St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1869-07-30
Brigham Young Speaks.
THE MANY WIVES PROBLEM.


would like to ask the sisters question
: upon another subject cntirely,-that sub
Ject they are are always thinking about,
namely, plurality OF wives | have
thought thousand times | would ask
the female portion of our community
whether, if it were left to their option,
they would retain the practice OF this
principle IN our midst, or whether they
would have it obliteratcd. | want to
tell them Il little about it,-namely, il is
Il principle that always has existed and
that always will. Have we any reason
10 assign for this There are MANY that
might be given. 1t from the days of
Adam until now every man that has liv-
cd on the earth had been righteous man
he would have fulfilled the first com
mandmcnt, and have got him a wife and
have done his part toward replcnishing
the earth, and subduing and making ii
like the 9orden Of Eden and he would
have planted the standard of righteousness
IN his lIabtatiOn. If this hal been the
case, the millions that have been killed
IN battle could have taken the tair daunII-
Iers of Eve TO wife. But men have not
been righteous they have been lust
about as they are now. They are the
lords OF the world, and they will do evil
and gratity the lu>ts of the tc>h, and
they will not serve God. But provided
Il had been otherwise. We would not have
had the wars that have been, and all the
fine young men that have died throu5h
! them might have had families. and there
would not have been much reason for
any man TO have had more than one wife
Another argumcn; used bv men and
women against plurality of wives is that
there are about us many men a. there
are women. suppose that to he 80. Ac-
knowledge that proposition 10 hr true.
and >ay that there are no more women
than men and rhat every man should have
L wife. What of it Men will not b,.
righteous, and women are left to desola
ton and destruction. Read the statistics
ui such matters III our eastern cities In
New lurk. for instance, from eleven to
fourteen Thousand Young women. from
sixteen 10 twcnty-one years oi age, perish
annually in the cutters, on the sidewalks.
on door-stepS or i'll the novels around.
lnIs l. no WOTSc than II Is in other place,
where prostitution prevails. Nany would
ike 10 prostitute the women OF Utah but
pray they may never he able To do il.
80 i;Ir aS the mere number OF wives i
concerned. | do not care whether | have
one, a dozen or forty. \ grcat many
ask me how many wives have, but to
tell the honest truth | never thought
enough about 1t to stop and think. But
| will get up the facts in the case and
tell everybody 50 that they may stop ask
lng Inc tHese questions. suppose l have
a dozen or fifteen that | am taking care
OF, perhaps 4 few more, | do not know.
and | care nothing about it, try to do
rood and try to save the people, and say
do not let lady come to destruction 1t
l. grievouS 10 me to think that, right in
this city, there should he any necessity
for ladies to marry wicked men. which
they would not do. if the .'Mormon' ell
ders would do their duty 1t looks a~ if
our Young men are indoIcnt and slothtnl
and do not understand the principles of
life. As an excuse however, they will
say, "My dear friend and brother Brig
ham, cannot get married why, If |
get me 4 wife she wants 4 carriaue TO
ride in, 4 hired glrl to wait upon her.
and piano i'll the parlor to thump upon
when She pleaSes, and | cannot sustain
it," | am sorry to say there is too much
truth in this. Now, you young women.
tell the young men you will work and
help them TO live tell them 50 that they
may marry you. There are 4 great
many single men in our midst who ought
10 have wives, and Il great many young
women who ought TO have husbands.
There is 4 radical wrong somewhere.
Now, sisters, what shall we do! Shall
we take more wives than one, or shall
we not If we do not, it will not help
the case with those who do not take any
they will not get any because we have
only one; and we should see hundreds
and thousands of our females with no
home, nobody to protect them. nobody
that they can call husband and they
would wander off. Shall we do this or
not If the men will be righteous all
will be right.
FAIR PROPOSITION
They have said great deal in Wash
ngton with regard to our having more
wives than one. | have said in public.
lnd have written, that if they will cease
their whoredoms, and each one get a
wife and he true TO her and strictly virtu-
ous, and then will cause the nation to take ,
the same course, we will submit to their t
wishes and will have but one wife I
lere is a bargain, If you will have no I
more than one woman we will not. c
But the thing is hcre,-tlIey want wom- 1
an but no wives. We take many wom- /
IN but we make wives and mothers of :;
hem and they are not cast off and their !
children have the privilege Of bearing
the names of the fathers instead of being ,
cast oft. AS l saw an advertisement not f
ong since OF young man, hailing FROM .
-he West, who claimed to be a son of a
certain gentleman in Congress, but the ,
Gentleman advertised that he had no son
1f that name in the West No, he cast
him Oft, rejected and refused to own him. ,
say God will damn the man ard the ,
nation that will act so ; God will damn |
The nation in which women, with no arm ,
to shield and protect them, are seduced
and left to mourn over their lost, fallen t
and degraded condition. God bless you. i
Amen, Il