If the congregation will endeavor to preserve as much order as
possible, and prevent the crying and disturbance of children, I will
try and address you for a short time. Last evening I made quite a
lengthy address in this hall; but we had very good order. There was no
whispering, no talking, nor disturbance of any kind. It requires, in a
large congregation like this, quite an exertion to speak so as to make
the people hear. I am told that the people could not hear half of what
was said by several of the brethren yesterday. It is wrong for us to
have disorder in the house of God, a place where we meet for
instruction.
Last evening I talked of some matters of considerable importance to
the Priesthood, of which there was an immense number present; they
nearly filled this hall. I wish to continue some of these remarks; for
it is necessary that all of us should be instructed in the great
principles which God has revealed for the guidance, salvation and
exaltation of the Saints of God, and also for the benefit of the world
wherein we live. There were very many promises made to eminent men in
generations long since past; but these generally had reference more
particularly to the benefit of the world of mankind than to
individuals.
There were certain great principles involved in the organization of
this earth, and one was that there might be a place provided whereon
the children of our Heavenly Father could live and propagate their
species, and have bodies formed for the spirits to inhabit who were
the children of God; for we are told that He is the God and Father of
the spirits of all flesh. It was requisite, therefore, that an earth
should be organized; it was requisite that man should be placed upon
it; it was requisite that bodies should be prepared for those
spirits to inhabit, in order that the purposes of God pertaining to
His progeny might be accomplished, and that those spirits might be
enabled, through the medium of the everlasting Gospel, to return unto
the presence of their Heavenly Father, as Gods among the Gods.
There have been different agencies at work throughout this world's
history. Lucifer has been and is one of these agencies. There was a
garden planted, and Adam and Eve were placed in it, and there they had
communion with God. There was another being whose name was Lucifer,
who is called in some places, "the son of the morning." Job speaks of
a time at the creation of this earth when "the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," (Job xxxviii, 7).
As it was necessary that there should be a God, a man, an earth and a
heaven, it was also necessary that there should be a devil, that man
might be tried, and by trial be instructed. Indeed, in the economy of
God, it was not only necessary that man, but the Savior also should be
perfected by suffering. It is written: "For it became him, for whom
are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto
glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through
sufferings." (Hebrews, ii, 10.) It was further necessary that there
should be a Redeemer according to the plan which was devised from
before the foundation of the world, and also that man might be a free
agent to act and operate for himself, to receive the good and reject
the evil, or reject the good and be governed by the evil. And there
were certain rewards promised to those who would obey the laws of God,
and keep his commandments, and certain punishments inflicted upon
those who would not. Satan has made very great ravages among the human
family in trying to accomplish his purposes; for he has been the enemy
of God, and the enemy of man, and in ages past he wrought upon mankind
until after a certain period he had contrived to get the great
majority of them on his side. Nevertheless, they had the Priesthood
among them in those early days as we have among us today. After Adam
there were Seth, Enos, Mahalaleel, Methuselah, Lamech, and a great
many others until we arrive at Enoch and Noah, who operated especially
in behalf of the interest of the human family. They preached the
Gospel as we preach it, and taught the same principles that we teach.
They gathered the people to a Zion as we gather them, and when they
had been gathered together, they had enemies as we have, who arrayed
themselves against them. But Enoch was clothed upon with the power of
God. He walked with God for 365 years, and we are told, "he was not;
for God took him." That is about all that is said about him in the
Bible; but we have other information. Many others walked with God, and
there was a city that the people were gathered to—a Zion. They walked
with God and they were instructed of the Lord; but it took at any
rate, 365 years to accomplish this object.
Furthermore, in the latter
days there is to be a Zion built up: but in these days we are told
that the Lord will cut His work short in righteousness. Enoch, in his day,
had his messengers go forth among the people, and when they gathered,
it induced the rage of man, and great armies assembled against the
Saints, but Enoch prophesied by the power of God, and the earth
shook and the mountains trembled, and the enemies of the Saints in
fear fled afar off. By and by when the time came for the
accomplishment of the purposes of God, and before the destruction of
the wicked, Enoch was caught up to heaven and his Zion with him. And
we are told in latter revelation in relation to these matters that a
Zion will be built up in our day; that great trouble will overtake the
inhabitants of the earth; and that when the time arrives, the Zion
that was caught up will descend, and the Zion that will be organized
here will ascend, both possessed of the same spirit, their peoples
having been preserved by the power of God according to His purposes
and as His children, to take part in the events of the latter days. We
are told that when the people of these two Zions meet, they will fall
on each others' necks, and embrace and kiss each other.
