less. Revolt meant death to those who at tempted it.

A Remarkable Organization. The story of the avenging " Danites," of the "Mountain Meadow Massacre," and other atrocities, shows to what extremes Mormon leaders went to maintain their absolute supremacy. This power was exerted also in compelling the first wife's consent to her husband taking other wives. A Baptist lady relates the story of a Mormon woman who told her how stoutly she protested against the second wife coming under her roof, and how she yielded only when the Mormon teacher said: "If you refuse, and if you then see the blood on the door-post, you will know what it means." It meant "the destroying angel;" it meant death. It is notorious that many plural marriages were made under compulsion. Polygamy was first prohibited by law in 1862, though no conviction occurred until 1875. The Edmunds law of 1882 was more severe, and put an end to open polygamy. But it is still practiced in interior towns, where the population is wholly Mormon-where officers of the law are not very inquisitive, and where conviction is difficult.

The whole organization of the Church on its temporal and on its religious side is a remarkable piece of satanic skill. There are two Priesthoods: the Melchizedec and the Aaronic-the latter an appendage of the former. The Melchizedec comprises Apostles, Patriarchs, High Priests, the Seventies and Elders; the Aaronic comprises Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The First Presidency of the Church consists of a President and two Counselors to preside over the Church and officiate in various offices as may be necessary. The Twelve Apostles are a traveling presiding High Council, next in order of precedence and authority to the First Presidency. The First Presidency now consists of W. Woodruff, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith.

The gathering-places of the Saints are organized into districts called "States of Zion," the central state being at the Tabernacle. In Utah they are usually co-extensive with county boundaries. Each State is divided into a convenient number of wards, with officers of various kinds for each. In the Valley of the Rocky Mountains there are 34 States and nearly 600 ward organizations.

Each State has a President, two Counselors and a High Council of twelve High Priests. To every block in Salt Lake City two "teachers" are assigned, whose duty it is to visit statedly the members of the Church therein, and report to their supervisors.

"

There is also a Sunday-school Union, whose ramifications extend to every hamlet. Traveling missionaries visit the schools, instructing and exhorting superintendents, teachers and pupils. Wards are divided into districts and "visiting teachers " appointed, who enroll all Mormon children in the 'Sunday-school Visiting Book;" and if children are absent from Sunday-school they are at once visited to learn why they were absent and exhorted to attend. In 1892 seventy-two special missionaries were appointed to visit the schools, with a view to increasing their efficiency. They report that in 1872 there were 190 Sunday-schools, 1,402 teachers, 13,373 pupils; in 1881, 216 schools, 2,045 teachers, 16,731 pupils; in 1892, 481 schools, 9,004 teachers, 60,023 pupils.

There is a "National Mormons' Relief So. ciety," possessing $100,000 in real estate, to care for the poor, the sick, the dying and the dead, and to do whatever philanthropic work may be deemed best. It has more than 400 branches, and claims a membership of 25,000.

The "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association," organized in 1875, claims a membership of 12,000. "The Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association," organized in 1880, like the other organization, has branches in most of the 34 States of Zion. The social feature is prominent therein, though courses of reading and study are prescribed. At the conclusion of a session they have a dance, which is commonly opened with prayer. They say: "The aim is that the ball-room should be restored to its original school of etiquette and refinement." The common impression in Utah is that these ball-rooms are a social curse to multitudes.

The Church has two annual conferences, in April and October-a quarterly conference in each State and an annual conference in each ward. They publish their own Sunday-school literature, including songs, inculcating the teachings of Mormonism. Their missionary force is large and in many quarters of the globe. Mormon authorities say: "Our missionaries labor without salaries,

bear their own traveling expenses, and rely upon the Providence of the Lord for their daily wants." None of the Church dignitaries receives a stated salary. Priests, elders, etc., are not a distinct class, devoting their entire time to religious matters, but perform their functions while engaged in their business or professional pursuits.

