The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-09
ENCOURAGEMENT.

The apostles of the Mormon church
do not encourage unlawful marriage
practices says the Dcseret News.
In his testimony at Washington .Jo-
seph f. Smith president of the Mormon
church, said that nearly all of his as
sociates in high places in tho church,
including many of the apostles, were
I'm the same status" as himself-and
he eNemplifed that status recently hv
going into court and pleading guilty
to the ofTensc of poIygamous living. and
he was fined three hundred dollars for
occupying that status.
Apostles John w. Taylor and Mat.
thias F.. Cowley were discovered TO
have taken new wives since the mani
testo, and to have performed the polvg.
amous ceremony for other saints.
No apostle of the Mormon church has
ever advised the chief offender. ac-
cording to his own testimony at Wash
ington, to discontinue his unlawful CON
lugal practices, and Joseph F. Smith
particularzed Apostle Reed Smoot as
having been negligent in this respect.
According to the logic of the organ
of the bogus prophet, for an apostle
to practice polygamy and polygamous
living, and for him to perform the cere-
mony which would unite others in that
unlawful relation, is for him to dis.
courage the practice. If the assump-
ton of the News be carried nearer t. n
conclusion (heaven knows where if
would end if pursued to n fnaHtv).
then the more polygamous wives an
apostle may have, and the oftener he
unites others in unlawful wedlock. the
less he encourages the practice of
polygamy.
The Mormon church. Of which the
apostles compose part Of the high re-
sponsiblc governing body, has estab.
hshed polygamous colonial refugees in
Canada and Mexico; and when danger
from the law threatens one of the
minor law breakers he is Immediately
shipped of TO safety among his other
polygamous brethren in these colonies.
just following the recent semi-annual
October conference of the Mormon
church and just preceding the election
fearful that proceedings would be
taken against the notorious Joseph NJ.
Tanner and other polygamists. they
were sent away. Tanner went to Mex
leo and Canada; the blasphemous an
nouncement being made that he had
gone into retirement for the purpose of
writing the life Of Christ. He was
looked upon as a holy prophet in these
polygamous colonies-as man who
had shaken the dust of wicked Ameri-
can Salt Lake from his sanctificd feet
and had iourneyed of into the wilder.
ness to dwell with the spirit of God in
safety. incidentally this same Tanner
has returned and swaggers the streets
looking with leering eyes; but the re-
fuges are still maintained, and he and
others like him can go back whenever
their physical safety demands it, pro-
flaming the name of the Redecmcr
again by claiming that they are pur-
posing to write for the cdifcation of
the Christian world concerning the
works of the Savior while on earth.
The peculiar News logic would have
it to he Il discouragement of polyg-
amous crime TO shield and protect these
polygamous criminals,
The apostles of the Mormon church
are accessory 10 the sin of robbinp
their adhcrcnts Of ten per cent of their
earnings in the blasphemed name of
the Almighty. Large amounts Of these
funds are expended in the purchase of
territory in which to breed polygamy:
and still other amounts are spent in
defense Of the crime as practieed in
the daily lives of the chief prophets.
Other and larger sums from these i'll
gotten means are ruthlessly used i'm
the maintenance of political machinery
for the purpose of entrenching the hier-
archs IN their political power, to the
end that by means of this power they
may perpetuate the practice OF polyg-
amy in this Nation. But the organ of