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Show The Law Of Tithing H AT the late conference there was a good deal H said about the persecution of the Saints in H the past. H The "persecution" of the Saints in Utah never H came but from two causes. One was their per- H sistence in advertising the divinity of polygamy; H the other the determination of the high priest- H hood to ignore the laws of the United States H and be a law unto themselves. H They never had water enough to wash away jH that stained record, and it is idle for the Saints H at this late date to harp upon that strain. The H men who stood here as champions of law wore H not bad men; they did not want anything unjust. H Their sole thought was not what religion the H Saints clung to, but it was that in America peo- H pie under the protection of American institu- H tions ought to obey American laws. H That made all the troubles of the past and as H long as the Saints clung to their obedience and H persisted in taking the word of men whom they H called their priesthood in defiance of the laws of H the United States, they wero in trouble and sor- row. And their drawing out of polygamy, the ad- H mission that polygamy Is no longer compatible H with even their religion, and their fierce denials H that the priesthood governs in political affairs, is a vindication of those men who without hope J of betterment, without ambition for political hon- H ors, sought earnestly to put Utah in the line of H American stateB. H We noticed on the first day of the conference H that Frcsideilt Joseph Smith in the tabernacle, H before the thousands gathered there, with much H vehemence denounced those who said that tlth- H ing was an obligation on Saints, and declared fl that it was merely a voluntary offering. We can H understand that only on the ground that the laws H of the country do not compel it, But we have M President Joseph Smith's own word that it is a E compulsory ordinance of the church. Some time M ago he wrote an article for the Out West Maga- M zlne, professing to give "The Truth About Mor- fl monism." In that article he stated how the law of tithing originated, in these words: fl "It was at Far West, Caldwell county, Mis- jH souri, that the law of tithing was instituted, con- M cerning which so much is now being said. Tho 1 tithing system of tho church did not do away H with the United Order, tho practice of which, H though discontinued during that period, is still H contemplated as an event of the future. But tho H law of tithing (like the law of Moses in its rela- B tion to the religion of Christ) was to be observed M and obeyed pending the final establishment of H the more perfect system. Here is the full con- H text of the law: H "Revelation given by Joseph, the p het, at ,H Far West, Missouri, July 8th, 1838, in answer to 'H fl '1 the question, 'Oh Lord, show unto thy servant ! how much thou requirest of the properties of the people for a tithing.' H "Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their H surplus property to be put into the hands of the H bishop of my church of Zion. H "For the building of mine house, and for the H laying of the foundations of Zion, and for the H priesthood and for the debts of the presidency of H my church. H "And this shall be tho beginning of the tlth- Hl ing of the people. HI "And after that those who are thus entitled HI shall pay one-tenth of all their interests annually Hh and this shall be a standing law unto them for- Hi ever, for mine holy priesthood, sayeth the Lord. Hn "Verily, I say unto you, it shall come to pass Hi that all those who gather Into the land of Zion HI shall bo tithed of their surplus property and HI shall observe this law, or they shall not be found Hi ..worthy to abide among you. Hn "And I say unto you, all mine people who ob- Hl serve not this law, to keep it holy, and by this H san-itify the land of Zion unto me, that mine Hi statutes and mine judgments may be kept there- Hjl in, that it may be most lioly, behold, verily I say 1 unto you it shall not be a land of Zion unto you. M "And this shall be an example unto all the Hj Saints of Zion, forever Amen!" jl Now it is a clear case that under no law of Hi the United States is any Saint obliged to pay HI tithing. But if there is anything in the English P language (for the law is as much in effect today jjb as it was when it was issued) that is a plain Ml command, it is conveyed in those words. It will Hi be seen, too, that the tithing is not for the usual B , purposes, but it was originally to pay "the debts of the presidency of the church," and later it was Ito be "a standing law unto the Mormon people foiever." For whom the church? Not at all. For foreign missions? Not at all. For church work? Not at all. But "for my holy priesthood, Sayeth tho Lord." We can understand that Mormons can still be H Mormons and not pay tithing, but will any one H i kindly tell us of any Mormon that has ever been H , ! promoted or favored in a business way or any B other way, who neglected to pay his tithing? 1 "i Can any man who has neglected it for several H ' years be married in the temple, for instance? H What did President Snow do when the temple H was completed, except to deny to the people the H use of that temple unless they paid their tlth- Hf ing? H1 We are astonished that President Smith, H though we know his erratic temperament, should H have the audacity before the Saints In a great H. conference to declare to them that it was op- H tional with them to pay tithing or not, and can H only conclude that what he said was intended H for effect on the outside, which is all right if H t that is thought best, but that is not quite what H we look for in the head of a church who declares H that because of the virtues of that church tho H , whole world is to be converted to its precepts H and its laws. H There is a lull here just now. The highest H authorities of the church are proclaiming in the H tabernacle that there will be no more polygamist H marriages. We think there is much sincerity in m m that proclamation, because we believe that the H old men in the organization have finally decided H that polygamy does not lead to a higher life, that B ' it is in fact a degradation of women and that it H brutalizes men. H But this law of tithing not one syllable of it has been rescinded. It is as it was in 1838, when I it was proclaimed by tho Prophet, and if there are any stronger words in which its sanctity h could be proclaimed or the penalties of dlsobey- K ing it p' jnounced, it is clear that the first HtH Prophet of tho church was not inspired to uso H tnat language, and he has distinctly stated that "those who gather unto the land of Zion shall bo tithed of their surplus properties and shall observe ob-serve this law or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you." And further, "That if the people observe not this law, to keep it holy and by this sanctify tho land of Zion unto me, that mine statutes and mine judgments may be kej)t therein, that it may be most holy, behold verily I say unto you it shall not be a land of Zion unto ou." A man is trained from the cradle up to obey the priesthood in all things; he is trained to subordinate his own mind and judgment to thai of the priesthood. By the same law he is distinctly dis-tinctly told that if he neglects to pay his tithing, he and his neighbors, that this shall not be a land of Zion to them. It may have been good taste for President Smith to proclaim what he did at conference, but it seems to us that it was shocking bad judgment. |