The Idaho Campaign

The following item, included here as a somewhat tangential part of our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "The Idaho Campaign: The Manifesto Disconcerts Plans of Both Parties", Salt Lake Herald 21/100 (28 September 1890): 1.

THE IDAHO CAMPAIGN

The Manifesto Disconcerts Plans of Both Parties

WHAT PROMINENT CITIZENS SAY

Willis Sweet's Abusive Speech - Secretary Curtis Says It Is a Fraud - The Politicians are Nonplussed

BOISE CITY, Ida., Sept. 27 - [Special telegram to THE HERALD.]  -  The authoritative declaration of President Woodruff, received here in THE HERALD to-day, created a great deal of surprise and confusion in political circles.  Dubois had frequently declared that no such manifesto could by any possibility be made without an entire disruption of the Mormon church, and during the last week Willis Sweet, the Republican candidate for Congress, had abused the Mormons in the most violent language in a speech made in this city, which the Statesman left out of the printed report, having been informed by Fremont Wood, United States district attorney, who was camped in eastern Idaho, that something was in the wind.

Hon. Milton Kelley, former editor of the Statesman, said he thought something of the kind would have transpired before.

Ex-Delegate Ainslie, chairman of the Democratic central committee, said the Mormons meant to vote, but he feared a majority would go with the Republicans.

S. W. Moody, candidate for state auditor, was taken by surprise and did not know what to say.

Secretary Curtis said that President Woodruff had no authority to issue such a manifesto, that it is a fraud, and intended exclusively for effect in this election.

D. V. Pride said that Senator Edmunds had remarked in the Senate that the Mormons had their citizenship in their own hands, and when they chose to abjure polygamy, they would be citizens as much as anyone else.  He says there is nothing to prevent their voting.

L. H. Hayes, Esq., son of the late chief justice, said that Judge Berry and the Supreme court had held that the Mormon church of Idaho was a branch of the Utah church; that now the mother church having declared against polygamy, the matter seemed settled.  The Mormons could vote.

Fremont Wood, United States attorney, being interrogated, said he had just returned from eastern Idaho, where, through the influence of Bishop Budge, Joe Rich and R. S. Spence, President Woodruff had been induced to issue the manifesto so that the Republican ticket might be elected.

John Lemp, the wealthiest man in the county, who often takes an active part in politics, said he had no time for politics this year.  His business was too pressing.

The politicians all seem nonplussed at the turns affairs have taken and it disarranges the entire campaign work of both parties.  What may come of it no one seems to know.  Nearly all the public men of the city are out of town.  It is admitted that the Mormons hold the balance of power.

There are meetings in Middletown, Star Pomeroy, Pagette and Caldwell precincts of this county to-night.

Another trial of the Boise water works as concerns its adaptability to fire extinguishing purposes, took place this evening, with better results than before reported.

Here we get a fascinating brief glimpse into the political ramifications of the Manifesto.  The voting privileges of the Mormon bloc had been held in the balance, and the Manifesto, being taken as an actual change in stance on the part of the LDS Church, freed the Latter-day Saints of Idaho to have their political voice be heard.

Make Them Tell

The following item, printed here as part of our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "Make Them Tell", Salt Lake Herald 21/99 (27 September 1890): 4.

Make Them Tell

If the Utah commission has reported to the secretary of the interior that it has evidence that forty, or any other number of men in this territory, have violated the anti-polygamy laws of the country within a year, we hold it to be the duty of the grand jury to summon the members of the commission before the inquisitorial body and compel them to disclose that evidence.  The marshal and his deputies are working early and late, and employing more or less shrewdness to discover just a little of the testimony with which the commission claims to be so well supplied.  Just one case of a polygamous marriage within a year would be a God-send to the marshal's office.  The deputy who will dig up or discover a probable case may be certain of a reward, and a conviction would make him a hero in and out of federal court circles.  We believe that the marshal would so highly value a genuine, live case of modern polygamy that he would pay handsomely for one, and for forty cases he would be willing to surrender a quarter's salary and fees.

Anybody who knows the commissioners and is at all familiar with their insane desire to do something that will operate injuriously to the Mormons, will smile at this suggestion that the evidence exists of the polygamous marriage of forty Mormons.  If there were any such evidence the gentlemen would not content themselves with intimations regarding it.  Rather would they endanger their necks in their mad case to reach a court and set officers on the trail of the violators of the law.  Even withered and shrunken WILLIAMS, with so little life in him that he exists in perpetual doubt as to his ability to pump enough of breath to last him a week, would find strength to reach the marshal's office and spread before that official evidence of a man committing polygamy.  Imagine such pronounced and confessed anti-Mormons as GODFREY, ROBERTSON and SAUNDERS nursing information which would send forty Mormons to the penitentiary for five years!  Can anyone conceive the probability of such a thing?  If so, he can think of a cat turning from milk and ducks cutting the webs of their feet and going inland to pick with the chickens.

The fact is, the commission has no evidence of a single polygamous marriage having been celebrated within a year, or within three years, for that matter.  Some of its disreputable tools and agents may have said that in their opinion certain men had violated the anti-polygamy laws, and that is the extent of the commission's evidence that the law has been violated.  To say that such expressions of belief are evidence is to make light of the law and to trifle with the credulity of men.  Especially is this so when the character of some of the fellows employed by the commission for election work is taken into account; that for instance of the late judge of election in the Fourth precinct who threw up his employment as barkeeper and took the first train out of town after the federal judge had called in the grand jury and given it special instructions to investigate his manipulation of ballots.  Perhaps ALLEN told the commission that he believed the Mormons whose ballots he changed for Liberal ones were guilty of polygamy.

