MORE MORMON.

NZ Truth, Issue 133, 17 August 1907, Page 8

MORE MORMON.

BARKUS BARKS AND BITES.

'Hives Itesli Some Nasty Nilts to Nibble.

publication; En 'Brisbane .'H'Trutlf' of some disclosures condeeming the Mormons seems to have an inky feud between two (individuals named Barkus and Nash. |/The duel is an interesting one, inasmuch as we m New Zealand want rto know &s. much about ,the Moranon as w§ possibly can. There is plenty of him m the colony, and jthe Maori seems to like the xelig{fion. Maybe it is because of ipoly--I'gamy that it appeals to our dusky lirother. Anyhow, Salt L ! ake City '^emissaries are plentiful enougfi ■ m $the country. i Writing to- Brisbane "Truth" on ISJuly I last, Barkus is willin* as .follows :— - In your issue of 'June 30 you pubiaish another "rigmarole," by Mr J. *EF\ Nash, m which he tries to "pull <tthe - wool" over the eyes of your jreaders 'by stating that the extracts I quoted were ' 'isolated sentences," and also, by "fixing .up" fchese extracts to correspond wifrh |ith'e "cooked up, reprinted fragr anents," of . which he is m possession . Will your readers please note jttiat" T quoted- a copy of the "Original Edition," ; which has been subjmitte.d arid accepted as legal evidence jiby the Supreme Courts of Ohio .and ((Missouri, U.S.A-% and m .the latter pnac admitted to? be correct . by Mr -iWilford Woodruff, one of the presi.dents of the Brighamite Church. 'Then our "Friend from Arizona" 'gives his case entirely away by "That the Brighamite jChuroh 'dees not believe m 'blood iatonem'enti, ' that is, '.The. shedding ,of a man's blood for certain sins .committed, which places him beyond ,I(the reach of the atoning blood of |XMist:' " Now, sir, during my six i?ind a-half years' membership of the ''"Brighamite Church" here m Brisbane, . I HAVE REPEATEDLY HEARD' it-he "EWers," both m public and ;. private, deny, that the church either fc (believed or taught such- a doctrine. Vl challenge Mr Nash to produce ■such a" statement of "belief" from •/the standard books of the church, or | tthe literature which is circulated m {Brisbane by himself and others. The fact of the case is this : Mr Nash jhas given us a "small portion" of ,the teachings of Brigham. iYouiig '"revised". to suit the occasion. He Jknows perfectly well that, to use -a Brighamite phrase, "This is not fraught m the world," but carefully incept bidden up, except m cases iwhere— but, Mr Editor, this is a /secret.- Our friend is badly "rattled" ; the rattling process ffcook .{place at my house. Mr Nash! and ? another * 'Brighamite Gentleman" **'honored" (?) me with a visit, and latter about an. hour's small talk the object of their visit, Which appeared to foe "a view of jjthe enemy's ammunition," but' the iitrick failed. I insisted that ; ,the columns of "Truth" were opert to Mt Nash if he had anything to say tin. reply. , Then lie • exhibited • that ybeautiful, true, chaste, benevolent iiionest and virtuous character which :foc ■ claims for himself and his church, by stating that he had visirted you, Mj: Editor, and that you had made ocrtain statements .which satisfied him (that I •(WAS THE AUTHOR OF, ALL 1 THE ARTICLES /ttiat had appeared m "'Truth" re V*'Morrisite Murders" and "Mountain fiVFeadow Massacre." I told him it Uvas a straightout lie written all 'over his face. Of cour.se he was ! <? 'rattled," and the other "BrighamfeSte Gentleman" (?) said "Yahoo." I pftold them I would visit you • and iprove the lie. I came, as you are raware/ sir, just as a .matter, of / form, for I was certain you could

not,- and 'did. nof, mate any, .„ sueh 1 ' lying statement. I should like to i know, sir, how, m the face of .all this, I can accept anything Mr Nash has to say. But his action is explained by the statement made at ■ the priesthood meeting here m Brisbane by an "Elder," who was Pre- ! sident of the "Australian mission" at which the writer was present.He said.; ".You may think you know, it all, but you. don't know it. .We 'Elders', have a priesthood which permits us to tell as much or as little of . the .'truth' as we want to tell. If you dare to say one word ' against this priesthood, you will Be damned to the- lowest hell." That's Mormonism. Brigham Young, too, uttered another "isolated sentence" on November 9, 1856. He said : "I have many a time m this stand dared the world to produce AS MEAN DEVILS as we can. We can beat them at anything. We have the greatest and smoothest liars m the world, the cunningest and most adroit thieves, and any other shade of character .you can mention. We can pick up Elders m Israel . right here who can beat the world at gambling, who can -handle the cards, cut and shuffle with ithe smartest rogue at the foot of God's footstool. I can produce Elders here who can shave their smartest shavers, and take their money from them.- We , can beat the world at any game." But Mr Nash .will say this is "slander, ridicule, low insinuations, calumny, etc.," and take a mean refuge m challenging all and sundry to read the sermons of Brigham Young and others m public. Where, oh where, Mr Editor, •is the audience who would listen to such "Pabulum ?" Let the ' two following "complete paragraphs" speak for themselves. These . were entered as evidence m the Temple Lot Luit Circuit Court, Kansas City, Missouri,. in proof, of the charge made m Court that the Brighamite . Church had taught and practised the doctrines of Adam-God worship AND BLOOD -ATONEMENT. They are marked m the Court records as exhibit 1, pages 60 and 83 respectively. "The question has been, and is often asked who it was that begat the son of the Virgin Mary ? Now, hear it, oh, inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and Sinner. When our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into it with a Celestial, body and brought Eve,' one of his" wives with him. He helped to make and organise this world. He is 'Michael the Archangel," the 'Ancient of Days,' about whom holy men .have written and spoken. He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-profess-ing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later, when Adam and Eve had l eaten of the forbidden fruit their bodies became mortal from its effects, and, therefore, their offspring were mortal. When the' Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him m his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost, and who is the Father ? He is the first of the family, and when he took a tabernacle it was begotten by his Father m heaven after the same manner as the tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, from the fruits of the earth. THE FIRST TABERNACLES were originated by the Father, and so on m succession." Again, "Men will try to tell you

