Newspaper Page Text
l\ay 1, 1912}
THE MORMON MENACE.
Ex-Senator Dubois, of Idaho, in a
speech made a few years ago in the
United States Senate, as reported in the
press dispatches, said In substance:
"The Mormon Church is essentially a
commercial and political organization."
Their leaders are business men and
handle the church on business principles.
More than half of the twelve
apostles are admittedly defying the law
and the government in that they are
living openly in polygamous relations.
New polygamous marriages are continually
being celebrated in the Mormon
Chlirnh. Thp VOlin^ man r\t "
selected to enter into these reiations,
and are being tied irrevocably to the
church and made subservient to it
through these relations.
Whenever they contract polygamous
marriage, they are without the pale of
the law, and their only hope for protection
is through this powerful church
organization.
Under the present system polygamous
marriages are celebrated secretly and
for the most part in foreign countries,
or beyond the jurisdiction of the United
States. A national law, with power to
punish for polygamy, would be ineffective
because there would be no way
that a plural marriage could be proved
to the satisfaction of judge and jury.
The Mormons are all powerful in
i wnu. hi. luano no one can De elected
to the Senate or House without their
consent. This is equally true in Wyoming.
They are beginning to be a large
balance of power in Oregon, and Nevada
is likely to be under their control
in the near future.
Senator Smoot is an apostle of the
Mormon Ohurch. He is one of the body
of twelve who are the controlling authorities
of the church in everything,
temporal, spiritual and political.
It must be plain to any one who has
followed the testimony of the Smoot
case that the Mormon authorities constitute
a band of conspirators whose object
is to set aside and nullify the laws
of the land when in their judgment such
laws are in conflict with the duties they
owe to their organization, and that this
conspiracy aims to make the state subservient
to the Mormon Church, and to
concentrate in the hands of the church
authorities the political powers which
belong solely to the state.
Reed Smoot is a part of this conspiracy
as an apo6tle of that church.
There are no laws on the statute
books of Idaho by which men could be
punished for living with plural wives
and the people are powerless to pass
any. The attorney-general of the State
is a polygamist. No law to control contagious
or infectious diseases, or to collect
vital statistics, can be passed because
it would require a registration of
births. The Mormons say openly they
will not allow such laws to paBS.
Mr. Dubois spoke these plain words
near the end of his senatorial term,
knowing full well he would not be returned.
They are just as true to-day
as they were when he uttered them.
This hideous form of anti-Christ rolls
on, gathering in its victims.
Here in West Tennessee their agents
are almost as pestiferous as the frogs
were in Rgypt. They are as humble as
I'riah Heep, even begging old orthodox
Presbyterians to please take some of
thftin .i. "
iiiertuure ana cam1? to toe light
revealed to the "Latter-day Saints." To
hear them talk reminds one of the old
rong:
Come Into my parlor
Said the spider to the fly.
Tis the prettiest little parlor
That ever you did spy.
Or what Is more serious, the very
M'ord of Goa, spoken by Paul to the
Church in Corinth: "For such are false
apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
themselves into the apostles of
Chrst. And no marvel, for Satan himself
Is transformed Into an angel of
light."
The dominant power in our government
wll] not, or dare not, adopt measures
tQ enforce the law against polygamy.
W. H. Perkins.
Mount Carmel. Tonn
A REJOINDER.
Just a word of rejoinder to your
kindly criticism of my "Scripture
Study." Difference of opinion frequently
arises from misunderstanding an opponent's
position. It is so, I judge, in
ihis case. I did not mean to assert, or
mply, fhat Paul "deliberately, knowingly
and wilfully disobeyed a direct command
of the Holy Spirit." It is cheer*ully
conceded that he was thoroughly
concientious; that he confidently beHeved
he was going to . Jerusalem at the
call of duty; and my only contention le
THE PRESBYTERIJ
that he was bo confident that he failed
to read the meaning of the Spirit's re-'
peated warnings, and thui resisted and
grieved him unconsciously.
As a persecutor Paul had been thoroughly
honest and concientious. "I
verily thought with myself that I ought
to do many things contrary to -the name
of Jesus of Nazareth, which thing I also
did." Acts 26:9-10. Shall we say that
this was not real persecution, and not
real resistance to Christ, and that Christ
was not really grieved, because it was
all done "lgnorantly and in unbelief?"
And just so, Paul's resistance of the
Spirit, though ignorantly and unconsciously
carried on, was a real resistine.
and the Spirit was Just as really, though
not as greatly, grieved as if it had been
wilful and deliberate.
It is also cheerfully conceded that
at this period of his life, as always, Paul
exhibited "unswerving loyalty to Christ,
tender and prayerful regard for the
saints, and an unalterable determination
worthily to fulfill the ministry that had
been committed to his hands." But all
this is irrelevant. The one thing in which
he grieved the Spirit was in failing to
follow hie guiding hand, and hence the
one point at which he suffered was in
the want of future guidance. It did not
affect his inspiration as a teacher. It
did not shake his loyalty to his Lord.