We say the inquisitors should call the gentlemen of the commission in and force them to tell what they know, or admit that they have been guilty of maliciously circulating falsehoods.

That "Manifesto"

The following brief blurb, also presented here as part of our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "That 'Manifesto'", Salt Lake Tribune 39/249 (27 September 1890): 5.

That "Manifesto"

Much Uncertainty About Whether or Not It Means a Change

Some citizens are disposed to think the Church is knuckling under and that the Saints will be ordered to give up polygamy at the next Conference.  Others say that manifesto is only a blind, a subterfuge to counteract the report of the Utah Commission, and that the bishops throughout the "kingdom" have instructions not to notice it.  The effect of the manifesto upon the cohabs when asked if they will obey the law will be looked forward to with interest.  The recent sermon of George Q. Cannon at St. George is held not to jibe at all with Woodruff's "advice."  George told as plainly as the English language can tell that the Lord blessed him when he took his second wife, while after his third marriage he prospered exceedingly.  George has now two wives in San Francisco soon to become mothers.  Does this look like giving up polygamy?

That Manifesto

The following item, presented here as the latest installment of our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "That Manifesto", Salt Lake Tribune 39/249 (27 September 1890): 4.

That Manifesto

It is only eight or ten days until the regular semi-annual Mormon conference, and a great many people are wondering why President WOODRUFF put out his manifesto in advance of that conference.  We think it is plain enough why it is done.  One reason is supplied by by the report of the Utah Commission; the other reason is that there will be an election in Idaho, before the Conference meets, and from what we know of the Mormon people there will be an attempt on their part to vote on the ground that they do not belong to any organization that teaches or practices polygamy.  Mr. CAINE writes to the Evening Star in Washington that the object of the dispatches, giving the substance of the report of the Utah Commission, is to crowd through certain legislation now pending before Congress, which if enacted into a law, would disfranchise every member of the Mormon Church by prescribing a test oath which no Mormon could well subscribe to.  It goes on to explain that this proposed legislation would not affect the polygamist Mormon, already disfranchised, but that it would apply to the non-polygamists, the young men of Utah, who have never violated the anti-polygamy law, and have taken oaths that they will not do so in the future; and that the object in disfranchising them is because they will not vote to suit the radical anti-Mormon ring at Salt Lake City.  He further states that this ring wishes to obtain political control of the Territory; to manipulate its affairs in their interest; to collect and expend the people's money, and to shape its destiny.  And he winds up by declaring that he knows that the charges lately made against the Mormons of Utah are false, and that such statements are injurious to them and dangerous to the best interests of Utah.

Now, about the non-Mormons here wishing to obtain control of this Territory, it is just as well to state the absolute fact, which is, not that they would obtain control of this Territory because they want to collect its taxes or to hold its offices; but they do want to break forever in this Territory the political power of the Mormon Church.  That has been their public aim for many years.  They have never deviated from it, and they are quite as conscientious and not nearly so much given to telling untruths as Mr. CAINE himself.  Mr. CAINE has made many a statement in Washington not substantiated by the facts.  And the reason why those Gentiles desire the disfranchisement of Mormons, whether they have been in polygamy or not, is because they are not free agents; they are not citizens of the United States in any legitimate sense.  There are hereditary aliens, and if Utah was a State to-day, without any restraining clauses in its Constitution, the government of the State within six months would be just such a government as the President of the Mormon Church might dictate; the first presidency would nominate every officer, the people would vote solidly for the nominees.  The Legislature would pass no law until it was first submitted to the first presidency for approval.  It would be the same in the government of the cities.  The government of the State would be that of a perfect theocracy.  The Mormon chiefs have been plotting and planning this for fifty years; and it is to make any such thing as that impossible that the Gentiles have been working and will continue to until that terror shall have been taken away, from this Territory.

There is nothing, when we come to examine it closely, in this manifesto of President WOODRUFF.  He merely says that he advises his people not to engage in polygamy, since the law against it has been declared constitutional.  That law was declared Constitutional by the Supreme Court years ago, and since then the predecessor of President WOODRUFF, in a manifesto very much more imposing than this, declared that for the Saints to abandon polygamy would be damnation.  In this manifesto President WOODRUFF cautiously advises the people.  That is not the style in which manifestos are given to the Mormon people by their chiefs.  That law was the last time declared Constitutional prior to the meeting of last April's conference, and yet at that Conference the same old exactions were insisted upon, the same discipline, the same rules; and there was not one breath of anything that looked like giving up polygamy or of relaxing in the slightest one tenet of their faith.

Hence, we believe, and it is with a feeling which is conclusive evidence on our part, that his manifesto was not intended to be accepted as a command by the President of the Church, but as a little bit of harmless dodging to deceive the people of the East, and especially the men in Congress.  Hence, we say that the Republicans in Congress, on the strength of that proclamation alone, ought to pick up the Struble bill and make it the law at once.  It is not a hardship to deny aliens the right of casting a ballot, or of holding office.  And it will be just as easy after that bill shall have been passed for Mormons to set themselves right, to become citizens of the United States, as it is for any other set of aliens whose homes are in this country.

A Question of Sealing

Reprinted as part of our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto', the following letter to the editor was written by one 'Nemo' of Logan, Utah, and appeared originally as "A Question of 'Sealing'", Salt Lake Tribune 39/249 (27 September 1890): 3.

A Question of "Sealing"
Case Cited in Cache County - Is This the Church Dodge on Polygamy?

