The Peoples Songbag

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30959, 15 January 1966, Page 5

The Peoples Songbag

(Specially written for "The Press'* by DERRICK ROONEY.)

In the Bancroft Library in Berkeley, California, is a small green paper-back entitled “Millennial Hymns"—an undated and unsigned relic of one of America's many shortlived religious sects, this one a break-away Mormon group, the Morrisites. Among the 20 hymns it contains is one lamenting the martyrdom of the sect’s leader, Joseph Morris:

We’ll see Morris, Banks and others. Joseph. Hyrum with the martyrs. On Mount Zion in great glory. With the Saviour and his orm|/. Oh! How ploriotis they'll be! Oh! How ylorious they'll bet Joseph Morris was a somewhat eccentric Welshman who was converted to Mormonism in 1860 and shortly after wards announced that he had begun having revelations. In a grandiloquent letter to the Mormon hierarchy he proclaimed that he was the Seventh Angel predicted in the Book of Daniel, and was destined to be “a mighty man, yea a prophet in Israel.” The hierarchy were not amused by his presumption; and, when Morris’s revelations began conflicting with dogma, they excommunicated him.

Undaunted, Morris gathered together his little band of disciples and moved north of Salt Lake City to found a small colony, run as a commune with all followers handing over their property and all doing a share of the work—all, that is, except Morris, who settled down to the more serious business of receiving revelations, of which he published more than 300 in a book, “The Spirit Prevails.” Unhappily, the spirit did not prevail for long in the little community: a few dissenters packed up to leave but when they took the best

horses, tools and waggons, Morris decided they were taking the principle of equality too far and had them incarcerated.

When news of this got out, friends of the prisoners set the machinery of justice turning, and before long had obtained writs of habaes corpus and warrants for the arrest of Morris and his lieutenants from Judge Kinney in Salt Lake City.

These were served on the Morrisites, but at the time such minor matters meant little to them, for Morris had predicted the Second Coming of Christ, and the entire colony was busy in prayer and preparation. Even their crops went unharvested. On June 13. 1862. Sheriff Robert T. Burton, of Salt Lake City, arrived at the hilltop overlooking the colony with 300 armed men. He sent down a lone soldier with a summons ordering Morris to surrender within 30 minutes or suffer the consequences.

Morris retired to consult with the Lord, and emerged within minutes with a written revelation promising that his followers would not be harmed. They continued singing and praying, but almost immediately a cannon shot rang out and two women fell dead. The Morrisites rushed for shelter and their guns and for three days fought an unequal siege. Then the troops rode in and, according to evidence at Burton's trial later (he was acquited) murdered Morris, one of his lieutenants and two women and plundered the colony. The three-day death roll was 10 Morrisites and two of the troops. The bodies of Morris and his chief lieutenant, with Morris's crown, sceptre and robes beside them, were put on public display in the Salt Lake City Hall.