Show i 011 the jretJlIC quorum = d n h + h 1 rth reiperllnglhe absolute jiolliltnl lltrlt Ii and Individual rr > nntlMMty < > f the clll ten of Ilah And I believe that perlrct t freedom ol political relate uureilnlneH by frar of ecl tlatlcal punUhmeni essential under our repibllcan form of s government This principle U HI well tttabllthcil the Declaration of lid pendenee In the national constitution and In the conitltutron ol our tate that ta It needa no argument to i stain ll h Could I have accepted at a fact your It I statement I would have lIed myself the distress tint hat followed my course regarding the manlfetto ol October tloA which was generally coiildercd 1 Uh and It ttlll regarded ai the first nubile te and effective movement toward iccur irR nt log statehood In Utah w i Hut my vote was sincere and to It was a year later when the authorltlet and > Saints Ill the church In conference at temblcd pledged themselves at Individ uali and a > a people to this government that the members ol their cjiurch ihould be untrammeled In all civil concerns When It was declared that there was no foundation or eicuie lor the statement that church and state were united 1 In Utah or that the leaden ol the church T dictated the members In political mat ten and that whatever appearance ol church domination there might have been In the pail nothing ol I Hit kind = would be attempted In Lime future I sincerely believed lln these declirallont and the subsequent official declaration m of the authorllleiol the church on Ihli subject On the Sth day of March 1891 the first presidency of the church declared over their official signatures We have mi desire to Interfere In these political matters but proclaim that at far at we are concerned the members ol this church are entirely and perfectly Inc In all political mat IPL tars In a leading editorial the Deteret = Evening Newt reaffirmed thepoiltlon ol the authorlllet ai tilted In their public declarations and Added y The public I however I mutt not expect ex-pect that a leading church man shall become a political eunuch because ol lilt ecclesiastical petition lie It at much a citizen with all the powers and liberties of a cltlien at If he were a I layman or an Infidel And Ihe views expressed by the grit presidency Jin the celebrated = = Tines urea Interview mutt bear a portion ol the qUII rciponilblllty lor the tentlmentt 10 thoroughly grounded In me I call your attention to the following extracts from If t the answers carefully prepared by them Does the church claim the right to I 1 r f ll dictate to III members In political I mat teriJThe II = The church does not claim any tacit rill 101That That being true are we to understand under-stand that the church vrlll not inert any I rlgnt to control thepolitical action of I s membert In the futuWP I That U what we wish to convey and have you understand At officers of the I church we dliclalm the right to control the political action of the nieinbcri ol our body I Uo you believe that It ll the wish ol I Lilt the Mormon people to unite with the 1 a = great national parties and to conduct it tCo t politic In this territory at they are conducted In all other stales a imo That It I the Imprettlon we have received eaa1t re-ceived from convertatlon with the men uat among ut who take the greatest In e N treat In political I I I milieu utrml It there any reason why the memo Ins n m bert of the church should not act freely urpn with the national partly at All times t llao I We know ol no reason why they should not la there any foundation for the charge Ida that lie Mormon leaden are now engaged torus hler en-gaged In a political conspiracy to secure political power lor the church There la not the least ground lor any m such statement We arc not engaged In any conspiracy ol thlt character deprt The opponents ol party division on Iwona national lines declare that they want evidence ev-idence ol the ilnccilty ol the Mormon ROwrl people Tho TINe would ask I you to lake state whether the declaratloni ol ilncer tty on the part of thote leaden u ho have been before the public reflects tors your views and meet with your approval Von ap-proval anti s = Those declarations express our views I nntl and have our entire approval Whit greater evldece cm he asked than tint which hat already been given I It hat eat Ih t been asserted In addtlon that the people peo-ple were governed by the prlrtthood In al 1 ul 1 rs ins political matters Thlt ft now dliproved booker t by time dissolution 01 the peoples party and the union ol Hi numbers