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Show I Jin Open Letter to foxing Xtah, H (From a Young Mormon.) H 0o you not think that the time is now ripe H for you to step forth and declare yourselves free B an4 unfettered in social, religious and political affaks? Are you ctizens o tne United States H 0j America, and are you in favor of absolutely B dojng away with every prestige of church Inter-H Inter-H ference in the affairs of State in all parts of this B grand country? Are you ready to take your stand on the side of the Constitution of the H United States and declare to the world your H Wniingness to uphold tl t Constitution in the H face of every danger, whether it is of a religious H or political nature? Have you thought on these H lines long enough to have become convinced H that God Almighty never intended that the church H should dominate the State? Has it never oc-wm oc-wm curred to you before this that Prophets, Seers B and Revelators of the Most High must, by the B very nature of their high calling, be above the B Pty political jealousies and commercialism so ' B characteristic of your church leaders, and as high B above tuem as tne stars are above the earth? B Was not the testimony of President Smith and B Apostle Lynian before the committee investigat-B investigat-B toB Apostle Smoot, humiliating to you as Latter-B Latter-B Bay Saints, and is it possible for you to har-B har-B monize the admissions of the gentlemen referred B to with the gospel of Christ, or with your own B common sense? In conference the other day B you sustained the first presidency and the whole B quorum of the twelve as prophets, seers and B rovelators. Did you do this after due thought B and deliberation, or from force of habit, or sin B ply because you thought that your objection to B any name on the list would result in your own social downfall and at the same time fail to accomplish ac-complish good for anyone else? I, who propound these questions, am a member of your church. I have been a member of it all my life, though I suppose I am "Not a very good one," for I have choosen to deny any man the right to stand between me and my God. But in writing this I am not actuated by any feeling of malice or desire to injure my people and church, for in this church are numbered my warmest and truest friends. I simply want to open your eyes to cause you to think, to arouse in you the spirit of investigation, knowing that if I can succeed in doing this Utah will come out of the cloud she has been under for so long a time and your children's chil-dren's children will be proud of the fact. Thought is the most potent factor in the advancement ad-vancement of the world. Come, let us think and reason together for a few moments. Does your reason tell you that President Joseph Jo-seph F. Smith is prophet, seer and revelator of the living God? Does your reason tell you that Heber J. Grant, Reed Smoot, John Taylor and others are prophets, seers and revelators? Did you ever hear of Peter, James and John seeking after political honors? Some of you have been taught all your lives that the Mormon church is an exact pattern after the early church of Christ, established nearly 2,000 years ago; does your reason bear out this teaching? Did you ever hear of Christ being president of a bank in Jerusalem or any other place? Did you ever hear of Christ and His apostles diverting the tythe offerings of the church to build a great pleasure resort on Lake Galilee or any other place? Was the doctrine of "Obedience to the priesthood' givn special prominence by Christ and His followers? Have you one scrap of evidence evi-dence that Christ or His apostles were polygam-ists? polygam-ists? Does your reason not tell you that if the gentlemen standing at the head of the church on earth were truly and really prophets, seers and revelators, the mouthpieces of God to His people on earth, that they would be the most intelligent in-telligent men, the most law-abiding, the wisest and mo3t far-seeing of all men? If you cannot reason you are no better off than the birds of the air and the beasts of the fields. If you can reason and will do so you cannot can-not long remaia in. full fellowship in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You know that if President Joseph F. Smith should announce tomorrow that God had come to him in the still hours of the night and commanded him to preach the doctrine of polygamy as it was taught In the early days of Utah, that at least 75 per cent of the Mormons in the West would sustain the revelation, and like the fanatics they are, they would go to the penitentiary in droves, in defense of a doctrine they are naturally adverse ad-verse to, aud without pausing to question whether or not the president may have been mistaken. You know that 75 per cent of the Mormons dare not criticise the leaders of the church in any course they may pursue, so fearful are they of the consequences which they believe follow the apostate. apos-tate. They dare not reason on the matter, for reason leads to doubt, and doubt is the first step on the path to apostacy.. There is no slavery bo ..hopeless as the slavery of the mind. My young friends, arouse yourselves. Throw off the superstitions that hold your intellects in slavery. Come out bravely and firmly, but with only love and kindness in your hearts for your fellows, whoever or wherever they may be, and let the nation and the world know where you stand. Think and reason. Without thought you may aB well be dead for all the good you can be to yourselves or your fellows. And if you do think and reason I haven't a dbubt but that in the near future there will be found one among you, one who will be capable of leading a young Utah party out of the wilderness of superstition and dead forms, and then, and not until then, the political po-litical and religious redemption of Utah will be at hand. WASATCH. |
