MORMON HOMES AND SOCIAL LIFE
In the older days, when polygamy was a recognized institution in Utah,
there was much in the organization of a Mormon home that was calculated
to excite interest, bordering on curiosity, in the minds of many, who
have regarded such complex domestic relations as peculiar to the
luxurious life in an Oriental harem.
This curiosity was intensified by sensational statements made in the
East,--chiefly by women, but in some cases by men, who had renounced,
and later denounced, Mormonism. It is quite possible that the stilted
dignity of some officials, the eager search for the sensational, which
had characterized the rude intrusion of some writers, and the pronounced
antagonism of the greater number of Gentile residents, prevented such
persons from entering the Mormon homes, except to find their members
very reserved and in no frame of mind to disclose the inner life of the
family.
There also seemed to be a hidden mystery connected with the secret
religious rites of the Endowment House which were said by many persons
to be both solemn and indelicate, and extended through three degrees
with a symbolic ritual quite as elaborate as that which is used in
Masonry.
In the earlier days in Salt Lake City, this ceremony was performed in a
large adobe structure, known as the Endowment House, but since the
completion of the Temple, it had been held in the Temple Building. As
none but the elect are permitted to enter those sacred precincts, we
must obtain our information from persons who, although, perhaps, pledged
to secrecy, are nevertheless now willing to reveal the facts. An
estimable old lady, who is held in high regard by all her neighbors, but
who is now no longer a Mormon, has told me all that she could remember
of the trying ordeal, and has shown me the robe which she wore in this
ceremony through which she passed, after she left the State of New York
with her parents, and joined with the Saints in the far West. She has
preserved the robe more than forty years.
The rite, which may properly be termed confirmation, was performed upon
this young lady (as such religious ceremonies usually are) through
parental influence and through the advice of church officers. She
believed it to be her religious duty to enter the Endowment House, but
she was thoroughly uninformed concerning the nature of what she should
there see or do, and for which, being a helpless subject, she was not
responsible, although for sixteen years thereafter she accepted the
revelation of the Mormon prophets and for years was a faithful Mormon
wife. It would appear from her frank narration that there was nothing in
the ceremony, itself, that justifies the malicious gossip. I have heard
from many uninformed persons, that some features of the ceremony are
indecent, and that its secrecy is intended simply to conceal rites which
would be flagrantly offensive, if performed in the presence of intimate
friends or of the family.
Mrs. Stenhouse, who has written at length upon this subject, confirms
the statement that while "The elaborate ceremonial seems ridiculously
absurd, there is nothing in it that is immoral." My informant regarded
the ceremony as being sometimes woefully solemn, often thrilling, but
exceedingly fatiguing because of the many hours required to pass
through each degree. Her baptism, according to Mormon practice, was by
immersion. She wore a loose white robe, extending to the ankles, and
leaving one arm free. A linen belt encircled the waist. She was anointed
with olive oil. She passed the ceremony of purification, and was then
led into a representation of the Garden of Eden, from which time no
members of her family were present. This long ceremony ended the first
degree. Having been driven from the garden and its temptations, the
novice receives secret signs and passwords and unites in solemn oaths,
and finally passes beyond the veil. The remainder of the ceremony seemed
to be simple and uninteresting.
It hardly seems necessary to attempt an explanation of the so-called
Celestial marriages, or marriages for eternity, as distinguished from
marriages made simply for life, and which have been the subject of much
ridicule because of the peculiar situation that arises when the two
relations are held successively by two different husbands. I should
prefer to leave this occult mystery in the state in which it has already
been left by writers who have, perhaps satisfactorily to themselves,
endeavored to give it a clear presentation.
The ethics of polygamy, and the authority for its adoption, as I have
heard it set forth by the Mormon prophet, are exhaustively presented by
Bancroft in his history of Utah. Some very thoughtful comments in a
kindly, though not approving vein, are made by the much esteemed Bishop
Tuttle in his interesting work _Reminiscences of a Missionary Bishop_.
