Report on the Ensign Stake and Priesthood Integrity

My brothers and sisters, I sincerely pray that the spirit that has so far characterized this meeting, as well as the other meetings of this glorious conference, may attend me during the few minutes that I shall address you. ¶

There has been considerable said during the sessions of this conference pertaining to the belief of the Latter-day Saints in what has been called the "perfect law of liberty." Several of the Apostles have referred to our belief in this principle. Those of us who had the privilege of hearing Apostle Whitney this morning listened to a discourse replete with instances and quotations from the Scriptures, the ancient Scriptures and those which originated in this day, showing that the Latter-day Saints, while claiming the right to worship God as they may choose, concede to all other men the same privilege, and equal right. We have also heard that charity and long-suffering are characteristics of the Gospel. ¶

With reference to the law of liberty, Apostle Whitney pointed out that in the very beginning, that is in the Councils of Heaven, which considered the formation of this world and the plan of salvation which has been established here, two propositions were made, one advocated the compelling of people to be saved, the taking away from them of their free agency — which plan was rejected. The second, or alternative plan proposed, and which prevailed, as we learn from the revelations God has given in this day, involved the absolute free agency of every son and daughter of God that should be born upon the earth. That belief, I venture to say, is the very cornerstone of the Gospel we have received. We know, also, it has been taught in this day that when Christ comes, and the millennium shall be established, all men shall even then have the right to worship as they see fit. ¶

Christ taught that we should be charitable and not be influenced by a spirit of persecution. We are reminded that our Savior, in the throes of expiration, prayed God that His enemies might be forgiven, upon the plea that they did not know what they were doing. Now these, in very brief outline, are some doctrines of the Church pertaining to very important subjects. ¶

We believe in extending to all people the rights of conscience to the fullest extent. We believe that the Declaration of Independence was inspired of God, in declaring that all men have the right to establish their own governments along such lines as they may see fit. These are likewise doctrines of the Church. It is interesting to turn for a moment to consider what has been the practice and history of the Church, with reference to these vital propositions. ¶

We have been sufferers, it is true, all the days of our lives from slander and persecution. I need not point out to this congregation, for you are familiar with the fact, that in the very inception of the work, the Prophet Joseph Smith was discouraged, slandered, and waylaid; and that, soon after the Church was organized, mobs endeavored to prevent the people from being baptized. I need not remind you that soon after the Church was established in Kirtland, Ohio, some of our Elders were tarred and feathered, and that public sentiment was strong against the people. You are also familiar with the fact that, when our people went to Jackson County, Missouri, under charges that were baseless, they were driven out, and made to sacrifice their property, both real and personal. I may say here, that perhaps the chief charge made against our people at that time was that they were abolitionists, that they did not believe in the enforced slavery of the negro race; and it was largely upon that ground our people were compelled to suffer. When they moved into Clay, Daviess, Caldwell and some other counties in Missouri, there was a land agitation. Their new neighbors, taking courage from the example of their brethren over in Jackson county, combined in their selfishness and demanded that our people should leave, and sacrifice again their real property and personal belongings. And you will remember that the same charges as before were made against them. You will recall that a governor, of infamous memory, made an order which is recorded in the archives of the history of that state, that the "Mormons" should at once leave the State or be exterminated, and this without any offense on their part against God or man. When our people went over into the State of Illinois, they were at first received with open arms, but, owing to the fact that they were united — I make this assertion on the authority of a statement of Governor Ford, in his history of the State of Illinois, ascribing the difficulties of the Mormon Church in that state, as well as in other states, to their unity. Owing to the fact that, contrary to the custom of the various churches of the day, our people were united in various other respects, in which they had a perfect right to unite, they were again driven from their homes and compelled to sacrifice their property. Charges were made against our people that they were thieves, that they were counterfeiters, together with other charges of a similar false character. ¶

It was my pleasure a few months since to have a conversation with Mr. Cooper of Dubuque, Iowa, one of the manufacturers of the famous Cooper wagons, in which he stated that, on the very day the Prophets Joseph and Hyrum were martyred, he, being then a deck hand on a Mississippi steamer, on arriving at the wharf at Nauvoo with his companions, were afraid of their lives, by reason of what had happened and the rumors afloat. We spoke of those Nauvoo days, and I found he was very conversant with conditions on the Mississippi River at that time, as he has been since, and his testimony to me was that those charges against the morality and uprightness of the Mormon people were totally false, that, in fact, the people were driven out of that State by reason of religious intolerance. In like fashion, after coming here, untruthful charges were made, resulting in repressive laws being formulated against us. At one time, we were practically deprived of the right of trial by jury. Congress, led by aspersions falsely made against our characters, spurred by malicious statements that came from here, enacted a law that the district clerk and the probate judge should have the selection of all jurors, in violation of the right of jury trial, as it is known among the Anglo-Saxon race, under conditions as they existed here. There came an army against us, sent out as a result of lying statements made by a mail contractor, who had an axe to grind ; absolutely without any justification for such action by the government. And so, throughout the whole breadth and length of our history, we have been the objects of bitter slander, misrepresentation, vile abuse, and persecution to a large extent. ¶

And have we returned this character of treatment? I would ask anyone to point to any law passed in the legislative history of this people and this state wherein we have returned injustice for injustice, or persecution for persecution. Away back in the early days of the history of this Territory when our people were in the majority, when there were very few non-"Mormons," in fact, when we made all the laws, and the whole public sentiment was our way, there was not passed, and there is not to be found in the statutes of the Territory of Utah, one law that in any way discriminated against those who were not of our faith and in favor of our co-religionists. There has never been any intolerance toward such as were not of our faith or belief. So far as religion is concerned, they have even been encouraged ; they have at least been treated with perfect toleration ; and their schools have not been molested. It is possible that occasionally windows of their churches have been broken, by mischievous urchins, but I doubt if this has happened more frequently than with the meetinghouses of our own people. Outside of such trivialities as this, non-"Mormons" have been treated with a true spirit of charity. So far as political rights are concerned, consider those who in olden days made fierce attacks against us, with vituperation and determination, some of them unscrupulously — since the division upon party lines was made, what has been the treatment of those men? They have been given many of the chief political positions within the gift of the "Mormon" people. Thus have we returned good for evil ; and I desire to say that, in the whole line of our ministrations, politically, morally, and every other way, we have accorded those not of our faith fair, just and square treatment. We do believe, then, my brothers and sisters, in the perfect law of liberty, and our lives prove it. ¶

We demand for ourselves the right to worship God as we see fit, as guaranteed by the Constitution. This sentiment is a fundamental characteristic of Mormonism; and it is to our credit and honor that we have always been willing to extend this privilege to others, and defend their right thereto, though very often we have been made the objects of intolerance and vituperation. ¶

God grant that we may continue true to the truth, true to the glorious principles we have espoused. We do not contemplate yielding or relinquishing our religious belief, for, thank God, there is room under the broad aegis of the American Flag to worship as we see fit, and we ought to be and are inspired with a disposition to concede to all others, the God-given privilege of worshiping as they see fit. God bless us. Amen. ¶