| Show THE i OURSE COURSE OF OB TRUE MARTYRS cupi id the persecutions which the latter day saints have passed through since the inauguration of the latest crusade against their religion quite a in umber number fully satisfied that they could not obtain a fair ta trial talal lal in a federal court in this territory have either left the country to labor as missionaries les in a foreign laud land or have kept themselves h adden to avoid capture this has given rise to many foolish and ignorant remarks by persons and papers that ought to have known better As samples we quote tile the following judge powers speaking from the bench ya m the first district court said 1 I have sometimes thought when I 1 have reflected upon this matter mattel that it would have been a peculiar state of affairs tor for the prophets ot old to have been hiding from the consequences of their religion the san francisco post remarked it is a pretty picture this of leaders hiding away away from hardship and leaving arrest and imprisonment to their followers when faey should have been the first rocourt to court conviction and the dun dungeon eon for their religions sake the annexed is from san francisco chronicle icle this constant hiding biding however places the apostle in a very undignified position and probably suggests to the skeptical mormons cormons tat there must be something bom boi ething wrong with their religion when it cannot shield it its chief exemplars from persecution F many similar might be quoted bai t these theae are sufficient a as specimens judge appear sto be under the impression that thai the ine prophets of old had not sense enough to try and preserve their r own lives and liberties and to be so igno ignorant of sacred history as not to know that those seers and sages took all 11 proper roper precautions for their own safety F for or his bend benefit tit and that of others similarly uninformed we will make a few references moses is one of the moat prominent of biblical heroes and noted prophets of him it is recorded I 1 libut but moses fled from the face of pharaoh har aoh and dwelt in the land of Mic midian lian exodus ii 1 16 G samuel the prophet bid himself in baniah Ramal sr to escape Aro mAKIng soul and Ny when henhe he wits was commanded of of god to go to bethlehem to no new king ne lie how can I 1 go 1 if saul hear it he will kiu me ine iio I 1 io samuel 1 ael xvi 2 D avld avid the lords anointed fled from the face of saul and hid in thel cave of ad ullam on one occasion it is written 11 michal let jet david down through a window and he went and fled ana and escaped ll 11 the story of his hiding in various places is told in trie tae I 1 ast 1st st book of samuel it Is related of obadiah Obad lah the governor of king Ahab shouse now iglow obadiah feared the lord greatly tor for it was so sa when jezebel cut off the prophets of the lord that obadiah took toofe hu an hundred prophets und and nid hid them by fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water 11 1 I kings 3 A 4 elijah the prophet was entertained entertained by obadiah when he went to sw see king atias by command of god but jezebel made it so hot for him seeking tot for his life that it is written of elijah I 1 and when he saw that he arose and went for his lite life and clime came to beersheba and abd left his bis servant there but he himself went a days journey into the wilderness 1 l I 1 kings 3 4 El elisha isba upon whom elijass Eli jahs mantle f fell 1 aheu he was caught up to heaven in a chariot of fire also UK hm from the messengers who were abot bent af after r hai him by the xing king of bf syria jeremiah fiad fled from Jerutia jerusalem lem to the land of benjamin en a but ites as captured as a fugitive and put in a dungeon others of the prophets 1101 QI whom the world w not worthy wandered in deserts and in mountains and in dens and eaves caves of the earth rev xi 38 joseph the reputed father of jesus fled into the lyile child and his mother and hid there until herod the mur murderous murder deroue oiw ruler was dead the savior himself several times slipped through the crowd aud and retired to a mountain or some vessel where he could be secure and was in hiding with his disciples witching watching while he prayed when betrayed by judas juda s fc cariot for fora a reward saul of tarsus afterwards paul the great apostle to the gentiles when the jews sought his life was hidden bidden by the disciples and they took him dy by night and let him bim down by the wall in a baskets basket acts ix x 25 peter the apostle after being delivered from prison by an angel went quietly to the house bouse of mary the mother of john and then slipped away to caesarea Cro sarea to escape from herod who sought and found him not and killed tile the keepers of the prison for letting him escape acts xii 1319 13 19 at Thes salonica when jason was put u t under n der bonds paul and silas who bad ga d ge been e usta staying ying at liis his house bouse were hurriedly taken by the brethren vy by night and sent away to berea acts 10 the history ol di the early apostles and disciples of jesus abounds with instances of their gidings hiding ts and escapes from aiom the enet enemies nies who conspired to bring them within the clutches of the law it is assumed by those who are taunting the mormons