The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-01


family ties snapped like dry reeds in {
hurricane, and when the conscience
less political groom had formed an I'M
natural and unholy alliance with ar
ecclesiastical bride; we have seen hui
man heart-strings stretched over the
keyboard of human misery urtil they
broke like Aeolian strings in the grasl
OF the frost king. Aye. we have seer
brother in hot dispute and reasonless
anger. arrayed against brother: son
against father. daughter against
mother. until inharmony reigned SUI
preme. and the disciples of the meek
and lowly Nazarene seemed trans
! formed into disciples of his satanic
majesty. bent on tuning the peace OF
earth into the pandempnium of hell.
| But. Brother Thatcher, did you ever
pause long enough to realize your part
in this great drama of confusion,
heart-ache. discord and despair? Why
did you yield your allegiance to God,
and burn on the altar of political am
bition the heavenly fruits of a life
struggle? Did you expect the brethren
| OF your quorum-eleven against one
! TO submit their judgment to yours
! Thus proclaiming your superiority in
political foresight and craftsmanship?
/ Why did you permit personal selfish
/ ness, and a thirst for the honors OF
men to overcome your love for the
/ church and people OF God?
Can you not see how you have fallen
| in the estimation of men and women.
good and true, because you permitted
pride to supercede humility and to go
/ before your fall? Can you not COM
prehend how contemplate must he ap-
pear, who exchanges the riches of
heaven for the baubles of earth? What
infatuation led you to change the con-
fdence, prayers, tears and love of your
] 1, sr,ta f-fr-
tempt, whereby you forced them
Sampson like-to tear down the temple
wherein you housed the jewels of your
soul, compelling them also to perish in
the ruins of destroyed confidence? Did
you not know It to be your duty to
yield TO the majority? Have you not
everywhere and always so taught?
Stand up now, and in the fear and love
of God answer like an honest man, or
forever stand self-convicted-self con-
demned."
That, my friends, is about the spirit
and meaning of indictments drawn
against me, by the hand of malice, in
spired by hearts filled with motives of
revenge Poor fallen, benighted hui
who injure US; those whom we injure,
never. The Indictment is drawn from
false conclusions, because predicated
upon a false and forbidden basis. But
briefly, nevertheless, permit me here
to enter a demurrer. To the law ana
to the testimony, those have not the
truth in them, who abide not in law,
and by testimony.
Within the full scope, measure and
meaning of the divine covenant, I was
bound TO yield to every requirement of
the gospel, and to every rule governing
my official position in the church of
the Lord Jesus Christine church of
my choice, to which I most willingly
and most gladly gave my allegiance
in youth, and TO which 1 now give my
hearts highest devition; being never
more willing than now, to sustain with
all l have that divine code, called by
its author, "A perfect law of liberty"
But I must and do here most solemnly,
protest against any and all attempts
by whomsoever made, TO alloy the gen.
uine by any unauthorized admixture of
worldly wisdom-political or otherwise,
with that which was, and still
is, perfect" And here at the very
onset we come to the parting of the
ways, resulting in this demurrer, and in
the demand that 1 shall be regarded
innocent of sin or crime, until in a
proper way, and before a competent
tribunal, l shall be convicted or dis
charged. For the time being imagine
yourselves the court while L briefly
plead my own case.
First. then, 1 demur to the indict-
ment on the ground that all our
church quorums from the presidency
down to the deacon's quorum, and all
the lay members of the church in gen.
eral conference assembled in the taber-
nacle at Salt Lake City, October, 1891,
solemnly promised, agreed and coven-
anted with the nation and all her citi-
Zens, that whatever the appearances
of church domination in civil affairs
or political matters there might flave
been in the past, there should be moth
ing of that kind in the future
That was given and accepted in good
faith. It was followed, as you know,
by authoritative statement after state
ment in the same line, by the chief
authorities of the church-by whom
you and 1 were hidden to make selec-
ton of the political party of our choice
and then be true to that party, we be-
ing entirely free and untrammeled as
to our political words and works. Thus. !
if ever the church did claim the right |
or ever did dictate the citizen in poll
tics, that field was then and there vol |
abandoned and that fact was
freely published to all the world And !
ladies and gentlemen, based upon that !
we find the covenant and agreement |
as TO the absolute political identity |
and freedom of the individual citizen, /
which thereby became a part of the 1
and agreement under which !
and by which we entered as a yover- /
eign Independent state in the family |
Union.
And 1 submit, having received the
benefit of statehood we cannot now,
under the contract, ignore a single pro-
vision of the agreement. To do that
would, as l view it, be in the fullest
sense the open practice of a Punic
faith, resulting everywhere and always
in ultimate humiliation and degrade
ton, if not the destruction of those
it. Such is the lesson of
Can we afford to occupy that posi-
ton? Can we afford to place ourselves
in the light of political heretics, ut
terly unworthy of the confidence of all
political parties? 1 say no. Do not
you?
On this ground 1 maintain that can
not be justly held for contumacy in
political matters by the church; for the
church is under covenant and contract
to take no part in politics. That being
so, how can l be convicted on the
charge of inharmony in political mat
ters unless the church trenches upon
abandoned and now, to it, forbidden
ground? 1 therefore ask this court of
my countrymen to sustain the de-
nurrer, throw out the case, and assess
the cost on the compliments.
l shall never forget the sorrow and
distress of our people during those aw-
ful trials of 1886, when the Edmunds
and Edmunds-Tucker laws were being
and when many of the church
leaders, were either in exile or in prison.
Families separated, wives without pro-