The Church also endeavors to control the mercantile transactions of its adherents. "Z. C. M. I." are letters coinmonly seen on business blocks. The "Zion Co-operative Mercantile Institute," with headquarters at Salt Lake City, has its branches throughout the Territory; secures the patronage of the faithful, and renders it difficult for "Gentile" wholesale houses in the cities, or retail stores in the towns, to make headway against this great combination. In Ogden and Salt Lake City, however, where there is a large "Gentile" population, and many "apostate" Mormons, we find flourishing business establishments not under Mormon control.

The Church also has wielded immense power politically. Just now its vote has been divided between the two great parties of the country; but many regard this as a piece of strategy to obtain the best terms from the dominant party, and in due time to throw its vote solidly as the interests of the Church may require.

Such are some of the characteristics of an organization which, after all that has been done to weaken and disrupt it during the last thirty years, maintains its vigorous ex. istence, adheres tenaciously to its faith, and, in its missionary endeavors evinces a zeal and a degree of self-denial on the part of its missionaries rarely found elsewhere. It claims about 250,000 adherents in Utah and in adjacent States and Territories. Its rapid growth in recent years is due, as claimed, “more to the natural increase of families than to immigration from foreign lands." At Logan and St. George there are "temples" costing, each, about $800,000, and a temple at Manti, dedicated in 1888, costing $1,000,000. Though the sequestration of Church property by the General Government somewhat impaired the power of Mormonism, yet, with wonderful tenacity of purpose, it has striven, with much success, by methods old and new, to maintain its hold upon its adherents. And there are no indications of the speedy collapse of this system.

The Gospel in Utah.

Against this powerfully organized system of error Christianity has arrayed itself, in simple dependence on the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and those enlightening influences that come with the introduction of American ideas into a community with a large foreign element, and for many years almost isolated from the rest of the world.

Among the earliest in the field were the Episcopalians, in 1867. They occupy four or five places besides Salt Lake City, have two schools and but very few communicants. The Presbyterians and Methodists began work in 1869, and have expended large sums, both for missionary and educational work. The same is true of the Congregationalists, who were early in the field.

Recent statistics show that the Presbyterians have 20 churches, 982 members, 2,193 enrolled in Sunday-schools. They occupy about 30 stations, and have under appointment 65 teachers in their educational work.

The Methodists have 20 English churches with 1,044 members, 12 Scandinavian churches with 101 members, a total of 1,145 members, besides 267 probationers. They also maintain several day-schools and three academies. They have 26 preachers and 58 teachers. Their Sunday-school enrollment is 2,238.

The Congregationalists report 9 churches, 699 members and a Sunday school enrollment of 1,117. They have also done an extensive educational work in Utah.

There is a "Christian" church, with about 100 members; I Unitarian organization; I Jewish synagogue; while the Roman Catholics, whose work began in 1866, report 10 churches, 7 chapels, 4 academies, 1 college, 4 schools for boys, 1 orphan asylum, 3 hospitals and 14 stations where mass is celebrated. One academy cost about $200,000, another $300,000. The Sacred Heart Academy in Ogden is 225 x 80 feet, four stories high, of brick with stone trimmings. Romanism, as well as Mormonism, is getting well entrenched in Utah.

Baptists began work in Salt Lake City in 1871. Within a year, however, it was discontinued. In December, 1880, it was resumed by the Home Mission Society, through its representative, Rev. Dwight Spencer, who for several years rendered most efficient service in the establishment of our cause at

Ogden and Salt Lake City. There are now four Baptist churches, with good houses of worship-one at Ogden, two in Salt Lake City, one in Provo, besides a small Scandinavian in Salt Lake City. There are also three or four mission-stations, two of which, under the care of the First Baptist Church of Salt Lake City, have neat chapels for Sunday-school and general purposes. The whole number of members is about 475. There are 1,020 children enrolled in the Sunday schools. Very little is being done in the line of education. Rev. H. B. Steelman is pastor of the First Baptist Church, and Rev. S. G. Adams pastor of the East Side Baptist Church, Salt Lake City; Rev. J. C. Andrews at Provo, and Rev. T. L. Crandall at Ogden. The population of Utah in 1890 was 207,000; at present, is about 250,000. Baptists are about as I to 530 of the population.

