The Mormon Puzzle, And How To Solve It Part 12

"8. We believe the Bible to be the Word of G.o.d, as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the 'Book of Mormon' to be the Word of G.o.d.

"9. We believe all that G.o.d has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of G.o.d.

"10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this continent; that Christ will reign personally upon this earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisic glory.

"11. We claim the privilege of wors.h.i.+pping Almighty G.o.d according to the dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege; let them wors.h.i.+p how, when, or where they will.

"12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates; in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

"13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we say that we follow the admonition of Paul: 'We believe all things; we hope all things;' we have endured many things, and hope to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

The fact is, that this nineteenth century heresy bears much the same relation to the Gospel of to-day that Gnosticism, Montanism, and Manicheism did to that of the early centuries. On the true foundation of the Old and New Testaments, it has built a structure of wood, hay, and stubble. "To the law and the testimony," is the constant cry. Argument is based almost entirely upon the Bible. Proof-texts are quoted by the thousand.

Our object in directing attention to the Christian element in Mormonism is not to furnish apology or to divert attention from its fearful errors; but it is mentioned because it furnishes a decided clue to the vitality and persistency of the system, and also opens our eyes as to the best way to solve the religious puzzle which this system presents before us. The great question to be answered is: How are we to get rid of _the erroneous doctrines of Mormonism_?

CHAPTER XV.

THE RELIGIOUS PUZZLE (_concluded_).

The character of efforts. .h.i.therto put forth to solve the puzzle--What has been accomplished--The plan somewhere defective--Mormonism to be reformed, not destroyed--Why Mormons will not listen to Christian missionaries--Moody and Sankey's meetings in Salt Lake City--_The Deseret Evening News_ on Bishop Tuttle's sermon--Mormonism a perversion of Christianity--The educational and colonization scheme best fitted to reform it--Proved by comparing Roman Catholicism in the United States with Roman Catholicism in Mexico or Brazil--The probable effect of a larger intelligence--The probable effect of the introduction of Gentile colonies--The religious puzzle solved--The duty of the hour.

Hitherto the efforts which have been put forth against Mormonism as a religious system have been the same in character as when contending with Buddhism, Confucianism, or any other pagan religion. _And what has been accomplished?_

It is not our desire to depreciate what has been done in Utah by the n.o.ble Christian men and women who have faced the insults of men and sometimes death itself in battling with the errors of Mormonism. They are Christian heroes and heroines, and are deserving of all praise and honor. They are worthy to receive crowns and laurels that can never fade. But their sterling worth and Christian heroism do not alter the facts concerning the visible results of their labors. It is true that nearly twenty years elapsed after the occupation of Salt Lake Valley by the Mormons before any attempt was made to introduce the Gospel. It was only by the occupation of Camp Douglas, in 1862, by several regiments of United States troops that the way began to be opened; and only since 1865 has there been any missionary work done in the Territory. But in the twenty years of missionary work what has been accomplished? How many converts from Mormonism have been obtained?

Rev. R. G. McNiece, D.D., of Salt Lake City, in a personal letter to the writer, said: "The number of converts directly from the Mormon ranks I cannot give you; but it is very small, especially among adults. Among the youth the number is greater, and here is where the hope lies. The children and youth come under Christian influence first in the day-schools maintained by the Christian denominations. In the Sabbath-school this influence is deepened, and thereby the way into the Church is opened. I should say that THREE HUNDRED WOULD BE A LARGE ESTIMATE OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHRISTIAN CONVERTS FROM THE MORMON RANKS; but the work thus far has been preparatory."

Now, while it is very true that the work has been in great measure preparatory, nevertheless no such long preparation as twenty years should be necessary in dealing with a people to a great extent speaking our own language. If it were China, or j.a.pan, or India just opened, and it required time for the missionaries to get acquainted with the habits and language of the people, it would be a very different thing. It seems from the small crop of Christian converts thus far obtained that the system of missionary work adopted is somewhere defective.

And does not the fact of the large Christian element in the Mormon religious system show that it must not be treated as a pagan religion? and that different methods must be adopted to overcome its evils? All missionary labor in Utah up to the present time has been in open and direct antagonism to the whole Mormon system, and its object has been openly and professedly to exterminate it from the face of the earth. Now, we raise the question, _Can any Christian sect be easily annihilated?_ Should it be our desire to exterminate it? Should not the object of all our efforts be _to reform it_--to purge the gold of its dross? And so, does it not seem far more likely that Mormonism is not to be _destroyed_ at all, but rather _reformed_ by various influences brought to bear upon it?

The adult Mormons will not go to hear the Christian missionaries, for they believe that all that is good in Christianity they have already in their own system. The only difference is that they have more; they have an enlarged and expanded Christianity. Consequently they think their system is vastly superior to the Christian's. Mormon boys write "_Come to Jesus_"

on the clean, white window-sills of Christian chapels, while their parents at home tell them that they know a hundredfold more truth than the Christians, whose whole creed, they say, begins and ends with this despised phrase.

The evangelists Moody and Sankey held a series of meetings in Salt Lake City only a few years ago, and the _Deseret Evening News_, the official Mormon organ, in an editorial on Moody's preaching in that city, said: "There is not a man among the whole fraternity of evangelists who can present anything of any value to the Latter-Day Saints which they have not already received; and there is no preacher of them all who, if he were desirous of learning the truth as it is in Jesus, but could learn very many valuable lessons in the things of G.o.d from members of our Young People's Improvement a.s.sociations, and even from our Sunday-school children. 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ' is a saying the full meaning of which is appreciated by the Latter-Day Saints. To exhort them to 'faith in Christ' is the work of supererogation."

