The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-04-03


constitution prohibits. In doing this
they quote from Mormon literature
and from speeches made by presi-
dents and other officials of the
church who were recognized as au-
| thority.
Plural marriage, the court says,
is being married to more than one
person at one time, regardless of
whether the marriages are for this
world or for the world beyond the
grave, or both.
| The Mormon people have marriage
for this world, called marriage for
time only, lasting until the death of
one of the contracting parties. c.
lestial marriages effective after
death. Also marriages for time and
eternity. A time marriage (for
earth only may be performed by
any person legally qualified to per-
form marriage ceremony, but the
celectial marriage can only be per-
formed by an official of the church
who has received authority from God
to perform such ceremony as did
the patriarchs of old.
The court makes 1t clear that peo-
| pie may believe whatever they will,
| but laws Of the land deal only with
practices. 1t finds that a marriage
performed on earth is a marriage,
| even though it Is claimed that 1t is
not effective until death or later,
yet 1t is still marriage, and there
Is no objection to man making such
marriages II he makes but one, with
| one woman, and does notmake or
enter into any other marriage with
another woman during her lifetime.
But II man marries one woman for
this world and then marries another
for the world to come he thereby be-
comes a bigamist and such marriage
Is In violation of our constitution. 1t
makes no difference If he live with
only one of such wives, the making
of the second marriage is a viola
ton, and he Is subject to prosecution
and may not vote nor hold Office nor
sit on jury. Authorities are cited
to show that the celestial or >eterni-
ty marriage is family relation and
the purpose of the constitution Is to
confine the family relation to pair,
consisting of one man and one wo-
man and their mutual children up
to the time of the death of one of the
pair
There Is no objection to a man
being married to one woman for this
world and being married to the same
woman for the world to come, but if
two women are married to him, no
matter what form of marriage, or
when they agree or covenant that the
contract is to be effective, the mar
riage dates from the hour of the
marriage ceremony and is bigamy
Their conduct aside from the mar
riage ceremony does not constitute
bigamy but the marriage ceremony
makes him a bigamist, and he is
subject to punishment accordingly
Their belief does not constitute
bigamy, but the marriage ceremony
makes him bigamist, and he is sub
ject to punishment accordingly
None of this applies to marriages
made before the proclamation of
amnesty, but will apply to those
made since.
If individuals have violated the
law by being married in the usual
way under the laws of the land to
more than one person, such person
is criminal, and no church nor any
other persons are responsible for it.
But If marriages have been perform
ed by officers of a church or any
other organization in which the par
ties to the marriage enter into biga-
nous relations, then the contracting
parties, and all other members of the
organization authorizing or abetting
or encouraging such bigamous mar
riage are disfranchised by our con-
stitution, and the way for the other
members to regain their full rights
of citizenship is to cease to be mem
bers of the organization and to cease
to support it. If man has one wife
for time and one for eternity, and
one of the marriages has been enter
ed into since the manifesto, his course
is to apply to the courts to dissolve
the time marriage or apply to the or
ganization that authorized the etern-
ity marriage to dissolve the eternity
ihoi iuSC'
This law was dead letter in the
last campaign and is a dead letter
now, but If 1t is being violated, it
can be enforced in the same way that
other laws are enforced. If it is not
being violated and nobody enforces
it. then 1t continues to be dead
letter If 1t is not being violated. it
does no harm lying dormant on the
statute. Therefore, the Mormon
question which has been disturbing
Idaho has become a question of fact.
and 1t is up to those who think
the constitution is being violated to
furnish proof in court. The consti-
tuition is still effective and probably
always will be.