The total membership of the Evangelical churches in Utah is about 3,500. The religious census of 1890 gave the number of "Latter-Day Saints" in Utah at 118,291.

What proportion of these are converts from Mormonism? Comparatively few. At a meeting of ministers that I attended in Salt Lake City the consensus of opinion was that there are not more than 250 converted Mormons in all the Evangelical churches of Utah. There may be twenty on the rolls of our Baptist churches, but not more than a dozen who are active in Church matters. The testimony of a veteran Presbyterian missionary is that in this respect, in Utah, results have been disappointing. No great breach has been made in their ranks.

These statements, indeed, are not calcu lated to fire the missionary spirit. The plain truth, however, should be told about missionary work as about anything else. If a field is hard and unresponsive let us know it, that more prayer may be offered and more effort put forth to accomplish the desired results.

The average Mormon is not an easy subject for conversion. The older ones frequently had abandoned some Church in Europe commonly a State church, for the new faith. The younger generation have had the error instilled into them diligently from childhood. These "Latter-Day Saints" tell you emphatically that they accept the Scriptures as a divine revelation, but that they have a later revelation; or, to quote an article of faith: "We believe the Bible to

be the Word of God so far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God." The Mormon, therefore, with his later light, regards you as a benighted soul to be converted to his faith. Then, too, the scope of Mormon effort for the ingathering of the Gentiles extends into the world of spirits in a peculiar way that has its influence on many. Baptism for the dead is practiced. Individuals are known to have been baptized two or three hundred times for the salvation of departed friends who had not embraced the Mormon faith. For dignitaries, Mormon dignitaries, must be baptized. It is asserted that the presidents of the Mormon Church have been baptized several times for deceased Presidents of the United States. Whence came this practice? In an official publication of the Mormon Church it is stated that the Saviour appeared in the Temple at Kirtland, Ohio, in 1836, "with Moses and Elijah the Prophet, who committed to Joseph Smith the keys for the gathering of Israel and for the redemption of the dead."

They have also been compacted by their trials, which artful leaders have declared were but the fulfillment of predicted persecutions that God's chosen people should suffer. They call the roll of martyrs who have suffered and died for their faith.

No easy thing is it for a Mormon convert to separate himself from his own people where the community is almost wholly of that belief. It means social ostracism of the severest sort. It means opposition in every way possible in business or employment. The system of espionage is so thorough that pressure is quickly brought to bear upon offenders. Generally, Mormon children are not allowed to remain long in our Sundayschools.

Notwithstanding all these things, there are encouragements. There are thousands of "apostate" Mormons, among them men of great influence, who have broken utterly with Mormonism, and in many instances are in open warfare against it. A disintegrating process is going on, the extent of which cannot be estimated. Failure in the fulfillment of predicted events has shaken the faith of some. The incoming of a large "Gentile" population at such centres as Ogden and Salt Lake City is having its effect upon the people, and affords an opportunity for those who are so disposed to break away

from the system with less fear of suffering than formerly. The children of "apostates" and of "Gentiles" present a field of growing importance for evangelical effort. Even the "Gentile" population of the chief cities itself demands our attention. The leavening influence of an increasing number of evangelical Christians is at work in Utah. We err too often in fine calculations about the difficulties that confront us in mission work. It is well to consider these, and over against them consider what our duty is, what God's promises are; and then, applying ourselves to siege work where we cannot carry things by storm, work away patiently, persistently, at any needful cost, leaving results with Him who has assured us that our work shall not be in vain, and that even the desert shall blossom as the rose. One thing is certain : Baptists are not doing half their duty in missionary work for Utah.

EVANGELIZING THE WEST.

