Show THE MORMON MENACE increasing influence of the latter day saints among english youths and girls by our special commissioner A letter from yo ye editor nornan lee received tuesday brought tile the following which is a clipping from the manchester chronicle Cron Croul icle cle and will v ill doubtless prove interesting reading as it blics some ideas of how tho tha treats tile the mormon question in far oft off england elder lee is greatly en enjoying joving ill his labors arid and thinks liverpool one of the most delightful places to live he has et visited his health is now DOW restored and lie he is feeling splendid here is tile the clipping with quiet persistence and unobtrusive persuasion persua tion the cormons mormons who have their headquarters in liverpool are winning over large numbers of young men and girls in this country to mormonism and converts from various parts of the country are regularly being sent to salt lake city occasionally the attention of 0 the public is called to the missionary work or of the lie cormons mormons by the discord caused in an all english home but atter after a paragraph and maybe an all indignant letter ot of protest in ill the press the subject I 1 is forgotten and the liverpool liners continue to transport young people to the state of utah last week considerable resentment was aroused in liverpool religious circles by the publication of the case of 0 a young and attractive girl who was employed as a typist at a manufactory in the city she was a member of 0 a presbyterian church but came under the influence of the lat ter day saints and she was L baptized according to their rites against the wishes of her mother but for one case cae that comes coines to light there are hundreds which are never heard outside the family circle the mormon inee meetings tings at liverpool are largely attended especially by women and the number of girls and young fellows affected by mormon teachings and doctrines is so large that ministers of ic ligion are beginning to realize that they are face to face with a subtle and powerful influence NEW BLOOD FOR FOP UTAH the abnormal activity of the mormon mon agents is open to several explanations pla nations but the most ingenious theory is one imparted to me by a liverpool clergyman an avowed able antagonist of the latter day saints sald said lie he the truth is that new alono is wanted in utah during recent deais wesleyann wesleyans Wesle and presbyterians rians hake hae enormously increased and on one or two occasions they have outvoted the cormons mormons Alor mons on important questions As a rule a new convell is an enthusiastic zealot and the oung men who are being sent to salt lake city are expected to strengthen r the hands of the TI mormon ormon ei elders and what about the young women I 1 asked it is certainly a disquieting feature that so many girls girl s should be embracing the 11 mormon ormon faith lie he ic ie plied the girls attracted to mormonism are invariably attractive 1 and of a susceptible age their theil heads are filled with all sorts of romantic rubbish with the result that they ghe up the church with which they have been associated since childhood in order to taste the mysterious delights of utah I 1 am al 11 inclined ined to agree with the minister mini ister quoted that personal influence rather than religious conviction gains converts to mormonism the mormon formon 1 agents in liverpool are hand some well dressed young fellows polite to tile the point of difference engaging to the lie extent of fascination to girls of front from 17 to 21 these gentlemanly missionaries who smile so sweetly and speak so softly s embody the ideas derived from the pages of a penny novelette tp and the prospect of an all entire city peopled by such eligible and des desirable liable young gentlemen is too much tor for the vanity of a pretty and emotional young girl who can see no wrong in a silk hat frock coat and manicured fingernails finger nails THE ELDER EXPLAINS in ill justice to the ilo imons however one cannot do less than present their side or of the case the head of the movement in europe is elder C W V peniese Pe and he emphatically denies that there has ever been any unpleasantness in it the matter of 0 the pretty who has thrown over presby terla nisin for the creed of brigham young joseph smith and co the young lady joined the latter day saints in the ordinary way and paid her own passage money he said she woula hae to do so because although there used to be a perpetual t emigration fanci it was stopped by the united states congress twenty five years ago we wa dont en outage emigration we want to keep our coave converts ts to build up our chuich here but they go out because of the super superior for advantages it is really laughable that all this fuss should be made over a case like this because one gill goes aiom Ller so bo ob ca the rov rev daniel H C bartlett im ill A when I 1 pointed out the arguments ef cf elder penrose but it is not a case or of one girl