MORMONISM, AS IT IS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1853, 27 May 1887, Page 31

MORMONISM, AS IT IS.

The Latter Day Saints defend their practice of polygamy on various grounds. They urge that it is' patriarchal, and quote as examples the conduct of Abraham', David, and Solomon—forgetful of the' fact t that these are not set before us as patterns, of what we should be, but were men of like 1 passions with ourselves. It would be as fair to argue that it is right to tell lies from the fact that Abraham told them, or to maintain that slavery is a divine institution, because Paul said: " fclaves, be obedient unto your masters according to the flesh." ' '

The materialistic views 'of heaven taken by the Mormons also do "much to'foster'this pernicious practice, as we have 'already seen. If blessedness in the world to come depends on the number of wives and children with which the saint builds up his kingdom, then the larger the number of both the better. But the whole theory rests on the fallacious assumption that natural relationship is more important than spiritual — a notion which is diametrically opposed to the teaching of our Lord. No' son ever loved his mother more intensely than He loved Mary, but when one said unto him, " Behold Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with Thee," He answered and said unto him that told Him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren 1" And He stretched forth His hands towards His disciples and said, " Behold my mother and my brethren! For whospever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, arid sister, and mother." In other words, spiritual relationships, not natural, are those which abide in heaven.

A third argument advanced in favour of polygamy is that it is a preventive of vice. We had too much evidence to the contrary to be able to accept this statement. I need not specify facts in illustration. It seems to us that the power of the priesthood, the secrecy of the Mormon ceremonies, the pernicious doctrine of the sealing of wives, and the ease with which polygamists take to themselves new consorts, all tend in the direction cf profligacy, and that the moral condition of the city is, far from being what it is declared to be , by church authorities. Nor can we shut our eyes to the evils likely to arise from the intimacy necessitated among young people who are the offspring of mixed marriages. It is true that they are not always resident in the same house. 'In small homesteads outside the city we noticed an arrangement which to some extent kept families apart. Two or three smaller houses surrounded the central home, and we were informed that a separate family was kept in each. But even under these circumstances — still more where two or three families live under the same roof — the relationship is not favourable to morality.

And what shall be said of the misery and heart burning caused by this peculiar institution ? One lady resident in Utah told us the touching history of a poor woman who supplied her every' week with eggs, poultry, and' garden produce. She had been married to a Mormon, and had 12 children. They lived together happily enough until he took to himself a young girl as a second wife. From that time there was nothing but misery, until, unable to bear it longer, she' left him and laboured hard to support herself. She often spoke with bitter tears' of her sorrows and struggles to this kindhearted Gentile lady, who assured us that she felt nothing but burning indignation at this iniquitous system.

We are perfectly aware that bold statements are frequently made by Mormon leaders as to the tolerance, and even the preference, felt by the women themselves for polygamy. On the 28th January 1879, a mass meeting of women was held in Salt Lake City, at which it .was estimated that 2000 were present, and by a unanimous vote they declared their admiration for polygamy. The lady president (we will not call her chairwoman) said, among other things, " Polygamy is as essential to woman's happiness as to her salvation." Another lady, who was 70 years old, and therefore not without experience, said, " I thank God that I am a polygamous wife, and that my husband is a polygamist," and declared that she had a " feeling of great pity for those who did not enjoy this good blessing." We are not prepared to say that these women were insin cere. On the contrary, we believe that most of the Mormon women are earnest, and, in their fashion, devout, but we submit, that they conquer their natural and divinelygiven instincts under the influence of a great delusion. Holding, as they have been taught to do, that the joys of heaven will be increased by a practice which demands from them a sacrifice of feeling, they make that sacrifice, and glory in their shame. If the women of Utah are joyously happy wives and mothers, their woe-begone faces belie their real feelings. One grain of fact, however, is worth a whole ounce of theory. A gentleman whose friend told us the story had the following, experience. He was happily married, and had as bright a home as could be found in Salt Lake City. He was to be advanced to higher dignity in the Church, and in view of this some. of the officials pointed out to him the desirability of taking a second wife, which, as we have seen, would increase his honours in the kingdom which he, as a good Mormon, was building up unto himself. He thought over the 'matter seriously, and broached it to His wife. She, animatedj as she believed, by religious motives, assented to his taking the step, and this was the easier to her because she was herself the daughter t of a. .polygamous marriage. But from that, time there was no more peace. The experience was so bitter that the second time was dismissed with a suitable provision after a few years' misery, and the disillusioned husband subsequently abandoned the Mormon faiijb. , Thef|rstwife was asked why she had so< sfaoogly resented

