

The Boston Daily Globe.

Vol. ? Boston, Mass., Monday, April 18, 1881. No. ?







MORMON MYSTERIES.

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Secrets of the Endowment House Revealed.

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One of the Victims Relates Her

Sad Experiences.

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Disgusting Ceremonies of a Salt Lake Marriage. Our telegraphic columns told the story recently of Miss Caroline Owens, the second wife of John Miles, the Mormon, by whom she was lured from England to Salt Lake and induced to become his wife on the pretence that he had no other. After the ceremony, nevertheless, she was introduced to one Emily Spencer as her husband's first wife, in consequence of which revelation she lived a life of misery and torture. In the Chicago Inter-Ocean she thus describes the scenes that were enacted in the Endowment House on the day of her marriage:



"The Mormon Endowment House is a plain adobe building, two stories high, built like a small dwelling-house, so as not to attract attention. There are blinds to all the windows, which are nearly always kept down. On a certain day I went to the Endowment House at 8 o'clock in the morning, taking with me my endowment clothes, consisting of garments, robe, cap, apron and moccasins. I believe people used to take their own oil, but that is now discontinued, as fees are charged. I went into a small room attached to the main building (designated in the plan by the name of the reception room, which was crowded with men and women having their bundles of clothing. The entrance door is on the east side; and in the southeast corner there is another, next to which the desk stood, where the clerk recorded the names. Around the north and west sides were benches for the people to sit. On going up to the desk I presented my recommend from the bishop in whose ward I was staying, and George Reynolds, who was then acting as clerk, asked me my name, those of my parents, when and where I was born, and when I was

Baptized Into the Mormon Church. That over, he told me to leave my hat, cloak and shoes in that room, and taking up my bundle, I went into the room marked 3 on the plan, where I sat waiting till it came my turn to be washed. One of the women, an officiating high priestess, told me to come behind the curtain, where I could hear a great deal of splashing, and subdued conversation. I had to step into a long bath, about half full of water, when another woman proceeded to wash me. I objected strongly to this part of the business, but she told me to show a more humble spirit. However, when she got down to my feet, she let me go, and I was turned over to the woman, who had spoken to me first, and whose nome was Bathesheba Smith, one of the widows of Apostle George A. Smith. She wore a large, shiny apron, and her sleeves tucked up above the elbows. She looked thoroughly like business. Another woman was standing beside her with a large wooden spoon and some green olive oil in a cow's horn. This woman poured the oil out of the spoon into Bathsheba's hand, who immediately put it on my head, ears, eyes, mouth, and every part of my body, and, as she greased me, she muttered a kind of prayer over each member of my body: My head, that I might have a knowledge of the truths of God; my eyes, that I might see the glories of the kingdom; my mouth, that I might at all times speak the truth; my arms, that they might be strong in the defence of the gospel; my bosom -- I do not want to tell this part of the story, but I do want people to know the truth, and how disgusting and indelicate this thing is.

Mormon People Deny Many of These Things, and civilized and decent people can scarcely realize that this institution is as infamous as it really is, but I solemnly assert that these things do exist. To continue: My bosom, that I might nourish the children whom I might raise by my husband (I was not then married, but expected to be), and that I might raise up a goodly seed, that they might be pillars of strength to the upbuilding and strengthening of God's kingdom on earth. And so she got down to my feet, when she hoped they might be swift in the paths of righteousness and truth. She then turned me over to the women who had washed me, and who wispered my new and celestial name in my ear. I believe I am to be called up on the morning of the resurrection by it. It was Sarah. I felt disappointed. I thought I should have received a more distinguished name. She told me that my name must never be spoken, but often thought of, to keep away evil spirits. I should be required to speak it once that day, but she would tell me in what part of the ceremony, and that I should never again have to speak it. She then told me to put on my garments. These are made in one piece. On the right breast is a square, on the left a compass, in the centre a small hole, which is called the 'stone.' We were told that, as long as we kept them on, no harm could befall us, and that, when we changed them, we were not to take them all off at once, but slip out a limb at a time, and immediately dive into the clean ones. The neck was never to be cut low, or the sleeves short, as that would be patterning after the fashions of the Gentiles. After this I put on my clothes, and in my stocking feet waited with those who were washed and anointed until she had finished the remaining two or three. This done, the little calico curtains were drawn aside, and t

