| Show SOMETHING MORE ilore ABOUT k 17 1 unpopularity the reasons why utah is unpopular are not confined to one or two as some would try to make appear it is very common to ascribe all the malevolent things that are said against this community to the fact that plurality of wives is a part of our religious belief though the same individuals un und dermake to say what is and what is not a part of our faith telling us that we wa cannot include the principle named in our religion it is presumable that this is the first instance in the history of the world of one class or set of people telling another that they do not believe something as part of their religion which they claim they do we say as a people that the lord has given a revelation commanding plurality of wives our enemies say he has not done so there is only one way by which they could say so truthfully knowing their assertion to be correct and that is by having received a revelation from god saying that he had not commanded it this they do not pretend to have received they do not believe that he does or will give revelation they are not very sure whether they believe anything about him at any rate they do believe that he never interferes with nor takes any practical concern relative to the affairs of mankind and that he would not disturb the equanimity of fashionable life b by revealing anything that would in the least come in contact with their opinions I 1 and practices so they say thata that god has not given us this command and though it would seem that we ought to know best and that we ought to know what our religious belief is they still persistently refuse to admit that this is a part of our faith it seems strange that they should deny us the right of knowing what we believe especially as they call this an evil and erroneous practice and they very eagerly seek out anything which we believe or practice that has the appearance of evi evl evy hoping thereby to make capital against 0 us and increase our unpopularity but the fact is they still wish to keep up a semblance of clinging to constitutional principles and if they were to admit plurality of wives to be a part of our religious faith they would be compelled by the provisions of the constitution to let it remain undisturbed sweep away that section of the constitution ution which prohibits interference with any religion and the cry would go out from one end of the land to the other among those with whom utah is unpopular that plurality of wives is a portion of our religious faith but it is not the lasciviousness and corruption which they wrongfully in their impure thoughts say eay are conse fuents of plurality of wives with which they find fault and which render the principle and those who believe in it here unpopular in christendom all have some idea of the corruption and lasciviousness which reign in society though but few have any conception of their grossness and heinousness ous ness that society could not be more corrupt under any circumstances where plurality of wives prevailed than it is at present where monogamy is the exclusive practice is a fact easily demonstrated st and it is prove able abie that even under the fierce tropical sun with all the incentives to licentiousness which there abound there can not be found corruption so deep and damning among polygamists as is to be found today to day in the midst of so called christian and 0 amie amic nations no it cannot be the alleged corruption which it is falsely said plurality of wives produces that makes it unpopular the sultan of turkey and the king of egypt have recently visited france and england two christian M nations that claim to stand in the van of civilization and refinement and these two noted rioted polygamists ista of the eastern hemisphere enjoyed the hospitality of imperial monarchial and aristocratic to monogamists and were for the time being the very lions of the hour feted caressed and made the objects of the most solicitous attention had they visited this nation they would have been equally lionized and feted and their polygamy would only have made them more interesting creatures who doubts it nobody with an ordinary share of common sense the reason why plurality i of wives here is so unpopular wit with li those who rail against it is because they cannot find in utah that corruption which their depraved appetites desire and though it may hit hard elsewhere the truth must be told that ninety nine one of all the opposition elsewhere turned against our practice of it is because of the corrupt thoughts and practices of those who rail against it and who judge us by their own vile hearts and what we do by what they would do were they in our places another thing which may help to make utah unpopular is that the fash practice of abortion is not practiced nor thought of among 0 the inhabitants of this territory the children given to us by the lord are viewed as blessings and are watched affer after and cared for as valuable treasures hence a trip through our settlements shows more robust healthy rosy cheeked checked good looking children than can be found in any other portion of the world with the same adult population in utah too our married men do not do as the practice is elsewhere have a wife open and avowed whose children are nurtured in the lap of ease and elegance while they keep several others to whom they are not married who are not recognized as wives and whose offspring grow up for children of secret shame and guilt whose pathways in youth are in the haunts of vice and infamy and who swell in after life the long roll of criminals that fill our prisons and disgrace the country this is popular in the world it is unpopular here where every man honors his wives with the sacred and holy name of wife and cares for his offspring as treasures bestowed upon him by heaven utah is unpopular because she elie does not desire to have the public purse robbed to enrich a few greedy unscrupulous dishonest speculators who would if possible involve government in expenditure pend iture however needless and uncalled for by which they could secure a fat contract in this utah is very unpopular with said speculators because she knows their character disregards their enmity and proclaims their dishonesty we could give several other reasons why utah is unpopular but these are sufficient to make her as unpopular aa as the nether regions tand and a abood good deal more so with all those who love cling to and advocate the superiority of that which is fashionable in the world when simple truth is preferred to tin selled falsehood when virtue is practiced and men cease to gloss over corruption with specious words and phrases when honesty is at a premium and hypocrisy at a discount when politicians seek the good of the country in preference to that of party becoming patriots instead of partisans when god is worshipped wor shipped his truth believed hib his name reverenced reveren ced and his laws obeyed then utah will become popular but until then it is probable she will be more or less unpopular with the world at I 1 large and with dishonesty and corruption in particular |
