The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-01-02
DON'T QUIBBLE, BE SINCERE.

Under The caption, 'Utah Polyg
amy Zion S Ensign of December 10Th
1910, contains leading editorial in
comment upon current magazine articles
dealing with the Utah question. The
Ensign is paper published by the
Reorganizcd branch of the Mormon
church. The editor tells of statement
which he made TO certain ministers in
Ogden when he was there. and repeats
the substance Of that statement in part
as follows:
II they ever hoped 10 reach the people
with their message. they must abandon
their position on tho question of Joseph
Smith praciicing and teaching polyGamy.
and place the blame where il belonged.
namely upon Brigham Young. II they per-
sisted in teaching the popular idea that
Joseph Smith was a polySamiSt, and re-
sponsiblc for the introduction OF tho doc
trinc of d plurality of wives they could
not hope TO wean Il people from that
practice who had indisputablo evidence
thai lie was a prophet Of God. But. that
every time they asserted that Joseph
Smith was the author OF the doctrine.
they simply confirmed the people in their
faith.
1t seems TO us that in any considera-
ton of the polygamy question in this
day, the long disputed point as TO the
authorship of the doctrine has lost
much If not all, of its pcrtincncc to the
world outside Of the Mormon church.
1t is a question tlrat may interest fhc
Two branches of that organization for
reasons which either may consider to
be quite sufficient AS concerning itself;
but the world at large now cares moth
ing about IT, The fact is that the Re
organized branch has always opposed
he doctrine and the practice, and on
that account that segment of the or
ganizatiou has won greater respect to
itself than has been accorded to the
Utah branch. To non Mormons that AT
tudc is satisfying III itself. without par
ticular thought as TO where blame for
the introduction of the supposed rcve-
lation should be placed. And AS to the
Utah branch, the Woodruff manifesto
of 1890 is supposedly accepted as Il
subsequent revelation in which the
word OF the Lord 10 the people was that
The practice must be abandoned. That
also would prove to be satisfactory to
the world at large. ignoring the author
ship of tho polygamous doctrine, were
it lived up to. With members of the
Utah church, the question of who 1T
was that introduced the doctrine should
be of secondary Importance at this
time. 1T should make no difference to
them whether it was Joseph Smith or
Brigham Young, or any other man for
that matter, who brought the doctrine
and the practice into the organization.
They arc supposed to have rcljnQuishcd
both by command Of the Almighty,
and for that reason the matter should
have been settled once and for all,
without reference TO origin or iutroduc-
tion,
Knowing, as we do to considerable
extent, the character of men who i'll"
sist upon perpetiIntlon of polygamy,
we do moi hesitate for a moment TO
sav that no thought of Joseph Smith
or Brigham Young enters into their de-
termination. Their course is prompted
purely from lustful predisposition and
moral perversion. Therefore. il does
not appear reasonable that the question
of authorship Of the doctrine or intro
duction Of the practice can affect either
discontinuance of polygamy or its per.
pctuation. 1t is unfair to Christian
ministers TO infer that they help its
pcrpetuation merely because they ex.
press opinions concerning tho doctrine s
authorship. Iuasmuch as there are op
posing views held in the matter by the
two branches of the Mormon organiza-
tion, both of which should be much
better advised of the facts than the
world az large could possibly be, it eau
not be Sxpsstsl that non; ;MaIwaps