Visit to the Mormons;

              78 HASKINS & SELLS August
o
A Visit to the Mormons
By JOHN R. WILDMAN
THE Mormons are a much misunder-stood
people. To the outsider they are
a people of mystery. They will tell you
themselves the things outsiders say about
them; how they have horns and cloven
hoofs. A visit to Salt Lake City, which is
the center of Mormonism in the world,
dispels all such nonsensical ideas.
One is impressed first with the beauties
of the city; its fine broad streets; the mar­velous
cleanliness, accentuated by the wa­ter
running through the street gutters; the
system of drinking fountains which pro­vides
cold sparkling water brought from
the nearby mountains for the refreshment
of the pedestrian. Verily the late Presi­dent
Young, who laid out the city with
streets one hundred and thirty-two feet
wide and ten acres to the block, must have
been a far-seeing man.
Attending a service in the Tabernacle is
not unlike attending the church of the
Methodists or the Baptists or any other
denomination. They sing and pray and
preach precisely as do the others, except
that they seem to know more about the
Bible and to be able to quote more Scrip­ture.
There is a certain earnestness about
their service which is very impressive.
The Tabernacle seats about twelve thou­sand
persons and is noted for its pipe or­gan,
perhaps not now the largest in the
world, but second to none in the quality of
its tones. Certain of the latter, known as
the human voice tones, are so natural as
to deceive the most discerning ear. The
full choir numbers four hundred voices.
The word "Mormon" is a nickname for
this religious sect. The correct name is
Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints.
The sect originated with one Joseph Smith
to whom God and His Son are said to have
appeared at Camorah, New York, in the
year 1820. Growing out of this "Joseph
the Prophet" started with his followers on
a pilgrimage which ended at the valley ad­jacent
to the Great Salt Lake in what is
now the state of Utah. Joseph Smith was
killed en route in Illinois by a mob because
of his religious belief. He was succeeded
by Brigham Young who led the party from
Illinois to its final destination.
President Young was a man of great
vision. The mountains with their untold
millions of mineral deposits were denied to
the members of the party by him. Their
livelihood lay in agriculture and to this he
urged them to direct their attention.
President Young was friendly to the
Indians and is reported to have counselled
his brethren to "Shoot them with biscuits."
Thus, it is explained, were the Mormons
free from molestation by the Indians.
The Temple, occupying a prominent
place on Temple Block in the center of
Salt Lake City, is a tribute to the patience
and perseverance of the Mormons. It is
built of native granite and required forty
years to complete. Much of the stone in
the structure was hauled by ox-teams from
the mountains at a distance of twenty-five
or thirty miles. The Temple is open only
to members of the church. In it are per­formed
marriages and baptismal cere-