with the rrsldeus rside5 I two national I parties I What could ponl I t uhier bly be gained by theactlon of the peat pea-t pie II they were not sincere If the eta IIONE menu of sincerity were wanting such J I IJ fj a movement would result In entire demoralization de-moralization II I could hive looked upon theie CO grave and totenin declarations different y rtnH ly I might have been spared the pain I ON w and humiliation following my allure to sign what you lay hat always 1 been a doctrine of the church was not III I ask llama relnuance In documentary form wholly estnst f unnecessary You ask I sail rr r Why should Moses Thatcher atone v a ol ill the church authorities feel that JI he could not sign II ai he allege without JtJ with-out stultification Wat not that In II y mlu lao itself evidence llirt he was and had been tsttaiti out ol harmpny with hli brethren Andre And-re they not men at little disposed at CO any one living to itultlly themselves or I to anent to anything wrong that It ol vital Importance to them and to theo o dMlur saotbwl Tcher r R I rU s I 11 not sign II hit mI1 < < i I cauv I hsum norsed the others nrriln before quoted and because I could no reconcile this last one wlih those made tv Sale I leaden and teelrnla tlcit mrwrl ors between sign and the dale ol Uuhi admission Into the Union I mutt be permitted to suggest that my fellow member ol the quorum to which I once belonged can define bctcr than any one else their views of right and wrung and their Ideal of what conitl tales Iulllflcatlon Hut neverthe II Las like myself they are subject to hunan hu-nan weakness and human errors At itudenttof history each citizen mutt determine de-termine how long any people can prosper under the practice ol runic faith tecretly carried Into effect and openly avowed and executed The declaration of perfect political freedom to all the Saints are just ai binding today at they were before we obtained statehood and ll li the duty ol every citizen ol Utah to to regard them And now having shown by quota lions from unquettloned atilhoratlve sources why I could not without aloha ficatlon sign the polltlcil 1 minlleito I am hound In sand where counsel and conscience have placed 1 met 1 lor with other clllieni ol Utah IAn I bidden to attach myself to the party nl nay choice and then be true to that party While doing that I have conitanlly endeavored to show upon every proper occasion that respect and honor due my ecclesiastical superiors I had thought that there was room In Utah at elsewhere else-where lor a cltlien todo his hole duty to the state without Interfiling In the least degree with hit obligation to the church of which he might bea member Thee views respecting non union of church are those I have held and openly advocated lor more than a quarter ol a century Recent occurrences have In tentlfled rather than modified them and I nowcomprehcndbetter than herctofere the wisdom expressed that part of our constitution relating to the absolute separation of civil and religious matters while the stale li bound to protect the church In the fullest possible religious freedom the church mutt not attempt directly or el Indirectly I to dominate nlr civil political affairs At Lllerd Salnti we are doubly bound toake cognizance ol this Loyally Loy-ally to the government protecting ui J demands I III and the II law ol the Lord requires re-quires I quote Irom tectton 58 paragraph para-graph 2t page 119 look ol Doctrine and Covenant = = Let no man break the law oj the land for he that keepcth the laws ol God hath no need to break the laws I of the land Again from section 98 paragraph 4 to 9 Inclusive page 3111 And now varllv I say unto you II concerning laws I of the lam It U I my will that my people should observe to do all timings whatsoever I I command hemt 1 and that he law ol the Jnl It conitltutlonal I supporting that principle Ij rntII ol freedom nl In maintaining I rlghti and prlvlleirei belong to all mankind a nd is I justifiable l before me therefore I the Lord Juitlfy you a jd your brethcrn ol my church r In l belrlcndlni I I i that law I which lithe I conilllutlonal law I ol the and and ai pertaining to the law ol nan whatsoever It more or less than thete cometh ol evil I the Iord God make you free therefore are tou free Indeed r the l law also niaketh you free ncverlhcle when the wicked rule he people mourn There It no room hcielor comment It hold me In the lIken warp and wool ol llbert and love woven In the Al mtghtyi loom ol truth and justice ilantlng my feet upon that divinely inspired