The Men and Women Stood Revealed to Each Other. The men looked very uncomfortable, and not at all picturesque. They only had their garments and shirts on, and they really did seem as though they were ashamed of themselves, as well they might be. Joseph F. Smith then came to where we were all waiting, and told us that, if we wanted to back out, now was our time, because we should not be able afterward, and that we were bound to go right through. All those who wanted to go through were to hold up their hands, which, of course, everyone did, believing that all the good and holy things, that were to be seen and heard in the House of the Lord were yet to come. He then told us that, if ever any of us attempted to reveal what we saw and heard in the house, our memories would be blighted, and we should be everlastingly damned, for they were things too holy to be spoken of between each other, after we had once left the Endowment House. All were then told to be very quiet and listen. Joseph F. Smith then went away. In a few minutes we heard voices talking loudly, so that the people could hear them in the adjoining room. I afterward found out, in passing through, that it was the prayer-circle room. It was supposed to be a conversation between Elohim (head god) and Jehovah. The conversation was as follows:



"Elohim to Jehovah -- 'Well, Jehovah, I think we will create an earth; let Michael go down and collect all the elements together and found one."



"Answer -- 'Very well, O Lord God, it shall be done.'



"Then, calling to another, we could hear him say: 'Michael, go down and collect all the elements together and form an earth, and then report to us what you have done.'

"Answer -- 'Very well, O Lord God.' "The man they called Michael then left the prayer-circle room and came through the room they called the World, into the Garden of Eden, the door of which was shut that faced the places where we were standing, listening and waiting. He remained there a second or two, and everything was quiet. At the end of that time we heard him going back the same way, to where Elohim and Jehovah were waiting. When he got back, he said:



"'I have collected all the elements together and founded an earth. What wouldst thou have me do next?'



"Using the same formula every time, they sent him down to the world, they then told him to separate the land from the water, light from darkness, etc., and so they went regularly through the creation; but they always told him to come up and report what he had done. When the creation was supposed to be finished, Michael went back and told them it was very fair and beautiful to look upon. Elohim then said to Jehovah that he thought they better go down and have a look at it, which they did, and agreed with Michael that it was a beautiful place; that it seemed a pity it should be of no particular use, but thought it would be a good idea to create man to live in it and cultivate these things. They then came out of the garden of Eden (which was supposed to have been newly finished), and, shutting the door after them, came to where we were standing. We were then told to shut our eyes, and Jehovah said to Michael, 'Give me a handful of dust, and I will create man.' We were then told to open our eyes, and we saw a man, that he had taken from

The Crowd, Standing Beside Jehovah, and to whom Jehovah said: 'I will call thee Adam, for thou shalt be the father of all my kind.' Jehovah then said it was not good for man to be alone, so he would create a woman and helpmeet for him. We were again told to close our eyes, and Adam was requested to go to sleep, which he obligingly did. Jehovah was then supposed to take a rib from Adam's side and form Eve. We were then told to open our eyes and look upon the handiwork of the Lord. When we did, we saw a woman taken from among the crowd, who was standing by Adam's side. Jehovah said he would call the woman Eve, because she would be the mother of all mankind. The door of the Garden of Eden was then opened, and we all marched in with our little bundles, the men going first, as they always take the precedence, and we ranged ourselves round the room on benches. The four sides of this room are painted in imitation of trees, flowers, birds, wild beasts, etc. The ceiling was painted blue, dotted over with golden stars. In the centre of it was the sun, a little farther on the moon, and all around were the stars. In each corner is a Masonic emblem. In one corner is a compass, in another the square; the remaining two were the level and the plumb. On the east side of the room, near the door, was a painted apple tree, and in the northeast part of the room was a small wooden altar. After we had seated ourselves, Jehovah told Adam and Eve he thought they could eat of every tree in the garden except this apple tree, for on the day that they ate of that they should surely die. He then took his departure, and, immediately after, in came a lively gentleman, dressed in a plain, black morning suit, with a little apron on, a most fiendish expression on his face, and joyfully rubbing his hands. This gentleman was