how the divinity of 'Jesus is joined to his humanity, and exhaust all their mental faculties, and wind up with this profound language as describing the soul of man : 'It is an immaterial substance' — what a learned idea ! Jesus, our. elder brother, was begotten m the flesh, by the same character that was m. the Garden of Eden, and who. is our Father m Heaven.< Now, let all who may hear taese doctrines, pause before they make light of them or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation.- I have given you a few leading items on this subject, but a great deal more remains to be told. Now, remember from this time forth and for ever 'That Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.' I will repeat a little anecdote. I was m conversation with a certain learned professor upon this subject : 'If the Son was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptise and confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest He should beget children . to' be palmed upon the Elders by the people, bringing the Elder INTO GREAT DIFFICULTIES. Now, you Gladdenites keep & your tongues still lest sudden ' da&ruc,tion come upon you.' I will tell you a dream that I had last night. I dreamed that I was m the midst of a people dressed m rags and tatters. They had turbans upon their heads, and these were also handing m tatters. The rags were of many colors, and when the people moved they were all m motion. Their object m this appeared to be to attract attention. So they said to me: 'We are Mormons, Mr Brigham.' 'No, you are not,' I replied. >'But we have been,' said they, and they began to jump and caper about and dance, and thenrags of many colors were all m motion to attract the attention of the people. I said : 'You are no saints, you are a disgrace to them.' 'But we have been Mormons,' said they. By and bye along came some mobocrats, and they greeted them with 'How do you do, sir. lam happy to see you.' They kept on that way for an hour. I felt ashamed of them, for they were m my eyes a disgrace 'to Mormonism. Then I saw two ruffians, whom I knew to be robbers and murderers, and they CREPT INTO A' BED where one of my wives and children were. I said : 'You that call yourselves brethren, tell me, is this the fashion among you ?' They said : '01), they are good men, they arc gentlemen.' With that I took my large bowie knife that I used to wear m Mauvoo and cut one of their throats from ear to ear, saying : 'Go to hell across lots.' The other said : 'You dare not serve me so.' I instantly sprang at him, seized him by the hair of the head, and bringing him down cut his throat and sent him after his comrad?, then told- them both if thov would behave themselves they would live, but if they did not I would unjoint their necks. At this I awoke. I say rather than that apostates should flourish here. I will unsheath my bowie knife and conquer or die. (Great commotion m the congregation and a simultaneous burst of fueling assenting to the declaration.) 'Now, you nasty apostates, clear out, or judgment will be put to the line and righteousness to the plummet. (Voices, generally : Go it, go it.) If you say it is right, raise your hands. (All hands up.) Let us call upon the Lord TO ASSIST US IN THIS," and every good work." Now, MiEditor, I again, insist that the terms "Bloodthirsty, Filthy, Immoral" fit the case. Quite recently m public I read a portion of the first paragraph, aiid a member of the Brighamite Church insisted that I had "cast a slur upon his wife" by reading the words of Him whom Mr Nash is pleased to call "Prophet, Seer, and Revelator." No, sir, '"'Barkus is not willin'." If .Mr Nash "means business" he will discard the "cooked up fragments," procure a copy of the original edition, and. read . these sermons to the public himself, and especially will he read them to his own people, who have persistently denied the existence of these "sermons ?" Again, Mr Nash would have your readers believe that Brig'ham Young was a peaceful, law-abiding citizen, but the following report made by the Chief Justice and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory of Utah, to the President of the United States, on December 19, 1851, puts the matter m a very different light : "It becomes our duty as officers of tire United States for the Territory of Utah, to inform the President that we have been • COMPELLED TO WITHDRAW from the Territory and our official duties, m consequence of an extraordinary . state of affairs existing there, which rendered the performance of those duties not only dangerous, but impracticable, and a longer residence m the Territory, m Our judgment, incompatible with a proper sense of self-respect, and the high regard due to the United States. We have been driven to this course by the lawless acts and the hostile and seditious, feelings and sentiments of Brigham Young, the executive of the Territory, and the great body of the residents there, manifested towards the Government and officers of the United States m aspersions and denunciations so violent and offensive, as to set at defiance not only the jus.t a'dmiriistration of the laws, but the rights and feelings of citizens and officers of the United States residing there. To enable the Government to understand more fully the unfortunate conditions ,'of affairs m that Territory,, it will be necessary to explain the .extraordinary religious organisation existing there, its unlimited pretentions, influence and power, and to enter into a disagreeable i detail of facts and the language and ! Sentiments of Brigham Young and OTHERS HIGH IN AUTHORITY towards the Government, people, and ! officers of the United States. • We found upon our arrival that almost we entire population consisted of people called 'Mormons,' and tho Mormoifl. Churcli overshadowing and controlling the opinions, the actions the property, and oven the 'lhW ni its members, . usurping and oxerci:--ing the. functions of legislation niul the judicial business . of the tonitory, organising and commanding Ihe military) disposing of the public

