The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-03-18
THE CHURCH IN POLITICS.

TIE CHURCH IN POLITICS.
Inc following declaration was made pub
lie yesterday, appearing at the head of the
editorial column of the Evening Neus:
AS rumors have been circulated and pub
iisneo' accusing the presidency of the Church
OF JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints with in
terierence IN political affairs so as TO control
elections and to direct members of the church
as to which political party they should support.
we hereby declare these rumors to be false and
without foundation in fact We emphatically
oeny mat we, or either Of us authorized Mr.
GEORGE r GIBBS or any other person or per
SONS TO use our names so as to influence citi-
ZehS 10 vote the Republican ticket at Logan or
elsewhere. If our names have been used
in any such way, it has been entirely
without permission from us and we
hereby condemn it as wrong and reprehensible.
IL we have any desire in this matter it is that
the people of this territory shall study well The
principles OF both the great national parties
ana then choose which they will join, freely
voluntarily anc honestly from personal convic-
tlon, ana then stand by 1t in all honor and sim
ceflty Each party should have the same
rights, privileges and opportunities as the
other Ii any man claims that it is the wish of
the First Presidency that Democrat shall
vote the Republican ticket, or Republican
the Democratic ticket let all people
hno" mat he is endeavorng to deceive
vne puonc ana has no authority of that
hiho from u.s. We have no disposition to direc t
IN these matters, but proclaim tn at as far as
we are concerned, the members OF this church
are entirely and perfectly free in all political
affairs But they should not indulge in ill-feel-
ing or personalities. Preside 1t GEORGE @.
CANNON is absent but We are sure that il he
were here he would sign this declaration
with US.
MILFORD WOODRUFF,
JOSEPH f. SMITH,
Or the Presidency of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-da Saints
THE HERALD has not believed that the
First Presidency of the Mormon church
were employing their influence as ecclesi-
astlc officials in behalf of any political
party. On several occasions within the
past year or SO those officials have publicly
declared they did not regard that they had
the right, and they asserted the absence of
desire, to direct or influence their followers
IN politics So far as this paper has been
able TO discover they have been true to
tnelr professions and kept faith with the
parties, the Mormon people being left free
to join with the political party of their
choice and vote as they pleased: that is
10 say, they were left free so far
as the First Presidency were concerned,
but this was not true as to the use of the
names of the officials by over-zealous and
meddlesome underings.
During the recent municipal campaign in
Logan information reached US on several
occasions that certain enthusiastic Repuh-
means were quietly circulating among the
people with the story that it was the de-
sire of the First Presidency that the city
should be carried by the Republicans be-
cause of the good effect it would have on
the national party, almost every other city
and town OF the territory having gone
Democratic The election being over and
the effect of this unscrupulous kind of
campaigning being seen in the reversal of
the Democratic majority of six months
| previous, we ascertained and pub
lished some OF the facts, charging
that among others, Mr.. GEORGE F. GIBBS,
a clerk IN the Office of President WooD-
RUFF; Bishop THOMAS X. SMITH, of Logan:
Mr.. CHARLES w. NIBLEI, cunning politi-
clan who is this year working with the Re-
publicans, and Mr.. JOEL KICKS, of Logan,
had been using the names of the church
authorities without authorization. 1t is as
sumed that the declaration above by Presi-
dents WOODRUFF and SMITH was called ont
by the publication referred to, and this
being true, whilst the presidents speak to
all their people, they talk directly and with
emphasis to the gentlemen named. We
hope the latter will understand the force
and meaning of their leaders words
THE HERALD regrets the entire
occurrence. We regret that any
thing should have happened max
ing it necessary for the church
authorities to emphasize the position they
long since assumed; but since it was neces-
sary to DO this we commend Presidents
WOODRUFF and SMITH for this declaration
which is SO plain in its language and so en-
phatic in its meaning that the most STUPID
can understand it, that the church is not
in politics.
TWAS surprising, in the light of previous
utterances on this very question by the
church authorities, that men like Bishop
SMITH and Messrs. GIBBS and others
should have attempted to canvass along the
lines they pursued. 1t was astonishing
that they permitted even their party en-
thusiasm to lead them into seem
ing qualification of their church's
position, and giving the lie in secret to
honest professions made in public. They
ought to have known that if what they told
the voters in private regarding the political
wishes of the church authorities were true
then those authorities had been posing be-
fore their people and the world in false
attitude; and if it were not true, then the
work was peculiarly dirty and disreputable
and unworthy man protesting any sort of
respect for honesty and decency in politics
The rebuke, severe as II is upon the men
who carried the Logan election by i'm
proper methods and, as we have seen
false pretenses, it Is no more harsh than
the occasion demands, for what Mr..
GIBBS and his too Jealous co.workers
old made the church leaders stand in the
attitude of breaking faith with the nation.
it contradicted what some of the best men
and best friends Utah ever had mad been
proclaiming and vouching for-that the
Mormon church was not IN politics; and it
threatened TO turn back the wheels of poll
! tical progress and delay the emancipation
which all so much desire, for the Ameri-
can Congress and the American people are
not ready TO confer the powers and privil-
eyes of full citizenship upon men who can
be Influenced and directed in the use of the
ballot as Messrs GIBBS and associates
would have influenced and directed the