| Show x 33 aci ecI 0 o cy z nm BY APOSTLE ERASTUS ivoy SNOW I 1 jn n tate tabernacles rabe raSe mae sait salt date late cay cuy saturday morning horning in gene epa era crai craz conference october itaf 1882 REPORTED BY jonn JOHN believe it was in 1858 1856 that the reau republican party was organized zeband nd at their first convention held in philadelphia they incorporated in their platform the noted planar the twin relic of barbarism slavery and polygamy and pledged themselves to rid the country of these two evils evill for 16 years they have labored incessantly ceis cels to this end but they know not the thoughts of the lord nor understand his counsels nevertheless erth eless they are kis hia servants to execute his purposes and they doubtless have a desire to accomplish till all that he designs with regard bothem to them Hav have ethey they succeeded in strangling the twins so far as slavery ia is concerned they have succeeded in abolishing it in the oknox in abolishing it in the oknox ious lous forms forma in which it prevailed in the tho southern states but still it exists and la to likely to continue to exist in a modi modified nned fled form while wack wickedness exists estate upon the earth africans and white men aaroin aro in bondage not in the same form sa ns that in which the southern slaves were held before the war for the extreme excesses cl ases perpetrated under that system in many particulars were very great wrongs to mankind and very grievous in the sight of heaven and of right thinking people and changes were determined in the mind of jehovah and have been effected the authors of this republican plank have taken polygamy as taught by the latter day saints ca as being byno synonymous namous with the poly foly polygamy gainy garny of oriental nation nations and the bigamy of the chris tian nations this ia is clearly shown in the law of 1662 passed by the congress of the united states designed for its suppression the term bigamy being used instead of polygamy the offense offence was made to consist in the marriage rather than in the cohabitation following the old english statutes of shenew england states on the subject of bigamy clas cias classing sliM bilm onn out as 55 stem of marriage with that which was waa made criminal by the tha english statutes and by the statutes of the northern states when rhen in reality there wab was very little if any similarity the bigamy of england and the american states consists in crime and deception cap cep tion the betraying and wronging of two innocent and unsuspecting women while the corrupt lying deceiving unprincipled husband was feigning virtus and integrity both violating their con confidence ence once by lying and deception deceptions and by violating all the duties and obligations of marriage the duties that the father owes to the wife and children and also to the state but the fact that our lawmakers law makers took this view of our social system when they passed this law egowa ahola how poorly and ill III they comprehended the system of marriage BS as taught by the latter day saints the republican party had this view of the ameno doubt when they first announced this noted plank further experience and knowledge among the people of the united states has in some bome measure changed their view upon this subject and they haxo havo attempted to shape shapo their legislation accordingly and in the recent law of congro congress known aa as the tho edmunds law they have especially in the amendment they have adopted to the law of 1862 classed polygamy with bigamy and enacted penalties against both and still further they made it a continuous of fence by providing penalties for cohabitation as nta well as for the mur wax niage for eD habitation cohabitation however tb the a penalties consist of light fines and short imprisonment but for mur mar fines and long imprison ment this ia is the view taken by our oar christian statesmen in relation to the tho moral aspect hect ot of this thia question anciently when gods laws provided a government for ancient israel marriage was honorable both and single as all students of the biblo bible know full well at the same time adultery waa was punished by death from the days that king Abi melek attempted intimacy with barsh sarah whom he supposed to ba be eligible to marry but afterwards found jound her to ba be the tho wife of abraham from the time that the a angel ancel n g el of the lord warned him that bs ho r would ouid ba be n dead man it hg he per slated elated from that timeto time to tho the coming of the savior adultery was punishable by death deaths while marriage both single and plural was waa honorable ordained and appointed of god and provision was made for the protection and rights of each wife and her offspring 91 ning ring but our christian states men mou are offering premiums for if and are seeking to make odious the honor and pur put purity ity of marriage this la all ail wrong they are in error in the view they take of it if their bishops priests potentates and religious teachers would betake betaque themselves to tho tashe taste of first seeking the light of heaven upon this question and would then strive to enlighten our statesmen and the people of the united states pertaining to social ethics and the purposes of heaven in the