Defense of the Faith and the Saints (Volume 1 of 2)Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
Defense of the Faith and the Saints (Volume 1 of 2)
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Latter Day Saint churches
I say that a meaner falsehood could not be uttered than is uttered in
those sentences. And it was not done in ignorance. It was done with
the intent to deceive the people of the United States, to awaken their
bitterness against the great majority of the people in this state,
and to represent the Mormons as subservient to a monarch, to a tyrant
living in grandeur and upon the profits of their earnings, and was
intended to work mischief towards the people of this state. I need not
deny the falsehood--you all know the charge to be untrue--that the
funds which flow into the hands of the Trustee-in-Trust are but trust
funds. Not one dollar belongs to him personally. These funds are used
for the various purposes that we have just been considering.
Again, this speech falsely represents that the "government money" is
tithed. I shall have to read the passage from the speech in which the
charge occurs in order to get you to believe that, I know. So here it
is:
"It will astound you to know that every dollar of United States
money paid to any servant of the government who is a Mormon is
tithed for the benefit of this monarch. Out of every $1,000 thus
paid he gets $100 to swell his grandeur. This is also true of money
paid out of the public treasury of the State of Utah to Mormon
officials."
Nor is the end yet:
"But what is worst of all, the monarch dips into the sacred public
school fund and extracts from every Mormon teacher one-tenth of
his or her earnings and uses it for his unaccounted purposes; and,
by means of these purposes and the power which they constitute, he
defies the laws of his state, the sentiment of his country, and is
waging war of nullification on the public school system, so dear to
the American people."
And that is not all:
"In all this there is no thought on my part of opposition to
voluntary gifts by individuals for religious purposes or matters
connected legitimately with religion. My comment and criticism are
against the tyranny which misuses a sacred name to extract from
individuals the moneys which they ought not to spare from family
needs, and which they do not wish to spare."
Then tell me why they spare it? That is my question. The tithes that
are paid by Mormons are voluntary donations to carry on the work of the
Church, and the Church possesses no power by which it can coerce man,
woman or child to the payment of tithes. Will you tell me when a man
was ever excommunicated solely because he did not pay his tithes. Is
there any such case?
But to proceed with the proof that this speech charges that government
money is tithed:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account