Mormons

“ The Mormons are better in many respects than their faith; and if the first generation was hardy and aggressive and brave in subduing the desert and changing Rocky Mountain wastes into a blooming garden, it was because they had been trained in the school of Christianity and had imbibed lessons of wisdom at the fountain of a pure faith and inherited from Christian fathers and mothers those qualities which are stamped on the soul through upright living and a creed that is formulated in true doctrine. ”

“ As for the Mormons one meets, however their doctrines be regarded, they will be found as rich in human kindness as any people in all our broad land, while the dark memories that cloud their earlier history will vanish from the mind as completely as when we bathe in the fountain azure of the Sierra. ”

“ Whereas the Church of Christ, recently styled the Church of the Latter-day Saints, contumeliously called "Mormons," or "Mormonites," has suffered many privations, afflictions, persecutions and losses on account of the religious belief and faith of its members, which belief and faith are founded in the revealed Word of God, as recorded in the Holy Bible, or the Book of Mormon, the Revelations and Commandments of our Savior Jesus Christ ”

“ As the devout Mohammedan* passes from earth to a heaven of material bliss, so the Mormons are taught that the Saints, the sole survivors of the day of judgment, will, with resurrected bodies, possess the purified earth. The lengths to which Mormon preachers have dared to go in illustrating this view find a good illustration in a sermon by arson Pratt, printed in the Deseret News, Salt Lake City, of August 21, 1852. ”

“ The Mormons believe that the Lord has ordered his Church to be established on earth; that its success involves man’s salvation; that the apostles are the pillars of the sacred edifice, and that the disciple is bound, like Barnabas, when called upon, to lay his all at the apostles’ feet; practically, however, the measure never takes place. “That the high dignitaries are enriched by tithes and by plundering the people.” ”

“ Here is a perfect outline of the scheme presented by the original Mormons, with Joseph as the divinely inspired prophet, and an "Everlasting Gospel," the gift of an angel, promulgated by poor men like the travelling Mormon elders. ”

“ The fact explains itself, that those only were willing to undertake their fearful pilgrimage of penance, whom a sense of conscientious duty made willing to give up the world for their religion. The Mormons I knew, were all, as far as I could judge, partakers of the sacraments, persons of prayer and faith; and their contentment, their temperance, their heroism, their strivings after the golden age of Christian brotherhood, were but the manifestations of their ever present and engrossing devotional feeling. ”

“ Many of the devout Mormons believe that when the great temple in Salt Lake City is finished, the Lord Jesus will descend to earth and reign with His Saints for a thousand years.
But not only can none be saved until the Mormon gospel is accepted; neither can any be condemned till it has been heard and rejected by him. And so, not only must the living hear the Latter-Day Gospel, but the same proclamation must be made through all the bounds of the great gathering-place of the dead. ”

“ What are we to think of Mormonism, when we remember that a man of such feelings and such morality was one of the chosen witnesses to attest its truth.
I have already said, that the Mormons in this region cautiously keep out of sight the peculiarities of their system, and principally dwell upon the common topics of [Pg 350] Christian faith and practice. One proof of this is, the very few copies of the Book of Mormon, that are found among them. I am told that among all the members of the two Churches established in Philadelphia, there are not more than twenty copies of the Book of Mormon. ”

“ We of the East are accustomed to look upon the Mormons as either a licentious, arrogant, or rebellious mob, bent only on defying the United States government and deriding the faith of the Christians. That is not so. I know them to be honest, faithful, prayerful workers, and earnest in their faith that heaven will bless the Church of Latter-day Saints. Another strong and admirable feature in the Mormon religion is the tenacious and efficient organization. They follow with the greatest care all the forms of the old Church. ”

“ By accepting the records of the ancient peoples of America the "Mormons" have double the amount of evidence for the existence of God and the truth of the gospel that other people possess; and since faith must ever have its foundation in evidence, the enlarged evidences accepted by "Mormons" must account for that mightier faith which both their sufferings and their works proclaim they possess. ”