EDITOR TRIBUNE: - The child is born at last, thank heaven, and the mountain has brought forth the proverbial mouse.  Our town has been disturbed for twenty-four hours last past in the expectation of a new revelation.  Bets have been freely laid that it was only a "fake" of the most transparent kind, and the extra of the Logan Journal issued to-day at 10 a.m. shows the prescience of the Gentile mind, which "know better."  It has been circulated that a new revelation had been uttered from above to the effect that polygamy was to be relegate to the shades of oblivion, and all the concomitants of that divine order should be sat down upon by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Quite a number of the elite swore that if this was so they'd be d----d if they would stand it, and would apostatize and join the Liberals.  Commissioner Goodwin's office has been besieged steadily by the Gentiles and apostates since last night for "news" in relation to the reports circulated as to the revelation, and not a few of the faithful have also hung around to get "pointers" as to the truth of the rumors.  What need has Brother Woodruff for endowment houses?  Has he not temples which are far better suited for his purposes?  Temples in which no record is kept of these marriages; at least such is the statement of those who have had their washings and anointings.  If Mr. Woodruff's statement is true and he be as honest as his manifesto would make him appear to be, the sooner he investigate the doings in the Logan Temple the better.  It is less than six months ago that a married man residing in Paradise took a young girl through the Logan Temple and tried his "darndest" to get her for a second wife, but her father hearing of the matter put a stop to the proceedings.  It appears that this same man had asked the father of the girl for his consent to take her for a plural wife on two or three occasions, but had been refused.  He then got a "recommend" and took the girl through the house as far as to the marriage room, then the father stepped in and stopped the music.  Some time after this the young woman married another man, and now the former beau claims that she was sealed to him, and that the lucky (?) winner had taken his wife away from him.  Had not Apostle Woodruff better be looking after his deputies in Cache county?  If the sealing of this girl is a fact, about which there seems to be no doubt, what else is it but plural marriage?  I suppose this is the hole which the Church of J. C. of L. D. S. proposes to crawl through, but it won't do, and something less transparent than this will have to be circulated before the American people can be thus hoodwinked.

NEMO.
LOGAN, Sept. 26, 1890.

President Woodruff's Declaration

In the 26 September 1890 issue, the Salt Lake Herald reprinted the "Official Declaration" that had initially appeared the day before in the Deseret Evening News.  Immediately thereafter, they also posted another article, "President Woodruff's Declaration".  What follows, the latest installment in our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "President Woodruff's Declaration", Salt Lake Herald 21/98 (26 September 1890): 4.

President Woodruff's Declaration

The official declaration of President WOODRUFF of the Mormon church, which was referred to in the Associated Press dispatches of Thursday morning, and which appears in full in this issue of THE HERALD, ought not to have been necessary, because everybody hereabouts, Mormon and Gentile, have long known that the facts were precisely as stated by President WOODRUFF.  The court records for years past have furnished fairly conclusive proof that polygamous marriages were discontinued in this community.  Vigilant and eager officers, with greater powers than are enjoyed by officials in any other part of the republic, have failed to learn of such marriages and will testify that if any have taken place, not even the neighbors and associates of the offending parties know of them.  Grand juries specially charged to indict in these cases and jealously eager to obey the instructions, can find nobody to punish.  In hundreds of churches and meeting houses scattered all over the territory there is public preaching by Mormon elders more or less prominent in the church, and at none of these places does one ever hear the practice of polygamy advocated or advised.  If the subject is referred to at all it is mentioned in a way to discourage the practice.  We say that in light of the known facts it ought not to have been necessary for President WOODRUFF to say more than he has said in the pulpit and through the press.  The lying report of the Utah Commission - and we use the word advisedly and with full knowledge of its scope and meaning - has induced the president of the church to make the declaration which we print.  He does this officially as the head of the organization, hence what he says must be accepted as authoritative.  The declaration, which is plain, frank and unequivocal, should end discussion as to whether or not polygamous marriages are now authorized or permitted.  It should also put to shame the members of the Utah commission who have been guilty of prostituting their office and lending themselves and their official influence to further the schemes of a disreputable band of plunderers who are waging wicked and relentless war against helpless Mormons, the latter by showing by their acts and utterances that they are doing their utmost to keep in harmony with the laws of this country.  When the commission said that forty or any other number of polygamous marriages had taken place within the year, it knew that it was stating an untruth, and that it was falsifying for no other purpose than to injure the Mormon people.  It knew that if there were a vague suspicion that forty men had broken the law there would have been forty arrests before the commission had received an intimation of the suspicion.

President WOODRUFF's declaration will have little or no effect here, for the reason that the facts as he states them were known by everybody to exist.  Let us hope that what the venerable chief official of the church says will convince the press and people elsewhere that what has been asserted so many times, namely, that polygamy has practically ceased, is true.

That Manifesto

The following item, the next installment in our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "That Manifesto", Salt Lake Tribune 39/249 (26 September 1890): 4.

