A Letter from the Prophet from Prison

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"Dearly and beloved brethren,

"We see that perilous times have come, as was testified of. We may look, then, with most perfect assurance, for the fulfillment of all those things that have been written, and with more confidence than ever before, lift up our eyes to the luminary of day, and say in our hearts, Soon thou wilt veil thy blushing face. He that said "Let there be Light," and there was light, hath spoken this word. And again, Thou moon, thou dimmer light, thou luminary of night, shalt turn to blood.

"We see that everything is being fulfilled; and that the time shall soon come when the Son of Man shall descend in the clouds of heaven. Our hearts do not shrink, neither are our spirits altogether broken by the grievous yoke which is put upon us. We know that God will have our oppressors in derision; that He will laugh at their calamity, and mock when their fear cometh.

"O that we could be with you, brethren, and unbosom our feelings to you! We would tell, that we should have been liberated at the time Elder Rigdon was, on the writ of habeas corpus, had not our own lawyers interpreted the law, contrary to what it reads, against us; which prevented us from introducing our evidence before the mock court.

"They have done us much harm from the beginning. They have of late acknowledged that the law was misconstrued, and tantalized our feelings with it, and have entirely forsaken us, and have forfeited their oaths and their bonds; and we have a come-back on them, for they are co-workers with the mob.

"As nigh as we can learn, the public mind has been for a long time turning in our favor, and the majority in now friendly; and the lawyers can no longer browbeat us by saying that this or that is a matter of public opinion, for public opinion is not willing to brook it; for it is beginning to look with feelings of indignation against our oppressors, and to say that the "Mormons" were not in the fault in the least. We think that truth, honor, virtue and innocence will eventually come out triumphant.

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"A fanciful and flowery and heated imagination beware of; because the things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity--thou must commune with God. How much more dignified and noble are the thoughts of God, than the vain imaginations of the human heart! None but fools will trifle with the souls of men.

"How vain and trifling have been our spirits, our conferences, our councils, our meetings, our private as well as public conversations--too low, too mean, too vulgar, too condescending for the dignified characters of the called and chosen of God, according to the purposes of His will, from before the foundation of the world! We are called to hold the keys of the mysteries of those things that have been kept hid from the foundation of the world until now. Some have tasted a little of these things, many of which are to be poured down from heaven upon the heads of babes; yea, upon the weak, obscure and despised ones of the earth. Therefore we beseech of you, brethren, that you bear with those who do not feel themselves more worthy than yourselves, while we exhort one another to a reformation with one and all, both old and young, teachers and taught, both high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, male and female; let honesty, and sobriety, and candor, and solemnity, and virtue, and pureness, and meekness, and simplicity crown our heads in every place; and in fine, become as little children, without malice, guile or hypocrisy.

"And now, brethren, after your tribulations, if you do these things, and exercise fervent prayer and faith in the sight of God always, He shall give unto you knowledge by His Holy Spirit, yea by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now; which our forefathers have waited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fullness of their glory; a time to come in which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many Gods, they shall be manifest; all thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and also if there be bounds set to the heavens, or to the seas; or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon or stars; all the times of their revolutions; all the appointed days, months and years, and all the days of their days, months and years, and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed, in the days of the dispensation of the fullness of times, according to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other Gods, before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into His eternal presence, and into His immortal rest.

"But I beg leave to say unto you, brethren, that ignorance, superstition and bigotry placing itself where it ought not, is oftentimes in the way of the prosperity of this Church; like the torrent of rain from the mountains, that floods the most pure and crystal stream with mire, and dirt, and filthiness, and obscures everything that was clear before, and all rushes along in one general deluge; but time weathers tide; and notwithstanding we are rolled in the mire of the flood for the time being, the next surge peradventure, as time rolls on, may bring to us the fountain as clear as crystal, and as pure as snow; while the filthiness, flood-wood and rubbish is left and purged out by the way.

"How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven, upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.

"What is Boggs or his murderous party, but wimbling willows upon the shore to catch the flood-wood? As well might we argue that water is not water, because the mountain torrents send down mire and roil the crystal stream, although afterwards render it more pure than before; or that fire is not fire, because it is of a quenchable nature, by pouring on the flood; as to say that our cause is down because renegades, liars, priests, thieves and murderers, who are all alike tenacious of their crafts and creeds, have poured down, from their spiritual wickedness in high places, and from their strongholds of the devil, a flood of dirt and mire and filthiness and vomit upon our heads.

"No! God forbid. Hell may pour forth its rage like the burning lava of mount Vesuvius, or of Etna, or of the most terrible of the burning mountains; and yet shall "Mormonism" stand. Water, fire, truth and God are all realities. Truth is "Mormonism." God is the author of it. He is our shield. It is by Him we received our birth. It was by His voice that we were called to a dispensation of His Gospel in the beginning of the fullness of times. It was by Him we received the Book of Mormon; and it is by Him that we remain unto this day; and by Him we shall remain, if it shall be for our glory; and in His Almighty name we are determined to endure tribulation as good soldiers unto the end."

The Prophet Joseph Smith
'Liberty' Jail, Missouri March 1839
TPJS pg 132-139

The Prophet Leroy S Johnson Said

February 3, 1963 in Salt Lake City
(The beginning of the UEP, The 1953 raid attorneys, opposition still, other fundamentalist groups, preparing for the coming of the Lord)

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"It is an easy thing, my brothers and sisters, to grieve the Spirit of God. But it is a hard thing to regain the favor of the Lord after we have once grieved His Spirit. It requires complete repentance from the thing which we have committed in order to gain His Spirit again and to be favored of Him. So it is a very dangerous thing to grieve the Spirit of God.

"The first order that the Priesthood tried to establish in Short Creek was the United Trust. Some of the men who put in all their possessions, their land, especially, when they saw a good chance to draw it out, drew it out and asked for their deeds back. After they had received them back, one or two wanted to come back into the work again. When the United Effort Plan was presented to them, they wanted to come back. But you know, it was the hardest thing in the world for those men to part with the deeds to their property again. Several who drew their land out and took their deeds out never were able to return. There was only one man, that I know of, that returned, and it took him a year or more of continual effort and continual tutoring under the hand of President Barlow before he could bring himself to a point where he could re-enter this work. He has been a very faithful man since, but he said to me several times that he never wanted to go through that ordeal again. One of the worst ordeals that he ever undertook was to re-enter this work after he had once pulled out of it. So it is a mighty hard thing, my brothers and sisters, to regain the favor of the Lord after we have once lost His confidence. It requires a complete repentance of our sins in order to do so. This man, before he was able to come back into the work, applied for baptism and was rebaptized and had hands laid upon his head for the reception of the Holy Ghost again. He told me several times that he feared very much for his safety in this work because of the temptations that came to him. So we can see that it is a mighty hard thing for us to dilly dally along with the principles of righteousness when we have once had an understanding of them.

"The Lord is very good to us. He has provided for our needs, both spiritually and temporally. I had the privilege the other day of visiting our attorneys that fought our cases through the courts in the days of the raid of '53. When we hired these attorneys, there were three of them in the firm. They had one secretary taking care of the work of the three attorneys, and they were soliciting for cases to keep their firm alive. They were barely making enough to pay their expenses and get food enough to take care of their needs. Today, they have seven secretaries and have added one more lawyer to their firm, making four of them, and they have seven office rooms. These office rooms are filled with law books. It would surprise you to go into them. Mr. Kinney told me the other day, "I want you to know that we know the cause of our expansion." He said, "Until we took the case of the Short Creek people, we were hardly able to live. Today we can't take care of the business. We have to hire outside help to come in. We have women who are searching the books continually for us. We had to add a new office the other day in order to provide for another set of law books. We could keep another secretary going, too."

"They got a call from a man in Texas who is the head of a big firm there that was deeply in trouble. He called Mr. Kinney and wanted to know if his firm would take his case. He said, "Haven't you any lawyers in Texas? You are too far away. We don't want to take your case." He said, "Listen, Mr. Kinney, we want somebody that can win our case. Anybody that can win a case like you won in '53 when you fought the polygamous case in the court can win any case that comes up before them, and we want somebody who can win." Mr. Kinney had just returned from Texas where he had fought their case and won it for them. Such cases as that have brought those men out of the kinks, you might say.

"Whenever I go to Phoenix I call them. The next move I have to make is to go to the office where they can see me, possibly take me out to dinner, if I will go with them. He told me the other day that he was never going to take another group case unless it was the Short Creek people. "If they ever come into court again, " he said, "I want their case. And, Mr. Johnson, the next time we take your case, we will do just what you asked us to do before, which we thought we couldn't do."

"When Mr. Kinney took the case before, I told him that the first thing I wanted them to do was to fight this case from the standpoint that we were not law-breakers. He said, "No, Mr. Johnson, we can't. You have broken the constitutional law." I said, "No, Mr. Kinney, we have not broken the constitutional law. We have broken no law of this land or of God. Until we can get a law firm that will take our case and fight it from that standpoint, we will never win the case." But the other day he told me if he ever took our case again, he would fight it from the standpoint that we were not law-breakers. He said, "We are not afraid. The reason I told my firm that I would never take another group case unless it was yours is because in the Short Creek case, when it first came to us, I drew a long breath and told my partners here that we had taken on something that was going to stifle the firm because there were so many women involved. Any case we take where there are women involved, we have trouble. It takes three phones in this office to answer the calls from women. One wants the case fought this way and one that way. But in your case, we had one man to deal with. That was you. If we had any problem come up, we told you what it was. You went and met with your people and came back with the answer, and that was it. I have never had a more pleasant case in my life. And the other boys will tell you the same thing."

