|OUR esteemed and extremely connubial contemporary, the _Deseret News_,
says in a recent editorial:
"The Latter day Saints will rejoice to learn that the' vacancies which
have existed in the quorums of the twelve apostles and the first seven
presidents of seventies are now filled. During the conference recently
held, Elder Abram H. Cannon was unanimously chosen to be one of the
first seven presidents of seventies, and he was ordained to that office
on Monday, October 9th. Subsequently, the Lord, by revelation through
His servant, Prest. John Taylor, designated by name, Brothers George
Teasdale and Heber J. Grant, to be ordained to the apostleship, and
Brother Seymour B. Young to fill the remaining vacancy in the presidency
of the seventies. These brethren were ordained on Monday, October 16th,
the two apostles, under the hands of the first presidency and twelve,
and the other under the hands of the twelve and the presidency of the
seventies."
Now, that's a convenient system of politics and civil service. When
there is a vacancy, the president, John Taylor, goes into his closet
and has a revelation which settles it all right. If the man appointed
vicariously by the Lord is not in every way satisfactory, he may be
discharged by the same process. Instead, therefore, of being required to
rally a large force of his friends to aid him in getting an appointment,
the aspirant arranges solely with the party who runs the revelation
business. It will be seen at a glance, therefore, that the man who can
get the job of revelating in Zion, has it pretty much his own way. We
would not care who made the laws of Utah if we could do its revelating
at so much per revelate.
Think of the power it gives a man in a community of blind believers.
Imagine, if you please, the glorious possibilities in store for the
man who can successfully reveal the word of the Lord in an easy,
extemporaneous manner on five minutes notice.
This prerogative does not confine itself to politics alone. The
impromptu revelator of the Jordan has revelations when he wants to evade
the payment of a bill. He gets a divine order also if he desires to
marry a beautiful maid or seal the new school ma'am to himself. He has
a leverage which he can bring to bear upon the people of his diocese at
all times, even more potent than the press, and it does not possess the
drawbacks that a newspaper does. You can run an aggressive paper if you
want to in this country, and up to the time of the funeral you have a
pretty active and enjoyable time, but after the grave has been filled up
with the clods of the valley and your widow has drawn her insurance,
you naturally ask, "What is the advantage to be gained by this fearless
style of journalism?"
Still, even the inspired racket has its drawbacks. Last year, a little
incident occurred in a Mormon family down in southern Utah, which
weighed about nine pounds, and when the _ex officio_ husband, who had
been absent two years, returned, he acted kind of wild and surprised,
somehow, and as he went through the daily round of his work he could be
seen counting his fingers back and forth and looking at the almanac,
and adding up little amounts on the side of the barn with a piece of red
chalk.
Finally, one of the inspired mob of that part of the vineyard thought it
was about time to get a revelation and go down there, so he did so.
He sailed up to the _de facto_ husband and _quasi_ parent and solemnly
straightened up some little irregularities as to dates, but the
revelation was received with disdain, and the revelator was sent home in
an old ore sack and buried in a peach basket.
Sometimes there is, even in Utah, a manifestation of such irreverence
and open hostility to the church that it makes us shudder.