cormons Mor mons on the subject of martyrdom that all martyrs should march up to their persecutors and offer themselves a as victims but these biblical worthies many of whom laid down their lives for their principles avoided their fate as long as possible and like wise men preserved their liberty by every means altheir at their command i jesus baus was captured and taken by force to judgment and the cross thou was ordained fora for a sacrifice lie he uld aid not thrust himself forward and court his doom but when it if came ile he endured it as became became his hia holy calling callI his apostles who met tile the martyrs fate escaped from froin their enemies when they were able to do so and submitted Subi pitted only when they fell into the hands of the foe it was the same with the martyrs of succeeding edl ng times whose names are recorded i in history and embalmed embalm ed in the hearts of modern christians polycarp escaped from smyrna and hid himself in ephesus and was brought back from tile the country to meet his accusers orison origen was imprisoned but made his escape from alexandria alexand raa and went to tyre where he remained in retirement cyprian the bishop of carthage Oar thage retired from that city to escape persecution he was proscribed by the em decius in and while in hiding wrote his famous epistles but he was finally captured and be headed in celebrated christian daughter of auti puti the governor of alexandria escaped disguised as a man and hid herself in ina a cou convent vent alban afterwards at called st alban for whom the abbey and town oy of st t albans in Hertford shire england are named was converted to christianity by and when the latter was hunted by bis his enemies he h e esda escaped ped disguised in albans clothing ant and by his connivance he was afterwards be headed Euse eusebius blus the bishop of Sa masate escaped to thrace and ws was subsequently banished hundreds of celebrated christians of early times who when brought to 0 judgment would not give up jimr their pre p aci took every precaution before re be being ng caught to keep out of the clutched clutch cl ep 1 of their destroyers Oest coming U down to a later period waldo the eader leader of the he now much admired when exposed to persecution 1 in 1147 found it necessary to retire from the seene scene of his successful ministry ile he hid up lor for three years in lyons after that he escaped to the mountains of dauphiny where he ad vacated his doctrines which spread into inlo philep phil p of frippe put the whole province under military supervision and the had bad to tilde hide away in various directions they were placed under ban by the pope they 1 were vere not permitted to hold any office offiel 0 of f profit or trust their goods were confiscated and many of them to to avoid aloida a worse fate escaped into spain being being persecuted there etheylle they fled d into the mountains hid in caverns eav erps retreated to the heights he ats ot dad ph iny and afterwards into piedmont their history is a repetition petition xe of persecutions penalties escapes and pap captures tures and the ALs alps opar dear numerous marks of their presence when they hid in the rocks and eaves caves ot of chose hose lofty eminences abe and the huguenots Huguen persecuted for their faith fled into various parts of europe england duglan germany and other countries contain relies relics ot the refugees and their descendants ants are known to the present day john russ huss the reformer and martyr when pastor of Beo bleh em in prague ark prk ue had bad to retire to avoid his bin persecutors and hid bid u up in Hus eniz his native nataly villa village ge chere where he ae wrote wrate most bi f his cele celebrated rated works being cited before the council at constance Constan cefie he secre tAnd faced kis his accusers but lp in 1115 1415 he he was burned at a the stake i jerome of prague traveled in disguise to constane constance to avoid his Is ehe enemies aies and beings being discovered he escaped to iber ling returning to bohemia he was captured at hirsel was brought back to constance Cons Lance and burned to death the history ol of tile the protestants during the reformation of the anabaptists who escaped into england from germany of the ril pilgrim grIm fathers who founded this nation ot of all the persecuted for principles sake in all ages of the world and it will be found that the noble martyrs who suffered for foi the truth and would not recant when brought to the block the rack the gibbet or the stake had bad usually sense enough to avoid their doom by escape if possible so long ions us as they did not compromise their faith or endanger the lives of their friends if a man thrusts his head into the jaws of a wild beast it is considered that a fools skull is crushed when the animal bites it when courts are organized with a fixed purpose for vengeance jeancy when juries are packed to convict when the law itself Is variously interpreted and construed so as to catch and entangle all who are charged with selected offenses when spies and informers false sweaters swear ers and spite witnesses are produced and rewarded to aid la in the grim and vicious work when malice aud and revenge are openly exhibited towards accused persons by off officers leers of the law when cr criminal