Supposed to Be the Devil. "Certainly, his appearance made the supposition quite easy. (By the by, I afterward saw that same gentleman administering the sacrament in the tabernacle on Sundays.) He went up to Eve and remarked that it was a very beautiful place, and that the fruit was so nice. Would she like to taste one of those apples? She demurred a little and said she was told not to, and, therefore mustn't. But he pretended to pluck one of the painted apples and give it to her, and she pretended to eat it. He then told her to ask Adam to have some, and she did. Adam objected strongly to tasting, knowing the penalty, but Eve eventually overcame his scruples, saying: 'Oh, my dear, they are so nice, you haven't any idea, and that nice old gentleman here (pointing to the devil) says that he can recommend them, and you need not be afraid of what Jehovah says.' Adam consented, and after he said, 'Oh, what have I done, and how foolish I was to listen to you.' He then said that he could see himself, and that they had no clothes on, and they must sew some fig leaves together. Every one then made a dive for his apron out of the little bundles. This apron is a square half-yard of green silk, with nine fig leaves worked on it in brown sewing silk. A voice was then heard calling tor Adam, who pretended to hide, when in came Jehovah. He gave Adam a good scolding, but finally told him that he would give him certain instructions, whereby he would have a chance to regain the presence of his Father and God, after he was driven out into the world. These instructions consisted of grips, and the garments he wore would protect him from all evil. (Mormons say of these garments that the pattern was revealed

Direct from Heaven to Joseph Smith, and are the same as worn by Adam.) They then put on their caps and moccasins, the women's caps being made of Swiss muslin; it is one yard square, rounded at one corner so as to fit the head, and there are strings on it which tie under the chin. The moccasins are made of linen or calico. The men's caps are made exactly like those of pastry cooks, with a bow on the right side. I should here mention before I go further that Bathsheba Smith and one of the priests enacted the parts of Adam and Eve, and so stood sponsors for the rest of us, who were individually supposed to be Adams and Eves. They then proceeded to give us the first grip of the Aaronic or lesser priesthood, which consists in putting the thumb on the knuckle of the index finger, and clasping the hands round. We were then made to swear to obey the laws of the Mormon church and all they enjoin, in preference to those of the United States. The penalty for revealing this grip and oath is, You will have your throat cut from ear to ear, and your tongue torn from your mouth, and the sign of the penalty is drawing the hand, with the thumb pointing toward the throat, sharply across and bringing the arm to the level of the square, and with the hand upraised to heaven, swearing to abide the same. We were then driven out of this into the room called the world, where there were three men standing at a small altar on the east side of the room, who were supposed to represent Peter, James and John, Peter standing in the centre. He was supposed to have the keys of heaven. Men representing the different religious sects then came in and presented their views and said they wanted to try and save these fallen children. In doing this they could not refrain from exaggerating and

Coarsely Satirizing the Different Sects they represented. Previous to their coming in, however, Peter had presented us the gospel of Christ, at least he told us that Christ had come to die for the original sin, but we had come to work out our own salvation, and that in the last days a prophet should be raised up to save all those that would believe in his divine mission; consequently, these different representatives were told that their doctrines did not suit the people, and that there was something wanting in their faith, so they could go. Then the devil came in and tried to allure the people, and bustling up to the altar, Peter said to him: 'Hello, Mr. Devil, how do you do to-day? It's a very fine day, isn't it? What have you come after?'



