The Mormon Prophet and His Harem: Or, An Authentic History of Brigham Young, His Numerous Wives and ChildrenWaite, C. V. (Catherine Van Valkenburg)
History
The Mormon Prophet and His Harem: Or, An Authentic History of Brigham Young, His Numerous Wives and Children
Waite, C. V. (Catherine Van Valkenburg)
Latter Day Saint churches; Young, Brigham, 1801-1877
"We, the people, grateful to the Supreme Being for the
blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him
for a continuance of those blessings, _do ordain and establish
a free and Independent Government_, by the name of _the State
of Deseret_; including all the territory of the United States
within the following boundaries, to wit:" [Here follow the
boundaries of the proposed new State.]
It will be noticed by the phraseology of the foregoing preamble that
this government was to be "free and independent," and was intended to
remain such until the new State, thus constituted, _should be admitted
into the Union_. In other words, they intended, through the machinery of
this independent State, to harass and annoy the government, and the
gentiles, until the "saints" could force themselves into the Union upon
their own terms. This theory is fully sustained by the subsequent
history of this inchoate State. The very first steps taken were
independent of, and in hostility to, the officers appointed by the
Government of the United States, as will more fully appear in the
following pages.
The formation of this government for the State of Deseret was the first
effort to throw off the yoke of the Federal Government,--an effort which
has been persistently persevered in to the present time.
There never has been a time since Brigham Young crossed the Rocky
Mountains, when he has honestly entertained the idea of being a good and
loyal citizen of the United States.
The following were the first officers of this infant monarchy:--
Governor, BRIGHAM YOUNG.
Lieutenant-Governor, HEBER C. KIMBALL.
Chief Justice, DANIEL H. WELLS.
The Assembly met, and after listening to the Governor's Message,
proceeded to frame a code of laws. This _pseudo_ State government
remained in force until the 22d of September, 1851, when the Territorial
Legislature convened.
In the mean time Brigham, having been appointed Governor of the newly
organized Territory, and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and seeing a
fair prospect of lining his pockets from the treasury of the United
States, concluded to forego for a time his ambitious projects, and
consented that the new "State" should be merged into a United States
Territory.
The federal officers were appointed during the session of 1850-51, but
owing to the difficulty of transportation, did not arrive until July,
1851. Young, who had been appointed Governor, had, on the 3d of
February, 1851, taken the oath of office before Wells, _Chief Justice of
Deseret_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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