PART III.
THE SOCIAL PUZZLE.
“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”—Inscription on the Old Liberty Bell.
“The strength, the perpetuity, and the destiny of the nation, rest upon our homes.”—President Cleveland.
CHAPTER VIII.
Polygamy only one of the Mormon social evils—Their social system a system of bondage—Contrary to natural law—Contrary to the spirit of the age—Personal Bondage of the Mormons—Missionaries must go on duty—Dictation of the priesthood with regard to boarders and rents—Immigrants under their control—All members subject to Church orders—Power of the Church over daily business—Mormon mining contractors—Mental Bondage of the Mormons—Converts illiterate—The Mormon Church the opponent of free education—No independent thought—Excommunication of Henry Lawrence and others.
If nine tenths of the people of our land were asked to denominate Mormonism as a social system, the answer that would be given by unanimous consent would be this: “It is a system of polygamy.” And yet, after a careful study of the social condition existing among the Mormons, it is evident that polygamy is only one of the social evils—one of several branches from one parent stock, and therefore cannot be said to be descriptive of their whole social system.