Show THE PLEA I The more one thinks over the contents and doctrines of the Epistle of the Presidency i 1 Presi-dency the more one is astounded and J wonders how such things can be with or without our special wonder It treats at large of political rights and calls the Constitution Con-stitution an inspired instrument and yet denounces the laws made in pursuance of 1 it by the very authority mentioned in the instrument and when these laws are de lared valid by the same Supreme Court which is provided for by the Constitution Con-stitution itself to determine their valdity The SupremeCourt is not always infallible it sometimes reverses its own decisions a thing which proves its utility as to make a decree that could never be changed would be to assume that man is without error but it is always supreme although it may be wrong As a matter of everyday experience is it not as likely that some fifty millions of people may be right in their ideas and practices as some hundred and fifty thousand And if things are to be granted because they are claimed to be given from heaven shall we not soon see some denomination again trying to extirpate all heretics and claiming that the Constitution Consti-tution guarantees them the right to propagate theirreligious doctrines and that the extirpation of heretics is a cardinal one This has been done repeatedly re-peatedly in Europe and under the theories of the epistle if allowed full sway would again be done in America No religious body should be allowed to 01 control and direct the affairs of the State as a religious body and to invoke the Constitution to uphold the right and to ask all citizens to see that it is done when the very citizens who are asked to aid will be deprived of this same right is sheer nonsense 1 and ft the fifty millions should consent to I such theories the fifty millions would show themselves to be all fools and not mostly fools aS Carlyle put it The epistle inculcates the doctrine that God created man merely that he might marry and marry many times and says little or nothing about man being created that he might glorify God and make the earth a fit place to which Clirist might come and reign a thousand years Prom the epistle one would imply that God created man that he might marry and having done this afterwards inspired the founders of the United States government to draw up the Constitution that the right of cohabitation may not le abridged Among the facts oftenest cited in support of the doctrine of polygamy and the natural law of marriage is the fact that in all societies there exist social evils and that while this doctrine way be an evil still it is a lesser evil and that it can more easily be controlled Are we always tohave but two choices between evils and must we necessarily choose a lesser evil Rather is it not better to choose neither and strive to introduce such order into society as will have no social evils The social evil of society is acknowledged by society to be an evil and is not justified while the theories of Utah justify a lesser evil So strongly have the majority of the people of Utah become imbued with these theories that this very epistle which was matured in quiet and retirement contains the follow i ing revolting and disgusting language in referring to the monogamic II system of marriage of the world I The system which they taught was not Gods system it did not therefore meet mans wants Those channels which God has provided for the lawful exercise of the appetites with which He has endowed en-dowed man under the system now in vogue have been damned up and the history of Christendom informs us with what terrible results the degradation and prostitution of woman and the spread of the most terrible scourge known to humanity hu-manity the social evil with attendant train of loathsome horrors And are such statements as these such belief in the depravit3Tof man as this shows to be taken as evidence of the divinity of an institution which is to regenerate the world physically and morally Do they not show the depravity which they say they deplore rather than the fitness of the system to which they Adhere and invite the world to accept AVe frankly admit that the great mass of the Mormons Mor-mons have been chaste and have kept the marriage tic inviolate but we firmly believe be-lieve that when any of them have violated vio-lated that tie there have been more polygamic Mormons to do so than mon ogamic Mormons Yet this epistle contains con-tains these two statements which are irreconcilable ir-reconcilable with the doctrine of polygamy polyg-amy and its nonpractice by the vat majority ma-jority holding it to be divine The Lord has revealed to us by His special revelations as clearly and positively posi-tively as He ever did to any of the ancient S cient Prophets certain principles associated i associ-ated with the eternity of the marriage I covenant has given definite commands pertaining thereto and made them obligatory oblig-atory upon us to carry out lie has moreover told us thatif we do not obey those principles we shall be damned I Believing the principles to be of God and from God we have entered into eternal V covenants with our wives under the most Solemn promises and in the most sacred manner This soulsaving principle then is polygamy and those who dot do-t not obey it are to be damned for He has told them so But it seems that a very small number are to be saved if we believe k be-lieve the following As the male members mem-bers of our Church who practice plural narriage are estimated as not exceeding > but little if any two per cent of the entire en-tire membership of the Church we consider con-sider it an act of great injustice to the ninetyeight per cent to be abused and outraged and have all their business relations lations disturbed values of every kind unsettled neighborhoods agitated and alarmed and the property of the people generally jeopardizedbecause of this raid upon these alleged breakers of the laws What solicitude for the interests of the ninetyeight per cent But this ninety eight per cent should be disturbed because be-cause the system of marriage which this ninetyeight per cent practice introduces those murderous and damning prac tices of foeticide and infanticide to introduce intro-duce which in our midst attempts have been made Can a man contemplate without horror the marriage system of this ninetyeight per cent and the crimes which it must introduce for the epistle says the system of the ninetyeight percent per-cent introduces them Should not this ninetyeight per cent be more than abused and outraged for practicing a system of marriage whose very sine qua ions are fceticide and infanticide Yes I and more they should be annihilated The epistle should have the effectto thoroughly disgust and turn away from such teachings as these the ninetyeight per cent asit will disgust all who look at things in the light of decency and from he standpoint that man is not a beast pure and simple with a tendency to degenerate de-generate |