Show IP ma M 1 1 KS S BY liei lilb then them DELIVERED in the tabernacle salt lake city S sunday gay anbe abne afternoon rno on ju july ay 9 6 1884 1554 nE PORTED reported BY johs joun 1 IRVINE rellious A guaranteed by the conati ution not mere freedom of belief belief needs no protection of laithe free exercise of religion required where the line should be drawn natural rights must be protected danger of special leel leil legislation object of the gathering of the saints establishment of gods godi literal fulfillment fulfilment of prophecy restoration of the christian Church Authority of the priesthood lack rack of 0 divine authority in christendom and heathendom aileo ailed alike proofs of the divine mission of the iatter latter day saints plural marriage barriage darri darrl age a religious institutions institution aa A bible doctrine con right to practice it gadwill God will give us the victory I 1 llave nave been pleased in n listening to the remarks of brother caine calne who has just lust returned from washington glad glai to hear that his heart with ours is s turned toward the truth and that his desire in common with ours is to build up the kingdom of god in the earth and contend for the ri rights ats which belong to us as american cemi effi citizens zens some people seem to imagine because becaas we have embraced a doctrine which Is not popular in we have embraced a faith falth which Is contrary to the generally received notions in regard to religion that we ought to have no whatever as citizens of our common country we do not look upon the matter in that light reconsider We consider that we pave have the right under the constitution of the united states to belleve believe any seems right to us and not only to believe belleve ii but to carry it out in our practice so BO far as we can do so without interfering with the rights of other people the first amendment to the constitution of the united states says congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting r D gi biting the free exercise thereon thereof ta lye iye jve e understand that amendment as it is s written we do not wish to interpret jt t or give to it any meaning other than the plain language conveys the language langua e Is that con congress r s s veys shail hhall 7 ai pass no law jaw faw re respecting an c establishment st cb lish ment of religion ll 11 with the leishm ent af pf re then congress has nothing nothing to dp Q congress cannot set up a religion re igdon nor noe can cam it pass any law respecting ng an establish establishment ment of re ligion that Is s to prevent its free exercise there are same h ome people in these latter iatter times who interpret that amendment to mean that people may believe what they please but it carries with it no freedom of practice people may believe what seems right to 16 bothem them but they must not carry it out if it happens to be contrary to the views of the great majority now it appears to me that that Is a very narrow interpretation of the meaning of that amendment to the constitution it appears to us as it must to the great bulk of the people of the country the sovereign agn people that without any constitutional amendment or the passage of any law people everywhere are of themselves free to believe we do not think a law can interfere with belief evenia even if one were passed for or the purpose ose of interfering with it A mans relief belief bellef cannot be controlled by any act of congress or of parliament no edict ol of a government or any other lawmaking law making bod body can interfere with m my freedom r of bellef belief when a proposition til tio n Is placed before my mind and I 1 reflect t upon I 1 it and it appears to be correct my mind receives it and I 1 believe it sometimes persons believe in spite of themselves a man will believe a thih thin thing in s spite it le of his own desires not to bell beli believe belleve eve tl then h en this faith cannot be controlled by any person outside of the man himself and sometimes he cannot control it himself no edict or law or any power of man moan on the earth can alter a mans belief or prevent him from believing A law can be enacted to prevent the carrying of that belief into practice but it cana cannot interfere with belief and it needs no amen amendment dment to the constitution no enactment of congress or of any lawmaking body on earth to protect a man in mere belief then it is as clear to us that the intention was that a man should have not only the right to believe he should be protected in the free exercise of that belief As the language states congress Is not to pass any law respecting an establishment of religion nor prohibit the free exercise thereof what is the exercise of belief in religion why it is certain acts men perform prompted by their belief prom prompted religion suppose a man believes it is right to be baptized in water burled buried in water for the remission of sins how can he evidence his belief in that principle ile he can only do it in the way specified by the apostle james he says show me thy faith without thy works and I 1 will show thee my la laith ith by my works work a but wilt thou know 0 vain man that faith without works is dead that is the only way in which falth faith can be truly y shown by works if I 1 believe