University of South Carolina Libraries
011ormonism as Christ Sermon Preached at the Methodist Church on Sunday, October 28, 1917, by Dr. Watson B. Duncan. Text: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." I John 4:1. Mormonism and all kindred move ments are made possible by the amaz ing credulity of the common people, and most of us belong to that class. We are naturally inclined to receive with a considerable degree of toler ance almost any representative of a religious movement. From infancy we have been taught, to respect the messengers of any religious sect. It mnutters not what may be the char acter of the creed presented almost any man may formulate any kind of theory under the guise of religion and there will always be found adherents. Frequently the appeal is made to dis affected elements of the organizations already existing. In every denomi nation there are members who are more or les dissatisfied with the ordi nary state of affairs in their own church, hence they are ready for some irregular movement. Generally the leaders in these irregular move ments are shrewd enough to put a great deal of Scripture in their liter ature. This is for the purpose of deceiving the unwary. So we see the absolute neeed o'f an alert mind and careful discrimination in regard to all these enterprises. The exhortation of our text is emi nently appropriate at all times-"Be loved. believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." This discrimination is essential for the welfare of the church and the safety of our own spiritual beings. Without it we become the easy prey of all sorts of false doctrines and philoso phies. The application of this prin ciple of careful examination does not indicate a spirit of irreverence, but the failure to obey the injunction of the text shows an intellectual and spiritual indolence which is not in harmony with the energy of the Christian religion. The Master's lest-"Judge a tree by its fruit"--must be our invariable rule. This great principle is appli cable to all systems of philosophy, to all religious creeds, to all institutions, and to all persons.. When we find the harvest produced by any system or organi:zation we may easily ascertain the character of the agency produc ing the harvest. The philosophy of Treitschke was the inspiration of the bloody world struggle now on in Europe. We may easily see why the Judgment of the Great Day will be based upon character. A brief history of Mormonism may be of interest to us upon this occa sion. The sect of Mormons was found ed in this country in 1830 and claims to he called of God to gather within its fold the people of the entire world by the authority of a new dis pensation, which is to be the last -given to man in his present existence. The adherents of Mormonism style themselves "The Church of Jesus Chr ist oif ILatter-Day Saints." Tfhe seet was foundled by .Joseph Smith, who was born in the town of Sharon, Windfsor County, V'ermont, December 23, 1805. TPhis founder professed great visions and revelations, I~e cla imas to, have seen a great light, v;Liih dfescend ed upon him and thrill ed iis enitire bleinig. lIe was then told that all Christ ian s werae teaching fe dn'trines, and he was command ed lnot toi go after themi. lie seems to have fallen fromn grace, fort soon a fter th is we findI hima enan gled in the affairs of the wn'id and guilty of immonnral pract iceJ. The second ligh~t appeairedI Septem - ber 21, 182;. At this time .\lr. Smith clains to hatve seen ai pers:on who pro fessedl to be( anm angel sent from Godl. Aliso that this anigel communlicaited to hin th e following facts: The Cove onnat madei( wvithI aincent Israel was abou t to he fulfil led ; that the great prtelaratory wyork for the coming of the* Alessiah was then to begin; that the t rue Gospel wats to be lpreachedl in all the world in order to get a people piepiated for the Millennial reign of Christ. Of course, it was announcedl to Sm ithI that he was to be the leader in this movement andI the true Gos pel, the "revelations," madle to him. It was also made manifest to Smith fthat the American Indlians were de.. scendenrts of Israel and that when they first came to America they were enlightened; that records had been kept but were hidden; andI that he was to find andl restore them. Finally the angel delivered into his hands the "Divine Oracles." Smith, however1 hesitated about his enter prise until he 'found a convert in Sid ney Rignon, a Campbellite preacher, and they' having agreed upon a Mel