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Show THE F0UETI1 OF JULY. By reference to a call issued a few dare since it will be seen that the f citizens of Provo are considering the j- propriety of holding a Fourth of July celebration worthy the occasion and this city. Surely this is a step in the right direction, for if any people in all this broad land have occasion to rejoice in the mighty results following the birth of this nation, it is the Mormon Mor-mon people. In no other nation on the globe could MormoDism have fifty or sixty years since, effected a foot bold as it has done here. ' Religious toleration was one of the foundation stones of the gloriouB nation we have reared here and this toleration was and is broad enough to include that Church among all others, It is quite true that the Mormon church has met with persecution and has suffered injustice, in-justice, but the promise found in our declaration of independence was sufficient suf-ficient even in the darkest moments in the history of that persecution to keep alive the fires of hope and patriotism in the hearts of the fathers of that church, and they kept on until upon its 118th anniversary the nation vouchsafes to the Mormon the same protection, the same freedom it guarantees guar-antees to all other churches. Under the benignant spirit born on the 4th of July 1776, religious liberty was so firmly established that now, in order to destroy any church or to persecute per-secute it, or to dissrimimte against it, it will be necessary to destroy this government itself. How dear to the beart of every lover of liberty is this great truth. Here, thank Qodl opinions, opin-ions, relierious or political, are as frf b as the pure air of heaven, and none dare to molest or make us afraid. All that the government requires is obedience obed-ience to the civil law. It requires this obedience from all churches, eocieties and combinations of men of every character and with all sorts of purposes. pur-poses. Othr republics have been established. estab-lished. Other free nations born, but because of the declaration of July 4th, 1776 ac the great principles t estab liEhed, this one of ours has come to he regarded as the model of all and the protector dt all. Here we can fitly say to the tyrant "thus far and no farther." Here no man, even the highest officer of the government, may lay violent hands on one save by due process of law, and then only because of some violation of it. Surely a day when this great principle was born into earthlv governments is a day worthy to be held sacred, to be celebrated with an enthusiasm en-thusiasm scarcely less than that of the natal day of our Blessed Savior. We feel the utmost confidence that thn in. telligent and patriotic people of Utah county will so honor this day that I this intelligent patriotism will attract at-tract general attention all over the land. Let each man, woman and youth of our fair county repair to some spot on that day which has been designated as a fitting place to properly celebrate the dar ot all others most worthy of our honoring. The spirits of the heroic men who sacrificed and fought to secure us these priceless treasures of perfect liberty will look down approvingly upon our efforts to honor the day upon which the mightiest political event in all the history of the world was consummated. con-summated. In thus honoring tne day we but honor ourselves. Let our beit orators tell the young men and maidens what it means to be an American citizen, citi-zen, what the proud title is worth, how a man should regard it and how he muet respect it himself. Let all our future care, as citizens be, how we can best preserve the precious legacy of liberty in this land. |