Rather than devote space to an attempted exposition of this much
discussed doctrine, let us visit some of the several homes with which we
were once somewhat familiar. There are two wives in the household where
we are first to be received. We enter the hall, which is a customary
feature of the homes, and learning that our looked for host is with his
wife, Sister Maria, in the sitting-room at the right, we are conducted
to that apartment, and find that entire branch of the family, including
the three children, gathered there. In Utah the women are present, as in
any American home, and enter freely into the conversation with their
husbands and guests. There is nothing in the home we are now visiting
that would suggest luxury or any tendency toward high living. I observed
a Bible and _Book of Mormon_ lying upon a table near where I sat.
Doubtless a copy of _Doctrines and Covenants_ is near at hand, as one is
usually found in every loyal Mormon home. A picture of the Martyred
Prophet, also one of President Young, hang upon the walls. Doors
communicate between the sitting-room and bed-rooms. Another door
communicates with the dining-room, which is at the rear of the hall, and
is used in common by both branches of the family.
After half an hour spent in conversation, we all pass across the hall to
Sister Ellen's apartment, where we find almost an exact duplication of
the rooms we first entered. Sister Ellen is somewhat younger than Maria,
and but two children have as yet blessed that alliance. Belonging to a
people of simple habits, the wives are trained to habits of industry,
and attend to all the domestic duties of the home. The dress of the
women is, therefore, very plain.
While it may be true that the relations between the two branches of this
family are as variable as are those of average Gentile families in our
cities who live in connecting flats, and who, when company is present,
usually appear to be on terms of perfect amity one with another, and
that this Mormon home has its conflicts, yet it must be admitted that
there is now a peaceful atmosphere, and the children, who are sometimes
a social barometer, pass freely from one apartment to the other.
Another friend, a merchant, invites us to call. He also happens to have
exactly two wives, both of whom, but at different times, I have since
entertained with their husband in my Eastern home. This gentleman
enjoyed the luxury of two very well appointed homes, separated by about
fifty feet of lawn, in each of which was housed one branch of his
family. He frankly informed me that he devoted each alternate week to
each family. I remarked that this plan must occasion considerable moving
of his own personal effects.
"Oh no," he replied. "It is easy enough, but I think things go a little
smoother when each woman has her own home."
I observed, however, that wife number one ran over in a pleasant and
familiar way, and joined in our visit. The husband said that he honestly
and conscientiously divided his time between his two families. These
women were refined, and had profited by better educational advantages
than were afforded the greater number of people whom I had met in Utah.
It would be strange indeed if an indication of partiality or preference
for either wife by her husband would not arouse some feelings of
resentment, and possibly jealousy, in the heart of the other.
I once asked one bright lady if she really favored the idea of a
plurality of wives.
"Yes," she replied slowly, and then added, "but it is because it is
God's will. I would prefer to have a whole husband."
To me this reply seemed to be a fair statement of the attitude of Mormon
women toward polygamy.
[Illustration: GREAT SALT LAKE]
During nearly all of our sojourn in the city our venerable and beloved
traveling companion, Deacon Simeon E. Cobb, had been in another Mormon
home very ill. It was a home, however, in which there was but one wife,
and which I frequently visited. On the 10th of October, the Deacon
peacefully passed away. All of the members of our party were summoned to
the city, and on the following day we laid him in a cemetery, situated
away up near Camp Douglass, and overlooking the entire Jordan Valley.
There was no clergyman in the city to assist in the obsequies. The
Reverend Norman McLeod was then on his Eastern trip already referred to.
Deacon Cobb's Mormon home had been a comfortable asylum in his days of
suffering, and he had said, previous to his death, that the good wife
who attended him had been an angel of mercy.
I will allow those writers who have met bad women among the Mormons to
give their own experiences. Personally I have met none who did not seem
to be moral and true to the fundamental principles that underlie
Christian character, as they understood them.
