Salt Lake City.--The Governor of Utah.--The Zion Cooperative Store.
--Thoughts on Mormonism.--The Semi-annual Conference.--The Eisteddfod.
--The Mormon Temple.--Organ Music.--Panoramic View of Valley.--Statue
of Brigham Young.--Excursion to Saltair.--Departure from Salt Lake City.
We had a full day in Salt Lake City, altogether too short a time for
that interesting place, but we made the most of it and saw much.
We were favored with letters of introduction to Governor Wells, whom we
found in the State House, in most democratic fashion. He seemed a
perfect type of Utah, as seen at its best, cheerful and healthy,
utterly unconventional. He seemed kindly by nature, and not from mere
rules of etiquette. He received us in the office of the secretary of
state; and, in his eagerness to arrange for some pleasure for us, in
our short stay, he did not even think of asking us to be seated.
An additional carriage was soon hospitably placed at our disposal, in
the kindest manner, and in it the governor himself gave us his company.
We went first to the great Zion Cooperative Store, a huge establishment
run by a joint-stock company, all members of the Church of the
Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons, as their more familiar designation runs.
Here, one could see that mixture of everyday life and religion, which
is such a marked feature of the Mormon development.
Mormonism, sprung from American soil, has developed within itself the
ideas of Church and State, and the limitations of individual freedom
and responsibility, which one would imagine only possible under the
most extreme conditions of belief in the divine right of kings, and the
more positive divine right of a visible church.
There is nothing new under the sun, and the principles which we
supposed America never could brook, are here seen in embryo, or in
fact, by the thoughtful observer. In view of the comfort and happiness
which one sees in Utah, and the mutual sympathy which the ideas I have
mentioned exhibit, one is forced to pause and ask himself, May there
not be an object-lesson for us in all this? May we not have thrown away
from our social state, with too stern a hand, all reliance upon
churchly influence, and exaggerated also that idea of personal
independence, so dear to us, forgetting that the individual, in all the
relations of his life, is a part of the state, a member of the body of
the nation, and should be the object of its sympathy, its care, and its
government, at all times and in all places?
It was my second visit to Salt Lake, a place which has always
interested me because of the social and religious problems which one
sees there. In my last visit I happened casually to meet a priest of
the Roman Catholic Church, and asked him offhand what he thought of
things around him. He looked at me fixedly for a moment, and then said,
"There is not an organization on earth that can compare to Mormonism,
in its wide scope, its great grasp, and its practical application."
I am inclined to think he is right. It was my accidental privilege to
be in the city, during my former visit, while the semi-annual
conference of the Latter-Day Saints of Utah Valley was being held.
The huge turtle-shell Tabernacle, easily seating twelve thousand
people, was filled daily. I saw the rank and file of Mormons, the
sturdy agriculturists and their wives, the latter like what one
remembers of Primitive Methodists, apparently utterly oblivious of all
personal adornment; they were, however, crowned with a maternity of
which they seemed proud, as they held their children in their arms.
At one end of the great ellipse of that Tabernacle rose up, tier on
tier of church officers, grade by grade, the Seventies, the Bishops,
the Angels, the Apostles, up to the tripartite headship of three
Presidents, the first of which was Elder Woodruff, venerable, simple,
and wise in appearance. Back of all was the great organ, and a
well-trained choir of three hundred singers.
I heard a number of speeches or sermons, all offhand, and some of them
rambling, but the aside excursions were usually on practical matters,
or to emphasize the fact that the Latter-Day Saints were the salt of
the earth, the power to lead this nation upward from its bloodshed and
wrong-doing; and hints were also given, here and there, that God would
yet avenge the blood of the prophet slain at Nauvoo.
The most striking speech was that made by Mr. Cannon. He looked like a
well-set-up New York business man, faultlessly dressed in an Albert
frock coat, with rubicund countenance and flowing mutton-chop whiskers.