In-spired platform and laving upon Itt altar honor torture and If necessary life Hell I look anxiously but hopefully orward lothe day when petty Jealoui lloOllh f rllfo rl let envious hatred and mallcfout accusations accu-sations shall be deeply burled beneath mountain ol peace proiperlty and hap nVr plneit I resting permanently In Ulaii unori the wide toleration and good will ehr t dftO otter Inhabltanti toward all creeds and classes throughout the world Should live to wltneit one such du the beginning ol a series that ihoi Id not end the memory of palm nHIr lion lean and tight shall pan e r a dream the dawn of a new day Ulaht plonecri the aged and venerable I vener-able Ulahi brave sons and daughters deicrve auch a hippy eoniumtnatton And what It I there In human requirement require-ment or divine Injunction to prevent me from humbly trying to devote the remainder ol my days to the cause In II which I havctpcnt nearly forty yean It It true there are one 01 the takes In 7lon whose good people aa you state I hive never visited at their hornet Hut this equally true that nearly half I nmy time ilnce I hecame a member ol the church hit been spent upon mil ilont ol variant kinds During I a period nl In t years I crotied the line Into MexIco Mex-Ico lome nt rohr tlmct and fat quite a long I period my annual I travel covered Irom IJooo to 20000 mllei a year There arc I believe ionic ol the member ol the quorum to which I once had the honor ol belonging who have I never to my knowledge been on a mlt I Ion at all Hut I would not Infer from that that they have neglected Ihe duties o1 > I their calling At I have already staled I under stood the manlfeito at the time lt was handed rue for approval just ai I un demand It now While It oitcrilbly appeared not to restrict ths llberllei ol the peopleyet there vn no limitation toils application and In view ol the act that nearly every male member ol the church hold ionic office and at mere has at j ct been no public dcclilon announced ai to the officer to be controlled con-trolled by It there have arisen dlputei and difference ol opinion ai to Itt In lent This being true and the danger being that It could be applied to restrict the liberties ol the people I I cannot sustain rtlei thought then ai IIc think now that such a course would be a itultlficatlon I had never dreamed that a condition would arise In my life where I could not serve God fully and yet yield my complete allegiance to my IWtnr country and to my stale The spirit ol the manlfctto at ft appealed to me wIn w-In violent antagonlim to all I had believed and publicly proclaimed fur many year and I could not and 10 far lave not benn able to brine myiel to the point where I believe I should yield my political 1 Judgement to any set of nun hon III aerlrv their In earl n = The < Itl lu tk t n h ti in In I political affairs wssone that I could not alter Through my v ins ail 1 Into them for rnereilont hat been lfted a blond that cknowlrtl rl the inprrmacv of he pruplr only In civil affalri ll eaute ol hIs It was rev lor mr to undeflla and accept ih prlnclplrn ol Cirltt ai explained by our char h which ai I umietttand Ihem arcard the right of freedom and grant the tree agency ol mm before God and among mei And ll It becaute these rights are accorded 1 men under the gospel of Chrltt ai accepted ac-cepted by Latter day Saints That I have yielded obedience to the gospel have labored for ll and love It lor the labor I have given It This attertlon may not be accepted by you but such activity at I have Loan llc uelj in politics have cl licn caused by an anxiety anx-iety to preserve the reputation ol my file leaden when Ihev gave assurances of political honesty among the Saints for there were Inllmatloni and they are well known thai In I pledging polll i niI i f t f Ih t heal freedom lo the people ol Utah the aulhorltlei were Insincere In their declarations My unwllllngneii In take part In I democratic campaign In I face ol Ihe course ol my republican brethren was one ol the grounds on which It was reported thai the church aulhorlllei hid broken faith While I have loved democracy beciuie to mr Id name embodlei allot clt II liberty jet I did not want to lake in active part In poll tics became ol my poor health and became I did not deem It wise for one holding my poilllon In the church to betnme agnrvnlve In the dlvltlon movement Yet against my urn judgment I In defiance ol the de morals I ol r niv health and that It l might i not be old ot the tint presidency that their pledges were given to deceive I