As they in that day were placed under the guidance of the Almighty, so
are we. As they had a work to perform associated with the welfare of
the human family, so have we. As they had the Gospel to preach, so
have we. As they had a Zion to build up, so have we. As they needed the
support of the Great Jehovah, so do we. As they were dependent upon
Him in all their movements, whether in relation to earth or heaven, so
are we. The work in which we are engaged is one that has been
introduced by the Great Eloheim, the God and Father of the human
family, in the interests of His children. And wherever and whenever
these principles have existed, this same being that was in the garden
with our first parents still goes forth and has gone forth as a raging
lion, seeking whom he may deceive, seeking whom he may devour, seeking
whom he may lead down to death. And in these latter days God has
introduced these same principles with the same object in view. He has
revealed the same principles of heaven, and as heretofore, in the
interest of humanity. Who was Enoch? Was he a man of God? Yes. Who
were the Elders with him, were they men of God? Yes; and they received
their instructions in that Zion that was then built up, and more or
less directly from God; for Enoch walked with God. Whom was Enoch
operating for? For God his heavenly Father. He was there, as Jesus was
on the earth in his time, as he said, not to do His own will, but the
will of his Father who sent him. And whom did those people operate
for? They operated for the welfare of the human family who would
receive the truth and be governed by it. And whom did Jesus and His
Apostles in their day operate for? For the benefit of all the world.
Jesus Himself appeared as the Redeemer of the world, and He
commissioned His Apostles to preach the Gospel to every creature,
saying: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that
believeth not shall be damned." What is this salvation and
condemnation? That would take a long time to tell. Suffice it to say
that there are bodies celestial, bodies terrestrial, and bodies
telestial; one glory of the sun, another of the moon, and another of
the stars; but strait was the gate and narrow was the way that led
unto the lives, and few there were at that time and few there have
always been who have gone in thereat. And what was it that they
sought? It was the Celestial Kingdom of our God, that they might come
forth in the first resurrection and be one with the Father and one
with Jesus, and be long to the Church of the Firstborn whose
names are written in heaven, and become Gods among the Gods, and
participate in all the glory of the Celestial Kingdom. But few there
were who found the narrow path. It is so today. Were the Apostles of
Jesus commanded to preach the Gospel? Yes. Are we commanded as they
were? Yes. What was the position of the Apostles? They were simply
messengers of life and salvation to a fallen world. What are the First
Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the Seventies, and the
Elders today? What are they? Bearers of life and salvation to a
fallen world, the messengers of God to men, the legates of the skies
commissioned by the Great Jehovah to introduce the principles of
eternal life, and gather in his elect from the four quarters of the
earth, and to prepare them for an exaltation in the celestial kingdom
of God. And what becomes of those who choose the other path? They are
still God's children, and He feels interested in them. What will He do
with them? They will be judged according to the deeds done in the
body, and according to the light and intelligence which God
communicates to them. Then there is another glory, a telestial glory.
Those who enter into that glory will also be judged according to their
deeds and be rewarded according to their acts. We are told of others
who will suffer the wrath of God, and in the revelations given to us
we learn that eternal punishment is God's punishment, that everlasting
punishment is God's punishment, for He is eternal, and He is
everlasting. We are informed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah suffered
the vengeance of eternal fire. We are told, too, that the inhabitants
of the antediluvian world, who were destroyed because of their
wickedness, were shut up in prison and they remained there for a long,
long time. How long? We read that Jesus, who was put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, went and preached to the spirits
in prison which were sometime disobedient when once the longsuffering
of God waited in the days of Noah. How long had these people been
there? At a rough guess about 2,400 years. It was quite a painful
ordeal to go through. It is one that none of us would like very much.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God—a
fearful thing to violate His laws. We have gathered here that we may
learn those laws, the laws of God, the laws of life, and prepare
ourselves under His guidance for an inheritance in the Celestial
Kingdom of God. But are all the Latter-day Saints going into that
kingdom? No. How is that? It is just as Jesus declared. "It is not
every one that saith, Lord, Lord, that will enter into the Kingdom of
God; but he that doeth the will of the Father who is in heaven." Did
Jesus come to do the will of His Father in heaven? He did, and He
expects all who aim at Celestial glory to do the same, and if they do
not they will not get there. He says, "Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" And
He will say unto them, "Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, I know
you not, you have not lived as becometh Saints." Oh, say some, that
don't mean the Saints. No, it don't, but it means many who profess to
be Saints. Do the world profess to cast out devils, to heal the sick
and to do many mighty works? They do not. Do the world
