| Show FROM THE CAMPFIRES AMICUS DRAWS A FITTING PARALLEL secondly let me point out the striking i similarity between the charges m made a cle against the and those made against the primitive christians this similarity points no doubt to a common source of origin in you will remember that hat t our blessed savior and his followers after him were constantly spoken against by all the world for centuries he was accused of immorality behold a man ana and a of publicans public ans and sinners Sib Lers 11 which meant nothing lessin less in the mouth of the pharisees Pharis ees than that jesus was a lover of gluttony and drunkenness and found his pleasure in associating with the outcasts of society they ju judged aged most falsely of the motives motives 0 of f our savior but 1 I suppose their arguments were just as valid as those common y used against the 11 cormons mormons Mor mons 11 you will remember that jesus was tried and condemned to death on the charge of blaspheming against god and treason to the government he has proclaimed himself a king and therefore let him die the charge was always repeated of paul it was said this fellow eth men to worship god contrary to the law ag 18 1813 18 tuis tins is the man that teaches all men everywhere against the people and the law ag 21 28 in it was said of paul and his followers these men being jetti do exceedingly trouble our city and teach customs whichard chare not lot lawful for us to observe being romans ag 16 20 and in Thes salonica these that have turned the world upside down are come hither also and these all do contrary to the decrees of caesar casar saying that there is ano ingher her xing king one jesus and yet paul was waa no traitor in ia spite of all that was cried agalos agrain st him even so KO late as in ile the first half of the third century after christ in the days of the most wonderful stories were told and believed had these stories been true the christians would have been the most detestable crea creatures creatura s on tarth earth you will remember how the christians were said to kill a little child in their meet ings and to eat the flesh and dri drink n k the blood of that child it was said of them that they used to put out all the lights and in the darkness indulge in horrible crimes such things they were accused of constantly nor did these false groundless accusations cusat ions cease until christianity had become a secular power As long as the christians struggled to keep themselves pure from the world so long lone they were everywhere spoken against but when the fatal union between and christianity took place these things were chau changed ed then many hyp confessed conf confessed esseT christianity for the sake qt of gain then many ungodly men covetous boasters boaster proud blas blasphemy phem ous disloyal traitors were seen among the professors ot at christianity but then the world praised the christians and their religion this is very remarkable As long as the christian religion was pure it was hated and belled belied when it became denied defiled it was received with open arms by the world the reformers of the middle age were subject to the very same acau accusations ae eions s 0 if you will take the trouble of perusing what roman catholic authors write of luther tor for instance you will flud find him charged with nothing less than lewdness and murder I 1 can refer you for proofs of this statement to prof Dol Dolli lingers DU DD account of the life of that great reformer and taking a mere superficial view of the transactions the charges seem to be quite sustained by bi facts the adversaries ver saries point to luthers marriage with catherine von bora and say that monk has broken his sacred oaths which he be made upon entering the holy brotherhood of our order lie he has cle denied filed the sacred grounds of a nunnery seduced one of the ge holy sisters who nad had most solemnly sworn eternal chastity I 1 and so on the mar of the peasants as that rebellion is called by historians to is charged on luther his enemies say that he first inspired the peasants to that rebellion promising them liberty and redress lor all their wrongs but when he be saw that the peasants were about to be put down by the armies of germany then to free himself from all suspicion he so they say s ay preached to thelic torinus princes that now was their no time tim tor for mercy only for the sword A man could now caster easier secure heaven by butchering rebels than by fasting and prayer these words ar are laid in luthers mouth arid and certain it is that thousands of these poor misguided peasants were most cruelly slain by the soldiers certain it is too that one of luthers old friends and followers follwe rs francis von sickingen Sic Sick kingen lugen appears amota among the leaders of the rebellion during the camp fires I 1 could not help belp thinking of at these things the similarity ot at these charges brought against the mormons cormons and those against both primitive christians and the reformers was to me striking I 1 could to myself the roman koman citizens appalling to the grand army of the empire and conjuring them to come and ana help them against this Chi christian istian sect whose absurd dp trine they preached salvation barough the blood of a rebel condemned by b y law and hung on a cross whose I 1 aw breaking and rebellious plans t they said that jesus was to set up a kingdom k destined to overthrow the roman R oman empire was a shame to the leoman oman nation a stain on their honor unendurable by all loyal romans I 1 could seethe see the same thing repeated again at the time of the Ri reformation formation history always repeats itself and I 1 conclude this comparison by saying saving that not one sin single ae accusation waa made against the t cormons mormons armous this w week e ek that has not some time or other been made against some of those men whom the christian world now honor a and ad whose names they immortalize on the pages of history holding them up as patterns to follow and imitate for all ages to come the right course to pursue against the cormons mormons was enlarged upon by some speakers and this course was to rob them of all political orivl privileges adges and to establish schools among them it struck me that any rebel any criminal might be thankful for a justice so easily satisfied for mind you the mormons cormons were said to be rebels traitors and murderers and yet their accusers would be satisfied it if they by the aid of tile GA K R could disfranchise them and 1 I was going to say put r ut them to school like days boys and gills 1 have not been aware that this course is recommended to be taken against most and the socialists in chicago nor against any other oiher conspirator against the public peace juthe if the cormons mormons are rebels traitors and murderers I 1 suppose the best plan would be to hang toem them it would not be sale to establish schools among them you know the teachers might be found murdered in their classrooms and as for franchising disfranchising dis them well it was over and over again that the people of this territory were not americans at all therefore clearly that chat would not hurt them at all oh no traitors and murderers deserve quite another treatment and I 1 suppose the laws jaws of tuo united states of america are not uncertain as to how traitors and murderers are to be dealt with the speakers wh proposed this treatment of mormons cormons Mor mons conveyed very clearly to my mind the idea that the people of this territory are certainly not even by the most bitter antagonists consia considered ered to be common criminals I 1 thought of the story related ol 01 the people of the confederate states that they no doubt through h speeches delivered by their patriots were impressed by lae idea that the people in elie northern states among other qualities also possessed that of having corns and I 1 I 1 wondered if some of the sneakers wanted to try if they could not inar impress ess their hearers with the idea that the people of utah have not only horns bus bull a tail also figuratively speaking putting patting all things together I 1 may say thai it came home to me with force that the struggle against the mormons cormons Mor mons is just a political struggle and that their peculiar doctrines and practices are the pretext for continuing the struggle glei |