"When the others found out I was in Mr. Kinney's office, they all had to come in and shake my hand and welcome me back to the city. And they left this word, "If any of your people ever come to Phoenix, we want you to give us a call--either come to the office or call us on the phone and let us know you are here."

"Some time ago we understood there was a movement on foot to try to come in and pick up some of our people down there. I made a trip to Phoenix and asked the lawyers if I could leave a retainer fee and have them keep their ears to the ground so that if they heard any rumors about picking up our people, they could let us know about it so we could prepare for it. They said, "We don't need a retainer fee. All it takes is a telephone call, and we will be on the job." I don't blame them for that. We only left $50,000 in their hands, so I think we have a little interest coming.

"Be that as it is, we still need to be humble in our efforts to obey the Gospel. I will tell you, it is a mighty big job to try to fight our way through so much opposition as this people has. We had threats come to us such as this in 1944, "If you don't join up with us, you are going to be cut off at the pockets." That is one thing. Another thing is that we are imposters, because we won't join up with some of the offshoots of the Church that feel we have less Priesthood than somebody else has. But we are glad for all these things because the fire is taken away from us. The Church now is about to fight some of these offshoots because they have carried the fight to the Church, and we have kept our mouths shut as far as the Church is concerned. We are trying to establish the principles of righteousness in the hearts of men that God can use. We might say a few things here that sound like we are fighting the Church teeth and toenails, but we have kept the commandments of the Lord in this. The Lord has said to agree with your adversary quickly that he might not turn and rend you. So we are trying to agree with those who persecute us insofar as we don't have to displease the Lord in doing so. If we have to stand and face the enemy, we will do it. But if the Lord has another offshoot from the Church to take the fire away from us while we do our work, that is all right, because we want to get our work done. We want to keep alive in the hearts of this people the necessity of preparation.

"In my study of the revelations the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith, time and time again, I see that He has instructed the people to prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord; prepare to meet the bridegroom. Our message to you today is to prepare to meet the bridegroom and to be prepared to meet our dear Savior when He comes to make up His jewels; because we have that promise that if we will prepare ourselves, He will choose from among the people those who are worthy to carry on His work. The great urge that the Lord is pushing onto His servants at the present time is the need for preparation. We have to have more who are not afraid to stand up for that which is right in face of all opposition. We have to stand our ground. We have had to in the past, and we will have to again."

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The Prophet John Taylor said:

(In his last public address, February 1, 1885. This was almost six years after The Supreme Court overturned the First Amendment by upholding the George Reynolds decision, and three years after the "British Style" Edmunds Act was passed. He was in hiding until he died July 25, 1887)

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“In relation to this anomalous form of proceeding they are now copying the example of Russia, which is generally considered an arbitrary government, and where despotism has been supposed to reign supreme; they have in that nation a place called Siberia, to which they banish men, under a despotic rule, without much formality of trial. I was hardly prepared to-day to suppose that we needed an American Siberia under the form and in the name of liberty and the rights of men. But this is the fact. We have herein America to-day an American Siberia in Detroit, to which place, upwards of two thousand miles from their homes, men are banished for a term of years; and what for? Because they have the temerity to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience, and cannot fall down and worship before the Moloch of an effete Christianity.

“These extraordinary proceedings that have been going on in this Territory, in Arizona and in other places, simply exhibit the very principle that Brother Snow has been speaking of. I need not tell you about affairs that have transpired here. You are quite as well acquainted with them as I am, and ought to be better: for I have been away from here for about four weeks visiting the Saints in our southern settlements, and we have had a most pleasant visit. Outside of these extraordinary proceedings, we found the people prospering very well, with pleasant homes and bright prospects before them. We had with us several of our best brethren, and we visited many of our settlements in that district of country, the residents of which were very much gratified at our appearance in their midst, and for the counsels they received. But I found that such had been the outrages committed that it was impossible almost for any man standing in an honorable position to maintain his position unless he broke the law by resisting the officers, and they thought it not prudent to do so, and so did I. It may suit others to violate the law, to trample upon human rights, and desecrate the sacred term of liberty, and this is frequently done by the arbiters and minions of the law in the name of justice; but we profess to be governed by higher, by nobler and more exalted principles, and to move on a higher plane; and if Jesus could afford to endure the attacks of sinners against Himself, we, if we have the Gospel that we profess to have, ought to be able to endure a little of the same thing. There is nothing new in these affairs, nothing strange in this at all.

"Many of you have had much to do with these matters. Some of these gray-headed men that I see before me know a little more about those matters than some of the younger portion do. Many of you have been driven from your homes, robbed of your property, dispossessed of your possessions and had to flee from your homes to these mountain valleys, and seek an asylum among the red savages which was denied you by your so-called Christian brethren. Before you came here you were banished from the State of Missouri into the State of Illinois. What for? Because you had the audacity to worship God according to the dictates of your own consciences. I have had to flee from blood-thirsty bandits time and time again. Brother Snow had to do it, and many of you gray-headed men and women have had to do it. What for? Because of polygamy? No, there was no such thing then alleged. What for? Because you had the hardihood, in this land of freedom, to worship God according to the dictates of your own consciences. For this crime you had to leave your homes, and you were despoiled and robbed and plundered, and had to flee as exiles into another land. I had to do it; you have had to do it. You fled from Missouri to Illinois, and then from Illinois to this land, and why? Why did you leave Illinois and come here? Did you injure anybody? No. They killed your Prophets, and I saw them martyred, and was shot most unmercifully myself, under the pledge of protection from the Governor, and they thought they had killed me; but I am alive yet by the grace of God (sensation). Why had you to leave? Because they murdered your Prophets, and wanted to possess themselves of your property; murder and spoliation generally go together. And because they killed them, they accused you of doing some wrong, said you must leave your homes, and there was nobody found in all that wide land to check the outrages of those red-handed assassins, to administer justice and to preserve you in your rights. I do not know any other reason; I never did know any other, and never expect to be informed of any other.

“The history of these things is quite familiar to you as Latter-day Saints, and you do not think it anything strange. Some of our young people think that the present proceedings are very remarkable. But many of us, gray-headed folks, have seen plenty of such proceedings, and have had many experiences of this kind; they are nothing new to us at all. And did we ever expect them to get better? We have not so understood it. We are told in the Scriptures, and we have kept teaching it all the while, that "the wicked would grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." That is doctrine which I have believed in for the last 50 years and I have had a good deal of testimony and practical confirmation on that point. We expect that these things will transpire. We have been told about secret organizations that should exist, and they are beginning to permeate these United States, and are laying the foundation for disruption, disintegration and destruction. It is not necessary that Congress and the Judiciary should set examples of tyranny and violation of Constitutional law, and attack the fundamental principles of free government and the rights of man; for there is plenty of that kind of spirit abroad; yet men who profess to be the conservators of the peace and the maintainers of law join in these nefarious, unholy, tyrannical and oppressive measures. There are any number who are ready to follow in their footsteps, and the whole nation to-day is standing on a volcano; but they do not seem to comprehend it. Well, are we surprised? I am not. It is strictly in accordance with my faith: it is strictly in accordance with the Old Testament Scriptures; and it is strictly in accordance with the Book of Mormon; it is strictly in accordance with the revelations given to us by Joseph Smith, and all these events that have been predicted will most assuredly transpire. But I suppose it is necessary that "judgment should first begin at the house of God," and if it does, "where will the wicked and the ungodly appear," when it comes upon them? We are told that the wicked shall slay the wicked. We need not trouble ourselves about the affairs of the nations, the Lord will manipulate them in His own way. I feel full of sympathy for the nation in which we live, and for other nations, in consequence of the troubles with which they are beset and which are now threatening them; yet they do not seem to comprehend the position. I know a little of some of the things that will transpire among them, and I feel sorry.

