The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-07
such property to the church as the fol-
lowing extracts from its records show:
CONDITION OF RESTORATION. y

erty and money now IN the nandS OF
the. receiver of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. ap9ointed
by the supreme court Of Utah, and
authorizing its application to the char
liable purposes of said church.
Whereas, The corporation of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Iatter-day
Saints was dissolved by act Of congress
OF March g. 1887: and
Whereas, The personal property and
money belonging to said corporation IS
now in the hands Of a receiver appoint
ed by the supreme court of Utah; ana
Whereas, According TO a decision of
the supreme court of the United States,
the said property, in absence of other
disposition by act Of congress, is sub
jecJ TO be applied to such charitable
uses, lawful in their character, as may
most nearly correspond to the pur-
poses for which said property was orig
inally destined; and
Whereas, Said property is the result
of contributions and donations made
by members of said church. and was
destined to be devoted to the charit-
able. uses thereof under the direction
and control Of the first presidency of
said church; ana
Whereas, Said church has discontin-
ued the practice of polyganly, and no
longer encourages or gives countenance
of law or contrary to good morals Or
public policy; and if the SAD personal
property is restored to said church it
viii not be devoted to any such unlaw-
fUl purpose; therefore, be it
Resolved, BY the senate y d house of
representatives of the United States Of
America, in congress assembled, that
the said personal property and money
now in the hands Of such receiver, not
arising from the sale or rents of real
estate since March 3, 1887, be, and the
same is hereby restored to the said
church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daY
Saints, to be applied under the direc-
ton and control of the first presidency
of said church, to the charitable pur-
poses and uses thereof; that is to say:
For the payment of the debts for which
said church is legally or eGuitably
liable, for the relief of the poor and
distressed members Of said church, for
the education of the children of said
members, and for the building and re-
pair Of houses Of worship for the use
of said church. but in which the right
fulness Of the practice of polygamy
shall not be inculcated. And the said
receiver, after deducting the expenses
of his receivership, under the said su-
preme court of the territory of Utah.
is hereby required to deliver the said
property and money to the persons now
constituting the first presidency of said
church, or to such person or persons q
they may designate, to be held afI5 APP
piled generally to the charitable uses
and purposes of said church as afore-
said.
Approved October %. 1898
In further proof that the church lead
ers declared that polygamous relations
had ceased, We append extracts from
sworn testimony of President Woodruff
and other high officials, given before
the master in chaucery. when it was
sought to secure the restoration of the
church property.
At the hearing, which was held be-
fore Judge c. T. Loofbourow, the mas
ter in chancery, on Oct. 10 and 20, 1891,
number of prominent church leaders
testified as to the sources from which
the fund had been derived as well as
the disposition which had Heretofore
been made of it. Among the witnesses
who testified at this hearing were Pres
idents Woodruff, George Q. Cannon and
Joseph F. Smith Apostles Lorenzo
Snow and A. H. Lund and others. They
were subjected to a searching cross-eX-
animation by United States Attorney
c. S Varian, with respect to the exact
meaning of President Woodruff's mani
festo suspepding polygamy, and partic-
ularly with respect to whether or not
the manifesto referred to polygamous
relations already formed, with the same
force that it referred to and controlled
the entering into of polygamous rela-
lions thereafter.
The examination was most thorough,
and as the witnesses We're all under
oath, their testimony as to the scope
and meaning of the manifesto is OF
great interest.
Ia mt 4 NV
United States Attorney Varian and Jo-
seph L. Rawlins; the receiver by John
A. Marshall, and the church by Frank
lin S. Richards, w. H. Dickson and lie
Grand Young.
WOODRUFFS TESTIMONY.
By c. S. varian Q. Did you intend
TO cOnfine this declaration (the mani
festo) solely to the forming of new re-
lations by entering new marriages?
A. l don't know that 1 understand the
question.
@. Did you intend to confine your
declaration and advice to the church
solely to the forming of new marriages,
without reference to those that were eX-
isting-pluTai marriages?
A. The intention of the proclamation
was to obey the law myself-all the
laws of the land, on that subject, and
expecting the church would 90 the
same.
Q. Let me read the language, and
you will understand me, perhaps, bet
ter: 'Inasmuch as laws have been en-
acted by congress forbidding plural
marriages, I hereby declare, etc" Did
you intend by that general statement
of intention to make the application to
existing conditions where the plural
marriages already existed?
A Yes sir.
Q. AS to living in the state of plural
marriage?
a. Yes, sir, that is, to the obeying of
the law.
Q. In the concluding portion of your
statement you say: I now publicly
declare that my advice to the Latter
day Saints is TO refrain from contract
ing any marriage forbidden by the law
Of the LAND" DO you understand that
to include the further statement OF liv-
ing or associating in plural marriage
by those already in the status?
a. Yes, sir; l intended the proclama-
ton to cover the ground--to keep the
laws-to obey the law myself, and eX-
pected the people to obey the law.
By Dickson of counsel for the church:
Q. Your attention was called to the
fact that nothing was said in the man
1iSsbo dboul tAG uiSsOlullOll VI eAlSllLAS
polygamous relations. I want to ask
you, President Woodruff, whether, in
your advice to the church officials, and
the people Of the church, you have adj
vised them that your intention was,
and that the requirement of the church
was that the polyganous relations al
ready formed before that should not be
continued: that is, there should be no
association with plural wives; in other
words, that unlawful cohabitation, as
it is named and spoken of, should also
stop, as wen as future polygamous
marriages?
a. Yes, sir, that has been my view.
Apostle (now presidenD Shows tes-