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Show SmoKe From the WeK?y George A. Smith,, son of Apostle John Henry Smith, has been, chosen as successor to the late Apostle Brigham Young in the apostolic quorum. To those who are acquainted with the ambitions of the desqendents of the house of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon hierarchy, this will oc- casion jio -surprise- Ever since Joseph F. 'Smith ? ascended the Mormon presidential throne, it has been known among the wiser of ihe faithful that it was the intention of the Smiths to retain in the original regal' family complete sway over the -destinies of the Mormon hierarchy. When Brigham Young, shortly after the demise of the first prophet of Mormonism, became the controlling spirit in the councils of the church, the members of the house of Smith looked upon his ascendency as an usurpation. It has been always a principle of the Mormon faith that the authority of the father descends by divine right upon the shoulders of the worthy son. The family 'of Joseph Smith believed that the presidency was the natural right of the oldest son of the prophet, and it was because of the denial of this supposed . divine prerogative and the elevation of Brigham Young to be leader of the kingdom, that the oldest son of the first prophet withdrew from the fold led by an alien leader and organized an independent independ-ent church, of which the younger Smith is now the undisputed chieftain. Almost the first official act of the present president presi-dent of the church was to fill an apostolic vacancy by the elevation of his son Hyrum to the imperial quorum of the church. His' first maneuver, which caused considerable trepidation among the faithful faith-ful on account of the extreme youthfulness of his son, has been followed by the selection of another descendant of the royal prophetic tree. From this , it is plain to be seen that the Smiths, who consider con-sider that they have long been deprived of their ancient rights, propose to maintain the supremacy in the faith first propagated by their wonderful ancestor. This last selection has caused much wavering among the younger and thinking element of the Mormon church. It came too soon after the late President Woodruff's selection of his boy son as an apostle; it corresponds too harmoniously with 'Brigham Young's selection of his late son Brigham Brig-ham to the apostleship; with the elevation of John W. Taylor, son of President Taylor, to apostolic apos-tolic honors: the choice of the late Abraham Can- non to the highest quorum in the councils of the church through the- efforts, of First Counselor George Q. Cannon; it corresponds too palpably with the long-established custom of the church of selecting the sons of apostles to these high ecclesiastical eccle-siastical positions whenever a vacancy occurred, irrespective of whether or. not they were fitted by age or experience or mental -gifts -for such official preference. The controlling .dignitaries of the Mormon church state that members of the faith are chosen for the apostleship by divine revelation. The thinking members of the Mormon church are now wondering at the unerring frequency with which divinity smiles preferencially upon the sons of presidents and former apostles when a vacancy is to be filled, and why the grand old band of the faithful, who have fought the battles of the church from the beginning of its tumultuous career are so unlformally overlooked. Of the present twelve apostles seven are sons of former apostles; the others are either related to the regal families, are descendants of great families of the former days, or were selected through geographical necessity. neces-sity. The Smiths will never relinquish the scepter now that they have come to their own again. They have not forgotten how Brigham Young, a short time previous to his death, sought deliberately to relegate them from prominence by the "setting apart" of John W. Young as president of the church, with Brigham Young, Jr., as his first, and Joseph Young as his second counselor an ordination ordina-tion which was afterwardannulled by the present president and his following in the quorum. Now that Smiths have ascended the throne they propose pro-pose to remain absolutely and irremoveably fixed in monarchical control. It is now safe to say that none of the former dominant families of Mormonism Mormon-ism will ever be recognized again under the Smith regime. It is probable that .as long as the Smiths control, there will never be another Young in the apostolic council; never another Cannon; never another descendant of that great old pioneer chief, Heber C. Kimball. If it were not the intention of the Smiths to retain ascendency longer than a biblical generation and until the uttermost limits of time, why have such talented and renowned and tireless workers as Brigham H. Roberts, Bishop O. F. Whitney, Golden Kimball and some of the reliable old stalwarts of the Cannon family fam-ily been persistently overlooked ever since the presidential robes enclosd the form of the present pres-ent vicegerent? Palpably because the Smith dy- nasty has been re-established after long years of ivfll waiting, and the present attitude of the president H is a. plain announcement that no alien shall ever Hi wrest from them the ancient and divine right to fl rule over the kingdom born under the magic voice , H jof-the first and greatest of the prophets. - . fl What do the ypunger Mormons think ofhls H regal assumption of authority and the establish ment of this one family dynasty? And how do fl they view the many times repeated assertion that 9fl Mormons are chosen to the apostleship by direct H revelation from diety? ! It would assuredly appear that gullible credu- H lity had reached the uttermost bounds by the lat- est action of the earthly king of the kingdom. H Yet those who would protest must either smother yfl their convictions or be driven precipitately" from H the ecclesiastical temple; old men, gray with age H and bowed with service, are .either coerced into M obedience to the presidential dictation or stripped J? H of the honors which they have born through siege u H and suffering. But the younger men in the church, M who have seen liberty gleaming in the light of H American institutions, are less easily subjugated, , jjH and it is not difficult to see that a revolt against jH tyrannical usurpation will triumph and within the 1 j, jH next few years all the younger sinew and brain jjfl of the kingdom will be alienated by this fanatical 1H and austere dominion. JrB |