Show I THATCHERS POSITION He Defends It in an Address at Logan S Si THE CHURCH AKD THE STATE HE STANDS FOR A ABSOLUTE SEPARATION OF THEM j Constitutes His Audience n Imaginary Imag-inary Court While He Pleads His V Own Case His Views on the Proceedings ceedings of the Church With Bef V cnce to Himself V Following Is a practically complete report of the address delivered by Hon V Moses Thatcher at Logan a short time I ago In which he clearly defines his position po-sition Ladies and Gentlemen Before Introducing In-troducing the lecturer of the evening S V the Hon Warren Foster on the request f of a number of personal and Intimate 25 or 30 friends I shall address you V minutes on the living Issues confronting S confront-ing us apd particularly upon some points involving my personal reputation r V reputa-tion character and honor as a citizen of the state and nation of which weS we-S should feel proud that we form a part and to which we owe allegiance I do this not from a personal desire t to be heard on this occasion although in speaking I confess pleasure always to my friends residing in this city and S especially to those of them who have t especialy S Intimately known me and my words and works for a third of a century V Here It was as a young married man I made my first home Here it was that most of my children were born f E and reared Here i was that father mother brother and uncle were peacefully t peace-fully laid on the hillside to rest Here l was that youthful hopes inspired long weary contests with poverty and kept lighted the midnight tallow dip while seeking knowledge from a scanty t store of books Here boyhoods love ot V sacred things matured into personal knowledge of God Here it was that the expanding mind first gathered the purest highest and best thought of a young heart around the memory of the Matchless whose unselfish life was given to make His brothers free Here i was gained a faint comprehension of S his mission and message of peace on I earth and good will to men Here V through diligence humility and prayer the Saviors blameless career and spotless V spot-less character grew in my estimation a perfect model of all that was Just i unselfish pure noble holy and good V a model so exalted steadfast and altogether S alto-gether lovely that the mere mention of his name inspired reverence hoper hope-r and courage Here by and In His name the inspiration and revelations of the holy spirit made it possible for me to pray for those who despitefully V use while trying to love God with the I whole heart and my neighbor as my V t self Here bounteous nature and a faithful soil gave Industry full promise of abundant reward while united pur pose voiced the common consent by V which a young community bound a V with family ties constructed canals built fences and canyon roads and provided for mutual protection Here peace became the forerunner of plenty and personal purity the glory of God V while the seeds of truth fell into the rich soil of honest hearts V Thus from primitive surroundings r and attendant hardships and dangers progress civilization and religion triune factors developed hitherto latent S forces and gave us the Logan City of today with her college on the hill LV where under the supervision and patronage f pat-ronage of the state the head the hand r and heart are trained without reference to creed color or previous condition con-dition of her students Here in the college founded and mainly b sustained by the generous bequest S of that great but lamented colons t colon-s Iser statesman philosopher and L f religious leader Brigham Young ref re-f ligion and science twin sisters march hand in hand to the higher plains of S more advanced refinement learning and moral training while district and l mission schools equaled by few and surpassed by none in the state became S feeders of those higher institutions of S learning From these justly viewed r with pride we turn with reverential feeling to such costly structures also educational and refining In their nature V na-ture as the tabernacle on the square V the temple on the mesa and the opera hcuse where we tonight are so peacefully r peace-fully convened All these together with our mercantile and manufacturing Institutions i In-stitutions are the creations of united I effort the fruits of united toil Here friends and fellow citizens I pause to brush away an unbidden tear and repress re-press a sigh that wells up from a saddened 3 sad-dened and heavy heart Fanatical intolerance In-tolerance here thrusts in his scythe to tV reap from the hitherto peaceful fields r of confidence good will and love May we not justly protest and with I one united voice demand the reaper to I harvest his own fields where naught is fcund but malice and hatredanger r spite revenge fruit of the flesh spawn S of hel Weak indeed must be that Cause employing character assassination assassina-tion to sustain its claims Impotent must be attempts to destroy by organized organ-ized effort the fruits of years of 9pen V honest endeavor in behalf of the public weal How shall we Justify methods always heretofore condemned V as unChristian un-Christian unjust and wrong Can that which Is in others a crime become in us a virtue How shall our complaints V com-plaints against unconstitutional andS and-S intolerant measures directed against us be sustained or Justified if we direct unconstitutional and intolerant measures meas-ures against others 1 today we stand helpless