The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-04-14
End Justi6es Means
,,ne.-"End ,Justifles


Means" Is fundamental doctrine of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints. called the Mormon church,
The doctrine OF the Mormon church
that "the end justines the means has
not, / believe, been taken into account
In the Smoot investigation before the
Senate Committee on Privileges ana
Elections, nor have we seen 1t dis
cusSed In the press.
1t seems to us that this doctrine
should not be ignored in this lnYestlga-
tion, as II Is possible and even probable
that this very doctrine has been the
foundation for the last move of the
Mormon church to get representative
In the highest lawmaking body In the
Nation When We say representative
we mean n man who represents the
church. for there are more than TWEEN
ty-siX men In the church who have the
intellectual qualifications for the place
occupied by Reed Smoot In the Senate
OF the United States II there is
twenty-seyenth man who Is qualified
Tor the place why take man who is
already loaded down with ecclesiastical
honors and give him another plum
There can be no other reason than that
the Church" wanted man 10 repre-
sent 1t at Washington.
1t is an unwrittcn rule Of the
church" that has been in effect from
the time OF the prophet Joseph, that no
man be exalted who did not "live his
religion" and there IS no proof today
that the rule is not carried out.
Was Reed Smoot selected by the
Church" because he was not living his
religion or because ii was not known
outside OF the few" that he was2 1t
is hardly to be supposed that the
Church" would let one eXaltatlon slip
without the exalted having lived his
religion when the end justihes the
means" could be invoked In its behalf
Reed Smoot might be "livlng his reli-
glon'' and the Government have no
possible means OF finding 1t out; and
the testimony of Mr.. Smoot would have
to be taken In evidence of his being
monogamlst The end would justify
the means and, according 10 numerous
pTecedents. he need have no consclen-
tious cruples-espccially since the
Church" advocates the doctrine and
Joseph F. Smiths frank confession to
living his religion out Of the reach OF
Congress and In a State where the oill-
GERS Of the law have some respect Tor
him. And there was c. w. Penrose,
who promised the President OF the
United States that he would do one
thing and has been doing the exact op-
posite ever since. And then the frank
confession OF these men who were out
Of reach of Congress and living In a
State where the officers have some re-
spect for them would serve to convince
the Committee on Privileges and Elec-
tions OF the honesty of Shoots teStl-
mony In which the "end justlfes the
means"
And according to "the end justifles
the means" 1t would not be necessary
to provide a monogamist to go to
Washington; besides a monogamlst
would not represent the church nor
has monogamist represented the
Church" prominently anywhere in the
last sixty years.
Polygamy is as much the belief and
teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Lntter-day Saints today as IL ever
was, the testimony of the high officials
of the Church" to the contrary not
withstanding.
Further Polygamy has not been pro-
hibited by the head Of the church, ,"
nor by vote OF the church" There
is not a word In the manifesto forbid
ding or that can be reasonably con-
strued as prohibiting the practice of
polygamy, President Woodruff said in
the manifesto 1--WE are not per-
mittlng any person to enter It's (polyg-
amy's) practice" Then In the next
sentence he admits that one case had
been reported where the parties al
legged that the marriage took place In
the endowment house but that he was
unable TO learn who performed the GER
emony. Nor is there any record that
we can find where the parties were dis
ciplined for getting married or refusing
to tell who performed the ceremony.
The most that President Woodruff does
In the manifesto is to advise the Lat
ter-d day Saints to refrain from con-
tracing any marriage forbidden by the
law, Mr. Woodruff says, in the petl-
ton of the church to the President of
the United States, that God gave him
permission to advise the members of
the Church" that the law commanding
polygamy was suspended. Lorenzo
Snow moved In regard to the manifes-
TO that 1--WE accept his president Wood
ruff's) declaration concerning plural
marriage as authoritative and bind
ing" which was unanimously adopted
as 1.-The end justlfes the means"
1t matters not now what interpreta-
tion was put upon the manifesto in 1890
not one word OF the Interpretation is In
corporated In the manifesto and, ac
cordmg to the testimony given before
the committee at Washington, there is
not a Mormon today who, so far as
church obligations are concerned, can
reject any revelation or act of the
church If they see nit to do so, for the
lend tustifies the means In carrying
into effect the teachings of the
Church" by revelation or otherwise.
OBSERVER.
Salt Lake City, Utah, April IS. 1906.