The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-09-07
A sOKROwFUL EVENT.

they had been false TO their country and
had offended sgsinst the laws.-ArROLd's
History Of Rome.
The words above quoted close the ac-
count of an incident in Roman history
which, as an exhibition of the sublime
in human nature, stands unsurpassed
in grandeur The incident alluded to
occurred in the early days of the great
Roman republic, indeed, under the first
consulate and shortly after the Danish
ment of TarqUin the Proud, 5 8. 3. q.
1t happened as follows: Shortly after
the Punishment of King Tarquin, he
sent messages back to Rome to ask that
his goods might be sent to hin. But
IN addition to attending to this business.
the baRished kings messengers entered
INTO a correspondence with some Of the
young mobiles, and a plot was laid to
overthrow the Republic and re-establish
Tarquin. Among those young mes
who entered into the plan, were the
Two sons of the first consul, Lucius
Junius Brutus. The plans of these
young traitors Wers revealed by slave
who overhead them; their plot failed
and all those engaged in it were made
prisoners. Now came the incident of
which we speak. JuniUs Brutus, the
first consul, sat in the judgment seat
in the Forum and his two sons were
brought before him for trial. Having
been found gGiIty, Brutus ordered the
Hctors to bind his two sons with the
others and scourge them with rods, and
execute them according to law. The
orders were carried out, and after they
had been scourged, the heads of the
two sons Of Brutus were struck off by
the lictors before the eyes of their
father, who neither stirred from his
seat nor turned his eyes from the sight,
though those whe stood near him saw
that his breast was grieviug for his
sons. "Then they marveled at him,
because he had loved justice more than
his own blood, and not spared his own
children"
The scene enacted on Sunday in the
Mormon Tabernacle in this city, exhib-
tied features Of sorrow and moral grand
eur equal to to the incident ne have
briefly related from Roman history
Bishop John Q. Cannon, a young
man of exceptional mental en-
dowments, with the prospects of
a bright career opened before
him, in an evil hour had fallen into
temptation. to which he yielded. and
committed crime which, as he himself
expressed it. is looked upon by his CO
rslgionistss as second only to the she'd
ding of inRocent blood. Being thus
guilty, he came before assembled thea
ssRds of his people, made ackncwIe6g
ment of his sin, and laid down the
priesthood he had disgrsced. In doing so
heEave thepeople TO understand that ne
was acting not only in accordance with
his own convictions of what vas right,
but also in accordance with the counsel
of his father, President George Q. Can
non.
when itiE remembered how strict IRE
the laws of the Mormon Church in re-
lstiOn to chastity, and how blighting are
the effects of a transgressioa Of those
laws, it willbegin to appear how hard
thing it isfoE fond father to deliver to
judgement a son of whom, bat for his
tranegreSsioR, he could be justly proud.
How hard it was to see all his brilliant
prospects dashed to the ground, and 8
noble nature bowed in shame. before
all his people.
If MOrmonism were the vile, lesher-
Gus thing it is represented to be by its
enemies, would not the father of this
young man with q future before him
that was SO fuH of promise, have used
his bestendeavOrs to cover up the crime
of his son, and employed the weight of
his great inHuence TO have buried it out
of sightf But by ,counseling that son
to 60 before the people aud humbly
confess his Elm. and lay down the honor
which God and the people had placed
upon him-kis pTiesthood-George @
Cannon gave evidence that he possessed
no small degree of that same stern
virtue that enabled the old Roman TO
condemn te shame and death his own
sons when they had violated the laws
And let the world take note that in
the sorroWful incident that occurred on
Sunday, they have an indisputable evil
dencs that the Mormon Church does
not tolerate impurity of personal con-
duct; and that there is no position in
the church, however high 1t may be
that gives a license to a man 70 commit
sin, or that grants to them an immun-
ity from punishment.