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Show 1 f' M Jj THE PRESIDENT'S EVASION. B'l 1l 1 8 President Smith's testimony before the Sen- B'4l l I H ae commI;tee is what everyone who has watched H j jf kj I 1 j ,! ecclesiastical conditions here expected a triumph B'l Pf 1 I fi! of diplomatic evasiveness. B1 il h M W He says tl,at' notwItllstanding the manifesto. B, j t 11' jj J I the original revelation of Joseph Smith in regard. H p mi'll i I ' 1 to polygamy is correct. p P 'l , a t . He does not explain whether, if that is so, Bi!' (ff I J Western civilization is not open to the peril of a B'l ' 1 Mil li ' ' reaffirmation of the original revelation in the foun ' ' 1 Ill i, j of a manifesto which he is authorized at any mo-B mo-B , 1 , III r - ' ment to propagate to the brethren. ,i r liii He says that Apostle Smoot is entitled to re-H re-H 1 : J ;' celve revelations "for his own guidance." He does M ' II 11 j not explain why a man should be sustained as an I II'IIm official revelator of the church, if his revelations m j MfflU are Purely a personal matter and not for promul-H promul-H I raj(h gation for the enlightenment of the body of the ' J I church. He does not explain that every member ill : of the Apostles quorum is supposed to be the I mouthpiece of diety and that his public utterances n j must be accepted by the members of the church I 1 j as a direct revelation of the divine will. 1 j He says that the members of the church are 1 1 given the utmost latitude in regard to their belief 1 1 , and that "they are not all united on every prin- m ! ciple of the church." He does not explain ihat a ! 1 man holding an opinion different from the estab- 31 lished and alleged "revealed" doctrine occupies h ,v) ' the status of an apostate and cannot consequently B ' V d I be a member of the church. And if tha state of H yll affairs exists, where is the efficacy of revelation, H JjH 6 the solo purpose of which was the enlightenment H If III! I ! f thG church and to make a11 members believe as H t j The President knows they are given supposed B " lllilt ' authority to reveal the wishes of deity to the H J li III church. If not, it is a mere travesty to su&tain B n 9 IS them aS SGerS and revelators. And if the new H S 1 111 revelation, on which Mormonism is based, has B 1 I !H merely resulted is "thousands declaring against m Till II a prlnciple" revealed by the prophet of the B Hky ' church, then the whole fabric of Mormonism is wrenched and the basic principlo of the kingdom, king-dom, when applied, is a mere burlesque. The evasions of the President are but a repetition repeti-tion of the old trickery of phraseology which has been trilled into the ears of the unwary ever since the ill-starred days of the first of the prophets. proph-ets. Also such elusive and barren sophisms place the President of the powerful Mormon organization organiza-tion in an extremely pathetic and undignified attitude. |