and hopeless S hope-less objects of unjust suspicion and V persecution how shall we claim the aid of the Supreme when on the morrow S mor-row we entertain towards others unjust i un-just suspicions and cruelly persecute V them themI cannot be for the Eternal hath declared that we shall receive that V which we have measured to others and be judged with the same judgment t wherewith we Judge others That Is the law of the great I Am I is an eternal law coexistent with God himself Living oracles can neither II V render I absolete nor repeal it except S ex-cept through the Almightys direct V command for i Is founded on that l rule which demands that Whatsoever I I ye would have men do unto you so r must ye do unto them In that rle t charity the pure love of God is forever S for-ever safely emboweled and upon charity V f char-ity hangs the law and the prophets What Is said of him who professing t love of God shows by every word and act hatred of man By their fruits ye shall know them Men gather no grapes gpes t from thorns nor fg from thistles V The prayers of the righteous availeth S much and the tears of true friends refresh re-fresh the soul as the dews of morning the parched grasses of the sunburnt plain while those of selfrighteous hatred ha-tred blight like the hot simoons of i the desolate sand billowed desertS desert-S where the smile of God abides not and i struggling life falls perpetually Into the embrace of deathS death-S Tea Brother Thatcher we know < V about all these things and with sorrow tV sor-row and regret we note the displacement S displace-ment of confidence by that hydra headed monster distrust We have seen love crouch In fear at the feet of I arbitrary power justice sacrificed on i the altars of diplomatic expediency truth sidetracked by political sagacity sagac-ity honor crowded to the wall by duplIcity du-plIcity covenants broken In the Interest plcUy t S est of personal ambition and the glory of the young state of Utah endangered I r by e cyclone that threatens to undermine t under-mine the patriotism of her citizens and prove to all the world that we built our state upon a foundation of sand With t 1 i IJ T I heartfelt anguish we have seen political politi-cal discord separate copartners who together had weathered the financial storms of the past quarter of a century cen-tury Into the family circle we have seen political animosities thrust until family ties snapped like dry reeds In a hurricane and when the conscienceless conscience-less political groom had formed an unnatural un-natural and unholy alliance with an ecclesiastical bride we have seen human hu-man heartstrings stretched over the keyboard of human misery urtil they broke like Aeolian strings in the grasp of tho frost king Aye we have seen brother In hot dispute and reasonless anger arrayed against brother son against father daughter against mother until inharmony reigned supreme su-preme and the disciples of the meek and lowly Nazarene seemed transformed trans-formed Into disciples of his satanic majesty bent on turing the peace of earth into the pandcmpnium of hell I But Brother Thatcher did you ever pause long enough to realize your part In this great drama of confusion heartache discord and despair Why did you yield I your allegiance to God and burn on the altar of political ambition am-bition the heavenly fruits of a life struggle Did you expect the brethren of your quorum eleven against one to submit their judgment to yours Thus proclaiming your superiority in political foresight and statesnlanshlp Why did you permit personal selfishness selfish-ness and a thirst for the honors of men to overcome your love for the church and people of God Can you not see how you have fallen in the estimation of men and women good and true because you permitted pride to humility and to supercede humlt go before your fall Can you not comprehend com-prehend how contemptible must he appear ap-pear who exchanges the riches of heaven for the baubles of earth What infatuation led you to change the confidence I con-fidence prayers tears and love of your brethren into distrust scorn and contempt distrust tempt whereby you forced them Sampson liketo tear down the temple wherein you housed the Jewels of your soul compelling them also to perIsh In the ruins of destroyed confidence Did you not know it to be your duty to yield to the majority Have you not everywhere and always so taught Stand up now and In the fear and love of God answer like an honest man or forever stand selfconvicted self condemned con-demned That my friends Is about the spirit and meaning of indictments drawn against me by the hand of malice inspired in-spired by hearts filled with motives of revenge Poor fallen benighted humanity hu-manity How readily we forgive those who injure us those whom we injure never The indictment is drawn from false conclusions because predicated upon a false and forbidden basis But briefly nevertheless permit me hereto to enter a demurrer To the law and to the testimony those have not the truth in them who abide not in law and by testimony Within the full scope measure and meaning of the divine covenant I was bound to yield to every requirement of the gospel and to every rule governing my official position in the church of the Lord Jesus Christthe church of my choice to which I most willingly and most gladly gave my allegiance In youth and to which I now give my hearts highest deviUon being nevermore never-more willing than