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Show No Church Influence. Is it not jolly to read in the Deseret News that "the Church" has never Interfered in politics, and, that all people who make hat charge,' and especially the ministers of the gospel, arelineai descendants of Ananias, and that it is but in keeping keep-ing with the treatment which the Church has suffered suf-fered patiently and without resentment or any desire for revenge for the three score years and more sinco the Church began its benificent, but wearisome occupation, to round up and put on the right trail, the depraved and wicked world. The News puts "the Church" in the position of Victor Vic-tor Hugo's gamin, who, when charged by a man with having Insulted his wife, in a tone of properly prop-erly mingled indignation and grief, replied, "Me! Me! Search me." In the eyes of the News "the Church" is too high and too holy to ever bend its majesty to anything less than tho gathering in of souls, that the world may eventually bo converted, the Lammonites brought within the fold, and the world prepared for the second coming com-ing of Him who is to rule in peace through all tho rolling ages of eternity. It is true that the President of the Church is a little too promiscuous in his marriage relations. re-lations. It is true that as the head of some mercantile mer-cantile ventures, some light and street railway industrials, in-dustrials, some salt manufactories, some beet sugar su-gar enterprises, and manifold other business affairs af-fairs he is somewhat active, and to the blinded eyes of the un-godly gives the Impression that he is looking out very closely for number one. It is true that now and then an Apostle seems to be somewhat diverted from his holy calling, call-ing, through chasing business matters and in whooping to the people to the necessity of seeing to it that their tithings are promptly and fully paid. It is true that when a special Apostle seems to have been "set aside" for the express purpose of handling the politics of Utah, and certain adjacent ad-jacent states, that the earthly part of this "ecclesiastical "ec-clesiastical kingdom and this kingdom of God on earth" may be kept in the hands of the faithful, he overworks the business a little, but, of course, the Church .has nothing to do with that, and any Baptist minister that says it has must necessarily be a shameless liar and one who would be worthy of all anathemas of the Apostle who steers the Deseret News, except for the fact that that special spe-cial Apostle is, through his innate soft-hearted-ness and his conversion to the true faith, now so clarified, so to speak, that there is never a thought of bitterness in his soul; never a disposi-tion disposi-tion to reprove the ungodly; never possessing any-thing any-thing like tho comprehension needed to bear false witness against his neighbor. No wonder in his beautified vision ho can see beyond the clouds and the darkness of this world, and in his im. I agination, at least, can behold the pearly gates I opening, and the glorious host within putting on their stainless robes to accompany the Master, who is about once more to descend and assume his peaceful rule on this little darkened planet, which was especially picked out as a -principality for Him. It is not strange that the inspired Apostle in a rapsody forgets that his Church was delivered to mankind on the installment plan. That every-thing every-thing needed was sent down at first for a starter, but that the plan was to change and renew the machinery every day by special revelations from on high. It Is a double advantage which keeps the church up-to-date all the time, and which enables en-ables the first presidency of the Church, or in his absence the Apostles of the Church, to make the Church like one of those advertised shows, which we see attention called to on the bill boards, which, after stating the wonders of the perform-ance, perform-ance, adds that there will positively be a change of program eveiy night. This puts the versatile editor of the News on easy street every day, he-cause he-cause If the Apostle "set aside" for the work names for instance, those who are to be the state officers of Utah during tho next term a chump for Governor, one of the unknown for Secretary of State, an acrobat for Attorney General and some branded slaves for the Legislature and someone born an American, objects to tho program and insists that the Church should keep out of politics, the News can the next evening say that the charge that the Church is in politics is but a continuation of the persecution, conceived in the same spirit, that ' 1.800 years ago tossed the ' Christians of Rome to the wild beasts. And so the farce goes on year after year. A mingled " farce and tragedy. For it is a farce to enlighten eyes, it is a tragedy almost al-most to the deluged dupes, who read that sheet and believe that it's editorials are written by one who is but a single degree lower than him who receives the telephone messages that come, over tlie long distance line from the Infinite God. When will the curtain finally go down on this farce of the great passion play, which was one. of the most -sinister inheritances which the world received from the nineteenth century. |