union of the bexes sexes and beek seek to encourage honorable marriage and honorable increate increase in the earth instead of encouraging cou raging licentiousness and child murder they would thereby secure the favor of heaven and the perpetuity of his blessings upon them as a nation and people the prophet joseph smith the year before ho he was slain testified of these things and although he taught this social system to the nat lat ter day saints and to the more de ter day and more de vout vont wise and prudent of the women of israel as hundreds can testify have havo testified and are able to testify today to days day ye yet t it t was necessary in introducing I 1 it and facing the oppose tion and the P prejudices re of the tho age to proceed w wisely I 1 my in these instructions instruct ions iona and while his name was before the people of the united states as a candidate for the presidency and national questions were vero being discussed pro and con by the latter latten 1 day saints and throughout the nation by all the political societies of the time joseph smith took occasion to issue a pamphlet containing his views on the powers and policy odthe of the government of the united states he also preached some sermons upon the subject in nauvoo and in the prophet coun selled the people ot of the united states in relation to the manner of disposing of the vexed question of slavery which he recognized as evil that Is the form in which it existed in the united states which should be abolished but bui rather than ohan proceed to its abolishment by waging war wax against the institution as the antl slavery men were trying to do counseller counselled coun selled that this desfred desired desi changos change tue the modification 0 this system of labor in tho the south be effected on a principle of honor equity and peace that a fund should be fund of the na blont tion for or the abolishment of slavery and to 0 n negotiate with the states in behalf of the slave owners for the gradual emancipation of the slaves their owners to be reasonably compensated pen sated for the freedom of their thein servants and in process of years to change the status of the negro make his labor free and place him ina lna in a condition to bo be educated and eleva aleva elevated ted and still maintain the faith of the nation and the faith of the northern states with the southern states thus it was that the true policy and counsel of heaven to our nation was manifested and spurned the extremists of the north the anti antl agitators heeded it not and neither party approached the subject with any earnest determination to effect an honorable settlement of this question tho the few statesmen that made propositions in the congress of the tha united states loosing looting to this result resul tto to the accomplishment of the liberation of the slaves dettling this question on the basis proposed by tho the prophet joseph smith but whether they were influenced by his advice or wh whether other the same spirit that also upon these statesmen there were wore some boma that made advances looking to the accomplishment of the object in this way but it was not generally received or favored or itaas deemed impracticable at all events the sequel proved that the opposing elements warred against each other culminating in that great fratricidal war which resulted in the shedding of too much blood and the impoverishing of one half of the nation prior to this however the union and fraternal feeling that formerly existed had been gradually weaken ing in the various religious organizations izat lons ions of the nation all the leading churches of the nation had divided at what was known as the mason and dixon line the line separating the free from the slave states we ve had the tho humiliating spectacle throughout the landof land laud of the methodist church of the nor non north th sad uia tho methodist church of tho the south the presbyterian church of the north the presbyterian church of the south the baptist church of the north and the baptist church of the south bouth I 1 believe the only christian church in america that did not over the slavery question split the blanket divide ita its property its franchises and ecclesiastical organization was waa the bonan honan bon hon an catholic church who reco recognized the necessity of a united body under one grand head this division of sects pre prepared lared the tho hearts and minds of the people for the deadly conflict that ensued on the subject of the other twin relic there appears no such division both the north and the bouth south and religious sleets fleets of whatever name or belief are united in the denunciation ot of the latter day saints and the system of marriage introduced by the prophet joseph smith this thia as I 1 have already said is founded partly in their ignorance with regard gard to the true spirit and nature of the doctrine taught by the prophet joseph joeeph smith and believed in by the latter day saints As I 1 have already said they have classed it with the bigamy of england and the american states and they have american states and they have classed it with oriental polygamy for it Is known to all students of history to all that are familiar with tho the conditions of the nations at the present resent time and the history