History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

148
THE STORY OF MORMOXISM.
like that of the prophet, a wisdom like his to concentrate,
a power like his to say to ten thousand men, do
this, and it is clone, with plenty of cheap, virgin land,
with a collective knowledge of all arts, and with habits
of economy and industry, it were a wonder if they
did not rapidly accumulate property, and some of
them acquire wealth. This they do, though tithed
by the church, and detested by the gentiles, and they
prosper in a remarkable degree. Of course, in political,
as in spiritual and pecuniary affairs, the proph-
et's word is law.
"Nauvoo is the best place in the world!" exclaims
an enthusiastic saint. Nauvoo, the beautiful indeed!
And "as to the facilities, tranquillities, and virtues of
the city, they are not equalled on the globe." Here
the saints find rest. "No vice is meant to be tolerated;
no grog-shops allowed; nor would we have any
trouble, if it were not for our lenity in suffering the
world, as I shall call them, to come in and trade, and
been grossly misunderstood and shamefully libelled. . .The present population
is between eight and nine thousand, and of course it is the largest town in
Illinois. The people are very enterprising, industrious, and thrifty. They
arc at least quits as honest as the rest of us in this part of the world, and
probably in any othei\ Some peculiarities they have, no doubt. Their religion
is a peculiar one; that is, neither Buddhism, nor Mahometanism, nor
Judaism, nor Christianity, but it is a faith which they say encourages no
vice nor immorality, nor departure from established laws and usages; neither
polygamy, nor promiscuous intercourse, nor community of property ... Ar-
also, is a weed
deii b spirits as a drink are not in use among them. . .Tobacco,
which they seem almost universally to despise. We don't know but that the
Mormons ought to be expatriated for refusing to drink whiskey and chew
tobacco; but'wc hope the question will not be decided hastily, nor until their
judges have slept oif the fames of their own liquor and cigars.' 'They have
enclosed large farms on the prairie ground, on which they have raised corn,
wheat, hemp, etc., and all this they have accomplished within the short
space of four years. I do not believe there is another people in existence
who could have made such improvements in the same length of time under
the same circumstances. And here allow me to remark, that there are some
here who have lately emigrated to this place, who have built themselves
large and convenient homes in the town; others on their farms on the prairie,
who, if they had remained at home, might have continued to live in rented
houses all their days, and never once have entertained the idea of building
one for themselves at their own expense.' Smucker's Mormonism, 159.
( :cn'alc3 were not excluded from the holy city. In Bennett's Hist. Saints,
153, i3 given an ordinance, dated March 1, 1841, running as follows: 'Be it
ordained by the city council of the city of Nauvoo, that the catholics, presbytcrians,
mcthodists, baptists, latter-day saints, quakers, episcopalians,
nniversalists, unitarians, mohammedans, and all other religious sects and denominations
whatever, shall have toleration and equal privileges in this city;