(FROM THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UTAH GOSPEL MISSION OF CLEVELAND, FOR 1916>. RELIGIOUS DESTITUTION IN MORMON REGIONS. Our 1914 Report had a chapter on this subject, in which startling facts were given ; among which it was stated that of the 585 settlements we had then visited in our work, about 471 were without any local Chris- tian work. The corresponding figures of date Jan. 1, 1916, are that of about 633 different places, usually large enough to have a post-office if not under R. F. D. arrangements, about 513 were without any local Chris- tian work. If the entire field covered by our work were to be scutinized today, the case would be still more startling; for numbers of places which had Christian work when we began our list, years ago, have been abandoned, and many a mission school and church building has been sold or stands going to decay. A somewhat careful examination of the maps, giving the benefit of any doubts to the Chritsian side, but without accurate statistics, enables the writer to recall only about eighty places out of the 633 mentioned above where there is any local Christian work. Services are sometimes held in some others, but not regularly, so far as we know. The past summer we traveled from one large place, where there were three Christian churches, about thirty rniles to our next stop. We passed through or near eight places, besides the one to which we were going- nine in all, with another a few miles away to one side. The total population of the settlements and homes be- tween was hardly less than 12,000; but there was NO CHRISTIAN WORK IN THE WHOLE REGION!! unless a little Sunday-school in a home, which was in operation years ago, is still continued; which we do not know. In six of these places Christian work was formerly carried on by one denomination; and in most of these buildings were owned, while in two there are numbers of non-Mormon families; but still there is no local work in the whole region of very rich country. If we had traveled eighty miles further north, where the wagons have since labored, we would have passed through a more thinly settled country, having sixteen villages and probably over 3,000 people, but with only two small centers where there is Christian work. Going northwest from the place where we stopped, we crossed the mountains (see first cut) into another region. Beginning at the U. P. railroad, further south, where there is Christian work at Evanston, Wyo., one might take the route we work, up through the region to which we had now come, passing through or near twenty-two settlements and probably twelve thousand 2 population, without finding more than ONE place where there is any local Christian work ! In Western Wyoming one of our wagons worked for about six weeks steadily, and rapidly, for fear of being snowed in, visiting thirteen places. In not one of them was there any Christian work;, and the nearest church or Sunday-school town was about fifty miles of hard travel from the first settlement and eighty from the last! Nearly or quite all the places in these regions have Mormon services every Sunday, and most of them three times. But with nothing to show the people the real truth in place of the terrible Mormon doctrines and evil practice what is to be the result? The fact that Mormons will not largely attend Christian local services has of course had much to do with the discontinuance of such work in many places ; while the public school has of course made the mission school unnecessary as far as secular education is concerned. But in many if not all these places the missionary teacher, it seems to us,, ought to have been kept at work ; with secular teaching where that would be practicable, and religious work in other places and supplementary to secular in the first class. The difference between children brought up under a Mormon public school teacher and with no local Christian work for either parents or children to attend — shut up to the Mormon Sunday-school, even — and one with even what a local Christian woman teacher could do, with a traveling preacher coming oc- casionally, would certainly be very great. Such differ- ence accounts for many a child growing up into Mor- monism out of Christian homes, for many a skeptic, and for many a Mormon remaining such when a different situation would have given him light enough to see his way out. And such facts as the above greatly ac- centuate the need of what our work can do in coming occasionally into all these villages. Darkness left to itself must continue ; light shed makes darkness vanish, more or less gradually. Help us let in the light ! ! MORMON ORGANIZATIONS IN ALMOST EVERY STATE AND CANADA. Last year we gave some facts about Mormon or- ganizations in the Southern States, saying that there must be at least two dozen actual organizations. We thought that such a number was very considerable. But facts which have recently come to light, though certainly incomplete and thus too small, show that the former figure should have been nearly three times as large. Instead of only two dozen, there are. or have been, within perhaps two years, about SIXTY-SEVEN Mormon organizations in localities south of the Mis- souri line and east of Kansas, but including Texas ! ! 