History of Salt Lake City, Part 58

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194

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" The bill before us declares that that system which Moses taught, that God allowed, and from which Christ, our Savior, sprung, is a crime, and that any man believing in it and practicing it-I beg bardon, the bill, as I shall presently show, asserts that belief alone is sufficient-that any so offending shall not be tried, but shall be convicted, his children declared bastards, his wives turned out to starve, and his property be confiscated, in fact, for the benefit of the moral reformers, who, as I believe, are the real instigators in this matter.

" The honorable member from Illinois, the father of this bill, informs us that this is a crime abhorred by men, denounced by God, and prohibited and punished by every State in the Union. I have a profound respect for the motives of the honorable member. I believe he is inspired by a sincere hostility to that which he so earnestly denounces. No earthly inducement could make him practice po- lygamy. Seduction, in the eyes of thousands, is an indiscretion, where all the punishment falls upon the innocent and unoffending. The criminal taint attaches when the seducer attempts to marry his victim. This is horrid. This is not to be endured by man or God, and laws must be promulgated to prevent and punislı.

" While I have this profound regard for the morals and motives of the hon- orable member, I must say that I do not respect, to the same extent, his legal abilities. Polygamy is not denounced by every State and Territory, and the gen- tleman will search in vain for the statute or criminal code of either defining its existence and punishment. The gentleman confounds a religious belief with a criminal act. He is thinking of bigamy when he denounces polygamy, and in the confusion that follows, blindly strikes out against an unknown enemy. Will he permit me to call his attention to the distinction ? Bigamy means the wrong

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done a woman by imposing upon her the forms of matrimony while another wife lives, rendering such second marriage null and void. The reputation and happi- ness of a too confiding woman is thus forever blasted by the fraudulent acts of her supposed husband, and he is deservedly punished for his crime. Polygamy, on the contrary, is the act of marrying more than one woman, under a belief that a man has a right, lawfully and religiously, so to do, and with the knowledge and consent of both his wives.

"I suppose, Mr. Speaker, that in proclaiming the old Jeffersonian doctrine that that Government is best which governs least, I would not have even a minority upon the floor. But when I say that in a system of self-government such as ours, that looks to the purest democracy, and seeks to be a government of the people, for the people, and by the people, we have no room for the guardian, nor, above all, for the master, I can claim the united support of both parties. To have such a government ; to retain such in its purest strength, we must leave all questions of morals and religion that lie outside the recognized code of crime to the conscience of the citizen. In an attempt to do otherwise than this, the world's abiding places have been washed with human blood, and its fields made rich with human bones. No government has been found strong enough to stand unshaken above the throes of religious fanaticism when driven to the wall by religious persecution. Ours, sir, would disappear like the " baseless fabric of a vision " before the first blast of such a convulsion. Does the gentleman believe, for example, that in aiming this cruel blow at a handful of earnest followers of the Lord in Utah, he is doing a more justifiable act than would be, in the eyes of a majority of our citizens, a bill to abolish Catholicism, because of its alleged immorality ; or a law to annihi- late the Jews for that they are Jews, and therefore obnoxious ? Let that evil door once be opened ; set sect against sect ; let the Bible and the school books give place to the sword and the bayonet, and we will find the humanity of to-day the humanity of the dark ages, and our beautiful government a mournful dream of the past.

" This is not only philosophically true, but, sir, it is historically a fact. In making the appeal, I stand upon the very foundation-stone of our constitutional Government. That they might worship God in accordance with the dictates of conscience, the fathers fled from their homes in Europe to the wilds in America. For this they bore the fatigues or perished in the wilds of a savage-haunted con- tinent ; for this they poured out their blood in wars, until every stone in the huge edifice that shelters us as a nation is cemented by the blood of a martyr. Upon this, however, I need not spend my time or yours; a mere statement of the pro- position is a conclusive argument from which the people, in their honest instincts, will permit no appeal. In our Constitution, still perfect and fresh as ever, we have a clause that cannot be changed and leave a vestige of a free government. In the original instrument we find this language : "No religious tests shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." But this was not considered sufficiently comprehensive for a free people, and sub- sequently we find it declared, " Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- lishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

" Upon the very threshold of my argument, however, I am met by the advo.

