The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-22
SEALING" Is LEGAL MARRIAGE,
SAYS THE SUPREME COURT
Declares That Annie Armtage Hilton Was the Law
full Wife of Dr. John R. Park.
non Church Divorces of No Efect-Deas Blow at One of the
Saints Teachings

nant. promise and agree to dissolve
all the relations that have hitherto
existed between US as husband and
Wife, and to keep ourselves separ-
ate and apart from each other from
this time forth.
The document is signed by the par
ties and witnessed by D. Mckenzie and
james Jack
Following this, in October. 1875, the
plaintiff was married. or sealed" so
Tar as she was capable of contracting
the marriage rela ton, to William Hill
ton, and since then she has lived with
Hilton as his wife and has a number
of children as the result of her union
With him. In Mrs. Hilton's suit against
the executors of the Park estate the
lower court decided the case against
Mrs. Hilton, taking the position that
she was not the legal wife of DR.. Park.
At once the plaintiff appealed to the
supreme court.
The decision rendered yesterday con-.
sists of thirty-three typewriter pages
and goes into the case in great detail.
IL says in part:
It is clear, according to the revealed
/ (church) law, that to be sealed" was
TO be married for time and eternity, and
! that the sealing ceremony" is a marriage
| ceremony, which is good at common law,
| the part referring TO eternity, as we have
seen, being regarded as simply surplus
I age.
! 1t seems also clear upon careful scru-
| tiny, that neither sealing nor marriage
/ for time, whereby the parties are TO be-
/ come husband and wife for this world
only, nor sealing nor marriage for
eternit whereby the parties are not to
1 become husband and wife until after
death, that is, in the next world, was
authorized by this revealed law, and
/ hence any and all such unauthorized mar
riages would be a violation of the revela-
ton and would subject the contracting
| disobedience, for the express revealed
| covenant is that sealing or marrying
/ shall be for time and eternity.
The opinion quotes from Brigham
Young, Orson Pratt. John Taylor and
| others. and continues
In the light of these authorities. can
| there be any doubt that in Mormon
church narlsnce sealed means the
| same thing as the word married, or
! that a sealing ceremony Is with the Lat
] ter-day Saints a marriage ceremony
, Is 1t not apparent that by them these
! terms are used INTERCHANGEABLE and syn
| onymously2 With them, whether the SOL
emnization OF the covenant OF marriage
| mony. il means the same In either case
II esta blishes the marriage status and
creates the relations between husoand ana
wife,
As a result of our investigations, the
! conclusion that the sealing ceremony,
performed in this case. established the
| lions Of husband end wife is irresist-
BILE
We are of the opinion that the finding
and holding of the court that the Dlaln-
tiff and Dr. John r. Park were never
married and that she is entitled to nc
! part of the estate of the deceased, are
! so manifestly erroneous that they cam
not be upheld, and the case must there
| fore be reversed. with directions TO the
court below to set aside its finding ano
! decree and enter new findings and decree
| in accordance herewith
| 1t is so ordered
! We concur.