| Show r JUDGE ANDERSON ANDERSOH AND BL BLOOD OD ATONEMENT s OUR Ova review of Judge Andersons Anderson's decision ill in I n the naturalization cases on Nov 80 was necessarily hurried having been heen l een written after the ren ren- rendering rendering rendering dering of the decision and its setting ii type Therefore while it covered the ground taken by the Judge touching all the principal points of his argument it could not elaborate elaborate elaborate ate upon any particular question in inthe inthe inthe the limited space at our command We shall shaH therefore take up the dif dif- different different dif different ferent topics dwelt upon by the Judge as occasion shall offer oWer and ar show how much truth there is in his hie conclusions con elusions y J The following extract from the decision is one of the most remark remark- remarkable remarkable able inferences ever drawn from testimony presented in any court outside of Hades Judge Anderson says The evidence also shows that blood atonement is one of the doctrines of the Church under which for certain r offenses the offender shall suffer death as the au only I m means ans of atoning for his trans transgressions and that any member of the Church has a right to sh shed d his blood y Judge Anderson follows this state state- statement statement statement ment with some extracts from dis dis- discourses discourses diss courses s delivered more than thirty thirty- thirty thirty-Be reven v n years ago containing the opinions of Brigham Young iah iab fah M Grant and others on the dreadful consequences of commit commit- committing committing committing ting a sin unto death such as re- re referred re referred to by the Apostle John let 1st Epistle chapter verse But those parts of the discourses which explain the meaning of the speakers the Judge carefully omits r rHe He also excludes from his summing up those passages from the Doctrine and Covenants that were offered in eviden evidence e which would have ren- ren rendered ren rendered dered derell his conclusion impossible or at least absurd Here are the passages pointed out outto r to the Court the whole volume hav hav- having having having ing been offered in evidence by counsel for the objectors F And now behold ld I sp speak ak unto the Church Thou Thon shall not kill and ind he that kills shall not have forgiveness in inthis inthis inthis this world nor in the world to come And ag again tin I S say Y thou not kill but he that shall di Doc dip dip Doo Doc t dt Cov Sec v 18 19 And it shall come to pa pass s that if any persons among you shall kill they call be delivered up and dealt with ith cording to the laws of the land for remember he hath bath no forgiveness and it shall be proven according to the laws of the land Ibid land Ibid v 79 It was in evidence that the reve reve- revelations revelations revelations lations in the Doctrine and Cove Jove Covenants Covenants nants are viewed by the Church as divine and authoritative and that the opinions of any person in the Church whatever position he may occupy are only to be considered as opinions A Also Iso that any teaching contrary to the revelations B of God is not received ved by the Ch Church as its doctrine Why did Judge Ander- Ander Anderson Anderson son Ander-son son suppress suppress th this is evidence evidence and color the the quotations he gave with his own unwarranted inference as asto asto asto to their meaning Is this conduct worthy of a Judicial mind Would it be considered fair even in a debate or controversy oral or on paper upon any subject of civilized discussion In order to still sUU further excuse his conclusion the Judge makes three isolated and disconnected quota quota- quotations quotations quota quotations from an address hy y C W delivered in the Twelfth Ward Assembly embly Hall October 12 1884 The They 7 have been cunningly selected and the context excised so 80 that they will win appear to the reader as endorsing the idea expressed by the JudgE But if as many other extrac extracts from the same discourse had been gi given ven to show what the speaker was really establishing they would have been been fatal to the Judges Judge's false and aud out BUt outrageous deduction This is Judge Andersons Anderson's s first quotation from this address page 18 Now according to the doctrine of President Brigham Young the blood of Jesus Christ as I have shown you atoned for tor the original sin and for sins ins that men commit and yet et there are sins which men commit for for which they cannot receive an any benefit through the shedding of Christs Christ's blood Is that a true doctrine It is true if it the Bible is true That is Bible doctrine But this is only part of the para para- paragraph gra grap graph b Here is the rest of it which the Judge took pains to omit I 1 will direct your attention to one or two two passages of ot scripture which bear on this subject In the first place I will refer you to the words of the Lord Jesus you yon will find in the chapter of the Gospel ac- ac according according ac according cording to St Matthew