CHAPTER XIII.

The "doctrines" of Mormonism-Analysis of the Mormon faithHierarchical organization-The "Book of Mormon"-Church polity -The faith of the Latter-Day Saints-Their modes of worship.

DOCTRINE.

THE Mormons are almost incredibly materialistic in their doctrines. Their idea of the Godhead is taken from Buddhistic principles. While they profess to believe in the Trinity, they say that God was once a man, who has advanced in intelligence and power; that now He may be called perfect; that He has still the form and figure of a man; He has even legs, from His appearance to Abraham, though He has the advantage over His creature that He can move up and down the earth without moving them.

Christ is the offspring of the "material" union, on the plains of Palestine, of God and the Virgin Mary-the latter being duly married after betrothal by the Angel Gabriel. Yet He is believed to have had a previous existence, and to have made the universe out of "unformed chaotic matter as old as God," and His worship is enjoined as Lord of all. The Paraclete is also material. There is, however, an older Trinity, that of Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael, which is Adam. Adam is declared to be the "god" of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ the "god" of Joseph Smith, and Joseph Smith the "god" of this generation. Any Mormon by faith,

obedience, and holiness may rise into a Deity, and peopling, and ruling a world forever.

The second article of Mormon faith affirms that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgressions.

The third article states that through the atonement of Christ all mankind can be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the (Mormon) gospel.

The fourth article affirms the ordinances to be 1st, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 2d, repentance; 3d, baptism (which takes place at eight years of age; they also baptize for the dead); 4th, imposition of hands by the gift of the Holy Spirit; 5th, the Lord's Supper administered kneeling (in which water is used instead of wine in the sacrament, which is taken every week).

The sixth article is, that the same organization exists now that existed in the Primitive church.

The seventh, that miraculous gifts-discerning of spirits, prophecy, revelations, visions, healing, tongues, etc.-have not ceased.

The eighth, that the word of God is recorded in the "Book of Mormon," the Bible, and all other good books. The ninth article expresses the belief in all God has revealed, is revealing, or will reveal.

The tenth article affirms the literal gathering of Israel, the restoration of the ten tribes (the American Indians), the establishment of the new Zion on the Western Continent, the millennial reign of Christ on earth, and the transformation of earth into Paradise.

The eleventh article maintains the literal resurrection of the body to flesh and bones, but not blood, "the principle of mortality" (according to Smith).

The twelfth asserts the absolute liberty of private judgment in matters of religion.

The thirteenth declares it to be the duty of the Saints to be "subject to the powers that be," whether monarchical or republican.

The fourteenth is, "We believe in being honest, chaste, temperate, benevolent, virtuous, and upright; in doing good to all men, and that an idle or lazy person cannot be a Christian, or have salvation.” *

ANALYSIS OF MORMONISM.

The "Book of Mormon" is a plagiarism of "Manuscript Found," written by Solomon Spaulding. The Mormon religion is a parody on the old Hebrew faith, in common with Methodisın, Millerism, Catholicism, Mohammedanism, spiced with doctrines of the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal Churches, as well as with the peculiar religious ideas of the Quakers and Shakers. The constant effort to imitate Hebraic customs and laws all through Mormonism is wearisome, nothing being formulated without some allusion to Biblical history.

Its originators and leaders have, many of them, been men of great natural intelligence, force, and persuasive eloquence. It is eminently a proselyting religion, and its greatest numbers of converts have come from the old world.

The commonly accepted idea of Mormonism is, that it is an institution based upon polygamy; but it was years after Mormonism was established before this system was more than whispered among the "Latter-Day Saints ;" and if this enormous blot were wiped out from their his

*The articles of faith have been reduced to thirteen in number in the more recent history of Mormonism, but which of the number has been expunged the writer cannot learn.

tory and their faith, the essential attributes of Mormonism would remain. As an organization, Mormonism is complete. It reaches every condition and position in life, and controls every action from the cradle to the grave, being a combination of military rule and Jesuitical penetration and perseverance.

The rapid increase of Mormonism is due, in part, to its main recognition of the truths of the Bible, its congeniality to every shade of erratic religious character; to the lofty pretensions of its priesthood, and the knowledge that, without previous study, a blacksmith may become a bishop or an apostle,

For the superstitious it has miracles, ecstasies, visions, and revelations, astonishing legends respecting the early inhabitants of America and the wonderful story of Christ's coming to this country after His resurrection.

For the lovers of prophecy there is promised the New Jerusalem, an actual reign of the Saints, and an equality with the Redeemer.

Another attraction is its congeniality with the wild views of religion as produced by the preaching of certain schismatical bodies, and its holding itself up as the only sanctuary to which men may flee for the solution of their doubts and the hope of an eternal harmony; with the fact that there is no strict standard of morals in connection with Mormonism, and its being an open asylum for the refuse of all other persuasions-the excommunicated, the despised, or endangered.

The gross see charms in its sensual paradise, and listen eagerly to the announcement that a conversation with their spiritual ruler or a journey on a mission, while facing a frowning world, will immediately clear them from all their iniquities.

Sidney Rigdon said: "The Book of Mormon' is to

govern the Millennial Church; " but whatever may have been its uses to the "Saints" in the beginning of their career, it has had little to do with their practices for many years, save as a text-book.

The great success of the Mormon missionaries, both here and in foreign countries, has been gained through their promises to the ignorant, the superstitious, and the poor of a home and certain support.

Labor has always been dignified among the Mormons, every man, woman, and child, from the highest to the lowest, having his or her task to perform.

Natural quickness of mind and shrewdness have ever been valued by them, but culture has never been indispensable for promotion. Faith and blind obedience have been requisite, but education, although prized, has not been material to the ambitious Mormon.

As a people, the Mormons are chargeable with the gravest crimes; but these have been perpetrated by the few, while many of them have been and are devoted to what they believe to be the truth; contrasts are drawn by their preachers between "the unworldly lives of the Saints and the evil practices of the Gentiles," and pertinent examples are given of aberrations from rectitude of men intrusted with the making of our laws, or those who minister at the altars of divine worship, until they regard themselves as clothed with the resplendent robes of righteousness.

In ten years from the origin of Mormonism its devotees numbered thousands, and Joseph Smith announced that it was to be the religious faith of the Western Continent. To-day Mormonism numbers its hundreds of thousands, its organizations extend over every part of the globe, and the most careless observer of the times must realize that this institution has become one of the gravest