Some writings that I have perused comment on the race deterioration of
this people, as the result of polygamy. In theory one would expect such
a result, and the practice, doubtless, has produced its effects.
However, from personal observation I am unable to discover wherein the
children in Utah appear to be materially different from those in other
parts of our country, though in Salt Lake City there is a mixed
population composed of Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, English, native
Americans and other industrious people. This is not an apology for the
abhorrent practice of polygamy; but it must be supposed that temperance,
industry, and the recognized value of other good habits, as prescribed,
and fairly well observed by the Mormons are sure to produce more
favorable results than are the rapid and dissipated careers of many
children of fortune, who are so-called leaders in American social life.
The facilities for education, the libraries, the opportunities provided
for wholesome amusement, and the development in music, were certainly on
as advanced a scale as were those in any part of our Western States or
territories in that day. The University of Deseret, legalized by their
Legislature Assembly, was opened in November, 1850, and provided for
free admission to students. In it the use of tobacco and intoxicants was
especially interdicted. The work of the institution was discontinued
during the war because of insufficient funds, and it was, therefore, not
in operation during my first visit. It was re-opened in 1867.
Brigham encouraged music and the drama. The large and well-trained choir
in the Tabernacle is even to this day an attraction for visitors.
Theatrical performances were regularly given from the earliest days of
the Mormon settlement. In an address delivered by Brigham in 1852, he is
quoted in the _History of Brigham Young_, MS. of that year, as stating,
with reference to dancing and theatricals,--"These pastimes give me a
privilege to throw everything off and shake myself that my body may
exercise and my mind rest." Their dancing parties were, therefore,
conducted under the supervision of church officers, and it was said that
they were opened with prayer.
The fine Salt Lake Theater building was in use at the time of our visit
in 1866, and was practically unchanged in 1910, except (as I observed)
that opera-chairs were substituted for long seats in the main part of
the auditorium.
An excellent stock company, in which three of the president's daughters
were regular members, appeared at this theater two nights each week. No
dramatic entertainments were given there on other nights. The president
regularly occupied his box at the right of the stage in company with one
wife, who was said then to be his favorite,--the other wives occupying
their regular seats, side by side, in two long rows in the parquet. All
the wives were usually present. Gentiles were expected to sit in the
circles and galleries above. The entertainment and other features of the
performances in the theater partook of the nature of family gatherings.
The parquet afforded opportunities for social greetings among the
Saints, and between the acts presented an animated scene. Laura Keene,
Maggie Mitchell, the Irvins, Phelps and other stars of the day, were
introduced from time to time. The auditorium was said to have a seating
capacity of more than 2,500.
As examples of the plays presented, all of which I witnessed, may be
mentioned, _Gilderoy_, _Camilla's Husband_, _Brother Bill & Me_, _Robert
McCaire_, _As Like as Two Peas_, _Women's Love_, _Extremes_, _Love
Knot_, _Deaf as a Post_, _The Old Chateau_, _Charles XII King of
Sweden_, _Jeremy Diddler_, _Grimaldi, or Perfection_, _The Robbers_,
_Barney the Baron_, _Advertising for a Wife_, and _Marble Heart_,
written by Mr. Sloan, a local playwright.
With but few exceptions, these were well presented. It is my belief that
at no time have the Mormons allowed to be presented upon their stage
any plays of the shameful and disgraceful type so popular at many of our
Eastern and further Western places of amusement.
On a recent visit to Salt Lake, I was escorted by a mother in Israel,
whom I had long known, to the old home of Brigham Young, in the front
part of which I had been received many years before. His daughter, Zina,
now a matron well advanced in years, presides over that building, which
is now used as an industrial school for girls. It was this Zina, who,
forty-four years before, when a bright young girl of fifteen years,
having, with certain of her sisters, received careful training in
elocution, appeared upon the stage of the Salt Lake City theater before
an enthusiastic and friendly audience which filled the house to the
upper gallery. Her rôle, as I remember, was not a prominent one, but her
modest bearing, her clear musical voice and distinct enunciation, won
universal commendation. She is now, as she doubtless was then,
dignified, earnest, and interesting; but now she is a woman who seems to
believe that she has a mission in the training of young girls for lives
of usefulness.
