| Show PRESIDENT WOODRUFF SPEAKS following is the full text of the Oate statements ments made by president wilford woodruff to an associated press reporter and as published in the eastern press HALT LAKE CITY nov president wilford woodruff of the mormon churchin the course of an interview today expressed the following views concerning the investigation now taking place in the third district court arising from the application of a mormon for naturalization president wilford woodruff said you must understand that this is tile the periodical anti mormon monnon sensation which we are accustomed to expect hect in november congress meets in december and it is presumed that the usual efforts will be made to secure legislation against the mormons cormons Mor mons of course this cannot be accomplished unless the bublic public mind is first pre prepared red for it in 11 addition to this I 1 afa might g h t explain we are on the eve of an important municipal election here in which the anti mormon party by the naturalization of mor MODS and in other improper ways ope to be successful II deporter bporter but President Woodruff W hat cannou say as to the claim made before afore the court that membership in the TO mormon church is incompatible with good citizenship I 1 can truthfully say there is absolutely nothing in the mormon 11 religion that is not consistent with the most patriotic devotion to the government of the united states the revelations and commandments to the church require that the constitution and laws of the land shall be upheld it is also a part of our belief that a time will come when this country will be distracted by departures from the spirit and letter of the Constitution and when general lawlessness will prevail and that when that condition shall arrive the mormon people will step forward and take an active part in rescuing the nation from ruin As a people the mormons cormons Mor mons have the highest veneration for the institutions of the republic there are among our community quite a number of descendents of the revolutionary fathers who fought and bled to esti establish blish our popular government reporter but mr woodruff to be specific what about the claim that the priesthood or chief authorities of the church assert or usurp the right to control the mormon people in all their temporal including political affairs president woodruff I 1 am tile the present head of the church and I 1 do not dot make any such claim it would be impossible to exercise it if I 1 did the mormon people would not tolerate any such is true the authorities of the church have taken a great deal of interest in the temporal affairs of ef the people and the results are apparent everywhere one is that the great majority of the mormons cormons Mor mons own their own homes the leading men among them have been mostly men of experience accustomed to wrestle with the crude elements their advice and direction to the people in temporal affairs have therefore been of great value about political matters the charge of undue interference is absurd elections are conducted under a strictly secret ballot system so that no man knows how his neighbor votes all the management of elections down to the smallest details is in the hands of the officers of the united states government and their appointees true the cormons mormons Mor Morn mons ions are to a considerable degree united in their political th thu I 1 is largely due to their being constantly and vindictively assailed by a small minority in utah who have sought to wrest the control of public affairs from the hands of the majority they have thus been driven daive n together by a common interest and compelled to distinguish their friends from their enemies reporter one of the alms of the proceedings now going on in court is is to prove that there is something antagonistic to the government in the mormon 11 endowments what about that charge president woodruff I 1 have already said that there is nothing of k that k kind I 1 nd in any part or phase ot of mormonism I 1 ought to know about that as I 1 am one of the oldest members of the church A good deal is being made of a form of prayer based upon two verses in the sixth chapter of the revelations of st john as contained in the new testament it relates to praying that god might aven avenge the blood of the prophets pr opher an attempt has I 1 see been made to connect this with avenging the death of joseph and hyrum smith and to have reference referee ce to this nation it can have no such application as the endowments were given long before the death of joseph and and hyrum smith and have not been changed this nation or government has never been eba charged ra ed by the mormon people with the assassination sassi nation of joseph and hyrum smith as it is well known the murder was the act of a local mob disguised reporter then there is nothing in the cry about blood atonement president woodruff well there is this the foundation of our religious faith is belief in the stoning atoning blood of christ through which the resurrection will be brought about we believe in the scriptural doctrine whoso choso sh eddeth tb mans mana blood by man shall his blood be shed but we also believe that all executions for murder should be under the law of the land and by its officers only reporter what about the statements 5 made by two or three apostate mor mormon on witnesses to the effect that the endowment ceremonies involved the death penalty upon those who leave the church and disobey the priesthood 0 president woodruff well there P is no accounting for the bitterness f and of some men who have been connected with an organization especially a religious t one and have turned against it all their former sweetness turns to ano and gall the catholic and other churches have had much to contend with in that line if it were not a serious subject the position of such men would be amusing it is so 80 ct ridiculous after they have been 1 fighter the burai chura for from fifteen to twenty five years they are living f witnesses to the falsity of their own statements the investigation in progress shows that no such penalty has ever been inflicted many ex cormons mormons Mor Hor mons mODS are too honorable to make such horrible and ed absei eions it is gunj unjust apt to judge a church from the statements of its relentless enemies reporter why do mormons cormons Mor mons when on the stand decline to disclose the formula of the endow ments mente f president woodruff because se cret religious rites and ceremonies are the property of the individual citizen and and do not belong to the state you might as well ask why a mason if he were placed on the witness stand should refuse to reveal the rites and signs of that order I 1 myself am a master mason and have been informed arf that many masons as well as people not connected with that fraternity have been indignant at the attempt that has been made daring the last f few days to extort secret personal information from cormons mormons Mor Mori mons i members of other benevolent societies can see that their rights and organizations would be in carry while mormons cormons have refused to divulge the rites to the court they have uniformly sworn that there is nothing in the endowment ceremonies inconsistent with good abod citizenship several prominent ex mor mons testified to the same effect reporter what is the che exciting cause of the present agitation here president woodruff As I 1 before stated it is purely political there are two local parties the peoples party is composed largely of our people although a number of non mormons cormons sympathise with it the self styled liberal party is composed almost entirely of anti mormons cormons Mor mons and they are but a small minority in the territory there will be a municipal election next february the present proceedings ce have been instituted by the anti mormons cormons as a means to enable them to carry that election A man named moore a mormon ap plied bed 1 1 to the court for naturalization 9 some 0 me of the anti mormon whips objected on the ground of his membership be re in the church hence the alleged alleg ahng investigation conducted by prominent antt anti cormons mormons and designed to obstruct if not prevent the naturalization natural of mormons cormons on account of their religion doubtless the agitators have also in view the approaching session of congress if they intend applying for more special legislation they are gathering a mass of anti mormon sensational material to aid them in their proposed work |
