In their new home, the Saints increased in numbers and were beginning to enjoy some of the comforts of life, as a reward of their toil, when, in 1857, the national government was induced, through the misrepresentations of some of its officials, to send an army against the "Mormons," who prepared for another exodus, and to defend themselves. But the time required in such an undertaking gave the government an opportunity to discover that it had been misled and to change its course. The record of the expedition, with its expenditure of twenty millions of dollars, stands as a monument of the folly of judging a matter hastily.
The current of popular opinion, however, had set in strongly against the Saints, and it is difficult to change it; but the majority of those with whom they are now in contact are not the lawless element of Missouri and Illinois, so that the violence of former times is no longer used against the body of the people where they are known. But the adverse feeling caused legislation hostile to them. They bowed to the law, content to leave the issue between those who raised their hands against them and the God of Israel, in whose justice, mercy and omnipotence they have perfect confidence. Their Church property was seized by the government—property which was the voluntary gift of Church members, for the support of the poor, the building of Temples, and similar purposes. But with a better understanding of the motives and lives of the Saints, the government recognized the great wrong done, and sought to right it. The forfeited property not wasted in litigation was restored, adverse legislation ceased, friendliness superseded an unjust, mistaken antagonism, and in 1896 Utah was admitted to statehood.
PRESENT CONDITION.
The results of the industry, integrity and thrift of the Saints, as shown by their present condition, are a complete refutation of the accusations of evil made against them. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Utah, the chief centre of their gathering place, has a population of 270,000, seventy-five per cent, being "Mormons." Ninety percent of the heads of families live in their own houses and on their own lands. The fruitful orchards, rich fields and farms, successful industries and beautiful cities, towns and villages, present to the view a paradise upon earth; while the vigor and cheerfulness of old and middle-aged and young betoken the health, prosperity and happiness which are God's own gifts to this people, in whose hearts dwells more abundantly than in those of any other community that love of God and of their fellow men which is the fruit of a pure and noble life in the service of the great Creator.
Not alone in Utah do the Latter-day Saints find a home. Their hundreds of settlements bedeck the mountain valleys from the province of Alberta, in Canada, through Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, in the United States, to Chihuahua, in Old Mexico, on either side of a line which reaches fifteen hundred miles along the backbone of the American continent.
As an ecclesiastical organization, the first officers in the Church are divinely commissioned Apostles of the Lord Jesus, and divine authority is possessed by the whole body of Priesthood, down to the office of Deacon. Almost the entire male membership of the Church is included in this classification; while there are organizations for the women and children. Over four hundred districts, or wards, are united in larger organizations called Stakes of Zion, all combining in a perfect system.
FUTURE DESTINY.
The Saints have an abiding faith in the future glorious destiny of the work in which they are engaged. From its inception there has been steady and rapid progress. Its Elders have carried the glad tidings to the nations as God has given them strength. They have not preached for money nor divined for hire. Freely they have received; freely they give. Persecution has followed those who have obeyed the Gospel, just as it did anciently. But with each wave of adversity the Church has grown stronger, and its opponents have been restricted in their ability to inflict injuries on its members. Each successive blow of its foes has fallen more lightly than the one which preceded it; while the Saints have been brightened and made better by the experience gained in drawing nearer to the Lord. No Latter-day Saint has any doubt of the ultimate triumph of the principles he has received in the Gospel. They form the plan of life, the power of God unto salvation. The Church is organized never again to be overcome. Its destiny is to continue to increase until its Founder and Head, the Lord Jesus Christ, will establish His eternal kingdom, and righteousness shall rule from the rivers to the ends of the earth.
THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.
The purpose of the Gospel is to lead us back to God, improved by the knowledge and experience we have gained. There is no truth in any department of life that is without its pale; no knowledge that is beyond its reach. Its truth is the sum of all existence, the knowledge of things that have been, that are, and that will be. God is truth, and His Gospel is the plan whereby we may be saved in His presence. This is the doctrine that our Lord and Savior taught; this is the message given to the Latter-day Saints, and which they proclaim to the world. They call upon all men to repent and do the will of God. They invite sincere seekers after truth everywhere. They present to the world an example of the marvelous power of the Gospel they have obeyed. By their fruits they show its effects. They have solved the problem of a happy, prosperous and contented life, free from sin and sorrow, from poverty and idleness, from hatred and hypocrisy. They present to the rest of mankind the example of a people who put into practice their belief in being honest, industrious, true, chaste, benevolent, and in doing good to all men. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, they seek after those things.