“ They suppose that the "Mormons" have turned a somerset, have apostatized, and altered their character and creed as a people. I always take great pleasure in telling such honorable men, such wise men, that that which they call "Mormonism" changeth not. ”

“ Here I purchased this magazine complete for the last year, the history of the persecution [29] of the Mormons by the people of Missouri, and other documents of importance. The storekeeper met me at the printing-office, and introduced several dignitaries of the "Latter-day Church," and many other Mormons, to whom he begged me to exhibit my wonderful book. While they were examining it with great apparent interest, one of the preachers informed me that he had spent the last year in England, and that, with the aid of an associate, he had baptized in that country seven thousand saints. ”

“ Moreover, the Reverend gentleman should remember that "Mormons" include among their sacred books the Holy Bible, and all the doctrine of incarnation taught in that book is our doctrine. I think the main difference between the Latter-day Saints and "Christians" on the subject of incarnation, is that the Latter-day Saints believe that incarnation does not stop with the Lord Jesus Christ. ”

“ The "Mormons," we were told this forenoon, believe in the Old Testament; but I will say that we not only believe in it, but we know, by the gifts of the Spirit of God, by revelations sent down from Heaven, by the visions of the Almighty and by the ministrations of holy angels, that the Bible is true; we know it to be a record from Heaven. Have you any such testimony? No, you have not. Then we present the Book of Mormon to you with a testimony such as you can not bring in relation to the Bible, unless you appeal to the Latter-day Saints as witnesses. ”

“ If I become a Latter-day Saint my good neighbors will say I am deceived and led astray, and that I have embraced a doctrine that is in opposition to the teachings of Christ. Of course these things flashed through my mind when I considered and read the Bible to ascertain positively whether these Mormons taught the truth or not. I thought this—well! I have been religious for the purpose of making my peace with God, but I have been mistaken and led astray by men whom God had not sent to preach the gospel ”

“ The Mormons as I saw them, though a majority, were but a portion of the Church as it flourished in Illinois. When the persecution triumphed there, and no alternative remained for the steadfast in the faith but the flight out of Egypt into the Wilderness, as it was termed, all their fair weather friends forsook them. Priests and elders, scribes and preachers deserted by whole councils at a time; each talented knave, of whose craft they had been victims, finding his own pretext for abandoning them, without surrendering the money-bag of which he was the holder. ”

“ The fact that leading Mormons were found to vindicate the people, notwithstanding the degraded condition which such language implies, and openly to oppose Young's measures in a public meeting, is a hopeful one, and of deep significance. ”

“ THE MORMONS:—That self-afflicted class of people who has chosen the fancy name of Mormons has elicited some sympathy and well intended compassion from some of our charitable citizens, and two meetings have been called to devise means of relieving their present wants. Although many of the Mormons deserve hanging, as an atonement for their criminal proceedings and corrupt intentions, they are truly objects of charity. ”

“ On the other hand, some Mormons, like some members of other sects, have doubtless had lusts. The family life of some Mormons is very beautiful, and as smoking, drinking and other dissipations are forbidden, orthodox Mormon men lead very clean lives. ”

“ Of late, however, there has been a great change; people who have all the time looked upon the "Mormons" as a lot of fanatics, whose race could not be otherwise than a short one, already begin to fear that there is some truth in these predictions. ”

“ Such is the story of the origin of the Book of Mormon, the first edition of which was published in 1830 at Palmyra, N. Y. The name Mormon comes from the prophet who was commissioned to abridge the history of his people, a race said to have come from Jerusalem to America about B. C. 600; which abridgment constitutes the Book of Mormon. It is considered by the Mormons to be of equal authority with the Bible. ”

“ And the discovery has actually been made, that the "Mormons" do not starve to death, and that the Almighty did sustain them in the midst of every difficulty which possibly could be brought upon their heads. ”

