History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

356
MORMOXISM AND POLYGAMY.
the authorities and called by the saints assembled at
the general semiannual conferences held in Salt Lake
City. Neither age nor pecuniary condition governs
the selection. They may be men or boys, rich or
poor; but they must have faith and integrity, and go
forth without purse or scrip, relying alone upon the
hand of God to feed them. An elder is likewise
selected by the church authorities to preside over
each mission. Thus has been visited almost every
quarter of the globe, the book of Mormon being meanwhile
translated into many languages. And a Perpetual
Emigration Fund Company has been established,
which has advanced the funds to bring out
thousands to Zion, the money being paid back by the
immigrant after
earn it.
his arrival, as he has been able to
Temple building is a characteristic work, and is
prompted by the belief that Jesus Christ will some
day come suddenly to his temple. Hence the devotion
and self-sacrifice practised by Christ's people in order
to prepare for him a fitting place of reception. Wonders
in this direction have been accomplished b}^ a
poor and wandering people, at Kirtland, at Nauvoo,
at Salt Lake City, St George, Manti, and Logan.
In the north-west corner of Temple block, Salt
Lake City, in which is the tabernacle, the smaller
church building, and the new temple, stands a plain
two-story adobe structure known as the Endowment
House. Here are conducted the most secret and
solemn mysteries of the church, which may be termed
relimo-masonic ceremonies, illustrative of the orio-iu
and destiny of man. Here also are performed the
rites of baptism for the dead, anointing with oil, mar-
riage, and other ceremonies, by which the convert is
endowed with the special grace of God, receives his
inheritance as a child of God, and is made a partaker
of the fulness of all the blessings of religion. All
these rites should properly be performed in the temple,
which on its completion will supersede the endowment