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Fruits of "Mormonism" The Rays of Living Light series of pamphlets were created in the early 20th century as missionary tracts. This pamphlet was typed by Christoph Dorion. We extend our gratitude to him for his work. Fruits
of "Mormonism" The Gathering
"Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs or thistles?"
So said the Savior of mankind (Matt, 7:16).
The Latter-day Saints, or "Mormons," as they are commonly
called, have been derided and persecuted, and all manner of evil has been
spoken against them, even by people who call themselves Christians.
That in this false witness has been borne against them, may be
definitely proved if the criterion given by Christ is accepted. Having obeyed the Gospel as restored to earth by angelic
visitation and administered by divine authority, large numbers of the
Saints have congregated in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains in obedience
to the command, "Gather my Saints together unto me, those that have
made covenant with me by sacrifice" (Psalm 1:5).
And also: "Come
out of her (Babylon), my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4). The Desert Shall
Blossom as the Rose
In the year 1847, a
company of Pioneers, led by the prophet Brigham Young, successor of the
Martyr Joseph Smith, who was slain for the Gospel's sake,
marched from the Missouri River across prairies and mountains, sand wastes and rivers, through the wilderness known as the Great American Desert, to the place in the mountains where they had been directed by Joseph Smith when living with hem in Nauvoo. On July 24th of that year they halted in the call of the Great Salt Lake, beheld Brigham Young in vision before they commenced their weary journey. Not a human habitation was to be seen. The sun-baked land brought forth sagebrush and weeds. Rain was almost unknown and the melting snows from the mountain tops came down but in narrow and scanty streams. But they plowed the parched ground and turned upon the trickling waters; they sowed in faith and trusted in God for the harvest which alone could save them from starvation. The little band was composed of but 148 persons who had left civilization more than a thousand sand miles behind. Today over five hundred thousand people, gathered from all parts of the worked, dwell in peace and harmony in flourishing cities and towns or upon fruitful farms and luxuriant ranches, reaping the results of thrift and industry and the blessings of God upon the land and upon their labors. In the cities are fine residences, comfortable cottages, business establishments, manufacturing enterprises, railroads, telegraphs and telephones, broad streets lined with magnificent trees and with clear streamlets on either side, lighted by electricity and supplied with put water from words owned by the people. Grand school houses have been erected, spacious places of worship noble public buildings and splendid temples costing from one million to four million dollars each. All kinds of grains and fruits and flowers are produced in abundance; the rainfalls have wonderfully increased, springs have burst forth in dry spots, grass grows on the hillsides, and in the meadows, cattle and sheep graze on a thousand hills, and the face of nature smiles and shines with beauty.
Fulfillment
of Prophecy This
marvelous transformation has been brought about by the blessings of
Almighty God upon the faith and works of his Saints gathered from afar.
Zion that brought good tidings-- the everlasting Gospel restored to
earth-- has gone up "into the high mountain."
The Spirit, has been poured out from on high, and the wilderness
has become a "fruitful field."
"The people of the Lord dwell in peaceable habitations, in
sure dwellings, in quiet resting places."
They are sowing "beside all waters."
"The wilderness and the solitary place is glad for them, the
desert rejoices and blossoms abundantly.
They are the "ransomed of the Lord, and have come to Zion with
songs of everlasting joy" (See Isaiah 11:9;
32:15-20; 35: 1-10) Other Fruits Every
Sabbath day the children assemble in Sunday Schools under a system which
is not excelled in any part of the world.
In the afternoon and evening the Saints assemble in their
tabernacles and meeting houses, and receive instruction by the voice of
inspiration and the reading of the holy writ.
Societies are organized for the instruction of juveniles, of young
men and young women, of ladies of mature age and for all classes of the
community. To serve God and
keep his commandments is held up as the first duty of his people.
To labor for the salvation of the living and the redemption of the
dead is placed above all earthly considerations.
The Church now in the mission fields eighteen hundred or more
missionaries, traveling "without purse or scrip," without pay or
any kind, depending upon God and friends whom he may raise up to them for
their daily sustenance. The Church organization revealed their daily sustenance.
The Church organization revealed from heaven is recognized by all
who
investigate as the grandest and most complete ever known on earth.
The industry, order, devotion, unity and brotherly love displayed
by the Latter-day Saints are the admiration and commendation of both
friend and foe. The work they
have performed under divine direction is a marvel to all who have visited
the cities of the Saints or know of their achievements.
What is the tree that has brought froth those excellent fruits?
It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Let the tree be judged by its fruits. Must Suffer
Persecution It
is true that the "Mormons" are a people who have been
"everywhere spoken against,"
but this was a characteristic of the Saints in the original
Christian Church. Paul said:
"They that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution." Jesus exclaimed, "Woe unto you when all men shall speak
well of you." He
prophesied to his disciples: "Ye
shall be hated of all men for my name's sake."
