Under the Prophet in Utah; the National Menace of a Political PriestcraftCannon, Frank J.
History
Under the Prophet in Utah; the National Menace of a Political Priestcraft
Cannon, Frank J.
Latter Day Saint churches; Latter Day Saints; Utah -- Politics and government
On June 11, 1906, a majority of the committee made a report to the
Senate recommending that Apostle Smoot was not entitled to his seat in
the Senate. They found that he was one of a "self-perpetuating body of
fifteen men, uniting in themselves authority in both Church and state,"
who "so exercise this authority as to encourage a belief in polygamy as
a divine institution, and by both precept and example encourage among
their followers the practice of polygamy and polygamous cohabitation;"
that the Church authorities had "endeavored to suppress, and succeed
in suppressing, a great deal of testimony by which the fact of plural
marriages contracted by those who were high in the councils of the
Church might have been established beyond the shadow of a doubt;" and
that "aside from this it was shown by the testimony that a majority
of those who give law to the Mormon Church are now, and have been for
years, living in open, notorious and shameless polygamous cohabitation."
Concerning President Woodruff's anti-polygamy manifesto of 1890, the
majority of the committee reported that "this manifesto in no way
declares the principle of polygamy to be wrong or abrogates it as a
doctrine of the Mormon Church, but simply suspends the practice of
polygamy to be resumed at some more convenient season, either with
or without another revelation." They found that Apostle Smoot was
responsible for the conduct of the organization to which he belonged;
that he had countenanced and encouraged polygamy "by repeated acts
and in a number of instances, as a member of the quorum of the twelve
apostles;" and that he was "no more entitled to a seat in the Senate
than he would be if he were associating in polygamous cohabitation with
a plurality of wives."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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