now to sustain with ill I have that divine code called by its author A perfect law of liberty But I must and do here nost solemnly protest against any and all attempts by whomsoever made to alloy the t uine by any unauthorized admixture of worldly wisdom political or otherwise with that which was and still is perfect And here at the very onset we come to the parting of the ways resulting in this demurrer and in the demand that I shall be regarded Innocent of sin or crime until in a unti proper way and before a competent tribunal I shall be convicted or discharged charged For the time being imagine yourselves the court while I briefly plead my own case First then I demur to the indictment indict-ment on the ground that all our church quorums from the presidency down to the deacons quorum and all I the lay members thi church in general I gen-eral conference assembled in the tabernacle taber-nacle at Salt Lake City October 1891 solemnly promised agreed and coven I anted with the nation and all her citizens I zens that whatever the appearances I of church domination in civil affairs or political matters there might tiave I been in the past there should be nothing noth-ing of that kind in the future That was given and accepted in good faith It was followed as you know by authoritative statement after statement state-ment in the same line by the chief authorities of the church by whom you and I were bidden to make selection selec-tion of the political party of our choice and then be true to that party we being be-ing entirely free and untrammeled as to our political words and works Thus if ever the church did claim the right or ever did dictate the citizen In poll tics that field was then and there voluntarily vol-untarily abandoned and that fact was freely published to all the world And ladles and gentlemen based upon that we find the covenant and agreement as to the absolute political identity and freedom of the individual citizen crystallized In our state constitution which thereby became a part of the contract and agreement under which and by which we entered as a sovereign sover-eign independent state in the family Union 6 And I submit having received the I benefit of statehood we cannot now under the contract Ignore a single provision vision of the agreement To do that I would as I view I be in the fullest sense the open practice of a Punic faith resulting everywhere and always in ultimate humiliation and degradation degrada-tion if not the destruction of those attempting it Such is the lesson of history Can we afford to occupy that position posi-tion Can we afford to place ourselves in the light of political heretics lht poltcal heretcs utterly ut-terly unworthy of the confidence of all political parties I say no Do not you SOn youOn On this ground I maintain that I cannot can-not be justly held for contumacy in political matters by the church for the church is under covenant and contract to take no part in politics That being so how can I be convicted on the charge of inharmony in political matters mat-ters unless the church trenches upon abandoned and now to I forbidden ground I therefore ask this court of my countrymen to sustain the demurrer de-murrer throw out the case and assess the cost on the complainants I shall never forget the sorrow and distress of our people during those awful aw-ful trials of 18856 when the Edmunds and EdmundsTucker laws were being enforced and when many of the church leaders were either In exile or In prison Families separated wives without protectors pro-tectors and children uncontrolled while husbands and fathers filled the state prison I is an unwritten story of surpassing distress and even to this day burdens many hearts as a wretched wakeful nightmare Sacred unions were then severed never again to be reunited Wives became In some Instances alienated from husbands while in others children beholding humiliation hu-miliation and degradation of fathers drew away no more to return to the parental roof and to parental control I Efforts to avoid arrest shattered the nervous system of men and women I and fostered sentiments of timidity if not cowardice in some Instances transmitted trans-mitted to unborn innocence Some were like myself having means could go Into Mexico Canada and elsewhere finding friends abroad while our fam lies left at home found lef support sup-port in comparative comfort comparte But what was the condition of the less fortunate tunate who had no money How many of them found comfort and consolation olation in counsel beyond their reach Far be it from me to attempt to tell the story tonight One case I may here mention however as a sample of others kindred or similar A brother In Bingham county Idaho was arrested on the charge Of unlawful cohabitation cohabita-tion He was quickly convicted by a willing if not packed jury and secured the fullest penalty of the law Within six months so I am informed after 1 o < i > I 0 I he was confined In the Boise prison I the wife of his youth died with quick I I consumption and his plural wife haying i hay-ing been seduced it was said by a t deputy marshal contracted a loathsome loath-some disease from which she too I jHcjJ V while the husband a yet in prison When hemVli d finally completed complet-ed his sentence he came out of that prison house wifelessand bordering on i the brink of hopeless insanity hap less wreck of his former self A knowledge of such facts and witnessing nessing such scenes