Show TODAY david utter a salt lake preacher gives his idea of the utah church in the new york world says mor mons are extra christian people condensed for public opinion la the mormon church a christian beet or is it a new religion entirely outside christianity it certainly diners froni christianity as much as the christian church of the second century differed from judaism and the difference is of the same kind for christianity was an outgrowth from the jewish church eclectic in what it retained of the old faith free and zealous to follow the inspiration of its founder the unaffected piety of the mormon people expressed in word and deed and nothing new or strange about it but everything to make one forget that they are of a different faith nevertheless a new revelation marks the advent of a new church or religion mormons and shakers must logically be classed as non christian or at least extra christian people how true this Is and how it narrows the ground for the hope that cow the church authorities have forbidden the practice of polygamy the mormons may take place as a not unworthy branch ot the christian church universal may be shown in a cursory examination of the actual creed as it exists today in the minds of the people and in the writings by them considered of eacret authority it should be at the outset explained that the mormons believe cot only in one god but in many gode that god is in form like a man aad has a material bady wh ch may ie touched and that god is of two persons father and son who are one only inthe of being in perfect harmony that as a person god can be present everywhere by hie holy spirit it ia freely said that god occupies the exalted position he holds as a result of his intelligence he has attained his eminence through a groces ol 01 evolution As man is now so god has been and as god is now so may man be this implies a pantheon with fods of different orders or degrees of power and virtue and such is indeed the conception of many it not all of the moamoa people tn the catechism for children we are told that adam and eve rejoiced and praised god because of their trana egression gres sion since it was one 0 the great steps toward eternal exaltation and happiness hap pines some mormons have tried to so interpret the doctrine of the atonement as to show their faith nearly the equivalent of but in the book of mormon the constant implication is that the wicked are not to be saved that forgiveness of sins ie absolutely conditioned upon immersion in water by a properly qualified priest has riven rise to some extensions of the doctrine of baptism among this people namely baptism tor the dead and rebaptism salvation has thus been brought within the reach of many men of mark of ancient times A few might have been truly said that there was nothing more distinctively mormon than their belief in the gitt of tongues prophecy healing etc and th faith among the people that h forth this religion however began in visions and miraculous revelations and from the first has staked its truth upon sheea signs and supernatural sanctions every elder oin tell of ibe miracles that have been wrought in attestation ol 01 his ministry every mormon has seen the bigna and wonders mormon communities arc certainly peculiar for the completeness of hie faith among the whole people not only wan the fullness cl the gospel eiven to the world through smith but the head of the church bee been ever since a mouthpiece of ans lord through whom the divine will ie communicated to the church of the saints on earth always there is the principle thatis a revelator or beeer should become corrupt in his life his prophecy would be tainted with error and untruth besides these revelations given in public and for public purposes through the see or revelator each individual is privileged according accordi cg to the purity of his life to receive revelations tor his own comfort instruction or benefit the gift of tongues seems to be unused or held in abeyance abey acce at the present time A number of years ao it was a rather popular gift indulged in or exercised rather more by women than men to toe unbeliever it always seemed a mere senseless la la ing but to those who believed it was a divine it is not improbable that the exercise of this gilt was discouraged cou raged by the authorities on the com mon sense principle enunciated by paul that five words with the understanding were belter than ten thousand in an unknown tongue after what had been eald concerning revelations leve lations general and special it will bo at once understood that the mormons are not a people of a as protestant christians are the bookap however that are held to be the word of god in a rather special are beside abo bit ie the book of mon the and covenants aud the pearl of great price are all works of joseph smith or as it is said the revelations given through him here it is due to the mormon people as well as to the cause of truth to correct a mistake that has gone everywhere and taken its place in many cyclopedias and histories the story of the spaulding manuscript one who ever carefully read the bock ol 01 mormon could fail to eee that it was never in aay part written for a romance or to tell a story but was written as a supplement to the bible now at last abo spaulding manuscript baa beba found and it rests secure in the library of oberlin college and at controversy is at an end the book of which was written while joseph smith was a young man approves of neither polytheism nor polygamy the latter is very positively condemned and in a manner wholly inconsistent with the later revelation that bound its after 1852 ialo the book of doctrine and covenant upon the whole the book of mormon is dull and uninteresting its contents are about equally divided between history ot wars and preaching neither rising above the commonplace mon place in any particular nothing in the book beems in any way beyond the invention or ability of an ignorant man euch as joseph smith confessedly wee in the book of mormon it ia related that jebus came to america between hie burial and nie resurrection and after preaching awhile to the people that he found here departed to go and preach to the lost ten israel saying that they were not really lost for the father knew where be bad placed them zion was to have baen built in missouri but the saints were hindered in their work and now the gathering place for all israel la the zion of utah this Is to be regretted if we are to cievo he revelation that the gaiden of eden was in jackson bounly missouri the lord is to come to this temple and over the n hole earth from this the hope is not lack ija in defit eness and according to most calculations the day of his coming cannot now be far anav many blell believe poleg my to be divinely ordained as a means of the high eat heavenly exaltation but that at present it is forbidden because the law odthe land does not allow it never persons the present writer among them are not convinced of even the probability of the establishment reestablishment re of the plural marri aeo delusion and infamy the reasons for eo thinking maybe stated as follows first the doctrine and practice are against the natural feeling and of every true woman testimony may be had from women who lived ia polygamy for years and who are mormons yet at least in everything except this belief that they never were reconciled to it second the opinion ol 01 the world is more felt in utah than formerly aad this is and will be an increasing influence the doctrine it is olten eaid thai there Is no enemy of polygamy equal to a polygamous child As more and more of the young people go away to complete their studies or even as they give more time and thought to self culture at home and become acquainted quain ted with the worlds literature and best thought through the medium of books and magazines and with borbe cf art the more they will be made to eel that the polygamous lapse in a stain upon the history of the detate third the conditions ere now unfavorable to polygamous life even if there were no opposition to it and if the young man cannot afford to marry at all he will not stand by and seo the elderly men makina plural marriages more and more of the best and most thor educated of the mormon youth will leave the church because of skepticism |