The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-16
APOSTLE BRICHAr1 YOUNG
ON THE NORTON QUESTION

The current number OF IIarper's Weekly
contains an interesting and timely article
on THE Mormon Question" from the
pen of Apostle Brigham Young. The
| apostle briefly reviews the agitation
| against polygamy during the SOS, culmin-
ating in the PRONUNCIATION of the mani
festo in 1880. Concerning this subject he
says:
THE late President MILFORD Woodruff
at that time the head of the Mormon
church, issued manifesto to the effect
| that in the future no plural marriages
should be performed. The law of the
! church provides that the president of the
/ church is the only individual who has
power to authorize any other person than
/ himself to perform any such marriage
and any person that he might delegate
| has no right to authorize another to act
In that capacity. consequently the key
to the situation was in his hands. At the
general conference of the church. held on
Oct. 4. 1890. the manifesto was placed be-
fore the general assembly. at which the
whole communion was represented. 1t
was there and then ratified by unanimous
vote. and thus became law binding upon
every member OF the church throughout
1 the world.
i nat cDiSdllou mas Deen SCTupuiOusly
kept. President Woodruff had the love
and confidence of his people, and the
respect of the whole community. without
regard to religious or other differences
of opinion. While man of wide exper-
fence. he was probably as incapable OF
deceit as any man that ever lived. At his
death. at the age of nearly 92 years. all
classes of the people testified their respect
to his memory. No one acquainted with
him could believe that he would act other
wise than in good faith. especially in
matter of such magnitude and import
aEce as the one under consideration.
(. g
After reference to the amnesty procla-
nations issued by Presidents cleveland
and Harrison, Apostle Young proceeds:
why. then. the present agitation on
the subject? In attempting to answer this
interrogatory it is proper to state that
the source of the distu. baEce is local. with
headquarters at Salt Lake City. Its active
agents ara clesgymen and politicians
When any body of men enter upon such
an undertaking it is natural for the on
locker to cast about for motive. In this
connection it is proper to say that the
Mormon church Is one of the most COM
pact organizations in existence. In this
people who have studied it. Its members
are honest. clear-headed. courageous. and
industrious. The evidences of these traits
are so conspicuous that n wayfaring man
may run and read. Their missionaries.
mostly young men able TO endure the
hardships incident TO travelling over
various parts OF the word under ad-
verse circumstances, preach without
salary. Many of them attend to this
labor without purse or script. About 1850
of them are thus engaged in various
nations at the present time They meet
with phenomenal success.
Ministers of the denominations meet
with meagre success among the Mormons,
of whom it has been truly said, Once
Mormon, always a Mormon The latter
claim that they have all that is good in
any other religion, and a great deal more
besides. Hence a number of clergymen
are anxious to see the Mormon church
broken up; for this cause they are hail
fellow-well-met with designing politicians
who desire to have certain class of Nor
mons disfranchised.
1T is only just to say, however. that
there are numbers of ministers who re-
frain from participation in this method
of saving souls while others merely fall
in with it half-heartediy. to protect them
selves from being ostracized by their less
scrupulous brethren.
THE political wing of the agitation is
worked by a combination which aims at
the control of some of the leading NUM-
cipal corporations of the state. This OBJ
ject is perfectly clear to all intelligent
people who live in this part of the coun-
try. The clerical agitators. backed by the
political wing of the conspiracy. have
sent out enissaries to arouse an anti
Mormon sentiment. Laying aside the |
book containing what they claim to have
accepted as divine teaching. they go from
city 10 city verifying the words of the |
poet Burns:
Ev'n ministers. they hae been kenned
In holy rapture.
A rousing Wild, at times to vend,
And nail I wi scripture.
They assert that plural marriages |
have been as numerous as before the is
suance and communal ratification of the |
manifesto, Notwithstanding that President |
Lorenzo Snow. successor to the late Pres |
ident Woodruff. recently published, at |
the request of Il leading eastern journal,
u direct statement on this subject"
Concerning the recent prosecutions of
polygamists. the apostle says:
''Of late there have been two prosecu-
lions. melted by the anti-Mormon agi-
tators, for unlawful cohabtation. One
was that of Angus NJ. Cannon. president
of>the Salt Lake stake. and the other that
of Heber j. Grant, one of the apostles of /
the church. They are not cases OF
polygamy; these gentlemen were charged
with living with the wives married by
them before the issuance of the mani
festo. Neither of them makes any denial
Of the charge. Yet these cases have been
blazoned abroad as instances of bad faith.
The manifesto did not require that men