"Do you feel sorry for yourself? Not at all, not at all. Do you feel sorry for your people? Not at all, not at all. The Lord God has revealed unto us great and eternal principles which reach beyond this earth into the eternal heavens, and which have put us in possession of light and truth and intelligence, and promises and blessings that the world are ignorant of and do not and cannot comprehend. I feel every day to bless the name of the God of Israel, and feel like shouting, "Hosanna! Hosanna!! Hosanna!!! to the God of Israel, Amen and Amen," Who will rule among the nations of the earth, and manipulate things according to the counsel of His own will. These are my feelings in regard to these matters. But then I feel interested in the welfare of my brethren and sisters, and when I see their rights interfered with and trampled ruthlessly under foot, I feel that there is something at work that ought not to be, and yet that is quite necessary to teach us some of the principles of human nature, that we may be able to discern between the good, the virtuous, the upright and the holy; and the impure, the foolish, the vindictive, the corrupt, the lascivious, and those who are trampling under foot the laws and principles of eternal truth. God has revealed unto us certain principles pertaining to the future which men may take objection to. He has revealed unto us certain principles pertaining to the perpetuity of man and of woman; pertaining to the sacred rights and obligations which existed from the beginning; and He has told us to obey these laws. The nation tells us, "If you do we will persecute you and proscribe you." Which shall we obey? I would like to obey and place myself in subjection to every law of man. What then? Am I to disobey the law of God? Has any man a right to control my conscience, or your conscience, or to tell me I shall believe this or believe the other, or reject this or reject the other? No man has a right to do it. These principles are sacred, and the forefathers of this nation felt so and so proclaimed it in the Constitution of the United States, and said "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Now, I believe they have violated that, and have violated their oaths, those that have engaged in these things and passed that law, and those that are seeking to carry it out. Congress and the President of the United States and the Judiciary, and all administrators of the law are as much bound by that instrument as I am and as you are, and have sworn to maintain it inviolate. It is for them to settle these matters between themselves and their God. That is my faith in relation to this matter. Yet by their action they are interfering with my rights, my liberty and my religion, and with those sacred principles that bind me to my God, to my family, to my wives and my children; and shall I be recreant to all these noble principles that ought to guide and govern men? No, Never! No, NEVER! NO, NEVER! I can endure more than I have done, and all that God will enable me to endure, I can die for the truth; but I cannot as an honorable man disobey my God at their behest, forsake my wives and my children, and trample these holy and eternal obligations under foot, that God has given me to keep, and which reach into the eternities that are to come. I won't do it, so help me, God. [Here the speaker vigorously struck the book on the desk, and the large audience responded with a loud "Amen."]

"The Constitution expressly says that no law shall be passed impairing the obligation of contracts. But we have entered into covenants and contracts in our most sacred places, and that, too, in many instances, before there was any law prohibiting the same, and yet the attempt is now being made to give the Edmunds law an ex post facto application and to punish us for these contracts which were not criminal, even from the standpoint of our enemies, at the time they were formed. I myself married my wives long before there was any law upon the subject, and many of you did the same, yet by an ex post facto application of laws since enacted the attempt is now made to punish us as criminals. I have never broken any law of these United States, and I presume that some of you, whom our enemies now seek to incriminate and drag into court as violators of law, can say the same. Under the present system of things in this Territory, harlotry and adultery are vindicated sustained and unblushingly protected, and honorable and virtuous wedlock is trampled upon, condemned and punished. Well, what will you do? I will obey every Constitutional law so far as God gives me ability. What else will you do? I will meet these men as far as I can without violating principle, and I have done it. When this infamous Edmunds law was passed, I saw that there were features in that which were contrary to law, violative of the Constitution, contrary to justice and the rights and the freedom of men. But I said to myself I will let that law take its course; I will place myself in accordance with it, so far as I can. Did I do it? I did. I remember talking to Mr. Pierrepont, who was Attorney-General under President Grant's administration. He with his son called upon me. They dined with me, and perhaps I can explain my views on this subject by repeating our conversation as well as any other way. I have a sister keeping my house for me—the Gardo House. When Mr. Pierrepont came in, I said: "Mr. Pierrepont, permit me to introduce you to my sister, who is my house-keeper. It is not lawful for us to have wives now”. And when the Edmunds law was passed I looked carefully over the document, and saw that if I was to continue to live in the same house with my wives that I should render myself liable to that law. I did not wish—although I considered the law infamous—to be an obstructionist, or act the part of a Fenian, or of a Nihilist, or of a Kuklux, or communist, or Molly Maguire, or any of those secret societies that are set on foot to produce the disintegration of society and disturb the relations that ought to exist between man and man, between man and woman, or man and his God. I desired to place myself in obedience or in as close conformity as practicable to the law, and thought I would wait and see what the result would be; and that if the nation can stand these things I can or we can. These are my feelings.

"Men and nations and legislators often act foolishly, and do things that are unwise, and it is not proper that a nation should be condemned for the unwise actions of some few men. Therefore I have sought to place myself in accord with that law. I said to my wives: "We are living in this building together. We were quite comfortably situated, and we might so have continued, but I said to them that under the circumstances it will be better for me or for you to leave this place; you can take your choice. They had their homes down here which they now inhabit; which were quite comfortable. So I said to them, you can go there and I will stay here, or you can stay at the Gardo House and I will go there or somewhere else; for I wish to conform to this Edmunds law as much as I can. I am always desirous to let everything have its perfect working. We talk sometimes about patience having its perfect work. If we have laws passed against us I like to see them have a fair opportunity to develop and see what the result will be. These were my feelings then, and they are my feelings to-day.

"Well, do you think, then, that the people have been outraged? I most certainly do. The usage has been in all legal trials among all civilized nations to presume that all men are innocent until proven guilty; but we now have test oaths introduced, which is another violation of the Constitution and by which an attempt is being made to hold all men guilty until they prove themselves innocent. Again: there is a usage which has existed among the civilized nations, and in this nation also, that a man must be tried by a jury of his peers, selected from the vicinage, but the juries selected for our courts are composed to-day of our bitter persecutors and our most relentless enemies, and in many instances selected from the lowest and most debased men who can be found or picked up from the gutters. We also have another class of courts improvised for the occasion in the shape of "U. S. Commissioners' courts," which are operated and run after the order of the ancient notorious "Star Chamber." Such institutions provoke the contempt of all honorable men, and the parties assuming such offices place themselves in a position to be despised of their fellows. I might enumerate many other outrages, but time will not permit on this occasion. No man's liberties are safe under such administration. What will be the result? The result will be that those that sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. When men begin to tear down the barriers and tamper with the fundamental principles and institutions of our country, they are playing a very dangerous game, and are severing the bonds which hold society together, and the beginning of these irregularities is like the letting out of water. The next step that followed the Edmunds Act, was the introduction of a test oath. The legislation already provided was not good enough for some of our officials here and another portion of the Constitution must be broken to introduce a test oath without any authority. I think this was introduced by our Governor. Then comes another class of men called Commissioners, rather a new idea in American Government. Yet it was thought necessary that extraordinary operations should be entered into in relation to the Mormons. Why? Because it is necessary that they should be dealt with differently from anybody else.

"Now, I have seen some of my brethren shot to pieces in cold blood and under the protection of the State Government, and the promise of the Governor made to myself and Dr. John M. Bernhisel, who is sometime ago dead. In Missouri a great deal of that thing was done. In Georgia lately, and in Tennessee acts of the same kind have been perpetrated. Now, I want to know if anybody can tell me—here is a large congregation, and many thousands of you acquainted with our history—I want to know if any one of you can tell me of any individual that was ever punished according to law for killing a Mormon. Speak it out, if you know it. I do not know of any such thing. Brother Snow says there is not an instance on record. Well, I would rather be on the side of the Mormons in that case than on the side of those who are their persecutors and murderers, for they have got something to atone for yet, which we have not under those circumstances. We have got through with our part of it. The other is not through with yet. There are eternal principles of justice and equity that exist in the bosom of God, and He, in His own time, will manipulate these things according to the counsel of His own will; and with what measure men mete, as sure as God lives, it will be measured to them again, pressed down and running over.

"Very well, what would you advise us to do? Are we suffering any wrongs? Yes. Well, what would you do? I would do as I said some time ago. If you were out in a storm, pull up the collar of your coat and button yourself up, and keep the cold out until the storm blows past. This storm will blow past as others have done; and you will see that many of the miserable sneaks who are active in those measures, and who are crawling about your doors, and trying to spy into your houses, etc., will be glad to crawl into their holes by-and-by. Well, what will you do? Get angry? No, not at all. Let these men have their day and pursue their own course; we will protect ourselves from them as well as we can.

