Show THE CASES ASES AT OGEN I 1 SNOWS 70 TO THE COURT THE SENTENCES the readers of the news have already been informed by our saturdays Saturday ls issue of the result res alt of bf the proceedings ill the unlawful ull cohabitation cases before the first district court at ogden on saturday the dinst mr jas H nelson was first called and upon being asked whether belied be had anything in to wy say in a speech of some length eap th during the delivery of which he was several times interrupted by itha the court he 11 e declared it his herh firm conviction thet that the revelation enjoining plural marriage was a divine command and before he be would abandon any principle of his re livion he would prefer to be taken out and shot he felt felc that he had but few years to live and was desirous of spending that time inthe in the service of god judge powers then proceeded to p pass ass sentence as follows r mr nelson there is one matter that commends you to the court and that is the fact that mat you came into the court here and plead guilty you did not see fit at to put family u upon on the witness stand to have them evade any questions or to do anything to screen you on YOU ou state here that you believe thal that what you on have been doing was right ight x it is r ise a mistaken staken belief however it see seems ms to meto me to be more corb to your credit than the course that has been pursued by some who are it higher her in authority than yourself of eve evading auk the law and n d evading ing the consequences of that th t which you say sal you believe is right and which they nave preached is right I 1 have sometimes thought when I have reflected upon this matter that it would ha hae e been a peculiar state of al a airs for the prop prophets liet of old to have b ave been aidini biding from the consequences consequence of their religion on therefore I 1 say your manly stand in that regard bommen commends you somewhat some what to the court you have via informed the court upon statement you have made here and that is that mormonism means Joly polygamy gamy I 1 I 1 have listened to witnesses from the wit witness ess stand d and I 1 have heard from those testifying test f ing in behalf of people high in the mormon church that they had not been violating the laws of their coun country they tied had not be been living v in unlawful cohabitation if what at apu state is billit right they have not been gen livion their re religion igdon and consequently beut cannot be good member of the mormon ormon church you inform me that you have been doln doing so now then if this is the mormon religion igen then mormonism is disloyal A man cannot be a good citizen and violate laws of his bis country the law I 1 believe to be a lust just law it certainly is a constitutional law because it has been so determined I 1 take it that there is i 1 no reason for me to ask you vou whether you propose to obey that law because you tell me in advance that you do not you tell me that ahat you have not obeyed it you give TOO no indication that you on would promise to obey it in the future or advise others to obey it that being so the duty of the court bourt is very plain I 1 lam am here without regard for persons without regard to religion without regard to politics to so far as I 1 can and so far as I 1 know the law execute the lawi law fairly impartially and justly I 1 in a dav way and ana manner that when it the con court gives a punishment that it shall nt be a punishment to the offender that will give div him an opportunity ty to reflect give div him an opportunity to reform that it shall be an example to the pe people 0 le this people do need an example they my do need 0 be educated into the idea that there is a government in 14 this land that that government is the united states that this territory is a part apart of it thattie that the laws of the united states must be respected that loyalty to the government should be the aim of all citizens the sentence of the court in your cue case is that you be confined in the penitentiary for the period of six months r that you pay a fine of and I 1 the costs of this prosecution and that you stand committed until the fine and costs are paid apostle lorenzo snows case came up next his attorney F S Ri richards charas made a few remarks setting forth the general good character and reputation of the defendant le and requested that apostle A ostle snows snow ape age and the fact that bel be had bad been convicted on three separate indictments betaken betoken into consideration judge powers then said Mr snow you may stand up in indictment no mr snow you were indicted by the grand jury of this district aud and charged with the crime of unlawful cohabitation during the year 1881 1884 in indictment no you yon were charged with the crime of cohabitation daring darl the year 1885 and in indictment no 12 14 tiou you on were charged with cohabitation during the year 1883 you have been tried by a jury jary in bachof each of these cases and in each case a verdict of guilty has been found have you anything to say now why the sentence of the law should not now be passed in each case mr snow I 1 will say your honor that I 1 will not detain the court more than five or ten minutes and will be as brief as possible brother snow then them read the following your honor I 1 wish to address this his court and es specially pec lally ally without giving offense during my trials under unde three bree indictments the court has mani manifested courtesy and patience and I 1 trust your honor has bas still a liberal supply from which your prisoner at the bar indulges the hope that urther further f exercise of those happy qualities may be anticipated in the first place the court will please allow me to express my thanks and gratitude to my learned attorneys tor for their able and zealous efforts in conducting my mv defense in reference to the prosecuting at torney mr Bler bierbower bower I 1 pardon him for Ms his ungenerous expressions his apparent false coloring and seeming abuse the entire lack of evidence in the case against me on which to argue made that line of speech alternative in which to display his eloquence yet in all ali his bis endeavors lie he failed to cast more obloquy on oa me than was heaped upon our savior I 1 I 1 stand in the presence of this court a loyal freeborn free born american citizen now as ever a true advocate of uce tice and ana Jio erty land of the tree free the honie home of the brave has been the pride of uy youth and the boast of m my T riper years when abroad in foreign fore 1 lauds lands laboring in the interest ot humanity I 1 have pointed proudly to 10 the land of my birth as an asylum for the oppressed I 1 have ever felt to honor the laws and institutions of my country and during the progress ro gress of my trials whatever evidence has been has shown my y innocence i inocence cence but lile ancient apostles when arraigned in pagan pa an courts and in the presence of apostate hebrew judges though innocent the they were pronounced guilty so ni myself sell an apostle who bears witness by virtue of his calling and the revelations of god abd that J jesus esus lives that he is the son of god though guiltless oi of crime here herein in a christian court I 1 have been convicted through the prejudice and popular sentiment of a so tian nation 1 la in ancient anchen times the jewish n nation and roman empire stood versus v the apostles now under an apostate christianity the united states