| Show THE FUTURE OF UTAH AND TH e M ORMON MORMON CHURCH mark ix ax 88 40 john we saw said unto mm him master one master casting out dei devils anve we forbade him a in thy name but jesus said because he followed not 1111 ls forbid 73 man mal which shall do him not for there ii f and be able a mighty work in nay my name i he that is not quickly to speak t vil of me fa against us is ie tor for us the text I 1 IB j a the sufficient warrant for ji inquiry which whish I 1 have 77 FLO as my InY theme for this morning announce g serves to indicate the direction and an spirit of that inquiry my purpose I 1 in ih eject is ia to speaking on this sub aa eat in a wore more awaken if possible an inter tn teJ tain vital general discussion of 0 ai e questions social moral arid and of this territory religious well welfare of the people pea 3 the time mormon was when utah and to tb church AV were practice ticA national but more recently W t those g government OVern ment has change A forr former der the conditions somewhat 1 process of readjustment the mor MO r y A people have not only welcomed aidea 1 non cormons mormons mi in their efforts jo establish american institutions in as they are enjoyed in other parts r tile the nation mormon audiences ve listened patiently to the discus n of secular problems by non mor n orators hese changed or chang c conditions on editions partake largely of the toire re of a reformation on the subject F which they apply to those who believe that individual hJ acter is of supreme importance in UBy thing which affects the commini it will be a sad disappointment to ay the least if the present readjust eat t should hould ignore the moral condl WS of the people put if the moral A id 1 I spiritual development of the people utah etab keeps even pace with their sec r prosperity it will be by diligent H persistent efforts such as are re 0 r red in other parts of the nation to lire re similar results As the govern mat opens the gates of utah to other luencen than those of the mormon hurch lurch it must not be supposed that the influences which enter those cieu g gates atea will be of a high moral or 40 eri ebar character acter it is in the hope aping the good and restring the I 1 that I 1 speak this mornin morning fuce ance what I 1 have to say is not a ec ecy but rather an inquiry conning the future you need not be pr d if my discourse bristles with oration oga tion points their presence y be serve indirectly to indicate the ent lit degree of progress toward the jl I 1 wh which f ch we hope to reach any discussion of religious privilege duty ty must be an effort to discover apply the drath the apostle says e can do nothing against the truth forthe br the truth andio and to this truth purpose lur pose to anchor the thoughts and zest ions of this discourse there is ving power in religion except the er of the truth any church has er according to the truth which it looses es and applies men cannot ie compromises or conditions for charity for others sympathy them confide confidence Dee in their ib in n the 1 things which they believe nohe olao of these things can change the th h it will always be true for ample pie that the results of vice must evil 11 and the rewards of virtue good exal teth a nation but is a truth which no vote of majori can change 1 abe be future of utah as an inseparable of our nation depends on the Hn tib h discovered and applied the future or citizens on their attitude to the alfas I 1 a which apply to the development jr fuch olt a people if we as a people ifft fire the fruits of righteousness we A mat plant jarit the seeds of righteousness it od is not mocked whatsoever a iu that shall he also reap if ye e neglect the moral and spiritual loument of our people ou our r neglect VI be our ruin eternal vigilance the she price of liberty and christ said ito the disc disciples lpes what I 1 say unto at I 1 say unto all WATCH tf our people are to enjoy peace and if we are to keep abreast of the best t civilization and enlightened virtue of the age it must be by eff efforts lorts all to the blessings we seek we all lubow that such blessings are aie to be ee romed by obedience to laws as certain and as tin unchangeable changeable as aa the laws which have to do with our material and temporal prosperity rity if we angieb on the results we will secure it will not be difficult to decide on the methods by which to secure them if we decide on what methods we can apply and in what ways we can unite for or the promotion of the welfare of our people it will not bf be difficult to estimate the good which nur methods will produce are we to be satisfied with indifferent results result or desiring large results shall we fall fail of our desires because unwilling to unite iu in efforts by which these greater blessings may be secured the moral and religious development of any people depends on the churches what then are the forces on which we must depend it is estimated that at present three fourths of the people of this territory are mormons cormons Mor mons of the other fourth about one quarter perhaps are christians and the balance are either indifferent skeptical or directly opposed to christianity some are in favor of gool morals but their standards are low and the methods they would employ are wholly inadequate to the results which even then they might desire for themselves and the community numerically considered the religious strength of this territory is in the mormon church but under the present conditions the mormon people cannot have much religious power outside of their own church while their people are trained to service in the church conditions have been such in the past that they have not been drilled in the work of moral reforms outside of the church the present sensitiveness siti veness on the subject of church power will seriously hinder the eften ti tive veness nees of any efforts the mormon people might attempt in the way of moral reform the noo non christians in utah come to their work under more favorable conditions many of them are trained to the work of moral reform outside of their several churches by long experience i before coming here they ha have ve the sympathy and support of christians generally throughout the nation outside of mormon influences they can work in utah as christians work in other parts of our country but the question is 18 what can they do in regard to the mormons cormons Mor mons what will the mormons cormons do in regard to them the little handful of non mormon christians w will ill be numerically a hopeless minority 0 to sustain the moral conflicts in utah if the mormons cormons chose to be indifferent on these subjects along the lines of moral progress and development so much depends upon the policy of the mormon church that it is in order to inquire what that polley policy is to be the mormons cormons have adopted the policy of political assimilation to what extent will they enforce a policy of religious isolation the mormons cormons may refrain from moral responsibility in the government and among the people this has been the policy of what may be called the state churches generally throughout the world and the mormons cormons may as these state churches have done confine their efforts within the church and even then to the religious cultivation of their people without regard to their moral development they may strive to bind their people to the church without striving to elevate them intellectually socially or morally such a course is possible ie it wise Is it Chris christian tiati god has laid on the church some responsibility for the morals of the people the sermon on the mount is moral reform practically applied in the name of religion and as the one aim of religion for this life when the church neglects the morals of the demple the state will them and decay is the tu inevitable evitable result christ said to the disciples bisci dlee iye I ye are the light of the world if the light that is in