Show THE OUTLOOK Much speculation is being indulged in at present by all parties in Utah regarding regard-ing the outlook for the solution of the Utah problem It is said by some that the outlook for a solution is not so good as it was this of course by nonMor mons The Mormons think that the hand of the Lord will stay the prosecutions against them and in this belief they are encouraged by the fact that there has not been the same activity of late in the matter of enquiries before United States Commissioners into polygamy and unlawful unlaw-ful cohabitation cases This to a certain extent is so but it is so on account of other duties that the Prosecuting Attorney has had to attend to Many who were away during the late months of winter and the spring have returned What has induced their return it is difficult to say whether they were lulled into a sense of security by the apparent cessation of the prosecutions against polygamists or whether life as exiles away from home and friends among strangers who would have felt an aversion for them had they known why they sojourned in their midst was unbearable they alone can tell But they arc back and already some of them are being looked after by the officers of the law while it is safe to say that others will be What is the state of mind of those who are liable at any moment mo-ment to be arrested It is one of continual dread and fear and with suspicion sus-picion they regard every man whom they do not know Their life is a continual watch their nerves are ever on a tension and occasionally they ask themselves and their friends how long things will continue con-tinue as they are and they declare that they must cease for man cannot always live in such a state What does this state of feeling among the Mormons show It shows that the pressure upon them is so heavy that were the word to come from their leaders they would gladly say we will obey the law There are two states of feeling which always induce men to take decisive and important steps steps which shape the destinies of their lives I These two states of feeling are great elation and great depression If the outlook for a solution of Utah troubles is not so bright as it seemed a few months since it should be remembered remem-bered that mans mind is not always constant in its purpose and that vacillation vacilla-tion and indecision predominate in the minds of a majority of men It is this very fact which makes men how before the dictates of authority In thought more than in anything else perhaps mcn seek a leader and the more domineering the leader the greater the obedience that is tendered him From this fact in human nature arises much of our difficulty and is present everywhere it is the weak following the strong and because the ofTorls of the Government to enforce the laws in Utah have been weak and the efforts to resist them strong Utahs troubles have grown to their present magnitude The hopeful signs for obedience to the laws which all saw in the early spring were owing to the fact that the efforts of the officers of the Government to enforce the laws were strong and persistent Why do people rely on the Lord to assist them in the hour of their trouble and trial Because they believe the Lord is omnipotent It is belief in the power of the Lord rather than in the law of the Lord which makes people fear him It is for kingdoms king-doms powers and dominions hereafter l that people serve Him I This is so not only in Utah but everywhere Tin problem in Utah is more than political and legal problem it is a psychological problem as well In contemplating things in Utah and the solution of the question of polygamy and obedience to the laws it should he remembered that there must be a mental change as well asa as-a change of conduct and all know how slow the mind is to act and that in deciding de-ciding the most ordinary matters much time is taken by every one Another thing to be remembered is that behind the wavering ranks of the common crowd there stands a powerful priesthood a priesthood that has been wont to be predominant in all things Is it strange that this power should seek to retain its sway in the future as it has been in the I I past But there is one most important I fact to be considered in connection with the power of this priesthood which is I that its chief exponents and expounders I President Taylor and Apostle Cannonare i in hiding still and have been for some months past A common question among the Mormon people is how long will our leaders have to conceal themselves To this they receive no answer and with doubting in their hearts they wish to know if it will be thus always Another thing to be remembered is that some of the more prominent men of the Mormon church are undergoing ptinish mcnUor breaking the laws against polygamy I polyg-amy am1 unlawful cohabitation and the fact that they would not promise obedience I obedi-ence to tl > s in future is not so irn portan uc fact that they are being punish for breaking them in the past When OIl > of these men was before the Court for sentence he asked the Court I what should his conduct in the future i and was told in i ly that it should be I such as would n der obedience to the law Ho was iVrlKi told that if when he emerged i I li j Ji son he continued to violate tho JIVH j T mst polygamy and unlawful cohabitation li would subject himself to a second imprisonment That one simple rtnU imtthat those who are now auflerinp imprisonment would suffer it 30 often a they broke the l < law will have a wonderful weight in the future and many a man who would laugh to scorn a six months imprisonment will pause when he contemplates the fact that the six months imprisonment maybe may-be repeated indefinitely Another fact and that is favor not to be forgotten one I able to the law is that in the prosecutions prosecu-tions for polygamy and unlawful cohabi to render tation as many have promised obedience to the law in futureas have refused re-fused to make that promise It is impossible im-possible to say whether there will ever be any wholesale renunciation of the practice prac-tice of polygamy or not but that the practice will cease is certain and just so often as the law is vindicated just so often is that fact made more certain Already one hears among the Mormons more protestations pro-testations as to belief in the theory of polygamy than in its practice They are beginning to doubt whether man is yet good enough to practice it as it ought to be |