"Why, some of our folks in the South were actually trying to seek an asylum in another land away from the persecutions of free America, and I do not know but that we shall have a lot of pilgrim Fathers again here in this country, fleeing, not from England by way of Holland, nor from France, nor from any of those countries where they used to persecute people and proscribe them for their religion, but from America, "The land of the free, the home of the brave, and the asylum for the oppressed"—fleeing from there because of their religious sentiments. What an idea! Who could have thought of it? People say that history repeats itself. It is so doing in our day. Well, what would you do? Observe the laws as much as you can. Bear with these indignities as much as you can. But it would not be well for these men to perform their antics anywhere else than among the Saints, or they would dangle to the poles, lots of them, by the neck, if they attempted any such acts. No people would endure these things as the Latter-day Saints do. Will you endure them? Yes, a little longer. Wait a little longer. And after you have borne with a good deal, then endure "as seeing Him that is invisible," and cultivate those principles that Brother Snow has so beautifully set before us, and feel, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you." Well, what would you do? Would you resent these outrages and break the heads of the men engaged in them, and spill their blood? No. Avoid them as much as you possibly can—just as you would wolves, or hyenas, or crocodiles, or snakes, or any of these beasts or reptiles; avoid them as much as you can, and take care they do not bite you. [Laughter.] And get out of the way as much as you can. What? won't you submit to the dignity of the law. Well, I would if the law would only be a little dignified. But when we see the ermine bedraggled in the mud and mire, and every principle of justice violated, it behooves men to take care of themselves as best they may. That is what I have told people while I have been in the south—to take care of their liberties, to put their trust in the living God, to obey every Constitutional law, and to adhere to all correct principles. But when men tamper with your rights and with your liberties, when the cities are full of spies and the lowest and meanest of men are set to watch and dog your footsteps; when little children are set in array against their fathers and mothers, and women and children are badgered before courts, and made to submit, unprotected, to the gibes of libertines and corrupt men; when wives and husbands are pitted against each other and threatened with pains, penalties and imprisonment, if they will not disclose that which among all decent people is considered sacred, and which no man of delicacy, whose sensibilities had not been blunted by low associations, would ever ask; when such a condition of affairs exists, it is no longer a land of liberty, and it is certainly no longer a land of equal rights, and we must take care of ourselves as best we may, and avoid being caught in any of their snares. I cannot think that this crusade is aimed entirely at us; from many circumstances that have transpired, I have been led to believe that whilst we are made the victims, these proceedings are introduced as a political ruse, for the purpose of embarrassing the incoming administration. What would you do? Would you fight them? No. I would take care of myself as best I can, and I would advise my brethren to do the same. Would you resist law? No. As I said before, I can stand it if they can. It is for us to do what is right, to fear God, to observe His laws, and keep His commandments, and the Lord will manage all the rest. But no breaking of heads, no bloodshed, no rendering evil for evil. Let us try and cultivate the spirit of the Gospel, and adhere to the principles of truth. Let us honor our God, and be true to those eternal principles which God has given us to hold sacred. Keep them as sacredly as you would the apple of your eye. And while other men are seeking to trample the Constitution under foot, we will try to maintain it. We have prophecies something like this somewhere; that the time would come when this nation would do as they are now doing—that is, they would trample under foot the Constitution and institutions of the nation, and the Elders of this Church would rally around the standard and maintain those principles which were introduced for the freedom and protection of men. We expect to do that, and to maintain all correct principle. I will tell you what you will see by and by. You will see trouble, trouble, trouble enough in these United States. And as I have said before I say to-day, I tell you in the name of God, Woe! to them that fight against Zion, for God will fight against them. But let us be on the side of human liberty and human rights, and the protection of all correct principles and laws and government, and maintain every principle that is upright and virtuous and honorable, and let the world take the balance if they want, we don't want it. We will cleave to the truth, God being our helper, and try to introduce principles whereby the will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we will obey every institution of man for the Lord's sake so far as we can without violating our consciences and doing things that are wrong and improper."

The Vital Point

You’ve hear of them, Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, David Koresch, and FBI most wanted and the most hated man in America; the one no one can stand to hardly mention because of the “atrocities” that he has committed on American soil, Warren Jeffs. To many that is a group of terrible men. To me that is a list of two demented suicidal Cult leaders, a strange man who the government tortured and killed children to get rid of, and the most humble man alive I have ever met. The first three taught that they themselves were the chosen one, while the last would teach the importance of purity, virtue, covenant keeping, and obedience to scripture and other still greater Christ-like men. The first three do not hold a religious candle to my best friend, and do not belong in the same planet, let alone the same conversation.

Most people cannot figure out how it is that a man such as I could love Warren Jeffs after what he “did” to me. That is only because they do not know what he did FOR me. And perhaps a few in the FLDS wonder if I love him at all. If I wrote the whole truth, it would be a sound bite and a quote on all of the anti-FLDS blogs and a central topic for them ad nauseam. What I already personally have said FLDS101 and others have quoted as at least three different men, all with an indignant, evil, spin. And then they wonder why the FLDS people “answer them nothing”?

Warren Jeffs changed absolutely nothing about the FLDS religion or life. He did not change the rules, the laws, or anything of the kind. No, he only did exactly what he believed was right. Few people know what that man has done to increase the peace and virtue of the FLDS Church as a whole. He did only what his father wanted done. I have known that man for a long time, and was acquainted with him personally every day for six years when I went to Alta Academy, and the year that I went back and volunteered to teach six years later. I have listened to him for more hours than most people hear their own father, and I have never once heard him speak about himself, except in introspection and a desire to do better. Not even once. In all of the Anti-FLDS quotes that have been lifted from his school teaching courses, the ones that mention prophet, obedience, submission, or revelation to one man, he was not speaking of himself; not one time.

I will tell you all, if you can breathe through your own fear and bigotry, that Warren Jeffs had absolutely no desire to be the Prophet leader, and because of that humility, and his daily, tireless, continuous, anxious obedience to his father and the gospel of Jesus Christ, he was most qualified for the position God, and the FLDS people put him in. They have not followed blindly, but they have sought to follow and obey because they are not blind. They each and all have perfect free will to change their minds and walk away at any time, but because they have their eyes wide open, most don’t. Many Anti-FLDS constantly repeat, “Just say “I hate Warren Jeffs” we will celebrate and leave you alone”
They can’t even see how ridiculous and absurd that sounds.

And even if the powers that be, and all the devils who desire his death, got their wish and killed him, it would change nothing about the FLDS Church. He had taken upon himself the responsibility of the virtue of the people as a group, and because of that, and the very real need for a people that can live as Zion (the holiest pure people) in Zion (the City of the Saviors return) here and now, have his actions been rushed and seemingly impatient with doe-heads and slow pokes like me. I know what he has been through because of me. I know that mans heart, and I know what my actions have done to hurt him and those we both love. I know he has suffered because of me. He cares, and perhaps like me he may have made mistakes, but his mistakes are not mine or my business, for it was not for any other reason except his desire to follow the Gospel of his father and bless those who seek and love to obey the gospel. God does not make mistakes, He gives us tests. At times those tests are from our mistakes, and at times those tests come from others. A curse is a test. This whole life is but a test.

If you would kneel before your God, a being who is your FATHER, and realize without a doubt that He does hear you, and knows you, and cares very deeply about you, and you pray with all the energy of your heart, and sacrifice to Him all your feelings, cares and worries for an hour. And then use your conscious mind throughout the rest of the day to speak to God about everything, having nothing else in mind; to literally think through prayer. No entertainment except revelation through the scriptures and what you can make yourself with children or uplifting friends in peace. No worldly drum filled music but music of prayer, no Television or video but real life, no associations except what is needed for your responsibilities, no idle time except in the peace of talking to God, and knowing you are doing His will to the best of your ability. Remove all selfishness, and pride, and the need to justify yourself. Complain to no one, except God. Remove all malice and forgive every single human being without exception. And do these things all the rest of your life; in essence do exactly what Warren Jeffs has done since I ever knew him, you will understand eventually.

In the early 1880’s our Church was being hounded severely by the government; men and women were disenfranchised for their beliefs, men were put in prison and there were none in government who would allow them to live the tenets of their faith, not even the Supreme Court. From those times very similar to today, I copy these words:

George Q Cannon
August 12, 1883 JD 24:276
“Now, this is the great point. I look upon it as one of the most vital points connected with our existence in these mountains. I look upon it as a test. It may be said that it will test the Latter-Day Saints as they never have been tested -- this vital doctrine of obedience to the Priesthood of the Son of God.

“There is no point today against which so many assaults are directed by the wicked. They make it the main object of their attacks. They would like to destroy confidence in your hearts in the Priesthood of the Son of God. If they could weaken your confidence; if they could undermine your faith; if they could by any power or means in their possession wean you from the Church, and sow the seeds of distrust and suspicion in your minds concerning the Priesthood, or those who bear it, they would obtain the object of their view.

“The man who holds the keys is always the object of assault. His life is the life that is most sought after. He is the man they would strike down if they had the power. They seek to weaken the confidence of the people in him, by all manner of slanders, and every sort of falsification. It is the main object of our enemies to sow the seeds of distrust and suspicion in the midst of the Latter-Day Saints, and to accomplish this they relate all manner of falsehoods concerning those who bear the Priesthood of the Son of God. They contort every act. They misrepresent every word and every council that is given. They endeavor to put everything in a false light. And those who read those things continually begin to believe by degrees, that there is foundation for them, that there is something wrong, that this man or the other man is not to be trusted, and that they are doing wrong in yielding obedience to the counsels of the Priesthood, and in submitting to its control. You are aware these attacks are constantly directed against the Priesthood, and it is, as I say, the vital point today.”

"Truth will Prevail"

Mr. Editor,-

“Sir, ever since I gave up the editorial department of the "Times and Seasons," I have thought of writing a piece for publication, by way of valedictory, as is usual when editors resign the chair editorial. My principal remarks I intended to apply to the gentlemen of the quill, or, if you please, that numerous body of respectable gentlemen who profess to regulate the tone of the public mind, in regard to politics, morality, religion, literature, the arts and sciences, &c. &c. viz. the editors of the public journals; or, if you please, I will designate them, the lions of the forest.

“This latter cognomen sir, I consider to be more appropriate, because of the dignity of their office, their lofty bearing and mien, their ascendancy and influence over all others, and because of the tremendous noise that they make when they utter their voice.