That Manifesto

It seems that President WOODRUFF of the Mormon Church has caused a dispatch to be sent through the Associated Press to the newspapers of the United States, giving his advice to the Latter-Day Saints to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.  It is unnecessary to say that that is not the usual way by which the President of the Mormon Church makes his decrees known.  In private conversation, President WOODRUFF has more than once in the last year and a half stated that if plural marriages were being celebrated they were without his knowledge.  It seems this dispatch was called out probably because of the statement of the Utah Commission that they had evidence which convinced them that the practice is being indulged in more or less throughout the Territory.  But there is something about this dispatch itself which causes people familiar with Mormonism to be suspicious.  It does not come in the authoritative manner in which the orders of the Church are generally clothed.  President WOODRUFF says: "My advice to the Latter-Day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the laws of the land."  He speaks merely as an individual.  He does not speak as though that advice had come authoritatively by revelation, but as a poor human being in perplexity he gives to his flock the advice of a patriarch.  The question is, how will they understand it?  It is not at all as JOHN TAYLOR announced to a convention of the priesthood that in his bath-room he had received a revelation that Mr. YOUNG was to have one office, and Mr. Somebody else another office.  It is not at all in the same tone that President WOODRUFF at the last conference announced to the people that the blood of the prophets HYRUM and JOSEPH were yet to be avenged; that so far they had not been avenged.  We cannot resist the thought that this was not prompted by President WOODRUFF at all, but that it was prompted by shrewd men in the Church, and that the object is purely political.  Of course it is all right with Eastern people.  There, it is the advice of the President of the Mormon Church.  But it seems to us if it had been genuine, the president himself in the Tabernacle, backed by more than one apostle, would have said to his people, "There is a new deal.  You are not to involve yourselves in plural marriages any more, so long as the laws of the United States forbid.  While ours is a distinct creed, it is subject to the laws, and you will not disobey the laws in the matter of taking more wives."  That would have been the usual way.  That would not only have been sounded in the Tabernacle, but it would have been echoed in every ward meeting-house in the city and Territory.  If we had to make a diagnosis of this case we should say it came about like this:  Mr. CANNON said to President WOODRUFF, "The Nation is greatly exercised about our affairs.  A good many of our brethren in Idaho are in trouble; they want to vote.  Legislation is pending which threatens to disfranchise us, and the ground is that we still adhere to and persist in plural or celestial marriage as a sacrament which we are bound to respect and comply with.  Now, it would be a good thing to send to the country something which would give the country an idea that we had abandoned polygamy because of our respect for the laws.  We will not put it in the usual way of an edict from the Church, but you, as the president of the Church can sign this dispatch to go to the country, which merely gives your personal, individual, human advice to the Saints, and which, of course, does not count any more than the advice of any other man, it not pretending to be in the nature of an authoritative mandate to the people."

President WOODRUFF is an easy-going, quiet old gentleman, but down deep he is a genuine fanatic.  He has never said a word yet that indicated that he thinks he went too far in that dedicatory prayer at St. George; indeed, his words in the last conference were a fair supplement to that prayer, considering the changed conditions here, and, hence, it is natural for even a man like him to think that a little trick is not out of the way when by it he is serving the Lord.  So we take it that he subscribed to the opinion of Mr. CANNON, and it was for that his dispatch was sent out.  And we believe that yesterday, being Thursday, there was more than one plural marriage celebrated in one or other of the Temples of this Territo[r]y, and that, while President WOODRUFF himself knew nothing of it, the parties engaged in it knew that if President WOODRUFF ever heard of it, notwithstanding his advice, he would look upon it as an act of grace on the part of the parties engaged in it.

And, in a brief blurb following a line break, they similarly wrote:

THE best review of President WOODRUFF's "advice" to the people was made by a newsboy last evening.  He was selling the paper, and as an inducement to purchases was crying: "All about President WOODRUFF abandoning polygamy."  A by-stander said: "So he has come to it at last, has he?"  "Yes," said the boy, "and I wish my father would, but he never will."  And that, we take it, is about the fact of the case.  The President advises, but the people know that the old man would not state it that way if he wanted the people to follow the advice, and so will continue to do business at the old stand.

A Frantic Mormon Lobby

The following item, the next installment of our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "A Frantic Mormon Lobby", Salt Lake Tribune 39/249 (26 September 1890): 1.

A FRANTIC MORMON LOBBY

Me Too Caine Issues a Little "Manifesto" of His Own.

ANYTHING TO HOODWINK THE PUBLIC.

Woodruff's Vagabond "To Whom It May Concern" Bulwarked by Our Delegate With the Usual Rubbish - The Washington Stake of Zion Badly Scared.

The report of the Utah Commission, with its vigorous denunciations of polygamy, still practiced and persistently denied in Utah, has spurred the Mormon lobby in Washington in its depths.  Immediately upon its publication, several days after the announcement of its receipt by the Interior Department, John T. Caine placed himself in communication with the Church, and urged the necessity of a pronunciamento to counteract the effect.

The result was Wilford Woodruff's letter, published this morning, addressed "to whom it may concern," denying that plural marriages are still being solemnized in Utah, and affirming that all the influence of the Church will be used to make the Saints obey the law of the land.

The precious document is emphasized tonight by a letter from the smooth-tongued Caine, who is panic-stricken over the effect which the Commission's report may have upon pending legislation.  His letter, printed in the Evening Star, is as follows:

"There have recently been published in your paper extracts from the last report of the Utah Commission, telegraphed from Salt Lake in advance of its receipt by the Secretary of the Interior.  These convey the idea that polygamous marriages are still being entered into by the Mormons, and that the leaders of the Mormon Church continue to teach and enforce the doctrine and practice upon the adherents of that faith.

"The object of this and similar dispatches about the practice of polygamy among the Mormons is well understood here.  There are pending before Congress two or three bills, which, if enacted into a law would disfranchise every member of the Mormon Church by prescribing a test oath such as no Mormon could conscientiously subscribe to.  This proposed legislation would not affect the polygamous Mormons, they are already disfranchised - can neither vote, hold office, nor sit on juries - but it would apply to the non-polygamous Mormons, the young men of Utah who have never violated the anti-polygamous laws and have taken oaths that they will not do so in the future, who have always been loyal to their country and its laws.  They are to be disfranchised because they will not vote to suit the radical anti-Mormon ring at Salt Lake City.  The minority wish to obtain political control of the Territory, to manipulate its affairs in their interest, to collect and expend the people's taxes and to shape its destiny.  To do this all the non-polygamous Mormons, the sons of the hardy pioneers who discovered and settled that arid region, must be disfranchised for no reason but that some few members of the Mormon Church believe and have heretofore practiced polygamy.