it Is a case of many gills and young men mr penrose says that the girl paid lier her own passage 1 I happened to know that tit the e mousy money v as advanced by some kind friend in the country it is a curious thing that when there was an agitation over the emigration of tile the sisters roe floe it was asserted then that the expenses had been paid by some kind hind friend A MAN IAN THE MORMONS FEAR I 1 the rev daniel D 11 C bartlett Is the one man whom tile the cormons mormons in Ller liverpool pool tear fear he lias has written pamphlets against their creed lie he has debated with their elders and ile he has regained many of their converts but even lie he confesses to a state oi of grae anxiety over the growth of the mormon influence in england he blames the shipping firms for the part they play in conveying mormon connetts concerts to america the number of girls affected in liverpool is astounding toun ding he rem remarked irked and sonic some business houses have made an attempt to cheek check the growth by discharging all girls who had embraced the faith of the latter day saints sainta mr bartlett assorts asserts that the mormon elders have insidiously sapped the christian faith of respectable girls by throwing doubts upon the very fundamentals of that faith doubts prompted hy by the misapplication of cleverly culled scripture texts and that they have taught pure english g girls that polygamy is in accordance cor dance with the divine laws and lime hae led them to ruthlessly snap every family tle tie how should you like a daughter 0 a sister of sours to bring up a L book like this he asked producing pro ducine what appeared to be a copy of the now new testament on the face or of it the book looks harmless enough but if you turn to the end ou find what are called ready references and these are made up of eleven pages of closely printed matter in support of polygamy you will find such statements as tills this for example the prohibition of polygamy is not only a prohibition of what nature permits in the fullest manner but what she requires tor for the reparation of states ex exhausted haLsted by war TEACHING POLYGAMY there you have the fact that girls and lads in liverpool who probably hitherto had never heard of polygamy are being taught texts to use in ia its defence I 1 drew mr bartlette attention to e fact that according to elder penrose a census taken two or three deais ago in salt lake city showed that there were only 73 7 persons living Ink in polygamy and that several of these had since died mr bartlett smiled and reaching down a book read the following in 1900 a mr roberts who had previously been sent as representative to congress admitted that there were mormon polygamous families now it if we count but two wives to each of these 1543 polygamists then there wore were in this little sect in 1900 ten ears after mr penrose says poly polygamy a was prohibited by his church at least cormons mormons living in pol polygamy As elder peniese was speaking of salt lake city with its population of and mr bartlett vis ais referring to th eState of utah with a population of moe mo e than the difference in the estimates Is easily explained but whatever the figures mr bit bartlett Dart lett was emphatic on the point of the practice of polygamy and quoted the declaration of one of the leaders of mormonism apostle M F cowley that the law of plural marriage is goil god given an aal as eternal as any law ever given by the father and any persons who a ae e afield to ad allocate adio locate cate its principles are not latter day saints SHOULD MORMONS BE EXPELLED that is the sort of thing snapped mr bartlett to which our young people are being sent by the hundred not so ho very nery long ago four noting men all of whom I 1 had prepared for confirmation english buths brought ill up in pure homes aged 17 20 20 and 22 respectively respect lely could sit down quietly in in my dining room and when I 1 reminded them that mormonism upheld polygamy could actually do level best even quoting texts from toe the bible to support such a practice and if in a few weeks such the otles could be inculcated inculcate tit in the minds of these boung men by contact with mormonism what guarantee have we that theory will not pud dud into practice I 1 have also met with many girls continued mr it bautlett Bait lett who accept US as true tile the maimon literature which teaches polygamy I 1 have argued with these girls in fit the presence of their parents and have persuaded tile them to loot look up the creed of utah but the mormon missionaries have sought them out an all in some means or other convinced them 0 of the attractions tr of mormonism other ministers in addition to mr air bartlett are becoming claimed at the abnormal success of mormon missionaries sion aries and they are asking that this country should follow the example of certain continental i nations which refu refuse sean an entrance enar nee to the emissaries is of mormonism NIan manchester chester chronicle |