The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-04-11
THE CONFERENCE STATEMENT.

The statement made by the First
Presidency Of the church aud read at
the Conference, is by no means what
we had hoped to see 1t is rambling,
discursivc, and we are compelled to
say, disingenuous and evasive, 1t ar
gucs that there was no pledge made
with respect to various matters to the
government: and yet President Smith,
in his testimony in the Smoot case in
Washington, directly recognized that
there was such pledge. He insisted
that the church had kept that pledge,
but admitted that he himself had not.
The application of the statement TO
the polygamy question is not as firm
and conclusive as we had hoped, And
yet 1t distinctly ranges the church
against polygamy; and those who have
entered into polygamous marriages since
the manifesto of 1890 are declared to
be under the ban of the church, and
1T is recited that, wherever sufficient
evidence has been obtained. the offend
crs have been disciplined or excommu
Dicated. We could wish that the church
authorities had been little more dill
gent, and that they had caught more
of the violators. We may be permitted
the hope, also, that more alertness and
diligence in enforcing the penalties
may prevail henceforth.
With respect to the political situa
ton, we have the usual denial of church
interference in politics. And yet we
see from time to time sweeping and |
sudden changes of large masses of |
voters here from one party to the other,
except on the basis that |
the ecclesiasts counsel the changes, the |
counsel' being in fact command.
And 1T will not be forgotten. that in
the campaign of 1908, President Morris.
as an ecclesiast, held number of po-
litical meetings, and the other Presi-
joined with him in his movement and
in the meetings, all the counsel of the
ecclesiasts at those meetings being that
the voters of the Mormon church should
vote the Republican ticket At one of
these meetings the Counsel went to
the length of saying, that anyone who
to vote the Republican ticket
was a "traitor TO the church. - IT
seems astonishing that this calm de
nial is made from time to time on this
TO the contrary 1t will be noted, also,
that at this same conference, Apostle
Mckay distinctly and clearly counscled
he Mormons all to vote for
at the election in
Iune. 1t is probable that there
IS some technicality under which
his is explained and justified from the
church leaders standpoint, but from
he practical standpoint Of results and
Of seeing what is done. the average
nan is likely to scoff at the denial.
With regard to the tithing matter,
his statement is an evasive argument
hat does not, in fact, fit the case,
For it is not merely a religious but is
IN economic question of very high i'm
,ortance to the whole community, es-
,eclally when it appears that money by
he millions is taken away from here,
for, to build up large
colonies and industrial operations in
Mexico and Canada In the loss of that
money the whole business community
suffers
We had hoped that there would be
ONE straightforward, non-evasive, and
lear cut declarations made by the April
Conference on the three questions sug-
,ested, and that these would be made
10 emphatic that there could be no mis-
We confess to n feel
ng of Disappointing on all three I
points. But we are glad to see that
ome progress at least is made on the
,olygamy proposition, and that new
,olygamy is now undisputedly and un-
under the han of the
.hurch-