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cates of this extraordinary bill with the assumption that polygamy is not entitled to be considered as a portion of our religious faith ; that under the Constitution we are to be protected and respected in the enjoyment of our religious faith, but that we are not entitled to consider as a portion thereof the views held by us as a people in reference to the marriage relation. One eminent disputant, as an ar- gument, supposes a case where a religious sect might claim to believe in the right- fulness of murder, and to be protected in the enjoyment of that right. This is not in any sense a parallel case. Murder by all law, human and divine, is a crime; polygamy is not. In a subsequent portion of my remarks, I will show, that not only the authority of the Old Testament writers, but by numerous leading writers of the Christian church, the doctrine of polygamy is justified and approved. The only ground upon which any argument can be maintained that our views of the marriage relation are not to be considered as a portion of our religious faith, is that marriage is a purely civil contract, and therefore outside the province of religious doctrine. No sect of Christians can, however, be found who will carry their beliefs to this extent. The Catholic Church, the most ancient of Christian churches, and among the most powerful in numbers of the religious denominations of our country, upon this point is in accord with the Mormon church. Mar- riage, according to the faith of the Catholic church, is one of its sacraments ; is not in any sense a civil contract, but a religious ordinance, and the validity of a divorce granted by a civil court is denied. And not in any Christian church is the marriage contract placed on a par with other civil contracts-with a swap of horses or a partnership in trade. It is a civil contract, in that a court of equity, for certain specified causes, may dissolve it ; but not otherwise. Upon the marriage contract is invoked the most solemn sanctions of our Christians ; the appointed ministers and servants of God, by their presence and aid, give solemnity and ef- ficiency to the ceremonial, and upon the alliance is invoked the Divine guidance and blessing. To most intents and purposes, with every Christian denomination, the marriage ceremony is regarded as a religious ordinance. Upon this point, therefore, and a vital point in the discussion of the question before us, the Catholic church in fact, and the other religious denominations in theory and usual practice, are with the Mormons in their position, that the supervision and con- trol of the marital relation is an integral and essential portion of their religious faith and practice, in the enjoyment of which they are protected by the Consti- tution.

"The Mormon people are a Christian denomination. They believe fully in the Old and New Testaments in the divinty of Christ's mission, and the up- building and triumph of his church. They do not believe, however, that light and guidance from above, ceased with the crucifixion on Calvary. On the other hand, they find that in all ages, whenever a necessity therefor existed, God has raised up prophets to speak to the people, and to manifest to them his will and requirements. And they believe that Joseph Smith was such a prophet ; that the time had arrived when there was a necessity for further revelation, and through Joseph Smith it was given to the world.

" Upon this point of continuous revelation, which is really one of the turn- ing points of the controversy, we are in accord with many of the most emi-

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nent divines of the Christian church, and with the most earnest and vigorous thinkers of our own day.

" Upon the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers from Holland to America, the Rev. John Robinson, their beloved pastor, preached a farewell sermon, which showed a spirit of mildness and tolerance truly wonderful in that age, and which many who claim to be ministers of God would do well to imitate in this :

""' Brethren, we are quickly to part from one another, and whether I may ever live to see your faces on earth any more, the God of heaven only knows; but whether the Lord hath appointed that or not, I charge you before God and his blessed angels, that you follow me no further than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as you were to receive any truth from my ministry ; for I am fully persuaded, I am very confident, that the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His holy word.

" ' For my part I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no further than the instruments of their information. The Lutherans cannot be drawn be- yond what Luther saw. Whatever part of His will our good God has revealed to Calvin, they will rather die than embrace it; and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things.

" ' 'This is a misery much to be lamented, for though they were burning and shining lights in their time, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God ; but were they now living, would be as ready to embrace further light as that which they first received. I beseech you to remember that it is an article of your cove- nant, that you shall be ready to receive whatever truths shall be made known to you from the written word of God.'"

" And says Ralph Waldo Emerson, in one of his golden utterances 'I look for the hour when that supreme beauty which ravished the souls of those Hebrews and through their lips spoke oracles to all time, shall speak in the West also. The Hebrew and the Greek Scriptures contain immortal sentences that have been the bread of life to millions. But they have no epical entirety ; are fragmentary; are not shown in their order to the intellect. I look for the new Teacher that shall follow so far these shining laws that he shall see some full circle ; shall see their rounding, complete grace ; shall see the world to the mirror of the soul.'

" Conceding, therefore, that new revelation may be at all times expected in the future of our race, as they have been at all times vouchsafed in the past, and the whole controversy ends, A man has arisen named Joseph Smith, he claims to be a prophet of God, and a numerous community see fit to admit the justice of such claim. It is a religious sect ; it has to-day vindicated its right to live by works and sacrifices which are the admiration even of its enemies. It brings for- ward certain new doctrines ; of church government ; of baptism even for their dead ; of the marriage relation. Upon what point is it more probable that light from above would be given to our race, than upon the marriage relation? The social problem is the question of the age. The minds of many of the foremost men and women of our days are given to the study of the proper position and re- lations of the sexes. The wisest differ-differ honestly and unavoidably. Endless

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is the dispute and clamor of those honestly striving to do away with the social evil ; to ameliorate the anomalous condition of the wronged and suffering women of to-day. And while this is so; while thousands of the good and pure of all creeds and parties are invoking the Divine guidance in their efforts for the good of our fallen humanity, is it strange that the Divine guidance thus earnestly be- sought should come-that the prayer of the righteous be answered ? The Mormon people believe that God has thus spoken ; that through Joseph Smith he has indi- cated that true solution of the social questions of our day ; and while they perse- cute or question no man for differing honestly with them, as to the Divine au- thority of such revelations, they firmly insist that in their following of what they believe to be the will of God, they are entitled to the same immunity from perse- cution at the hands of the Government, and the same liberty of thought and speech, wisely secured to other religious beliefs by the Constitution.

