The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-12-21

| posed OF President Woodruff and his
! tw.o,, Two soencili9rs .5 With the quorum OF
seventies and the presiding bishopric,
composed of three members. These
ana 10 their number may be added the
CHIEF patriarch OF the church. making a
nody OF twenty-six general authorities
The hierarchy. II was from these Inter
men: polygamists and II fcarcdD paro-
chial IN their Ignorance Of The nation
ana their trust in the protection OF their
other practicers OF polygamy) that ar.
opposition would come To tho acceptance
and publication Of the manifesto
| Who Were There.
They met-something less than score
OF them. With two or three OF their most
| trusted advisers-in one OF the general
offices OF the presidency. sitting in
leather chairs along It's walls. with
I ducdly the anxiety OF their silent faces.
| President Woodruff and his two coun-
eitlors ,;iI;no entered TO them; and this inslg-
mgan1 eSans looking such ire
cause OF the memories Of its past
seemed To take on the gravity OF an
OF its people. The portraits In oil Of
| the dead presidents, martyrs and proph-
cts Of the church looked down on us
from the facade OF little gallery. and
the imperturbabllty OF tEelr gaze. No
word from them. In the midst OF the
tears were wet on faces to whose man.
liness tears were the very sweat OF
lnartyrdom-1, saw those immovable
countenances as placid as the features
OF the dead.
Announcing the Revelation
President Woodruff stood under them,
so old and other worldly that he seemed
slready of their circle rather than ours;
and he spoke in voice OF feeling for
us, but with simple and courageous
Iinality that sounded the very note OF
tate Ho had called the brethren to-
Gether. he said 10 submit a decision TO
| them an expression OF their Willingness
| TO accept and abide by II. He knew
rs Ia it WOULD be to the wS9s
he said. Ito live our relision-to harm
no one-to perform our mission in this
world for the salvation OF the living and
the dead. We have obeyed the principle
| OF celestial marriage because 1t came
| TO us from God. We have suffered un-
der the rage of the wicked; We were
driven from our homes into the desert;
our prophets have been slain. our holy
ones persecuted-and IL did seem 10 me
| that we we're entitled TO the constitu-
tional protection OF the courts in the
practice or our religion"
No Other Way Out.
But the courts had decided against
us" The great men of the nation were
determined 10 show us no mercy. Legis
lstion was impending that would put us
George .. Cannon. Brother John T:
Caine and the other brethren who had
been in Washington had found that the
situation tUh.. Of the CHURCH ta, WAS ,ed critical
yised him that our last legal defense had
fallen, In broken and contrite spirit,
he had sought the VIII OF the Lord, and
the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that
II was necessary for the church to re-
llnquish the practice of that principle
for which the brethren had been willing
TO lay down their lives.
When Souls Were Tried.
4 sort OF ghastIy stiffness accepted
what he said as a confirmation OF the
IDENTIFY come there with some knowledge
OF what they we're 10 hear 1 glanced al
the faces OF those opposite me. set
was conscious of chill Of heart that
seemed communicated TO me from them.
Ny brother. Abraham. was sitting seide
me; l knew his deep affection for his
family; l knew With what n clutch Of
! misery this edict OF separation was
| crushing his hope; | felt myself growing
as pale and tense as he.
The silence was broken by President
Woodrufrs asking one OF the brethren
TO read the manifesto. When j. was con-
cluded he said: The matter is now be-
| fore you. J want you 10 speak as the
| spirit moves YOU
There was no reply. except A sort of
general gasp of Iow-yoiCed interiections
| and a little buzz of whispcrugs that
sounded ike emotion taking its breath.
| He called on my father To speak. The
first councillor rose 10 make statesman
like review OF the crisis; and ! under
stood that with his usual diplomacy he
was putting aside from him the authority
OF leadership until lie could see whether
an opposition was TO develop that should
make it necessary for him 10 front IL.
Hard to Surrender.
Tha, opposition made a rustic of stir 4.
l1J followed | ~
Il in the changed expressions Of some OF
the faces. Several OF the men-includ-
ing my brother. Abraham. and Joseph +.
Smi,h-asked whether the manifesto
meant a cessation OF plural marriages;
whether no more such marriages were to
DC allowed.
President Woodruff answered that 1t
did; that the Lord had taken back the
principle from the children OF men and
that would have no power to re-
Then they asked whether IL meant
| cessation Of plural marriage living
! whether they would be required TO sepa
rate from the wives whom they had
taken In the holy covenant.
lie answ cred firmly that Il did: that
the brethren IN Washington found It Inn
perntivc; that II was the will OF the
saw their faces Hush and then slow
| ly pale again-and the storm broke. One
hoarseiy, in the voice OF tears, that they
were willing TO suffer persecution unto
death rather than to violate the cove
nants which they had made 'in holy
| places" with the women who had trust
ed them And a m3nlier lot of men never
! spoke In manicr way. Not petty
word was uttered. Their thought was
not for themselves, Their grief was not
selfish. Their protests had n dignity In
pathos that shook me In spite OF my
self
Persuasion Wins
When they had done. my father rose
again with a face that seemed to bear
| the marks of their grief while il re-
pressed his own. He dwelt anew on the
| long efforts Of attorney and our
| friends in congress to resist what we be-
| lleVed To be unconstitutional measures 10
reprcss our practice OF n religious faith
! But we were citizens Of nation. We
! were required 10 obey It's laws, And
| when we found. by the highest judicial
| Interpretation OF statute and constitution
| that We were without grounds for our
plea Of religious immunity. had but
| the alternative either OF dcfylng the
| power OF the whole nation or OF submit