It was absolutely refreshing to hear him, in his clear-cut sentences,
declare that he was then and there speaking under the direct
inspiration of the Holy Ghost. The President, Elder Woodruff, at the
conclusion of the meeting, gave his sanction to all that was said, thus
sealing it as inspired, by his declaration.
A superb anthem by Gounod then floated out over that vast audience, as
all remained seated, taking in the power of the music at their ease. At
its close Elder Woodruff rose, and all rose with him. With a trembling
voice he blessed all in the triune name of God, and the whole assembly
scattered in a few moments through the surrounding doors of the
Tabernacle.
The Eisteddfod of our Welsh citizens was in full blast in Salt Lake at
the same time, and at night I attended the concluding concert. It was
an enthusiastic occasion. There were strangers from points quite
distant, and the place was packed. The acoustic qualities of the
Tabernacle gave wonderful power to both organ and voices, and the
effect of the whole was very fine.
While I was scanning the audience and choir with my opera-glass, one of
the ushers asked me if he might look through it. Of course he could.
But I noticed that he kept pretty steadily to one point in the choir.
On remarking that fact to him, he laughed and said, "Yes, I was looking
at my best girl; there she is, near the centre, dressed in heliotrope
crepe." I looked, too, and saw a remarkably pretty young woman. He
further told me that he was a Mormon, and so was his sweetheart; that
they were going to marry, and that they were both opposed to polygamy.
He was a bright young fellow, and in our conversation he told me that
he had been admitted to some of the higher grades in the Temple, and
that there were Mormons of the lower type, who never could get inside
its walls.
This leads me to speak of the strange combination of utter, naked
simplicity in the ordinary worship of the Mormons, and the extreme of
ritual observances which have place in the secrecy of the Temple. In
the Tabernacle, when I first saw it, there was not a symbol of any kind
visible, no cross, no flower, no sign. In my recent visit, however, in
honor, possibly, of the new Statehood of the former Territory, the Star
of Utah, draped at each side by the Stars and Stripes, appeared over
the organ, and some motto, which I forget, at the other end.
The Mormon Temple is a huge structure of cut granite, brought from the
neighboring mountains on canals constructed for the purpose. It is
surmounted by six pinnacles of considerable height, and as seen from a
distance, has a good effect. In architecture it is, however, quite
nondescript, but doubtless admirably adapted for its purposes. It was
thrown open to invited guests among the Gentiles, or non-Mormons, the
morning before its consecration, for a few hours' private view. I have
been told that the various rooms and passages were quite gorgeous and
impressive in their furnishing and decorations. Since then all such
visitors have been shut out, the only entrance thereto has been kept
closed, and will be, as the Mormons say, until the second coming of
Christ.
The great building stands in its own grounds, surrounded by flowers and
shrubs, kept in beautiful order. Outsiders can approach to within eight
or ten feet of the front door, but no farther.
A small building at one side gives admission to the faithful, who enter
therefrom, to the Temple itself, by means of a connecting underground
passage.
Mormonism is a most interesting exhibition of Primitive Methodism, of
socialism in certain of its aspects, of Judaism, Freemasonry, and
ancient Gnostic ideas, all combined with a compact hierarchy, which
includes various orders of priests, the whole thing in perfect working
order, taking thought for all, in all things, both of soul, mind, body,
and estate.
We were certainly charmingly treated by the Mormons we met, and one
must have for them respect and admiration. It did me good also to see
one of the ladies who were with us, gowned in exquisite taste, quite a
contrast to the rank and file of the Tabernacle. Her costume was a
symphony in green, carried out in all its details perfectly, even to
the gloves, the sunshade, and its malachite handle. We cannot soon
forget the hospitality, the grace, and the sweetness which made us at
home in Salt Lake City, and asked us to come again.
