Part 8 (1/2)
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!”
CHAPTER X.
THE SOCIAL PUZZLE (_continued_).
_Reasons why Mormon slavery is maintained_--Hope of earthly gain--Complete organization of the Mormon Church--Prospect of promotion in office as a bribe--Fear of earthly loss--System of espionage--Apostasy formerly punished by death--Mode of inflicting the punishment--Social ostracism--Religious conviction the mainstay of the Mormon social system.
Having already shown that the Mormon social system is a system of slavery so complete as to bind with its fetters body, mind, and soul--the entire man, let us now briefly inquire into THE REASONS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE MAINTENANCE OF THIS DEGRADING SYSTEM, which is so utterly hostile to the enlightened and progressive spirit of the age.
I. There is, first, THE HOPE OF EARTHLY GAIN.
There is probably no system on earth which has a more cunning and complete organization than the Mormon Church. Supreme over all is the President, with his two Councillors. Then come the Twelve Apostles, who, in connection with the President and his Councillors, form a High Council, from whose decision there is no appeal. They may be regarded, therefore, as the masters in this system of slavery. Then come the Seventies (who are travelling missionaries), high-priests, elders, bishops, teachers, and deacons. One of the most cunning things about the organization is the large number of office-holders. There are over 23,000 officers reported as belonging to the Church--that is, one out of every three men holds an office either of honor or emolument. Each of these has a hope that if he is faithful to his masters he will be in time promoted. If any one of these 23,000 officers is disposed to criticise or become dissatisfied with the system, the office which he holds, and especially the prospect of future promotions, acts as a bribe to submission and acquiescence. Thus the hope of earthly rewards is one of the great sources of strength to the Mormon system, holding it intact.
II. Then, there is THE FEAR OF EARTHLY LOSS.
Hope and fear both operate upon the minds of the people, and cause them to submit to be bound by the chains of a tyranny whose equal can be found only by going back to the Dark Ages.
The Mormon hierarchy has a system of espionage, by which they are kept informed in regard to the feelings of all the people. The whole Territory is divided into twenty stakes or districts, each of which is presided over by a high-priest. These districts are again subdivided into about two hundred and thirty wards, each of which has a presiding bishop. The teachers and deacons are his subordinates, whose duty it is to visit each individual in their respective wards and find out all about his affairs, both temporal and spiritual. In this way, through all these various gradations, the leaders are able to put their finger on every man, woman, and child in the whole Church.
Before the Gentiles forced their way into Utah, and Government troops were stationed there, if any of the Mormons were, through this system of inquisition, found to be discontented and unsubmissive to the priesthood, inclined to free thought, free speech, and free action, he was soon taught a lesson by the ”Avenging Angels” that silence is the better part of discretion, or that ”dead men tell no tales.” The Church held every man's life in its hand. Terrible was the punishment meted out for any offence or act of insubordination.
It is only a few years ago that it was the practice to inflict what they call _blood atonement_ for any flagrant offence to the Church or any disregard of its orders. Brigham Young, after the people were well established in Utah, alluded on one occasion in a public address to the persecutions in Missouri and Nauvoo, saying that they always began with apostates and disaffected spirits; and then he said: ”Do we see disaffected spirits here? We do. Do we see apostates? We do. I say to those persons, you must not court persecution here, lest you get so much of it you will not know what to do with it. Do _not_ court persecution.
Now, keep your tongues still, _lest sudden destruction come upon you_. _I say, rather than that apostates shall flourish here I will unsheath my bowie-knife and conquer or die._ Now, you nasty apostates, clear out, or judgment will be put to the line and righteousness to the plummet. Let us call upon the Lord to a.s.sist us in this and every good work.”
President H. C. Kimball, in an address delivered in Salt Lake City August 16th, 1857, said: ”If men turn traitors to G.o.d and His servants, their blood will surely be shed, or else they will be d.a.m.ned;” and this doctrine was put into actual practice. The culprit was never allowed an opportunity for defence. He remained in blissful ignorance of his danger, until at midnight there came a knock on his door, and he was ordered to accompany the four or five masked men that confronted him when he opened the door.
Then he knew his doom, and so did his family, who knew they looked their last upon him. Being led to a secluded spot, a shovel was placed in his hands, and he was made to dig his own grave. He was then seized, forced upon his knees, his head held over the grave, and his throat cut from ear to ear. His blood flowed into the grave, into which his body was thrown and covered up, and no more was ever heard of him. His family dared not mention their suspicions, and no Mormon ever dared to be inquisitive or mention his name. Such instances were by no means rare.
