The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-11-29
MORMON|sM At
LA|E AND IN UTAH

-
acting head of the Mormon church g
Laie, for subornation of perjur.
brings into investigation and unde
examination by the courts some of tn
questions which were investigated b
the committee of the United State
Senate in the Reed Smoot inquir,
Reed Smoot was elected to the Unite
: States Senate by the Legislature O
Utah. Immediately there We're pro
tests against his being allowed to TAX
his seat. These protests came from
Utah and from individuals and organ
izations in every part of the Unite,
States. 1t is doubtful if there wa
ever presented to the United State
Congress, protests from as many peo
pie and from as many different organ
izations having moral purposes, a.
We're presented against the admission
of Reed Smoot, unless it was in tht
case of Brigham II. Roberts, elected
from Utah to the House of Represen-
| tatives.
Reed Smoot was admitted to his seat
| in the Senate pending the result of the
! investigations by the committee on
| privileges and elections. These inves-
| legations were carried on through
three years, and resulted in volume
of testimony regarding the practises of
| the church in Utah such as had never
before been gathered together. In the
end, by a party vote, Smoot was con-
firmed in his seat.
Elder F. NJ Sheehy of the Reor-
ganized Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints, who came here a
month or so ago with President Jo-
seph Smith of the Reorganized
Church, was in Washington and
in attendance at practically every one
of the sessions of the Reed Smoot in
vestigation. His intimate knowledge
of what was attempted and what was
accomplished by the Senate committee
in its Investigations is probably not
surpassed by that of any one.
Speaking of the indictment against
Elder Harmon, he said: IF there has
been any violation of the law here
dsllOilS Tie -hOllilOLo IL lc llOl oHl
ing, in view of the disclosures of law
breaking among the heads of : their
church. Joseph Fielding Smith. the
president of the Utah church, before
the Senate committee investigating the
Smoot matter, admitted under oath
that he was living in violation of the
law of the land and of his own con-
ception of the law of God. Francis NJ.
Lyman, the head of the apostles and
next to the head of the church, said
the same thing. So also did John
Henry Smith, second or third cousin
of Joseph Fielding Smith, and one of
the twelve apostles of that church. So
too did Brigham H. Young, one of the
presidents of the seventies and one of
the historians of the church.
President Joseph Fielding Smith is
looked on by his people as a prophet
of God, to whom the Almighty reveals
His mind and will. His influence and
that of the others whom l have men,
ordinary minister. If a minister of
any of the denominations in Honolulu
with which the public are familiar
were to say that he was living in vio- |
lation of the law of the land and the |
law of God, how long would his ipf1u-
ence last? Yet that is what President |
Joseph Fielding Smith of the Utah /
church said under oath to the Senate /
committee that he was doing, and the
general conference of the church, year
after year, votes its confidence in him
= I
teacher of religion.
"The history of the duplicity of the
leaders of the Utah church in this
matter is interesting and important in
this connection. While Utah was a
Territory and the Edmunds Act was in
force there, the Mormons were gener-
ally disfranchised by its conditions,
and much property was confiscated. In
this state of affairs President Wilfred
Woodruff in 1890 issued what is known
as the Woodruff Manifesto, by which
the practise of polygamy was discon-
tinued, and an agreement was enter
ed into by the church authorities by
which in return for amnesty granted
by President Cleveland and President
Harrison it was agreed, among other
things, that no more polygamous mar
-iages should be celebrated with the
permission or approval of the church
Yet in the Reed Smoot investigation
I was proved that Abram H. Cannon,
0ne of the twelve apostles of thei
,hurch, entered into a polygamous
marriage with Lillian Hamlin, the
ceremony being performed
,y Joseph Fielding Smith. himself the
president of the Utah church. The
ceremony was performed on vessel
,lying from the Coast of California TO
santa Catalina island. In regard to
his marriage ceremony, President Jo-
;eph Fielding Smith testified before
he Senate committee that he had
never performed it on this earth but j
when pressed by further inquiry, he I
admitted that he had performed it on
BOARD vessel on the ocean. A child
If this marriage was born which in
lerited property from Abram H Cam
ION on his death, so that there can
De no dispute about the relationship
hat existed between Cannon and Lii
ian Hamlin.
There were others of the leading
lpostles whom 1t was shown during the
Reed Smoot investigation were lead
ng polygamous lives and had taken
additional wives since the Woodruff
Manifesto.