Suppose, when "forbidden by the Holy
Ghost to preach the Word in Asia" (Acts
16: 6), Paul had insisted upon doing so.
and had actually gone Into Asia preaching
the Gospel, can we suppose, for a
moment that he would have received the
vision of "the man of Macedonia" as a
clear call of God's Spirit to preach the
Gospel in Europe? To secure the Spirit's
constant guidance, we must follow un.
falteringly wherever he leads us. Paul
failed In this one Instance, from whatever
cause we need not inquire, and the
Divine Hand that had led him thus far
is seen no more.
And now let us turn our atention for a
moment to our brother from Macon. It
is difficult to understand (save for "the
fallibility of human reason"), how this
brother so completely failed to catch
the drift of our article. Where did we
say, or imply, that Paul was "a Jonah
running away from duty?" In what way
have we sought "to rob him of his record
of faithfulness?" These are our
our brother's own inferences, for which
there is not the shadow of foundation.
Not only so, but in paragraph 3, in the
heart of a quotation, he inserts words of
his own ("in a self-willed way") which
verv materially alter the meaning of the
statement. And worse than this, in paragraph
1, our brother, while professing
to give the substance of our position,
makes us say exactly the opposite of
wnai we aia say, to wit, tnat faul "did
not forfeit the Snirit's presence and gracious
influence." These two garbled
extracts furnish the heading of our
brother's article, and when these are
corrected, his whole argument is destroyed.
In conclusion, let me say, that I am
second to none in the estimate T put
upon the apostle's character, and In
"the falMblllty of human reason, alas!"
I was not aware that It was "an assault
nnon his character," and so crushing a
"blow to the cause of Christ," to hold
that that character was not without
"flaw."
S. J. Cartledge.
Athens, Ga.
TIIE ELECT INFANT CLAUSE AND
THE NEXT ASSEMBLY.
Tt. is past doubt that the Committee
VioiHtior I n hon/1 iVlo 11 1
uaviii^ iu uouu iuio cxi i iurpi/1 loui Iiiai"
ter, and the General Assembly, which
ultimately must pass on the Committee's
report, will never get together.
This deadlock between the Committee
and former Assembly has led the writer
of this article to change his view. He
has discovered bhat a great number of
people are in doubt as to the teaching
of the Confession of Faith, not from the
study of that document, but from the
impression that the majority report of
the Assembly's Committee has made upon
them. Historically there can be no
misgiving as to the meaning the fram.
ers of the "Westminster Confession intended
to attach to the word "Elect."
fHr A A TTftHtro aqIH "Tho lonoiiowa nf
the Confession is explicit and exact, and
is not intended to suggest that there
are any non-elect infants." Dr. William
Twisse, the prolocutor of the Westminster
Assembly, said: "I regard the
question as merely "apex logicus," that
is, "a nicety;" but if you wish tcv know
my opinion, it is: "God damneth nbne
except those who willfully sin. contumaciously
continue in it, until they
come to ripe years." This should convince
anyone that the purpose in the
language of the Westminster fathers
IN OF THE SOUTH
was to give an answer to the query:
"How are infants saved?" and not to
distinguish between infants saved and
lost.
The thought of the Westminster fathers
was, in. great measure, influenced by
the writings of John Calvin. It can be
stated with certainty that the word
"ronrnhflto " whlr?v? Polwln nooa f/v ^o
scribe the lost, is never found in bis
writings in connection with infants.
John Fiske says: "Jonathan Edwards is
the only king of American thought," and
Edward's writings square, in this particular,
with both the writings of John
Calvin and the Westminster Confession
of Faith. There cannot be found a word
or sentence in the writings of Edwards,
when interpreted by the context, having
anything to do with infant reprobation.
The writer claims, therefore, that historically
the language of the Confession
could remain as it is and lead to no
confusion in the mind of the average
man, but when the Assembly's Committee
approaches the subject from the
standpoint of doubt as to the teachings
of the Scriptures, it is both easy and
natural that the average member of our
church should come to grave doubt as to
the language of the Confession of Faith.
Hitherto only the enemies of the Confession
of Faith succeeded in making its
language doubtful.
Geneva, Westminster, Northampton,
cover the movements of Calvinism for
over four hundred years, and their
movements were conducted by the most
splendid intellects that have molded
opinion on Calvinistic theology, and
while in neither place was the question
of Infant salvation ever discussed with
the directness of our day, yet the inferences
from all the writings of those who
played their parts in the controversies
make it historically certain that if the
question had been approached from as
acute an angle as we have had to approach
it, that the answer would have
been one in which there would have
been no misgiving as to the teaching
of the Scriptures and that possibly the
languaee of the Confession might have
been different.
The writer, therefore, is most earnest
in advocating the amendment to the Confession,
as suggested by Dr. S. S. Laws,
of Washington, D. C., than whom there
is no more learned man in the Presbyterian
Church of America. His suggestion
is: to strike out the word "Elect"
in chapter 10, paragraph 2, of the Confession
of Faith, making it read. "All
infants are regenerated and saved by
Christ, through the Spirit, who worketh
wTinn on /I titKawa Law L ?
?uvti t*?i 11 nuciC) auu II v_? w nc picaociu,
so are all other incapable persons.