prophesy in His name? No. Do the world preach in the name of God? They
preach in His name, many of them, without having the authority, as we
have heard at this conference; but they do not propose to do many
mighty works in His name, but many of our Elders do—Elders who magnify
their calling and honor their God. On the other hand there are Elders
who are careless, wayward and rebellious against God and His laws—who
seek to trample under foot the principles that He has revealed—who
seek to set themselves up to guide, direct, and manipulate the affairs
of the Church and Kingdom of God, and yet these same persons know
nothing but what they know naturally, as do the brute beasts, made to
be taken and destroyed; and we none of us know anything only as God
instructs us. We are indebted to Him for the introduction of this
work, and for all the information pertaining thereto. It has been from
no man nor set of men, nor organizations of a professed spiritual or
temporal nature, that we have received intelligence pertaining to the
things of God, the Church of God, or the Kingdom of God. It has come
directly from the Lord, through the Gospel of the Son of God, which
brings life and immortality to light; and if men think—and we every
once in a while meet with such characters—they know better than the
Lord how to manipulate affairs they will find out their mistake. The
Lord will say to them, "Depart from me, I never knew you: for it is
not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, that shall enter into the
Kingdom of God; but He that doeth the will of our Father in Heaven."
Hence there is a great work for us to do. There is something
comprehensive in it. It is indeed the dis pensation of the fullness of
times spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was. It
relates to the interests of men that now live: it relates to the
interests of men who have lived, and it relates to things that are yet
in the future. It is a thing in which the Gods in the eternal worlds
are interested, and all the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets that have
lived upon the earth are all interested in the work in which we are
engaged. There is a Priesthood in the heavens, and we have the same
Priesthood on the earth, but there should be a closer communion
between the Priesthood on the earth and the Priesthood in the heavens;
it is desirable that we should be brought into closer proximity, we
want to be advancing as Enoch advanced. After the appearance of Jesus
upon the earth, there was to be a certain power who would make war
with the Saints and prevail against them; and it is said, "they shall
be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of
time:" (Daniel vii, 25) but in this day we are told that "the saints
of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for
ever, even for ever and ever," (verse 18). You and I may violate our
covenants; you and I may trample upon the principles of the Gospel,
and violate the order of the Priesthood and the commands of God; but
among the hosts of Israel there will be thousands and tens of
thousands who will be true to the principles of truth, and God in the
heavens, the holy angels and the ancient Priesthood that now live
where God lives are all united together, for the accomplishment of
this purpose. The Lord will roll forth His purposes in His own way and
is His own time. And having thus organized, as I before stated, it is not for us to act as we may think individually, but as God
shall dictate. We have a regular order in the Church. You brethren,
who hold the holy Priesthood, understand these things. Has God not
given to every man a portion of His Spirit to profit withal? Yes. Has
He not done more than this to the saints who are true and faithful?
Has He not given to them the gift of the Holy Ghost? He has, and they
know it and realize it. They are brought into communion with each
other, and into communion with God and the heavenly hosts. But having
this Spirit do we need others to guide us? Yes, all the time. Why?
Because of the powers of darkness, the influence of Satan and the
weakness of human nature. We need watchmen upon the towers of Zion,
who are on the alert to look after the interests of Israel, and see
that God's people do not go astray. Hence it becomes the duty of the
Teachers to look after the people, to see that there is no hard
feeling, no covetousness, no fraud, no adultery, no iniquity of any
kind; but that purity, holiness and righteousness prevail among those
that they preside over. And how far does this extend? To every place
where there is a ward or a portion of a ward—to the utmost extremity.
It may be compared unto the body—from the head to the feet, from the
toes to the fingers, and to every other part. All the officers
necessary for the work of the ministry are to be found in the Church,
and everything has been organized according to the order of God. Are
any of these men who are called to presiding positions autocrats—men
who exercise undue authority over the feelings and associations of
their fellow man? No. Have any of them the right to disregard the
feelings of their breth ren, trample them under foot, and act as
tyrants? No. Have the Apostles, or High Priests, or Seventies, or
Elders, any such right? No. Brother Cannon will read an extract from
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, on this question.
President George Q. Cannon then read as follows from Section 121, of
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—
"Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they
not chosen?
"Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world,
and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one
lesson—
"That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the
powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled
nor handled only upon the principle of righteousness.
