The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-10-08

ralitv fonrishes in its presence and
| thriTeS under tie very eyes of its a0~
ADMINISTRATORS. Ali forms of vice, if not
/ directly encouraged by those who are
charged with the duty or administering
tine Edmunds law, are at least viewed
nv them with indifference. Ihey ap-
near to nave no care as to the most
! 3agrant sexual crimes, if they are only
committed by non" MormOnS, "Or out
side of the pale OF matrinOny. Nor
MONS also, under the present admin
/ istration of the law, may do what tAty
please with EOmen, be guilty OF the
I f0ulest injustice TO them and their on
spring, if they will only disOWn them
as wives The war IS openly ana IN
( disguisedIy made upon our religion.
To induce men TO repudl2te JnaU, 60
violate its preceptS and 10 oreaA us
4 solemn covenants, every ehcouIdSe
ment is given. The man VINO agrees 70
discard his wife or wives, and 10 UIaIn-
ME uDOn the most sacred obligations
which human beings can enter INTO,
escapes Imprisonment and IS ap-
plauded; while the man who Will not
! make this CONTACT OF dlShOnor, VINO
VIII not admit that his past lie mas
! been fraud and q lie, who VIII nor
say to the world, Il intended to de-
ceive nv God, my brethren ana my
wives BY making covenants l ala not
expect to keep" is, besides being pun
lShed to the full extent OF the iaN'
compelled to endure the reproacneSi
| tauntS and insults of brutal Judge.
Notwithstanding all these crueielcS
are practiced against US, we 40 not Ieei
that, as Latter-day Saints, we silOuiG
mourn because OF them. w snoulu
mourn because of our weaknesses,
a1 nd 81 III.
| But to be prosecuted, to be d1Scrlmln-
ated against, 10 be separated from the
rest of the world, to be imprisoned ana
abused are not causes OF sorrow 10 true
Saints: they are causes OF rejoicing.
| If. in the great hereafter, we expect TO
be admitted to the society OF the Son OF
God, our Redeemer, to the society
of Prophets and Apostles, ana molly
men and women, ought we not 10
be willing to endure the urloua
tiUns which they recelVe9 SO Joy
! fully? Where Is the Prophet or
Apostle who did not endure perSecu-
ton, whose liberty ana Ire were noG ia IN
almost constant jeopardy! Ihey uId
not have an EdmundS law, perhaps,
enforced against them; but they had
| laws which emanated from the same
source. With few exceptions they
| were all punished, deprived OF liberty
and of life, in the sacred name OF law;
Even the hottest Being that ever trOd.
the earth, the great Redeemer OF man,
kind himself, was crucitied between
two thieves to satisfy Jewish law.
There has probably never been time
in the history Of mankind When IhoSe
whom we now revere as martyrs anu
whose sacrifices adOrn and glorlIy our
humanity and lift 1t nearer 10 goa,
could not, by being recreant TO the
truth entrusted to them, have escaped
the fate which made them so admirable
to the generations which followed
them. The Savior himself had 1t IN his
power to compromise with his enemies
and escape the cruel and ignomlnlOuS
death inflicted upon him. Abraham
might have bowed TO the gods OF MS
idOlatrOuS father and needed no anger
to rescue MIN from his impending
doom. Daniel and his three brethren,
also, might have submitted to the de-
cree and law of the ruling powers IN
der which they lived and escaped the
fiery furnace and the den OF lions:
Their refusals to obey the decree ana
law doubtless appeared to those VINO
had not the knowledge OF God Which
they possessed, as acts OF wicked OBJ
stinancy that should be summary
punished. But had they, to escape the
threatened penalty, obeyed these edlctS,
posterity would have lost the beneht
of their example, and the great COO
would not have been glOrlhed before
their contemporaries as de was Oy
their acts. Instead of their names be-
ing. as now, radiant with light and re-
splendent with heroism, they would,
had they reached US, been covered with
odium and been mentioned IN the same
category with the Jews concerning
whom the Prophet jeremiah said
"They bend their tongues like theE
bow for lies ;but they are not gallant for
the truth upon the earth; for they pro-
coed from evil to evil, and they know
not me, saith the Lord" 1
Wen-meaning friends of ours have
said that our refusal to renounce the
principle of celestial marriage invites
destruction. They warn us and i'm
plore US to yield. They appeal to every
human interest and adjure US to bow to
q Law, which is admitted on all hands TO
have been framed expressly for the de-
StructiOn of the principle which we are
called upon to reject. They say it is
madness to resist the viii of so over
Whelming majority. They Say they
see the gathering clouds, that they hear
the premonitOry mutterings of the re-
SlSLl66S b6mpSSb NUtCu Is dDOuI W
break in destructive fury upon our
heads, and they call upon us to avert
its wrath by timely submission. But
they perceive not the hand of that
Being who controls all storms, whose
voice the tempest obeyS, at whose tiat
thrones and empires are thrown down
the Almighty God, Lord of heaven
and earth, who has made promises to
US and who has never failed to fulfil all
His words.
We did not reveal celestial marriage.
We cannot Withdraw or renOunce it.
God revealed it, and He has promised
to MAINTAIN it and to bless those who
obey it. Whatever fate, then, may
threaten US, there is but one course
for men of God to take, that is, to keep
inYiolate the holy covenants they have
made in the presence OF God and an
gels. For the remainder, whether it |
be life or death, freedom or imprison- /
ment, prosperity or adversely, we must |
trust IN God. We may say, however,
if any man or woman expects to enter |
into the celestial kingdom of our God |
without making sacrifices and without /
being tested to the very uttermost, they |
have not understood the Gospel Ii there |
is q weak spot in our nature, or if there !
is fibre that can be made to CULVER or
to shrink, we may rest assured that it /
viii be tested. Our own weaknesses /