belleve that baptism ap Is right I 1 evidence my belief bellef by V being baptized baptized and if I 1 am not baptized it e either elther ther shows that my faith Is s very veny w weak eak or that it does not exist that verl yeni I 1 have not the courage of my faith or else that I 1 do not belleve at all now we consider that we have a perfect right under the constitution of our country to believe what seems right to us and then to carry it out well someone may say do you think there should be no restriction to this are p people e 0 ae to be protected in any kind of re religion 1 ig ion lon they may have suppose a maa man were to conic here from india who believed it a religious duty undre some circumstances to 0 strangle a man marl would he have the 1 night right I lit ailt under tle lle constitution ution of the united 8 states to strangle again there are people who believe it Is right tight in india to burn a widow on son the funeral pile that her spirit may be sent to keep compan company with her husband in the other worly world would that person or those persons ha hae hac ce the right under the constitution of the united L states tates to carry out their belief in this country we say no we say that the thug has boright no night right here to practice ills his faith we say the suttee could not be established in this country why not you believe belleve it is right under some circumstances for a man to have more wives than one and that thos who thus believe are protected by the constitution in the practice of their religion why should not those who believe it right to strangle or to burn widows have the right to practice their religion under the constitution of the united states the dividing line is very simple as truth generally is it Is very easy to be drawn it la is to be drawn in consonance with the spirit ot of the declaration of inde independence p indence and with the principle principles ples pies st that hat under underlie our government in the declaration of independence it is laid down that there are certain rights that cannot be alienated that are arc natural t that are inherent that are not I 1 parted imparted ni by governments they do not b belong clong to politics polities but hut they are inherent in n the individual the right to life the righetto right to liberty the right to property proper property tJ and add the right to the pursuit of happ happiness these anese rights are inalienable they belong to every individual they are arc not conferred bylaw by law they belong to us they are born in us they belong to every person who breathes the breath of ever aver ia life ilfe e then an act of any individual or any government which infringes upon these natural rights Is wrong in and of itself if any ant individual interferes with the rights of his ills fellow follow men he may be restrained by the secular law the right to life and to libert yand to the pursuit of happiness and to property belon belong to all individuals alike one body of people professing one faith must not interfere Inte fere with the rights of any other body of people professing professing essing another faith the ehe latter day ay saints sainta as well as the latter day sinners the methodist as well as the catholic the jew as well as the gentile all people alike in this great country must be protected equal equally in these lUn iun natural rights which belong ion lon to them here then is where the line must be drawn anything that persons profess to do under the name of religion which interferes with the rights of others Is and the secular law may step in and protect the citizens and restrain or punish those people who attempt to do this under the plea piea of religion if I 1 do an anything thing which interferes with the ine ille lite the liberty the happiness or the property of my neighbor the law has a right night to step in and protect my neighbor and restrain me but if my religion that which I 1 bv believe to be true and which I 1 try to carry out as a part of my faith does not interfere with human rights does not infringe in any degree upon the rights of my fellow man neither congress nor any other lawmaking law making power on the face of the earth has the right to interfere with me under the constitution of the country I 1 have a right to the exercise of my religion so long asi as it does not infringe upon the rights of other people there is where we draw the line and we think it it is the right place and we are nrc standing ing up not only for our own rights in this his respect but tor for the rights of all people upon face of this land As nas been said by brother caine this afternoon in passing certain enact enactments which infringe upon our reif reli religious 1 liberties the congress of llie idle the united states is doing something that will come back upon the very individuals who have been trying to establish this principle or to enaz enact t these laws Because we may be the society or body aimed at today to day and tomorrow to morrow another sect or party or body may max be aimed at by b y the same enactments enactment enact men t s which w fell are passed against us and perhaps will hold good in both directions it is a poor rule that only works one way it may be found convenient today to day to single out the mormons cormons Morn