MORMON MUMMERY.

NZ Truth, Issue 172, 3 October 1908, Page 7

MORMON MUMMERY.

Joseph Smith's Reorganised Church,

FOUNDED IN CHICANERY AND FRAUD.

The Theory of Celestial Marriages.

One Jof the' greatest frauds ever imposed upon a crediulous American back .wood's community was the Mbrmon religion as evolved from the innermost consciousness of Joe Smith, and exemplified m the. lives of such "holy men" (?) as Brigham -'-Young. The branch of this religion calling itself "The Reorganised Church ot Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," bf.which' Elder Mackie, of recent wife desertion' fame, was an ornament and pillar, is seeking to establish itself m Australia under the headship of a gentleman who signs himself "Walter J. Ha;worth, Acting ..Minister m Charge of Aus.tralia." The three tailors of Tooleystreet, calling themselves *' the people of England," John Wesley, calling "the world his parish," or even His Grace of Canterbury, or the primate of New Zealand,, could hardly use a more ambitious designation. "In charge of New Zealand," forsooth ! Well, let. that pass. Note the fact, however, that "the Mormons" who created such a stir m America some time ago, excited such antipathies, . and who

CAUSED SO MUCH BLOODSHED In the Western States and m Utah, are here with US m New Zealand, ; are daily malanjtt'co.nyerts among -a lot *.of ; simplemindedj ignorant people up North— in fact everywhere they. can: get a footing. They are travelling all through the Dominion, and have . already organised themselves as a religious body, whose ministers are duly licensed to celebrate marriages. It may be questioned , whetbejr . fae law has not been more than strained to license ministers 'of a •Mofjrion religion, arid if people ,' knew exactly what Mormonism, stood foijL.it i$ doubtful whether the action of "fte* Registrar-General could be upheld m a Christian community. We vote lor giving entire freedom to all and sundry. Old-established systems like Judaism; though not Christian, may be lawabiding, ap.d' learned Rabbis have from time.iimmemprial exercised all. the rights and priyileges of "ministers of religion" ; arid small sects, witfi an independent and congregational platform,, with their "go-as-you-please" 'forms of .church, service and government,- are within,' their- 'constitutional rights, m claiming whatever is conceded m the way of favor and privilege, it is quite another question, however, when a foreign sect comes, along, which disclaims - against the laws and customs of Christian society as. ordinarily understood and which . preached a new civilisation wish its foundation of a new dispensation of- religion . ,

INTENDED TO SUPERSEDE »lt existing forms of Christianity. .The Registrar-General has repeatedly refused a license to the teachers and recognised heads of spiritualist societies, though why they should be, refused;, and Mormon ministers gazetted as tiimisters licensed to matry, is a question that may be left to him. to answer.; If ;.Elder" Mackie . is to be taken aY a sample of the first fruits of Mormqnism m Australia, then ,the less ■we have-", ol" it' "the fetter. Allowances- -f or lapses must be made ., among all who "profess and call themselves' Christians.". JEv•n the Apostles ' ha!d: m their number a. Peter who denied Christ, and a Judas w_tio betrayed Him. The strictest and most orthodox of the, sects may have to lament a falling away, not. alone '.'from; the faith,". but from the moral standards of' ■ society.' Such instanceSCTaye often occurred, and are always toTfpre deplored. So let us be 3iist, and give the Mormons .whatever advantage;- .there may be m such a consideration^ Oivthe other 'hand,,;. there is so much that is; secret ; and occult about certain i^eo'ries cdncerning . "CELESTIAL 1 MARRIAGES '-V .. iwhile the of both branches, of Mormonism place such' a decided embargo on the freedom of woman, by ■ • teaching her- dependence for on. a masctolrae headship, • tha^fc ''Gentiles", may very well be excused for, suspecting intimacies; that would naturally lead >to such a denouement as has been recorded m the downfall of one of the Mormon ' lea-den. It

