| Show THIS YEARS tears YEARNS CRUSADE tins TIM year upon which we have just entered prom ibes lees to be an important ohe Ft nJ or orthe aher ahel church of Jesus ChrIst of latter dby day saints the old animosity against it which raged so mightily in the Brat first years of its progress has been once more revived and the whole country has been aroused to a desire for extreme mea measures fures tures against utah not only in the united sta states lees i this feeling manifested to an inordinate degree but in england the same saime spirit is being exhibited th telegraph brings word today to day of the tha mobbing of two elders in london one of the best beat governed cities on the globe and quite recently the prime Mini uini minister aten ater of england was ap pro preached ached on the subject of mormon emigration by bome some of the tho fanatics who desired to suppress it buch such lawless proceedings as reported wiil will not be sustained in great britain and gladstone has the good sensa sense to declare that the matter presented to him is beyond his jurisdiction the ignorance that prevails on the subject of our faith is extremely den dense denie go and is exhibited in all the articles and disquisitions diss against it find choir their way into print this is taken advantage of by the retainers detainers defa deta iners and slanderers slander ers who have an object in JA view in bringing trouble upon this territory 3 and the public mind is kept hept aflame while even well informed persons upon other topics nou not having posted in regard to the facts in th this Is case are led to join in the beneral general agitation 49 polygamy is lowthe cry and itts itis it is thought thatis that jf this could be suppressed the whole mormon difficulty would bo be removed betit but it la Is not generally remembered that the fiercest persecution which this church bad to meet and the dark est eat scenes of borrow sorrow its peo poo people pie have passed preceded the adoption of celestial marriage as a tenet of their religion indeed since the acceptance and practice of that system the violence against them has been chiefly manifested in threaten ings and designs which have not developed into anything of fi a serious lature nature for the injury of the people while the church has gone on la in its work of preaching the gospel to the nations and the gathering of israel and the blessings of god have attended the labors of hla hia servants the lord confirming the word with signs following polygamy forms a convenient excuse for the great outcry v inow w against the mormon buh buc we past ex peri perl enoe enod that n if no 66 mormon had mc re V ean tan van an one wife the bitter hostility to our faith boia noia ua oue doctrine or principle of our rellison rell rel alon aion given up would be followed by demands for the tho fanatics who arevag are waging this would never be satisfied until the spirit which gives ilfe life to our system was forced out of the body of it boutwe but we have no fears about the results or the present outburst we can see how much good can ean be made to accrue from it this agitation brings the subject of Mormon isna prominently before the world andi will act lik ilk like ilke elthe the suii suil sun upon the wheat fields now is the time for the laborers in the vineyard to thrust in id their sickles and reap while the public is interested time to place the truth before ane peoples peopled attention the lord loril wll take care of the measure measures sor of the tue wicked and overrule them for good our business is to proclaim the gospel gather israel and liv and inculcate those principles of eternal truth which have been re xe this 3 year ear opens ti up with great expectations on the tho part ot of our enemies but we have seen just such times before two years ago the country was angrily excited against us and great pre pressure sure was brought to bear to procure inimical legisla tion at the that year and on the vere verge of another we penned and published the following word worda which we clip from the editorial of dec slat 1880 ceat at the opening of eighteen hundred windred and eighty to unaided human vision it looked as though the saints must roust be overwhelmed by the influence influences arrayed against them bromall from all ail j parts of the land the voice of powerful sects opposed to each other but united against the saints clamored for legislative and vengeance petitions were as numen nausea ous as the days of the year and signatures greater in number than its hours or minutes from pulpit mid arid platform the cry was re echoed for stringent measures and the preas press lent its aid in the ch rus of mut aut not a finger hagi has been laid upon the saints to their h rt tho T ho hp noise hab has died away re like ilke tho the rumbling thunder and not a bolt bag hag fallen falen nor a shaft shaf has glance 1 upon them J we look for great things in the coming year mighty changes grand developments and much pr progress otress the wicked wll will do wick wickedly edly edis and seok seek to smite tho people of the most high but their plans will fail their schemes wilt will come to nought and some of the cunning gunning and strong conspirators wild will pabs pass away to their doom But the righteous will rejoice in seeing the tho prosperity of israel and the fulfillment fulfilment of the word of the lord and no harm will come come to them looking back on the year of which these last words were spoken in adv advance we see how they have been literally verified and they astren strengthen then our faith in reference to L the g 0 year upon which we ha have ve entered and teach us to still trust in him who has haa promised to fight the battles of his people while they serve and trust in him our duty then is plain it is to stand unflinchingly by the th right bave have no concern for the t gs of the wicked and do our part in warning the world of judgments to come and in placing before them as far as possible the truths of our faith and the facts of our system that it may not be pleaded in excuse for the eils bought sought to be imposed upon us that we have done dono nothing to correct the tilo wicked misrepresentations by which ihan inan mankind have been deceived cone concerning eming our creed and doings we do not wish to close our eyes to the increased vigilance determination alid arid bitterness exhibited in the antl anti mormon ehi chi crusade sade of eighteen hundred and eighty two nor norto to say pay anything to lessen lesson the diligence of good and wie wise men in meeting and counteracting the wiles of the enemy but we repeat our words of confidence of if a year ao ago and out of all the changes that this thib year will bring wo look for added strength and vigor to the work of G d for the hastening forward of his purposes and the establishment of ills his dominion in the earth T |