lennial faith, laumnched the .movement. The following excerpt from a "His torical Sketch of Mormonism" hy the a Substitute for lanity Rev. Dr. D. J. McMillan will be ap propriate here: Its Origin. "Mormonism had its origin in the junction of two lines of influences under peculiar conditions. One line proceeded from the southwest. Early in the present century, the great new frontier of our country lay between the Alleghany mountains and the Mississippi river, and stretched from Canada to the Gulf. Multitudes from the older states and from other coun tries rushed into this elderado with much the same spirit of adventure that marked the recent rush for the Klondyke gold fields of Alaska. There were a few godly ministers of differ ent denominations who sought, with true missionary spirit, to preach the Gospel in the new communities which were springing up everywhere. The increasing demand for the preaching of the Gospel gave rise to the camp meeting, where crowds gathered and dwelt in tents and booths in order that they might hear the Gospel preached for a season. Great excite ment prevailed. The religious emo tions of the penitents were manifest ed in various and unaccountable ways. The dancing exercise, uncon trollable laughter, violent jerking, shouting, and weeping became com mon. Some yielding to their convic tions became fanatically devout, oth ers resisting became violently irre ligious. Ministers were too scarce to furnish needful instruction and pas toral care. Pious young men of little knowledge and less training, attempt ed to supply the demand. These blind leaders of the blind stumbled into many a theological ditch. Strange sects came into being. Some had but a short life and others en braced enough of truth to save them from early death, while others still became permanent and useful branches of the Christian Church. Among the young preachers who entered the ministry in this irregular way were ignorant and dangerous men of popular gifts, who went from church to church misleading the ex citable and finding no certain abiding place in any sect. One of these no vices was Sidney Rigdon, whose home aws in western Pennsylvania. He was fond of debate, gifted with fluency of speech and pleasing ad dress, and possessed of ambition and energy. He united with the Baptists, but, disappointed in his desire for leadership among them, he sought al liance with Alexander Campbell. But his restless disposition and cunning methods offended the honest men of that church and they soon dispensed with his services. Then he war for a time pastor of an independent church in Pittsburg, and making the book-store and publishing house of Patterson and Lamdin a place of fre quent resort, became somewhat famil iar with their business. Among the manuscripts was a novel written by Solomon Spaulding, and called "The Manuscript Found." He advanced the theory that the Indians in this cour try descended from two colonies, one of which came from the Tower of Babel, the other many centufries later from Jerusalein. Mr. Spaulding died without having his novel published. Mr. Rigdon became deeply interest Dd in this novel and must have copied it and changed it by introducing many passages of scripture so as to make it appear to be a revelation rrom God. But his stay in Pittsburg was short. He started westward on in independent mission. He preach ad that the latter (lays were at hand, md that God was about to reveal ew truth to his chosen few. HeI soon lad a flourishing church near Mentor, Dhio. The Other Line. '[he family of Joseph Smith claims ,o be of Scotch extraction and to have ivedl in New England ever since 1700. I'he mother of Joseph was a fortune ~eller. Both parents were illiterate ndl superstitious. They were among he people in ..Vrmont who, (luring ~he first decade of the present cen ury, followed a strange' dlelusion un ler the leadership of one Wingate. B3y the use of an instrument which they called "St. John's Rod" the fol lowers of this imposter claimed to be able to discover gold, silver, currents rif water undler ground, and medicinal roots and herbs, and to cure all man nier of diseases. Like the victims of aill such delusions they banked with unlimited impudlence upon the "Lost Tribes of Israel," and promised a gathering of the favoredl people of God, and a "Latter--day Glory" far exceeding the glory of former dlays. iThe whole movement proved to be a scheme of a band of swindlers. Win gate, the leader, was arrested, but escaped from justice, and the move ment came to an end. Joseph's birth occurred at the time when the Wingate movement was at its height. Tfen years later his par-. ents removed to Palmyra, New York. Here Josegh grew up in a home with re einm'i. ~ ants were ig Mat indolent nnd inem-ea. He clMbED ST AIR' ON HER HANS foo lI to Walk Upright. Operation Advised. Saved by Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. This woman now raises chickens and does manual labor. Read her story: Richmond, Ind.