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

the denial of sanction or responsibility
by the church for these ollenscs. Fol
lowing his quotation of salient para
graphs from the editorial of the
church organ, Bishop Smith prcpounds
some queries,
While stated in an interrogative way,
our correspondent s propositions are
really arguments; and they arc in the
main correct. On this particular is
sue in Utah the question is concerning
the use Of the word sanction The
organ Of the church, the president OF
the church and all the authorities deny
any responsibility for plural marriage.
and base their claim of responsibility
upon their assertion, true or false, that
the president of the church has not
himself solemuized polygamous unions
since he beca president and because
the church. in its conference body, has
not passed resolution recognizing
and supporting such new illegal CON
lugalties.
Bishop Smith makes the case so plain
that the wayfaring fool who writes for
the Deseret News and seeks TO conceal
the muck-track Of the hierarch need
not err-although doubtless he will con.
tinue to err, not from necessity, but
from choice
In the famous debate which was
held in the big tabernacle in Salt Lake
between Rev. John p. Newman of the
NJ. f. church and Orson Pratt, apostle
of the Mormon church. the question, as
carefully arranged by Apostle Pratt
and other ecclesiasts of the Mormon
church, was. "Does the Bible sane
tion polygamy?' OF course Reverend
Newman took the negative and Orson
Pratt the Affirmative. From the day of
that debate until now the Mormon
church has claimed signal victory for
its champion. According to their the
ory and their boast, Apostle Pratt
demonstrated beyond contradiction
that the Bible sanctions polygamy and
that God sanctioned polygamy. 4 large
share of the affirmative theory and ar
gument was based upon the PROPOSE
tion that because the Old Testament
did not show distinct and positive
inhibition of polygamy and because
God held rs Ellis chosen friends GER
tain polygamjsts, the sanction was com
plete and undeuiable.
Judged by the rule which they set
up for themselves and for which they
demand recognition by the world
Judged by their triumphant claim of
victory by Apostle Pratt over Dr.
Newman, the Mormon church does sane
tion polygamy and the hierarchy sane
tion it. In the standard work of com
mandments of the church there is an
alleged mandatory revelation requiring
polygamy as an essential to salvation,
and there is no inhibition in this book
of commandments. The president of
the church and the conference of the
church sustain with their favor the
polygamists, and the chief of the mul-
tifarious cult, the man with the most
wives, receives the most honor
If that he not sanction and more
than sanction, then the boast of the
Mormon church for nearly forty years,
of a victory by Apostle Pratt over
Reverend Newman, falls into nothing
ness.
''Bishop Smith is alert and shrewd
in his second question, and doubtless
does not mean to be unfair to the late
President Wilford Woodruff But The
Tribune docs not argue from the Ian
guage used by the venerable and de-
parted Woodruff in the manifesto in
hibiting polygamy, that he had sane
toned plural marriage ceremonies re-
Gently preceding and was unable to
control the performance Of such cere-
monies. On the contrary it was mat
ter of current history that Wilford
Woodruff as he stated caused the en-
dowment house to be torn down and
denied all recommends for plural mar
riage, The razing of the edfice and
his wellknown refusal TO sign author
izations were themselves withdrawal
Of his sane ton previous to the is
suance of the manifesto. Under the
rule winch he established ana under
the well-known discipline of the church
under the doctrine which prevailed
at that time that he alone held the
keys Of this power-it is not possible
for any one within the Mormon church
10 perform a plural marriage ceremony
that was not as we'll illegal under the
rule of the church as under the statute
Of the country.
Some notable plural marriages took
place during that period and they must
have been without the sanction of the
church, and therefore must have been
under the church rule illegal, Subse-
quent acceptance of these by the pres
cnt hierarch does not alter the fact
that Wilford Woodruff was acting in
good faith and that he withheld his
sanction during that period.
Since his time, however. the present
president of the church has opened
the doors wider than ever they were
opened before TO permit all sorts of
people to enter into polygamy within
the church, under all sorts of absurd
ceremonials The present president of