The daily state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 188?-1891, 1890-10-10
ONE WIFE ENOUGH.
POLYGAMY ENDED BY THE
MORMONS.
President Woodruff, of The Church of
Latter Day Saints, FOrbids Plural
Marriages.

President Woodruff, of The Church of
Latter Day Saints, FOrbids Plural
Marriages.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct 8, $780,
The Sixty first Conference of the Church
Of Jesus Christ, Of Latter Day Saints
to day decided to abolish polygamy, in
accordance with the proclamation made
by President Woodruff, of the Church,
on september Gath.
After the preliminary work of the
morning Mr.. George @. Cannon arose
and paused some time before he spoke.
An important document vas in his right
hand This filed the audience with an
tieipation of the foretold sensation in
tba shape of a manifesto by the Presi-
dpgt iorbidding plural marriages.
The document was handed to Bishop
Whitney to read and is as follows
[Officlal Declara ton
To WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
Press dispatches having been sent for
nolltical purposes from Salt Lake City,
which have been widely published. to
the effect that the Utah Commission in
their recent report to the Secretary of
the Interior, allege that plural mar
riages are still being solemnized; that for
~ or more such marriages have been
contracted in Utah since last June or
during the past year; also that in public
1i.courses the leaders of the church
have taught, encouraged and urged the
continuance of the practice of polygamy,
therefore, as president of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints do
hereby in the most solemn manner de-
clare that these charges are false.
We are not teaching polygamy, nor
plural marriages, nor permitting any
person to enter its practice.
And deny that either forty or any
number Of plural marriages have during
that period been solemnized in our tenn
pies or in any other place in the Terri
tory. One case has been reported ir
which the parties alleged that the mar
riage was performed IN the Endowment
House, in Salt Lake, in the spring O.
1899, but | have not been able to learr
who performed the ceremony. What
ever was done in this matter, it wa
without my knowledge.
la consequence of this alleged occur
renee, the Endowment House was by m,
instructions taken down without delay
Inasmuch as laws have been enacted
by Congress forbidding plural marriages
which laws have been pronounced con
sttutional by the court Of last resort,
hereby declare my intention to submi
10 those laws and to use my intiuenc
...L Al of
= whlch pres;ie to have them to do like
wise
There is nothing in my teachings t
the Church or in those of my associate
during the time specified, which can
reasonably construed to inculcate or en-
courage polygamy, and when any eide
Of the Church has used language whic
appeared to convey any such teaching
he has been promptly reproved.
And / now publicly declare that 10
advice to the Latter Day Saints is to re
frain from contracting any marriage FOL
hidden by the law of the land.
MILFORD WOODRUFF,
President of the Church of Jesus Chris
Of Latter Day Saints.
Adopted by the Conference.
President Snow, chief of the lively
Apostles, then rose and offered the TO
lowing:
II move that, recognizing Wilfor
Woodruff as the president of the Churc
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, ar
the only man on the earth at the presel
time who holds the keys Of the sealir
ordinaries, we consider him fully a
thorzed by virtue of his position to issl
the manifesto which has been read
our hearing and which is dated Septer
Der "a, 1890, and that as Church
general conference assembled we acce
his declaration concerning plural ma
riages as authoritative and binding"
Not man or woman in the thousal
assembled voted against the propcs.t ito
which was declared carried.
The result was then announced