Mor mons ions because they are unpopular ular for special legislation but in a ittle lttie time some oth otin e r religious body in this country may inay llave have the same inimical legislation applied to them to bear down upon them with greater weight than it does docs upon us you cannot violate a principle of truth without receiving agy very bad consequences those who a tempt attempt 1 to do ilo that will be sure to reap the fruit of their labors at sometime some time or other and ami when the congress of the knittl Uni states commences to move away the foundation stones of the system ys tell teli that tile tiie fathers of this nation built up I 1 iliev hev are working oil on very dangl dangerous erous gl I 1 and the consequences thereof will not liot be confined to the few people against whom thase these measures are arc made it is I 1 the duty of every patriot of every man who loves his coun country and of every woman who loves her country to do their part in preventing th the e passage of such enactments as these and in vindicating vl adl the principles and doctrines which enter into the coustie constitution ution of our beloved col coi latry otry so we are standing up not pur own rights but for the r rights ilits of others and this Is on one ot the duties d es enjoined upon us by our heavenly father we have been brought f from rom the various parts of the earth into these mountain valleys that we may establish a system of religion which has been revealed e from heaven which chour choun our heavenly cleav i celily ather eather Jh has committed to us we have not taken this religion from any odthe sacred books bloks that are in existence we w haye have not concocted this s system from the bible bibie or from any I 1 other rellious religious work butet but it has been revealed repealed to us us in oui our own day and time god has broken the silence of ages aged thai same god that spoke to the prophets of old whose record we have in the old testament and who sent ills his son jesus christ in the meridian of time to die for the sins of the world that thab same god that inspired the apostles of jesus christ in their great reat neat works has himself spoken from beaven heaven in our own day and angels have come down from the courts of glory with a message of life and salvation for the inhabitants of the earth this church this system this organization to which we belong has not been set up by the wisdom of man moan but has been set up by the power rower of god by the command of the almighty and has been sustained by him up to the present time all the efforts which are made to break it down will only tend to build it up every law the united statesman Stat states esmay may pass with the intent to disintegrate this work to divide the people to crush the power that exists in in the midst of the latter day saints will only tend to consolidate the people peoble to bind them closer together to make make their faith falth more in intense their convictions more certain and to make their determination more persistent that will be the effect god is work in ing with this people and has worked with wath them from the be beginning inning and this as we have heard this wis afternoon is not a mere amere matter of faith we have seen so many proofs of an overruling over rulin ruling power and manifestations of special providence as a people and as individuals in answer to our prayers that we know that God livi lives ilves that nt god answers prayer that god almighty is with the latter day saints while they keep ills his commandments and do ills his will and that ile he will overrule over rule for good all the evil which is intended against us this work is established for the purpose of bringing about ills his designs in regard to this earth u upon which we live the earth is the lorty lords s and thel ther the ulness thereof the cattle on ona a tho thousand usand hills are ills his the silver and the gold belong to him and the life of a all ali 11 mankind mankina is in ills his hands ile he Is lord over all blessed forever and it is ills his right r to rule and regulate and control all things on the face of this globe jesus christ ills beloved son has been nere here ile he dwelt on the earth for a time and performed r 0 in dt the h c work allotted to him fy by which T he e obtained all power and sits ts at the ri right hand of the father and the time is coming when ile he will stand on the earth establish his government and dominion extending it if irom from pole to pole and from shore to shore and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our god and his christ not in some figurative mystical spiritual sense but really and truly as a matter of fact the savior as foretold by the prophets came me upon the earel carfi literally and truly ile lle was hung upon the cross and ills his spirit left lef t his lils body he was laid in the tomb but ile he was raised again from the dead not in a spiritual sense or some mythical cical sense but really and trul truly 11 his 9 body was raise raised d from the deas dead in that body he appeared to ills his disciples and went up from their gaze saying that in like manner he would would descend again and his promises are that when he shall come the second time it shall not be as the babe of bethlehem |