* * * >
It Is to be devoutly wished that the
Bristol Assembly will devise a way or
accept such an amendment to the Confession
of Faith that will counteract the
doubt in the popular mind, owing to the
apparent misgiving on the part of the
Assembly's Committee, as to the teachings
of the Scriptures.
It was the teaching of Jonathan Edwards
that no doctrine of Scripture was
dependent upon few or many texts, but
rather upon the broad principle of being
mentioned so as to be understood. The
Bubject of Infant salvation, it seems to
the writer, has been approached from
the standpoint of texts rather than from
that of the teaching of the Bible. The
doctrine of Original Sin, as bearing upon
the race of Adam, is beyond doubt a
doctrine of Scripture and involves infants
as well as adults. We believe that
original sin and the interpretations of
Its consequence upon infants has led to
all the confusion and error in theological
writings regarding infant salvation
<1.1 iu uauiuauuu. u in noi necessary to
take space to describe the variety of
opinion upon this subject. It may be
affirmed that original sin must be held
to. with all of its consequences, If any
doctrine of salvation for any of the
human race Is to be affirmed. There is
another doctrne, that of Regeneration,
that Is not dependent upon single texts,
hut Is a doctrine of the Scriptures, making
Its demands of every one of Adam's
race, Infant and adult. The crux of all
the controversy on Infant Salvation has
been: How can little children he saved?
John Calvin answered: "By being regenerated
through the Spirit." The
Westminster Fathers answered In the
language of the Confession of Faith?
Regeneration.
It seems to the writer, when the subject
is approached from this angle that
uie ?cripture teacnings Decome broad
enough and clear enough to show that
there la no Infant of any of the human
race embraced In the largeness of the
Grace of Redemption, who goes out of
life In an actual state of Infancy. Parents
may he assured that the Bible's
teachings on this subject should lead
them to feel assured that there Is no
(501) IT
little mound, In all this earth, that
marks the sleeping place of a little
child, but that the parents of that child,
while doubting their own salvation, may
reverently say, "The child cannot come
to me, but I can go to the child." The
road for both the child and the adult,
the one cursed with original sin, the
other with both original and actual sin,
is the great highway of Grace by Regeneration.
This is the context of the
Bible. This is the writing of the FathprR
nnH thn Prlolnl Aoa??*Kl.. u 4
vuv JL/ilOkUl AOOCUiUl/ UUgQl to
make the Confession of Faith read so
that none, in our day, may be disturbed
or have misgivings as to its teachings.
Jno. W. Stagg.
AN APPEAL.
It Is an urgent one. It is a sincere
one and confidently looks for responses.
The Presbytery of Washburn, Synod of
Arkansas, occupies the northwestern
fourth of the State of Arkansas. The
Presbytery is composed of fifteen
churches, three of which are self-supporting.
The remaining twelve are on
our "sustentatlon" list. Of these last
mentioned, five are now cared for by
three excellent and earnest pastors who
reach out beyond the borders of their
pastorates and do much real evangelistic
work. The others are now vacant.
They are naturally grouped into three
fields of labor. We wiBb to supply them
with pastors at once.
One of these fields will pay a salary
of six hundred dollars and manse; another
will pay four hundred and manse,
and the last one will pay four hundred
dollars and has no manse. We wish to
supply these fields with earnest, wellequipped
and wise preachers of the
gospel, filled with the evangelistic spirit
without making any call upon our already
famished "sustentation" fund.
The fields in question are so situated
as to furnish the privilege and opportunity
to the pastors who will go in
and occupy them, of helping us in our
effort to reach the ten counties of our
Presbytery in which we have no Pres.
byterlan church.
There is plenty of hard work, a
promise of good health and an increase
in salary and those higher and more
attractive rewards of an ambassador
for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Preachers of the gospel are not right
ly measured Dy the salary received
That is the world's measure, but It Is
not heaven's. A number of years ago
Oscar Wilson came from a comfortable
pastorate in Virginia to a field in Arkansas
without the promise of any salary
whatever. He was unmarried and
had no family obligations that hindered
him. He was one of our best preachers
and withal a rare spirit In this world.
Our brothers and fathers went to war
some years ago for no salary. Four
hundred dollars would have been large
remuneration. Who will come?
R. B. Willis,
Chairman of Home Missions.
Fayetteville, Arkansas.
"The Divine Tragedy: A Drama of
the Christ," by Peyton. Harrison Hoge,
is a poem in blank verse, dlscrlptive
of successive events involved in the
latter part of our Lord's ministry and
his trial and crucifixion. Selected from
the tributes paid to the work by men
of recognized literary taste and scholarship
is this by BishoD Vincent: "T can
say that no written account has ever
produced in my mind the impression received
during the reading of The Divine
Tragedy.' It is unique, vivid, powerful."
This new edition of the work has
been published as an aid to the study
of the Life of our Lord in connection
with the International Lessons for this
year. Single copies can be procured at
50 cents each. Address the author at
Peewee Valley, Ky.
Let men account for this wonderful
change since Christ! What did it? How
came it, if Jesus Christ be not what he
claimed to he?the Son of God, the
Saviour of the world!?'Frances Cable.