3 Nor is the South alone in this situation. The facts before us show local organizations of Mormons in every State in the Union except North Dakota, New Hampshire and Delaware ; and complete returns might easily show such in these States also, with surely still more in the states which are reported. People have been thinking of Mormonism long enough as a far- away thing, which did not concern them. The facts as incompletely reported are as follows : In the United States and edge of Canada, excluding Utah and the adjacent long-time Mormon regions of Idaho, Wyom- ing, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, there are OVER TWO HUNDRED MORMON ORGANIZA- TIONS of local members! These are in city and country alike ; they are usually, if not dlways, the re- sult of proselyting work; and their purpose is to hold ^ and use converts, gather tithings for Utah, and make the places centers of outreach for more converts and influence, political and otherwise. Formerly the plan was to have all converts emigrate West ; but the West is getting filled up, and the new plan has been in operation for some years as above. A whole town was founded in Texas, and is made up of Mormon con- verts ; its population is about 700, according to Mor- mon statements, with a Sunday-school of 400. A Michigan school picture shows 49._ The following list gives the number of organizations in the various States and Canada, according to our information : Alabama, S; Arizona, 7; Arkansas, 1; California, 14; _ Can- ada, 3; Connecticut, 1; Colorado, 6; Florida, 7; Georgia, 6; Illinois, 11; Indiana, 7; Iowa, 5;_ Idaho, 3; Kansas, 3; Ken- tucky, S; Louisiana, 2; Mississippi, 6; Massachusetts, 3; Min- nesota, 2; Montana, 10; Maine, 1; Maryland, 2; Missouri, 9; Michigan, S; New York, 4; New Jersey, 3; Nebraska, 3; N. Carolina, 4; Ohio, 6; Oregon, 3; Oklahoma, 3; Pennsylvania, 7; Rhode Island, 1; S. Carolina, 10; S. Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 3: Texas, 6; Vermont, 1; Virginia, 4; W. Virginia, 6; Wash- ington, 9; Wyoming, 1; Wisconsin, 4. Total, 203. MORMON BUILDINGS OUTSIDE OF THE UTAH REGION. The Mormon newspaper organ announced nearly two years ago that they then owned eighty-one buildings ''for worship" outside of the Utah region, and new ones are being dedicated every year ; the accompany- ing cuts show some dedicated within about a year past -copied from Mormon issues, except that of the Logan Square building, Chicago. Besides the buildings in this country, the paper goes on to say that they have buildings outside the U. S. as follows: England, 9: Hawaii, 9; Samoan Islands, 8: Netherlands. 1: New Zealand. 3; Scandinavian. 6; Swedish, 2; Tahiti. 1; Japan. 1 ; total outside, forty. Besides these buildings for "worship," there are several mission headquarters. 4 RECENT MORMON MEETING HOUSES. as at Chattanooga, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Liverpool, and perhaps other places, and the printing building at Independence, Mo., built last year. And to these may well be added the new Temple being built in Cardston, Alberta, Can., and the new building said to be projected in New York City, with others elsewhere. With nearly or quite two millions of tith- ing, as reported for the first time by the officials in Salt Lake last spring (under pressure from outside), and a large other income, what cannot be done in the way of building or other financial enterprises? The financial outreach and control of Mormonism is one of its great features, possibly matching its political power, and surely working with it like a twin cog- wheel ! Contrast with this power the puny financial gifts with which missionary and other opposing work must be content, and the missionary results are the more surprising. Nor must we forget that "one with God is a majority," still. But we do need more money, it seems to all those who are carrying the heavy burden of the great work against such a system. It ought to be recorded here that when "Pres." Joseph F. Smith dedicated the Logan Square building shown herewith, late in 1914, having come from Salt Lake for such purpose, he sat his No. 5 so-called "wife" up in the pulpit while he did so, and preached upholding polygamy ! This was not in the Dark Ages, but in 1914! And he dedicated another the same day, and the next was feted by a high R. R. official in Chicago !