-"For two years I was so sick and weak with troubles from my age that when going up stairs I had to go very slowly with my hands on the steps, thensitdowri at the top to rest. The doctor said he thought I slhould have an operation, -and my friends thought I would not live to move into our new house. My daughter asked 'ne to try Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound as she had taken it with good results. I did so, my weakness dis appeared, I gained in strength, moved into our new home did all kinds of garden work, shoveled dirt, did build ing and cement work, and raised hun dreds of chickens and. ducks. I can not say enough in praise of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound and if these facts are useful you may pub lish them for the benefit of other women. "-Mrs. M. O. JOHNSTON,Route D, Box 190, Richmond, Ind. had health and strength, an active miid and a vivid, imagination. Being without school advantages he follow ed his own crude ideas. He was fas 'cinated with the wild romance of Captain Kidd, and with a company of youthful followers he would hunt at night for buried money in the fields about his father's home. He is said to have ha-d a religious turn of mind, and dui ing a revival he was exercised very deeply or the 'subject. His im agination, his' superstitions, and his religious excitement combined to dreate wonderful visions in his un tutored mind. lie was about fifteen years of age when he began to see visions and dream dreams. These ex periences continued through seven years. During four years of this period Joseph was absent from his father's house seeking employment, in various capacities, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. His movements for two years cannot be defnitely traced. But during his absence he was for a time in the employ of Win. H. Sabine, at whose house the widow of Rev. Solomon Spauldipg, was making her home. In the garret of the house was htowed away in an old trunk Mr. Spaulding's "Manuscript Found" re ferred to above, which she had receiv ed from the Pittsburg publisher after Mr. Spaulding's death. Soon after Joseph's return to his father's home, he was visited by Rigdon, from Men tor, Ohio. Whether they had met dur ing Joseph's absence, we do not know. The two doubtless became known to each other through a mutual friend, Mr. Parley P. Pratt, who was a trav eling tinker and a preacher of some ability. Mr. Pratt plied his two-fold vocation between Palmyra, New York and Mentor, Ohio. He knew and ad mired Mr. Rigdon,----indeed was fre quently a member of his congrega tion. After~ this visit of Mr. Rigdon's, --which was early in the summer of 1827, Joseph said that he wvas told in dIreams and visions, that he was chos en of the Lord to be a great prophet to restore the Gospel which had been taken from the world many centuries ago. He wvent so far as to (declare that an angel came into his room at midnight, awoke him and r-eadl go him five chapters of the Bible, and .after wvardl took him to a hill which he called Cumorah. Th'le hill is four miles from Palmyra, and is at present the property of Admiral Sampson. There .Joseph claims to have (discovered the wonderful plates, and unearthed them by the help of the angel. He de scribes the plates os bound by rings, in the form of a book, and concealedl in a stone aryp~t or vault where they had been hidden from this wvicked world 1,400 years. Tfhe plates he says were four inches widle and eight inches long, and about the thickness of an ordinary sheet of tin, forming a boo0k about six inches thick. Joseph Smith concealed himself be hind a curtain, which was a bed blanket, stretchedl (diagonally across one corner of his mother's kitchen, and there read what he claims was a translation of the engravings on the' plates, to a scribe who sat outside the blanket and wrote what he read. Thus was the Book of Mormon produced. Eleven men testified that they saw the plates, but none of them were. able to read anything that was on them, so we have only Joseph's word for what they contained." Mormonism is neither (lead nor (ly ing. The immoral practices, the dian gerous (loctrines, and the political ambitions of its adherents constitute a peril that demands serious consid eration. Mormionism is a great social 'peril. It corrupts the home, prostitutes marriage and dlemoralizeis' ehlldren. 