Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-06-08

cal board Of the national council since
its organization, and feeling an Of the
cordially which ! have expressed to-
ward the two associations OF Mormon"
women the headquarters Of which are
In salt Lake city, | feel 1t very neces-
sary that there should be no misun-
derstanding OF my opinions by them
upon this important question. From
my first knowledge of the existence Of
polygamy In "Mormonism' / felt that
the United States government was
committing a great crime by harboring
such an anarchronlsm, however dis
tant and undeveloped the state in
which Il was permitted to grow UP.
rejoiced over the enactment of the
Edmunds BIZ, believing that by II the
United States government was COM
mitted to the eradication Of polygamy,
not because polygamy was an accom-
paniment Of this, or that or the other
religious doctrine, but because It was
"A violation of what Is fundamental IN
the law throughout the entire country,
since however various the marriage
laws In the different states, they are
all alike In their recognition of the
monogamic as tho only possible legal
marriage. have always, however,
found It necessary to the maintenance
of intellectual honesty and spiritual
sincerity to distinguish, as ! have said
In the beginning OF this letter, between
poygamy and "Mormonlsm."
"Mormonlsm" ia to my mind merely
one OF the many sects into which mod
ern Christians are divided; PolygamN
merely an incident, the product ~
economic conditions now vanishing,
whose entire extinction will be has
tened by the mingllng OF "Mormons'
and Genules. | do not assert that this
View cannot be q mistaken one and that
the corollares deduced from the main
proposition upon which my conduct
has been based, cannot be erroneous. |
merely state what my opinions are
and what they have been, or course
" | thought them erroneous. l should
abandon them for new ones. since |
by no means consider that person con-
sistent who never changes her mind
hut rather she who changes her mind
according TO the dictates Of new
knowledge and new perceptions Is con-
sistent Untl such new knowledge
comes, / shall maintain that II Is the
business Of the United States govern
ment TO see that its laws are obeyed,
and 20 punish all offenders but ] shall
consider that the offender can only be
an individual ana not a sect. and that
every individual case must be in
vestigated upon lis merit and decided
by the revelations following the in
vestigaton At the time Of tho Rob-
erts case, | was myself the presiding
officer Of the national council. The
vote upon the resolution which was
brought before the council was an
Aye aud may vote. The records
win show that | supported the resolu-
ton to petition Congress TO exclude
Roberts, because ! believed that II was
not only proven but confessed that he
was a vioator OF almost the most i'm
portant law that could be passed con-
corning the absolutely most important
relation of life. and | believed that such
q Violator OF the law was unfit TO oc-
oupy seat In our law-maklng body.
10 my correspondents who ask
whether | do not realize that Chris
tlan women will be obliged to with
draw from. the council, II "Morinons'
are permitted to remain I'm it'--I can
only say that | make no such distno-
ton between Christians and Nor
mons" on the contrary | find that
Christian Is tho generic term includ-
ing Mormon" along with Wesleyan
and Lutheran and Cavinist and a host
OF other sects named for their found
ers. believe that plural marriage could
never have grown up In community
of a composite religious faith, and that
what ever brings "Mormons or as
they choose TO call themselves, Latter
day Saints, out Of their exclusive as
sociation with one another, out Of their
social as well az spiritual isolation into