"That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake
to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to
exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the
children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens
withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is
withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
"Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the
pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.
"We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and
disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority,
as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous
dominion.
"Hence many are called, but few are chosen.
"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue
of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by
gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
"By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul
without hypocrisy, and without guile—
"Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost;
and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom
thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
"That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of
death.
"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the
household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly;
then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the
doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from
heaven.
"The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an
unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall
be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow
unto thee forever and ever."
President Taylor continuing his remarks said: We have many specimens
of the characters referred to in this revelation read by Brother
Cannon. These things continue to exist more or less. Some people are
very desirous sometimes to instruct me about how I ought to manipulate
and manage affairs. Well, if they were set as my instructors I should
be much pleased to get all the information I could from them, and I
would be pleased to get information from the humblest person in
existence—if it was information. Among other things I find that a good
many begin to think that we are very much persecuted and proscribed in
our marital relations, according to the revelations which God has
given us, and there is sometimes a little trembling in the knees. I am
pleased there is not much of it, but there is a little once in a
while. Sometimes I get advice from outsiders, from the newspapers,
etc., and sometimes from some of our brethren (but from very few of
our brethren), in relation to these matters.
God has given us a revelation in regard to celestial marriage. I did
not make it. He has told us certain things pertaining to this matter,
and they would like us to tone that principle down and change it and
make it applicable to the views of the day. This we cannot do; nor can
we interfere with any of the commands of God to meet the persuasions
or behests of men. I cannot do it, and will not do it.
I find some men try to twist round the principle in any way and every
way they can. They want to sneak out of it in some way. Now God don't
want any kind of sycophancy like that. He expects that we will be true
to Him, and to the principles He has developed, and to feel as Job
did—"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." Though other folks
would slay us, yet we will trust in the living God and be true to our
covenants and to our God. These are my feelings in relation to that
matter. We have also been told that "it is not mete that men who will
not abide my law shall preside over my Priesthood," and yet some
people would like very much to do it. Well, they cannot do it; because
if we are here, as I said before, to do the will of our Father who
sent us, and He has told us what to do, we will do it, in the name of
Israel's God—and all who sanction it say Amen—[the vast
congregation responded with a loud "Amen."]—and those that don't
may say what they please. [Laughter.] If God has introduced something for
our glory and exaltation, we are not going to have that kicked over by
any improper influence, either inside or outside of the Church of the
living God. We will stand by the principles of eternal truth; living
we will proclaim them, and dying we will be true to them, and after
death will live again in their enjoyment in the eternal worlds. That
is my feeling; so I don't feel very trembly in the knees, and I do not
think you do, generally. I see sometimes a disposition to try to
ignore some of the laws which God has introduced, and this is one of
them. People want to slip round a corner, or creep out in some way.
There is something very creepy about it. There was a man in former
times we are told, came to Jesus by night. His name was Nicodemus. He
was one of those persons who did not like the daylight. I have known
some people who would want to be baptized in the evening, or get into
some corner that they might not be seen. Well, there is not much to
such folks. Jesus was very unpopular, quite as unpopular as we are, in
His day. Nicodemus was a prominent man among the Jews, and he thought
it might injure his reputation if he was seen visiting that Nazarene,
to get instruction from Him, so he crawled in at night. Jesus talked
quite plainly to him, as you can read for yourselves; but we find some
folks of a similar kind now creeping around. They have not the manhood
to stand true to their colors and to their God. Some folks think that
we polygamists are very much indebted to our brethren who are
monogamists to help to steady the ark (God save the
mark!)—(Laughter.)—to help to save us, and that we need such men in
the Legislature, etc., and to fill our various offices. Well, I won't
tell you all I think about some of these things, but I do think we are
all of us dependent upon God our Heavenly Father, and if He don't take
care of us we shall not be taken care of; if His arm is not extended
in our behalf we shall have a poor showing; but if God is with us, we
ask no odds of the world, for He governs the destinies of the human
family. He puts down one man and exalts another. He dethrones one king
or president as the case may be, and sets up another, and He rules as
He pleases among the nations of the earth and all the children of men,
although they don't know it. We live in Him, we move in Him, we have
our being from Him. We are not dependent very much upon the
monogamists about any of these things. You need not plume yourselves
very much in these matters; and I will tell you, if you want to get
along smoothly, you had better find among your various neighbors, when
you have some matter of difficulty to settle, some of these
polygamists and ask a little counsel at their hands. They will be able
to advise you about many things, especially if they are men of God,
humble men, living their religion and keeping the commandments of God.
