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Show II PEET'S REPLY TO WISHARD. fi Sthwwiflhnrd'B delayed answer tomy remarks in Truth of December 07 is received, and I am surprised to M ink that the great head and chief missionary of the Presbyterian church nf Idaho and Utah should make such false and uncalled for statements. Brother Wishard, you stated In your lottcr in Truth December 24, by infer-..ico infer-..ico that I belonged to the Mormon nuoriim, and that the lands I am sel!-I.1K sel!-I.1K are swamp lands, and in your let tcr to the Tribune, Jan. 27, you also state that I am in the editorial chair of the News, and that I am a now editor there. All of the above statements state-ments you know to bo absolutely false. II have never directly written an arti clo for the News or associated myself witli Its editor, although I consider the Deserot News one of the best edited ed-ited and the most independent newspapers news-papers In the- west, and I also consider Mr. Penrose, whom you try to slur, a very able, upright and honorable man You also distorted my letter in Truth of December 27. For the sake of argument ar-gument you said: "I shall be under the painful necessity of correcting my real estate friend in reference to his church history. Tho harrowing business of burning witches ho lays on the Westminster catechism and the Presbyterians of New England, beginning in Massachusetts in 1G37. He quotes as tho instigator of this awful business Rev. Increase Mather, a Presbyterian Pres-byterian minister. Unfortunately for this novice in church history now taking tak-ing his first lessons, Increase Mather was not a Presbyterian nor were -any of the Mathers. Nor were there any Presbyterians doing any work in Now England." As an answer to the above, I will quote to you from "Beginnings of New England." by J. Fisko, chapter 4, "Presbyterian "Pres-byterian Cabal and tho Cambridge Platform, 1C4G to 1G51," in which it said: "In England it was just the critl cnl moment of the struggle between Presbyterians and Independents which had come Into a complete issue of the great civil war, Vassal, Child and Maverick seem to have been tho loading load-ing spirits in a cabal for tho establishment estab-lishment of Presbytorianism in Now I I England. In 1G48 the work of the Synod wns embodied in the famous Cambridge platform which adopted the Westminster confession as to its creed carefully defined the powers of the clergy and declared It to bu tho duty of magistrates to suppress heresy. In 1G49 tho general court laid this platform plat-form before tho congregations. In 1G51 it was adopted and this event may bo regarded as completing tho theocratic organization of tho Puritan commonwealth In Massachusetts. Brother Wishard you can also find tho above in substance in "Tho Emancipation Eman-cipation of Massachusetts, chapter 3, by B. Adams;" also In C. Mather's "Magnalia Christ! Americana," book 5. part 2. And if you will look on page 124 in the history of American Presbyterians, by Charles A. Briggs, D. IX, you will find that both Increase In-crease and Cotton Mather were in Prisliytorian work; also on page 1G2 in the same histo-y you will find Cotton Cot-ton Mather reported as doing Presbyterian mission work. You fmeerinsly call mo a novice In church history and from ''ir standpoint I may be, but you will find that my statements and ';!).vings from history are correct, tried to sidetrack my statements j'"l make them appear in a false light ,,v giving a history of tho Presbyterian- I said nothing about tho Pres-'Merian Pres-'Merian organizations; I spoko entirely entire-ly of tho Westminster catechism and I said after it was adopted by tho K c lurches and courts tho awful work M hanging Quakers and Witches J "mmonced. I will now say that after "e damnable record of tho Wostmln- ster Catechism from 1G48 to 1G92, ami still later In 1829, tho Presbyterians adopted it as a whole, excepting certain cer-tain clauses that referred to civil magistrates. I will again-quoto from tho Westminster Catechism or the confession of faith of the