The Washington times., 1906-02-07
Ex-Apostle Makes This
Statement Before
Committee. -
OATH OF THE COVENANT
Precepts Made Plain by Wit
ness. Who Explains Asso-
citation With Polygamy.

In the hearings Of Senator Reed smoot
begun today before the Senate Commit
tee or Privileges and Elections contest
ing the right Of the Senator 10 a seat
IN the chamber. Prof Walter NJ Wolfe.
% Logan. Utah. an ex-apostIe Of the
church, revealed the obligation OF the
endowment house and tssfined that the
manifest Of the Mormon Church Of Utah
had not been carried out
You. and each Of vou. do soleu7rl,-
covenant ard agree that you Will pray
and never cease praying to Almighty
COO 10 aye1ge the blood Of the prophets.
and that YOU viii teach the same to
your children and you children's chill
ofen 10 the fourth generation
Scheme of the Church.
This. said Mr. Wolfe. was the fun
text OF the oath administered He then
said that the manifesto. as he understood
il was construed by Latter Dav Saints
was not intended to prevent worthy
Mormons from entering into plural mar
rlages, but was only a scheme to enable
the church to exclude unworthy men
from the realms Of polygamy.
Prof. Wolfe said he was a professo-
~ the Brigham Young school at Logan
Utah, and that he believed that sfnoa
/ the manifesto was announced in 1Sas
there were more men and vyornen
I hNlng together as man and wife than
before the issuance of that ultinnat11n.
he recited the incidents leading up tn
the marriage OF Benjamin CIun. ir.. in
1898 TO Florence REYNOLDS. A member oF
/ the Mormon Church. and a citizen of
| Reno, New. whom the witness said he
understood TO be Cuffs third wife.
Marriage Relation Explained.
AT that time Mr. Clun was president
OF the Brigham Young College. He ex-
! ilained the relationship existing between
young Cuff and Miss REYNOLDS and said
they left Reno in August of that year
/ and were subsequently married in Mex
leo.
Expedition to Mexico.
About that time party of Mormons
WAS on a colonizing expedition 10 Mexi-
CO. Cluff joined the party. After two
months expedition AR Wolfe. who was
a member of the party, preferred
charges against Cluf on the grounds Of
lnOn-payment Of dues
! Asked why he had not included in
/ the allegations the charges that CIun
and Miss Reynolds were living together
as man and wife, he said that Il was
! because it was not considered to be an
| offense in the eyes OF the church. This
expedition party was made up. he said.
/ Of Reed SmOot, President Frank F.
Smith and Apostles James Fl. Smith.
4 William Duseuburry, David Johns. Jesse
! knight. and Lafayette HoIbrook. Dur
/ ing this expedition Mr. Wolfe said thsf
| a telegram was received from LORENZO
Snow. president of the Mormon colont
cation in Utah. requesting that the trip
/ be discontinued
At conference then held Il was
agreed that the contents OF the tele-
gram would be complied with and the
party with the exception OF Mr.. WoIfs
indicated that they would return to the
States.
The witness said that he continued q
/ trip through Mexico and shortly after
ward met Cluff and the Renyolds woman
az one OF the Mormon colonies there
/ He testified that the man and woman
lived as man and wife and that shortly
| afterward Cluff returned 10 Logan.
Itah. and resumed his duties at .he
Brigham Young school He did no.
Know what became of the wife
Lost Faith in Church.
He said that he had lost faith in the
! Mormon Church because of a distinction
brought about through the difference
! between the elder and the Latter Day
Saints. He supplemented this by saving
that it was the belief among the Latch
| Day Saints that they would ultimately
control the world
The obligation exacted of a proselyte
| to Mormonism and the eligibility TO
enter into plural marriages was ex-
planned Mr.. Wolfe said that ii was
| necessary to poss through the Endov-
ment House. where the oath OF Cove
Eant' chastity; sacrifice and vengeance
were extracted from the converts This
pIoSedure on crosse examlnation Mr..
Wolfe explained would disQUalitfy a
member of the Mormon Church as d
United States Senator.
Seed of Treason.
Witness said th,5t the oaths admin
istered obligated a Proselyte 10 the
church first and the Constitution after
wards He further said that in the oath
of Covenant he believed the seed of
treason was planted
Going back again to the trip to Mexico
and the charges ne had preferred
against Mr.. CIu1, the witness said that
he talked with Mr.. Smo6t on the sub
ject of the charges Mr. Smoot advised
him 10 carefully study the course ne
was contemplating and not go off half
cooked.
In stating add sionaI cases where
plural marriages were entered into since
/ the manifesto. Mr. Wolfe cited the case
of Brother Oakly to Orgina Jorgensen-
This marriage WAS transacted in Mexico
after the manifesto had been profnul-
gated. J. II. Smith. one of the twelve
apostles of the church. to whom Mr..
Oakley appealed for advice on his pros
pectiVe mar riage. said that the mani
festo was only a trick to beat the devil
at his own game.
The prosecution of the case was repre-
sented by John @. Carlisle and A. 5.
I XEorthingtou represented Mr.. SmOot
The committee room where the hear
Ia ere ,s-oro held MAS raacirnd 10 tfaa annr