"The devil replied that he didn't seem to take to any of these so-called Christian religions: Why didn't they quit bothering after anything of that kind, and live a life of pleasure, etc. However, he was told to go, and that quickly.



Peter then gave the second grip of the Aaronic or lesser priesthood, which consists of putting the thumb between the knuckles of the index and second fingers, and clasping the hand around. The penalty for revealing this is to be sawed asunder and our members cast into the sea. The sign of the penalty was drawing the hand sharply across the middle of the body. To receive this grip we had to put on our robes, which consisted of a long, straight piece of cloth reaching to our feet, doubled over and gathered very full in the shoulder and round the waist. There was also a long, narrow piece of cloth tied around the waist, called 'the sash.' It was placed on the right shoulder to receive the grip. The people wear their aprons over it. The men then

Took the Oath of Chastity, and the women the same. They don't consider polygamy at all unchaste, but said that it was a heaven-ordained law, and that a man, to be exalted in the world to come, must have more than one wife. The women then took the oath of obedience to their husbands, having to look up to them as their gods. It is not possible for a woman to go to Christ, except through her husband. Then a man came in and said that the gospel, which during these few minutes' intervals had laindormant for 1800 years, had been again restored to earth, and that an-angel had revealed it to a young boy named Joseph Smith, and that all the gifts, blessings and prophesies of old had been restored with it, and this last revelation was to be called the latter-day dispensation. The priests pretended joyfully to accept this, and said it was the very thing they were in search of, nothing else having had the power to satisfy them. They then proceeded to give us the first grip of the Melchizedek or higher priesthood, which is said to be the same that Christ held. The thumb is placed on the knuckle of the index finger, and the index finger is placed straight along the palm of the hand, while the lower part of the hand is clasped with the remaining fingers. The robe for this grip was changed from the right to the left shoulder. We were then made to swear to avenge the death ot Joseph Smith, the martyr, together with that of his brother, Hyrum, on this American nation, and that we would teach our children and children's children to do so. The penalty for this grip and oath was disembowelment. We were then marched into the northeast room, the men always going first, designated the prayer-circle room. We were here made to take

An Oath of Obedience to the Mormon Priesthood, and now the highest or grand grip of the Melchizedek Priesthood was given. We clasped each other round the hand with the point of the index finger resting on the wrist, and the little fingers firmly linked together. The place on the wrist where the index finger points is supposed to be the place where Christ was nailed to the cross, but tore out, and he had to be nailed again, and so you place your second finger beside the index on the wrist; it is called the sure sign of the nail, and if the grip is properly given it is very hard to pull apart. The robe was changed from the left to the right shoulder to receive this grip. The men then formed a circle round the altar, linking their arms straight across, and placed their hands on one another's shoulders. The high priest [knelt] at the altar, then took hold of one of the men's hands and prayed. He told us that the electric current of prayer passed through the circle, and that was the most efficacious kind of prayer. The women stood outside of the circle, with their veils covering their faces, the only time throughout the ceremony that they did so. The prayer over, they all trooped up the staircase on the north side of the house, into the room called the instruction room, where the people sat down on benches on the west side of the room. Facing them, about midway between floor and ceiling, was a wooden beam, that went across the room from north to south, and from which was suspended a dirty-looking piece of what was once white calico. This was called 'the vail,' and is supposed to be an imitation of the one in Solomon's Temple. On this vail are marks like those on the garments, together with