thee be darkness how bow great is that darkness you are the salt of the earth but if the salt has lost its savor it is thenceforth good for nothing but to be trodden under foot of men P the religion of a people is worthless if it does not serve as a light in the world and as an element to preserve and promote good morals aud virtue As no stream can rise higher than its source so the morals of a people will never rise higher than their re ligion when the people govern themselves they are responsible to the extent of this influence and power and numerically responsible as a voter and a factor in the government it is a matter of great concern to all of the people what the policy of the mormon church is to be on the moral issues of the times and it la ia a matter of importance to the mormon church itself what position it takes in regard to the morals of its own people if that church keeps its own people abreast of the best beat civilization of the times the words of the people will add strength to the church if its people continually renew their spiritual life ands and really enjoy the presence of the holy spirit and the baptism of divine power the church will not only endure but it will be a blessing to the community bif it neglects the morals of its people and turns to fables instead of facts and is satisfied with the forms forma of religion without the faith which brings to the soul eternal life then will that church be a hindrance rather than a help in the moral and social development of the people of this territory to illustrate no moral issue now before the american people is of greater importance than the temperance question in some of the states where the moral standard is high and the religion of the people reaches to their social life prohibition of the liquor traffic prevails it to ia now conceded that prohibition and total abstinence is the only safe ground for christians to take on this subject not all christians in the nation will vote for prohibition now but they all belleve believe it to be right as soon as they can see it to be practicable how does the mormon church stand on this subject how will the mormon people vote if an opportunity is given them to vote on the temperance question this is but one question of the many which must come before the people of this territory politicians try to keep moral issues out of politics they try to settle all questions on simpy simply a business ne basis and ignore the moral effect of legislation but no state to is more than half civilized which does not regard the mck morals orals of the people of supreme importance and so plain that temporal prosperity shall bean be an aid to virtue in communities where moral issues are before the people the best results have been secured generally where all churches have united the strength of their members in favor of the good sought public meetings have been held when the people of all churches and those belonging to no church have come together to discuss the subject before the people we know that mormon people have united with non mormons cormons in in the discussion of political questions will they do as much or more for the social and moral progress of the people of ef utah when kansas and nebraska were struggling for or statehood the tion was whether they should come into the union as free states or as slave states the question of statehood was a political question but the question as to the kind of states they should be was a moral amoral question and settled by moral forces the southern states sent to those territories desperate nion men to seize that soil for slavery new england and the western states poured iu men of character and courage to bold the land for freedom it was a bitter struggle gle but as a result of it kansas and nebraska came in as free states not long ago the dakotas dakota were knocking at the door of the nation for admission but those territories had echoed with the he eloquence of temperance orators and every evera home had bad heard the appeal to save the dakotas for temperance and the dakotas were saved the question to is now being asked I 1 Is utah ready for statehood and the answer will be given that the people of utah will he be willing to accept the responsibilities of a sovereign state but to those who are seeking the welfare of the people the great question is what kind of a state are we to be it matters mattera little when we become a state it matters everything what kinde f a state we become and if we have any interests to be helped or hindered by legislation now is the time for us to consider those interests and to secure L for them the recognition which their importance demands what to is needed in utah today is an awakening and solidifying of public sentiment on the moral as well as the political anu ant financial problems of the times we ought to around the people to the need of vigilance and unflinching moral courage we must persuade them to give their influence and their efforts to the right we need to teach them what is right and to show them the reasons for things so that they will be true men when the time for action comes utah need not be satisfied satis fed to stand only with the lehat least of the nation we ought to have an ambition to stand with the foremost in all good things there is no reason why the morals of the mountains should be below the morals of the plains there is no reason why vice should recel receive veless less restraint in the west than in the east bast the morals of the people of utah should be equal to the best beat on gods footstool in the work of moral reform in utah where reform is needed and of moral culture where that is needed we cannot afford to stand long in quiring who shall lead and who will follow if we may forget the past what can we do for the future we who have come to this territory in the interests of social purity of righteousness and salvation for the people do not wish to arrogate to ourselves too coo much as the leaders of public sentiment or the almoners al of public morals and virtue but we would be false to our own convictions and recreant to the sacred truths imposed in us by those who look to us as their representatives in the good work of helping those among whom our lot is cas we to be indifferent to the present moral and spiritual interests of the people of utah it is then in all sincerity and kindness that we ask what may we expect from the mormon church in the work of uplifting inythe the people and establishing the best beat of moral conditions here by what process are we to become better acquainted with each other in what ways can we unite to secure the highest estwood good for ourselves and our children if the moral sentiment of the mormon church is equal to the occasion it will be an easy task to put utah at the front in the nation and with a right beginning the future of utah is bright if the mormon church is equal to its opportunity it will gain the admiration of the best people of this nation it ier evidently possible to make mormonism harmonize with american 11 ideas deas of political government american institutions can thrive in american so soil il it remains to be seen to what extent the moral and religious sentiments of mormonism can be made or can be found to harmonize with the average sentiments of the people of this nation if in its readjustment to the changed conditions condition sf of the present the mormon church is found to be in essential harmony with the religious sentiment of the age on the moral questions of the times then will the moral conquest of utah be easily accomplished complis hed heti the machinery of the mormon church is an efficient lustra instrument for the securing of any good to which it may be applied the question now is to what purpose anti and in what manner is this machinery to be employed we are walking on ground when we suggest the union of effort of those who are oi 01 seem to be separated by religious convictions but in |
