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Show OELESTIALIZING TRICKSTERS. Tho marriage of one. woman to a man for timo ami eternity by the scaling power, according to the law of God, is a fulfillment of tho celestial law of marriage mar-riage In part and Is good so far as it goes. - But this Is only the beginning be-ginning of the law. not the wholo of It. Joseph I- Smith In Sail Lake tabernacle, July 7, 1S7S; Descret N'cws. September 7, 1S7S. What the Latter-day Saints call celestial celes-tial marriage is characteristic of the church, and Is in very goneral practice: but of celestial marriage plurality of wives was an Incident, never "an essential. Forcn Peterson, president of London conference of the Mormon British mission, mis-sion, Junuary II, 1U0S: 1 want here to enter my solemn protest pro-test against this Idea, for I know It Is .false. Joseph K. Smith In .Salt Lake -tabernacle, July 7, JS78; Descret News, September 7, 187S. With respect; to this latter quotation which wo make from the sormon of Joseph F. Smith, it would not be at all unlike the church organ to assert that wc havo taken tho matter from an extraneous subject and applied the expression ex-pression to tho question in baud. But this is not true, as Joseph F. was paying pay-ing attention to tho very matter here treated: and wc reproduce tho short sentence in the interesL of brevity, and to indicate that the president of the church docs not believe as ho instruct in-struct his missionaries to preach to. tho 'outside world. But by taking tho first and second quotations wc may be able to arrivo at I he truth with respect to actual conditions condi-tions within the Mormon church. Mr. Smith plainly states that a monogamous monoga-mous marriago is but the beginning of fulfillment of tho law cf celestial marriago as it is now taught in the church, and is by no means tho wholo of if. T11 that same sermon ho weut on to stato definitely that plural marriago mar-riago was in no sense an incident to celestial marriage, but. was a vital part of the doctrine and practice. Jlis protest w.as especially directed against the entertainment of a conflicting view by sonic of the saints. Now, Elder retorsion, at London, declares de-clares that celestial marriage is an institution in-stitution which is characteristic of and peculiar to tho Mormon church, and that, it is uow in general practice. Under tho interpretation of that doctrine doc-trine by Joseph V. Smith, plural marriage mar-riage is now rampant in the church, if we are to bcliovo what Elder-Peter- I 1 son says. In any event, developments sinco tho ndoptiou of tho Woodruff manifesto by tho church havo proved boyond any possibility of doubt that tho lakiug of plural wives oven at this time is not regarded as an offenso against tho law of tho organization. Tho world knows of no new polygamist who has been disciplined or excom-municatod excom-municatod for his crime. When it has been shown that certain men havo engaged anew in polygamous marriages, the evidonco has boon designated as twaddle and gossip, and unworthy of oven such credence as would permit it to form tho basis for investigation. And at tho samo timo tho leaders well knew tho charges to bo true, bo-causo bo-causo they possessed tho ovidonco of their truth. But the3r suppressed tho information nocossao' to conviction before be-fore tho courts They havo intimidated honest Mormons who expressed a dc-siro dc-siro to havo tho offenders disciplined by tho church. In every wa3' the lawbreakers law-breakers havo been protected against just punishment, both in tho church courts and in tho courts of tho State. Evcr3'tbiug goes to show thnt tho Mormon church, through its high officials, offi-cials, todaj- authorizes and countenances counte-nances now plural marriages, and no amount of sophistry will servo to convince con-vince citizens to tho contraiy. And it is hero and now asserted that if tho wholo truth were known with respect to this new polygamy, a condition of such malignant, profane, and bestial degradation would bo uncovered that . fifty per cent of tho Mormon people would leave tho church in disgust and shame within ten days. |