Now the influx of the Gentiles has caused them to be more careful how they punish apostates or insubordinates; but we know little or nothing of the secret punishments that are still inflicted. The practice of blood atonement is now stopped by the necessity of circ.u.mstances. In the presence of thousands of Gentiles and Federal troops and Federal control, the Mormon Church dare not any longer enforce its commands by the pistol and the knife; but it has means of control none the less effective, which it does not hesitate to use. The apostate is now, it is said, handed over to ”the buffetings of Satan,” to be cursed in his business, in his family, in his body, in his mind, in all things that belong to him; and the Mormon priesthood have the will and power to see that these prophetic curses are fulfilled to the letter.
There does not exist upon the face of this broad earth a more complete social ostracism for religion than in Utah. Not many months ago a girl brought home some sewing which she had for a Christian woman. The girl looked round upon the happy home and burst into tears. Upon being asked the cause of her grief, she replied: ”Oh, that I lived in a happy Christian home! You think me a Mormon, but I have _never_ been a Mormon at heart. My mother was once the wife of a Presbyterian clergyman in England.
About three years after her marriage my father died. I was the only child of my parents. My mother's people became Mormons, and my mother emigrated with them to Utah, bringing me with her. Here she married a Mormon, and I have been carefully taught in their religion; but I have my father's Bible, sermons, and diary. I know that his religion is true, and not this Mormon doctrine, which teaches of G.o.ds many, and heaven attained by sensual courses--women earning their salvation and exaltation in heaven by becoming the polygamous wives of some wicked man. I loath it; but I am poor. I can only do plain sewing for a living, and while I remain with my mother she will charge me nothing for board. I am not strong, and often sick. If I come out boldly and say, 'I will go to the Church of my choice and wors.h.i.+p G.o.d according to the dictates of my conscience,' I shall be turned into the street, perhaps be denounced as a bad character--not an uncommon thing in Utah--and come to want. No, I must stop at home, be quiet, wors.h.i.+p G.o.d in my heart, and pray for forgiveness.”
If a man apostatizes who is in business he is no longer supported by the Mormons, and they in many places are nine tenths of the people. He is despised. He can get no work, since the Mormons control nearly all business contracts. The Mormon people will no longer hold intercourse with him. His family is the b.u.t.t of ridicule and contempt, and his children are insulted and stigmatized. The entire family is as completely ostracized as though they had been convicted of an infamous crime. Now, it certainly requires strong heroism, real, sterling manhood, for one to face such a prospect for his family. Most people would obey the dictates of the hierarchy, whatever they might be, rather than bring such loss and shame upon themselves and their children. Thus it is seen how fear of earthly loss enters as a prominent factor in holding the Mormon people in bondage.
III. But lastly and chiefly, there is STRONG RELIGIOUS CONVICTION, which is the main prop of this social system. In discussing the Mormon puzzle in Utah, we must not forget that for twenty years this community was isolated by a thousand miles of barren waste from civilization. During this time it was literally a kingdom within itself; and Brigham Young was king, his word law, his command a commandment from G.o.d. During that time the present generation of Mormons were reared; and it is their strong conviction that the word of the priesthood is the word of G.o.d.
If we only glance at history, we will find many evidences of the great power of ”Thus saith the Lord” over the minds of men. For religious conviction persons have burned at the stake and endured all manner of physical torture, to say nothing of the travail of soul through which they have pa.s.sed. It is to this power, also, that Mormonism owes its strength.
So strong is its control that the Mormons dare not, for fear of the loss of their soul's salvation, enter protest against any command coming, as it does, with these words prefixed: ”Thus saith the Lord.” The priesthood claim to have control of the ”seals” and ”keys” by which the gates of both heaven and h.e.l.l can be opened and shut; and they take the keys by which they pretend to open the gates of vengeance and rattle them above the heads of the uneducated and superst.i.tious, until they are frightened into believing that, if they should disobey any edict of this priesthood, they would be consigned to the flames of eternal fire. It is this fear of the loss of their souls if they disobey, and the conviction that their leaders cannot command anything but what G.o.d has commanded, that is the strongest pillar that holds up their social fabric. Thus do the Mormon people with their own hands rivet the chains which bind in a fearful bondage their bodies, their minds, and their souls.
CHAPTER XI.
THE SOCIAL PUZZLE (_concluded_).