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CHAPTER XXXIV.

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS.

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Population and religions of the world-Christianity-Mohammedanism-Buddhism Judaism - Mormonism: its rise, progress, history, and practices-Joseph the prophet and his followersThe golden plates from the hill Cumorah-Christ in AmericaMormon and Moroni-John the Baptist ordains Joseph Smith— Smith's birth, early history, life, adventures, and death--Polygamy-Brigham Young: his birth, history, and career-Desertion of Nauvoo-Mormons march westward-Settle at Salt lakeTheir city, religion, society, and practices-Despotism in UtahMormon godhead.

IN considering the peculiar religious tenets of the only organized religious body claiming to be Christian which still practices, as a part of its faith, polygamy, and holds a distinct revelation from God to its prophet, it is well to briefly review the several religious divisions of the earth, and the leading organized religions of the world.

The population of the globe is in round numbers about 1,381,000,000, divided as follows: 380,000,000 Caucasians, 200,000,000 Ethiopians, 220,000,000 Malays 1,000,000 American Indians, and 580,000,000 Mongolians.

All these people speak 3,064 languages and practice 1,000 different religions, which may be classed into six general divisions, within which all the other creeds and denominations exist. These general divisions of course convey but an imperfect idea of the religious faith of the several divisions of the globe, as the reader may judge from the fact that all European countries and America are classed as Christian; but the division will

at least form a general estimate without going into complicated details of enumeration. The six great religious organizations represent the population of the world as follows: Christians, 388,600,000; Pagans, 200,000,000; Mohammedans, 165,400,000; Jews, 7,000,000; and Buddhists and other Asiatic religions, 620,000,000, or almost one-half of the population of the whole globe.

The countries in which Christianity is the prevailing religion are Europe, America, Australia, some of the Polynesian islands, that part of Russia in Asia, and a few minor places.

Before the discovery of Japan by Pinto, in 1542, it had passed through many religious forms. As early as 1549, Xavier, the great apostle of Catholicism, was received by the Prince of Satsuma into the empire, and he and his successors had, up to 1584, converted to the Christian faith 1,800,000 Japanese, and had 200 priests established in the country, all of whom were subsequently, by edicts of banishment, driven from the empire; since which time no trace of Christianity has existed in the land until the year 1872, when an imperial decree abolished the edicts against Christianity, some of which had been strictly enforced for more than three centuries. The royal edicts of 1872, ordering the Buddhist priests to learn trades or enter the army, under pains and penalties for disobedience, exhibit a practical turn of mind in the Mikado and his progressive advisers.

Mohammedanism prevails in Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, Morocco, Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli, and numerous interior States.

Buddhism, the prevailing religion of China and Japan, (modified and changed in some places,) extends over

India, Farther India, China, Japan, Burmah, and Siam, and other portions of Asia; and the seven million Jews are "dispersed" over the globe as follows: in Germany, 478,500; Austria, 1,124,000; Great Britain, 40,000; France, 80,000; European Russia, 2,277,000; Italy, 20,200; Switzerland, 4,200; Belgium, 1,500; Netherlands, 64,000; Luxemburg, 1,500; Denmark, 4,200; Sweden, 1,000; Greece, 500; European Turkey, 70,000; Portugal, 3,000; Syria and Asiatic Turkey, 52,000; Morocco and North Africa, 610,000; Eastern Asia, 500,800; and America, 500,000.

Of the 38,555,983 people forming the population of the United States, according to the census of 1870, there are estimated to be 33,555,983 Protestants and 5,000,000 Catholics. The Catholics belong to the Romish church, and acknowledge the pope as the sovereign head of the church. The Protestants, so called, represent every conceivable religion, from believing in Christ, either as the Saviour or as a moral reformer simply, or the intensest atheism.

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Throughout most parts of the world, some particular religious order is established and maintained by legal authority; as the Greek church in Russia, the Episcopal church in England, the Catholic church in Austria, Buddhism in China, and Sintooism in Japan. America, there are no religious orders or sects maintained by authority of the government, but the republic is classed among the Protestant nations of the world. All persons not Catholics are supposed to be and are denominated Protestants, although this class embraces hundreds of religious orders differing almost as much from each other as do the Universalist and the Catholic from each other.

The guarantee of equal religious freedom assured to all by the federal constitution of the United States gives generous scope to the people either to practise or to organize new forms of religion; but with few exceptions, new religious enterprises have been barren of desirable results, and have failed to attract such support as would give them material strength and national or international prominence.

The four great controlling religions of the world— Christianity, Mohammedanism, Judaism, and Buddhism-had their origin in Asia and in Europe, as is claimed, under the direct control of God and visitation of angels. But whether from the fact of the turbid waters of the Atlantic not being inviting for aerial celestial flights from the Old to the New World, or that the soil of the new continent was not productive of worthy objects of "inspiration," America, with all its progress and invention, has not promulgated a religion of any great magnitude, and its people have received but few celestial visitations, and these generally of a very local and imperfect order, and generally ending in complete failure. True, the great established religious bodies. have been fearfully mutilated, and limbs lopped off and new ones engrafted, but generally without change or injury to the parent body. "Warnings, visitations, and dreams" of coming events have been "foreshadowed" to "wise ones," and "visions" have proclaimed the "end of the world" to "chosen ones," who abandoned their earthly goods preparatory to their aerial flight. Trumpets have sounded to warn people of the "coming to pass" of the destruction of the race; but a few days generally found the disciples of such doctrines visiting the "groceries" for pork and beans, and their "celestial

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