'It strikes a fatal blow at the home ,which l.the foundation of our civili" fiation. As the hoeos o'f the people of a community so is the character of the social life of the inhabitant. Ihe home is the fouiitain from which eminate the currents Of irfluence that determine the life of the nation. Hire are put in iiiotion the forces that make or mar civilization. In 1900 the United States Senate appointed a committee to investigate the real character of the Mormon Church and the teaching in regard to the home and the nation. The following ex cerpt from that report will show the social peril of this sect: Polygamy. "The first presidency and twelve apostles of the Mormon Church are a self-perpetuating body of fifteen men. "The first presidency and twelve apostles govern the church by means of so-called revelations from God, which revelations ,are given to the membership of the church as emanat ing from divine authority. I "Those members of, the Mormon Church who refuse to obey the reve -lations so communicated by the, priesthood thereby become out of har mony with the church and are thus practically excluded from the bless ings, benefit:;, and privileges of mem bership in the church. "This authority of the first presi dency and twelve apostles is so ex ercised over the members of the Mor mon Church as to inculcate a belief .in the divine origin of polygamy and its rightfulness ap a practice, and also to encourage the membership of that church in the practice of poly-' 'gamy and polygamous cohabitation. "It is proved without denial that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, 1 one of the leading authorities of the Mormon Church. and still circulated by that church as a book equal in authority to the Bible and the BoOk of Mormon, contains the revelation regarding polygamy, of which the fol lowing is a part: Section 132. '61. And again, as pertaining to. the law of the priesthood: If any man espouse a ;virigin and desires to espouse another and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins and have vowed to no other man, then he is justified -he can not commit adultery, for they are given unto him; for he can not commit adultery with that that belongeth to him and to no onYe else. 62. And if he have ten virgins given unto hirp by this law he can not commit adultry, for they belong to him and they' are given unto him; therefore is he justified. 64. And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man hath a wife who holds the keys of this power and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and ad minister (plural wives) unto him or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord' your God, for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.' "Other publications of the Mormon Church are still circulated' among the members of that church with the knowledge and by the authority of the church officials, which contain arguments in favor of polygamy. "The leaders in this church, the first presidency and the twelve apos tIes, connive at the practice of taking plural wives, and have (lone so ever since the manifesto was issued which purported to put an end to the prac tice. "The list of those wvho are thus* guilty of violating the laws of the State and the rules of public decency is headed b~y Joseph F. Smith, the first president, 'prophet, seer and revelator' of the Mormon Church, who testified in regard to that subject as' follows: 'Mr. Smith. I have had born to me eleven children since 1890, each of' my wives being the mother of from one to two .of those children. The Chairman. Mr. Smith, I wil not press it, but I will ask if you have any objection to stating howv many children you have in all. Mr. Smith. I have had born to me, sir, forty-two children-twenty-one boys andl twenty-one girls-and I am proudl of every one of them. The Chairman. Do you obey the law in having five wives at this time and having them bear to you 11 chil dIren since the manifesto of 1890 ? Mr. Smith. Mr. Chairman, I have not claimedl that in that case I have obeyedi the law of the land. The Chairnman. That is all. Mr. Smith. I do not claim so, and, as I said before, that I prefer to stand my chances against the law.' "The first presidlency andl twelve apostles