There are some few things I have been reflecting about, and have noted
them down, and I think I shall read them now.
The distinction being made between Polygamy and Prostitution:
1st. Congress made a law which would affect both; and cohabitation
with more than one woman was made a crime whether in polygamy
or out of polygamy.
2nd. The Governor turned legislator, added to this law, and inserted
in a test oath to officials, the following words regarding
cohabitation, "in the marriage relation;" thus plainly and definitely
sanctioning prostitution, without any law of the United States, or any
authority.
3rd. The United States Commissioners, also, without legislation,
adopted the action of the Governor, and still insisted on this
interpolation, in the test oath in election matters, and placed all
polygamists under this unconstitutional oath, and released prostitutes
and their paramours from the obligations placed upon others.
4th. The Prosecuting Attorney has sanctioned these things, and pursued
a similar course; and while he has asked all the "Mormon" jurors
certain questions pertaining to their religious faith in the doctrines
of the "Mormon" Church, and challenged them if they answered
affirmatively as to their belief in polygamy, he has declined to ask
other jurors whether they believed in prostitution, or whether they
believed in cohabiting with more than one woman or not.
5th. Chief Justice Zane when appealed to on this question refused to
interfere, or give any other ruling, and thus aided in packing the
jury.
Thus a law was first passed by Congress, which has been perverted by
the administration, by all its officers who have officiated in this
Territory, and made to subserve the interests of a party who have
placed in their political platform an Anti-Mormon plank; and have
clearly proven that there is a combination in all the officers of
State, officiating in this Territory, to back up this political
intrigue in the interest of party, and at the sacrifice of law,
equity, jurisprudence and all the safeguards that are provided by the
Constitution for the protection of human rights.
These (continued President Taylor) are some points that are of
considerable importance. Similar things have been exhibited in former
times—an animus, a united operation against justice, equity and law,
and, in our case, against the Constitution of the United States, and
the rights and privileges and immunities of the Latter-day Saints. A
law was framed professedly in the interest of purity and virtue. When
it got here it was perverted and made to subserve the interest of
prostitution and prostitutes; and the lowest class of men, who violate
their marital relations, and trample under foot all principles of
virtue and integrity, can go on our juries, can vote at the polls,
through the intrigues of corrupt men; and they thus try to shackle a
free people, bring them into bondage, and make slaves of them, unless
they will bow to their infernal behests, and in the name of Israel's
God we will not do it. [The congregation responded with a loud "Amen."]
We are not going to elevate prostitutes and men who violate their
marital relations above men and women who are virtuous, honorable and
upright. These are my feelings, and I am not afraid to proclaim them
to the world. So much for these things.
Do we want a class of men along with us that will submit to these kind
of things, and are we to share in this hypocrisy, this infamy and
degradation? What mean these dens in our city that are introduced by
our Christian friends—dens of infamy, dens of prostitution, gam bling holes, houses of assignation, dramshops, etc.? They are to
cater to the virtuous (?) feelings of these honorable, high-minded,
pure reformers that have come among us—(Laughter)—or what are they
for? They are sanctioned, I am ashamed to say by the officers of
government, and protected in their libidinous and degrading pursuits.
How was it some time ago when the Edmunds law was first introduced? A
son of Mayor Little was one of the election registrars. His father
some years ago had had two wives—I am sorry to say he has not got them
now, they are dead—and because some years before any law of this kind
was in operation in the United States he had practiced plural
marriage, his son was obliged to tell his father that he could not
register. Shortly afterwards a notorious courtesan known as Kate
Flint, with some of the inmates of her bagnio, drove up and requested
to be registered. "Why, of course." And this same gentleman that
could not register his honorable father, who had never violated any
law of the United States, had to endure the mortification of taking
the names of these others and placing them on the list as respectable
voters in our midst! About this time another non-Mormon came along to
one of the other registration officers, and on partly reading the
oath—this test oath that had been prescribed—said, "I am afraid I
can't take that!" "Why can't you take it?" Well, he was an
honest man
among the Gentiles; he did not like to foreswear himself; so he said,
"I have a wife, and then I keep a mistress." "Oh, well," says the
man,
"read on a little further." He read on until he came to the words,
"in
the marriage relation." "Oh, well, yes, I can take that," he
said, and
registered. These are facts that are stuck before our noses here in
the City of Salt Lake by the officials sent among us, and who are
instructed particularly to look after our morals.
So much, then, for such affairs. Now, do we want affiliation or
association with such practices and principles as these? God forbid.
