Show I Communicated Let the Mormon1 Church Stand the I Judgment of Time In the first issue of this paper I discussed dis-cussed this question Why Not Follow the Example of President John Taylor I assumed that Mr Taylor could not consistently con-sistently with the obligations of his high office oppose the practice of polygamy or even cease to sustain it as a part of the religious creed of his church that the best he could do was to set an example of practical obedience to law and this he declared de-clared he had done I now wish to add to this the further belief that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints ought to do as Mr Taylor claims to have done While they believe in polygamy I let the creed stand but the practice cease 1 I Any church is better than no church It is the religious nature of man on which the State builds its superstructure of order or-der Few men are restrained from evildoing evil-doing only by the fear of the penalties of the law They are held rather upon the foundation of morals laid by religion Any religion founded in any degree upon an imitation of the life of Jesus Christ whether it approach close to that transcendent trans-cendent ideal or whether it merely walks in His shadow is a help to the State and no man who loves order founded upon law can be its opponent and remain a patriot Because I believe in the faith forms and practice of the Baptist denomination de-nomination must I regard every other church or form of relig ious creed as injurious to the human race Personally I urge all men to become be-come Baptists but they wont do it Shall I therefore say that because a man will not accept the moral support found in the belief of Baptist principles he shall find moral support < nowhere Because I be lieve lie will find greater moral help in my church than in any other shall I deny him the right to accept the less support he finds in the other creed I do not think any man ought to be a Mor man neither do I think he ought to be a Catholic or a Universalist but so long as he can find any help to be a better citizen citi-zen in either of these churches or in any other church no matter how far removed from a correct ideal he and his church ought to be encouraged and sustained Because one hundred and fifty thousand men women and children find moral support in the Mormon Church I say that church ought to live till its votaries deliberately choose other faiths 2 The Mormon Church cannot live after polygamy is violently stricken from its creed Every church has many articles of faith but with every church one article becomes the representative idea and around that one idea the battle rages The Mormon Church has many principles prin-ciples in its creed of striking force and upon either of which it might have waged successful battle Unwisely its leaders choose to risk all upon the doctrine of celestial marriage None of the principles prin-ciples of the Mormon Church vigorous as they are are well known to the world except the advocacy of polygamy As the Baptist is regarded as an immersion ist simply as the Catholic is known by his belief in penance and meritorious works as the Episcopalian is held to be chiefly a ritualist so the Mormon is held to be first and foremost a polygamist The Baptist would have I many good principles left if he should disown immersion yet his church would go to pieces without it the Presbyterian I would still be a Christian if he gave up his presbytery and his ruling elders but his church would dissolve without these the Methodist could be a Godly man without his itinerating ministry or his ideas of falling from grace but his church would have no excuse for separate life if shorn of these features So the Mormon church if it now under the influence of a special revelation or of priestly counsel should reject polygamy as an article of faith it would speedily be lost to the memory of man I 3 But the Mormon church without the slightest change in its professions can quietly obey the law By following the example of President Taylor peace can be restored and the Mormon church saved That church ought to have a better judgment before the world It is under the most decisive condemnation of mankind because of polygamy without the practice of polygamy it may take anew a-new place in the worlds thought and be judged without prejudice Continuing its defiance of law its missionaries are helpless for good abandoning its rebel lion its representatives will find respect ful hearing Giving open honor to the principles which underlie free government it will have the protection of the government govern-ment and with none to molest have access to every heart and hearth in all the land to remain a guest or be sped upon its way according as its doctrines may commend themselves to the human conscience 4 Continuing to defy the law and to refuse to follow the example of Mr Tay lor is a fraud upon the converts to the church All over the world Mormon missionaries are addressing the poor of the nations To none of them do they re veal the facts as to the practice of polygamy polyg-amy in Utah They represent that they are to live in peace under the American flag that they are to obtain all the rights of citizenship under the freest nation known to the world that the enormous tithes exacted of them are used to promote pro-mote their spiritual interests and that they are welcome to the new world and to a share in its boundless prosperity Under the polygamous practice they are perpetual aliens to their adopted country they are in conflict with the Constitution framed to protect them and the tithes i are used to pay the costs of a fruitless contest against the government which shelters them and offers them every help But they who follow President Taylor into obedience to law and openly proclaim pro-claim their loyalty and conformity to the ways of American citizensrising above bigotry and narrow zealand leaving to the judgment of time the Mormon creed as it now stands will be writ down in history as brave and manly fellows who were not afraid that Mormonism would perish when it stood upon its merits as a complete system its weaker parts hidden > y the veil of charity and its stronger helping many a man to a happy home and an honest life CHAB A CLARK |