lands upon its \ own terms,; coining money, and forcing its circulation, openly- sanctioning and defending the practice of polygamy, or plurality of wives, extracting the tenth part of everything from its members under the name of tithing, and enormous taxes from citizens not penetrating and . supervising the social and business circles, and in-v culcating and requiring as an article of religious faith implicit obedience to the" councils of the church as paramount to all the obligations of morality, society, allegiaace and law. At the head of this foraridaWe organisation stood Briglvam j Young, the Governor, claiming and j representing to be 'THE PROPHET OF GOD/ and his sayings as direct revelation from heaven, commanding thereby unlimited sway over the ignorant and credulous. Quite recently Brigham Young said : 'Zachary Taylor is* dead, and m Hell, and I am glad of it, and I prophecy by the power of the priesthood that any President of the United States who lifts his finger against this people shall die an untimely death, and go to Hell. The United States officers may remain m the Territory so lone; as they behave themselves and pay their board, but if they do not we : will kick them to Hell, where they belong. I have ruled this people for years, and can rule them again, and I will kick any man out of the Territory Avho would dictate to or advise me of my duty.' ■" 'The report concludes : "The Governor (Brigham Young) has been accustomed to enter the legislative hall under the provisional State Government and dictate what laws should and should not be passed, and enter the Court and jury rooms and dictate what verdict should be rendered, and he has given us ample evidence that he was equally omnipotent and influential with the Mormon people under the Territorial Government. It is impossible for any officer to perform his duty or EXECUTE ANY LAW not m sympathy with their views, as the Territory is at present organised. No man dare open his mouth m opposition to their lawless exactions without feeling its effect upon his liberty, his business, or 'his life.' And thus upon the soil of the United States and under the broad folds of the Stars and Stripes, which protect him m his rights m every part of the civilised world, there is a spot where the citizen is browbeaten and despoiled of his liberties as a free man by a 'religious despotism.' " President Buchanan, m his • message to Congress on December 8, 1857, said : "All the officers of the United States, judicial and executive, with the exception of two Indian agents, have found it necessary foi" their personal safety to withdraw from the Territory, as there is no longer any Government m Utah, but the despotism of Brigham Younrr. 1 " Again Mr Nash tells your .readers that the people he represents he-li-eves m 'being true, chaste, . benevolent, honest, and virtuous. This is the old "Brighamite Red Herring," which the Elrlers.are never tired of drawing across the trail whenever they have, to meet "inconvenient evidence." This is the yarn that has been DINNED INTO THE EARS OF PEOPLE m Brisbane, some of whom have sold their homes here m order that they, might join these honest and virtuous people. The following extracts arc from letters received by the writer from one who went to Utah and returned, and I believe is living m Brisbane : — "Well, now, I think I had better stop, ' or you will say with some other folk that I am apostatising, but no, never, not from the everlasting Gospel ; but I will apostatise from those who commit such frauds on folks, and get them to give up their homes and work, and then when ' they get here never trouble themselves whether you have -got anything to., eat or not, and- after one has treated them so well when on their missions. I have also found that a Yankee lie is a lie and a half— in fact, you don't know when they are telling the truth." "You asked me to tell you about the people. Some of them are all right, but a great many are all wrong. For instance, we have a Mormon right opposite us. He has four wives right there, and they say he has THREE SOMEWHERE ELSE, but that I don't know for sure. I only, want to speak of what I know. Well, these four are but m the morning before five o'clock digging potatoes,, or hoeing weeds and milking cows while he does the bossinp\ and if you heard him shouting at them sometimes, you would feel as I do, that you did not want to be one of them." "I suppose you want to know what I think .of Utah. Well, I will tell you. When Igo up on the mountain just above where I live, and look right over the top and across the valley, I think it is the prettiest place I ever saw, but when I go down m the city and see all the rough men (loafers, we call them), and all the drinking and gambling saloons, and loud-dressed prills, I begin to wonder what sort of place I have come to." Brisbane is not \i patch on this for wickedness, and when I think that my whole heart was bent on bringing my girls here so that I could train them right, and m good company, why, it makes me feel sick." Please. Mr Editor, fell our friend Nash "Barkus is still willin'."— Yours, etc., r J. W. BARKUS,