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Show THE REAL DEFAMERS. While slanders have been circulated by The Tribune and all its followers, the slandered people by tho thousands every year have Rone out into the world and told the truth about Utah. Deserct News editorial, April 0, 1000. Tn other words, Mr. Chairman, the people peo-ple of Utah, as a rule, as well as the people of this Nation, arc broad-minded and liberal-minded people, and they have rather condoned than otherwise, I presume, pre-sume, my offense against the law. T hove never been disturbed. Joseph F. Smith's testimony in Smoot case, volume 1, page 130. T wish to assert that the church has obeyed tho law of the land, and that it has kept its pledges with this Government; Govern-ment; but I havo not, as an individual, and 1 havo taken that chance myself. Joseph J Smith's testimony in Smoot case, volume 1, page 107. Senator Overman If that is a revelation, revela-tion, are you not violating tho laws of God? Joseph F. Smith T. have admitted that, Mr. Senator, a sreat many times here. Testimony in Smoot case, volume 1, page SUii. In whatever light tills practice' polygamy polyg-amy has been regarded in the past, it is today a dead issue, forbidden by eccle-jjlastlcal eccle-jjlastlcal rule as It. is prohibited by legal Htatute. Elder Seven Peterson, president of the London- conference of the European Mormon mission In Tho. Penny Illustrated Paper. January 11, 100S. 1 wish to Kay. Mr. Chairman, that there have been .no plural marriages solemnized by and wUh tho consent or by tho knowledge knowl-edge of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by any man. I do not care vAo he is. Joseph F. Smith's testimony testi-mony In Smoot case, volume 1, page 177. An there is but ono. man at a time on the earth who holds the . keys of the scaling- power in celestial marriage, when that one man declines lo exercise the , authority vested In him. there is no wav to obtain tho privileges of the law that governs that matter. The revelation is very plain concerning It, as all may sog from Doctrlno. and Covenants, section one hundred thirty-two. Deserct News editorial, July 15, 1S00. The wonder is. not that there havo been sporadic cases of plural marriage, but that such oases have been so few. Declaration Dec-laration of Mormon first presldcno-adopted presldcno-adopted by the general conference. April 5, 1907. Now, who is it that has been slandering slander-ing Uta.h, and who is it that has been telling tho truth about Utah? The authoritatiVo matter which we. havo here presented puts forth the following un-doniablo un-doniablo factB undeniable by the Des-oret Des-oret News or any Mormon who has a life aud a beyig upon the earth: Tliat the chief Mormon authority in all tho world has given to the lawabid-iug lawabid-iug citizens of Utah the reputation of winking at lawbreaking. That this same chief priest of Mor- imondom is a self-confessed broukor of his. pledge with the "Nation. That (his same highest of all the Mormon high priests admits that ho is a defier of tho laws of Clod. That Mormon missionaries who go forth, to tho world and proclaim that there, is no more polygamy iu the Mormon Mor-mon church, Jio about it. That if :iny polygamy has occurred within the Hiurch, it has been without the consent or knowledge of llio church. That if siR'h polygamy is practiced at all it is engaged in by ami with the consent and knowledge of the president of (he church, because he is t'sc only man on Ihe earth who has the. authority author-ity tn perform or uuthorizo the performance perform-ance of plural marriages. Thai new polygamy has been entered into within the church sinco Hie issuance issu-ance .of the manifesto in .1S90, and in defiance of all law. All of this is to be laid at the door of tho Mormon church; no Gentile has a part in it; Tho Tribune nor aoy of its frit-mis had any hand in its construction: construc-tion: it is Mormon church from beginning begin-ning to end. The orgnns and speakers of that church slander decent men and wumon of this State by telling the world (hat they connive in aud condone immorality. Tt confesses tho existence of ecclesiastical lechery, under this supposed sup-posed tolerance, and makes it plain that, tho sin is indulged out of tho unqualified unquali-fied choico of tho sinners. It exposes a condition wherein the responsibility for all this wrongdoing aud criminality rests upon tho chief of the Mormon church al whose little peccadilloes we all "wink, the other eye and go ou our way rejoicing! ' ' A nice reputation to givo lo a community, com-munity, isn't it? The Tribune has been saying thai tho Mormon priesthood have been engaging in this new polygamy; thai they can nor. be prosecuted because of tho political polit-ical influence exerted by the church in their protection; that those who havo donicd the existence of this sort of crimo in this Stale have been guilty of the most brazen lying; that, no Gentile in this State condones an.y such immorality, im-morality, and thut not, half the Mormon people countenance it,- but thai the priesthood holds such power over tho mass mind that no single unit, or small number of units, in that mass dare utter ut-ter a word in regular protest against the officially-protected criminality of the church. Wo leave it to the record to show who has slandered Utah and who has toll the truth concerning this State. |