Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-04-26


OF the Mormon" Church and the Gov
eminent Of the United States, under
which Statehood was secured for Utah
We have pointed out its error several
times, showing the absurdty of the
notion that the Government would or
could enter into n compact with a re-
liglous organization for political pur-
poses hut the Advocate continues its
nonsenslcal and untruthfui assertions,
and IN their support gsrbes and mis-
quotes and adds 70 the document con-
tanning The pledge" which It says the
Mormon officials have violated
We once more coll the 'at.enibn Of
The editor Of that Christian publica-
ton to the fact that the plea for am
nrsty contained nothing whatever In
regard TO the statehood question, It
was not involved IN that application.
The language " the signers has beon
published repeatedly, and tho editor "
the Advocate must know that there
is IN It no excuse for the interpreta-
tion which he has placed upon IT, The
whole paragraph we have clipped
from his article is misleading and uD-
true.
The leaders ~ tho Church who sign
ed tho petition set forth the condition
Of number Of persons who had en-
tered Into family relations which they
regarded rs sacred and which had
been made unlawful by act Of
Congress. II cited the clrcum-
stances under which the Manifesto Of
President Wilford Woodruff had been
given and adopted by the Church, and
asked for amnesty on behalf Of the In
diyiduals who had been indicted un-
der the act Of Congress and the sign
ers pledged themselves for the future
OF those nefsons, AS we have said
there is not sentence or line or
word In that appeal that relates IN any
way TO the question Of Statehood. All
the assertions ana comments and
charges and inslnuations Of bad faith"
and violation Of pledges INDUCED in,
by the christian" Advocate are I'M
tustlhable ana lnexcusable.
AS we have previously pointed out
for the benefit Of that paper, the only
compact agreement or covenant en-
tered into with the Nation respecting
the question Of plural marriage. was
that made by the citizens of Utah In
the Constitution which they framed
and adopted under the provisions Of
the Enabling Act Of Congress- with
that the Church had nothing whatever
to do. The special provision on the
question at issue was simply that "po-
lygamous or plural marriages are for
ever prohibited" There IS nothing
further concerning It In the require
ment Of the Enabling Act nor m the
article conforming TO II OF the Con-
stitutIon
The Christian Advocate may founder
and falsify and shift It's ground and
dstort the facts ana misreprcsent the
language Of Mormon officials" az Of
ten as it chooses, but It cannot produce
from the plea Tor amnesty any such
words as Il Dretends to quote from
that document nor anything that
would Justify its nonsense about
pledges Il Congress would admit Utah
to Statenoed''
We can respect religious writers and
preachers who oppose sMormonlsn"
from the standpoint Of their disbelief
In it's claims ana doctrines but we
cannot hold IN anything but contempt
deliberate efforts on the part of pro-
fessedly Christian advocates to attack
with falsehood and vengeful amnesty
people they cannot convert and a sys-
tenn they cannot controrcrt