“It came to pass that as I went forth like a young fawn, one day, to feed upon the green grass in my pasture, an ass saw me, and brayed, and made a great noise; which a neighboring lion hearing roared, even as a lion roareth when he beholds his prey: at the sound of his voice the beasts of the field were alarmed, and the lions in the adjoining jungles pricked their ears and roared in their turn; and behold all the lions of the forest, alarmed by the noise, opened their mouths and uttered forth their voice which was as the roaring of a cataract, or as the voice of thunder; so tremendous was their roaring that the trees of the forest shook, as if they were shaken by a mighty wind; and all the beasts of the forest trembled, as if a whirlwind were passing. I lifted up mine eyes with astonishment when I heard the voice of the lions, and saw the fury of their rage. I asked, is it possible that so many lords of the forest, such noble beasts, should condescend to notice one solitary fawn, that is feeding alone upon his pasture; without attempting to excite either their jealousy or anger?

“I have not strayed from the fold, nor injured the trees of the forest, nor hurt the beasts of the field, nor trampled upon their pasture, nor drunk of their streams; why then their rage against me? When lo! and behold! they again uttered their voices, as the voice of great thunderings, and there was given unto them the voice of men; but it was difficult for me to distinguish what was said, among so many voices; but ever and anon I heard a few broken, incoherent sentences, like the following:-Murder! Desolation!! Bloodshed!!! Arson!!! Treason!!! Joe Smith and the Mormons!!! Our nation will be overturned!!! The impostor should be drove from the State!!!

“The fawn will be metamorphosed into a lion; will devour all the beasts of the field, destroy all the trees of the forest, and tread underfoot all the rest of the lions. I then lifted up my voice and said, hear me, ye beasts of the forest! and all ye great lions pay attention! I am innocent of the things whereof ye accuse me. I have not been guilty of violating your laws, nor of trespassing upon your rights. My hands are clean from the blood of all men, and I am at the defiance of the world to substantiate the crimes whereof I am accused; wherefore, then, should animals of your noble mien stoop to such little jealousies, such vulgar language, and lay such unfounded charges at the door of the innocent?

"It is true that I once suffered an ass to feed in my pasture: he ate at my crib and drank at my waters, but possessing the true nature of an ass, he began to foul the water with his feet, and to trample under foot the green grass, and destroy it. I therefore put him out of my pasture, and he began to bray. Many of the lions in the adjoining jungles mistaking his braying for the roaring of a lion, commenced roaring. When I proclaimed this abroad many of the lions began to inquire into the matter; a few possessing a more noble nature than many of their fellows, drew near, and viewing the animal found that he was nothing more than a decrepit, broken-down, worn-out ass that had scarcely anything left but his ears and his voice.

"Whereupon many of the lions of Quincy; the lion of Sangamo; the lion of Alton, and several other lions, for giving a false alarm, for dishonoring their race, and for responding to the voice of so base an animal as an ass. And they felt ashamed of themselves for being decoyed into such base ribaldry, and foul-mouthed slander. But there were many that lost sight of their dignity, and continued to roar, although they knew full well that they were following the braying of so despicable a creature.

“Among these was a great lion, whose den was on the borders of the eastern sea; he had waxed great in strength; he had terrible teeth, and his eyes were like balls of fire; his head was large and terrific, and his shaggy mane rolled with majestic grandeur over his terrible neck; his claws were like the claws of the dragon; and his ribs were like those of the leviathan; when he lifted himself up all the beasts of the field bowed with respectful deference; and when he spake the whole universe listened, and the cinders of his power cover creation. His might, his influence were felt to the ends of the earth; when he lashed his tail the beasts of the forest trembled; and when he roared all the great lions and the young lions crouched down at his feet.

“This great lion lifting up himself and beholding the fawn afar off, he opened his mouth, and joining in the common roar, uttered the following great swelling yelp:

“ -Joe Smith In Trouble.-
“By a letter which we published on Sunday, from Springfield, Illinois, it appears that Joe Smith, the great Mormon Prophet, has at last given himself up to the authorities of Illinois. He is charged with fomenting or conspiring to assassinate Governor Boggs, of Missouri, and is demanded by the functionary of that State, of the Governor of Illinois. He has taken out a writ of habeas corpus, denying the fact, and is now waiting the decision of the court at Springfield. This will bring Joe's troubles to a crisis. In the mean time, why does not Joe try his power at working a miracle or two? Now's the time to prove his mission-besides being very convenient for himself."

“When I heard it, I said poor fellow! How has thy dignity fallen! and how has thy glory departed! Thou that once ranked amongst the foremost of the beasts of the field, as the lord of the forest! Even thou hast condescended to degrade thyself by uniting with the basest of animals, and to join ion with the braying of an ass. And now, friend B., allow me to whisper a word in thine ear. Dost thou not know that there is a God in the heavens that judgeth? that setteth up one and putteth down another according to the counsel of his own will? That if thou possessest any influence, wisdom, dominion, or power, it comes from God, and to him thou art indebted for it? That he holds the destinies of men in his power, and can as easily put down as he has raised up? Tell me when hast thou treated a subject of religious and eternal truth with that seriousness and candor that the importance of the subject demands from a man in thy standing, possessing thy calling and influence?

“As you seem to be quite a theologist, allow me to ask a few questions, why did not God deliver Micah from the hands of his persecutors? Why did not Jeremiah "work a miracle or two," to help him out of the dungeon? It would have been "very convenient." Why did not Zechariah, by a miracle prevent the people from slaying him? Why did not our Savior come down from the cross? The people asked him to do it; and besides he had "saved others," and could not save himself, so said the people. Why did he not prove his mission by working a miracle and coming down? Why did not Paul by a miracle prevent the people from stoning and whipping him? It would have been "very convenient." Or why did the saints of God, in every age, have to wander about in sheep skins and goat skins? Being tempted, tried, and sawn asunder; of whom the world was not worthy. I would here advise my worthy friend, before he talks of 'proving missions," "working miracles," or any "convenience" of that kind, to read his Bible a little more, and the garbled stories of political demagogues less.

“I listened, and lo! I heard a voice, and it was the voice of my shepherd, saying, listen all ye lions of the forest; and all the beasts of the field give ear; ye have sought to injure the innocent; and your hands have been lifted against the weak, the injured and the oppressed. Ye have pampered the libertine, the calumniator, and the base. Ye have winked at vice, and trodden under foot the virtuous and the pure. Therefore hear, all ye lions of the forest. The Lord God will take from you your teeth, so that you shall no longer devour. He will pluck out your claws, so that you can no longer seize upon you prey. Your strength will fail you in the day of trouble, and your voice will fail, and not be heard afar off; but mine elect will I uphold with mine arm, and my chosen shall be supported by my power. And when mine anointed shall be exalted, and all the lions of the forest shall have lost their strength, then shall they remember that the Lord he is God.”
-Joseph Smith.

[Times and Seasons Vol. IV. No. 7.] CITY OF NAUVOO, ILL. FEB. 15, 1843

Wilford Woodruff, President of the Church

“Perhaps it may make some of you stumble, were I to ask you a question. Does a man’s being a Prophet in this Church prove that he shall be the President of it? I answer, no! A man may be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and it may have nothing to do with his being the President of the Church. Suffice it to say, that Joseph was the President of the Church, as long as he lived; the people chose to have it so. He always filled that responsible station, by the voice of the people. Can you find any revelation appointing him the President of the Church? The keys of the Priesthood were committed to Joseph, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth. And were not taken from him in time or in eternity; but when he was called to preside over the Church it was by the voice of the people; though he held the keys of the Priesthood independent of their voice.” (Brigham Young 6/6/1853 JD 1:133)

In 1880, three years after the Prophet Brigham Young died and seven years before the Prophet John Taylor died, Mormon Apostle Wilford Woodruff recorded these words in his journal:

"Thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Taylor (?), and my servant Wilford Woodruff, and My servant Orson Pratt, and to all the residue of mine Apostles,… while my servant John Taylor is your President, I wish to ask the rest of my servants of the Apostles the question, although you have one to preside over your Quorum, which is the order of God in all generations, do you not, all of you, hold the apostleship, which is the highest authority ever given to men on earth? You do. Therefore you hold in common the Keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world. It is your right, privilege, and duty to inquire of the Lord as to His mind and will concerning yourselves and the inhabitants of Zion and their interests.”

Between this "revelation" and the Manifesto, Wilford Woodruff is the source of most all of the falling away of people from the truth. He was never the Prophet.

“Through some inadvertence, or perhaps mixed up with the idea of seniority of age taking precedence, Wilford Woodruff’s name was placed on the records of the time, and for many years after, before that of John Taylor. This matter was investigated some time afterwards by President Young and his council, sanctioned also by the Twelve, whether John Taylor held the precedency and stood in graduation prior to Brother Wilford Woodruff, and it was decided that his name be placed before Wilford Woodruff’s although Wilford Woodruff was the older man.” (John Taylor 10/7/1881)

“President Johnson explained to me the Wilford Woodruff held feelings against John Taylor. In some point in time, Wilford Woodruff considered he was senior over John Taylor in the Apostleship.” (Rulon T. Jeffs HOPS pg 79)

Wilford Woodruff, who was the senior in age of John Taylor but was ordained by John Taylor, wrote this “revelation” to his Priesthood head, President and Prophet John Taylor, and to all the Apostles in which he, Wilford Woodruff, is told: “Thus saith the Lord unto my servant John Taylor, and my servant Wilford Woodruff, and My servant Orson Pratt [also John Taylor’s senior in age], and to all the residue of mine Apostles,… you hold in common the Keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world. It is your right, privilege, and duty to inquire of the Lord as to His mind and will concerning … the inhabitants of Zion and their interests.”