“ They have had the opinions of men who have spoken in the pulpits, and who have written books about the Mormons, and they, very likely, have come here under certain impressions in regard to the Mormons' faith. ”

“ There were many stupid people who did not understand the fun of Artemus Ward's lecture on the Mormons. Highly respectable people—the pride of their parish—when they heard of a lecture "upon the Mormons," expected to see a solemn person, full of old saws and new statistics, who would denounce the sin of polygamy,—and rave without limit against Mormons. ”

“ The second is the rapid growth of the New Faith, and the deep hold which it has taken upon Great Britain. Few Englishmen are aware that their metropolis contains seventeen places of Mormon worship, and their fatherland an army of 4000 volunteer missionaries. In the United States it is also the fashion to ignore the Mormons. ”

“ The charges on which they were driven were specified, published and signed by a large number of distinguished individuals, and these were that they (the Mormons) "differ from us in religion" and that they also "anoint the sick with holy oil," and "They openly blaspheme the most high God, and cast contempt on his holy religion by pretending to receive revelations direct from heaven, by pretending to speak unknown tongues, by direct inspiration, and by diverse pretences derogatory of God and religion and to the utter subversion of human reason;" "that the 'Mormons' tampered with the slaves," &c. ”

“ But what shall we say of the success of Mormonism in the Atlantic states,—gathering its converts from orthodox and evangelical churches? Will it not fill intelligent Christians with surprise to learn that the Mormons are establishing themselves not only in many parts of New England, but that they are spreading through Pennsylvania, and that they already have two churches formed in Philadelphia, and that a portion of the members of these churches, have been regular communicants in the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches? ”

“ II. “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgressions.”—Yet the Mormons hold the Son to be necessary to reconcile fallen man to the Father and the Holy Spirit, to sanctify and purify the affections of men, and also to dwell in them as a teacher of truth. “The spiritual substance of man was formed in the beginning after the same image as the spiritual substance of the persons of the Father and the Son. ”

“ Summing up his observations of the Mormons as he found them in Utah while secretary of the territory, five years after their removal to the Great Salt Lake valley, B. G. Ferris wrote, "The real miracle [of their success] consists in so large a body of men and women, in a civilized land, and in the nineteenth century, being brought under, governed, and controlled by such gross religious imposture." This statement presents, in concise form, the general view of the surprising features of the success of the Mormon leaders, in forming, augmenting, and keeping together their flock ”

“ While building temples and propagating their new revelation to the world, the Mormons have always found time to sing and dance and play and have a pleasant social time, excepting, of course, in their days of sore trial. ”

“ Now and then you see a fine modern house in Salt Lake City—but no house that is dirty, shabby, and dilapidated—because there are no absolutely poor people in Utah. Every Mormon has a nice garden—and every Mormon has a tidy dooryard.—Neatness is a great characteristic of the Mormons.
The Mormons profess to believe that they are the chosen people of God—they call themselves Latter-day Saints—and they call us people of the outer world Gentiles. They say that Mr. Brigham Young is a prophet—the legitimate successor of Joseph Smith—who founded the Mormon religion. ”

“ The Mormon reply to the Quincy committee was given under date of September 24 in the form of a proclamation signed by President Brigham Young.* In a long preamble it asserted the desire of the Mormons "to live in peace with all men, so far as we can, without sacrificing the right to worship God according to the dictates of our own consciences" ”

“ Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormons invariably designate their own sect, is conducted with great simplicity, very much as it is in an English dissenting chapel, and the preponderance of ladies is by no means greater than that to which we are accustomed in places of worship generally. ”

“ But the work of the Mormons extended beyond Kirtland. In the year of the First Hegira it extended over several of the States, and in three years afterward Mormon societies were established in Canada, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and in nearly all of the Northern and Middle States and in some of the Southern States. A large number of converts were made chiefly through the earnestness and captivating eloquence of the Mormon preachers; for the more intelligent and better educated were sent out for that purpose. ”