The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-10-06
THE BURRoWING LECHERs.

! The effort of the Mormon leaders to
persuade the people and the public
generally that the Woodruff mani
festo really went into effect in April,
1904, instead of in October, 1890 rs
provoking considerable comment in all
quarters.
This situation brings to mind the
history of polygamy in the church. In
sermon which be delivered on July
Z. 1878, President Joseph f. Smith de
clarcd that the "principle of plural
marriage was "revealed' to Joseph
Smith as early as the year 1881. Ac-
cording TO the version mostly favored
by proponents Of polygamy, Joseph con
sldercd the doctrine to be so astonsh-
ing for these modern days that lie was
constrained to keep it a secret, and
only ventured little later on TO confidc
it TO very few Of his most intimate
and confidential associates The fact
is that Joseph 8 escapades among tho
women of the church had involved him
disagreeably, and that it was necessary
to have the Lord Justify him in his
debaucherics AS David Wbitmer SAYS,
Joseph received revelations" a great
many times in accordance with his own
wishes or the state of his own mind, and
that invariably these were evil in their
nature. Whltmer declared the poly
gamous 'revelation' to have been of
this character, and there is not the
slightest reason to doubt his word
The practice of polygamy being direct
ly in opposition to law, even those of the
Mormon leaders to whom it was in
turn "revealed' by Joseph Smith were
chary of its public promulgatlon And
so they secretly married in polygamy
under the revelation that was
given surreptitiously in 1S31-as if the
Lord God Almighty were afraid to have
His commandments known to the
creatures of his creation,
In Nauvoo, during the year 1914, |
it was officially denied that there was
in the Mormon church any such doctrine
or practice of polygamy. In Utah it |
is testified TO most solemnly by the |
chiefs of the church that Joseph Smith,
who was killed by disgruntled fol |
lowers in that same year, practiced !
There was, however, no
public announcement of adoption of
the doctrine and practice. Neverthe
less, the immortality of the Mormon |
leaders at Nauvoo was well known-it |
had extruded its slime into the families |
of men supposed to have been near |
friends of the polygamous cult, but who |
were not "privilegcd to ioy the !
ecstacies of +" celestial marriage" " No
man S wife was safe from the cult in
Nauvoo-pot even tho wives of saints.
This condition brought internal insur
rection, and it was principally on this |
account that the poygamous cult de-
cided upon the move to the West, in
order that they might olive their
Just as do those who now
adays flee to Canada and Mexico. AL
though the practice was understood TO
be indulged in the church during the
period between the departure from
Nauvoo and 1852. it was not officially
until August goth of that
year. And even after that it was over
go years before the polygamous "reve-
lation' was printed in the Doctrine
and Covenants, displacing the old mon
ogamous law contained in that book,
and then declaring its reception as of
date July -. 1913,
After having proceeded in their
polygamous way by schemes represent
ing the extreme Of dishonesty, all the
time from 1881. (whon Joseph +. Smith
saws that the 'priuciplc" of plural
was first 'revealed ~ to
Joseph Smlth). up to the year 1890, the
church leaders concluded that the pres.
sure was too strong and that they
would be obliged to relinQuish their
fondcst belief and most privileged in
diligence. So the manifesto of 1890 was
lssued. Now it is proposed to set the
date of effectiveness of that document
at April, 1904. Any time in the future,
this date may be advanced again, when.
ever II suits the purpose of tho
cult.
Is it not possible for people to see
The lying that has characterized the
defense set mp by the polygamous cult
from the very beginning? And will
they not now observe that the sole
object of Joseph +. Smith, criminal, is
to perpetuatc that which Joseph Smith,
introduced into the church in
of his lecherous desiref