And we want no falterers in our ranks. What shall we do? Live our
religion, be true to our covenants, and keep the commandments of God.
What shall the Presidents of Stakes do? Look after our Stakes, and if
you find adulterers or adulteresses among you, don't permit them to go
into the temples of God; for we won't have such people; they cannot be
sanctioned by us, nor have our fellowship. We will not have them; the
world may take the strumpets; they may wallow in their filth, but we
will not have our holy places polluted by people calling themselves
Latter-day Saints, who indulge in these abominable practices; we will
not have them; and anybody who permits them to go into these holy
places will have to be responsible for it. Many Bishops do it, they
will be held responsible. Therefore, be careful, you Presidents of
Stakes and you Bishops, how you act, and look well after your people,
for be it understood that before our Lord Jesus Christ shall come,
"Tighteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his
steps." (Psalms lxxxv, 13.) We are preparing ourselves to build up a
Zion of God, and these people, whoremasters and whores, liars and
hypocrites, will never get into the city of the living God, they will
be found outside the gates.
Now, have I any ill feelings towards these people that persecute and
proscribe us? No. I would do them good for evil, give
blessings for curses; I would treat them well, treat them honorably.
Let us be men of truth, honor and integrity; men that will swear to
our own hurt and change not; men whose word will be our everlasting
bond. If you see men hungry, feed them, no matter who they are: white,
black, or red, Jew, Gentile or Mormon, or anybody else—feed them. If
you see men naked, clothe them. If you see men sick, administer to
them, and learn to be kind to all men; but partake not of their evil
practices. "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their
assembly, mine honor, be not thou united." We are trying to raise up a
people that shall be men of God, men of truth, men of integrity, men
of virtue, men who will be fit to associate with the Gods in the
eternal worlds.
We are accused of being corrupt, degraded, low and debauched. Who by?
By people, as I will show who are ten times as degraded, ten times as
debauched, ten times as low and guilty of ten-fold more crime than we
are. These are our professed reformers. I speak of these things
therefore in our defense, and were we not accused by men void of honor
and principle, I never would broach such a subject; for, I do not
delight to dwell on the infamies, the corruptions and abominations of
the world. I would rather speak of their good qualities and honorable
principles, and I am thankful to say that there are thousands and tens
of thousands and millions in these United States and in other nations
who look with contempt upon all the chicanery, deception and fraud,
whether of a moral, social, political, legislative, or judicial
character; thousands and millions of men; I see many of them, very
many of them, who pass through here, men of note, of position in
society from the United States, and from the different nations who
call upon me from time to time, and express their sentiments
pertaining to these matters. In order to sustain what I say, I will
have Brother Cannon read over some statistics in regard to crime. We
are, as I have said, represented as a very bad people, and I want to
show a comparison between us and our reformers, or those that profess
to be our reformers in relation to these matters.
President Cannon then read the following, being the criminal
statistics for the year 1883.
"The population of Utah may be estimated at 160,000 in 1883.
"Of these say 130,000 were Mormons, and 30,000 Gentiles, a very
liberal estimate of the latter.
"In this year there were 46 persons sent to the Penitentiary convicted
of crime. Of these 33 were non-Mormons, and 13 reputed Mormons.
"At the above estimate of population the ratio or percentage would be
one prisoner to every 10,000 Mormons, or one hundredth of one per
cent, and of the Gentiles one convict in every 909, or about one ninth
of one percent. So that the actual proportion of criminals is more
than ten times greater among the Gentiles of Utah, with the above very
liberal estimate, than among the Mormons.
"It is urged that these non-Mormon prisoners are not a fair
representation of the average of crime throughout the country, but are
the result of the flow of the desperate classes westward to the
borders of civilization; with greater truth we reply that the Mormon
prisoners are not representatives of Mormonism, nor the results of
Mormonism, but of the consequences of a departure from Mormon
principles; and of the 13 prisoners classed as "Mormons," the greater
portion were only so by family connection or association:
Arrests in Salt Lake City, 1883:
Mormons, 150
Non-Mormons, 1,559
or more than ten times the number of Mormon arrests.
"Again, it is estimated that there are 6,000 non-Mormons, and 19,000
Mormons in Salt Lake City, which shows of Mormons one arrest in 126 2/3.
"Non-Mormons one arrest in a fraction less than every four, or rather
more than twenty-five percent."
