The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-01-24
Endowment Ceremony.

days
Endowment Ceremony.
Senator Burrows Intercepted Senator
| Smoot regarding the details of the en-
dowment ceremony.
How long did it take to perform
! this ceremony"
From the beginning to the end about
: three or four hours
How many went through with you 81
! Thirty or forty"
State what you are able to recall of
y would very much prefer not to-
Why not?''
Made a Vow.
For conscientious reasons. 1 made
! a vow. rot an oath, with my God. not
With any man, not with the president
of the church or with a living soul. but
! did make vow that / would keep
! these endowment ceremonies sacred
and not reveal them to anybody and |
have kept that all my life. and if l went
| out of the church tomorrow and re-
NAMED out of the church until l was
| gray headed, l would never feel that it
was my duty or that 1 should divulge
what little 1 even remember of them.
| The senator was asked a number of
other questions regarding the ceremony
which he preferred not TO answer
\ do you know why the oath OF
1
A Religious Ordinance.
| 1T is purely a religious ordinance
| refers a bSoluteIy to "A mans hereafter
| and has nothing whatever to do with
anything other than mans relation to
/ his God. and 1 suppose that it is an
ordinance of the church and the rule Is
/ that it be not revealed
The senator said he did not belong to
any other secret church organization.
The Lords 10 Per Cent.
do you know how much money is
paid into the church annually in
tithes?' asked Senator Overman-
Il could not say except as a guess.
las much as million dollars?
Some years more and some years
less understand"
| How is this moley expended?
We'll, there is about s140. 600 for edu-
cationaI interests, about 100000 for the
| feeding of the poor, great deal for the
! expenses of missionaries
Church Investments.
At this point Senator Overman inter
rupted- saying that all he wanted was
Information as TO the extent of the
! church investments in industrial and
| commercial Institutions
| THE church has some money so in
vested. but a small per cent Of the cap
/ itaI OF these institutions" said the
1
| statement of the stock held by the
church in various institutions, said to
! be controlled by the church. to show
/ that in nearly every case the church
holds a minority of such stock.
( Judge Tayler announced that his
cross-examinatiun was concluded
Questions by Burrows.
| Chairman Burrows then inquired of
( the witness:
4 any method nv the
president OF the church may be de-
/ posed?''
IF he should engage in any unchris-
/ tisn-like act that would unfit him for
his place he could be tried the same as
1 any other member of the church, and
/ IL found guilty he may be removed
/ You heard the testimony of Presi-
dent Smith that he is living in defiance
Of the laws of the land"
| Yes. sir
And that he is also living in defiance
I of the divine law?''
Yes. sir, and l heard the qualiica-
! tons he made"
Church Acquiesced.
HAS the church proceeded against
/ him because of his violations Of the
/ laws?"
1T has not"
Has there been any attempt to try
| him because he is living in polyga-
nous cohabitation?"
| There has not"
did you see him after he testified
! before this committee
! The senator said he had seen the
/ president of the church both in Wash
I ington and in Utah after his testimony.
/ and had Y ade no protest to him con-
: CeI ping his manner of living.
You have not Sought to bring him to
, trial in any manner" asked the chair
man.
Z Il have not"
Violation Of Law Endorsed.
DO you intend to?''
Il do not"
! How many children do you under
/ stand President Smith has mad since
| the manifcsto?"
ELEVEN. l believe
with fuu knowledge of his testi-
( mony you soted to sustain him at the
| conference last October"
/ II did"
As the chairman started to take up
another line of inquiry, Senator Smoot
/ said:
The Manifesto.
eff that is all you desire to ask me on
! that subject / want TO say that the
/ manifesto as voted on by the people
/ had no reference to unlawful cohabita-
! ton. Two years later President Wood
| run interpreted it as prohibiting polyg-
]
4 that he intended to obey that interpre-
tation and at the same time he advised
| others to obey ii, but the prohibition of
/ unlawful coha bitation has never been
! presented to the people. 1t has never
/ been sustained at conference. There
/ may have been some. therefore. who for
| that reason have not regarded it as
/ binding. After the manifesto was is
/ sued there was disposition among all
classes to tolerate the old conditions as
I the easiest and quickest way to put a
4 stop TO the practice of pOlygamy. 1 be-
\ lieve the question will be solved by the
! people of Utah just as soon as death
! removes these polygamists.
| Then you not only failed to repri-
naHd Smith for his manner of living,
| but you sustained him in it -
Answer Qualified.
mo, 1 don't mean to say that Mr..
| Chairman. / sustained him as presi-
dent Of the church,
Have you resigned your position as
| an apostle of the church,
| II have not"
Have you resigned your membership
| in the church,"
Il have not
DO you intend to continue sustain
| ing Smith in his commission Of crimes
against the law of the land?'
Senator Smoot again said that he was
| not sustaining Smith except as presi-