and the and verses er es namely t J 4 fir ir-fir- i t t Wherefore I say uni o 0 you all man man- manner manner manner ner of sin and blasphemy shall be for for- forgiven forgiven for forgiven given unto men but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall shaJI not be forgIVen unto men And whosoever a word worda a against the Son of Man it shall be for for- forgIVen forA forgiven for forgiven A given him but whosoever a word against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven hida him neither in this world neither in the world to come This is further explained in the same connection and anti then the text is quoted from the Epistle to the Hebrews chapter verse For if we sin after that we have received the knowledge of the truth there no more sacrifice sacrifice fice for sins sina Al Also from the same Epistle 6 chap verse as follows For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come If they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him him to an open shame hame After commenting on the fact that the early Christian Church Chul h held 1 the e doctrine that there were sins for which the blood of Christ would not atone if committed by persons who had once been cleansed from sin and had received the Holy Ghost the annexed text was cited in this his address from 1 Cor v 6 5 6 6 con con- concerning concerning concerning a gross sin For I verily as absent abent in body but present inspirit in spirit have judged already as though I were present him that hath bath done this deed To ro deliver such Buch an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus 1 Let it be remembered that the pamphlet containing the address In full fuU was presented in evidence We quote further from page 28 Now what kind of sin Bin Bin- are these for which men cannot get forgiveness The Apostle John says in the same Epistle I read from just the no-the no the 3rd chapter of the First Epistle of John No murderer hath bath eternal life lite abiding in him The man W wio 10 commits imbrues hip Ilia hands in the blood of in- in innocence innocence in innocence cannot receive eternal life lite r because he cannot get forgiveness of that sin What can he be do doT The only way to atone is to shed his bis blood hanging is not the proper method I refer you now to the chapter of the Book of Geis Gen Bis verse verae Whoso mans man's blood by byman man shall his blood be shed On the page the subject is carried further and the annexed passage occurs Well is there any other sin that a aman aman man may commit which hiob is worthy of 01 r t 1 f d death ath I think there is I will refer reter you to one in the Book of Leviticus chapter and lOth verse And And the man that adultery with another mans man's wife even he that adultery with his neighbors neighbor's wife the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death That was the law of God in the days of ot Moses It was the law of God previous to the days of Mos Moses s as you will find by referenda reference to the Book of Genesis It has been the law of God Y from the beginning The address then deals with the question as to the execution of the death penalty and shows most moet emphatically that while murderers should be put to death and that if the law of God was fully funy carried out adulterers who commit this deadly sin after by the Holy Ghost and having made e especial special covenants with God to abstain from such transgressions would also suffer the same punish punish- punishment ment-as ment ment as the only atonement possible possible possible ble for their crimes it crimes it can only lie 6 In inflicted by the officers of the law Page Pase 31 says If a man commits a crime he is to tobe tobe tobe be delivered over to be dealt with ac- ac according according ac according cording to the laws of the land The Church can withdraw fellowship from him but the Church has has- ha has no no authority to execute I he be death penalty A man may be deserving of death but it is not in the province of the Church to kill he must be delivered over to be dealt with according to the laws of the theland theland theland land It was not to be expected that Judge Anderson would quote ex- ex extensively extensively ex extensively from this address But having pic picked ed out part of a para para- paragraph paragraph graph which appeared to suit his purpose from page 18 then jumped to page page 36 86 and then skipped ov over over r to page 43 common fairness would have suggested that he should make at least one quotation to show the gis gist and object and whole tendency tende of the address But no not a word does he give as to this For instance he might have cited this from pages 6 6 3 l The law of the land says that if a aman aman aman man kills he shall shaH suffer death But the laws of the land dont don't say that the adulterer shall be put to death death There Thre Therefore Therefore fore the penalty however deserved C cannot i Also in regard to the opinions of leading men in the Church he might have made this selection from the address The law of