This is something that is assumed by many Mormon Fundamentalist groups to replace D&C 132:7 Which states: “… there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred” This is not the only place this is described, but the one many feel replaced by the 1880.

The problem is Wilford Woodruff was not the Prophet or the President of the Church, John Taylor was. Note the date of the following written revelation:

Revelation to John Taylor June 27, 1882
1. “Verily thus saith the Lord, I have instituted my Kingdom and my laws, with the keys and the power thereof, and I have appointed you as my spokesman and my Constitution, with President John Taylor at your head, whom I have appointed to my Church and my Kingdom as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator unto and over my Kingdom; and I will honor him, and he shall speak forth the words that I will reveal unto him from time to time by the whisperings of my Spirit, by the revelation of my Spirit, by the revelation of my will and my word, or by mine own voice, as I will, saith the Lord, and ye shall listen to his words as my words, saith the Lord your God.”
14. “And now I speak unto you who are members of this Council, and of my Kingdom, and I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples of old, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
15. “I called you by my servant Joseph, and by my servant Brigham, and by my servant John. You did not teach and instruct me; but I have taught you and instructed you and organized you according to my eternal laws.
16. “Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God; and I will be acknowledged and my will and my word and my law shall bear rule in my Kingdom, saith the Lord. If it does not, then it is not my Kingdom, and then are ye not my man, and under the direction of man, then it is a kingdom of man, and it is not of me, and I will not acknowledge it, saith the Lord God.”

There is no question about who the Lord would reveal His mind and will to the Church through, and His mind and will to the Prophet, and in 1880 it was not Wilford Woodruff.

“It is my privilege as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to have the revelations of Jesus. It is my privilege to live so as to have the gift of prophecy, and to have wisdom and knowledge from God. It is my privilege to have all these gifts and blessings resting down upon me by virtue of my calling. If I am faithful thereto they will rest upon me. But it is not my privilege to guide this ship. It is not my privilege to write revelations or commandments to this Church. Much as I may rejoice in the knowledge of God, much as I may be possessed of the revelations of Jesus, that is not a privilege which has been accorded unto me, nor has it been accorded unto any other Apostle, or officer, or member of this Church, but one, and that is the man whom God has chosen to hold the keys.”(George Q Cannon 12/2/1883)

In 1882, the U.S. Congress enacted the Edmunds-Tucker Act, a federal law which made polygamy a felony within its Territories. It also stated that anyone “in the marriage relation” with multiple spice could not vote in any election. It was written purposefully to not include adulterers, but only those who were “cohabiting as husband and wife”. Interestingly, in 1870 Utah had become the first place in the United States that allowed women to vote, and in 1975 a petition of over 22,000 Mormon women was sent to Congress asking to repeal the 1862 Morrill law. Women’s suffrage was stopped by the stronger anti-Polygamy Edmunds Act passed in 1887.

In his last public sermon, President John Taylor remarked:
"I would like to obey and place myself in subjection to every law of man. What then? Am I to disobey the law of God? Has any man a right to control my conscience, or your conscience, or to tell me I shall believe this or believe the other, or reject this or reject the other? No man has a right to do it. These principles are sacred, and the forefathers of this nation felt so and so proclaimed it in the Constitution of the United States, and said "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Now, I believe they have violated that, and have violated their oaths, those that have engaged in these things and passed that law, and those that are seeking to carry it out. Congress and the President of the United States and the Judiciary, and all administrators of the law are as much bound by that instrument as I am and as you are, and have sworn to maintain it inviolate. It is for them to settle these matters between themselves and their God. That is my faith in relation to this matter. Yet by their action they are interfering with my rights, my liberty and my religion, and with those sacred principles that bind me to my God, to my family, to my wives and my children; and shall I be recreant to all these noble principles that ought to guide and govern men? No, Never! No, NEVER! NO, NEVER! I can endure more than I have done, and all that God will enable me to endure, I can die for the truth; but I cannot as an honorable man disobey my God at their behest, forsake my wives and my children, and trample these holy and eternal obligations under foot, that God has given me to keep, and which reach into the eternities that are to come. I won't do it, so help me, God." (2/1/1885 JD 26:152).

John Taylor went into hiding after this address and died in hiding two and a half years later, on July 25, 1887

While in hiding men came to John Taylor with a “manifesto” to consider. The document was written to keep the leading men from losing their property along with the church property. The temple and all church property had been seized by the government over the belief in plural marriage. George Q. Cannon suggested for John Taylor to take the manifesto up with the Lord. On September 26, 1886 the prophet John Taylor recorded a Revelation. In it says: “All those who would enter into my glory must and shall obey my law. And have I not commanded men that if they were Abraham’s seed and would enter into my glory, they must do the works of Abraham. I HAVE NOT REVOKED THIS LAW NOR WILL I, it is everlasting, and those who will enter into my glory MUST obey the conditions thereof.” Most of the people of the church were unaware of the revelation, or of those who were at the meeting. (Read the story here)

John Taylor died ten months later, on July 25, 1887. Due to his being the senior Apostle, Wilford Woodruff then assumed the Presidency of the church.

John Wickersham Woolley was the senior Apostle ordained at the 1886 meeting held in his home, who did not later support the 1890 Manifesto. He obeyed his covenants made on that Sabbath Day, and yet he still respected the Church and their officers even after they turned away from the Celestial Law.

On September 24, 1890 Wilford Woodruff issued the written Manifesto in general meeting. It was not even considered by him to be a revelation from God until later. It says:
“To Whom it may concern: Press dispatches having been sent for political purposes…allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that…in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy- I therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, or permitting any person to enter into its practice…Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws…. And now I publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.”

“I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time, who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the Manifesto… and that as a Church in General Conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding” (Lorenzo Snow 10-6-1890)

There is our dilemma, Wilford Woodruff. Which is more binding; the revelation declaring him co- head of the church with his leader and the other Apostles in 1880, or the “Manifesto” where Lorenzo Snow (the President of the Church after Wilford Woodruff) declares that Wilford Woodruff is the only man on earth with the sealing ordinances, and has the authority to end it? The dilemma is one of testimony, and conviction. But even Wilford Woodruff did not follow the Official Declaration of 1890 himself, the church records state:

1897 Sept, Wilford Woodruff, married 6th wife, Lydia Mountford. (President of the church, married Lydia a year before he died)

Our Prophet Leroy S. Johnson said:
“When Wilford Woodruff signed the Manifesto, he didn’t only sign away his rights to the Celestial Law, but he also signed away his rights to the Priesthood.” (2/12/84)

Here is the testimony of my great grandmother, Esther Morrison:

“At the time the manifesto was signed, I was staying with Mary… I remember so vividly when the word came about this…. Everything was so quiet, and it seemed as though there was a feeling of some terrible happening taking place. It was felt in the home and outside even in my young years, about 8 or 9 years old, and not understanding the great significance of what happened, I felt the dreadful impact of it.
Years later, about 1925, I attended a Daughters of the Pioneers meeting held at the home of Mrs. Joseph J Danes, on Fifth east, who was a daughter of President Wilford Woodruff. Also another daughter, Mrs. Beatty was there. She spoke on the Manifesto. During her talk she said:
“The day father signed the manifesto I was in the front room when he came home. I shall never forget his face. He moaned, and said “O God what have I done?” He immediately went upstairs to his room. He remained there for a whole week, never speaking to any of us (his family). When he came down and joined the family he looked awful. The ravages of sickness could never have made him look worse. It was awful.”
As a note here, my children, I desire to leave this to you. I know the law of plural marriage to be a heaven truth. Your father was an issue of that great law. You have a righteous heritage. Don’t trample on it, but treasure it, and accept the pattern given to you.” - Esther E. E. Morrison (who never lived plural marriage but encouraged my grandmother to when she had the opportunity)

In the FLDS church Priesthood lineage, Wilford Woodruff never was the Prophet. He lifted his heel against his leader in 1880, and in doing so, he lost his right to be the successor to John Taylor. He was not united with John Taylor after Brigham Young passed away. John Taylor had appointed John W Woolley and others to carry on in the work of the Celestial Law. The sealing keys of Elijah were given to him who did not lift his heel against the Celestial Law and the Keyholder of Priesthood.

John W. Woolley, as David of old, did not “set on the Lords anointed” but continued on in peace while fulfilling his covenants made on that September day in 1886. He continued in the Church even after he was excommunicated in 1914 for performing marriages and teaching the Celestial Law.