Presbyterian Presbyte-rian Church. It is a revised, copyright copy-right edition of 1897, published by tno Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work, Philadelphia. i'ou will noto that it was published seven years after Wilford Woodruff's manifesto, and ono year alter Utah became a state. On page 20, chapter 3, verso 1, it says: "God lrom all eternity did, by his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatever comes to pass: yet so as thereby neither is God tho author of sin, noils noi-ls violence offered to tho will of the creatures, nor is tho liberty or con tingency of tho second causes taken away, but rather established." Verso 3, page 22. "By tho decreo of God for tho manifestation of his glory, somo men and angels aro predestinated unto un-to everlasting lifo and others foreordained foreor-dained to everlasting death." Verse 4. "These angels and men thus predestinated pre-destinated and foreordained are particularly par-ticularly and unchangeably designed and their number is so certain and definite that it can not bo cither increased in-creased or diminished." Pago 28, chapter 5, verso 1. "God, tho great creator of all things, doth uphold, direct, di-rect, dlsposo and govern all creatures actions, and things from tho groatost oven to tho least, by his most wise and holy providence, according ac-cording to lils Infallible foro knowledge, knowl-edge, and tho free and Immutable council of his own will to the praise of tho glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness and mercy." Page 57, verse 3: "Elect infants dying in infancy aro regenerated and 3aved by Christ through tho spirit, who worketh when, and where and how ho pleaseth, so also aro all other elect persons, who aro incapable of being outwardly called by tho ministry minis-try of tho word." Verso 4: "Others not elected, although thoy may bo called by tho ministry of the word, and may have somo common operation opera-tion of tho spirit, yet they never truly como to Christ, and therefore cannot bo saved." Now, Brother Wishard, tho above Is to mo very plain English and you cannot smother It with excuses or white-wash it with argument. Tho paragraph on Infants plainly states "Elect Infants" aro saved, others not elected cannot bo saved. You try to excuso your article' on God's eternal decreo by saying that "It was forged in tho heat of a great reformation and was aimed directly at tho Popo who claimed authority to bind or looso to send men to heaven or boll." Nero again I seo you have shifted ground, for all tho power that you say the Popo claimed you havo put in the hands of church officers, called "censures." "cen-sures." From page 129, chapter 30, In your confession of faith, I will quote as follows, verso 1: "Tho Lord Jesus as king and head of his church hath therein appointed a government in tho hand of church officers distinct from tho civil magistrate." Verso 2: "To these officers the keys of tho kingdom of heaven aro by virtue committed, whereof they have the power respectively respect-ively to retain and remit sins, to shut that kingdom against tho lmponltant, both by word and censures, and to open it unto penitent sinners by tho ministry of tho gospel and by absolution abso-lution from censures as occasion shall require." Now, Brother Wishard, when you toll a big falsehood about tho Mormons Mor-mons or give a real estate man's writings a false meaning, do you go to theso church officers and have your sins remitted? You say you would not'beliovo mo under oath when I stated I had heard preachers say that hell was paved with babies a span long, and yet you declaim in-lldels in-lldels havo talked It ever slnco tho reformation. You havo Infant damnation damna-tion plainly stated in your confession of faith and it wns tho subject of a paper at the Salt Lake Ministerial association as-sociation not long ago. It has been the subject of every Presbyterian assembly as-sembly for the last twenty years or more. In 1902 In your assembly ni I .os Angeles, Instead of throwing it out of your confession of faith, you tried to plaster It over with an explanation ex-planation or a better understanding of it and yet you claim that preachers never preach it; if they did thoy would bo guilty of heresy. Brother Wishard, you know as well as I that If you circulated tho Presbyterian articles ar-ticles of faith among your people as freely as the Mormons do their articles ar-ticles of faith, you would soon bo as short of church members us you aro of preachers. It Is no wonder you havo it copyrighted. 