Graham guardian., 1896-01-03
UTAH STILL MORMON.

lal Legislature. lie belongs TO the
"Order of Melchisedec," from
which all bishops of the Church of
Latter-Day Saints must graduate,
ard therefore knows something of
the plans of his church for the
future. Bishop Hart is on his way
to the missionary field of Georgia,
where his church has been at work
for some time, and where efforts
at recruiting for the Mormon faith
have met with better success than
IN any other field in the country.
Bishop Hart talked freely about
the situation in Utah. The pop
ulation of Utah contains five Nor
mons to one Gentle, while in thir-
teen of twenty-one counties there
is no official not Of Mormon faith.
He declairs that the belief that the
church had abandoned all efforts
to control the politics of the new
State was great mistake.
Whether Democratic or Ropub-
lican,' said the bishop, there will
not be State officer of other than
our faith, either elective of fappoint-
i've, unless the church so wills it.
There is not district judge who
can escape his responsibility TO the
Latter-Day Saints, and, with two
exceptions, there will not be
sheriff in Utah who is not Of our
selection
After reference to the manner
in which the church will secure,
control of all industries, such as
the water supplies and irrigation
systems, which would be given
back to the people for whom God
intended them, he touched on the
subject of plural marriges. He
said that through divine command
President Woodruff had suspended
the ordinance, but it had not been
repealed. He said:
This subject of plural marriages
is much misunderstood. Not more
than l5 per cent, of our people
have more than one wife. AS
man prospers, the church admon-
ishes him to take additional wives,
according to his prosperity, and
he obeys as a religious duty, al
ways with the advice and full con-
sent of his first wife. In Statehood,
when we are free from Federal in
fuence, the temple will witness the
solemnization Of marriage rites
that have been suspended, as the
penitentiary will no longer be fill
ed with men for obeying Gods
law
At the close of the interview the
bishop said: Yes, this ceremonial
will be resumed; in fact, 1t has
never been entirely suspended. |
have three wives, all of whom love
me, and they have persuaded me
to seal another on my return next
August, which 1 shall do"
THE above dispatch was printed
in the Los Angeles Times of Doc
80, and show clearly that it is
either the work of some enterpris
ing press correspondent, run ashore
for something sensational, or an
"apostate Mormon" who did il
through malice. 1t is probably the
work of the latter, as Edward
Stevenson, who is a high church
official and was visiting the Nor
mon people here this week, was
consulted in regard to it and he
says there is no bishop in the
church by the name of Hart, al
though some years since there was
one who was excommunicated tol
his misdeeds. Mr.. Stevenson also
declares there is not a county in
Utah where nou-Mormons are not
now holding Office, and he also
| declares that there has never been
a plural marriage solemnized II
the church since Prest. Woodruff
issued his manifesto, and that it il
not the intention to do so now
that Utah is a state. Mr.. Steven
son also says that 1t could not have
been a bishop in good standing al
the church is not in the habit o
sending bishops on missions. Thu
idea of no one holding Office eX
cept those selected by the churcl
is too absured to even be publish
ed as a dispatch. In the late Stat
election, Roberts, high church of
fetal was defeated by Allen non
Mormon for Congress. Judg
: Zane, who sentenced more MOI
mons to long terms IN the peniten
tiary for pologamy than all th'
f other Utah Judges combined, wa
elected to the Chief Justiceshil
over o Mormon.
! The present Mayor of Salt LAX
L