John W Woolley, Prophet

John Wickersham Woolley was born December 30, 1831 in Newlin, Pennsylvania. He was the first of eight children born to Edwin Dilworth Woolley and Mary Wickersham Woolley. His father had 5 wives and 27 children. During his life he was a messenger boy for Joseph Smith at age 13, was ordained an elder by Brigham Young, was second councilor to his father, Bishop Edwin D. Woolley bishop of the 13th Ward in SLC, and he was a High Councilman in the Davis Stake. He was a Salt Lake Temple worker and sealer beginning in 1894. He was deputy sheriff of S.L. County, deputy Territorial Marshall, and Justice of the Peace of Centerville UT for 16 years. When John Taylor went into hiding in the 1880’s he spent much of his time at John Woolley’s home. On September 27, 1886 John Taylor received the 1886 Revelation in John Woolley’s home while in hiding from persecution.

John W. Woolley’s first wife was Julia Seales Ensign, they married March 20, 1851 and from whom came his six known children, John Ensign, Franklin, Lorin Calvin, Julia Adarena, Mary Emma, and Amy Irene. Seven days after the 1886 revelation was given, On October 4, 1886, John Taylor sealed him to Ann Everington Roberts, widowed mother of B. H. Roberts, he was 56. On March 23, 1910 John married Annie Fisher. LDS President Joseph F. Smith performed the wedding. John was active in the LDS Church up until 1914. He was excommunicated by the church Apostles in 1914, and died 24 years later, December 13, 1928 at age 96.

“John Woolley said that his brother Samuel told him if he did not live this law, he would not have his first wife. President Young taught him that, and others, and he did not believe it. But the Lord told him, and he believed Him. (He then told of how John Woolley’s wife was shown to him in the temple and the Lord told him so, etc., and how Joseph F. Smith married them.) Joseph F. Smith was hounded and died a martyr. Orson F. Whitney died a martyr, and others.” (John Y Barlow June 11, 1944)

“I can see a few faces here that were with us a few years ago. When we used to go up to Uncle John Woolley's and Lorin Woolley's, they would tell us of things -- how the Savior and Joseph Smith came to their place and what he told them to do to keep this principle alive. I have heard those men testify to that many times. I have been called into their Council and told of these things -- tutored up. I used to live just a little way from Uncle Lorin Woolley, and I knew Uncle John Woolley; and I heard the neighbors say that Joseph F. Smith used to go up and visit with him. They said that Joseph F. thought a lot of him, that he went up and pled with him and pled with him. Yes, he did -- he counseled with him, but he wasn't pleading with him as they thought he was doing.” (John Y Barlow 9/13/42)

[In 1928]… I visited Brother John W. Woolley who was then head of the Priesthood -- God's chosen servant in the earth. He was the first to hold the presidency after John Taylor in this line of Priesthood. My brother [Price] took me to see him, introduced me to him. I sat down on the couch after shaking hands with Brother Woolley. He looked a hole through me for a moment. I thought, "Oh, this man is going to tell me of all the trials and tribulations I have had." He startled me by saying, "Get up, young man, and come over here. I want to feel your hand again." I don't know whether I was shaking or whether I wasn't. I know I had a feeling that I was being tested. He looked me in the eye and said, "My boy, you'll do. You'll do." He told me to go and sit down, and I did. He says, "Now I know that I am among friends." And he opened up and told me of the revelation of 1886 and the eight-hour meeting.” (Leroy S Johnson 6/3/1978)

“When brother Price Johnson was talking of Brother John Woolley, I thought many are the hours I have spent with him. Many things were shown to me then. We have seen many of those things literally fulfilled” (JYB 5/25/41)

"I did not have the privilege of having a personal acquaintance with Uncle John W. Woolley, but my Father and brother Richard brought me many stories of his remarkable character and instructions; and knowing them to be honest and that they did not lie, I was privileged to believe what they related to me. We lived in Millville, Utah, at this time, and in the early 1920's, my father and older brothers worked in Salt Lake City, at the Baldwin Radio Plant, where Uncle Lorin Woolley worked also.
My father related that Uncle John Woolley said that the Church authorities were about to cut President Joseph F. Smith off the Church. President Smith reported to his senior, John W. Woolley, who said, "No, Joseph, let them cut me off the Church." Later, members of the Twelve required President Smith to recant his position before the people. He asked by phone if he should do so, and John W. Woolley said, "If you do, that will be the last speech the Lord will let you make." Uncle Lorin told us that President Smith sweat blood on his garments, who explained, "I would rather do this than have my blood on my brethren's hands."
I remember hearing the news of Uncle John Woolley's passing and I felt very sad. He died December 13, 1928, at the age of 97, when I was eighteen years old." (Fred M. Jessop)

"John W. Woolley filled a little niche in the line of Priesthood. He had to live in obscurity out of the lives of most people. There were only a few people that knew his position, and those who did find out his postition had a hard time doing so. They had to be men of God and the Spirit of God would have to be upon them in order to find it out." (Leroy S. Johnson 12/28/1952)

Olive Woolley Coombs (daughter of Lorin Woolley): Grandfather was really a different individual. At the age of 90 he got our and chopped and thinned beets for two or three hours a day and was very, very accurate with them. He was very healthy, and I remember he got up very early in the morning. He ate only two meals a day-noon and night- and then went to bed very early—by 7pm every night. He ate very simple meals. The thing I remember most was bread and milk and cheese; and honey was always on the table at my Grandfathers home.”
Rhea Allred Kunz- When my husband and I met him, your grandfather was very forthright. He didn’t mince words with anyone. His mind was clear as a bell.
Olive- No he didn’t. He was very alert even the day he died. You see he died just a few days before his 97th birthday.”
Rhea- As I recall, we saw him just about a week to ten days before he died. He sat erect with a long flowing beard. We were in the very room where the Savior visited Pres. John Taylor on that memorable night of September 26-27, 1886. He talked with us on how the room had been changed since that time—two other doors having been added and this sort of thing.
Olive- “Father had a much more severe life in things that take the physical body down, such as being gored by a bull and the riding he did for John Taylor…when father was a minute man for John Taylor, he did a lot of riding in the cold. However, Grandfather had a hard life too, being in the army as he was. He was in the Nauvoo legion, you know. He had a rough life too, but he seemed to be a little more hale and hearty than my dad. Dad was a little more frail.”
Rhea- There is something that I recall you told me about long ago….You had asked him a certain question. By his skillful manipulations, he had helped you work out the answer yourself. Then he finally said, when you had it right, “You are too smart for your own britches.”
Olive- “You might be talking about President Joseph F Smith when he came out of the tabernacle at Bountiful. I was a child of seven—I well remember my age. Daddy had taken me over to the Stake Conference in Bountiful. We had taken Grandfather with us. They had disfellowshipped Grandfather before this time. That didn’t stop Grandfather from going to church. It didn’t stop Grandfather from preaching the Gospel. It didn’t stop him from any of this. Father and I were standing in front of the Tabernacle after the meeting, waiting for Grandfather to come out. He liked to say hello to this one and that one. Joseph F Smith was the General Authority present at the conference. He walked up to us just as Grandfather walked up, and Pres. Smith put his arm around Grandfathers arm and said, “John, I’m very sorry about what has been done. I want you to know it wasn’t my will. It was voted. But I have the assurance that if you will come back into the Church secretly we are ready and willing” And he. Grandfather, said, “I appreciate that very much, but since I was taken out publicly, the way you must take me back is publicly, because I feel I have done nothing wrong, and my Lord, I’m sure, agrees with me.” That was all there was to it, but it was quite a thing to a little kid standing there.”
“I should mention the firesides Grandfather had at the old home. It included the Barlow’s, and the Jessop’s and everybody that used to come out there to Grandfather’s. They would talk and enjoy the scriptures and have songs and have a regular wonderful visit of friends.”

"I was acquainted with Brother John W Woolley back in 1928. He sealed my first plural wife to me under very wonderful circumstances. There is an incident about his death that not too many people are really acquainted with. On the morning that he was to leave this earth, he got all cleaned up and told his wife to leave the house. She hesitated, and he said “I want you to go; you MUST go.” So she left the house under these strange circumstances; and when she came back later, he was lying on the floor dead. He had previously indicated to certain people that Joseph Smith and others were coming for him very, very soon.
… At this particular time, to find authority was one of the most difficult things that you could ever imagine. I had no idea where I should go, or what to do. So that started another period of fasting and prayer to know where to go. One day, out of the clear blue sky, when I was working alone in my own little shop, a perfect stranger walked in. I happened to have my Doctrine and Covenants laying there on the bench. He walked over and said, “What are you searching for?” I told him. He says “Okay I’ll help you.” This was brother Worth Kilgrow. He said “I’ll take you to the man.” I said “Okay” So, even at that particular time in the Church, this whole thing had been going on. If you wanted to be sealed, you had to go and talk to the man and he might make you wait as long as six months. And another thing—He would NEVER perform a sealing without revelation. This I testify to, here and now. There is NO sealing’s without revelation, whether anybody here on this earth knows this or not, but that’s a FACT of the matter. So I took my wife and this young lady, Hilda- she was the same age as I, and we went there. I left her outside and went in to talk to him. I had no sooner walked in than he said, “You are Carl Jentzch, yes?” I said yes, and I had never seen the man. He said “Where is the girl?” I never even asked him. I said, “Oh, she’s out in the car.” He said, “What’s she doing out there? Why don’t you bring her in? “ I asked “Now?” You know, I had never told her. I had said “Well, we’re going to have to figure on a six month’s wait; that’s all there is to it. Brother John Woolley won’t do it.” So I went and said “Hilda, he wants to talk to you” I took her by the hand and we walked into the house. I’ll never forget that man’s face. He had a beautiful face—his eyes were piercing. He could look right through you. He could read your thoughts just as if they were written on a page. And his eyes pierced through me and I just faltered, like two hot pokers, you might say. He questioned both of us, and then turned to me and said, “The only thing I can’t understand is what took you so long to get here. I have been waiting for months for you. I’m only talking here so that you’ll be at ease. All right, I’m going to seal you two together now
… He told me something else, too. I’ll try to put it in his own words: “One thing, there’s no bargain counter into heaven; you will pay the same price that Abraham paid, or any other man” I said “What do you mean?” “The sacrifice of all things, If you are not willing to sacrifice all things, you are not worthy of the Kingdom.” (Carl Jentzch)

John Wickersham Woolley died December 13, 1928 seventeen days before his 97th birthday. He outlived all of his known children except Lorin Calvin Woolley.

