecu-tion. Some good I "lab saints, very much In fact, pay tithing as a matter of religious re-ligious conviction, some pay as a matter of policy, ond some puy because they are afraid of the persecution that will follow If they cease .to pay. In the wards and stakes outside of Utah and outside of the Mormon settlements In Idaho anil Wyoming thero Is very little talk about tithing ami tlihing Is not a cardinal .doctrine. .doc-trine. Tho present church has two religions; re-ligions; the one taught In flab and the one taught elsewhere. In tlie Utah religion, re-ligion, polygamy, counsel, obedience and tithing are cardinal doctrines. In the brand oC Mormonlsm preached and taught In tho mldsc of Genllle environment nothing noth-ing is said about counsel, obcdloncc or tithing, and polygamy is ncvor mentioned If possible to avoid it. but if the fubjeet does como up the elders say thai polygamy polyg-amy Is no longer taught or practiced or believed in by the priesthood or members of the church and the manifesto ls referred re-ferred lo as an authoritative statement of the church to- that effect. From these facts, the conclusion I wish to draw Is this: That tho saints or I'tah are taxed by fltbing. Inforced donation1;, dona-tion1;, dues, contributions and other grafts, while the saints of other places pay nothing except what Ihey wish to give. Tithing in I" tab ls not a voluntary volun-tary contribution: It ls largely Inforced lav Outside of L'tnh and Mormon settlements set-tlements nearby there is no tithing. Tlie saints of the other places will not submit sub-mit to It and the priesthood cannot uso boycotts, "casting oir or other persecution persecu-tion lo infnrcc tithing. The so-called saints of oilier places are far more Independent In-dependent tl.nn the l.'lah saints and they ore handled far mora considerately by the priesthood. So far as I can learn practically no financial aid Is given to any ward or stake by the church, that is. by the custodians of tbo tithing barrel. If tho congregation of saints In any city cannot can-not afford to build a meeting house they can rent a barn. In some eases loans are made to wards ond stake... out of the tithing barrel loans, not donations. These loans are never made unless the stake Is In such a condition that repayment repay-ment is a certainly. Tho preaching I. done sometimes by I'tah elders, who fre-(piontly fre-(piontly happen lo lie In tho ilnii..,. and sometimes by local elder? or jnom-ber jnom-ber of tbe congregation None of these congregations possess the same faith cohesion co-hesion and sincerltN as are found In Utah congregations. "Backsliding," or to bo more technical, apostacy, as It Is called in Utah, Is very common. It requires re-quires great "Inbor" on the part of the Utah missionaries to fill the places made, vacant bv tho backsliders. The testimony testi-mony of Joseph F. Smith in the Smoot trial concerning polygamy nearly disrupted dis-rupted every Mormon, congregation In America outBldo of Utah. The present recrudesence of polygamy in btab Is another stumbling block In the way of tho elders. Now all this naturally suggests the question, what la done with llio tithing collected from the Utah salnW? It Is not used In establishing churches, hccauHo every congregation must furnish Its' own church. It Is noL used In sending out missionaries, mission-aries, because every missionary must pay his way. It Is not used In helping the poor, because be-cause each ward takes care of Its own poor. . It Is not used for any plan or purpose that aids the church as a church as fat-as fat-as anv man has yet been able to discover. dis-cover. It Is not used for charity, nor for education nor for philanthropic purposes. What becomes of the tithing? How much money was spent In planting plant-ing colonics in Mexico to furnish havens for fugitive polygamistsV What profit, benefit or satisfaction does the ordinary saint, who is not a polygamlst. and docs not believe In polygamy, derive from these polygamy towns? Do tho young Mormons, lo whom polygamy Is an abomination, abom-ination, enjoy contributing money to maintain thecs colonics? How much money Is talcen from the tithing barrel to pay princely salaries to favorites and relatives of the revoht-tor revoht-tor who are conhcctcd with pricsthojd enterprises? , , , How much tithing money has been lost In bad and blundering Investments: How much profit, blessing or benefit does an ordinary llthc-paylng saint derive de-rive from Joseph F. Smith's sugar sloes', or Salt comptuiy stock or . C. M- I-stock I-stock or bank slock? Aro not all these stoclcs and Investments for the personal benollt of the higher priesthood? There are SOO.nnp saints and only three or four custodians of the tithing barrel. Three hundred thousand tithe-payers and only a few tithe-caters! What argument Is advanced In favor of tithing? Only tills: The revelation savs thai, you shall pay tithing for tho support of the priesthood, but It docs not contemplate a "mllllonalro" priesthood. It coniomplatcs nothing more than a do-cent do-cent and sufficient support, and if that priesthood becomes luxurious, covetlon-i. gree'dy and a devourcr of widow's house's, tithing should stop. If the tithing fund were really used for tho bciiellL of the church as a church, that Is, to spread the gospel and perform charities. It would be a matter of great pride for the custodian of tho tithing barrel to render a report But the contrary con-trary sterns o be the ense. A truo report might kill the graft. V.-ry truly yours. NKPIII 'A. WILLIAMS. Homer. Colo, February 10. ,1!U0. |