Show I 1 MORMONS AND citizenship y I 1 on monday november I 1 dickson offered a certified copy of an order by t JUDGE cradlebaugh ORAD LEBAUGH made april 4 1859 wherein he ad 01 journea arned court because he could r not enforce the laws owing to the opposition of the people there here was also a communication to judge Cradlebaugh wherein the reason given by witness ess for non attendance at court was stated le be grand young objected to the documents as immaterial and hav ing no bearing on the application of I 1 mr moore the communication was not re cei ved in evidence but the order of court was this order says that men high in authority in the mor naon mon church and civil of ficera in fart fact the whole community were opposed to the enforcement of the laws it also says the grand jury has joined with the community and mormon murderers and thieves to go unpunished u judge anderson asked what thea the comma communication ni cation was and it waa given hirn him to read mr moyle offered the proceedings of the celebration of independence day 1871 in the tabernacle showing the loyalty of the mormon people the opening prayer was offered ered by apostle orson pratt asking for the establishment of the principles principle rin ciple of the constitution of the V united cited states not only within the fe present confines of the nation but over the whole continent of north and south america REUBEN SIMPSON was called by B R W young and testified 1 I remember the procession with D H wells the firemen had an american flag which was carried upright near the centre of the t procession to dickson I 1 am in the employ of the city and was at that time legrand young announced that the defense rested and at WM H DICKSON began his argument he opened by saying that if there was any doubt as to whether an applicant for naturalization would give the fullest allegiance to the govern mat mt that doubt should be resolved against the applicant he should be attached to the social structure of the people which lies it deeper and beyond the constitution itself no foreigner should be admitted if lie he acknowledges an allegiance to any church V so far as his conscience is concerned higher than that of the government V every sincere mormon is in an attitude of hostility to the government ern ment the teachings of the church leaders from the first has 7 been intended to place the people in antagonism to the government the aim of the priesthood has been to wield absolute obedience in temporal and spiritual matters ik the members are required to enter into covenants that bind them to obey the leaders in all things and to relinquish their free agency i dickson began his quotations by reading from remarks by heber C kimball in 1857 in reference to sending an array army to ti destroy the cormons mormons Mor mons sll also from president young in the same year in reference to the martyrdom of joseph a and nd hyrum smith and the requisition for the mormon Mor morAll battalion dickson said the army was coming to inseal the off officers leers not to make war on the people the president of the church said the civil officers should not take their offices and the government sent an army to enforce the laws there might have been some excuse for the people then but there was no excuse in 1877 when the present head of the church prayed for the destruction of the government dickson then read from the statement by president woodruff published in our dispatches today regarding the present proceedings before judge andersen anderdon in continuing his speech dickson referred to sermons by orson hyde and others in which he claimed the government was arrayed as the enemy of the mormon people within the past six or seven years the government had been making an earnest effort eort to enforce its laws but there was nothing to indicate that the sentiment of the people toward the government had changed tn in 1879 there was a procession in honor of a man who refused to answer certain questions in court and treasonable banners were carried in 1885 the national flag was half masted over public buildings by mormons cormons Mor mons and no word of censure had come from the mormon people the official organ of the church has traduced traducer trad every man who has had bad the courage and I 1 am ashamed that there are but few to stand up in court and promise to obey the law while t they hey have held up as exemplary those who have refused to give such submission the attitude of the people now is the effect of the teachings of the past and is iu in antagonism to the laws the head of the church and the heads of the peoples party had bad united in raising funds to aid those who had violated the law there was no leader who had advised submission to the government they say they uphold the constitution but they uphold it as interpreted by them and in it they claim a guaranty of religious freedom we might expect that in their secret rites there would be something antagonistic to the government and we think we have found it in the te stimmy cony of bond silver wardell gilmor lawrence and others mr lawrence is a man of unflinching integrity and truthfulness and we have but to look at his experience when he had the courage to come out of the church his business was ruined his old friends and acquaintances acquaint