Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-10-11

| our aNu uAtAuA kAAuuut tANl7S- -
might have said, Had we known
MI that you tell Us nov concefning
this. We should have hal very diff
ferent views about this feature OF
your religion than We did have
| But now, after the occurrences OF
the past six years have been Wit
nessed by this entire nation aud by
the world. aud by God the Eternal
Father and tine heavenly hosts, 40
| one can pleli rs an excuse thG
they have been ignofaBt .; our be-
lief and the dearncss Of this prin-
-Iple % Us. Upwards OF thirteen
hundrs.d men have been i;scar-
ceratei in prison. going there Tor
various terms from one or three
months up 10 years. They have
| gone there willingly, as mariyrs .
this principle, making \ protest ihat
the heavens and tine earth SHOULD
sear record %, that they were con
scientiOus in esP1using this princi-
ole, and that 10 was not for sensual
in lulxeRce. because II sensual Ia
diligence had been the object W.
could have obtained IL without such
sacrifices rs were involved In ODE
| dience TO this laW-withnut going 10
prison. without sustaining wives
aud children, without the ohio
quy that hls been helped
| ipon US because OF this acton
d ours. II liccntiOus motives had
prompted US, We could have secured
the results in a cheaper way and In
4 4 way more In consOnRnce with I'M.
yersal custom throughout or own
land and all Chris.en10m hut the
sacrifices that We have made in this
respect bear testimony 10 the heavens
lnd 10 the earth that We have been
sincere ani conscientious In all that
we have done, and that we have nc,
been prommei by n desire To use
women for lustfll purposes, but to
save them. 10 make them honorable,
aud b leave no mlrgin OF women
in our society 10 become prey q
| lust, - that ever woman In our land
shout have the opportunity Of bc-
coming a virtuOus wife and al
h1nOred mother, loved and respected
by her offspring and by all her a.
sociates.
II no other result has atiende
what may he termed our ohstinzcy,
these results are, At least, upon
| record. and they never eau b.
biotted out. The imprisonment of
these men. the s1lTrTings-:he un-
told, uuwritten, yea. the unmcn-
| ti0uable. Il may be slid, sufierings-
Of wives and children. they are rc-
/ corded In heaven and are known %
men upon the earth, aud they form
4 chapter that will never b bl0tted
out.
I4aiter-day Saints, there has been
nothing lost In the five years that
have Just passed. We have lost no
credit. There has been no honor sac
rihoed. We can look God In the face
ihat--is,if we were permitted 10 dose.
so far as this Is concerned, we can; we
can look the holy angels in The face;
We can look mankind In the face
without blush, or without feeling
that We have done anything uu-
worthy OF our manhood or Of our FRO
LESSONS and the faith that Cod has
given unto US. This all o. us can
DO; aud If no other resalt has
followed what may be callei our
obst.nacy. than these which 7 now
describe, they are grant enough b
pay us Tor all that we have gone
though
Bd. The lime has come when, in
the providence OF God, IL SEEMED 7
necessary that somsthing should be
the country. 20 meet the dem lnds 4
that have been N ldc UPON "a, aud (
to ave tile people. President /
Woodruff ami others OF us have I
been appealed % hun irejs Of .i-'ss, I
I miahi cyl eau say for .
myself, that have Teen appealed 10 4
many scores OF times % get ont /
something and 10 announce slms- [
thing. Some Of our leading brethren /
have said: 'lnasmuch as We have /
ceased 70 give reru-itsi0n for plural .
marriages 10 be solemniZ-l, why /
cannU; we have the benefit Of thaie /
Why cannot We tell the wurli it, - |
~ to have the benefit 81 it Our I
enemies are alleging c1ustantlyt hat .
we still practise this In secret, sud 4
thai we are dishonest anl guilty o. 1
evasion. Now, II we have really |
nut stcr 10 granting peruiissions % /.
i1ief H. take more wives than one.
why should not the world know u /
amt we have the advantage OF i.?'' I
These remarks have been made TO 1
us repeatedly. BE. ut no time has .
the Spirit SEEMED 10 indicate that 4
this should be done. Wehave wait I
el fer the Ji1rJ = move In the
,l.sF.vn &. - -, sF,a NfaN. - :. So.
Der, President Woodruff made up
his mind that he would write some
thing, AMI he had the spirit 4
Il Il. He hal prayed rbeut /
It and had besought God repeatedly 4
10 show him what 10 do. At that /
lime the Spirit ca1iC upon him, aud /
The document that has been rad ia /.
your hearing was the result. know
that il vas right, mach as IL has
gone against the grain with me ia
many respects, because many Of !
you know the cOntes. We have nai
upon This point. Put Sheh God
speaks. and when God ma Is known
His mind aud will, | hope
that l and all L7tter-day
Saints will bow in submission TO il.
When that document vas PREPARED
Il was submitted. But, as ! said in
this motion that hs. irern maize,
President Woodruff is the only man
upon the earth who holds the keysof
the scaling power. rhtseA p1sties al
around me hays al the s5liie atit.lor-
ily that he has. We are all or
dains,i with tire sane ordination.
We all have hat the same keys and
the same powers bestowed upon Us.
But there i an order in the Church
OF Co, and that order l. that there Is
only one man at a time on the earth
who holds the KEYS Of sealing, and
that man is the President OF the
Church, now Wiliorj Woodruff.
Therefore, he signsd that dOcu-
meut himself Sonie have wondered
aud slii, "yyhy didn't his Coun-
selors sign2 Why didn't others
sign?" We'll, I give you the reason
-becluse he = the only nian on the
earth that mas this right, and
he exercised il, and he did
this with the approval Of al OF US %
whom this matter was submitted,
after he hal made up mis- mind, and
we sustained It; for we had made Il
a subject OF prayer also, that God
eould direct Us.
There never was n time in this
Church when | believe the leading
men Of this Church have en-
delvored 10 live nearer 70 God, be-
cause they have seen the path IN
which we walked envlruuel with
difficulties, beset with all manner
Of snares, and We have hal the
responsibility resting upon US Of
OF your salvation, TO a certain ex-
tent. G)d has chosen US, not We
ourselves, 10 be the shepherds Of
His fioc,E. We have not sought this
responsibility. You know WillOrd
Woodruff too wei 10 believe that he
would SEEK such an Office ss
he now fills. I trust you know
the rest Of Us sufficiently to
believe the same concerning