of nations in past ages that polygamy has been the rule I 1 will notay that it has been the rule among the common people of all nations but polygamy has existed and has been recognized to a greater or less extent BO so far as its practice wag was con coni 1 alstedt with wilh the conditions of the people of the various nations it has been the rule from time immemorial Imme morl mori a and there bas baa never been a time in the history of the world when it has not been common and recognized among the nations of the earth with the exception of modem europe the christians of our time claim the prevailing system of marriage in modern europe and in the united states as the result of christianity to this I 1 reply that neither christ nor his apostles ever uttered one word in condemnation cond cona emna of that system of marriage that was waa in vogue in their day days a and that had been recognized and acknowledged in jn the house of israel from the days of abraham until christ in fact chrict laim jaim belr self was the tho fruit truit of polygamy so far astae as the flesh wab wall concerned and and nowhere is thereto there to be found one word in condemnation dem nation of this system f or anything intimating that he intended to change the then existing relations of the sexes boxes but while he as well as his hib apostles and the ancient prophets and patriarchs denounced adultery and fornication they recognized and sustained honorable marriage whether single eingle or plural and every evely form of elicit illicit intercourse with of the sexes was condemned by the primitive christians as well as by the prophets and patriarchs of old the only passage of scripture that I 1 have ever heard quoted as appearing to limit the early christians to single marriage was the baying of one of the apostles st paul raul to timothy in which he hebald said baid that a bishop should be the husband of one wife having faithful filth ful fui children and one who knows how to govern his own house for baid eaid he hey hes if he knows not how to rule well his own house how shall he rulette rule ruie the church of god now this scripture taken as a whole evidently shows that lil ili his object was not to intimate that a bishop have one wife only but he intended to make this impression that he must be a man of family one that had experience in household affairs one that understood all those tender relations existing between husband and wife wire and parent and child ono one that had bad shown himself a wise and discreet father one that was capable of gul gui guiding dirig his own hoube house and of leading his family in the waya ways of rectitude and of controlling them in the fear of god for except he la Is able to govern his own house how could it be expected that he could govern the churell church of god noar now irin if la this his respect a bishop had proved him ahlm beira selfa wlee wite and discreet father fat fht hrand and husband a mancho man who kildew how to rule well his own fkr far family tilly this war was a qualification recommending him as u suitable person to bo be trusted with the office of a bishop and how much more suitable would he bo be for that position if lie he were perfectly able to govern two or more wives and to rear their children in the fear of god the very fact that a bishop must be the husband of one wife if we admit the correctness of the c 01 our christian rends in jn this regard shieh which which however we do not by any means the logical inference Is that any other officer or member in the church but a bishop was at liberty to have more than one wife for if he intended it to be a general prohibition why should he confine it to the bishop why did ho he not make it general it Is sheer sophistry on the part of our sectary an friends and groundless ground lees ahter neter tion that meno gamy to the exclusion of polygamy was introduced into europe by the primitive christians for that system of marriage was introduced trod prior to the establishment of christianity in europe by the roman empire and became the form of marriage in early times when as history alleges men were moro more numerous in rome home than women and the earlier settlers of rome were political refugees eess rene lene gades and graces from surrounding nations and were under the necessity of making ralda raida upon their neighbors to procure wives end ond it became a matter of necessity and for mutual protection to limit the number to one it was the roman state that limited the number of a mams mana wives to one and not the christian church and this being done doco it was perpetuated and his done doco it was perpetuated tory teaches us that under that system rome home became the moat most licentious of all nations I 1 do not intend to enter into an argument in favor of polygamy my spi spirit r rather leads me to imbres upon the latter day the character of this great social question and the duties and responsibilities ties that rest upon wa aa as a people peoples principles that have emanated ate from heaven obligations that we cannot ignore aud and duties that we cannot shirk for God godelas godhan Go dEhas has haa set his hia hand to gather israel according to the prophets god has ba set his hand to establish his zion god has bat eat his hand to build his kingdom in tho |