BY PROF. H. C. VEDDER. When Thomas Jefferson became President, in 1801, the United States included an area of 827,844 square miles, all to the east of the Mississippi River. In 1803 Jefferson, with noble inconsistency setting aside all his past record as a strict constructionist of the Constitution, bought from France for $15,000,000 a strip of territory that more than doubled the area of his country. This Louisiana purchase, as it was called, added to the national domain 1,171,931 square miles. These abstract figures mean very little to us: let us make them concrete From this territory were afterwards formed the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, the two Dakotas, Montana, and the Indian Territory (including Oklahoma), besides a considerable part of the States of Minnesota and Colorado.

Settlement of this new territory necessarily proceeded very slowly for some time. The Indians were hostile and threatening on the north, and the possession of the southern part was menaced by the British. The energies of the country were too much absorbed by the war of 1812, the struggle to preserve the independence so hard won in the Revolution, to have much surplus energy for colonization. At the battle of

Tippecanoe, in 1811, General Harrison broke the power of the Indians, who were never formidable again east of the Mississippi ; while "Old Hickory," by his defeat of the British at New Orleans, in 1815, forever assured the integrity of our possessions against any foreign attack. Peace soon came to crown these victories, and then the great westward movement of population began. In a half century the face of this continent was transformed, as no similar expanse on the earth's surface was ever transformed in so short a time.

The Pioneer Preachers.

To the Baptist churches of that time belongs the praise of having been leaders in the work of evangelizing the region west of the Alleghanies. Baptist preachers from the original States were the first to tell the old, old story in Tennessee and Kentucky, in Indiana and Illinois and Missouri; among the first to tell it in Ohio and Wisconsin, in Michigan and Minnesota and Iowa. Out of their poverty many of the churches made liberal contributions to carry this work for. ward, the associations in the older States appointing and supporting missionaries for this purpose. Many men of God went forth into this wilderness, not knowing where they should find a night's lodging or their next meal, willing to suffer untold privations if they might only point some to the Lamb of God.

It is impossible to estimate too highly or to praise too warmly the services of these men of strong faith and good works. Their hardships were such as we of the present day can hardly imagine. They traveled from little settlement to settlement on horseback, with no road save an Indian trail or blazed trees, fording streams over which no bridges had been built, exposed to storms, frequently sleeping where night found them, often prostrated by fevers or wasted by malaria, but indomitable still. One of them writes in 1805: "Every day I travel I have to swim through creeks or swamps, and I am wet from head to feet, and some days from morning to night I am dripping with water. I have rheumatism in all my What I have suffered in body and mind my pen is not able to communicate to you. But this I can say while my body is wet with water and chilled with cold my soul is filled with Heavenly fire, and I

joints.

can say with St. Paul: 'But none of the se things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.""

A Boundless Parish.

The pioneer preacher labored in a parish which, as one of them said, "took in onehalf of creation, for it had no boundary on the west." One of them records that "it regularly took him four weeks to get around his circuit, which embraced twelve appointments for religious services." In general, the preacher was kindly received, often with tears of joy. The people who were running a neck and neck race with starvation and

Uncut Diamonds.

The houses of worship in which these preachers held their services were generally God's own temples-the woods and prairies. Their libraries consisted of a Bible and a hymn-book, carried in their saddle-bags. They did not read polished essays from a manuscript, as we, their degenerate successors, so often do. The rough backwoodsman had no use, as he phrased it, "for a preacher who couldn't shoot without a rest." The preaching was of a rough-and-ready sort-not always scrupulous of the Queen's English, strongly tinged with the good, old doctrines of grace-eminently evangelistic, to use our modern phrase, and was richly

blessed of God to the conversion of their hearers. These men, uncouth as they would seem now, unwelcome as they would be to the pulpit of any fashionable Baptist church in our cities, led multitudes to the cross of Christ, founded churches in all the new communities of the West, laid the foundations of denominational institutions, on which a magnificent superstructure has since been built. Let us honor as he deserves the pioneer preacher of the West. We who have entered into the labors of such men are noble indeed if we are worthy to unloose the latchet of their shoes. Time would fail me to tell of such men as John M. Peck, the Apostle of the Mississippi Valley; of Ebenezer Loomis, the Michigan