The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-13
nevertheless. when the wicked rule. the

There Is no room here for comment.
1t holds me in the silken warp and woo1
of liberty and love woven in the Al
mighty's loom of truth and justice.
Planting M feet upon that divineiy
Inspired platform and laying upon its
altar honor, fortune and II necessary,
life itself, I look anxiously but hope
fully forward TO the day when petty
jealouSies. enviouS hatred and ma
licious accusations shall be deeply
buried beneath mountains of peace,
prosperity and happiness resting per
manently. in Utah. upon the wide toi-
Grafton anc good viii OF her inha bit
ants towards all creeds and classes
throughout the world. Should 1 live 10
witness one such day-the beginning
of a series that shall not end, the mem
orv of sains, Affections. tears and
signs shall pass even as a
dream at the dawn of a new day.
Utah's piOneers-the aged and
venerable, Utah's brave sons and
daughters deserve such happy con-
summation.
SERVICES TO THE CHURCH.
And, what is there in human re-
quirement or divine injunction TO pre-
vent me from humbly trying to devote
the remainder OF my days 10 the cause
in which 1 have spent nearly 10 years!
1t is true there are some OF the stakes
in Zion whose good people. as you
state, l have never visited at their
homes. But il is equally true that
nearly half my time since became
a member of the church has been spent
upon missions of various kinds. Dur
ing a period of six years L crossed the
line into Mexico some % times; and
for quite a long period my annual
travels covered from $4,000 10 2O'ooO
miles a year. There are, L believe,
some of the members of the quorum
to which 1 once had the honor of be-
longing. who have never, to my know
ledge, been on a mission at all. But
l would not infer from that that they
have neglected the duties of their
calling.
AS | have already stated, 1 under
stood the manifesto at the time II was
handed me for approval, just as L
understand it now. While ii ostenslDly
appeared not to restrict the liberties
of the people. vet there was no limita
ton to its application, and in view OF
the fact that nearly every male MEM
Der of the church holds some office,
and, as there has, as yet, been no
public decision announced as to the
officers TO be controlled by IL, there
have arisen disputes and differences OF
opinion as to its intent. This being
true, anu lHe UdHSCA theNt IL
could be applied to restrict the liber-
ties of the people, / cannot sustain 1T.
1 thought then. as / think now. that
such a course would be a qualification.
| had never dreamed that condition
would arise in my life where l could
not serve God fully and yet yield my
complete allegiance TO my country and
to my state. The spirit of the mani
festo as it appealed to me, was in
70 a a.
lieved and publicly proclaimed for
many years, and l could not, and, so
far. have not been able to bring myself
to a point where l believed / should
yield my political judgment to any set
of men, however praiseworthy their
intentions.
WHY HE TOOK HIS POSITION
The position taken by me in political
affairs was one that 1 could not alter
Through my veins and into them for
generations has been sifted a blood
that acknowledged the supremacy of
the people only in civil affairs Be
cause of this il was easy for me TO
understand and accept the principles
of Christ as explained by our church,
which, as l understand them, accord
the right of freedom and grant the free
agency of man before God and among
men. And it is because these rights
are accorded men under the gospel OF
Christ, as accepted by Latter-day
Saints that | have yielded obedience TO
the gospel, have labOred for it and
love il for the labor l have given it.
This assertion may not be accepted
by you, but such activity as l have
shown in politics has been caused by
an anxiety TO preserve the reputation
of my file leaders when they gave as
surances of political honesty among
the Saints, for there were in
timatiOns-and they are we'll
known-that in pledging political
freedom to the people of Utah,
the authorities were inSincere in
their declarations. My unwillingness
to take part in Democratic campaigns,
in face of the course of my Republican
brethren. was one of the grounds on
which it was asserted that the church
authorities had broken faith. While
have loved Democracy because, TO me,
its name embOdies all of civil liberty,
yet l did not want to take an active
part in politics because of my poor
health, and because 1 did not deem it
wise for one holding my position in the
church to become aggressive in the
division movement. Yet against my
own judgment. in defiance of the de-
mands of my health, and that it might
not be said of the first presidency that
their pledges were given to deceive, I
made some political speeches. For the
same reason-having in mind the honor
of the people and the reputation of the
church leaders, and against my solemn
protest. consented that my name
should be used as a senatorial candi
date For this act / was taken TO task
at a priesthood meeting. When the
manifesto was presented TO me it ap-
peared 10 my mind as a command on
all to recognize the right of the church
authorities to control political con-
Germs: il meant, so far as L was con-
cerDed. a recantation of the principles
I had for years adVOcated-a recedlnS
from the ground I had occupied during
the division movement, and, above all,
it made me feel that / would be untrue
to myself. I do not claim that 1 can
not be wrong; but with the light |
have, the manifesto, (aDplied as its
construction will allow, or as 1t would
be interpreted by men whose personal
ambitions might control and Subvert
their sense of right could be operated
to the injury Of the state. If, as | hold,
the people have enough intelligence to
deserve citizenship, then they have suf-
ficient intelligence to become acquaint-
ed with the responsibilities of citizen
ship. and they have no more right to
yield their judgment in respect of the
exercise of the franchise than have any
set of men TO attempt to control that
Judgment Whatever the cost, with
the knowledge now guiding me l must
still stand where 1 have stood for
years.
HIS POLITICAL PRINCIPLES.
NV whole life and its work contradict
the charge that 1 could seek office on
n nIatforrr, anita qonistic to any church.