not only connive at violation of, but protect and honor the violators of the laws against polygamy and polygamous cohabitation. "It will be seen by the foregoing that not only do the first presidency andl twelve apostles encourage poly gamy by precept and teaching, but that a majority of the members of that body of rulers of the Mormon people give the practice of polygamy still further and greater encourage mists, and this openly andi in the RS. H A WD f als OF STRANGE EX Aut erson Woman Declares She Was Forced to Endure So Much. ETAILS REMARKABLE has ords of Advice for Those Who .Ma Be Experiencing Same Troubles She Did. "I thi k every ailing person should take Tarilac," declared Mrs. Girtie [Ragqewood, of 60 Riverside, Ander son,. in a statement she gvae May 26th. '"I suffered from an aggravated liver trouble and kidney trouble, and was on the verge of a breakdown when I began taking Tanlac. I fre quently had dizzy. spells so severe that .1 could hardly walk, and then was in considerable pain, too. My back was so weak and hurt me so much I had to have help in leaving my bed, and I had the most awful attacks of sick headache. I could do no work and was just able to be out Af bed; "But the' Tanlac got me in fine shape and I am strong and hearty now. My skin has cleared up a lot and I do not' have those dizzy spells now. I have a fine appetite, too, and [ never belch up my fo'bd as I used to. The Tanlac got my kidneys and back in fine shape, too, and I'm hot troubled with headache. It is a great medicine, Tanlac is." Tanlac, the Master Medicine, is sold by Dickson's Drug Store, Man ning; H. W. Nettles, Jordan; Shaw & Plowden! New Zion; F: rmers' Sup ply Co., Silver; D. C. Rk ame, Sum morton.--adv. sight of all their followe s in the Mormon Church. "And not only do the presi ent atnd majority of the twelve apo ties of the Mormon Church- practice poly gamy, but in the case of ea h and every one guilty of this crime who testified before the committee, the letermination was expressed openly and defiantly to continue the commis sion of this crime without regard to the mandates of the law or the pro hibition contained in the manifesto. "It appears that the 'prophet, seer, and revelator' of the Mormon Church pronounces a decre'e of eternal con lemnation throughout all eternity upon all members of the Mormon Church who, having taken plural wives, fail to continue the polyga nious relation. "The testimony upon that subject, taken as a whole, can leave no doubt pon any reasonable mind that those who are in authority in the Mormon church are encouraging the practice )f polygamy among the members of hat church, and that polygamy is Being practiced to such an extent as :o call for the severest condemnation n. all legitimate ways." Mormonism is a political peril. It :orrupts politics, contemplates politi :al dlomination, and is disloyal to the government. The following fromn the report of the Senatorial Committee referred to above' wll be ailiply suf ficient to prove these .tstatements: "The, first presidency and twelve spostles of the Church of Jesus*Christ f Latter-Day Saints ,exercis'e a con :rolling influence over the action of the members of that church in secu lar affairs as well as spiritual mat ters. The method by which the first presidency and twelve apostles of the Mormon Church dlirect all the tem poral affairs of thb members of that ~hurch.undler the claim that such di rection is by divine authority, is by requiring the members of the church n all thei" affairs, both spiritual andl temporal, anfd especially the latter, to 'take counsel.' The phrase 'to take counsel' does niot mean that the members of the 2hurch shall inquire of those above them in all cases concerning their ac tion, but that they shall receive coun sel--that is, direction--from those sbove them, and this counsel they are to implicitly obey. If they fail to do so they are excommunicated from the 3hut'ch and dleprived, not only of privileges of membership In the ehurch, as they are assured and be lieve, they thereby forfeit all hope of happiness in a future life. The heriarchy at the head of the Mormon Church has for years past formed a perfect union between the Mormon Church and the State of Utah, and the church through - its head (domi nates the affairs of the State in things both great and small. In ordler to realize the potency of the influence which the ruling au thorities of the Mormon Church ex ercise in y?olitical affairs, it mtist be kept in mind that the influence pro ceceds from men