"Knowing as I do that the charges lately made against the Mormons of Utah are false, and that such statements are injurious to them and dangerous to the best interests of the Territory, I take the great pleasure of handing you a declaration of the President of the Mormon Church which I have just received by telegraph from Salt Lake, and request its publication as an act of justice to a much maligned and persecuted people, and as a complete refutation of the malicious statements heretofore published.

Very respectfully,
JOHN T. CAINEDelegate in Congress from the Territory in Utah"

Caine is evidently thoroughly alarmed over the situation, and he may well be.  The Commission report has opened the eyes of many who have heretofore believed that politics have colored the views of those delegated to note the actual situation in Utah, and who now see their mistake.

The "Mormon" Perplexity

The following item, the first 'regular' installment in our 'Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto' series, appeared originally as "The 'Mormon' Perplexity", Deseret Evening News 23/258 (23 September 1890): [2].  This was an editorial printed two days before the publication of the 1890 Woodruff Manifesto (for which, stay tuned); in it, the Deseret Evening News replies to an editorial from the Globe-Democrat of St. Louis, Missouri.

The 'Mormon' Perplexity

The annexed article appears as an editorial in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat of September 19th:

"The report of the Utah Commission for the past year resembles all preceding ones in the important respect that it urges the necessity of more stringent legislation to solve the Mormon problem.  Congress has been passing laws for that purpose from time to time for many years, and still the perplexity remains.  Mormonism seems to be practically just as strong as it ever was.  The successive blows inflicted upon it have done it some harm, doubtless, but in each instance it has recovered and gone on growing.  There are more Mormons in Utah now than ever, and they keep coming from different quarters, principally beyond the Atlantic, the same as if nothing had been done by the Government to suppress the monstrous iniquity which has so long made Utah a national reproach.  The Mormon Church maintains its absolute power over its members, both spiritually and temporally; the edicts of the priesthood are implicitly obeyed, and there are no signs of that revolt against ecclesiastical tyranny which has so often been predicted.  After all the penalties that have been provided for those who indulge in a plurality of wives, the commission declares that polygamy continues to be practiced; and the opinion is added, curiously enough, that the only real hope of abating the evil lies in the possible renunciation of the doctrine as a part of the Mormon creed.

"It is astonishing, to say the least, that no way can be found to deal effectively with this great wrong.  The power of the government is practically unlimited in the case, and public sentiment is decidedly inimical to Mormon interests of every kind.  This implies that the task should be an easy one, but some how it is not.  Some of the legislation upon the subject has been very drastic, and the courts have enforced it with reasonable rigor, and yet the much-desired consummation does not come to pass.  There is something lacking somewhere, it is easy to understand; but it not so easy to say what or where the trouble is.  Most likely, however, the chief mistake has been in not directly and thoroughly taking away the occupation of the priesthood.  The leaders of the Church are its chief strength.  They rule as so many autocrats, acknowledging no sense of duty except their own inclinations, and recognizing no law except those which they personally make or dictate.  The Mormon problem will never be solved, it is safe to say, so long as they are permitted to exercise such sway over their followers.  They are men of extraordinary ability in their way, thoroughly acquainted with the weaknesses of human nature, and quick to seize every advantage that may be presented.  If these adroit and unscrupulous individuals could be deprived of their power for mischief the whole matter would soon adjust itself in a sound and wholesome manner.  They are the principal stumbling-blocks, and no legislation can prove satisfactory that leaves them in possession of such authority as they now have.  How to dislodge them is a difficult question, but it is nevertheless the vital question, and Congress can not afford to evade or postpone it."

These remarks were prompted by the dispatches which have been sent from this city giving garbled extracts from the report of the Utah Commission for 1890.  The urging of more legislation to solve the "Mormon" problem, is the annual effort of that body in the interest of the "Liberal" faction in this Territory.  Its object is to deprive that part of the "Mormon" people who have not broken the law, of every political right and privilege.  This is what they mean by "solving the Mormon problem."

The Globe-Democrat, in common with the greater part of the American press, evidently regards polygamy as "Mormonism" and "Mormonism" as polygamy.  The Utah Commission know better than that.  They understand that all the legislation necessary, and a great deal more, to handle the polygamy question has been enacted.  And further, that the doctrine of plural marriage, even when it was openly advocated and practiced, was but one out of a very large number of tenets that made up the creed of "Mormonism."  Also that plural marriage apart, the religion of the Latter-day Saints is as much above the reach of law as the religion of any body of worshippers in the land.

Does the Globe-Democrat seriously claim that Congress has of right any authority or power to interfere with such a religion?  If not, why should accessions to the "Mormon" Church trouble the editors of that paper or anybody else?  Or do they mean to say that the "practically unlimited power of the government" extends to the regulation of religious belief?

They may answer that all they mean by that power is the authority to suppress practices that are declared to be criminal.  If that is the case, we unhesitatingly affirm that laws to that effect are in force in Utah more potently and effectually than in any other part of the United States.  Moreover, there have been less convictions for polygamy for two or three years past than there have been for bigamy in other parts of this great and moral country.  The records of courts will demonstrate the truth of this statement.

If it be urged that the report of the Utah Commission alleges to the contrary, we answer, we do not believe it.  The concocter of false dispatches in this city may have stated that the Commissioners have so declared, but that is another thing.  We are of the opinion that the report when published will disprove his assertion.  But whether they have stated or not that eighty or forty or twenty polygamous marriages have been solemnized in Utah during the last few months of the last year, that is something that neither they nor any other body can prove, and it has been made with malicious intent, that is, to injure the law-obeying "Mormon" people and deceive the American press and public.

