ily, consisting of one wife and several
children, were seated about their table taking a meal, when the husband
remarked that he thought of taking a second wife.

"His lawful wife--the mother of his children sitting there--objected.
Upon that he rose from his seat, went to her, and, holding her head,
deliberately cut her throat from ear to ear."

"And was executed for it?" asked Christine, while she shuddered with
horror."

"No," said Edward; "he was promoted by the Mormon priesthood to a higher
place in the church, as one who had done a praiseworthy deed."

"Murder a praiseworthy deed!" they cried in astonishment and indignation.
"How could that be?"

"They have a doctrine that they call 'blood-atonement,'" replied Edward.
"Daring to teach, contrary to the express declarations of Scripture, that
the blood of Christ is insufficient to atone for all sin, they assert
that for some sins the blood of the sinner himself must be shed or he
will never attain to eternal life, and that therefore it is a worthy deed
to slay him.

"That terrible, wicked doctrine has been made the excuse for many
assassinations, and was the ground for not only excusing the horrible
crime of which I have just told you, but for also rewarding the wretched
criminal.

"Polygamy is bad enough--especially as instances are not wanting of a man
being married at the same time to a mother and her daughters, or several
sisters, and in at least one instance to mother, daughter, and
granddaughter; and Mormon theology teaches, too, that a man may lawfully
marry his own sister. Yet it is not the worst of their crimes; we have it
upon the testimony of credible witnesses--Christian citizens of Salt Lake
City--that their temples and tithing-houses are 'built up by extortion
and cemented with the blood of men, women, and children whose only
offence was that they were not in sympathy with the unrighteous decrees
of this usurping priesthood.' And 'that all manner of social abominations
and domestic horrors, and mutilations, and blood-atonings, and
assassinations and massacres have been perpetrated in the name and by the
authority of the Mormon priesthood.'"

"Oh, sir, how very dreadful!" exclaimed Christine. "Are they not afraid
of the judgments of God against such fearfully wicked deeds?"

"It seems not," said Edward. "The Bible speaks of some whose consciences
are seared as with a hot iron."

"But why is such terrible wickedness and oppression allowed by