1 do not bellovo that one Presbyterian in 25 ever road It; I will call your attention to tho "Institutes," published by John Calvin, Cal-vin, tho great Presbyterian reformer. You will llnd In them that tho very foundation of all his logic Is forordi-nation, forordi-nation, predestination God's eternal decree, infant and eternal damnation. You also make tho false statement that I havo failed in leal estate. If you will go with mo to Bear IUver Valley next month I will show you a parly of newcomers from Ponnyl-vnnla Ponnyl-vnnla that your slanderous articles coulil not stop from coming and there is more to follow. Now, Brother WiBhnrd, I am com ing to something that makes ovory decent man and woman boil witli indignation. in-dignation. I linvo seen a hen in her beastly instinct kill all the little chickens chick-ens that she could that wore not hatched by her. I havo seen a great big bully in school and at play abuse and cuff children Hint were smaller than himself, but when it comes to a preacher who will tako advantage of a person's poverty and their humble calling, it Is infinitely worse. While in Nnnticokc, Pn on Jan. 28, I hud tho plensuro of being entertained by a good Presbyterian lady of .that city, who placed before mo tho Assombly Herald of October, 1904, tho official publication of the Presbyterian church of tho United States. In tbut magazine maga-zine was a picturo of ono of tho poorest poor-est country schools of Utah, and underneath un-derneath it was Inscribed "Public School in Utah. All Mormon Children. Chil-dren. What nn Opportunity for a Missionary;" In this picturo are many barefoot boys in overalls, others with calico sliirts and ragged clothes. Many of tho girls have on coarse shoes and homc-mndo dresses and aprons of all styles. Tho teacher In the rear of tho picturo looks like a bright, conscientious conscien-tious woman. This picturo is an attempt at-tempt to slur tho public schools of Utah, and make tho peoplo In tho Eust bellovo tho only good thnt comes to Utah Is through tho orthodox missionaries. mis-sionaries. Any preacher or publication publica-tion that will hold up tho children of a country school to derision and rid-leulo rid-leulo because of their clothes or ro-ligion ro-ligion beforo tho wliolo world will do anything Hint Is low, or mean. Brother Broth-er Wislfard, don't you know Hint In tho little group of children your papor is trying to ridlculo may bo a futuro president of tho United States? Have you forgotten that Abraham Lincoln did not havo an opportunity to go to a school oven as good as tho ono you picturo? That his clothes woro homespun home-spun and ho had no shoos for- his feet? Havo you forgotten that President Grant worked In a tanyard, and wheeled "sklvlngs" and his early education edu-cation was limited? Did you not seo tho picture of James A. Garfield as a barofoot boy driving mules on tho tow-path? Havo you forgotten that Jesus tho Savior of Men, whom you pretend to worship, was born in a manger whore tho ass and tho cow received their nourishment? What would you think of tho orthodox Jow j 'H who would picturo tho birth of tho -H ninn of sorrows and hold him up to - .H derision before tho world? Brother ; jH Wishard, in this Assembly Herald of JH October, 1903, are two moro pictures; 31 tho first is ono of John L. Lclllch's '''lH pictures of "a Mormon homo." It rl represents one of the poorest log , tjH bouses that can be found in Utah. The I 'fl H next picturo is tho "Interior of a 'iH Mormon home;" this Is probably the i pcoresl room Hint could bo found in 1' all Utah. It represents tho baro walls iH of logs, the