The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-06-06


have been times in the past when the
church. notably the Catholic church,
has completely swallowed up the
state. even toyt the literal putting or
the foot of the ecclesiastical ruler upon
the necls of kings. At other times
and places, as in case of Queen Eliza
beth. of England. and the car
of Russia at the present mo
ment. the state has absorbed
the church. and ecclesiastical
dignitaries are shuffied about as mere
puppets of regal power. In such cases
church and state occupy but single
sphere. The lion and the lamb lie down
together it is true, but the lamb is IN
side the lion.
MAGMA CHARTA OF OUR LIBERTY.
Under the American system there
are two distinct spheres for church
and state. and they must be kept sep
arate from inception to elimination.
In the one sphere, according to the
words of Christ, we must render unto
Caesar the things that are Caesar s.
in the other we must render unto COO
the things that are Gods" The foun-
dalton cr the state is the Individual
souls of men and women created py
God in his image and after MS ilhe-
ness. endowed in the nature of Things
with inalienable rights of life. liberty
and happiness. These rights exist m
dependently of government; they exist
in order to government and true
government is an expansion ana ad-
minfstration of these primal rights;
and i'm proportion as governments ac-
complish this work they have right
to exist; and when they fail to do this
they should be abolished. These prin-
ciples as written by Jefferson are the
mangna charta of American liberty,
and they can never be abrogated.
The INCEPTION and origin of the state
is the endowment of right with which
God has constituted the soul. Hence
the state does net get it's right and
power to exist from the church. The
state is an original and independent
irspination and however much it may
blend with the church. there are two
srheres. and neither one must subvert
the other Neither must one be sub
ordinate to the other or dependent
unon it. The state must not present
officers to the church, as it done in all
state churches: nor must the church
present officers TO the state, as would
virtually be the case under the mani
feeto
It is IMPORTANT to know in this con-
nection that the rule is nositive and
affirmative in ITS character. That IS.
the Mormon official must be authorized
lov "counsal'' TO take ND service in the
state When he submits his name for
nomination he must have been "coun-
salled." Thus. so far as the state ex-
ists. under this rule. it is authorized by
the church: and without authorization
it could not exist so far as the rule is
concerned Hence the state exists at
the instance and by the direction Of
thu church; for the rrrle is positive and
affirmative But if the ru2e had been
made simniv negative as to the state;
that is. if it should require of a GER
tain class of officials that thew should
not enter 1rnon any other calling: or if
It should discipline for neglect of duty
from anv cause. it would then be
church rule simply and the state would
not be concerned
STAND OF THE DEMOCRACY
1t is to be hoped that no intelligent
citizen viii deprecate such a discussion
as is here attempted. All such dis
cussions widen our apprehensions of
government and the nature of liberty.
Perhaps the most important thought
written by Jefferson in the declaration
CT independence is that of the innate
freedom and independence of each hui
man being. This thought is so great
lildl II W III never W NlllOUI PAL "
claiming especially to embody it. At
present we have the Democratic party
as the pre-eminent representation of
Jeffersonian thought and certainly in
Utah this party is entitled to all praise
for its Jealous efforts to maintain in
all purity the principles Of human lib
erty as inwrought into American insti-
tutions. And surely every intelligent
citizen will feel prouder of Utah when
he realizes that a large party of all
religious faiths. Mormon and non-Mor-
mon, are able to make earnest and in
dependent declarations in behalf of the
fundamental principles CT liberty, and
that they are moved by neither fear
ror favor in their solemn discharge
of duty. All this goes to show that
our Utah statehood has safeguards and
guarantees springing like fountains of
living water out of the hearts of hon
est men and women.
MOSES THATCHER.