who are believed by their followers to be oracles of God; that whatever they speak is the word of God; and that the first presidency of the Mo'rmon Chdirch and the coun cil of the twelve apostles aro the mouthpiece of God. "ffe'fact thatb~the.adherents of- the Mormon Church hold the balance of pow poin i i . some of l he 'states enableb -the. firs, presidency and the twelve apostles to control the 'political affairs .of those States to any -extent. they may desire. . The union of church and 'ptate in' those States undei the dominatiori of the Mornion leaders:is most abhorrent to our free institutian." b The following paragraph from the same .Senatorial report will show the disloyalty- to the government in the oath of vengeance: - "You and each of you 'do covenant and promise that you will pray and never. cease to pray Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon ,this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and to your children's children unto the third and fourth generation. The obligation hereinfor set forth is an oath of disloyalty to the Gov ernment which the rulers .of the Mormon Church require, or at least encourage, overy member -of that or ganization to take." Mormonism is also a great spirit ual peril. It is true many passages of Scripture are incorporated in their Articles of Faith; but these passages Aare shamefully preverted in their ex positions. - The ' doctrine of - the union of State and church not only strikes at the foundation of our free institu tions, but saps the very life of the spiritual forces of those thus enlist ed. The divine right of the priest hood, which is the secret of their power over the ignorant and super stituous masses, paralyzes the spirit ual energies of the devotees of this system. It is time for the people of this en tire country to awake to the social, political, and spiritual peril of Mor monism and to strive by all proper methods to exterminate this danger ous sect. SOLDIERS ESCAPE BURNING CARS Rathbone, 'N. Y., Oct. 28.- A mys terious fire destroyed two cars of a Pullman train on tlhe Erie railroad early this morning. Soldiery of the second 'Idaho infantry, who were on, the train, were unable to account for the origin'of the fire. Members of Company C, who occu pied the cars which were burned, swarmed out by doors and windows. They could take but little with them apd lost all their extra equipment and nmost of their personal effects. The los was estimated at $60,000. o ADVERTISE IN THE TIMES. STATE Of SOUTH CAROLINA, County of C|arendon COURT OF -COMMON PLEAS. Stepney Stukes, Harison Stukes, John Stukes and Lucretia Jones, Plain tiffs, against Joseph Stukes, Beulah Johnson, Ju lius Johnson, Ervin Johnson, Mace Johnson, Lucy Boyd, 'Carolina Johnson, Lois Mitchell, Haskell 'Rivers, R~obbie Rivers, Laura Ann Cantey, Lorena Rivers, M. 'ie John son, T. Rivers, Dozier Rivers, Iloses Rivers, Hattie Rivers, James I ivers, Allen Rivers, Arthur Riv chs, Nellie Rivers, Lily R. Circle tight, Etta Hayes, Amanda Rave nel, Abraham Rivers, Wilkie Riv ers, Charlotte Rivers, Josh Robin son, Henry Robinson, Clara (some times called Sissy) Cantey, Agnes Hatfield, Madison Robinison, Julius Robinson, Allison Robinson, Eliza Hilton, C. M. Davis and Joseph E. Davis, the last two as co-partners doing business as C. M. Davis & Son, .J. A. Weinberg, J. W. Hilton, Martha Lemon, John Doe and Richard Roe, the last two being fictitious names for the unknown heirs of Henry Rivers, deceased, Defendants. SUMMONS FOR RELIEF' (Complaint not served.) To th Defendants above named: You a 'e hereby summoned and re quiredi , o answer t heComplaint in this 4'etion which has been filed in the offla of the Clerk of Court of Common Pleas for the said County, and to serve a popy of your answer to the saidl Coniplaint on the sub scribers at their offlce in Manning,' South Carolina, within twenty dayi after service thereof, exclusive of the (day of such service; anid if you fal to answer the Complaint within the time aforesaid, the plaintiff in this action will apply to 'te .Court for the relief demanded iq the Complaint. The Deednt Rbi Rivers, Lorena Rivers,-'T.IRi brs, Dozier Riv ers, Moses Idivers, ' Hattie Rivers, Allen Rivers,~ Lily R. Circletight, Eliza Hilton and Henry Rivers will also take notice that the original Summons and Complaint In this ac tion were filed in the office of the Clerk of Court of Common Pleas for' Clarendon! County, South Carolina, on te 2~ day of June, 1917 "'-am, -.'Duant. & Ellerile, / -Plaintiff' Attoney...