The Greatest President We Never Had

To announce his candidacy to be President of the United States, the most influential religious leader in American history proclaimed his political views with this press release: (abridged)

“Born in a land of liberty, and breathing an air uncorrupted with the sirocco of barbarous climes, I ever feel a double anxiety for the happiness of all men, both in time and in eternity.
My cogitations, like Daniel’s, have for a long time troubled me, when I viewed the condition of men throughout the world, and more especially in this boasted realm, where the Declaration of Independence “holds these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;” but at the same time some two or three millions of people are held as slaves for life, because the spirit in them is covered with a darker skin than ours; and hundreds of our own kindred for an infraction, or supposed infraction, of some over-wise statute, have to be incarcerated in dungeon gloom, or penitentiaries, while the duelist, the debauchee, and the defaulter for millions, and other criminals, take the uppermost rooms at feasts, or, like the bird of passage, find a more congenial clime by flight.

"The wisdom which ought to characterize the freest, wisest, and most noble nation of the nineteenth century, should, like the sun in his meridian splendor, warm every object beneath its rays; and the main efforts of her officers, who are nothing more nor less than the servants of the people, aught to be directed to ameliorate the condition of all, black or white, bond or free; for the best of books says, “God hat made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” …

“The great Washington, further advised Congress that “among the many interesting objects which will engage your attention, that of providing for the common defense will merit particular regard, To be prepared for war in one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” As the Italian would say- “Buono aviso.”…

“The elder Adams, in his inaugural address, gives national pride such a grand turn of justification, that every honest citizen must look back upon the infancy of the United States with an approving smile, and rejoice that patriotism in their rulers, virtue in the people, and prosperity in the Union once crowded the expectations of hope, unveiled the sophistry of the hypocrite, and silenced the folly of foes. Mr. Adams said “If national pride is ever justifiable or excusable, it is when it springs not from power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction of national innocence, information, and benevolence” …

“General Jackson, upon his ascension to the great chair of the chief magistracy, said, “As long as our government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will, as long as it secures to us the rights of person and property, liberty of conscience, and of the press, it will be worth defending; and so song as it is worth defending, a patriotic militia will cover it with an impenetrable aegis.”

General Jackson’s administration may be denominated the acme of American glory, liberty, and prosperity; for the national debt, which in 1815, on account of the late war, was $125 million, and being lessened gradually, was paid up in his golden day, and preparations were made to distribute the surplus revenue among the several states; and that august patriot, to use his own words in his farewell address, retired leaving “a great people prosperous and happy, in the full enjoyment of liberty and peace, honored and respected by every nation of the world” …

“No honest man can doubt for a moment but the glory of American liberty is on the wane, and that calamity and confusion will sooner or later destroy the peace of the people. Speculators will urge a national bank as a savior of credit and comfort. Hireling pseudo priesthood will plausibly push abolition doctrines and doings and “human rights” into Congress, and into every other place where conquest smells of fame, or opposition swells to popularity. Democracy, Whiggery, and cliquery will attract their elements and foment divisions among the people to accomplish fancied schemes and accumulate power, while poverty, driven to despair, like hunger forcing its way through a wall, will break through the statutes of men to save life, and mend the breach in prison glooms…

“Now, O people! Turn unto the Lord and live, and reform this nation. Frustrate the designs of wicked men. Reduce Congress at least two-thirds. Two Senators from a State and two members to a million of population will do more business than the army that now occupy the halls of the national Legislature. Pay them two dollars and their board per diem (except Sundays.) That is more than the farmer gets, and he lives honestly. Curtail the officers of government in pay, number, and power; for the Philistine lords have shorn our nation of its goodly locks in the lap of Delilah.

“Petition your State Legislatures to pardon every convict in their several penitentiaries, blessing them as they go, and saying to them, in the name of the Lord: Go thy way and sin no more. Advise your legislators, when they make laws for larceny, burglary, or any felony, to make the penalty applicable to work upon roads, public works, or any place the culprit can be taught more wisdom and more virtue, and become more enlightened. Rigor and seclusion will never do as much to reform the propensities of men as reason and friendship. Murder only can claim confinement or death. Let the penitentiaries be turned into seminaries of learning, where intelligence, like the angels of heaven, would banish such fragments of barbarism. Imprisonment for debt is a meaner practice than the savage tolerates, with all his ferocity. …

“For the accommodation of the people in every state and territory, let Congress show their wisdom by granting a national bank, with branches in each State and Territory, where the capital stock shall be held by the nation for the Central Bank, and by the states and territories for the branches; and whose officers and directors shall be elected yearly by the people, with wages at the rate of two dollars per day for services; which several banks shall never issue any more bills than the amount of capital stock in her vaults and the interest.

“The net gain of the Central Bank shall be applied to the national revenue, and that of the branches to the states and territories revenues. And the bills shall be par throughout the nation, which will mercifully cure that fatal disorder known in cities as brokerage, and leave the peoples money in their own pockets.

“Give every man his constitutional freedom and the president full power to send an army to suppress mobs, and the States authority to repeal and impugn that relic of folly which makes it necessary for the governor of a state to make the demand of the President for troops, in case of invasion or rebellion.

“As to the contiguous territories to the United States, wisdom would direct no tangling alliance. Oregon belongs to this government honorably; and when we have the red man’s consent, let the Union spread from the east to the west sea; and if Texas petitions Congress to be adopted among the sons of liberty, give her the right hand of fellowship, and refuse not the same friendly grip to Canada and Mexico. …..

“The Southern people are hospitable and noble. They will help rid so free a country of every vestige of slavery, whenever they are assured of an equivalent for their property. The country will be full of money and confidence when a National Bank of twenty millions and a State Bank in every state, with a million or more, gives a tone to monetary matters, and makes a circulating medium as valuable in the purses of a whole community as in the coffers of a speculating banker or broker.

“In the United States the people are the government, and their united voice is the only sovereign that should rule, the only power that should be obeyed, and the only gentlemen that should be honored at home and abroad……..

“When the people petitioned for a National Bank, I would use my best endeavors to have their prayers answered, and establish one on national principles to save taxes, and make them its controllers of its ways and means. And when the people petitioned to possess the territory of Oregon, or any other contiguous territory, I would lend the influence of the Chief Magistrate to grant so reasonable a request, that they might extend the mighty efforts and enterprise of a free people from the east to the west sea, and make the wilderness blossom as the rose. And when a neighboring realm petitioned to join the union of liberty’s sons, my voice would be:
COME- yea, come, Texas; come Mexico, come Canada; and come, all the world; let us be brethren, let us be one great family, and let there be universal peace.”

---Joseph Smith February 7, 1844 (five months before his assassination)

The Unknown Grave

There's an unknown grave in a green lowly spot
The form that it covers will ne'er be forgot.
Where the haven trees spread and the wild locusts wave
Their fragrant white blooms o'er the unknown grave.
Over the unknown grave.

And near by its side does the wild rabbit tread,
While over the bosom the wild thistles spread.
As if in their kindness to guard and to save
From man's footstep intruding the unknown grave,
Guarding the unknown grave.

The heavens may weep and the thunders moan low,
Or the bright sunshine and the soft breezes blow,
Unheeding the heart, once responsive and brave,
Of the one who sleeps there in the unknown grave,
Low in the unknown grave.

The Prophet whose life was destroyed by his foes
Sleeps now where no hand may disturb his repose.
Till trumpets of God drown the notes of the wave
And we see him arise from his unknown grave,
God bless that unknown grave.

The love all embracing that never can end,
In death, as in life, knew him well as a friend,
The power of Jesus the mighty to save
Will dispell of its treasure the unknown grace,
No more an unknown grace.

- David Hyrum Smith (Youngest son of Joseph Smith Jr.)
Joseph Smith Jr. murdered in Carthage IL, June 27, 1844