The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1885-05-07

SALT LAKE, May 2.-Meetings have
been held throughout Utah, Idaho and
Arizona at I'll Mormon tsbernacles at
which the declaration of "Grley auceR
and Protest. which had been ioTmU-
lated at the general conference OF the
Mormon church or April 3, was read.
The derlacstio is addressed 30
the president Snd the people of the
United States. II begins 10y saying:
"a condition of affairs imperil!ing the
vital interest Of a vast majority OF the
people Of Utah and their CO.
religionists in ueighboring states
and territories impels us, their
representatives., to address you. Our
rights as American citizens ore tram
pied upon, and believing 1t our impera-
i've duty i'll the presence of such a dan,
ger TO protest against the gigantic evil
which threatens not only our liberties,
but the liberties of every freeman,
we in general mass meeting assembled,
in the name of freedom, justice aud hui
manity, make this appeal for relief and
protection. We are unpopular with our
fellow coiInUrymen. 1t is our religion
that makes us so. We are small mi
nority in their midst, but we have
yet to learn that those are grounds upon
which - justify in land OF liberty the
acts of oppression which we, as peo-
pie, from the beginning Of our history,
have been made to suffer-. As to
our religious faith, it is
based upon evidence which to
our minds is conclusive. Our convic-
tons are not to be destroyed by legisla-
tive enactments or judicial decisions.
Force may enslave the body, but it
canuot convince the mind to yield at
rights of conscience would prove us
recreant to every dnty we owe to God
and man. Among the principles Of our
religion is that of Immediate revelation
from God. One of the doctrines 80 re-
vealed is the celestial and plural mar
riage for which ostensibly we are stig-
matized and hated. This is
vital Tart Of our religion, the decision
of courts to the contrary notwithstand-
ing"
The declaration uheD, ia defending
the practice of polygamy, declares thar
the practice, rs understood among the
occidental nations, is a system OF s5nSu-
atty, but the Latter Day Saints believe
the marriage is one which, when
properly solemni2ing, exists in eter-
nifty after a faithful woman in the
church believes that in order TO insure
her exalSation in the presence OF GOD
she should be married or scaled to
an upright faithful man. The
declaration then says: Acting upon
this belief these alliances are formed
while on the earth upon the principle
that the man is not without the woman
nor the woman without the man.
In word, they firmly
believe that God has revealed
This to them as command, but while
patria-chial marriage, as it is termed, is
q part OF their faith and practice, they
have no idea that it should become uni
versal. The equality of the sexes, ii
no other reason, would prevent this
1t is mistaken idea that our church
favors the propagation of this doctrine,
or seeks TO establish it as uni
versal system, and at the same
time we fully believe that all
women should be married, even If two
or three of them, as in the families Of
Abraham, Jacob and others, became
wives OF one man. Instead of our sys-
tenn of marriage promoting sensuality,
experience proves that it checks il and
instead of being destructive of FAMILY
relations it is preservative of 1t. Plural
marriage was publicly proclaimed
doctrine of the church in 1852.