aces inces turned their backs on him not daring to be seen with him this is what he had to face and his punishment was be cause he stood by his friends when they opposed the exercise of temporal vora power by the church he pays the endowment oath was taken with ag yg uplifted hand band to avenge the blood of the prophets joseph and hyrum J smith and to teach it to their chil dren I 1 say no one who is sincere in this is not antagonistic to the government their witnesses have sworn that in the endowment H house the government was waa not I A j mentioned or referred to so does henry W lawrence there was no need for them to mention the government when they were asked what did occur they declined to state dr richards said there was anointing of the arm to be strong to avenge the blood of the prophets when required this a means that they are to obey the counsels of the priesthood will the court say that anyone who takes S a covenant of that kind is fit for J citizenship we say that a member of an organization that requires of any of its members any such an oath should be excluded from citizenship that he ij i should have no voice in the govern J ment no man who gives aid to J this organization is entitled to be come a citizen this is not tiou tion they may believe what they j please but when they ask for a voice in the government that gov should exclude them from v the ballot box anti and that is not per er se cution will anyone deny th that at V absolute temporal power was gall claimed there has been a M change of circumstances but H but not a change of sentiments and purposes geor george Q cannon who prose H buted god be and harrison sat the right hand of the head of the imor mormon church and if the condi bious w were brethe the same he would act as he did then the policy of the church chura has not changed george Q in 1865 declared that it was his privilege to dictate to the people in temporal things brigham young declared that b his is 0 office fal c e of governor was controlled by his priesthood he declared that the church was establishing the kingdom of god to ta control all things temporal and spiritual he also declared that it was the duty of the leaders to direct in temporal anu and spiritual affairs that they were the kingdom of god on earth such was the teaching hing of george geo rge Q cannon down to december de em 1883 and probably later before then be had never neve r heard of a disposition to question the control of the church in temporal matters and he deprecated it joseph F smith in august 1884 also claimed temporal control for the church and made it apply to political affairs the claim was just as broad and strong five years ago as it was forty years ago wilford woodruff also made the same claim he is regarded as being divinely chosen and speaks IR i the name of almighty god if the mormons cormons Mor mons are not hypocrites they will obey his word and the history of the people shows that they have obeyed it this is the covenant they have entered into their witnesses say they heard no DO such covenant in the endowment house but an apostle has declared that the covenant connant is takes i t sa M hy ah the doctrine and covenants shows that control in temporal matters Is ib a doctrine for the revelations go into detail mr baskin was mistaken when he said it was not in the late edition of the doctrine and covenants never was there greater blasphemy than when jose joseph ahe h smith gave that as a revelation the people who would believe that god said such things are just the people to be prie stridden slaves H C kimball told the people to do as the priesthood said whether it was right or wrong think of a man favored of god to receive revelations teaching such things as are in the doctrine and covenants in the revelation on celestial marriage regarding the forgiveness of sins and cursing think of wilford woodruff being able to curse and od approving it and saying that a people under that bond are free that is heresy it cannot be true the doctrine and covenants has directions as to what the members of the church should do da in temporal affairs can any one doubt that they believe the head of the church is the representative of god and if lie he has this power that men whose consciences are bound by this superstition have surrendered their free polygamy is believed in by all the mormons cormons Mor mons for 30 years the government has been trying to destroy it and are no nearer now tha than n when they started Is it persecution to say that such persons should lie be excluded from citizenship the government says that it will give them protection but will not admit t them hem to citizenship I 1 cannot see how a member of that church can conscientiously ask aek to become a citizen neither can I 1 see that a man who believes polygamy is right an can take an oath of allegiance to the government that is trying to overthrow it if I 1 believed that polygamy was right I 1 would have my right hand cut off before I 1 would swear to obey the laws of a government that is trying to overthrow what I 1 believe to be right I 1 think no sincere mormon takes such an oath wit without bout a mental reserva reservation tiou I 1 think that no man who believes in polygamy has a right to the franchise r for such a social order is opposed to the order on