As I have said before (continued President Taylor), if we were not on
the defensive in this case, I would say nothing about these things;
but it ill becomes men who have got ten criminals to our one to come
here as our reformers, and try to disfranchise men who are ten times
as good as they are. These are facts that are not of my getting up.
They come from the public records and can be verified by the prison
and other statistics. And the question is, how much of that rule do we
want here?
The questionable honor is reserved to these advocates of "advanced
high moral ideas" to trample upon all judicial precedents. It was not
enough that an insignificant minority should have more than an equal
showing with the majority, being equal in numbers in the drawing to
make up a venire. It was not enough that every Mormon was questioned
as to his religious faith, and that no Gentile was. It was not enough
that all "Mormons" were excluded from this so-called
"impartial grand
jury," and that their avowed enemies were to be their judges. It is
not enough that our people must be tried by men whose average record
shows them to be ten times their inferiors as law abiding citizens;
but not having enough men to pack this "impartial grand jury"
according to the provisions of law, under the guise of virtue, and in
the name of morality and justice, edicts are issued to the officers to
go into the purlieus of the city and gather up ad libitum from among
the guttersnipes creatures to form "a jury of the peers" of the
accused with which to persecute and prosecute honorable men and women.
These are things we object to, and I wish our brethren and sisters to
be informed in regard to these matters, that they may have a correct
estimate of the position that we occupy pertaining thereto. We cannot
respect and esteem such operations, and while we are desirous to place
ourselves in conformity with all law, all order and all correct
principle, yet we despise in our hearts this chicanery, hypocrisy,
fraud and deception. But do we expect to see such things? Yes. Are we
surprised at it? No. Why? Because we have been told over and over
again, and the Elders have preached over and over again, and the
Prophets have prophesied of it over and over again, that the world
will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Who is it
that embarks in these things? It is the corrupt, the ungodly, the
debauchee, the adulterer, the liar, the men who violate every
principle of honor, truth and integrity, and who are enemies to this
nation, and the same class of people are enemies to any nation. They
are laying the axe at the root of the tree of liberty, and trying to
overturn the freedom of man, and to place free men in bondage, a
thing no honorable man would con descend to for a moment. And
there are many in this city who despise these things as they do the
gates of hell, who are not associated with us in a religious capacity,
many honorable men who have feelings of this kind, and then there are
tens of thousands in the United States who possess the same feelings
and the same abhorrence of this corruption, degradation and infamy
that is sought to be palmed upon us. But while we can estimate these
things at their worth, we can also estimate the actions of honorable
men who are not of us at their true worth. Because a man is not a
believer in our doctrines, that is no reason why he should not be an
honorable man, for there are thousands and millions of them: it would
be a pity if they were in the same condition as the others. But we as
a people have to defend ourselves against the aggressions of an
unscrupulous enemy who is instigated by the power of the adversary to
overturn and destroy the truth today as he has done in other ages, in
other nations and among other peoples. Therefore it becomes us to look
well after our affairs, and protect ourselves as best we may from the
calumnies, the reproach, and the infamies that are sought to be
foisted upon us by an ungodly, hypocritical and corrupt people.
Now, having got through with this, I want to refer to something else.
It has been stated that the reason why we have so many of these
criminals is because that the scum of society from the eastern States
floats out here, and that therefore a rough, uncouth, lawless class
finds its way into this community. Now, I want something read to you
about some of these so called virtuous people in the east.
President Cannon again read as follows:
Dr. Nathan Allen, of Lowell, has declared in a paper read before a
late meeting of the American Social Science Association, that "nowhere
in the history of the world was the practice of abortion so common as
in this country; and he gave expression to the opinion that, in New
England alone, many thousands of abortions are procured annually."
Dr. Reamy, of the Ohio State Medical Society, says: "From a very
large verbal and written correspondence in this and other States,
together with personal investigation and facts accumulated * * that we
have become a nation of murderers."
The Rev. Dr. Eddy writes to the Christian Advocate regarding one
little village of 1,000 inhabitants: "Yet here, and elsewhere, 15 per
cent of wives have the criminal hardihood to practice this black art,
there is a still large and additional percent who endorse and defend
it. * * Among married persons, so extensive has this practice become,
that people of high repute not only commit this crime, but do not shun
to speak boastingly among their intimates of the deed and the means of
accomplishing it."
Dr. Allen further states: "Examining the number of deaths, we find
that there are absolutely more deaths than births among the strictly
American children, so that aside from immigration and births of
children of foreign parentage, the population of Massachusetts is
rapidly decreasing. * * The birth rate in the State of New York, shows
the same fact, that American families do not increase at all, and
inspection of the registration in other States shows the same remark
applies to all."
