THE SOCIAL PUZZLE (_continued_).
Moral Bondage of the Mormons--Implicit obedience to the priesthood
enjoined--_Crimes committed_ at their command--Murders--The Mountain
Meadows Massacre--Lee's confession--A Mormon carpenter's
confession--Theft--Falsehood--Perjury--Why was polygamy
promulgated?--Why is polygamy practised?
Deplorable as the condition of the Mormon is, as already depicted in the
preceding chapter, that is not the worst that is to be said of their
social condition. They are not only in personal and mental slavery; far
worse than this, they are in MORAL BONDAGE. Sad to relate, their souls,
their consciences, are enslaved, and consequently their condition is far
worse than that of the negroes of the South before the Civil War. The
central thought running through all the discourses of the leaders is
obedience to the priesthood, and the consequences of refusing to obey
counsel. It matters not how absurd the doctrine may be, or how much it
outrages common-sense, if it is the declaration of the inspired
priesthood, it must be obeyed; and most of the people are so steeped in
superstition and ignorance that they obey without question all orders from
their chiefs, and even kiss the hand that rivets the chains that bind
them.
The tyranny of the priesthood was well illustrated when one of the
apostles on one occasion, while speaking in one of the ward meeting-houses
about the solemn duty of obeying the priesthood, happened to look through
the window and see a load of wood passing by. "Now I want you," said he,
"to obey the priesthood so implicitly and have so much confidence in
everything they tell you that if Brigham Young or any of the Twelve
Apostles should tell you that load of wood is a load of hay, you would all
say, 'Amen, that's a load of hay.'" Even though their very eyes should
belie the statement of their leaders, yet they must accept it as true,
because, forsooth, it came from inspired lips; and although they might be
commanded to do that which their own consciences disapproved, yet they
must do it, because it is a command given under inspiration, and their
consciences are lulled to sleep by the Jesuit doctrine, "The end justifies
the means." Surely, that is not religious liberty.
On account of this moral bondage, the worst crimes have been committed
against both God and man, which have been laid at the door of the Mormon
people, when in reality they were only the tools of the Mormon priesthood
and the victims of an enslaving fanaticism. They themselves would not have
committed them if they were allowed to do what their own consciences
dictated; but at the command of the mouthpiece of the Almighty Himself
they dared not disobey.
I. Thus, they have been guilty of MURDERS and ASSASSINATIONS for no other
reason than that the hierarchy uttered their mandates that they should be
accomplished.
Take, as an example, the _Mountain Meadows Massacre_, which is, perhaps,
the darkest page in the history of Mormonism in Utah. It was a horrible
butchery of one hundred and twenty innocent men and women who were
emigrants on their way from Arkansas to California; and the dastardly deed
cannot by any means be justified. For a long time the massacre was a deep
mystery, and the Mormons asserted that it was done by Indians; but the
mystery has been unravelled, and it is now known that that cruel deed lies
at the door of the Mormon Church, the murderers being Mormons with some
hired Indians, all led by John D. Lee, who was convicted of his crime and
executed on the ground where the murder occurred March 25th, 1877, almost
twenty years after the commission of the crime.
There were, no doubt, aggravations at the time leading the Mormons to the
commission of the crime which we should remember. Ordinarily the Mormons
were glad to see the arrival of Gentile emigrants _en route_ for the far
West, as it gave occasion for trade and barter; but at this time _Federal
troops were advancing toward Utah_, and consequently a spirit of intense
hatred toward the Americans and toward our Government was kindled in the
hearts of the Mormons, and especially of their leaders. Their persecutions
in Missouri and Illinois came up before their minds to increase their
hostility against the Gentiles. Just then it was that there came within
their borders this train of American emigrants. They regarded them
naturally as enemies, and their very presence at that time was a powerful
incentive to their extermination.
Moreover, these emigrants were from _Arkansas_, where only a short time
before Orley P. Pratt, one of the first Mormon apostles, had gained his
crown of martyrdom; and his murderer was not even arrested. Now the
opportunity of avenging the death of one of their leading Saints was put
within their reach, and this fact was another powerful inducement to
commit the crime. But after all is said that can be said in extenuation of
that terrible deed, it stands forth as _a most foul, shocking_, and
_unjustifiable butchery_.
Brigham Young, as Governor of Utah, was in honor bound to protect those
emigrants on their way across his Territory, and yet he was the author of
their destruction. On the fourth day after the emigrants left Cedar City,
in Southern Utah, about sixty Mormons, painted and disguised as Indians,
it is said, left that place in pursuit of them. They were under the
command of Bishop John D. Lee, and had all the equipments of a military
force except artillery. Lee invited the Piute Indians to accompany him,
and he directed the combined forces of the Mormons and Indians throughout
the entire siege. At Mountain Meadows the victims were overtaken. They
were taken completely by surprise, but they at once corralled their wagons
and prepared for defence. For four days they fought heroically. During the
third day's battle it became a necessity with the emigrants to get water.
It was in clear view, but it was covered by the rifles of the Mormons.
Hoping that the latter might have pity on children, they dressed two
little girls in white and sent them with a bucket in the direction of the
spring. _The Mormons shot them down._ The morning of the fourth day Lee
told the men under his command that his orders were to "kill the entire
company except the children." In order to do this, he used finesse and
stratagem. He sent a flag of truce to them, offering to protect them from
the Indians if they would lay down their arms. Putting confidence in his
promise, they marched up to the spring where Lee stood, and placed
themselves under his care. The line of march was then taken up, and after
the distance of half a mile had been traversed Lee gave the command to
halt; then immediately the command to shoot them down. All the men and
women were slain, stripped of their clothing, and left without burial.
In 1859 General Carlton raised a cairn of stones over the bleached
skeletons of the victims. Upon one of the stones he caused to be written:
"Here lie the bones of one hundred and twenty men, women, and children
from Arkansas, murdered on the tenth day of September, 1857." Upon a
cross-beam he caused to be painted: "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,
and I will repay it." Brigham Young ordered this monument to be destroyed,
and said the inscription should have read: "Vengeance is mine, saith the
Lord, and I _have_ repaid it."
Lee was at length tried and executed for his part in that terrible
butchery, but he was only the instrument of the Mormon leaders. He was in
moral bondage, bound to carry out the wishes of his leader, however
willing or unwilling he may have been to do so. He would never have
ordered that massacre if he had not received an express command, nor would
his troops have done the dastardly deed. _But they were in bondage._
This may be clearly proved from the dying confessions of Lee, which were
published after his execution. On the night previous to the massacre the
Mormons held a council meeting. In describing that conference, Lee says:
"I know that our total force was fifty-four whites and over three hundred
Indians. As soon as those persons gathered around the camp, I demanded of
Major Higbee what orders he had brought.... Major Higbee reported as
follows: 'It is the orders of the President that _all the emigrants must
be put out of the way_.' He then went on and said that none but friends
were permitted to leave the Territory, and that as these were our sworn
enemies, they must be killed. The men then in council knelt down in a
prayer circle and prayed, invoking the Spirit of God to direct them how to
act in the matter. After prayer Major Higbee said, 'Here are the orders,'
and handed me a paper from Haight. The substance of the orders were that
the emigrants should be _decoyed_ from their stronghold and all
exterminated, so that no one should be left to tell the tale, and then the
authorities could say it was done by the Indians.... I then left the
council and went away by myself, and bowed myself in prayer before God,
and asked Him to overrule the decision of that council. At the earnest
solicitation of Brother Hopkins, I returned with him to the council. When
I got back, the council again prayed for aid. After prayer Major Higbee
said, 'I have the evidence of God's approval of our mission. It is God's
will that we carry out our instructions to the letter.' The meeting was
then addressed by some one in authority. He spoke in about this language:
'Brethren, we have been sent here to perform a duty. It is a duty that we
owe to God, and to our Church and people. The orders of those in authority
are that all the emigrants _must_ die. Our leaders speak with inspired
tongues, and their orders come from the God of heaven. We have no right to
question what they have commanded us to do; it is our duty to obey.' I,
therefore, taking all things into consideration, and believing as I then
did that my superiors were _inspired_ men, who could not go wrong in any
matter relating to the Church or the duty of its members, concluded to be
obedient to the wishes of those in authority; I took up my cross, and
prepared to do my duty."
From that confession it is clear that Lee revolted at the idea of the
massacre, his conscience did not approve of it, and in committing it he
acted as a slave, as a martyr, regarding it as a _cross_.
So doubtless it was with others under his command. It is related that a
missionary teacher asked a carpenter to make some repairs to her
school-house. The Work was done at noon-time, when the children were away
from the school; and one day the man said, "I believe you are a Christian,
and I want to ask if you think I can be forgiven for helping in the
Mountain Meadows Massacre. I want to tell you; it is on my mind all the
time; but if you betray me my life will be of no account." The teacher
said she would not betray his confidence, and she believed, whatever his
sins might be, they would be forgiven if he repented of them. The
carpenter then told her how a lovely, golden-haired little girl was sent
to a spring for water that dreadful day, and that he was one of those
commanded to shoot her down; that her look of entreaty was forever before
his eyes; and then the strong man wept at the remembrance, while making
his confession, of a barbarity that he dared not refuse to accomplish. Was
not that man in moral slavery?
Now, as that massacre was executed on account of the moral bondage of the
Mormons to the priesthood, so also was the dastardly murder of Dr. J. K.
Robinson in Salt Lake City in October, 1866, the murder of the Aiken party
of six persons, the Potter and Parish murders, and the five hundred or
more other assassinations which stain the history of the Mormon Church.
II. But not only has murder resulted from this bondage. THEFT is indulged
in, not because their consciences approve it, but because they are taught
by the priesthood that the plundering of all those opposed to them,
whenever an opportunity occurs, is a duty, because whatever is taken from
the ungodly Gentiles is that much put into the treasury of the Lord.
III. FALSEHOOD, too, is indulged in, whenever it will conduce to the
benefit of the Church and shield her members from harm. A Mormon apostle,
in an address at Nephi, Utah, cautioned the children, when asked how many
wives their fathers had, to reply that they didn't know. "I'd rather have
you tell a lie," he said, "to defend your friends and parents, than tell
the truth, that will bring trouble upon them." The Mormons evidently do
not pattern after the Apostle Paul.
IV. PERJURY is indulged in to a large degree at the command of the
priesthood. Dora Young, one of the daughters of Brigham, apostatized and
declared that the first thing that opened her eyes to the atrocities of
Mormonism was her father's wholesale perjuries. John Taylor, the present
President of the Church, has also set the people the same example. When
placed upon the witness-stand, he has always been a very forgetful man,
and could never recollect anything that would be of value in any case
against any member of the Church. Such an utter absence of memory was,
perhaps, never before exhibited in a court of justice. George Q. Cannon,
also of the Mormon Presidency, the ruling spirit of the Mormons, said that
he did not know whether any record of plural marriage is kept or not,
although it is said that that book is one of the most important books they
have.
Now, when the leaders commit perjury in that way, what can be expected
from those who regard them as gods and as capable of no wrong act? And so
we find that Judge Zane had to dismiss one case altogether, owing to the
lack of evidence through false swearing. Women in polygamy have sworn that
they did not know the father of their children. A daughter of Brigham
Young professed on the witness-stand recently not to know that her sister
was married, although her sister had had a child by her polygamous
husband, and she had been in and out of the house frequently. Some time
ago a Mormon mother was called upon to testify before the Grand Jury as to
the marriage of her daughter to a well-known polygamist. The mother
testified that she knew nothing about the marriage of her daughter, and
denied knowledge of any facts connected with it; and afterward, on being
questioned by one of her lady friends how she could swear to such a lie,
she answered: "I only lied to their God; I did not lie to my God; and the
authority justified me in doing so." Oh, what a picture of moral slavery
does that present before our minds! The fearful oaths taken by a Mormon
when he passes through the Endowment House require him to defend a member
of the priesthood even by perjury, if necessary.
V. But that is not all, nor the worst. Under the head of moral bondage, I
think, must be put that vice, which is called a relic of barbarism, and
which has put Mormonism in antagonism to Christian civilization and the
laws of our land. I refer to the practice of POLYGAMY, which is with many
synonymous with Mormonism, but in reality is only one of the evils of that
social system.
Mormonism had its birth in 1830. Polygamy was not promulgated until
twenty-two years after, although Joseph Smith, it is alleged, received a
revelation on the subject nine years before its formal declaration to the
whole Mormon race. In dealing with Mormonism as a system, it must ever be
borne in mind that polygamy does not form a part of the organic structure
of Mormon society. It is an invention, recent in its establishment, and
wholly an exotic in this country as well as in the countries from which
Mormon recruits have been largely gathered; and it has been from the
commencement to this hour an open and conscious defiance, not only of the
public sentiment of the country, but also of its laws. It has known itself
to be a transgressor, and every polygamous marriage has been deliberately
contracted with this knowledge.
The question at once arises, WHY WAS IT PROMULGATED UNDER SUCH
CIRCUMSTANCES? What was the object of the leaders in declaring it to be a
divine revelation? While it may seem to many that polygamy is only an
element of weakness in the Mormon institution, and destined to bring
destruction upon the entire system, yet if we study the subject carefully
it will be seen that it contributes strength to Mormonism in many ways.
1. In the first place, their numbers are increased much more rapidly than
could be done by the monogamous system which is in vogue in our land.
2. In the next place, it gives a firmer union to the Mormon people, so
that apostasy cannot occur so frequently as it did in Missouri and Nauvoo.
