The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1899-12-13

N+HA- tfN ~ ANN NAAsNl ~ NfAtA Wv tAANaAAlkAiA
Judge Judd says still further:
The Gentiles feel that il IL a
crying shame and an unblushing
disgrace 10 have Mr.. Roberts
admitted to seat in congress as
a representative of Utah, when,
as the Tribune charges. he is d
confessed and open criminal and
ought to be in Jail. This charge
Mr.. Roberts has not, does not
and will not deny, but, on the
contrary, he claims that he has a
right 10 do as he Is doing. This
states the real issue between the
Gentiles and Mormons. Roberts
never accepted the benefits Of the
proclamations Of amnesty issued
by Presidents Harrison and
Cleveland, because as soon as he
came out Of the penitentiary he
went back 70 his unlawful rela.
tions with the three women; he
has maintained these relations
ever since, in secret, IL ia true,
until statehood was granted, and
afterwards openly.
But we have another convinc.
ing witness on this point, and
that IS Mr.. Roberts himself.
About the first Of this year he
gave out an interview, in which
he said:
Joseph Smith received COM
mandment from the Lord to in.
troduce our ordero marriage in.
TO the church, and on this strength
of revelation, and not by reason
Of anything that Is written III the
Jewish Scriptures, the Latter
Day Saints practice plural marri-
ages. Polygamy is not adultery,
for II it We're 80 considered, then
Abraham, Jacob and the pro-
phets who practiced it would not
be allowed d heritance in the
kingdom Of heayen, and il poly
gamy is not adultery, then it
cannot be classed as sin at all.
1t appears to me that modern
Christians must either learn To
tolerate poIygamy or give up for
ever the glorious hope Of resting
in Abraham's bosom.
That which God approves, and
so strikingly approves, must be
not only not bad, but positively
good, pure and holy. Notwith-
standing this, however, the hand
Of the Gentiiea was laid SO heavy
upon the people OF the Lord that
in his mercy God permitted them
to cease therefrom expediency,
and true to the pledges given by
the church no p3lygamous mar
riages have since been celebrated
by the church. But not even
the church can take away from a
man the wives it has already Civ
en- him. They are his for time
and eternity, and think that the
great broad minded and just peo-
pie will not require a man to cast
off the wives he has with whom
he has lived, nor to abandon his
children.
At the most, Mr.. Roberts says,
his offense Is unlawful CO. habita-
ton, and he remarked; ~ am
here and the courts are open. If
any one wants to test the point
the way is clear.
It will be seen from this that
MIR. Roberts not only admits that
he is a polygamist. but he de-
fends polygamy as "poeitive good
pure and holy" on the grounds
that Joseph Smith received it.
las a commandment from the
Lord. = He even goes so far as
to condemn Christians who do
not believe Ii polygamy, saying
that they 'tmuat either learn to
tolerate polygamy or give up the
glorious hope Of resting in Abra-
hams BOSOM Mr.. Roberta
thus defies not only the Christian
sAiaA t41Adi bGtlbllilEtAb Vi bill5 SOui~
try, but also the legal sentiment
as expressed in the Edmund
Tucker act, forbiding polyga-
mist marriages, and also as em-
bodied in the Constitution OF his
own state, which declared against
such marriages as a condition OF
the admission Of the state into
the Union.
OF course nobody proposes to
'require a man to cast off the
wives he has, with whom he has
lived, nor to abandon his chill
dren." He should support these
wives and children. But he is
required by the laws OF his own
state, which he helped to make,
not to live in unlawful cohabita-
lion with more than one woman.
4 A.