an arrangement, she had allowed to be made. Her reply was a natural one s,.! 1 When," said, she, " my husband paid any attention to hia i second wife — if it were only handing hera ; chair or giving her his arm, it stabbed me to" the heart, although I should not have minded, it if he had done that for any other woman in the world. It was like a sharp dagger plunged into my heart and then turned round in the wound." In other words, the God-given wifely instinct rose in rebellion. The subject is not a pleasant one for discussion, but as long as Mormon missionaries wend their way to Europe, and hapless converts are beguiled away, it will be necessary to speak plainly. We have written so fully, because there is a tendency to regard Mormonism as a harmless delusion, and many, are ignorant of its social, moral, and spiritual perils. We do not wonder that now, when a party of emigrants is made up of ; Mormon converts, elaborate precautions are taken by the emissaries who accompany them -to prevent any access on the part of Gentiles, j .The specially chartered train is as well guarded against intrusion as were the cars we saw in which were crowded the savage Apaches, just captured as prisoners of war by the United States soldiers.

Our American cousins are fast .awakening to the existence of , this growing social cancer in the community, and seemed resolved to cut it out with a ruthless hand. Bat their work is not easy, and we are by no means, sure that they will Bucceed by the use of the measures which they are now adopting. Outside Salt Lake City is a camp of about 2000 United States troops, and although the force seems small it is probably sufficient to prevent any attempt at armed resistance^ such as might have been successful before the telegraph and the railway broke down - the barrier between the Mormon and the neighbouring States.

Meantime a judge and public prosecutor are making short work of some of the Mormon leaders; fining and imprisoning all those whom they can lay hands on. President Taylor and most of the apostles, however,' were in hiding at the time of our visit. As one of our informants put it, " They are like the prairie dogs you saw coming across the plain. They sit on the mound as comfortable as can be till you think you can catch them, but, next moment they are down the hole, and they have so many burrows you cannot find them." Mr George Cannon, one of the ablest men Mormonism boasts, was brought before the court and compelled to find bail to the amount of 45,000d01. Just before our visit "he jumped his bond." The church at once paid 25,000d01, and are disputing the balance in a higher court; while Mr Cannon quietly lies low, hoping the storm may blow over. Even when a flagrant offender is caught, unless he chooses to confess the extent to which he is married, it is almost impossible to get evidence. On the one hand the Mormons declare that they have no marriage registers, the wife has no marriage lines ; indeed, if she is perverse, sometimes no" witnesses are present. If saints are called to give evidence against the accused, they have been taught to defend the good cause by lies, if lies be necessary. For example, one day last summer an ecclesiastic was charged with having more wives than one. The second wife was put in the witness-box, as it was expected by the prosecution that she would give testimony, "Are you married to this man?" asked counsel. " No ! " was the reply. " Whose child is that which you hold in your arms ?" " I don't know." "Will you swear it is not the prisoner's ?" " Yes." Her mother followed on precisely the same lines ; and ' though the facts were notorious — though the judge was eager to pronounce sentence, and the jury was packed, no Mormon being on the panel — the prosecution broke down. We doubt whether the present administration of the law will succeed in breaking up the system of polygamy; while the air of martyrdom assumed by the leaders increases the loyalty of the community to them and to the system they represent.

