MORMONS 



3952 



MORMONS 



others were arrested on June 25, 1844, on a 

 charge of treason, and were imprisoned at Car- 

 thage. Two days later a mob invaded the jail 

 and shot the two brothers. 



The death of Smith eventually .led to divi- 

 sions in the Church, the body of the members 

 accepting the leadership of the Twelve Apos- 

 tles with Brigham Young at their head, as 

 Joseph Smith's successor, while another small 

 faction maintained that young Joseph Smith, 

 son of the -Prophet, should be his successor. 

 One faction followed Strang and settled on 

 Beaver Island. Prosperity for the Church in 

 Illinois was at an end, and in 1845 the Mor- 

 mons agreed to leave the state. Led by Brig- 

 ham Young, they began their westward migra- 

 tion in the next year, and in September, 1848, 

 the first settlers arrived at the new chosen site 

 on the shores of Great Salt Lake in Utah. 



The Mormons in Utah. Though differences of 

 opinion may exist as to the doctrines or prac- 

 tices of the Mormon Church, there can be only 

 one verdict as to their work in Utah. Here, if 

 ever, the prophecy of Isaiah (XXXV, 1) was 

 fulfilled: "The desert shall rejoice and blossom 

 as the rose." At first there was suffering from 

 lack of food, clothing and shelter, but soon 

 there was abundance. The discovery of gold 



MORMON TABERNACLE, SALT LAKE CITY 



in California, followed by the stream of gold 

 seekers who made Salt Lake City a stopping 

 place, brought prosperity. Mormon settlers 

 arrived from all parts of the United States, 

 several thousand came from England, and by 

 1852 there were about 30,000 Mormons in the 

 valley of Great Salt Lake. 



For a number of years there was conflict 

 between the United States government and 

 the Mormons. The latter applied for admis- 

 sion to the Union in 1849 as the "State of 

 Deseret," but met with refusal. Utah, how- 

 ever, was organized as a territory in 1850, and 

 Brigham Young was governor for seven years. 



He proved an able leader. The colony flour- 

 ished, agriculture being its main support. The 

 United States is indebted to Brigham Young for 

 the introduction of irrigation in modern times, 

 the Mormons proving that irrigation would pro- 

 duce rich crops on the soil of the American 

 "desert." In 1857 the government sent troops 

 to Utah, partly to get Johnston's army out on 

 the frontiers in case of civil war, and partly 

 because of false rumors carried to Washington. 

 During the War of the Secession the Mormons 

 were loyal. The first overland telegram was 

 sent by Brigham Young to Abraham Lincoln in 

 1861, "Utah is loyal. Has not seceded from 

 the Union." Later the hostility between the 

 Church and the Federal government gradually 

 declined. The spread of polygamy, however, 

 caused new conflicts, and it was not until 1890 

 that the president of the Church advised mem- 

 bers to refrain from polygamous marriages. The 

 Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 

 Day Saints, which was established because 

 Young openly introduced plural marriages, has 

 always opposed polygamy. 



Taken as a body, the Mormons are temperate, 

 industrious people. They do not use tea, coffee, 

 tobacco or strong drink, nor are they addicted 

 to profanity. There is no poverty among the 

 Mormons; the Church is rich and is supported 

 by tithes, which should be contributed by every 

 devout member; the tithe is the ancient law of 

 Israel, that one-tenth of the increase should be 

 devoted to the Lord's work. The Great Temple 

 in Salt Lake City is a striking witness to their 

 thrift and their faith. This beautiful and im- 

 posing structure cost $4,000,000 and took forty 

 years to build, the great granite blocks being 

 drawn by ox teams from the quarries in the 

 mountains twenty miles distant. There are 

 three other temples in Utah, one in Logan, one 

 in Manti and the other in Saint George. On 

 the Temple Square in Salt Lake City there are 

 two other edifices, the tablernacle, noted for its 

 magnificent pipe organ, and having a seating 

 capacity of 10,000, and the smaller Assembly 

 Hall. These buildings constitute the official 

 seat for the conferences held by the Mormon 

 Church. M.M.B. 



Consult Shock's The True Origin of Mormon 

 Polygamy; Talmage's The Story of Mormonism. 

 The above are pro-Mormon. For anti-Mormon 

 works consult Nelson's Scientific Aspects of Mor- 

 monism; Wilson's Outlines of Mormon Philosophy. 



End of Volume Six 