We sat in the old private room, once used by her father, in which were
the desk, tables and closets, not ordinarily opened to the public, and
this for reasons that relic hunters well understand; but in those
cabinets were many records and other objects of interest which seemed to
be of historic value.
We passed back into the long hall on either side of which were rooms,
each of which was formerly occupied by one of President Young's wives.
All of these rooms are comparatively small, old-style, and simple in
their appointments. We visited the old dining-room, where the president
and his family, including his many children sat at their meals, using a
single long table, at the head of which the president was accustomed to
sit. In another room, which is in the basement, we were served with an
excellent lunch by the young ladies of the domestic science school, who
were courteous, gracious, and each apparently as worthy of a good whole
husband as is any daughter that graces fashionable circles in the East.
The work of the school, to which Sister Zina, as she was called, is
devoting her mature years, was fully explained. It is almost needless to
state, that when she had summoned and introduced David McKenzie, the
venerable manager and director of the theater, the man who had presented
her to her first audience in 1866, our conversation turned into a
lighter and more reminiscent vein. We did, however, speak of the trials
of her people and of many serious matters already referred to in these
chapters, and of some incidents which, though interesting, would require
more space if mentioned at all, than could here be given them. But
Sister Zina is loyal to her father's memory.
In March, 1912, the curtain fell and closed the last act in McKenzie's
life. He was a devout Mormon, had often preached in the tabernacle and
maintained local dramatic art along high moral lines.
Gibbon classes among the most furious sectaries of religion much
persecuted, such Christians as the Hussites of Bohemia, the Calvinists
of France and the Paulicians of America in the ninth century, but he was
too just a historian to put all their leaders outside the pale of worthy
citizenship.
So when I have sat in the presence of the venerable Mrs. Emeline B.
Wells, now 85 years of age, I have always been inspired with profound
respect for her noble character and high culture. She was an early
Mormon pioneer and is still editor of "The Woman's Exponent," an
accomplished writer and conversationalist.
When I read her exquisite poem "The Wife to the Husband," I am led to
the conviction that whatever there may be wrong in Mormon teachings
there are women among that people who have exalted conceptions of
domestic relations.
In the old days the Tithing House was a large adobe structure situated
near the Tabernacle, where was received in kind a tenth of the surplus,
as a consecration, and after that, one tenth of the increase or earnings
annually. The earliest revelations to Joseph Smith in 1831, commanding
the payment of tithes, are quoted in _Times and Seasons_, Vols. IV and
V. The later alleged revelations and instructions are published in the
several Mormon journals.
The present offices of the church are now installed in a large and
well-appointed building, which is as complete as are the offices of any
other great modern financial institution. As one passes by the
bookkeepers into the vaults and directors' room it seems as if one were
visiting the headquarters of a huge, well-ordered business corporation.
It is not strange that many of the active men, who were at the front in
Mormon affairs half a century ago, are no longer seen on the streets of
Salt Lake City. Time, however, has dealt kindly with the now venerable
Hiram B. Clawson, twice son-in-law of Brigham, a man once quite as
prominent as any other in the social, business, and military life of
Utah. In the panic of 1873 he was sent East with H. S. Eldredge to
arrange an extension of the obligations of Zion's Mercantile
Institution, of which he was then superintendent. His work was
conducted with success, and in less than eight months the entire
liability, amounting to $1,100,000, was fully paid, a considerable
portion of it being transmitted through the firm of which I was a
member. He finally stated that the losses of the Company at that time,
through bad debts, did not exceed one-fourth of one per cent, which was
as decisive an indication of the integrity of the people as could easily
have been found anywhere in that calamitous year. In my last interview
with the old gentleman we discussed this experience, as well as our
memorable interview with Brigham Young, already reported in another
chapter.