And shortly after, the same paper, in an editorial on a sermon preached by Bishop Tuttle, of the Episcopal Church, in Philadelphia, said: "So far as the inst.i.tutions of modern Christendom are concerned, we candidly confess our lack of confidence in their power to do anything for us.... We have got so far beyond them through the revelations of the Almighty vouchsafed in these latter days, that we look back upon their teachings as a man reverts to the alphabet of his school-days, and we remember their powerless forms and spiritless ceremonies as mere playthings compared with the higher things of the kingdom to which the system they call _Mormonism_ has introduced us."

Thus we see that Christianity is discounted by the Mormons from the very start; and can we, then, hope to accomplish its overthrow by the ordinary means? From its peculiar relations to Christianity, must we not in reason and fairness regard the Mormon Church, as we must the Roman Catholic Church and even Mohammedanism, as being not utterly false, so much as a mingling of error with truth? It is, therefore, a perversion of Christianity. There is genuine Gospel enough in the Mormon creed to save it from the grave. We are, therefore, to look for a repudiation of the false rather than the destruction of both false and true together.

And what would be better calculated to effect this end than the colonization and educational scheme, which we have already advocated as the surest and easiest means to overcome the political and social evils of the system? The Roman Catholic system is in many respects similar to the Mormon system; and see what intelligence and a surrounding atmosphere of pure Christian truth has done for Roman Catholicism in our land! What a vast difference there is between the system here and the same system in Mexico, Brazil, Spain, or Italy! There is a difference almost as wide as the hemispheres. Take a Roman Catholic from our land to Brazil or Spain, and he will scarcely recognize his religion in that religion called there by the same name. And what has brought about this difference? The American Roman Catholic has been surrounded by intelligence and a free, pure, Christian society. These two things have so operated upon American Roman Catholicism as to greatly reform it and almost radically change it, while they did not antagonize it in a spirit of rancor. How wonderful the revolution! And it has not ceased yet, but is ever going on. The same things would thus be done, we believe, for Mormonism.

1. _A larger intelligence_ would surely modify or wholly set aside the claims of the priesthood to the possession of divine authority and power, and would relegate to the realm of oblivion such outlandish doctrines as _baptisms for the dead_. As Froude says, "Ignorance is the dominion of absurdity."

And, from the same cause, the demand would gradually spring up for pulpit teaching, couched in a far better spirit, and of much higher intellectual character. The presence of a few intelligent Gentiles has already put to shame and almost banished from religious a.s.semblies those harangues which in days not very remote were accustomed to combine in about equal measure the profane, the obscene, and the brutal.

2. And, then, _the introduction of Gentile colonists_ in large numbers would naturally increase the force of effective preaching missionaries, and they would then be supported, not by the churches in other parts of our land, but by the Utah colonists themselves. In this way we would have _more missionaries at less expense_, and they would accomplish more in the end than an aggressive force, such as we now have, though it were increased tenfold.

Then the Territory would be fairly flooded with Gospel inst.i.tutions of every sort. In every Mormon town there would be a school and a church; and there being in every community a few who in character and life would be truly Christlike, they, aided by the sharp criticisms of a free press, would cuttingly and most effectually rebuke the seriously lax morals of the Mormon Church; and before long it would be found to be politic and necessary in sheer self-defence to remove from Church leaders.h.i.+p whoever in walk and conversation would fail to conform to what is at least decent.

It is most likely that in this way the better elements in Mormondom would be led, unconsciously perhaps, to a.s.sert their force, and work out through grace a religious reformation. The leaven of revolt is slowly working now.

It is well known that many Mormons do not countenance polygamy, and the time may yet come when this view shall prevail, notwithstanding the alleged revelations in the case. And there may come a time when, with polygamy, other false doctrines will be questioned or rejected. And thus reformed, purified, and made fit to live, we may expect to see Mormonism continue for generations a sect fairly Christian, although it would doubtless have many peculiar points; or there may come, through the workings of the Gospel in this subtle way, such a division in belief among the Mormon ranks as to rend asunder the entire Mormon organism.

To this work of internal reformation let us direct our forces. Let the Christians of our land arise in all their might and endeavor to have schools planted all over the Territory of Utah, that intelligence and freedom may be widely disseminated; and let them form Colonization Aid Societies to induce Christian families to emigrate to Utah, and settle in every Mormon town and hamlet. Through _the faithful representation and living of the Gospel_ I have all hope.

In strict accord with this belief, Rev. Arthur T. Pierson, D.D., pastor of the Bethany Church, Philadelphia, in the _Homiletic Review_, October, 1885, said: "Salt Lake Valley needs nothing more to-day than colonies of Christian tradesmen. Mormonism should be confronted with the witness of a Christian community, consecrated workmen in all the learned professions and departments of industry; Christian families free from the taint of polygamy and full of the rich blessing of the normal household." Likewise, Judge Osborne, of Utah, wrote recently as follows: "An excellent way to do good with little or no cost would be the location of Christian families in the Mormon towns.... The Mormon priesthood insist upon the complete isolation of their dupes from Christian civilization. They say, 'You must live your religion;' they obey, and the result is bitter fruit. Let a few Christian families 'live _their_ religion' in their presence, and the darkness of prejudice and superst.i.tion would roll away like the mist before the morning sun."

Yes, put in every Mormon town a few n.o.ble Christian families, consecrated men and women, who in character and life shall exhibit the sweet spirit of the Man of Nazareth, who by example and precept shall show a more excellent way, and presently error will depart, and iniquity hide its head abashed. Let the various denominations combine and co-operate against the common foe in that silent yet most effective way, and the Mormon Puzzle will be solved, and solved forever. Let us all labor to this end.

"O Christ, our land for thee; Naught less we crave, That Thou supreme mayst be From wave to wave.

Naught less we ask of Thee, Our prayer unceasingly, Our land for Thee, All, all for Thee."

THE END.