which the government is based we dont desire to persecute we desire to uphold the arms of the government in crushing polygamy and to weaken the power of the church church it is not persecution to say that these people will have the protection of the laws but bolong so long as they aid the church by membership they shall not be admitted to citizenship in regard to blood atonement we say that the testimony conceals the real facts of the case it is a claimed that murder and adultery can be atoned for only by death but that is to be I 1 inflicted by the law of the land they do not call attention to the law that adulterers shall be destroyed I 1 say that the idea that the church has no authority to punish the crime of adultery according to the law of god is not correct that it is not dot sincere in th lecture on blood atonement C W penrose says saya that the time will come when the law of god shall be enforced against adulterers in the same lecture speaking of the laws against polygamy he says those laws are unconstitutional and not binding on the people that shows they believe the constitution gives them the right to do anything in obedience to any revelation which they claim to be from god they say the nation is persecuting the saints in opposing the practice of polygamy and that 1 is 13 3 way why wilford woodruff prayed for the destruction of the government As to the penalty for apostasy the witnesses say there is noth nothing I 1 ng bu but t ex communication but birgham young said that rather than apostates should flourish here he would un sheath his knife and conquer or die surely there is no court that will admit to citizenship members of an organization such as the history of this church shows it to be LE IE GRAND YOUNG said that the facts were all thattie that the court should listen to inference of any q ny character should not betoken betaken be taken as evidence especially when the man interest edthe applicant in this case has bas taken no part in any of the transactions testified to Mr Young read the law on naturalization and then proceeded proceeded roce eded with his argument the discretion discretion of the court in these matters is merely a legal discretion it is not captious when a man makes the requisite showing and shows the proper conduct it is 18 the duty of the court to admit him an objection to him must be on legal grounds mr moore han applied for citizenship he has shown proper reEd residence dence good moral character and attachment to the constitution he is a qualified applicant cant and we deman i that he be be allowed to taz tae the oath and that the court give judgment for him the objectors said they objected to him because he had taken an oath against the government they proposed proposed posed to show this and we came Ero here ere to answer them we have answered them we have shown that no such oath has been taken mr young reviewed the testimony of the witnesses for the objectors it had been claimed that men had been murdered by the canites Da they referred to the killing by the officers of the law of the notorious desperado ike potter this case did not suit thern them so they dropped it and got wardelle War delPs dells story about the killing of a man named green this is the only time in this territory that a man has been named as having been blood atoned we challenged them to the issue and after 40 years of talk we have hav e this one case they stand or fall by this record they came to prove the infamy of the church by this their champion ease ase but where has it gone to never have I 1 heard such a statement as this wardell made he went on to say that hickman confessed it such a story is too absurd bill hickman was a murderer and lived too long but he never was fool enough to confess as wardell says no man who ever know knew him would believe such a statement abatement if there was no other evidence this would be sufficient to stamp wardelle War delPs dells story as false por for forty years there has been a cry of blood atonement and now the best beat legal talent of the territory comes forward with this case at last to say that the mormons cormons are a bloody people wardell is the kind of witness they have brought here to prove their case and the witnesses esses have swept away even evell a possibility of the truth of his story the witness cahoon says that there was no oa ha h agai nat list the government but he inferred etc it is the truth that we want considered in this his case not inferences cahoon says there was nothing of an unlawful na ure in hi the endowment mcguffie McGuff le said he had taught that brigham young wab god he ws just such an idiot as to do so but if he had taught it in public he would not have remained in the church as long as he did I 1 do not believe he ever taught it at all any more than be heard that the endowment oath never existed As for gilmor he is an an apostate with all that the term implies n plies a mv may who quarrels with lails Ms neighbors a man who cannot lie he believed under oath as the witnesses here say but they say H W Li awrence is respectable his erly early life was in the church he spent 21 or 22 years in the church and was in the endowment house he does not say he apostatized because there was anything wrong there or because he was opposed to mormonism Y |