The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-10
LANNON'S CONJUGALITY.
The Religion of MormOnism and of Po-
Iygamy as Defended by the Saints.
The Recently Convicted Apostle Defends
Plural Marriage-More Wives Than One
Necessary for Spiritual Exaltation.
.Erit,en Far the 1onrnal hr u p. punn. IL

Nave A proffer to nroye no sexual commerce was
ruled out Judge Zane held that living with three
represented TO the world as WIVES constitutes
ehe crime of cohabitaton.
So ran the telegram in the dailies, last week.
AS 1 read it vision rose before me of cool,
pleasant room in the courthouse at Salt Lake
City The windows were open, and the air was
laden with the fragrance of locust blossoms. The
day was very still; you could hear most plainly
the gurgle of the little aceGuia which carried
water to the gardens along the adjoining street.
and next in volume to its noise was the faint
hum that came over from Main street-East
Temple street, they call it--where the business
OF the City of the Saints is transacted just as it
is in other overgrown villages. Through one
window looked over the mesa or plateau, on
which is located Camp Douglas, to the rugged
peaks of the Wahsatch range Through the
other the view across the alkaline marsh
lands to the great Salt Lake, of whose waters an
occasional glimpse could be caught as they
flashed in the sunlight, with its bleak looking
islands and the forbidding environment of
mountains beyond. Some two years ago, this
was, and | was chatting with Angus M. Cannon.
president of Salt Lake stake recorder of Salt
Lake county, and several other things that
have forgotten. stake of Zion" may ex-
plain, is an ecclesiastical term siginifying about
the same as archbishopric. Mormons who are
IN positions of trust in the church are usually
occupants of civil Offices also, popularity that
makes church work popular among the Saints,
and insures a religious administration of tenn
poral affairs
do not profess to be an intimate friend of
Dir. Cannon on the contrary I had made my
eau on slight acquaintance. He had hap
pened along in Denver with an excursion party
Of prominent Mormons, and | had done the
honors for the Denver Tribune when they
called. They had no occasion to complain Of
my treatment, but Eugene Field was doing the
Righteousness for the Tribune then. and he
evolved an interview with one of the wives of
Brigham Young, jr, who was with the party.
OF course was expected to take it for
genuine, but it annoyed the lady and her friends
50 much that formal denial of twas made in the
Deseret News, their church organ I had reason
to anticipate, therefore, that l would not be ac-
corded that warm welcome which is due to
members of the press and other influential PEG
pie, but decided to call on Angus, anyway. l
had become sufficiently interested in Mormon
ism to want to know something about it. / had
expected to find Salt Lake City what is called
wicked. but had found it quiet as any Eastern
place of the size. ! had found, also, that nine
tenths of the crime and RIGHTEOUSNESS that did
exist mot counting their peculiar insttution'l
fairly belonged to the gentle population. had
become satisfied that the great mass of the
Mormons actually believed in their religion We
these nP0nla q cf and
vague notion that part of them ara honest but
deluded, while the rest are cunning tricksters:
but we do not understand that the masses have
an abiding, deep-seated faith in Joseph Smiths
discovery of the brass plates, in the appearance of
the angel Moroni, and in the rest of their mum
mery. When you look at them as they are,
thrifty, industrious and yet comparatively poor,
you wonder why they went into the saint bust
10 it. There are few who are
evidently making money through church
influence, but the church's only visible effect on
most of them, in financial way, is its collection
of a tenth of their incomes annually. No one
Voluntarily subjects himself to general hatred
and contempt without cause, and they
certainly get all the hatred and contempt that
is not consumed for other purposes especially in
Salt Lake City. The only motive that the vast
majority have for adhering to the Mormon
Church is a belief in it.
went into Mr.. C.'s Office, introduced myself
and took a profered chair. II have been here
several days. l said, land am just realizing
that your people believe in your religion. l want
TO get some information about it, and / thought
would come in here and talk with you, if you
have time to spare
Certainly sir, said he. pushing away his writ
ing, II will be glad to give you any information
can in regard to our faith / suppose the divine
covenant of plurality of wives has attracted
your attention more than anything else; it
usually is the first thing strangers ask about"
Il would like to know what the reasons for it
are. By the outside world. it appears to me, it
Is considered the principal part Of your religion
out see that there are other important tenets
THAT IS the natural result of the cutlery that
is raised against polygamy by other churches.
There is so much attention called to it that the
remainder of our faith is lost sight Of We hold
that the marriage covenant is made for eternity
and that man may marry more than one wife
If the first wife consents and the union is proper
In other regards, such as that he is able to pro-
vide for both and is actuated to the step by his
belief in its holiness and propriety. We hold
that polygamy is the true and natural order of
marriage, because we are put on the earth in
proportion between the sexes which would pro-
duce polygamy if everyone were married. 1t is
almost universally conceded that the married
state is the one ordained by God and nature for
our existence. Not only that but also it is
evident that woman is the weaker vessel and
that In majority of cases she will be dependent
on man for support and protection. Now if YOU
take the statistics of the world YOU will find n
larger percentage OF females, born and reared
than of males. In addition TO that Won will find
a larger percentage of males passing out of ex-
istence after reaching maturity. This is due to
the fact that they are in more exposed employ
ments particularly as soldiers and more fire.
qnently cut off by violent deaths. Now what is
TO become Of this surplus of womenf Under q
monogamic system they cannot fulfill their
natural and divine mission, and must be thrown
on their own resources for support 1t would
follow, also, that God had ordained this state of
things because it is one whose existence is con-
tinuous Poygamy does away with the social
evil which is such great problem wherever
monogamy prevails and has always been.
There is no other possible solution of it. Polyg-
amy was the recognized orderof marriage among
the Jews, as of all oriental nations The
patriarchs and rulers of Israel. on whom God
pronounced blessings, and with whom he held
direct communication, were polygamists. The
laws Of God, given to Moses, recognized its ex-
istence and cover cases arising out of it"
Excuse me for interrupting but is it true
4ha4 h.1s~ H.