" Upon the point whether polygamy can properly be considered as a part of our religious faith and practice, I beg leave humbly further to submit, sir, that the decision rests solely on the conscience and belief of the man and woman who proclaim it to be a religious belief. As I have said, it is not numbered among the crimes of that code recognized by all nations having any form of govern- ment under which criminals are restrained or punished, and to make it such, a new code must be framed. My people proclaim polygamy as a part of their re- ligious belief. If they are honest in this, however much this may be in error, they stand on their rights under the Constitution, and to arrest that error you must appeal to reason, and not to force. I am here, not to argue or demonstrate the truthfulness of their faith ; I am not called upon to convince this honorable House that it is either true or false ; but if I can convince you that this belief is honorably and sincerely entertained, my object is accomplished.

" It is common to teach, and thousands believe that the leaders of the sect of Latter-day Saints, popularly known as Mormons, are hypocrites, while their followers are either ignorant, deluded men and women, or people held to their organization by the vilest impulses of lust. To refute these slanders, I can only do as the earlier Christians did, point to their sufferings and sacrifices, and I may add, the unanimous testimony of all, that aside from what they consider the ob- jectionable practice of polygamy, my constituents are sober, moral, just, and industrious in the eyes of all impartial witnesses. In this community, removed by long reaches of wastes from the moral influences of civilization, we have a quiet, orderly and Christian community. Our towns are without gambling hells, drinking saloons, or brothels, while from end to end of our Territory the innocent can walk unharmed at all hours. Nor is this due to an organized police, but to the kind natures and Christian impulses of a good people. In support of my argument of their entire sincerity, I with confidence appeal to their history.

" The Mormon Church was established at Fayette, New York, in the year IS30. In 1831, the headquarters of the people was removed to Kirtland, Ohio, and considerable numbers of missionaries were sent out to preach the new religion in various parts of the Northern States. Many converts were made and removed to Kirtland, but they were subject to various petty annoyances and persecutions by the surrounding people. Land not being abundant or easily acquired for the

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rapidly increasing numbers, the new converts were advised to locate in Jackson County, Missouri, where land was abundant and cheap-where, in fact, but few settlers had preceded our people. The Mormons soon became a prosperous and wealthy community ; the same habits of industry and thrift which they have ever maintained being even then vigorously inculcated by their leaders. Many hun- dred thousand acres of Government land were purchased, fine farms and thriving settlements were established, and the first printing press in western Missouri put in operation. But the wealth acquired by the people was desired by our neigh- bors ; the lawless border-men, who afterwards made the frontiers of Kansas their battlefield, attacked, plundered, and murdered our settlers, and finally drove them from their delightful homes, which , they appropriated to themselves. The title to much of the land in Jackson and other counties is to-day in Mormons, who were then driven from their homes. During the trouble incident to the expulsion of the Mormons, hundreds of men, women, and children were murdered, or died from diseases caused by exposure to the inclemencies of the weather. The wretched refugees afterwards located in Clay, Caldwell, and Davis counties, Mis- souri, where there were almost no settlers, and where, within a few years their industries had again built up thriving settlements and accumulated large herds of stock. The outrages of Jackson County were then repeated, the Mormons driven from their homes, which were seized by the marauders and thousands of women and children driven forth homeless, and the prey for the border-ruffians whose cupidity had been excited by the wealth of the industrious exiles. Hundreds per- ished from cold, exposure and starvation. But their leaders, sustained by an undying faith, again called together their scattered and impoverished followers and removing to Illinois, founded the city of Nauvoo.

" For several years they were comparatively undisturbed; they built up one of the most thriving and beautiful cities of the State. Far as the eye could reach from the eminence of their temple, the well-tilled farms and gardens, the comfor. table farm-houses, the mills and factories, and well-filled schools, attested the in- dustry, the thrift, and the wealth of the once persecuted people. But again their wealth created envy in the lawless border-men of the new State. Without what even their enemies claim was justifiable cause, and in a manner which Governor Ford characterized as a permanent disgrace to the people of the State, they were attacked, pillaged, and driven across the river; their houses burned ; their women and children driven forth unsheltered in the inclement season of the year; their leaders brutally murdered.

