The Mormon puzzle, and how to solve it

by R. W. Beers

CHAPTER V.

Mormonism a Theocracy—Manœuvring for office the cause of the expulsion of the Mormons from Missouri and Nauvoo—The “State of Deseret” formed—Lands illegally obtained—Brigham’s movable house—Government officials compelled to flee—Federal troops sent—The oath of disloyalty—The Endowment rites—The American flag at half-mast—The control of the nation their aim—The political puzzle stated—Its causes—Necessity of Government action.

The American nation seems to be slow to understand, and to all appearance is unwilling to believe, that the Mormon Church is A POLITICAL SYSTEM as well as a religious system, cherishing ideas and aims utterly alien and inimical to Democracy.

But, in the first place, it is essentially a political organization, its president being acknowledged as the supreme pontiff of the world, with both temporal and spiritual jurisdiction; and as such he is entitled to the implicit personal and unquestioning obedience of all Mormons. Mormonism is first and foremost a theocracy, and claims to exercise the only legitimate civil authority under the sun. It has no feature more characteristic and no purpose more fundamental or fixed than that of entire and undisputed temporal authority. In short, in its very nature and genius it is an organization transfused and overflowing with the virus of disloyalty and treason.

As early as 1833 Joseph Smith was openly accused of “aiming at monarchical power and authority,” and in Missouri his followers inaugurated the practice, which has always since been followed, of voting solid; and this idiosyncrasy I have already stated was largely the cause of their expulsion from that State.

Then, crossing to Illinois and wild with schemes for kingdom-building, Smith’s manœuvring for votes and offices was amazing. By trickery he secured a charter which made the city of Nauvoo independent of the Commonwealth. He was determined to be civil head of Nauvoo from the first, soon of the county also, erelong of the State, and eventually of the nation. His political game was played so recklessly for years that at length the fear and hatred of both political parties were incurred, and they united to crush the office-seeking hierarch and expel his followers.

Then they made their enforced exodus westward for the express purpose that, going beyond mountains and deserts, they might forever escape all interference from the wicked rulers of this world, and could set up the kingdom of God, with all its external forms. When they started westward Utah was not a part of the United States, and there they expected to be beyond the detested Stars and Stripes; but when they arrived there, much to their chagrin and disappointment, the flag of the free was supreme over all that region, it having been wrested in the mean time from Mexico.

Their plans, therefore, were completely shattered. Still they thought something could be done by energy and resolution; and so they made haste to set up a free and independent government, named “The State of Deseret,” hoping that they would be received at once into the Union as a sovereign State. The modest (?) limits they fixed for their State included an area of about 700 miles square, or one tenth of the national domain. Deseret would extend from Oregon to the Mexican boundary, and from the Rockies to the Pacific, or over the whole, or large parts, of nine of our largest Territories.

Brigham Young was elected governor of this illegal Mormon State, some of whose illegal legislative ordinances were afterward incorporated into the Territorial statute-book; and for many years after Congress organized the Territorial government, this unlawful “State of Deseret” organization was maintained, collision between the two being prevented by the fact that Brigham Young was governor of both. The bogus State organization was the controlling power. Under its influence all sorts of arbitrary anti-American laws were passed by which leading members of the priesthood became the virtual owners of the mountain streams, the timbers, and the best part of the public lands. The right of the American people to these lands was ignored, and through the incorporation of some thirty-seven little villages in the rich valleys of Utah, more than 400,000 acres of the public lands were arbitrarily withdrawn from the control of the laws of Congress and appropriated by these priestly leaders. This was done for the express purpose of preventing those who were not Mormons from securing any of the public lands in Utah.