Meanwhile the Mormons are increasing in numbers, and the question becomes more difficult and more threatening every year, the more so because of the constitution of the United States. It cannot be too widely known that even now the fundamental principle of the Union is being severely strained. Until a new " territory " contains a certain number of inhabitants it is not regarded as a "State," but when that number is reached it has a constitutional right to claim State privileges. Utah and Idaho, for example, where the Mormons outnumber the Gentiles, are at present only territories, and therefore can be ruled from Washington. But already the former has population enough to be made a " State,'* and it is justly feared by American citizens, that at some, election, when parties are evenly balanced, and reckless politicians are bidding high for influence, Utah will succeed in securing State rights, such as her neighbour California enjoys. Indeed, if the peopling of this territory goes on at its present rapid rate, it will be a flagrant violation of the constitution to refuse her recognition as a State. And if Statehood be once granted it is irrevocable. No subsequent Congress could interfere with the State of Utah, and the presence of the tribunal now in the Salt Lake City, and of the troops outside it, would be illegal. There would be a State in the Union consisting almost entirely of polygamists, welded together as only a religious community can be, absolutely under the control of a bold and fanatical hierarchy. Moreover the constitution of the United States gives each State absolute power over the subjects oi marriage and divorce. Any State legislature is perfectly free to permit a citizen to have a dozen wives if he pleases. We know how the Mormons would use this power to-mor-row if they had it, and as the neighbouring territories of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming are becoming infected by this virus, the difficulty is increasing year by year. No doubt there is a strong objection on the part of the Americans against increasing the power of Congress, lest the present federal system should be .superseded by the united republican system of France. But surely this danger may be guarded against, and it would be worth running a certain risk in order to place questions of marriage and di-

,yprce j^d.er.tiies regulation pf the same, law, for the' r entire ,*lJrripnj,, aliowing tie Federal courts jto,, punish ."violatioja of such enact"questions affect sthe5 the whole community .alike, and ought tb.bedealt with, we ■ think", by, national , legislation, By this change not only would polygamy be stamped as hopeless throughout the entire Union, and the Mormon problem largely solved, but ad-, vantages would accrue to other, States. ■Divorce laws are far too .loose* even inNew York, and in Connecticut, ,- which" claims to be "the land of steady habits ; ",and we are persuaded that such laws which are tolerated in the comparatively small .area of a State woul'd.notjbe. eh'acted i by men who felt that they were, legislating 1 for the whole nation, ,wi£h the .eyes of the /civilised .world t upon tnem.. And not only would moral .law thus receive, higher and' wider sanction, but the .practical difficulties which often.arisefrom the prevalence ' of , different legislation in different States would be swept away.

, In, these days, when people availing themselves pf railway facilities move freely from State to ]Stat!e, when it is computed that over, 10,000,000 American citizens are residing,in States other than those of their birth, this is a serious question, especially for women, who often know but little of the marriage law, and still less of its variations, yet carry their social life in their hands as they pass from one part of the Union to another. Difficult and prolonged as may be the effort to effect any, alteration in the constitution of the United States, the change proposed would probably prove for the,advantage of the whole nation, and would at least put down the growing scandalof polygamous marriages, and shake to its very foundations the structure of hierarchical tyranny in Utah.

In conclusion, it must be noted here that while this paper was passing through the press, The Polygamy BUI was run through Congress without a division. It annuals all Territorial Acts establishing the Corporation known as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints and the Corporation known as the Perpetual Fund Emigration Company, and makes it the duty of the Attorneygeneral to dissolve them. But the constitution of the United States expressly provides that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. This' fundamental law makes it appear doubtful whether Congress is within the limits of its jurisdiction ih dissolving a religious corporation because its members break the break the laws. ' If the Polygamy Bill can be enforced it will sweep Mormonism out of the ■ United States. — Leisure Hour.