impressed as nothing in life ever before impressed me and I resolved then that I never would consent to the development of circumstances leading to such conditions condi-tions among my brothers and sisters in this church My friends that has been the inspiring in-spiring motive of my conduct in the political affairs causing my deposal from church official position Personal ambition or thirst for office has had nothing to do with it whatever Senator Sen-ator Edmunds in 1892 declared that church interference in political affairs was the main issue then and that unless un-less we removed the hands of the church from the throat of state we would ultimately be destroyed He mentioned the Intervention of France in Mexican affairs and the attitude of the United States in the matter as a warning Now I dont want to see anything done that might make our state lines as a means of defense like cobwebs That is what I fear That Is what I protest against Now in conclusion permit me my friends to say should serious trouble with the national government grow out of this persistent and continuous intermeddling in-termeddling and Interference with the civil matters of the state and with the political affairs of the indIvidual citizen thereof by the ecclesiastical officials of-ficials of any church whatever would it not be folly In the extreme for such officials high or low to expect to be handled with gloves or accorded quarter quar-ter when to the innocent none has been given Had there been no differences dif-ferences and misunderstandings as between I be-tween the nation and the people of Utah in the past a forecast might justly Just-ly follow those lines originating in Christian mercy but trouble has existed ex-isted heretofore Personally I have no grievances to be settled here or hereafter nor have I any spites to be gratified nor revenges to be placated Individuals as such cut but a small figure in matters of the magnitude of those now confronting the people of Utah When the manifesto or the socalled rule of church discipline was presented to me for my signature every fiber of my nature seemed instantly in-stantly filled with the sentiment of apprehension ap-prehension and I realized that I was fronting a great personal danger from which there seemed no way of escape I I signed i I must do so at the cost of honor truth and integrity I I signed it I must recant the teachings of a quarter of a century respecting the proper functions of the state in relation to those of church organizations organiza-tions I I signed I I must ignore the declarations of the reorganized convention con-vention reiterating the Declaration of Independence I I signed it I must become a covenant breaker by casting to the winds public promises made In the most solemn manner and trample underfoot private political ob igations made with Mormon Jew and Gentile To do these things meant tome to-me stultification and stultification meant dishonor and dishonor meant shame and disgrace And so as I explained ex-plained at the time I could not sign I and retain an Unsullied conscience You know what followed my refusal Others knew what would follow before the document assumed written form My young friend and brother B H Roberts having well weighed the meaning of an unwritten requirement chose what doubtless he believed was to him the least harmful of the two horns of a deadly dilemma I chose the other Both led to that which was Inevitable and with each has been accomplished I ac-complished just what its author intended in-tended should be accomplished It was I written for Moses Thatcherat least I have been informed that Apostle F M Lyman so proclaimed In public at your last quarterly conference From I the very beginning I believed that to be the fact but I never expected any I prominent church official to admit i That the document was premeditated and inspired by aforethought few would doubt but not many were prepared pre-pared for the announcement that I was written expressly for one individual individ-ual ualI V I have my views respecting the motive mo-tive prompting its issuance and each tve prompting of you can draw conclusions most satisfactory sat-isfactory to you and yours As to its necessity as a disciplinary measure the document is certainly not above criticism That the church or its officers of-ficers and members have been benefited by I is open to discussion but as lap I plied to myself it has without doubt I proven what it was intended to be a repressive and depressive measure depriving me of official standng in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ for which and to which I had dedicated the j best efforts and most devoted service I of an honest and sincere heart for I nearly 40 years If my humiliation and degradation has been as gratifying to degrdaton gtfying those who accomplished I as it ha I been painful and sorrowful to me then the doctrine of compensation has been vindicated Having now the facts before I be-fore you it will be easy for you to comprehend that I am now occupying a prearranged and predesigned position posi-tion and that Jt has at no time been I In my power prevent what has happened hap-pened to me That being so I submit to what is until the searcher of all hearts and the judge of all men shall rectify wrongs and without malice towards any I submit my case to the judgment Judg-ment and findings of He who singly and alone trqd the winepress of human I man hu-man wrongs wrath while submitting to hu |