But there are a number of brave men who, after visiting Utah, have
not been afraid to speak of their honest sentiments concerning that
despised people. Among them
are the following, whose published remarks are but samples of others that
might be adduced: Brave, Honest
Opinions
that
heaven will bless the Church of Latter-day Saints. Another strong and admirable feature in the Mormon religion
is the tenacious and efficient organization.
They follow with the greatest care of all the forms of the old
Church." Henry
Edger says, in the New York Evolution: "Driven by mob violence from
one State to another, despoiled of their legitimate possessions-- fruits
of honest toil-- this despised and grossly wronged people found their way
at last across the trackless desert and by an almost unexampled
perseverance and industry created an oasis in the desert itself." Elder
Miles Grant, editor of the World's Crisis, says:
"After a careful observation for some days we came to the
settled conclusion that there is less licentiousness in Salt Lake City
than in any other." Gov.
Safford, or Arizona, wrote as follows:
"They have no drones, and the work they have accomplished in
so short a time is truly wonderful. All
concede that we need an energetic, industrious, economical and
self-relying people to subdue and bring into use the cast, unproductive
lands of Arizona. These
Mormons fill every one of the above requirements.
Gen.
Thomas L. Kane, of Pennsylvania, after four years experience with the
Mormons, declared: "I
have not heard of a single charge made against them as a community,
against their habitual purity of life, their willing integrity, their
toleration of religious difference of opinion, their regard for the laws,
their devotion to the constitutional government under which devotion to
the constitutional government under which we live, that I do not from my
own observation or upon testimony of others know to be unfounded."
Chief
Justice White, sent to Utah by the United States government, testified:
"Industry, frugality, temperance, honesty are with them the
common practices of life. This
land they have redeemed from sterility and occupied its once barren
solitudes with cities, villages, cultivated fields and farm-houses, and
made it the habitation of a numerous people, where a beggar is never seen
and almshouses are neither needed nor known." The
late Hon. Bayard Taylor United States Minister to Germany, remarked:
"We must admit that Salt Lake City is one of the most quiet,
orderly and moral places in the world...
The Mormons as a people are the most Temperate of Americans.
They are chaste, laborious and generally cheerful, and what they
have accomplished in so short a time under every circumstance of
discouragement, will always form one of the most remarkable chapters in
our history." Persecution and
Deliverance __________ 7 Isaiah 18.
efforts
gave great promise of success. Much
suffering was endured by the Saints, but they possessed their souls in
patience, having faith in the promises of God made to them through their
prophets and apostles, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
The day of their deliverance from this injustice, sorrow, and
tribulation has come. Their
true character has been measurable recognized, and Utah has been admitted
into the Union as a free and sovereign State, on an equal footing with the
other States in the Federal compact. Court Investigation There
are yet remains in the world great ignorance concerning the Latter-day
Saints, their purposes and works, their doctrines and teachings, and the
spirit and power of their faith. To
these they invite the investigation of every rational mind. They urge comparison of their principles, their Church and
the ordinances, gifts, and spirit thereof with those set forth in the New
Testament, in contrast with the contending and discordant religions of
modern Christendom.. They
know that they have received the truth, and that God has revealed it in
the present age. They have
obtained a divine witness, every one for himself.
They are building up Zion in the West.
They are sending forth the Gospel into all the world as a witness
to the nations before the end shall come. Day
of Warning This
is a day of warning. It will
be followed by a time of judgments. The
Lord is about to shake terribly the kingdoms of this world.
War, pestilence, famine, earthquake, whirlwind, and the devouring
fire, with signs in the heavens and on the earth, will immediately precede
the great consummation which is
close
at hand. These are the last
days. All that has been
foretold by the holy prophets concerning them is about to be literally
fulfilled. The everlasting
Gospel has been restored to the earth as one of the signs of the latter
days. Israel is being gathered.
The elect of God are assembling from the four quarters of the
earth. The way is opening for
the redemption of Judah.
Soon all things will be in commotion:
"men's hearts failing them for fear and looking for the things
that are coming on the earth." The
places of refuge appointed are in Zion and in Jerusalem.
The Lord, even Jesus the Messiah, will come to His holy Temple. He
will be glorified in his Saints, but will "take vengeance on them
that know not God and obey not the Gospel."
He will break in pieces the nations as a potter's vessel.
He will sweep the earth as with a besom of destruction,. He will establish righteousness upon it and give dominion to
his people. "The meek
shall inherit the earth and the wicked be cut of forever." Therefore, repent and turn unto him, all ye nations and obey
him, all ye people, for these words are true and faithful and are given by
his Spirit! Salvation has
come unto you; reject it not lest ye fall and perish.
The time is at hand! Published
by the Missions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
America BUREAU
OF INFORMATION---Temple Block, Salt Lake City, Utah. Press
of Zion's Printing and Publishing Company |