made same political ipuchei Ior the tame reaton having In mind the honor ol the people and the reputation ot tha church leaden and against my solemn rrolralI I contented that my name ihould he used ass senatorial candidate For thli act I was taken to task at a prletthood meeting When the manifesto was presented to me It appeared to my i leol J le m mind at a command op alt to recognize the tight of Ihe church authorlllet lo control political concern It meant 10 fir I at I was concerned a recantation ol the principles I had for years advocated a receding irons the ground I had occupied rJej F h dil r cupied during the dlvlilon end e-nd above all II nude me feel I that would be untrue lo myself I do not claim that I cannot be wrong but with the light have the nlanlleilo applied at Hi construction will allow or ai ll would be Interpreledby men whose pets tonal amblllont might control and tub vert their sense ol right could be open ated fo the Injury of the state = If ait hold the people have enough Intelligence Intelli-gence to deserve clllienihlp then they have tufficlent Intelligence lo become cqualnted with the rctpontlbllltlet ol m id W Itlienihlp and they have no more Ight to yield their Judgment In respect ot the exercise of the tranchlie than have any set ol men to attempt to con trot that Judgment Whatever the cost with the knowledge now guiding I me I mutt I itlll I stand where oil have stood for years My whole life and lu work contradict he charge that I should seek office on a platform antigonlttic to any church I should oppose ahy man who stoat upon inch a platform 1 did lay that If he voters ol the slate ol young Uul believed that I repreiented prlnclplei they diemed deserving recognition and was therefore tendered the United Slates tenatorihlp I would accept 1or he Information nl I those Interested II must he understood that I am a Dem ncral wllh all the word ilgnlflei At a Democrat I hold l It a duty for every cltlien to enjoy the prlvllegei conferred upon him by our government and that h given to no nun to no corporation and to no body of men to control Ihe cltlien In the exercise ot lilt franchise I believe In that Democracy which declares for equal and exact justice In ilcl i ci ln all with l special privileges to none I am for a Jefferionlan government In which to far at lent ai leglilatlon nakea to that end there thai be no extremely ex-tremely rich and no abjectly poor favor the principle ot an Income taxI tax-I am for the money of the conttltu lion ai Interpreted In the democratic platform adopted at Chicago this year lam fora tariff that will realize the amount necessary to conduct the government gov-ernment without running It Into debt In times 01 peAce hut that tariff must be levied and so odjustedlhat I burdens and Ie advantage all be borne and shared alike by all Iruluttrlei and by all parlt of our common country lam with the slate constitution In he declaration that there shall be an absolute leperatlon church and stale that the slate shall not control the church nor the church encroach on the prerogatives ot the Hate and to this end I have endorsed and still endorse the decaratlimi of the Democratic reconvened re-convened contention of a year ago I Invite neither the support nor the oppoilllon ol the church It has no concern In political Issues Thn members mem-bers ol rny former quorum have deemed te JI7n It expedient to deprive me of I my prlett 1 hood III dlicun their action It It at n church member Aa a citizen and a Democrat I concede their right to dlt clpllne me for any douse whatever Asa As-a member of the Democratic party ai a cltlien I deny their right or Oielr mien t lion to Interfere with I vor polltlci 1 the threat ot the Deierct News ai the church organ to the contrary notwlth landing In concluttloti deilre to lay that I do not complain ol the treatment accorded accord-ed me nor do I murmur at the humllla lion to which I have been tublicl Hut I cannot think the threatened excom munlratlon from the church at Intl mated In tome quarters can be terlouily entertained Am Ito be driven out of the church because ol lids inanlfcttof I shall try and live the religion ot our Savior I I want to live and die among my brethren and friends I desire to d m my duty to my church I wish my children to observe the prlnclplei the gospel that they too may deilre live die and be burled by the tide ol their father when they thai reach on the hlllilde a final place ol peace and rest With lentlmcnti ol esteem I am II heretofore your brother In the gospel Moses THATCHER |