The practice of polygamy is rapidly declining among the Mormons in Utah.
In response to the demands of the Saints themselves, Congress, in 1862,
and again in 1882, enacted laws which it was hoped would remedy the
evil. The law of 1862, known as the Edmunds Act, declared such
cohabitation to be a misdemeanor. Nevertheless, within the past six
years I have been sheltered in a Mormon home, located somewhat outside
of the Utah line, where three women were present as the wives of the
host.
Whatever may be the relations between husband and wives, there can be no
perfectly amicable relations between the Mormons and other people in our
country while these conditions continue. There is to this day an
undisguisable sentiment of distrust of each other on the part of both
Mormon and Gentile elements in Utah, the like of which does not seem to
exist between adherents of other religious faiths in our country.
This statement leads us to consider what seems to be the fundamental
cause of the greater part of the Mormon suffering and trials in the
years gone by, and of their many conflicts with national and state
governments, for which the mass of that people are certainly not
responsible.
Orson Pratt, the Apostle, said "There can be but one perfect
government--that organized by God--a government by apostles, prophets,
priests, teachers, and evangelists."
We read in the Millennial Star, (a church organ) 1844, reasons why
Joseph Smith, the prophet, should be and logically was the president of
the United States. In that year he was formally announced as a candidate
for that office (see _Times and Seasons_, June, 1844). By virtue of his
supremacy in the church he was also at the same time Commander-in-Chief
of the Nauvoo Legion, and Mayor of the City of Nauvoo.
The reign of King Strang, referred to in another chapter, was a
theocracy, and was in harmony with the Mormon precedent established by
the first prophet.
"I am and will be governor, and no power can hinder it," were the words
used by Brigham Young in a discourse in the Tabernacle, 1853, as quoted
by Bancroft in his _History of Utah_, page 481.
The assumption of civil authority by the Roman Pontiffs in the Middle
Ages, as a divine right, was not more autocratic than was the attempted
usurpation of civil and religious sovereignty by the men whose words and
acts are hereinbefore set forth.
On the other hand, if Divine revelation of more recent date than that
which was alleged to have come to Joseph Smith on Cumorah Hill is
believed to have come to an American woman, and this later revelation is
honestly accepted, and its inspired author is revered by thousands of
good and intelligent men and women, it is not surprising if the _Book of
Mormon_, and other prophetic deliverances alleged to have been received
from time to time in the dramatic and mysterious manner that appeals to
the credulous, should also be accepted and obeyed by the faithful.
If the many revelations and commands published to the Mormon people
through the medium of their prophets be accepted and obeyed, and all
under the honest conviction that such revelations are of divine origin,
it necessarily follows that the Mormon hierarch that issues such decrees
is the arbiter and guide of Mormon conduct. The Mormon laity believed
that these supposed divine commands emanate from a higher source than do
the acts of Congress, and that civil authority is centered in the head
of their Church. It would, therefore, be brutally illogical to lay upon
the women of Utah any unnecessary burdens of censure for their violation
of Congressional and other secular enactments before mentioned,
especially as they have not profited but only suffered from the
violation dictated and enforced by conscience. None the less it remains
true that Mormon rule and practice are not in harmony with the spirit
and genius of American institutions, neither can they be until the laws
of the land, which they have a part in framing, are unreservedly
recognized and obeyed.
A defection in the Mormon Church, led by Joseph Smith, Junior, then in
Plano, Illinois, was the subject of much controversy during our visit.
These dissenters were known as Josephites. Their creed, denouncing
polygamy and declaring that Brigham Young had apostatized from the true
faith, is set forth in Waite's _The Mormon Prophet_.
