The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-28

smith, having as his counsclors Heber
C. Kimball and Jcdediah NJ. Grant
These men were the officials who made
open that which was formerly secret
polygamy, They practlccd it and were
guilty of attempting TO destroy the
peace and the virtue of the American
home, They were all three traitors to
their country. as the record will show
aefying Federal authority, melting
their people to rebellion. and Offering
10 sacrifice themselves and the whole
Mormon people to their treason and
their murderous designs and threats
If these were good men. let the News
say SC, if it chooses
John Taylor succeeded Brigham
Young. He was n polygamist, thus
rendering him dishonest toward Chris
tian families In addition. he was the
pretended prophet seer and revelator
Of Mormondom who promulgated n
bogus revelation TO the effect that il
was the Lord S command that none but
poly9amists should hold authority In
the Mormon church-and this rs a de
| tiant countcraction against the passage
of auti-polygamy laws by the Congress
Of thc United States. In France he
publicly, and Officially rs the head of
the mission in that district, denied the
existence of polygamy in the Mormon
church, This was in July, lS5O-ten
years after Joseph T. Smith has testi-
! fed polygamy was practiced at Nauvoo,
and almost ms many years after Taylor
himself had taken unto himself sew
eral plural wives. II John Taylor is
10 be considered a good man by the
Mormon people, the News should say as
much-but, in the meantime, it should
give the Mormon people all the history
and truth
Wilford Woodruff came to the church
presidency after John Taylor. OF Mr..
| Woodruff it must be said that he was
the best of the lot. He had the cour-
age, aided by one wise counselor-the
late George @ Cannon-to issue the
manifesto of 1890, which inhibited
| polygamy and polygamous living. lie
sought, in that documcnt, to bring has
people into accord with the remainder
of the Nation. For that act the cit
lzens OF Utah feel grateful But there
is fly in even the Woodruff ointment.
He was polygamist; although even
that fact is softened by his sincere
attitude toward the manifesto, and his
understood faith in living up to it.
And vet. at the dedication Of the Saint
George temple. Mr. Woodruff prayed
God Almighty to permit Brigham Young
10 live to see the destruction of this
Nation and the setting up of the king
dom of Mormondom.
Lorenzo Snow followed Wilford Wood.
ruff. BY the time that Mr.. Snow had
come into the presidency there had been
wonderful softeuing through the sub
DUNG influence exercised by the Amcri-
can spirit that will brook no treason
within its ranks So that the admins
tration of President Snow, besides be-
ing Of few years, was without notable
features in either or any direction. He
was calm and dignified man, and
aside from some family matters that
were as irregular as polygamy can make
them-(Go knows, bad enough at best)
he must be acquitted of any particu-
lar charge Of viciousness. But if, in
view of the family affairs alluded to,
the Deseret News desires to call him a
consistent exemplar of the life Of the
Savior whom the church organ will con-
tend he followed, then let the News call
him such.
Joseph F. Smith succeeded Lorenzo
Snow, and he is the present supreme
head of that organization, We huve his
confession of the fact that he is a
breaker of God s laws and the laws of
his own church.; that he is polygamist;
that he lives a polygamous life contrary
to law and the manifesto. We also
have his testimony Gas referring to
whether or not "their religion is sen.
suality and commercialism and supersti-
tony that polygamy is an essential
tenet of Mormonism and is divine; that
men who do not practice it shall be
damned; that he and the other leaders
have no intention of living any other
sort of conjugal life; that the church
is interested in almost countless COM
mercial concerns; that he, as head of
the church, is officer or director in
more than score of such institutions;
that he expects the people to believe
in the superstitious humbug that he is
a prophet. seer and revclator, while at
the same time confessing that he has
never prophesied. never foresaw and
never revelatcd. Is Joseph f, Smith a
good MANI
Lastly. we beg to express the convic-
tion that neither the Mormon church nor
any of it's leaders, past or present, is
| Nazareth