| Show D DIALOGUE between elder freeman and a visitor continued elder freeman you ask air if r families f were once organized on these thee peculiar principles would civil governments be beneficially improved and peace order and harmony be secured by itt it now in answer to your question tion I 1 must say that family government is not designed to supercede supersede super cede the necessity of civil government because different families in their intercourse with each other will require a common umpire to settle apparent or real differences among them hence a legislative body whose duty it shall be to make and administer laws and judge in all difficult matters that may arise is necessary in addition to the government vested in families but corrupt and disorderly conduct in families tends to insubordination in the civil government when cataline catalina sought to overthrow the roman government by a conspiracy sp iracy he bribed sad and corrupted the yung young men as the fittest tools to bring about bis bill purpose if the latter day saints over ever succeed in erecting a good and permanent civil government they expect to prepare the way for it by a wholesome and orde orderly r ay arrangement of families if children chil dien at an early and tender ago age cannot be trained into affectionate subordination to their own parents wb are their most moat affectionate and proper guardians can any subsequent training make them loy i al subjects to civil rulers but the orderly and congenial union of the P parents parts in matrimony must precede the harmony and loyalty of their children it esthe is the design f all gods true people to jay the axe at the root of every ul 91 regulated institution and govern government meaL Vi visitor altor I 1 lave have always heard that your people guard the institution of marriage with much rigor ri go r and strictness eld F yes sir air and every approach to it V do you think that your people will ever be brought to submit tolt RIX FU V F 91 I 1 thick hi 16 th 6 JI all thai ht h t truly desire god to set up his kingdom upon the earth in the same flame righteous and permanent order that exists in heaven will most cheerfully submit every true patriot will submit with dew delight V well mr freeman I 1 roust must acknowledge that your system of domestic sad aad civil government merits some attention hot but I 1 fear fea you will have a tremendous struggle to bring it about I 1 believe in what is called a supreme law no government can be kept together which does not acknowledge such a law and veril verily y I 1 believe it it is so as noc necessary eson for the higher classes to believe in the existence of such a law as welt well as the ale blans or common people but bat how in the world can you yoo get a lot of high spirited women and all their various children with such a number of ser 1 and handmaidens hand maidens as they must necessarily have haie in hi order to perform menial duties du ties to those women and chi children Wren and the husband aa and d f father althe r of those children en to ou submit buitt this puzzles me ill assure you eld F yes and I 1 presume to say ay that it paz pax aled abraham many days and nights before he got a family consisting of three or four hundred persons to obey him and keep righteous laws be f fore ore god but the old gentle gentleman mais had bad strong inducements du cements to do his bis best bad nd god promised to help him if he would make diligent dill gent efforts effo to bring it ith bout I 1 V well mr freeman if abraham presides over subjects as numerous as an the stars stan of heaven all emanating from tha family of wives and concubines and servants ac r is he be not virtually their king and what further farther need of any civil government in Us his casell ease eld F if his posterity were as numal numerous rous as an an all the families of the united inq states and he presided over them still he might find it necessary to have a cabinet of chosen meu to assist him and a congress to legislate reserving to himself the right to endorse or veto their bills bids at discretion V yes exactly so the old gentleman had bad a round around share sham of domestic troubles ill warrant perhaps more than is left on OIL record for our perusal 1 I I 1 eld F the hottest of the battle sir must first be felt around the family hearth owing to strong external prejudices and the vinal ble fal false bra traditions di tio no Who wAw these are conquered I 1 half the battle is won besides sir dr family order must awl be maintained else we may totally aud and forever despair of establishing any civil government the there is no government whatever so easily established and maintained as aft the family government the 1 lawful subjects are in their flair nature bahm and relation tio of immediate consanguinity more pliable passive and submissive to patriarchal rule ride than to 14 any other rule rub or oi authority that can be named the husband has claims upon his wives and the father has claims upon his his own offspring such as do not exist in nay any form foria of civil government if union order and loyalty cannot be secured in the family in what aird organization can they be w e cured amr V mr freeman the question with me is whether a plurality plara lity of wives with their diverse children will harmonize in ow one common husband eld F if they wont harmonize sir air then the it is cue case that there is so BO domestic or civil institution that ever will families organized on any other principle than that of abrahams never did harmonize and civil governments emanel ing from any other description of family order have been fluctuating ww mid disorderly revolution has succeeded revolution and one kingdom demolished moli shed another and one form of government has supplanted another and still till the changes are going forward V I 1 am satie satisfied fied that there are many faults fault and weaknesses appertaining to every form of government that has ever been devised by man absolute lute despotism limited monarchy aristocracy and democracy have all been tried and yet there is something wanting in all of them diem but still I 1 think that almost any of these them governments would answer a very good purpose if the people were virtuous and upright eld F I 1 think sir air it is in indeed very desirable that both rulers and their subjects should be virtuous and upright but that alone is not sufficient even to make a family or a civil government happy or united you must radd one other quality and that to is intelligence intelligence sir air must most pervade every well organized government domestic or civil from the presiding head and ruler down to the lowest menial I 1 V I 1 have always thought it highly nw nari necessary ri to laass disseminate s seo m i n n te i intelligence n and learning among aill S c classes e of f people p e 0 pl e eld F intelligence and learning sir air only increase the facilities of wicked people to become wore more wicked and ultimately prove a curse to them V then you do not think thick it wise to disseminate learning promiscuously among the multitude irrespective of their moral qualifications do you eld F I 1 did not say that exactly it may be well to give people intelligence sufficient to prove them whether they will make a good use of it or not V when men man have been proved and it is palpably certain that they will make a wicked and perverse use of it what is to be done eld F why withhold the light from them of course you iron wouldn t put pistols and razor razon into to the bands h do of a servant or ovea even of a child who gives Itu disputed evidence that he would use un them la III order to destroy your own life or the life of his mother and sisters would you I 1 V I 1 suppose then that you would impart knowledge according to the good use made of it and with withhold bold it when it had bad been badly used eld agod our heavenly father the wisest of all upon this plan vo V I 1 find that the good and bad are mixed up together among all nations and communities and often in the same families and how bow can you govern them when this is the case I 1 eld F excuse a momentary all absence muce and I 1 will answer this question after my m Y return I 1 hope to your satisfaction |