Much of the merchandise that was on our incoming ox train was consigned
to William S. Godbe, who was at the head of the so-called Godbeite
movement, for which revolt he and others were ex-communicated and
"delivered over to the buffetings of Satan" "for the period of 1000
years," which seemed to be the approved conventional term of buffeting
to which recusants from the Orthodox Mormon Church were uniformly
condemned. Whether any abridgment of this millennium might be expected
in recognition of good behavior, seems never to have been revealed even
to the most highly favored.
In opposition to Brigham's policy, Mr. Godbe had strongly urged the
development of mining in Utah,--a fact that might have recommended him
to the friendly consideration of the accomplished Buffeter, who is
thought to take much interest at least in coal mining.
It was on the evening of October 8th, immediately after my return from a
trip to the mountains, that I was invited to a conference with Governor
Charles Durkee, Judge Fields, and Dr. O. H. Conger, at which time among
other topics were discussed the perplexing state of political affairs in
the territory and the situation with reference to mining industries.
At that time Dr. Conger was developing in the interest of other parties
a promising silver mine, which Godbe investigated with some care. It was
located up in the Wasatch range, at the head of Little Cottonwood
canyon, and three years later it became historic and notorious as the
Emma Mine.
The sale of it three years later to an English Syndicate for 1,000,000
pounds sterling has taken rank as one of the most prodigious mining
swindles on record. At the time of this sale the original owners had
parted company with the venture. To give his younger friend a view of
the attractive scenery, I was invited by the doctor to accompany him on
a trip to the new diggings, which were up on the side of the Twin Peaks.
The ride up that wild gorge, one of the grandest in Utah, was intensely
interesting. The water race at the mine, newly cut through a ledge of
marble yet unstained by exposure and therefore white as snow, wherein to
conduct the wonderfully transparent mountain stream, was a striking
feature. The whiteness of the conduit made the clear water invisible,
except when it received the reflected sunlight. A careless pedestrian
might easily attempt heedlessly to walk down in the bottom upon the
marble bed. In dipping from the surface it was necessary to feel one's
way to where the pure air ended and the water began. The white marble
channel bed was the chief cause of this uncommon transparency. The
miners' cabin built from logs of balsam fir, the berths filled with
twigs from that fragrant tree, and the brilliant wood fire in the
massive open fireplace in which were burned resinous balsam logs, made
the great room redolent with a delightful perfume, which I have never
forgotten. But all these suggestions of purity were smothered later in
the ethically malodorous transaction already mentioned.
Incidentally I continued the ascent of the Twin Peaks, from the top of
which is doubtless obtained the finest possible view of the Jordan
Valley and Great Salt Lake. To this remarkable body of water a brief
reference seems appropriate. It has been so frequently described that it
seems proper only to state on the authority of the _American
Encyclopedia_ that it contains 22 per cent of Chloride of Sodium (salt),
with a specific gravity ordinarily of 1.17, and is probably the purest
and most concentrated brine constituting any large body of water on the
globe.
Having bathed also in the Dead Sea I have found its waters to be equally
transparent and about equal in buoyancy, the specific gravity being
about the same as that of Salt Lake. The most noticeable difference in
effect is the prickling sensation and the smooth oily feeling of the
Dead Sea waters, which are attributed to the presence of nearly 3 per
cent of Chloride of Calcium; a bitter taste is also imparted by the more
than 10 per cent of Chloride of Magnesium. The desire for a rinse in
fresh water is strongly felt on emerging from the Palestinian Sea. The
warm spring, which as already stated had at one time been pre-empted by
Dr. Robinson, was a favorite resort where we occasionally took a plunge.
The waters have a temperature of 95 degrees and are impregnated with
sulphur.
During the summer my companions, Ben and Fred, made a trip to Montana.
They assured me that the primary purposes of their expedition were
business and seeing the country but who would suppose that they would
fail to find the young ladies from whom they had separated at the
Parting of the Ways!
Later in the season they took the stage for San Francisco and thence
sailed for New York via Panama. In the meantime, it became my duty to
make a number of excursions, some of which may be of sufficient interest
to describe.