The statement that the leaders of the Church "rule as so many autocrats" and that "they recognize no law except those which they personally make or dictate" is grossly untrue and absurd, and can only be excused by the evidence ignorance of the writer.  Such a rule, if it existed, would be the very antipodes of "Mormonism."  It would be destructive of the system.  The "edicts of the priesthood" have no existence except in the imagination of persons who are too prejudiced to look into the facts, and the "Mormon" leaders are today more strictly observant of every law of the land than ninety-nine hundredths of their accusers.

That oft predicted "revolt against ecclesiastical tyranny" of which there are "no signs," has never come because there is no such tyranny to revolt from.  All things in the "Mormon" Church are and must be done "by common consent."  The "Priesthood" is composed of nearly all the adult male members.  Women as well as men vote on all Church questions and officers, and the "occupation of the priesthood" is beyond the legitimate reach of any secular power.

Of course in the attempt to solve "the Mormon perplexity" there is "something lacking," and there always will be.  What is it?  It is a failure to get at the truth.  Its opponents are figuring, and thrusting, and plunging in the dark.  They do not know what they are fighting.  It is not these formidable leaders that stand in the way, as supposed.  If the vindictive befugs who desire their extinction could kill every one of these leaders or immure them for life in dungeons, the "perplexity" would remain and the "problem["] would remain unsolved.

The abatement of the evil, the Globe-Democrat says, in the opinion of the Commission depends upon the "renunciation" of a certain ["]part of the Mormon creed."  And does any one who is sane believe that can be accomplished by "more stringent legislation."  Does not the Globe-Democrat understand that drastic laws against a belief are more likely to confirm than destroy that belief?  And if the belief of the Latter-day Saints is the real root of the trouble, why not try to reach it by reason instead of seeking to crush it out by force?

We submit for the consideration of the reflecting that a more rational and Christian method of combating "Mormonism," would be first to find out what it is, and to overcome the power of its Priesthood, to ascertain in what it consists.  Then instead of misrepresenting and abusing and maltreating the "Mormons," show them "a more excellent way."  They are a good, honest, industrious, temperate and cheerful people, able to comprehend an argument and highly appreciative of kindness.  They have convictions which are personal, and for these they have suffered much.  They will never be coerced into renunciation of their belief, and while falsehood and force continue to be the means employed, the "Mormon" perplexity will remain to vex sectarians and puzzle politicians.

Newspaper Wars Over the Manifesto

Lately I've been finishing up the reading of B. Carmon Hardy's excellent book Solemn Covenant: The Mormon Polygamous Passage.  While reflecting on some of the newspaper sources he used with reference to the 1890 Woodruff Manifesto, I started looking through them and found them (and a few others not there cited) quite interesting.  With that in mind, I'm setting in motion a brief but dense series here in which I hope to provide noteworthy articles from the Deseret News, the Salt Lake Tribune, and the Salt Lake Herald from late September and October 1890.  While the main subject for many is polygamy or the status of the Manifesto itself, the exchange of heated editorials back and forth provide insight into a variety of other secondary issues involved as well.  This post will serve as a hub to be updated with each new installment; I hope to release each on the corresponding date in late April and May, so as to provide the sensation of attempting to keep up with the war of words as it happened.

•  "The 'Mormon' Perplexity" - Deseret Evening News, 23 September 1890
•  "Official Declaration" - Deseret Evening News, 25 September 1890
•  "Why the Devious Way?" - Salt Lake Tribune, 25 September 1890

The Conversion Sojourn of J. Eckersley

In a two-installment series published in 1890, an English Latter-day Saint named J. Eckersley offered an account of his journey to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What follows is from his "How I Became a 'Mormon'" as it appeared in The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star 52/10 (10 March 1890): 145-147 and 52/11 (17 March 1890): 163-165.

It was in the latter part of January, 1886, when, for the first time in my life, I became acquainted with the doctrines of the "Mormon" Church. I was at that time visiting friends at a small village called Patricroft, near Manchester, the place where I passed my boyhood days. For several years I had been a devout member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church - was honest in my convictions, endeavoring to serve God to the best of my ability, according to the light and knowledge I possessed. One evening, in company with two near friends, I attended a Methodist prayer meeting, and on returning to the house of Mr. R., whom I was visiting, we were met by a gentleman with whom I had previously some little acquaintance, and he having been formerly a Methodist preacher, I still believed him to be engaged in that profession. In course of conversation, addressing my friends he said it would afford him much pleasure to be favored with an opportunity of spending an evening with them, for the purpose of pointing out the path in which God would have them walk. Knowing that my friends were devout Methodists, of unblemished character and good repute, and believing that we were all walking the narrow path that leads to the Father's presence, I felt somewhat indignant at what I then considered the strange remarks of Mr. N., for I well knew that he was acquainted with the fact that we were already professing Christians, attended Church regularly, and were taught by our ministers.

Before retiring to rest that evening, Mr. and Mrs. R. and I entered into conversation upon religious topics, and feeling a little curious at the remarks made by Mr. N., I made some inquiries respecting him, when, to my dismay and astonishment, I was informed that he had united himself to the "Mormon" Church, and was actively engaged propagating the doctrines and principles of "Mormonism." Having heard many scurrilous stories concerning the "Mormons," I was a little curious to learn, from an authoritative source, something concerning the faith and practice of this despised people. At first my friends hesitated to enlighten my mind, fearing that I might oppose, and not being members of the "Mormon" Church themselves, they desired to evade any opposition, or feelings that might arise in giving their views respecting the faith of the Latter-day Saints. Finally, however, they commenced to repeat to me the Articles of Faith, and never shall I forget the feeling that pervaded my whole system on that occasion. I had always been taught that the Latter-day Saints were a low, degraded, and immoral community, who gathered together to some remote part of the globe, that they might be exempted from the law, and thus be at liberty to practise all manner of abominations and crime, without the fear of any punishment. But the false impressions and the prejudices I had imbibed, fled before the light of truth and love, as the morning mists vanish before the rays of the rising sun. My soul was filled with ecstasy, as my friends talked to me upon the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the gifts and blessings promised to believers, and the organization of the Church of Christ - apostles and prophets being the officers. This kind of organization - a Church with apostles and prophets, which laid claim to all the gifts and blessings enjoyed by the primitive Christians, was what I had been seeking all my life.