rude table and a mother 4H sitting holding a llttlo boy on her i'iH A preacher has no moro right to ' , ridicule that poor mother In her pov '-ill orty or the little boy nestled on ber 11 breast (ban ho has to scoff nt the J!H wifo and baby of a king cradled in ' jjfjH the lnp of luxury. As I look at these j .IH pictures I ask myself, Is llicro no heights or depths or limits Hint a ' lH preacher will not go to further his re- , iH llglous persecutions nnd hatred? This ilMH rude bouse and room is this poor i'HH woman's castle nnd any man who 9H would try to deny her that right i ilH Is a llend. I took dinner onco in u j .1 sod house in Cairo, Nobrnskn. The ijg family occupying It were Methodists lH who ennio from Pennsylvania a fow '- years before. Tho father and man of ir JjH this sod houso was a kind, consclcn- . $1 Hons, honest Christian man, ono of li'lH tho best I over met. Ills wlfo was a , 'fH good mother nnd n hard-working ' lH Christian woman who worked with ''SH her husband to get this sod house jf'l home. What would you think of n 1 f- Mormon who would tako a photograph of this sod houso and exhibit It to j ,v. tho world as a Methodist homo in 1 'Vl Nebraska? You would sny that the i'KI people of Nebraska would mob him Wl for lils damnahlo meanness. This i tfl family graduated from tho sod houso j Sl nnd now own a good farm nnd homo f'ftl in Bear Uiver Valloy and aro pros- fl-'ll porous. I havo been In dugouts in rJII Knnsns nnd I found in them just ns 'lulH good Christians nnd kind peoplo as Hill over lived in nn up-to-date Prcsbyto- iiltl Han parsonngo. B.-othor Wishard, it infeH Is an nxium, a self-ei ident truth, Hint Pjil a story half told Is tho meanest kind "jll of n lie. You or your paper pictured Ivffl to tho world ono of tho poorest schools 'V1 you could find nnd denominated it a wl Utah school. If you woro honest. wy i I'l did you not picture by Its sldo ono of "il Utah's best schools, one of our high LiHI schools or universities or colleges Sl and show tho evolution our students H'':l must havo gone through passing from Jll ono to the other. You pictured out if&l ono of tho meanest houses in all Inll Utnli and called It a "Mormon homo." full If honesty wns your aim, why did you ril not picturo by its sldo tho Bco Hlvo r'lH or tho Pccry or McCuno mansions, liill nnd let tho peoplo of tho world know ll'ftl of tho great change Hint has taken ? j 'M placo In Utah? Brother Wishard, , don't you know thnt tho lady of ono W fl of tho finest Mormon mansions in j Salt Lake onco lived In a very poor Iv'll houso and made doby (adobo) brick and sho succeeded in hor work be- f 'l cnuso sho did it cheerfully and mado lilfl good brick. And I want to say to llofl every Mormon boy nnd girl, "What- 'mII soever thy hand flndcth to do, do It liffl with thy might;" whether It Is on Ifil your knees thinning sugar boots or IfII feeding calves or making dog bis- Ivl cults, do your work cheerfully, do it IniI well and don't bo afraid you will work Hfll overtime. Thcro is always somothing inlll bolter, a suro reward ahead for such iHI a boy or girl. No matter if somo fHI preacher holds up your school and HKI liumblo homo to ridicule, or distrlb- ISI utcs devil fish pamphlets, giving ten tfll reasons why ho won't 'ellowshlp with Ml you. Improve every nutc, do your 1)11 work woll and bo k id, and your re- Hl ward is just as suro as any Presby- ill tcrlan or Methodist that over lived. ' BH Brother Wishard, I will quote somo , . i ) a of tho cholco passages of somo of the IJ.r Hovorcnd writers of tlio Assembly Si Herald: Mt "Tho cnlllng of Christians 'Gen- HI tiles' indlcntcs the attlUulo of Mor- HI inoiiB to the Church universal. It H is nn Irreconellablo antagonism. Wo HI; aro familiar with tho ostracisms and HI persecutions endured by our mission- Ha arles nnd teachers, but It may not bo Htt Kcnorally known that thero Is n stato HJTj: in our Union whoro tho free-born son Hnj ( f America Is unwelcome nnd hatod. HJf 'A Gentile doctor,' snld a Salt Lalco H City jihyslclan to me 'would, outside HI of Utah's two cltlo3, starvo