I think I cannot do better to close this Salt Lake chapter than to
quote _in extenso_ the very full notes from Mrs. Morgan's diary, which
here I do:
"At ten A.M. the carriages came to take us out, and we drove first to
the State House, where we found Governor Wells, to whom Dr. Humphreys
had an introduction. The governor received us most kindly, and he and
Mr. and Mrs. Hammond came driving with us, and pointed out the various
objects of interest. We first drove through the business streets,
visiting a large department store, and from there to the Mormon
Tabernacle, which is a very peculiar building, something like an
enormous turtle, the dome roof coming low down and resting on brick
buttresses. Between these buttresses are large doors, so that, it is
said, this huge building, able to hold twelve thousand people, can be
emptied in four minutes.
"Inside, a large gallery runs all round, and we walked to the opposite
end, where we distinctly heard a pin dropped at the place from which we
started, such are the perfect acoustic properties of the house."
I may here add that a really gruesome effect was also produced by the
mere rubbing together of the hands of the gentleman who dropped the
pin. The distinct swish-swish of the contacting palms was terribly
audible.
Mrs. Morgan proceeds to tell us further:
"The organist kindly played us a couple of selections, and, whether the
organ was unusually good, or whether it was the effect of the building,
I cannot say, but I never enjoyed music more. We afterwards all joined
in singing 'My Country, 'tis of Thee.'
"The Temple is a handsome building in the same enclosure, built of
granite, but 'Gentiles' are not admitted to the inside.
"We then were driven past the different residences of Brigham Young:
the Lion House, where three of his widows still reside; the Bee Hive,
and the house where his favorite wife, Amelia Folsom, a cousin of
ex-President Cleveland's wife, resided. Brigham Young had seventeen
wives, and fifty-seven children. We passed through the Eagle Gate,
erected by Brigham Young, seeing also a fine site where he intended to
build a college or seat of learning. We then went to a point where we
had a beautiful view of the valley in which the city of Salt Lake lies,
and a most remarkable and exquisite view it was. All around were the
grand, snow-capped mountains, guarding and holding, as it were, in the
hollow of their hands, the city, with its wide streets, and lines of
straight, tall Lombardy poplars, and its thousands of little homes,
small and cosy, usually not more than one story in height. Of course
there were mansions and houses of more pretentious aspect, but it
seemed to me essentially the workingmen's home.
"The statue of Brigham Young adorns the centre of the town, and while
one cannot but abhor certain of his religious views, one cannot but
acknowledge that he was a far-seeing man of great ability.
"It is stated that, great as has been the growth of the city, it has
not reached the limit laid out for it by Brigham Young, when he and his
handful of followers first settled in the then arid and desolate plain,
with its brooding circle of white-tipped hills.
"We returned to our car for dinner, and afterwards the governor
arrived, bringing with him Colonel and Mrs. Clayton. Our car, at the
governor's request, was attached to the regular passenger train to
Saltair, a point some five miles distant, on Great Salt Lake. We found
there a vast pavilion and bathing establishment, capable of
accommodating thousands. The water of the lake is so strongly
impregnated with salt, that nothing except a sort of minute shrimp
lives in it. It was too early in the season for us to take a dip. We
were assured that it was impossible to sink in the water.
"On our way back we passed Colonel Clayton's salt beds, into which the
water is pumped and left to evaporate. The salt which remains is piled
into great heaps. Some of it, in its crude state, is shipped to the
silver mines, where it is used in the reducing of silver from the ore.
Some of the salt is taken to the refining houses, to be manufactured
into the article of domestic use. We spent a pleasant hour in the great
pavilion at Saltair, and then returned in the car to the city, where
our kind friends took leave of us, Mrs. Clayton telling me, before
going, that I greatly resembled a daughter of Brigham Young's by his
first wife! As Mrs. Clayton herself was of the Mormon faith, as was
also Governor Wells, I took it, as it was intended to be, as a
compliment."
Night was settling down upon us as we turned eastward from Salt Lake
City, with faces homeward bound.
The picturesque desert, with its purple hills and terraced mountains,
was all concealed by the darkness. At the early morning hour we reached
Glenwood Springs, but decided not to stay there, and continued on
without delay to Colorado Springs, reaching there on the evening of a
day, never to be forgotten, of which we will tell in the next chapter.