If time and space would permit, I might relate many circumstances which transpired while earnesly endeavoring to serve God as a Methodist, that would prove how dissatisfied I was with the teachings of uninspired men, and how I longed to see the power of God made manifest as anciently. Feeling dissatisfied with the religions of to-day, (for although I was a member of the Methodist Church, I had wandered from place to place in hopes of obtaining satisfaction of mind,) often I had petitioned God to direct me into the sure path, and reveal unto me the whole truth; and now the light of truth had commenced to penetrate my soul, God was revealing unto me the things I had so earnestly sought after, and my heart was filled with joy inexpressible. On retiring to rest, I humbly knelt and petitioned God with more zeal and earnestness than ever before, to remove from my eyes the scales of darkness, and enable me to conform with the requirements necessary, in order to possess the knowledge promised to obedience. My mind was exercised to that extent, that sleep was almost impossible, and I lay awake for hours, meditating on the truths that had been taught me.

Next day was the Sabbath. I attended services at the Methodist Church, and never was it made more manifest unto me, than on this occasion, that learned divines were teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. Circumstances necessitating my return home, and feeling deeply concerned about what I had already learned respecting the faith of the Saints, and hungering and thirsting for more knowledge, I reluctantly bade my friends farewell, obtaining a promise that they would make application for some tracts, written by prominent Elders of the "Mormon" Church, and would mail them to my abode. A few days after my arrival home, my friends sent me a number of tracts, which I eagerly perused with intense interest, praying for the inspiration of the Spirit of God to assist me in understanding the things that I read. The more fervently I investigated, the more light and truth I received, and the more deeply grounded in my mind became the conviction that so-called "Mormonism" was none other than the true and everlasting Gospel, as taught in the New Testament. The following Sabbath I attended a meeting of the Saints, and heard the word of God as it fell from the mouths of His servants. The first speaker, who has since passed into the spirit world, spoke upon the organization of the Church of Christ, and the second discoursed upon the laws and ordinances necessary to membership in that Church. I had previously listened to many eloquent sermons, delivered by learned and talented men; but never before in all my life did I hear the Scriptures more clearly explained or the plan of salvation so plainly marked out, than by these humble men, to say nothing of the power that accompanied their words, which in very truth was sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing my heart to the very centre. At the close of the meeting, the last speaker approached me, asking how I had enjoyed the service, and, after a little conversation, invited me to accompany them to tea, and stay to the evening meeting. I did so, and the pleasant time we spent together will long be remembered; they were delighted at the opportunity of teaching me the Gospel, and I was overjoyed at the privilege of hearing its joyful sound. They related to me many of the experiences through which they had passed, the persecutions and trials endured by them for the Gospel's sake, and the slander and abuse heaped upon their heads by their once nearest friends - professed Christians - for accepting and clinging to the "Mormon" faith; all of which appealed to my reason as stronge evidences in favor of their honesty, and also of the divinity of the principles they had espoused.

In the evening I again attended meeting, which was similar to the one held in the fore part of the day, and I returned home with a firm conviction that I had found at last the strait and narrow way. But now came the test, whether or not I would obey the truths revealed to me, and take up my cross and follow Christ; my reputation was at stake; relatives and friends would all forsake me, and by one and all I should be despised. The sacrifice was indeed great, but I sought wisdom and strength from Him who has promised liberally to all who seek with humble and contrite hearts. Feeling thoroughly satisfied that I could only obtain a salvation through obedience to the Gospel as taught by the Latter-day Saints, I finally resolved to be baptized for the remission of my sins, and endeavor to keep the commandments of God, irrespective of the results that might follow. No sooner had I made this resolution, than I was taken seriously ill, being for several days confined to my bed; and my affliction was of such a violent nature, that had I not exercised faith, I should certainly have entertained strong doubts of my recovery. But having an assurance that God would restore me, and that this affliction was only one of the trying ordeals which He had ordained me to pass through, as a test of my faith, I bore testimony to my friends that God had a work for me to perform, and that I should recover, and ere long be a member of the "Mormon" Church.

