Page:History of Utah.djvu/391



prophecy, revelation, and visions. In the scriptures is found the law of tithing, which law is now revived, and the keeping of it made one of the first duties of the saints. The ten commandments, and all other commandments, ordinances, promulgations, and possi- bilities, are in force now as at the time they were given. Marriage is a sacred and an eternal covenant. Plural marriage, sanctioned under the old dispensa- tion and revived under the new, is open to all, and is, in some instances, commanded, when it becomes a sacred obligation.

Seldom does a good Mormon appear in a court of law arrayed against a brother Mormon. And this is why, as the saints allege, the twenty-five or fifty law- yers in Utah who are compelled to derive their living almost entirely from the gentiles, are so bitter against the saints. When two Mormons disagree, they pre- sent themselves before the president of the stake, who with twelve councillors, six facing six, their selection having been agreed to by the litigants, is ready to try the case without delay. Plaintiff and defendant, each with his witnesses, take their places before the pres- ident, and between the rows of councillors. Prayer is then offered, almighty aid being asked in bringing the affair to a righteous and amicable conclusion. The litigants state the case, each from his own stand- point; the witnesses are heard; the councillors de- cide. Prayer is again ofiered. The adversaries shake hands; there is nothing to pay. Until the gentiles came, there were in Utah no police or police courts; no houses of drinking, or of gambling, or of prostitu- tion. Of the administration of justice among the saints I shall speak more at length in a later chapter.

and the blessing interpreted by another wife; the latter, however, cautioned her not to repeat what had occurred, for 'Brother Brigham does not like to hear of these things. ' Enrjlifshwoman in Utah, 29. TuUidge mentions the names of many women who were distinguished as possessing this gift, and relates an instance of a party whose wagon was surrounded by Indians, escaping •\\ ith their lives and pro23erty; the captors being induced to abandon their prize by Jane Grover, a girl of seventeen, who addressed them in their own language. Women of Mormondom, 474-8.