" The annals of religious persecution, so fruitful of cruel abuse, can give noth- ing more pitiable and heart-rending than the scenes which followed this last expul- sion. Aged men and women, the sick and feeble, children of tender years, and the wounded, were driven into the flats of the river, yet in sight of their once happy houses, to perish from exposure and starvation. While over our broad land the church bells of Christian communities were ringing out peace and good-will to men ; while to the churches thronged thousands to hear preached the gospel of charity and forgiveness ; these poor, heart-sick followers of the same Redeemer, were driven in violence from their houses to perish like wild beasts in the swamps and wilderness. The gentlemen charged us with hypocrisy and de-

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praved lust for motives, with such a record as this to mock their charge! The world has many hypocrites, and is well filled with wicked men, but they keep about them the recompense of sin, and have other histories than this I give you, and which history no man can deny.

" Word went out to the world that Mormonism had finally been annihilated. But again the scattered hosts were gathered together, and set out on a pilgrimage, that since that of the children of Israel has been without parallel in the history of the human race. They had no stores, they were beggared in the world's goods yet with earnest religious enthusiasm they toiled on through unknown deserts, over unexplored mountain ranges, and crossed plains haunted by savages, only less cruel than the white Christian who had driven them forth in search of that promised land, where at last they could worship God in accordance with the dic- tates of their own consciences, and find unbroken that covenant of the Constitu- tion which guards this sacred right. Ragged, foot-sore, starving, wretched, they wandered on. Delicately nurtured women and their children dug roots, or sub- sisted on the bark of trees or the hides of animals. From Nauvoo to Salt Lake, the valley of their promised land-1,500 miles-there is to-day scarce a mile along that dreary and terrible road, where does not repose the body of some weary one, whom famine, or sickness, or the merciless savage, caused to perish by the way.

" It was while on this pilgrimage that an order came from the Government for five hundred men to serve as soldiers in the Mexican war. The order was promptly obeyed. These devoted men, who had received only cruel persecution from the people they were called upon to protect on the field of batttle, dedicated their poor, helpless wives to God, and themselves to their country. Leaving their families to struggle on as best they could, these brave, patriotic men followed our flag into New Mexico and California, and were at last disbanded at San Diego, with high praise from their officers, but with scanty means to return to those they loved, and whom they had left to suffer, and perhaps to perish on the way.

" Thus, Mr. Speaker, three times did this persecuted people, before their lo- cation in Utah, build up for themselves pleasant and prosperous homes, and by their industry surrounded themselves with all the comforts and appliances of wealth ; and three times were they, by an unprincipled and outrageous mob, driven from their posessions, and reduced to abjectest poverty. And bear it in mind, that in every instance the leader of these organized mobs offered to all who would abandon and deny their faith, toleration and the possession of their homes and wealth. But they refused the tempting snare. They rejoiced that they were thought worthy to suffer for the Master, and, rather than to deny their faith; they welcomed privation ; they sacrificed all that earth could offer; they died the saintly martyr's death.

"Mr. Speaker, is this shining record that of a community of hypocrites ? What other Christian denomination of our country can show higher evidences of earnestness, of devoted self-sacrifice for the preservation of their religious faith ?

" In further presentation of my argument, Mr. Speaker, that the doctrine of polygamy is an essential feature in our religious faith, and that in our adherence thereto we are advocating no new or unsupported theory of marriage, I crave the

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indulgence of the House while I cite some few from the numerous writers of weight and authority in the Christian Church, who have illustrated or supported the doctrine.

" Now, sir, far be it from me to undertake to teach this learned House, and above all, the Hon. Chairman of the Committee on Territories great theological truths. If there be any subject with which this honorable body is especially con- versant, it is theology. I have heard more Scripture quoted here, and more morality taught, than in any other place it was ever my fortune to serve. With great diffidence then, I venture to suggest to the supporters of this bill, that while polygamy had its origin in holy writ, taught as I have said before by the greatest of all law-makers, and not only tolerated, but explicitly commanded by the Almighty, as I shall presently show, monogamy, or the system of marriage now recognized by so many Christian nations, originated among the Pagans of ancient Greece and Rome.

" I know, sir, that the report accompanying the bill fetches vast stores of theological information to bear; informs us that polygamy is contrary to the Di- vine economy, and refers to the marriage of the first human couple, and cites the further testimony of the Bible, and that of the history of the world. Setting aside the last named as slightly too voluminous for critical examination in the pres- ent discussion, we will take up, as briefly as possible, the Divine authorities, and the commentaries and discussions thereon by eminent Christian writers, and see how far my people have been misled by clinging to them. As for the illustrious example quoted of our first parents, all that can be said of their marriage, is that it was exhaustive. Adam married all the women in the world, and if we find teaching by the example, we must go among his descendants, where examples can be found among the favored people of God, whose laws were of Divine origin, and whose conduct received sanction or punishment at His hands.

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History of Salt Lake City, Part 58

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Tullidge, Edward Wheelock
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Salt Lake City, Star printing company
Number of Pages: 1194