Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-06-07
DO NOT BE ALARMED.

Elders. In its issue Of June l the pa
por mentioned says in part;
For years and years the Mormon
church openly and iiasranty denyu
tho sentiment of the civilized World
aud violated the laws OF mus 'pu lll'..,
AFTER awhile, however, when 1t became
rpparont that Uncle sam meant what
no said and demonstrated that ms
courts could and would reach the
pnlvgnrnist p second revelation came
To Inc Mormon president and plura.ltN
of wives as cardinal prlhclple was
withdrawn Men who claim TO be Ia
mlliar with conditions " Uiah men
of prominence and influence IN pubic
affairs assert that polNgamy while not
openly taught, is yet approved anu
practised by the Church
This is the usual Misrepresentation
of facts, which is so often met with IN
the part Of the press that has made 1t
it's mission to inspire hatred toward
the Church; and also in another part
which repeats. parrot-lke. the calpm-
MES of others. That tho Church FOR
years ana years. or for amy length oil
time openly ana tlagrantly violated
the laws of this country and ceased 10
do SO only when 1t had been demon
strated that Uncle sam was in earnest,
is entirely at variance with the facts
And so is the other statement on the
ALLEGED authority of "men who claim to
he familiar with conditions in Utah,
that polygamy "is yet approved and
practised by the Church" The opposite
OF this Is true. Men who are familiar
with the conditions here, and who have
no interest in the dissemination OF
falsehood, know and assert that the m
stitution referred to is not practlsed,
nor approved by the Church.
The fact Is that when some of the
saints in Utah accepted the doctrine OF
mural marriage, they did so, as honest
~ and sincerely as when they received
tho testimony that Joseph Smith was
a prophet OF the living God. AS a RUE
they entered into that marriage rela~
ton fully convinced that in SO doing
they were submitting TO the VIII OF
God. Whatever exceptions there may
have been TO that rule, that was the
general sentiment. Moreover it was
generally held that II was moi vto-
lation of the law of the land and it Is
an omen question whether the civilized
sentiment was so generally against it,
as Is now taken for granted by anti
Enormous" 1t is, therefore, the Nerl-
est nonsense 10 talk about the Migrant
defiance Of sentiment and violation of
laws.
The conflict came later, when ambi-
tious politicians discovered that Utah
offered opportunities for ottice-seehers,
ana well-moaning representatives Of
Christian denominations undertook to
convert the "Mormons.' BY various
REPRESENTATIONS, and mostly misrepre-
sensations, these representatives of
vastly different interests, by means
best known TO agitators, succeeded in
creating an anti-"Mormon" sentiment,
and obtaining anti Mormon le-
gislauon But this legislation, the
Enormous" regarded as demonstrations
al, being. in their opinion, ex post facto
as well as legislation concerning u re-
ligious practice, For that reason they
resisted it, by all legal means at their
disposal. This was not In a spirit of de-
nance. Because the 'Mormous' saw in
tack upon tho Fundamental law of the
land they came To regard 1t as sacred
duty to defend what they held 10 ba
their rights guaranteed by that lnstru-
nept OF liberty. And so they took their