in prosecutions are turned into bigoted persecutions and boasts are made of what will be done when arrested to persons known to be legally innocent when the penalties are arc multiplied to sul it the animus against different individuals according to ho their religious position aud dignity when a determined conspiracy is in active operation against valued m men e n whose liberties and lives are sought sough t by implacable and heartless persecutors is it not the part of common pr prudence and in accordance with the first law of nature to avoid if possible an arranged and settled plan to inflict upon them the severest possible penalties we think so and make no secret of our opinion escaping punishment at the expense of principle agreeing to the terms of the enemy to avoid suffering promising koput to put an oppressive enactment whose meaning is open to an unlimited variety of constructions above a law of god which we wa have covenanted to observe are very different to rational and and prudent measures to avoid capture and meeting a trial which it is known would be a mere formality to gloss ver over an excuse for fining and imprisoning prison ing the victim the latter is the part of wisdom the fornier former would be sets acts of cowardice folly or apostasy it is asserted that the mormon loaders are hiding away and leaving arrest and imprisonment nt to their foi followers 17 conveying the idea that others are SU suffering from their retirement but this is not true if the leaders of the church were foolish enough to dome come forward and march into prison toda today to da day y who would be relieved and who would be benefited no one con coa dictions would go on just the same the church would be deprived of their counsel and direction slid and not a soul would esca peany distress through their incarceration aur aur leaders have given themselves up before and trusted the promises of officials official for their safety what was the result they were shot to death while under the pledged ledged protection thy of the state an and their b blood aro witnesses to heaven and all just men the folly of trusting any enemy of the mormons cormons Mor mons 11 our venerable president who has not broken the law is hunted by its sleuthhounds sleuth hounds whose fangs are thirsting for his life he bears in his bod body y the scars of the bullet wounds which perpetually remind him of anti mormon mercy derev and truth if he were in their clutches to sto today day who would be toe better to for it if 9 there is any one who favors favora his surrender or capture capt inre that person is no friend to the church or the people this onslaught is a religious crusade it is conducted inthe in the same spirit that tortured and slew the martyrs and the early christians that lit the names flames of the anto da il fe e that turned the wheels which broke christian bones that threw men and maidens to wild beasts that hunted bunted down dowa the apostles and prophets that boiled the beloved john to in oil and that nailed jesus of nazareth to the pross cross cursed is he who betrays a brother broiher to that spirit of diabolism and its ministers and thrice cursed will be the gold which tempts the traitor to barter his own soul for gain now as to the notion that there gre must be something wrong in a religion which cannot shield its chief exemplars from persecution perl aution eu tion 11 toe the writer of that sentiment should go at once and burn his bible he should shut his heart against fains every religious bell bous iP influence fluence that is felt 4 elt by the boru world in any L ny nation or tribe there is not a re religion 1 igdon that has survived aed the fury ot of opposition which has always assailed the truth whose chuse first promoters did not suffer from the vengeance of the multitude why did not christ come down from the ross Cross why dibi not the religion on of peter save him from crucifixion I 1 why were all the apostles martyr martyred marty red e why by were the early christians to torture rt re dand slain why has all religions ioas truth t rut that has come down as a 4 her heritage flage from remote ages received a of blood and the purification of anre the endurance of the martyrs is a testimony of the truth the sufferings of those who pass through persecution are witness ess of the wickedness of ther op posers the saints must be tried and tested they enemies must haye have the opportunity to fill up tile the cup Of their iniquity bod will work out his purposes through it all alt lie he will not deprive the good or the bad of their agency the persecution which the faithful pass through will bring them i a rich reward the infliction of it t will I 1 bring r n upon its ts perpetrators condign punts punishment ent it will all be overruled for t the e triumph of truth vid and the sup suppression of error this is a s wicked wor dand the tendencies of its masses have always been towards evil and error A lie about the cormons Mor mormons mons today will be repeated and believed or treated as though it were true while the facts are spurned or kept from the general view no innovating truth carries with it protection to its advocates they must be willing to face the opposition it is sure to en encounter couRter or r else hold their tongue i our ls s uch such we have |