Extra Holes for Putting the Arms Through, and a hole at the top to speak through. But before going through the vail we received a general outline of the instructions we had received down stairs. This over, the priest took a man to the vail, to one of the openings, where he knocked with a small wooden mallet that hung on the wooden support. A voice on the other side of the vail, (it was supposed to be Peter's) asked who was there, when the priest, answering for the man, said: 'Adam, having been faithful; desires to enter.' The priest then led the man up to the west side of the vail, where he had to put his hands through and clasp the man or Peter (to whom he wispered his new name, and the only one he ever tells, for they must never tell their celestial names to their wives, although the wives must tell theirs to their husbands) through the holes in the vail. He was then allowed to go through to the other side, which was supposed to be heaven, and this is where a strong imagination might be of some use, for anything more unlike heaven I cannot conceive. The man having got through, went to the opening and told the gate-keeper to call for the woman he was about to marry, telling him her name. She then stepped up to the vail. They couldn't see each other, but put their hands through the openings, one of their hands on each other's shoulder, and the other around the waist. With the arms so fixed, the knees were placed within each other, the feet, of course, being the same; the woman's given name was then whispered through the vail, then her new celestial name; then the priestess, who stood by to instruct the woman, told them to repeat after her

A Most Disgusting Formula or Oath. I cannot remember it all thoroughly, but what I do consists of "the heart and the liver, the belly and the thighs, the marrow and the bones." The last and highest grip of the Melchizedak priesthood was then given through the vail. They then released their hold of each other, and the priestess, taking the woman to an opening, knocked at the same as they did at the men's entrance, and the gate-keeper having asked, 'Who is there?' and the priestess [having] replied, 'Eve, having been faithful in all things, desires to enter.' Eve was accordingly ushered into heaven.



After we got through we saw Joseph F. Smith sitting at a table recording the names of those who were candidates for marriage. He wrote the names in a book and then he wrote the two names on a slip of paper to be taken into the sealing room to the officiating priest, so that he might know whom he was marrying. After having given this slip of paper to the priest, we knelt at a little wooden altar. He then asks the man it he is willing to take the woman as his wife, and the woman it she is willing to take him for a husband. They both having answered yes, he tells the man that he must look to God, but the woman must look to her husband as her god, for, if he lives in his religion, the spirit of God will be in him, and she must therefore yield him unquestioning obedience, for he is as a God unto her, and then concludes by saying that he having authority from on high to bind and loose here upon earth, and whatsoever he binds here shall be bound in heaven, seals the man and woman for time and all eternity. He then tells the man and woman to kiss each other across the altar, the man kneeling on the north side and the woman on the south, and so it is finished. Sometimes they have witnesses, sometimes not; if they think any trouble may arise from a marriage, or that the woman is inclined to be a little perverse,

They Have No Witnesses, neither do they give marriage certificates, and if occasion requires it and it is to shield any of their polygamous brethren from being found out, they will positively swear that they did not perform any marriage at all, so that the women in this church have but a very poor outlook for being considered honorable wives. When the marriage ceremony was over, we came out of the 'sealing room,' and I crossed 'heaven' into the ladies' dressing-room, where, after having dressed and my husband paid the fees, we took our departure, together with that of the 'holy spirit.' It was 3:30 p.m. when we left, I having gone there at 8 o'clock in the morning. You can probably imagine how fatigued one feels after listening all the time to their incessant talking. Certainly at the end of the time one feels more like taking nourishment than listening to the prompting of the 'Holy Spirit.' I should perhaps have remarked before that the priests when going through the house, wear their ordinary clothing, and come straight into 'the house of the Lord' with their dirty top-boots on, as though they had just come off a farm, while we, poor sinners, were obliged to walk in our stocking-feet, lest the floor should be defiled. The little addition attached to the main building on the west side, and in which is the font, is used for baptizing people before they can be allowed to go through the house, and is quite a separate affair from the washing and anointing. People are generally baptized a day or two before they go through the house. I was baptized the night before. On this same evening I was told that [as] I was going through the house ot the Lord on the following day; I must pay the very strictest attention to everything I should see and hear, as it would be for my benefit hereafter."



As the lady recounted these things her great black eyes burned with the fire of subdued wrath and the fierceness of a wronged woman's scorn. She had evidently not told half of the shallow imposition of the mummery to which she had been subjected.





Notes: none



