Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-12-28
a,,rE DIVORCE EVIL

II 1tJ.s ~ fs'AtN
chicago judge Is Of the opinion
mat the divorce evil is worse than
&, ..,tormonisrn.o This was embodied Y
& an opinion delivered BY the learned
interpreter OF law, IL q. divorce case.
,fhe parties were Edward IT, Sehraeder,
an artist, and his wife, f.ilzaoe '''l
PITCHER. They were married. the re-
nort saws March "a, at Mtlwaukec,
and on their return to chicago ~sre
remarked BY a minister Mareh L.
the woman had obtained divorce
from Patrick j. 0'Conneli in the cir-
& cult court. They lived together fouF
months and then separated
Judge John Gibbons, in an opinion
fled with a. decree dissolvlng the mar mar.
rage takes the position that marriages
by uersons divorced in Illinois even in
other states, within a year are Illegal.
Accompanying the decree is a writ
ten opinion In which the Judge says
that i.by reason ofsthe many causes OF
divorce under the laws OF this state,
marriage is reduced to the level OF
conmercialism. and the consequences
are more baneful to society than
Morinonisrn.' He adds:
.The question merits, and should re-
s ceive, most careful and serious co1sid-
V Grafton, because anything which affects
\ the stability of the home or the integ-
ritX of the family is OF great moment
to society.
1T may be stated as a general rule
of law, subject to some executions,
49, an
TO by parties capable Of contracting,
witch is valid under the laws OF the
state or country whore made, Is leg
Y al anywhere. Had the parties remained
beyond the jurisdiction of this state
their marriage would probably be held
valid in every state and country whose
laws Or public policy would not be
thereby violated
81 Although we grant hundreds OF Edi-8
stvorces annually&in obedience to the
statute Of this state, nevertheless
believe that divorces should not be al
lowed except possibly for one cause.
and tilis I think should be the policy
( of the state whether Viewed from the
standpoint of divine or human law.
{ More banefnl to society than Nor
monisn3 That expression only proves
that Judge Gibbons has a Very hazy
conception OF what tMormonisnl' Is.
As so many otherwise well Informed
men and women, he evidently meant
y to say polygftn1y, and supposed that
Morrnontsni" and polygainy are iden-
I teal. moments reflection would
& have saved rn5froIn#eumnitting him
self to i serious blunder in the use OF
terms in an Important legal opinion,
$1f he had considered that Mormon
ism existed and tiourished before the
I revelation on plural marriage was
given; that it exists and fourishes aft
ter the Manifesto abollsiling the prac-
4 tfce:; that thousands or Latter-dar
I Saints never lived in plural marriage,
K and that millions Of the human race
4 have been, and are now. polyganlists in
theory and practice, he would have
seen the absurdity OF referring to POI
4 lyganly, even by Implication. as
"Mormonisrn.s' Plural marriage. 1T is
n true was at one time accepted by the
a Church as a. divine institution, but the
Church never stood nor fell by virtue of
The fundamental principles OF the
Church are faith repentance, baptism
ard the laying on of hands for the gift
OF the Holy Ghost
L The Church Of Jesus Christ OF Latter
day saints has reason 10 feel proud
over its position on the marriage and
divorce question which forms one of
the serious social problems of our age.
Legislators and courts have declared
plural marriage as contemplated in.
the revelation to the Prophet Joseph
each man taking proper care of his
families, Illegal. and the I,atter-day
Saints have yielded to the authorities
E of the land. because they are loyal and
law-ablding. But the problem remains
In another form, and we agree With.
the Chicago Judge that the conse-
quences OF the species OF polygamy
created by frivolous divorces and re
5nlarriaEes are baneful to society How
is that problem 10 be solved? Reform
ers, legislators, and courts seem to
be graphing with it n vain It is a.
form OF poIygamy that is growing in
popularity, and many do not even rec
ognize it as an evil. What is To be
done?
The Church teaehes that marriage is.
a sacred covenant that should not be
entered into lightly or without due
consideration. It teaches that the
covenant should extend for time and
all eternity u teaches the absolute
necessity Of fidelity on the part Of both
sexes. Where these teachings are
accepted and carried OUT, tile marriage
covenants viii not be broken lightly.
by divorce proceedings. We firmly
believe that II the divorce evil is to be
ef7taieated il must be BY the application
TO public Conscience OF the principles
of the Gospel. We see no other REM
edy.
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES.