Page:History of Utah.djvu/401

 cil of the church.

pretation, elimination, or repudiation. And as the book of Mormon is held to be a continuation of the historical portion of the bible, and equally with it the word of God; and as the ideas and instructions con- tained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants have been derived, for the most part, from a study and lit- eral interpretation of the bible — though with some- thing added — it is safe to say that in the main the Mormons believe what the bible teaches, and that Mormonism is the acceptation of the bible, the whole of it, literally, and following it to its logical conclu- sions.

Tithing, though enjoined by divine command, is a free-will offering. ^° The law of tithing in its

'"Upon the matter of tithing, Joseph Smith in 1831 had three several rev- elations, each containing a clause I'equiring money and other property to be set apart for general use in the church. The first was received in Feb., the second in May, and the last in Aug. See Times and Seasons, iv. 369; v. 410, 466. But it was not until several years later that an organized system was established, by revelation dated Far West, July 8, 1838. See Doctrine and Covenants, 382-3. During the progress of settlements at Far West, the ques- tion of taxation was brought up and referred to the prophet, who inquired of the Lord, and received answer that all surplus property must be turned over to the bishop as the first step, after which one tenth of each annual interest was also to be paid. These payments were to be devoted to the building of a place of worship, and for the debts of the presidency. In the Millennial Star, XXV. 474, it is denied that the priesthood receive any support from the tithing fund, and asserted that it is expended for general purposes solely, such as public buildings, roads, assisting immigration. The twelve apostles, in an epistle dated Nauvoo, Dec. 13, 1841, declare that the tithing required is 'one tenth of all any one possessed at the commencement of the building of the temple, and one tenth part of all his increase from that time till the completion of the same, whether it be money, or whatever he be blessed with. Many in this place are laboring every tenth day for the house, and this is the tithing of their income, for they have nothing else.' Times and Seasons, iii. 626. Says William Hall: ' When I came to Illinois, I gave, as was required, one tenth of the amount of my whole estate to be appropriated to the building of the temple. After this, annually, I gave one tenth of the products of my farm; even the chickens, cabbages, and other vegetables in kind were turned over, with a like share of the grain. ' Mormonis7n Exposed, 6. Mrs Stenhouse, during her first winter in Salt Lake City, made bonnets for Brigham Young's wives, for which a bill of $250 was presented to Young, when tiie latter gave orders that the amount should be credited to the Stenhouses for tithing. Englishwoman in Utah, 187-8. There arc two colonies of Mormons in Arizona that are free from territorial and county taxes. They are so isolated that the cost of collecting amounts to more than the taxes. They do not escape tithes, however. Elko (Nev.) Daily Independent, Jan. 28, 1882. During the construc- tion of the railroad through Utah, Mormon agents collected tithings from the railroad laborers. Salt Lake Reporter, Feb. 9, 1869, in S. F. Times, Feb. 19, 1869. Should a laborer be idle thirty days, the tithing office clai