1899-01-17-New York Tribune-Dangers from Mormonism

New York Tribune, January 17, 1899, p. 2

Dangers from Mormonism

The Congregational Club, of New-York and its vicinity, heid its regular meeting at the St. Denis Hotel last night Randall Spaulding presided. There were 166 persons at dinner, the fact that the questions of Mormonism and polygamy in relation to the recent election of Brigham H. Roberts to Congress were to be discussed drawing a larger audience than usually attends the meetings. There were three speakers on the list, including Eugene Young, a grandson of Brigham Young, but he failed to appear, and the Rev. Dr A. J. McMillan, who for ten years lived in Utah, took his place.

Dr. McMillan told a number of amusing stories of the way in which Mormons live. He said that the strongest defendants of polygamy were the Mormon women, who had been taught that it was their only hope for exaltation. "If you confined the propaganda of the Mormonism to Utah," he continued, "It would fail. The Mormons get their recruits from outside of the State of Utah, and the fight against Mormonism must be waged in these Eastern States and all other Christian nations."

Dr. McMillan was heartily applauded when he closed his address. Other speakers were the Rev. T. G. A. Cote, pastor of the French Congregational Church of Lowell, Mass., who gave statistics on the work being done among the French in New England and the Rev. Josiah Strong, president of the League for Social Service, whose subject was "How to Meet National Menaces." He declared that there were but two root evils, sin and ignorance and the way to fight both was by education. This was true in connection with Mormonism. Mormonism was the rankest kind of religion and lower than Buddhism. Cut off Mormonism in its own stronghold and it would die. It was proposed to send throughout the land literature against Mormonism. This would be one of the ways to cure one of the great National menaces.