to death.' " HI: IIoio Is another snyiiij; of a prench- HI nr who uttcniled tho Tabcrnaclo and HM this Is what ho says of tho people ho HH saw there: HB "They seemed to bo ropulslvo In H appearance, alwnys ready to laugh and HB nicer nt tho Gentiles, when allusions HH to them wcro mndo, nnd who woro re IHl forred to as liars, murdorcrs nnd HB Ihloves, nnd everything contemptible. II; They were even guilty of Insulting Bi rtrangors nt tbolr services, whom they 1 1 thought woro Gentiles. "Tho religion they teach tho worn-I worn-I on Is that tho birth of each child roll ro-ll leases a soul from purgatory, nnd 1 I Ives It a chnnco of sulvntlon. R : "An ox-governor of tho Stato told I, ub, that only by bringing from tho 1 fort which overlooks tho city flvo ft hundred soldiers nnd many cannon I! they could bo prevented from having I i'j pnrndo on July third, lnstcnd of on I .Inly fourth, ns nn Insult to tho United M Rtntcs. For doing this, ho received letters written In blood, threatening K his ussnsslnation. Ho told us they aro tlio blachest spot on tho Amoricnn ' civilization, and thnt this ennker of corruiillon Is rapidly spreading." Hj Here aro n few cholco selections from tho pen of Uov. S. 13. "Wlshnrd: B A labor In dnrkest Utab. H Heed Smoot protects criminals. H Kvery Mormon womnn Is subjugntpd Bj; nnd conipollcd to accept polygamy. Bj I huvo tho nnnies or thirty Mormons 1 who hnvo tnkon plurnl wives slnco m! Iteed Smoot belongs to a society E : Hint murdered apostnlcs to savo their Bi Uov. Wlshnrd udvortlscs Idnbo by 1 5 "Our Knstcirn commtmltlos', with II Iholr long eslnbllshcd cburchos, Sub-! Sub-! hiith-schools, prnyor meetings nnd fro 11 iiuent vlsitntions of tho Holy Spirit, I '.. bavo no realization of tho doath chill I 1 that bns fallen on theso frontier I ' towns. They can not understand tho ; perils Into which their sons nnd I dnughters como." I Mormonism is ono of tho dnrkost 1 1 systoms of paganism on earth. I I Ought not tho church to givo her I sympnthy, prnyors, monoy nnd her m f sons and daughters. WW And now, Hrothor Wlshnrd, I want Hk to say In conclusion thnt you and tho ffif Hovs. John L. T.clllch, Dr. Pndon, ijl Uov. D. J. McMillan, Uov. lico. Ualloy EiC nnd n fow others huvo slandered tho BP' Hon. Ucod Smoot, n mnn elected by r. tUo people of Utah to tho United ffi States Sonnto; a mnn whoso chnrnc-Br chnrnc-Br t( r, homo life nnd reputntlon Is ns Hh puro ns thnt of nny preacher that ever Bfij decorutod a pulpit, You huvo dragged nf' his naino all over tho United States ff aid nttnehed to It from two to live jar wives; you havoaccusod him of near-Mi. near-Mi. ly every crlmo In tho decaloguo; you Bj! havo caused tho fair name of Utab L to bo hissed at from nearly every ptil-u; ptil-u; pit In tho lnnd; you have pictured M( our homes ns hovels and our schools fr as mean nnd lnsulllclent; you snld m fur teachers woro nntlpodlan, and m 0 initiated by priest craft; you bavo fb I: suited every Mormon womnn In W' I tab and cast ropronch on our young hi i an and maldons; you havo pictured & Utah as a blight on this i'nVn.n In w t' o shapo of a hideous loo1 dovll V r sli; you havo greatly bloc- tho v icels of interstate commerco, fright- V 'HHHkr oncd away capital and hindered Immigration; Im-migration; you aro tho chief cause of over 300 vncant houses In Salt Lake City; you hnvo held up tho Mormon bugaboo In other states when you should havo been preaching tho gospol In Utah; you havo caused neighbour to rise up ngalnst neighbour, and hard and bitter strife in many places; instead of beating "Spears Into I'runlng-hooks;" you havo beaten prunlng-hooks Into spears and vou havo done It all In tho name of him who said, "nicssed aro tho peaco-mnkcrs, for they shall bo called tho children of God." Brother Wlshnrd, Wlsh-nrd, if you intend to reply to this, don't wait three or four weeks, ns you did In nnswering my last letter, for I am going to be very busy bringing bring-ing settlers Into 13ear Itlver Valley, and will not havo much tlmo to reply. Yours very truly, V. S. PEET. Salt I.ako City, Fob. 14, 1905. |