Testimony: Temporal as Well as Spiritual

EDITOR'S TABLE. TESTIMONY— TEMPORAL AS WELL AS SPIRITUAL. In giving instructions to the people, the authorities of the Church have frequently advised that the members should know the truth for themselves. "Every man must know for himself and not for another." "Stand on your own foundation." "Have a testimony for yourself." These sentences, and many of similar import, have wellnigh become platitudes, they have been used so often by the authorities in their exhortations to the people. But these instructions have had their effect upon the Latter-day Saints, and to such an extent that it is no exaggeration to say that no other community is so well informed individually upon the doctrines ofthe Gospel as the Latter-day Saints. Let a member make an error in teaching, and he will find any number of his listeners who will interpose objections and offer corrections. Study, individual testimony, the light of the Spirit of God, have combined to give the average member of the Church such a keen knowledge of the truth, that no person can deceive him; and, further, no member will hesitate a moment but, if occasion offers, will freely declare his knowledge. This has made the people independent, confident, content, steadfast in the midst of whirlwinds of diversified doctrines, theological contentions, and cries of lo here,and lo there, is the Christ! They are not carried about by every wind of doctrine, "by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." They have come to a^ "unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God." In the midst of it all, they go about their duty, immovable, firm in the knowledge of truth. And how has this come about? By study, by testimony gained from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by proving the doctrine in

personal practice, and holding fast the good. They have thus a perfect personal knowledge; if it were not so, the Church organization could not hold togf^ther, "but now the whole body is safely joined together." If members did not know for themselves that the w^ork is of God, and that ils doctrines are true, the organization would crumble to pieces in a short timf'. But do the statements of sensational newspapers affect the faith of the Latter-day Saints? Do they begin to doubt when ministers or laymen attack the principles of the Gospel? Not at all! Provided what is said is confined to faith, repentance, baptism for the living and the dead, organization of the Church with apostles and prophets, and to other doctrines pertaining to spiritual salvation and exaltation; but it will be seen that to the temporal affairs, and matters pertaining to the immediate government of the Church, this statement does not in all cases apply. But a little thought will convince any one that the latter is quite as essential as the former, fcr without the temporal, there can be no expression of the spiritual. Long ago it was discovered, by the opposition to the work of God, that attacking the Latter-day Saints on the principles of the Gospel was of little or no avail. They have even long ago abandoned their attacks on the Book of Mormon, and instead tolerate, even actually adopt, many of its doctrines. But new tactics are now chosen, and these on the line of temporal affairs. Everything now done by the Church officers in a temporal way, they proclaim, is done to the detriment of the people, who are being robbed, plundered, impoverished and distressed. The leaders are enriching themselves at the expense of the Saints, and the Church has become a vast commercial combination, having for its object the distress ard financial destruction of the people. Tithing is a robbery, they would have us believe, designed to keep the members in bondage and subjection, and to enrich the leaders, who are revelling in wealth and luxury. Strange to say, there are a few of the Saints who pay attention to these charges. Why to these attacks, and not to those of doctrine? It must be because the Saints are not so well informed on the lives and actions of their leaders, aid on the temporal

EDITOR'S TABLE. 775 affairs of the Church, as upon the doctrines and the spiribua things. It must be because they do not know the truth for thornselves. They do not stand on their own foundation. Tliey have not a testimony for themselves. They are not informed individually. It is for these reasons that they fear the attacks of newspaper writers and others who lie for personal, political or mercenary motives; or, if they do not lie, so cunningly mix truth and error uhat there is a plausible appearace to their conclusions. They knowingly twist and misconstrue every word and action of the authorities. Statements, activities, movements, innocent in themselves, are, by misconstruction and misapplication, and for sinister effect upon the unknowing, niade to appear as colossal lies, damnable dealings, treacherous incidents, tending towards immorality, rottenness and evil. All this should have no effect upon the Latter-day Saint except to cause him to determine that he will know for himself, if he so knows, he will take no misrepresentation for granted. When he has investigated and learned for himself, he will be as immovable in these things as he now is in affairs of doctrine. The liars and defamers will be laid bare before his view, and to the eye of his under?itanding their mercenary motives will be made plain. The honest Latter- day Saint has every avenue open to him to learn the truth for himself. What has the Church done to you or to your neighbor that is a detriment? Who has it robbed and plundered to your knowledge; who impoverished and distressed? If any man, or set of men, claim such conditions to be true, are they justified? What leader whom you know has enriched himself at the expense of the people? Have you suffered because of your observance of the law of tithing, or have you been blessed and prospered? Are the body of the Church in bondage, spiritually, temporally, politically, socially, or any other way? Look around you and count the free- men, and mark well what has been done for them; observe the progress they have made since you first knew them. If you see unaided poverty, unattended sickness, unhappy homes, discontentment, and distress, mark well the cause, and you shall find that neither the teachings of the Church nor the actions of its leaders are at fault. Then observe the leaders, and you shall find that instead of being wealthy, they are generally poor, except in spirit;