Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-02-04
GEORGE q. CANNON ON THE NOR
MON SITUATION.

mon bishop to seek to influence his people
than for a minister here to attempt to coerc'
| Congress. The agitation against the Nor
mons increases their attachment to their re
ligion, and is evidence of its divinity, fol
Christ says: ali We were oil the world the
world would love you" If measures tC
suppress Mormonism are adopted, its dis
ciples will quietly submit, far as any
actual organized resistance is concerned. Oh
course they will protest and remon-
strate but as to their making any
| armed resistance the idea is absurd. They
| are not in a position to make such resistance
successful and they would rot attempt it.
| They realize that in the end they would be
broken up and destroyed, and therefore they
would submit without a struggle. Unless
driven away they will not leave Utah. They
cannot leave. All their property, all their
interests are there, and there they must re-
main. All this excitement is oVerrated
| Utah is prosperous quiet and out OF debt;
life is secure and property respected, and
the people are contented and prosPsrsus'
There is an impression that large portion
of the Mormons in Utah are Foreigners but
there are more New England people in pro-
portion to the population than in any other
community outside of New England. The
1.-THE money goes for building temples, indi-
viduals hold their own property in their own
names. Persecution has driven the Nor
mons into close union, as flock of sheep
huddle together when attacked. The Nor
mons venerate the constitution OF the
country, but the conduct OF many Of
the administrators of the law takes away
respect r~sAA'aaAa.--skzA,,s - --ert to
Salt Lake City it was in the Mexican terri
tory, and one of our first acts was to raise
the American flag. That does not look
much like disloyalty. And what is more,
we have always upheld and respected that
dag and always shall" 1t will be noticed
that nothing is said in this statement respect
ing polygamy, and the Book of Mormon dis
countenances it, also those Mormons who adj
here simply to Smith and the Book of Nor
mon bitterly denounce that crime, and call
for its repression by law. This distinction
the Utah Mormons cunningly evade, and
affect to believe that laws against the crime
OF having more wives than one Is persecu-
ton Of their religion. The leaders under
stand the distinction very we'll, but they
take care that their dupes shall be as igno-
rant on that point as they try to keep the
outside world deceived about it. In all
the controversy that is coming, it should be
carefully kept in mind that our
constitution and laws no more interfere
with Mormonism, as a form OF religion, than
with Judaism or Episcopalianism. When,
however, this religious liberty is made
shi.ld for immortality, and when the laws
are violated by the commission of criminal
acts, the offenders render themselves liable
to legal penalty. But is the law just in this,
40 that it is worthy of obedience? When law
is prostituted so az to rob a people of its
liberties, as in the case of Charles l of
England; when it is made an instrument of
fragrant immortality, as would
be a law to re-establish the inquisition and
the auto da te, or when it trenches on the
exercise of individual rights that in their
exercise injure no right of other individuals
such as the law which forbade the reading
Of the Bible in English, and that which de-
prived the Scotch of the right OF worship in
the forms of-their faith-then there is right
to refuse obedience, and also right to resist
ance; rights TO be exercised Justly according |
10 the circumstances of the case. In |
The case of the Mormons, they have |
an undoubted right to the exercise of |
heir religion, as such, but when they
BASS beyond to irreligious acts, to violations
# moral requirement, to invasion of each
yoman's right to have and hold, unshsred
W any other woman, her OWN husband, there
5 no right to disobey to resist. One right,
however, the Polygamists have, and that is
he right to appeal to public sentiment and
win it over to their own views if they can
tut when they do acts that are contrary to
moral obligation and that are an invasion
ipon the rights of others, they become GRIM
nal, and it is the duty of the government to
'unish them for violating the laws of Utah,
IS it Furnishes those who violate it in the
'arious States of the Union. The distinc-
ion between Mormonism as a religion and
he practice OF polygamy, should be clearly
understood and observed.