The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-08-29
EDITORIAL NOTES


 Today is an important anniversary in this history of Mormonisn. for it was on August 29, 1851, that the doc Urine of poIygamy was openly ac- knowIedged as a tenet Of the Churcn of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Brigham Young then president of the church. declared on that date that the doctrine of plurality of wives had been revealed to him by God. He pointed out that most of the heroic figures or Old %Ttestanent days, the men after Gods own kea1t" had been polygarr- ists Rl:gham Young died exactly twnty-f1ve yeG rs after his divine rev. eIatfcn," on August 29. 1877, and ne had practiced what he preached so ef- fective1y that seventeen widows, t"en- ty-eiGht daughters and sixteen sons were left to mourn his passing.
 Joseph Smith, the founder of Nor rnonisna, began privately to preach and practice the doctrine of plurality or wives as early as 1888, when the church had its headquarters in Mis- souri, As a result of this and other practices the Nformons were driven from Missouri and settled in Illinois. Smith had a lawful wife, to whom ne had been married for several years and she quite naturally became 1eal- ous of her husbands attentions to his spiritual wives.'' It was probably to placate the lady that Smith in 1S4S received a revelation from heaven au- thorizing men to have more than one wife each. This revelation, however. was for home use, and the Apostles strenuousIy denied that po1ygamy was practiced by Mormons. Nauvoo, the Illinois headquarters of the church was scandalized and Smith was oe- nounced as a corrupter or virtue. SIX teen women made afndaVlIs, wnic1 a were widely published, that Smith had tried to persuade them to become s.SDirit11sI wives In 1S44 the popular excitement became so great that mop attacked the jail in which Josepla ' Smith and his brother Hyrufn nao been lodged, and the two men "e1e shot and killed.
 Upon the death of Smith, Brigham Young became the leader Of the sect At the head of a chosen band or the faithful he crossed the Rockies to spy out a Zion for "an everlasting nap itation' Salt Lake City was chosen as the capital of the promised land, which they called Deserot, the land of the honey-bee.'' For years the leaders of the church had denied poT Iygamous teachings or practices, out in Salt Lake they considered them selves safe from 'fpersecuhon5 ana on August 2e, 1852, Young boldly pro- claimed the doctrine, and defended if on the authority of Smiths revela- ton of 1543.
 Ten years later the United States Congress passed an act prohibiting DO Iygamy in the territories. The Mor- mons denied its constitutiona1ity, and carried on the fight so effectively that it was not until 1879 that the Supreme Court declared the act valid. Plural l marriages continued, and in 1882 the Edmunds act was passed, providing penalties for those guilty of polygamy and making them ineligible to vote or hold office. This act was not ef- | fective, and in 1887 Congress passed the Edmund-Tucker act, under which more than a thousand Mormons, in cludfng many leaders, were fined and l Imprisoned. The Supreme Court up- held this act, and in 1890 President Milford Woodruff issued manifesto l in which he solemn1y denied that the 1 church was then practicing polygamy Since then polygany has been off ciaIly under the ban of the church, al 1 though in 1898 Brigham H. Roberts was denied a seat in Congress on the ground that he was still living in DO l lygamous relations.