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Show that's Wrong With Siormons? UU 1 II 1 IL 2 UUU VUUte of Mormons hospi,adiformelltal . By TED FISH (Note: This is the second of two columns dealing with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Please read "What's Right With Mormons," which appeared on page 3 of Friday's Chronicle.) There is a definite radical element in the Mormon Church; the church tends to attract people from other faiths who are restless, dissatisnea wim the status quo, and out to change things. The Mormons were driven to Utah largely because of political activity in j Missouri and Illinois and the fear it en-' en-' gendered; they're still at it today. The , Prophet Joseph Smith was an active i candidate for the Presidency of the United Un-ited States when assassinated, in fact. Once in Utah they showed their love ff for their fellow man by the Mountain Meadows Massacre and by otherwise centage of Mormons hospitalized for mental v and residing at Point of the Mountain (Utah State lv1 Mormon mental patients occupy more tha )' share of hospital beds. That they do not account il than 40 per cent of prisoners at Point of the M while comprising 75 per cent of the whole popmatin'11 be explained by the presence of other penal mS in the state (figures not available) by the fact Wasatch Front is only 40 per cent LDS, and by th , I the ' ency to cover up crimes committed in rural MoW munities, a tendency which also drives otherwk11 0In' Latter-day Saints away from the church because of otherwise good Mormons do and condone. wllat Growth Not As Rapid Nor is the church growing as rapidly now as a few years ago. Though they outnumber non-Morm W3S the University 2 to 1, and have greater unity th 3t 2,200 of them are returned full-time missionaries gh though they hold many positions of leadership and rp sibility, and are highly honored; even with all the?!! vantages, they are only averaging around ten con baptisms a month. ver(- If the basis for the Mormon Church is true the and all shortcomings in the church can be attribute,?? human failure, the failings of its members on an indivM basis. If it is true, it is the greatest thing since the rn of Christ. onun8 If it is true, why aren't Mormons at the Univewih, of Utah doing more about it? It would seem that th have a definite obligation to, as bespoken by their scripture: "Behold, I sent you out to testify and the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor." n Mormons don't appreciate what they have. What happens when a hold, Resenting Re-senting constituents who don A cent of a or those of his church? tssuppose v county's populace favors Liqu or by the slature is a suppose their represen aove -tc .the state 1 g former stake president, and he eiv President McKay urging him not to support u 4 Drink. A Few Failures What does he do? 5,qont3 He can either fail to represent his county's residents (or state's on a national level) or act agains counsel Either way he isn't apt to be reelf he church send counsel he can always come home and let the church senu him on a misson, however. niaA onH The average Mormon tends to be smug, conceited and self righteous to feel he has all the answers and is "saved " He knows, for example that Negroes are denied the priesthood, and immediately draws the conclusion l that they are inferior; and thereby substantiates the claim made by non-Mormons, who have an excuse not to know any better because they aren't members - that the Mormon Mor-mon people are racist. Obligated To Investigate Mormons are obligated to investigate, to know enough of their own religion and of truth in general to enable them to exercise their free agency, which demands this. All Mormons fail in this occasionally; many do constantly. They fail to drink deeply of knowledge, and come up with a dangerous situation: the possession of a little knowledge. And their free agency has been described as the right to choose whether to obey or go to hell. If you judge a tree by its fruit, then Utah's high suicide rate is significant. Also noteworthy is the per- Ted Fish openly defying federal law however unjust to the point that it was deemed necessary to send an army here to crush it; it was this defiance which postponed post-poned Utah's admission to the union until 1896. Today the church is dominated by a man in his nineties, nine-ties, which may or may not be a good thing. Simply by deeming something a moral question it becomes part of his domain which also may or may not be good. Every Member A Missionary The members of the church in turn dominate the state's economy, government and society. Since they are for the most part highly affluent, and pay a tithe of ten per cent of their gross, this in turn adds to the overall power and influence of the church. |