God is paramount When men give their views upon any y the value of those views isas is as 88 the value of ot the man If he is lit a wise man man a man of understanding of r experience and authority such views are of great weight with the community community community but they are not paramount nor equal to the revealed law of God The revealed law of God as 88 shown in this address is that if any man commit crime he shall shaH be up to the law Jaw of the land that mem mem- members members members bers of the Church shall not kill killand and that if they do they shall shaH not have forgiveness in this world nor norin norin norin in the world to come And the sen- sen sentiments sentiments sen sentiments of the leaders and the people on this subject t are emphatically ex- ex expressed expressed ex expressed pressed Why did not Judge An An- Anderson Anderson Anderson derson cite this passage ge from the ad address ad- ad address address dress All All this shows that the Lord does i not delight in the shedding of blood neither do His servants We are told that we shall not be blood shed shedders ers We are to be temple builders David of old was waR not allowed to build the temple because he was not clean from flom fi the blood of ot his generation And the people called Latter day Latter day Saints from the head of the Church down to the humblest member have a horror of the shedding of human blood They are not a minded bloody-minded people They are a forbearing people as our coward coward- cowardly cowardly cowardly ly persecutors are well aware Judge his partial and biased opinion made matie no mention of utterances of the leasers lea J era of the Church which were pr presented In evidence and were utterly at vari vari- variance variance variance ance with his sanguinary conclusion conclusion conclusion sion He dismisses all aU this class of testimony with the wor words s An effort was made to show that the blood Brigham ham atonement as preached by Brig Brig- ham Young and Jedediah Grant is not now the doctrine of the Church This is a misrepresentation of the f facts ts No such effort was made The proof offered went to how that no such doctrine as that alleged by bythe bythe bythe the objectors was ever entertained by the tt Cb h It is true that it appeared in evidence that ther there had been no teaching for a great many years in regard to the ideas advanced by the preachers named and that the address on blood atonement quoted from was delivered in answer to the erroneous ideas concerning it set forth by anti anti- Mormons anti Mormons But such no semi semi- semi admission admission as the Judge insinuates was made during the examination It was denied then and is denied now that any Church authority ever declared the doctrine that men should be killed for And we challenge Judge Ander- Ander Anderson Anderson son Ander-son son or whoever prepared the the one one- sided document that bears his name to produce from the evidence pre pre- presented presented presented in this case any proof what what- whatever whatever whatever ever that the Mormon Church 1 ii t- t J I holds or ever did hold the monstrous doctrine and SI asserted by the Judge which we have quoted at the beginning beginning begin- begin beginning ning of this article As to its l 4 I practice the best answer we can gIve to the accusation atoned that men have been blood atoned for l is that offered in the address address ad- ad address dress which the Judge has so honorably honorably honor- honor honorably ably cited Has there ever been a case of blood- blood shedding by the authorities of the f 3 Church or by the sanction of the f Church outside of the regular opera of the criminal law I 1 say there hM has not and let those who say there j have been such instances bring forth their proofs The burden of proof is t- t upon them P 33 Well Well the best answer to all these t- t stories is that they cannot produce a single case of blood can atonement atonement can cannot not produce one individual case of a man or a woman in this Territory who L- L has suffered at the hands of the j Church Church this penalty which President nt Y t Young said ought to be inflicted upon 1 persons guilty of capital crimes P 42 j jP Even Judge Anderson was ashamed ashamed to mention the only at- at attempt at attempt 3 tempt made to prove a case of this kind which failed so 80 signally as to ic cover the authors of it with conr con r tempt and expose them to the rid ridicule ridi- ridi i- i cule of all classes of the community community community ty We dot d care to express ss our 1 feelings in view of the gross mis mis- misrepresentation misrepresentation 1 representation of our faith and i principles contained in the paragraph paragraph para- para paragraph graph we have taken from the 1 Judges Judged decision We only present the truth And let those who per- per pervert pervert pervert vert the doctrines we hold whether for political or other purposes remain remain re- re remain main in the hands of Him who shall shaH deal out Justice to all in His own due time |
