History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

CHAPTER XV.
MORMONISM AND POLYGAMY.
What is Mormonism?—Tenets of the Church—Sacked Books and Person -
ages—Organization— Priesthood—First Presidency—The Twelve
Apostles—Patriarchs— Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, and
Deacons—The Seventies—Stakes and Wards—Marriage—Temple
Building—Tabernacle—Political Aspect—Polygamy as a Church
Tenet—Celestial Marriage—Attitude and Arguments of Civilization—Polygamy's
Reply—Ethics and Law—The Charge op Disloyalty—Proposed
Remedies.
We are now prepared to ask the question with some
degree of intelligence, What is Mormonism ? In formulating
an answer, we must consider as well the
political as the religious idea. I will examine the
latter first.
Mormonism in its religious aspect is simply the acceptation
of the bible, the whole of it, literally, and
following it to its logical conclusions.
As the Christian world has advanced in civilization
and intelligence these two thousand years or so, it has
gradually left behind a little and a little more of its
religion, first of the tenets of the Hebraic record, and
then somewhat even of those of the later dispensation.
Long before religionists began to question as myths
the stories of Moses, and Jonah, and Job, they had
thrown aside as unseemly blood-sacrifice and burntofferings,
sins of uncleanness, the stoning of sabbathbreakers,
the killing in w r
ar of women, children, and
prisoners, the condemnation of whole nations to perpetual
bondage, and many other revolting customs of
the half-savage Israelites sanctioned by holy writ.
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