won't do for -the Reorganised Church leaders to disclaim any association with Brigham Young' and his Utah Mormons. Joseph Smith was anything but a strict Monogamist. He taught and practised the doctrine of "celestial marriages," of which polygamy was the natural outcome. Indeed, he was the originator of! the doctrine of sealed , wives, and his disciples carried it out to a local issue, and Brigham Young claimed the authority of Joseph Smith when he gave polygamy official sanction. The Church which calls itself "Reorganised" claims to be made up of ; the,- true followers of Joseph Smith, and professes to have separaxed from the Mormons of Utah on the ground of polygamy.. -This is. historically incorrect. When Brigham Young and his hosts set out for the great desert land across the Continent, the Mormons who were left behind were, as a body, still true to Mm, but there were large numbers of disaffected—among them, no doulbt, there were many anti-polygamists — and these were m constant dispute with the rest about the ownership of property which in ' general terms, had been "deeded" to the Mormon Socie'tyTHE VERY NAME. of the new church declares its history.. If they were not ''a secession from the original society how comes it- that they are called "The ', Reorganised ' Church ?" The truth is t>he whole floating flotsam and jetsam of Mormons who had broken away made a virtue of antirpolygamy, and, .combining under a new order of things^ did' what their name implies ; they reorganised for the purposes of getting hold of the churches and landed property which generally belonged to the Mjorj. mons,. without destruction. The law courts decided m favor of the new organisation, on grojunds which wouid hardly have been [Sustained by say the Judicial Court 01. the Privy .Council/ Junge. Armour, before whom the question was brought, decided that the great body which hailed Brigham Young as its head, had departed from the Christian teachings of the nation (as Ohristianaity was commonly understood) by its doctrines • ; of Adam worship, and its incorporation of polygamy into its system. But who made Judge Armour an exponent of the Christianity of the nation, and how, among all tne multitudinous sects, was a common Christianity to be appraised ? The' Utah Mormons claimed to copy the old.Testament conditions of society, and to be living 'm strict accord with scriptural morality, m their practice of polygamy If this decistoD were true, then the Utah Mormons should have been deprived of their vested rights in'property, and polygamy should have been held to dispossess arid disfranchise Mormons all over the United States. Leaving out polygamy arid some choice dogmatic definitions of Brigham Young's ' coarse and uncultured fancy, there was : . ■ ■ LITTLE OR NO DIFFERENCE between the Utah Mormons and those who now call themselves '•' the true followers of Joseph Smith," viz., those who are endeavoring to establish themselves m our country under the name of "The Reorganised Church of the '-, Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ." They both claim Smith as their founder ; they both uphold the book of Mormon as an' inspired revelation of equal authority with the Bible ; they both preach that all the churches are an apostasy from the Christian religion, and that they have a special mission to restore a new and genuine dispensation of Christianity. Their shoddy angel Moroni adorns the topmost position of the great itemple at Salt Lake City. Heguided.-(sb their preachers tell us) Joseph Smith, to make the discovery of "the golden plates" which were, translated 'into that conglomeration of nonsense and . historic impossibilities called the "Book of Mormon." The enemies of Smith have called him anything but a gentleman. Discounting* what may have been said under the influence of strong prejudice, it may safely be.

affirmed that he was not of the stuH n£ which SAINTS AND REFORMERS are made. He travelled about fossicking the country' ifor minerals, using a divining rod, gazing into crystals, aad indulging the fancies of a moonstruck ignorant country lout, whose head had been turned by .the' sheer incapacity of his intellect to discriminate between fairy tales got ofi by hearsay, and the parables and allegories and figurative representations of vast and wonderful significance which were to be found m ancient Scriptures. An unpublished romance, m imitation of Biblical narrative and- style, had been written, and was waiting for publication.. Smith heard of it, got as may be said, ."the hang of it," and soon his mind, or father, his disordered brain, inflicted with a vain and inordinate idea of his own personality, imagined a grand and sublime entrance for himself into the religious world of camp revivalism about him, as the head of a very big concern. His chance came qiuite by accident. -He bad been out fossicking alone as usual, when his attention was called to some PURE WHITE SANDY LOAM. He shovelled a few spadefuls into a bag he was carrying, and when he reached the hpuse where *he was staying, the people asked what, he had m the bag. He told the story of what followed to a friend a short time afterwards. Thinking about a golden bible, of which he had heard, which claimed, to give an account of the original inhabitants of America, he said, on the spui of the moment, "it was the golden Bible." They all wished to see it, but he informed them that the angel visitant had informed him that "No one could see it and live." This was said as a joke, but the people took it seriously, and they all left the room without saying a word. This was the suggestion which led to the story of an apparition of an angel, and the discovery of the golden plates, and all that absurd nonsense, 'which makes up the history of the genesis of Mormonism. Smith told his friend m confidence that when he found the people were such a set of ifools as to believe Mm, he played the game for all that it was worth. - The reorganised body which Elder Mackie has brought into such prominence m Australia is as deeply involved m THIS MONSTROUS FRAUD invented by Joe Smith' as the M6rmons of Utah. The whole thing has been exposed m America over 'and over • again. Those who joined with Smith have,, made affidavits giving the whole show away, but as the vulgar phrase has it, those m possession had "too good a wicket," and refused to be bowled but, ami so both m Utah and Nauvpo the ball has been kept rolling, and the farce of sending missionaries to the various Christian countriesis still being continued. Mormon leaders 10 Australasia are too "cute" to show their hand. They preach : a sort of general Evangelical religion, which migfrt pass for a kind, of Anabaptist propaganda on new lines, and say nothing about the Angel Moroni and all the stuH and nonsense of the golden plates. It is an insulf to. the' commonsense of the community to place the ministers of a system founded on .•■'■■"'■. 1 A MOST PALPABLE FRAUD 011 a level with those who represent denominations which, whatever may be said about them, are the evolution of the ages of the best and most cultured, thought of the advanced civilisation bt the English speaking races. There should be no reason for this pernicious sect of religious fanatics m Aus.tralasia. They have always been a quarrelling, lighting, ;' cantankerous set of wretches m America, and whether with or, without polygamy, they have proved themselves veritable Ishmaelites, "their hands against every man, and every man's hands against them." , "Z."