Monday, December 21, 2009

The Mormons Left Town

In the New York Times in February 23, 1888 was printed the following article.


The Mormons Left Town

Memphis, Tenn., Feb 22. - Two Mormon Elders named Douglas and Fuller have been operating in the section of country between here and the Tennessee River for the past month. A few days ago, they went into Madison County, Tenn., and called on the Pastor of the Cumberland Church at Denmark on Saturday and asked to be allowed to hold services. The Pastor found out who they were and reported the fact to the Citizens, and they ordered the teachers of polygamy to leave the town under penalty of receiving a coat of tar and feathers. They went.

In September of that same year, the two Elders would become key figures in a brutal mobbling.

3 comments:

Ardis E. Parshall said...

Isn't it amazing that a supposedly responsible newspaper can report something like that without expressing the least disapproval of the threats of violence? It's as though the mobbers were taking the expected, respected course and that there's no shame to anyone involved, except the Mormons for existing in the first place. Civilization!

Sharon LDS in Tennessee said...

My, how the years, they do change things.
My, how the Spirit of the Lord moves upon the hearts of the children of men.
Burgess Falls Ward, White County, Tennessee.....near Sparta where my sister lives (Burgess was her grandfather)...has had 40 baptisms this year, one more this coming Saturday !!!
One of the Osmond children / grandchildren is serving as missionary Elder there now.
What a change and what hope doth prevail for the future.
Love to All

Bruce said...

Ardis,
I'd lke to say that journalistic bias is a thing of the past, but I can't. You would likely get a similar newsreport today if Wahhabist missionaries came to your neighborhood.

Sharon,
Are you in the Nashville mission? The mission president spoke at our stake conference a couple weeks ago. He described a program where full time missionaries in the Nashville Mission are directed to walk into non LDS churches and offer to help in any way they can. The reception has been universally positive. They have been to a couple hundred different churches and not a single one has turned them away.