By polygamy the Mormons are separated from all the rest of the civilized
world; and as the world repels them, they are driven in upon themselves,
to be welded closer together, to be mutual supports to each other under
persecutions and trials. The unfortunate women who practise polygamy and
the children begotten from it, even if they become malcontent, yet know
themselves to be caught in a net from which they see no escape; and they
remain in their place and practise, because, though their hearts are
broken, their homes are saved by a religious sanction from foul disgrace.
And even the thousands who are not polygamists (for not more than one
tenth of the Mormons are polygamists) will uphold polygamy, because some
near relatives, as sisters or daughters, are practisers of it. They,
therefore, although not in polygamy, will yet stand up for it; and for
them, too, with the actual practisers, it becomes a bond, binding all
together into a unity amazingly compact and unbreaking.
Having thus endeavored to answer the question, Why was polygamy
promulgated? let us now direct our attention to another and more important
question, WHY IS POLYGAMY PRACTISED?
Many suppose it is practised because it allows full sway to the passions
of the sensualists, who are the only persons who practise it; but that is
a great mistake. Some sensualists there doubtless are, who are
polygamists, in Utah; but at the least nine tenths cannot be branded by
any such infamous name. It is practised not because it is loved by the
people and desired by them, but because they are urged--yea, commanded by
the infallible priesthood to practise it. They regard it as the command of
God; and that is the only reason why it is practised by ninety-nine out of
every hundred of the polygamists of Utah. _It is because they are_ MORAL
BONDMEN.
Even Brigham Young openly avowed that when Joseph Smith gave him the order
for the first time it was a great trial to his soul; and it is said that
the locks of an apostle turned white in a single night when he was
commanded to take another wife. The idea of taking a second wife to a man
who is happily married is extremely distasteful. Polygamy, therefore, has
enslaved the Mormon men, blunting all the finer feelings of their soul.
But if the men are enslaved by polygamy, the women are martyrized. A
writer on Mormonism has said: "Whoever has read debasement in the women of
Utah has done them injustice. Some there be who are devoid of refined
sentiment and the nobler instincts of the sex, but no women in history
ever deserved more respect and sympathy than the true women among the
Mormons." They are taught to believe that polygamy is a divine
institution; they are taught that it is their duty to make a
self-sacrifice--to bear the cross in order to receive the crown. They are
forbidden to covet the entire love of their husband's heart, because God
designed to purify them from all selfishness and, besides, had commanded
that if any oppose this revelation on "Celestial Marriage" they shall be
destroyed; and while the Mormons do not use any visible coercion to draw
persons into this complex marriage, yet that revelation, with its
accompanying threat, stands like a frightful ogre, hanging over them like
a doom, and sounds the death-knell to their happiness. The Mormon men have
claimed that the women get accustomed to plural marriage and are happy in
it; but that is a libel upon the nature of woman. Surely no woman ever
desired to share her husband with another, and no husband could ever
please two wives. No; the wives of polygamists in Utah are living martyrs.
What days of silent grief and misery they must endure! The story of such
women can never be told. Many a young wife has exclaimed: "I am fainting
by the way; but for my children's sake I must bear up. What will be the
end of all this suffering?" Many more have found early graves, the strain
of mental anguish, added to physical labor, proving too much for their
powers of endurance. In thinking or reading of such heart-rending sorrows,
one is impelled to cry: "How long, O Lord, how long!"
And yet this moral bondage is suffered in this land, which is famed for
its light and liberty. It is a shame and disgrace to our nation.
"How good to lead the nations of the earth
In every field of valor and of worth!
How good to hold the lightning in our hands,
And flash our energies to other lands!
How sweet erewhile to see the slave go free!
How dear to-day the breath of liberty!
How good to draw the larger, purer breath,
After the years of battle and of death;
To feel how well our country bore the strain,
And settled back to rectitude again!
"And yet--and yet, just now a wailing came
Out of the West--our women steeped in shame,
The name of wife and mother made disgrace,
Home in our midst become the vilest place!
What if no black wrist feels the iron chain,
When snow-white breasts must bear the scarlet stain?
What if the old plantation homes in ruin lie,
If Mormon temples proudly kiss the sky?
* * * * *
The day-break of true chivalry is now;
And every knight is ready for the vow.
* * * * *
How shall our flag, by Freedom's breath unfurled,
Greet Liberty enlightening the world!
Cowards! The brazen image at a glance
Shall see the craven in each countenance!
The torch it bears in its uplifted hand
Shall not make light the shame-spot on our land.
Day-break indeed! The midnight is not past.
Freedom, forsooth! Not while yon temples last!
Enlightenment! Our bitter inland sea
Gives back the word in shameless mockery!"