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Whenever I am asked my opinion about Mormonism I am reminded of the
response
of Circuit Judge N.S. Sweat, Jr., of Corinth, Mississippi, when
during a temperance
campaign he was asked where he stood on the question of
whiskey. He said:
"If when you say whiskey you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge,
the bloody
monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the
home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes
the bread from the
mouths of little children, if you mean the evil drink that topples the
Christian man and woman
from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into
the bottomless pit of degradation and despair, and shame and helplessness,
and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.
"But if when you say whiskey you mean
the oil of conversation, the
philosophic wine, the ale that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on
their lips,
and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean
Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts
the spring into
the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink
that enables a man
to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if
only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches,
and
sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries
untold millions of dollars, which
are used to provide tender care for our
little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged
and infirm, to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am
for it. This is my stand. I will
not retreat from it. I will not
compromise."
That's sort of
how I feel about Mormonism. If when you say Mormonism
you mean the religion that asks its members to be honest,
true, chaste,
benevolent, and to do good to all men; the church that frowns on the use of
tobacco, and teaches boys
to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,
courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent;
if
you mean the organization that maintains the world's most famous choir; and
teaches that man is that he might
have joy; if you mean the church that
proclaims the sanctity of the family, and urges its members to embrace
everything that is virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, and
claims the privilege of worshiping Almighty
God according to the dictates of
their own conscience, and allows all men the same privilege, let them
worship how,
where, or what they may, then certainly I am for it.
But if when you say Mormonism you mean
the church that teaches that a
dark skin is a sign of God's displeasure; if you mean the church that bans
the
reading of any religious material not approved by church leaders; if you
mean the church that has an estimated net worth
of 50 billion dollars, but
keeps its finances secret from its members and from the public; if you mean
the church
that teaches it is a sin to drink a cup of tea; if you mean the
church that believes polygamy was once God's plan,
but is now a sin (but is
God's plan for the hereafter); if you mean the church that teaches an
Egyptian funeral
document was written by Abraham although he had been dead
almost 2,000 years when it was written; if you mean the church
that warns
against associating with former members who have left the fold; if you
mean the church that teaches its
members to follow without question
everything their leaders ask, instead of following the dictates of their own
conscience,
then certainly I am against it. This is my stand. I will not
retreat from it. I will not compromise.
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