of america stands versus apostle lorenzo snow as frequent reference has i been made to my mv apostleship by the prosecution it becomes roper proper for me to explain some essential qualifications of on an apostle first an apostle must possess a divine knowledge by revelation from god that jesus lives that he is if the son ron of the living god Second secondly lyke he must be divinely authorized zed to promise the holy ghost a divine principle that reveals the laings of god gd making known his hia will ariu purposes leading into all truth 2 and showing things to come as declared by the savior thirdly ThIr div he is commissioned by bv the power to administer the sacred ordinances lot ot the gospel which are confirmed to each individual by a divine testimony thousands of people now dwelling in these mountain vales who received these ordinances through my administrations are living witnesses nesses of the truth of this statement As an apostle I 1 have visited many nations and kingdoms bearing this testimony wall to all classes of people to men in the highest official ofil cial stations among whom may be mentioned a president of the french republic I 1 have also presented works embracing our faith and doctrine to queen victoria and the late prince albert of england angland respecting oe die doctrine of plural or celestial cele atIQ marriage to which the prosecution so io of often tp referred it was revealed to tome me kyd afterwards in 1848 fully explained to me by joseph smith mith the prophet I 1 married my wives because god commanded it the ilie ceremony which united us for time and eternity was tt ernil performed by a servant 0 of god having avin authority god being my helper I 1 I 1 would prefer to dio di a thousand deaths than thau renounce my wives ond and violate these sacred obligations the prosecuting attorney At was quite mistaken in saying the defendant mr snow was the most scholarly and brightest light of the apostles Apostle sill and equally wrong when pleading with w th the jury ivy to assist him and the united tates states of america in convicting apostle sao snow and he would predict that a new revelation would soon follow changing the divine law of celestial marriage whatever fame mr bierbower may have secured as a lawyer he certainly will fan fail as a prophet the severest prosecutions have never been followed by revelations changing a divine law obedience to which brought imprisonment or martyrdom though I 1 go to prison god will not change his law of celestial marriage but the man the people the nation that oppose and tight fight against this doctrine and the church of god gadwill will be overthrown though the presidency of the church and the twelve apostles should suffer martyrdom there will remain over seventies all apostles of the fion of god and were these to be slain there still would remain many thousands of high priests and as many or more elders all possessing the same authority to gospel ordinances I 1 in conclusion I 1 solemnly testify in the name of jesus the so called 41 stormon church is the church of the living god established on the rock of revelation which the gates of hell cannot prevail Than ping your honor for your indulgence n dul gence I 1 am now ready to receive my sentence at the close of the reading the court said mr snow the court desires to ask you foj its own information what course you propose to pursue in the future concerning the laws of your country I 1 mr know your honor in regard to that question I 1 came into this court r the prosecuting attorney bad perhaps 16 witnesses by the evidence of those witnesses I 1 was proved guiltless ot ol the charge contained in the indictments I 1 had three witnesses only two of them were able to testify anything in relation to my case there was not your yourl Honor one scintilla of evidence showing abbo wing that I 1 had cohabited during the last three yeats years or since the pa passage asage odthe of the edmunds law with more than onn woman this your honor I 1 belleve would readily eon con cede well I 1 have obeyed that la law w I 1 have obeyed the edmunds law your honor I 1 am guiltless I 1 am innocent well pow now your honor asked me what I 1 the future having been condemned here and found guilty after having obeyed that law I 1 am sorry I 1 regret th that atour our honor should ask me that question arid add if your honor please I 1 should d prefer not to answer it court the court mr snow from itt its own knowledge of you and from your reputation w which aich came to the court before you ever were arraigned here bed became line and is aware that you are a man of more than ordinary ability the court is aware that you are a scho scholar ar the court is aware that you are naturally a leader of men that you have a maud well adapted to controlling troll ipg others and jor for influencing and swaying others and for guiding others no mat matter t er in what what land you might have lived or in what position you might have been op jp laced you have those attributes which would naturally have caused people to turn towards y you ou for advice and tor for counsel you yon are a man well advanced in years and you have been favored by time because it seems to have touched lightly with its finger the court feels that in view of your tour past life of the teachings that you vou have given to people of the advice and counsel that you mus given believing as you state tome to me you yo ado do believe concerning the laws of your country and recognizing further that you are among the very leaders a leader of leaders among those woo who advocate that itis it is right that the law of the land should be violated it cannot exercise the leniency and the mercy that it would be glad to to extend to a man of your age aee if it we were ka not for your great influence and your our great power for good or for evil I 1 sincerely believe that lorinzo lorenzo snow could cause this people to laws of the union and put an end to the tee trouble and discord in id this territory if he chose so to do believing that and being fully aware that zu you will not do that aware that t you desire to stand as an example of one who advocates and the jury has found also practices in violation of the law the court must I 1 pass sentence in these cases in a way and manner t that will indicate to this people that t the he laws of the land cannot be violated I 1 with impunity even by onto one as aged aed as learned and as influential as yourself i th The sentence of the court therefore is that in indictment W no you will ll 11 be confined arf the penitentiary for the period of six months that you pay a fine of and the costs of prosecution and that you stand committed until the fine and costs are paid and that at the expiration of your sentence in that case that in indictment no you will be confined in the penitentiary of utah for the t he perio dof six months and pay a fine of and the costs of prosecution and that you stand committed until the fine and costs arevald and that at the expiration pi atlon ration of your our sentence in that case that aln in indictment no you will be confined in the penitentiary for the period of six months and that you yon pay a fine of and the he costs of prosecution and that you stand committed until theline the fine and costs cost are paid you will be remanded into the custody of the united states marshal on oil application of his attorney apostle snow was admitted to bail in the sum of pending an appeal to the supreme court |