Bishop Coxe, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of New York,
in a pastoral letter to his people, writes: "I have heretofore warned
my flock against the blood guiltiness of antenatal infanticide. If
any doubts existed heretofore as to the propriety of my warnings on
this subject, they must now disappear before the fact that the world
itself is beginning to be horrified by the practical results of the
sacrifices to Moloch which defile our land. Again I warn you that they
who do such things cannot inherit eternal life. If there be a special
damnation for those who shed innocent blood, what must be the portion
of those who have no mercy upon their own flesh."
Dr. Cowan, M. D., writing on what he styles "the Murder of the
Unborn," says: "That this crime is not only widespread on this great
continent, but is rapidly on the increase, we have the testimony of
physicians, whose investigations have been thorough, and whose social
standing and sincerity cannot be questioned."
President Taylor continuing said: These are the people that are coming
here to reform us, and are so disgusted with our corruptions. Yet I am
pleased to find that there are, once in a while, men who have the
courage to speak against these damning evils. Bishop Coxe, of the
Episcopal Church, is one of these men, and I honor such men whenever I
hear of them, and should be glad at all times to extend to them all
courtesies possible. Dr. Allen and Dr. Reamy are inspired, it seems,
by the same detestation of these hellish, these fiendish, these
outrageous acts. Yet from these people come our reformers, who are so
horrified at the evils they see in Utah. But fortunately, the bed is
too short, they cannot stretch themselves on it; and the covering is
too narrow and too contracted, it will not cover them, and their evils
and abominations crop out on every side, and they become their own
accusers.
It is their own statements that I have had read to you this morning. I
am sorry to know that these things are as they are; but these are
facts, and we do not feel very much honored with the association of
such people. We do feel honored always to associate with honorable
men and women; but with the seducer, with harlots, with thieves, with
murderers of the innocents, no! never! no never! We want no
association with them. As it is stated here by one of these reverend
gentlemen in the East, speaking of these things, no murderer hath
eternal life in him, nor no murderesses have eternal life in them.
I have had these things read to you for two reasons: First, to show
the corruption that exists among these so-called virtuous people,
honorable people, pure people, who are so shocked at the atrocities
that take place in Utah. Another reason is that I want to warn our
brethren and sisters against these infamies, and against permitting
these filthy wretches to come into their houses. They are too low, too
debased, too corrupt; and I speak of it because I know what I am
talking about; there are some of these people crawling around us like
so many vipers, and insinuating their hellish, murderous practices
into the families of some who call themselves Latter-day Saints. Woe!
to such Saints. You cannot have a place among us. No woman murderer,
no man murderer can have a place among the Latter-day Saints, and I
speak of it that the Presidents of Stakes and the Bishops may be
apprised of these things. And some of these people would try
to pass by the Bishops, and then by the Presidents of Stakes, and then
by the President of the Church, and crawl with all their slime and
damnable hypocrisy into the Temples of the living God. They may pass
by these, but they will have to pass by the angels and the Gods,
before they get through, and they will never inherit the Kingdom of
God. Hear it you sisters! Hear it you brethren! Hear it you Bishops,
and you Presidents of Stakes! Watch well and know well what you are
doing, when you sign recommends for doubtful characters to go into
these holy places. We do not want them there. It is not their place,
and you will have to account for your acts if you permit these things
knowingly. It is necessary that you should be particular about these
matters, for you will have to answer for your doings as I have for
mine. We cannot, because of relationship, because somebody is a
cousin, or an uncle, or an aunt, or a brother, or a sister, or a son
or a daughter, or a father or a mother—we cannot ad mit and will not
admit them to any of these holy places unless they are worthy. I call
upon you if you know of adulterers or adulteresses, or people that
practice these unnatural infamies, to sever them from the Church; they
shall not have a place in the Church and Kingdom of God. Mr. Murray
here, and others, may make laws and test oaths, with provisions in
them to screen the adulterer, the whoremonger, and the seducer; but we
will tear that away from our people, and all such shall have no place
with Israel, and all who are in favor of it, signify it by saying
"Aye." [The congregation responded with a loud "Aye."] These
are our
feelings, and it is some of these things which has led me to talk as
plainly as I have done in regard to some of these other matters. I
wanted to present the contrast so plainly before you that he that
runneth might read. Enough of this, however, for the present:
Handle it carefully.
Deal with it gently,
Speak of it tenderly,
Poor Justice is blind.