Apparently, the assertion made that immediately on my recovery I should identify myself with the Saints, caused my friends much grief, and never shall I forget their pleadings with me to consider the step I was taking, asserting it was a delusion into which I had fallen. Several times my faith was sorely tried; Satan seemed to employ all the means in his power to weaken my faith, and prejudice my mind against the truths which I had so earnestly investigated. Those who should have been my best friends, and should have aided me in my search after truth, were the very instruments employed by the prince of darkness to turn me aside from the light that had dawned upon me; by their craft they sought to pervert the doctrines of Christ, and very frequently assured me that the Almighty had stricken me down, that I might have time for reflection, be led to see the folly of my ways, and be saved from the terrible sin of apostasy. In the midst of these trials, I prayed earnestly unto the Lord to spare my life, and restore me to perfect health, promising to dedicate my days to His service, if He would only grant my request. My prayer was heard, my request granted, and soon I was sufficiently recovered to be able to leave my bed; and although very weak, I attended Sunday services, and applied for baptism. On the following evening, I was initiated into the fold and family of Christ by baptism, Elder C. B. Orrock officiating. It must be remembered that I had not yet fully recovered from my sickness; but I bear testimony that in coming forth out of the water I was perfectly whole, which caused my heart to rejoice greatly, and the next day I followed by usual employment in the enjoyment of perfect health and strength, without any feelings of pain or distress. Three days later I attended a cottage meeting, held at the house of one of the members, and was confirmed a member of the Church by Elder Thomas Sleight, who promised me the Holy Ghost, and predicted many great blessings that should befall me, if but faithful to the covenants I had made with God. The power of God manifested at that meeting, will long be remembered by those present. When the servants of God laid their hands on my head, the Holy Ghost descended upon me in mighty power, and my whole being was suffused by a heavenly influence, such as I had never before felt, and a testimony was given to me that my sins were pardoned, and that God accepted me as His child. Not only was this heavenly influence enjoyed by myself, but all in the house felt the quickening power of the Spirit of God - priest and people alike rejoiced, and many wept for joy.

The news that I had embraced "Mormonism" soon became known to all my friends and acquaintances. One by one they separated themselves from my company, upbraiding me for the sin of apostasy, and ignoring my every appeal to them to investigate the claims made by the Latter-day Saints. Thus, my forebodings that becoming a "Mormon" would constitute an offense, sufficiently heinous in the eyes of my friends to exclude me from their company, were fully realized. The persecution received from my nearest and best friends, was a testimony unto me that I was a disciple of the Lord Jesus, and, like fuel, only added to the flame of zeal that had already commenced to kindle in my breast; and being filled with an earnest desire to impart unto others the light which God had revealed to me, I at once applied my mind to the obtaining of knowledge concerning the plan of salvation, as taught in the Bible, in order that I might be able to controvert false doctrine, and withstand the attacks of those who, by their vain wisdom and much learning, have perverted the oracles of God. In my pursuit of knowledge God blessed me greatly, and having committed to memory many passages of Scripture, I visited as many of my former friends as would receive me, and reasoned with them upon the doctrines of Christ, bearing testimony that God had spoken again from the heavens, and, in fulfillment of predictions made by the prophets, restored the everlasting and holy priesthood. Each day brought with it additional testimonies, that the principles and doctrines I had espoused were of God, and that their validity and truthfulness could not successfully be repudiated.

About two weeks after my conversion, I determined to visit the Methodist Church, of which I had formerly been a member, for the purpose of resigning my post as a teacher in the Sabbath school, and of requesting that my name be struck off the church record. Accordingly, on the Sabbath, I attended school, and interviewed the superintendent and my class leader. After a little conversation, I made known my errand, whereupon they asked the cause of my being desirous of separating myself from their church. This led to a discussion, and the manner in which the Spirit of God operated upon me I shall never forget. The gentlemen referred to were both learned, and had studied the Scriptures from their youth, one having been engaged in the ministry for many years. I was a youth of nineteen, of very limited education, and yet I was enabled to answer the questions they propounded in the manner to astonish and bewilder them! At first they endeavored to controvert the doctrines I advanced; but finding themselves unable to accomplish that arduous task, they finally gave way to a burst of passion, asserting many things in support of which they could not produce a particle of proof, saying that Joseph Smith was an impostor, and that his followers were a wicked and licentious people, and telling many fabulous stories of Joseph Smith's adventures in England. Before taking my departure, I reminded them of the fact that the Saints had ever been subjected to ill-usage and misrepresentation - that they who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, and that it was habitual for some men to resort to slander and abuse, when by fair argument they failed to establish their claim. I might relate many experiences through which I passed, of a similar nature to the above; but suffice it to say, that being acquainted with a multitude of professed Christians, it gave me opportunity to bear my testimony to many, and the more I discussed it with my former friends, the more clear to my mind became the fact that mankind have transgressed the laws of God, changed the ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant, and are enveloped in gross darkness, and I praised God the more for being so mindful of me, as to open my eyes to discern His precious truths.

In answer to my prayers, I obtained the authority to preach the Gospel, and was ordained a priest in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by Elder John Holt. I endeavored to magnify my holy calling whereunto God had called me, and was greatly blessed in so doing. I took untold pleasure in assisting to hold open-air meetings, and in rendering every possible assistance in spreading the everlasting Gospel. About this time the gifts of the Gospel were made manifest in a miraculous manner in the Branch of the Church of which I was then a member - the gift of tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the gift of prophecy, and the healing of the sick, were of common occurrence, God dividing these precious gifts among the Saints severally as He willed, according to their faithfulness. Thus my knowledge and testimony increased daily, and I rejoiced greatly in the realization of the promises made to me by the servants of God.

In October, 1887, I was ordained to the office of an Elder, by Elder W. G. Phillips. I was subsequently called into the ministry, and sent forth, like the disciples of old, to preach the Gospel without purse or scrip, encountering like difficulties, but rejoicing in the same hope, namely, that of eternal recompense. Nearly four years have now passed away since I identified myself with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and although I have encountered many hardships, and endured much persecution for righteousness' sake, it has been the happiest period of my life, and not all the wealth of this world could purchase the experience and knowledge obtained through humble obedience to the will of God.

Should this article, the experience of a humble youth, fall into the hands of any who are dissatisfied by the doctrines of men, and who desire to become acquainted with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, I earnestly exhort them to read the above with an unprejudiced mind, and I bear testimony that as many as will follow my example, and do the will of the Father, shall, like me, obtain a knowledge and testimony from God, that He is a rewarder of all those who diligently seek him. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."