Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1903-05-01

-OOuSlSbCuVy uibeE ICACllhk w WV
~ OF the Manifesto and the ques.
OF IT binding,snature upon the
rmon' people, says "fhere are
e who since that covenant was
lie have taken plural wives. Some
nix to silence argument by deneying
s, but denials will not weigh against
knowledge. That these marriages
could not be proved in court has no
bearing on their existence"
The Salt Lake Tribune copied the
Clippers article in It's Sunday edition
and by request published it the second
time. II the Clipper has any knowledge
of anything of, this kind being done
either with or without the consent of
of the Church it is its duty to make the
matter known to the officers of the
law, just as IL would be IL 1t was cog
infant OF a case OF larcency burglary,
murder or any other crime. We have
n state law to punish adultery, and the
man who knows Of the commission of
such crime is not doing his duty to
the state who fails TO report the fact TO
'hS HiOBOi OhNSiss bub ~ OibNh mop
pens that the person. in possession of
such knowledge does not like to inform
on the lawbrealser lest he incurs his i'll |
will or his vengeance But this does not |
justify him in publishing general
accusation such as the one In question |
and throwing the responsibility of the
crime on the community among which |
which the transgressor resides or upon
the religious body to which he is alleged
to belong The Clipper writer tacltly
admits that the marriage or marriages
could not be proved in court, though
how he knows II he has not tried Is not
easy to understand but he appears to
assume that the church. knows they
exist, although he says that the church
isnot responsible for them II they are
not performed In the House OF Godi" |
and he does not say they were perfor.
med there. The whole matter seems to
be sort OF neighborhood rumor. A
sort of "They say" affair. THE REconb
believes that the manifesto was issued
in good faith, and ii also believes that
faith has not been broken. 10 also
belisves that there is likely to be men
Within the pales of the Mormon"
church who are law breakers just as
there are men in other churches Of that
stamp, and IL is in the interest of all
good law abiding people Mormon
or nor mormon TO have such people
shown up in tlieir true light. II the
writer in the Clipper knows Of such
people II is up to him to point them out,
especially now that he has began on
the subjects otherwise he win have
done injury to the innocent and allowed
the guilty to escape.
He cannot know that The crimes char
ged cannot be proven in court unless
he tries, and he can at least show his
good faith by making the attempt. Let
linn file legal complaint at once and
we shall then be able to at least see the
grounds upon which ne builds his ac-
cusation.
The attitude OF the Church on these
matters is authoritatively voiced in the
following quotation from the Deseret
News OF Jtly 18th 1909.
"Ae there is but one man at a time
on earth who holds the keys of the seal
ing power in celestial marriage when
that one man declines 70 exercise the
authority vested IN him, there is no
way to obtain the privileges Of the law
that governs the matter. The revela.
tion Is very plain concerning 1t, as all
may see from Doctrine and Covenants,
section one hundred and thirty two. d,
There is not any need to comment on
the Manifesto, II needs no explana-
ton Everybody who reads Gun under
stand ito simple Specification. 1t is
seai.eely open TO CONSTRUCTION as that
terthsis commonly used. Il means what
IL says, no less and no more, II has
accomplished the end intended, and the
door is now shut ana Sealed by the
church against anY,tnarriages contrary
to the laws of the land, and the State
has barred them by severe penalties.
they have entirely CEASED in Utah and
wherever the church is in ecclesiastical
rontrp1 '-F