| Show MORMON FALSEHOOD AND FRAUD 11 LET every man beware lest he do that which is not in truth and righteousness before me this is the word of the lord by revelation to the latter lay day saints the god whom they serve must be served and worshipped wor shipped in spirit and in truth there is an impression upon the minds of some people uninformed unia formed as to the facts and misled by traducers traduce rs that the cormons mormons Mor mons are not at all particular as to the truth when their personal interests or those of the church to which they belong seem to be imperilled imperil led also thai their religion justifies falsehood in communications with their enemies this is all wrong there is not a more truthful trutha u I 1 people in the world than the mormon Mor people as a body and there is no creed more opposed to lying than the faith of the latter day saints sains truth is the exalting and sanctifying sanctify ing principle of moemon mormon doctrine doe trine and the knowledge of the truth la Is upheld therein as the grand object of human attainment to be followed and accompanied brithe practice thereof the chief office of the holy ghost is to guide 0 into all truth 1 make it clear to the mind and enable its recipient to embody it in dally life and everlasting existence correct understanding and right living are essentials in mormonism and mere faith in what is true aud and right are considered vain and forceless without works in correspondence departures from this way of lite life are violations ol of the covenants into which men and women enter when they embrace the rei rel gion taught by the mormon church if these are not corrected by true repentance which includes reform the derelict are liable ta to excommunication thou not lie he be that lieth alq anc will not repent shall be cast out and if he or she shall lie he or she shall te delivered up unto the law of the land wo unto them that are deceivers deceiver s and h among you for thus thu to the tte lord alwill awid bring them to judgment these are extracts from the revealed law of god to the latter day saints they are standing regulations la in the church no member or officer is exempt from their enforcement honesty of word and deed is absolutely essential to mormon character and the enjoyment of the lull full benefits of he mormon religion and we are ae happy in the assurance ass arance that truth honor and integrity are general char a great majority of the mormon people but as among all other societies soei ettes there are persons who do not fully practice acice the tenets of their faith or Rr live ve by the rules of the organization to which they belong such persons are looked upon as unfaithful and unworthy of the respect accorded to the true and lust just and if they continue in wrongdoing wrong doing are dealt with according to the rules of the church and the testimony against them some color has been given to the slander against mormon truthfulness by the acts of individuals these however should not be pointed out as indicative of the character of the community or of the teachings or permissions of the church when both abeso areso are so pronounced in ili opposition to them nothing can be more unjust than to charge upon a church or other association the wrongdoing of individual members embers In when it is in violation of rules to the contrary we hecq heard of some things lately that have given our opponents an opportunity port unity to our people and creed some bome postmasters in ia places where the postal business is very small and the remuneration next to nothing have adopted a practice that is not uncommon in many parts of this great country T that at is 0 oi aarts farts reporting to the department as cancellations stamps that have been sold or used in an fn payment for various articles purchased by the postmasters the income of these small post offices la is regulated by the amount of stamps mic cancelled ellid sherila the reia rila it if a postmaster buys au article for which he be manages to pay in postage stamps he be has no right to report themas cancelled cel led the act to is a fraud on the government and the report chien he signs to that effect affect is a lie for such action he Is doubly liable he Is open to prosecution under the crt criminal minal law and to trial for his fellowship la in the church we desire to state on behalf of the people whom we represent that fraud and falsehood are abhorrent to their feelings and opposed to their faith such acts as we have described are akin to petty tty stealing they cannot be ind indulged uye 4 ed in by the latter day saints those who commit them can not be tellow fellow shipped unless they truly repent and ref refrain from repeating the offense As proof that this la is the practical view taken of f the evil we cite the action of the high council of the eastern arizona stake of zion alon on a case of this character at st johns johnis june loth 1887 on the trial of J K P pitkin postmaster at ramah it was proven before the high council elder jesse N smith the be had bad engage engaged in the deception swe have described ibeal be bed and he was excommunicated from the church of jesus christ of latter day saints for defrauding the postal department of tile the united states and denied readmission admission re until he should repent and refund to th the e government such amounts as he had wrongfully obtained this demonstrates the truth of our position aud and will perhaps count more than words with people ato do not understand the force of our faith and the character of our people we understand that special efforts have been nade elade n ade to discover infractions of the postal law on the part of mormon postmasters we believe that men may err through ignorance and that perhaps same some have thought they were doing no actual wrong in f following a common practice elsewhere but any anything thing that is not square and truthful and honest ana is done to 10 defraud in ever so small a matter is wrong in essence and contrary to the covenants of the gospel therefore we cannot have sympathy for men who may have thus been specially singled out for blame or prosecution for a latter day saint is expected by his very stand standing stan dieg Bg in the church to bs above the ways of the world and lit firm in in lionor honor and integrity let it be known to 10 all the world that lying and fraud are discordant with mormonism and that the majority of the people of utah fully believe in the scriptural among those who will be cast of the kingdom of heaven and the glory of god are them that love and make a lie |
