January 16, 1996
An Editorial Essay
This year, as we commemorate the obtaining of statehood 100
years ago, before giving in to a complete rapture of celebration, we might
pause to reflect upon some points which are cause for introspection. At least
we should have a moment of silence on behalf of those individuals for whom
this transition time was not sweet, as it brought them persecutions even more
painful than before.
I, like many in this state, can say I am grateful for my
rich pioneer heritage, in my case including polygamous roots on all lines at
the time Utah achieved statehood. The introspection of which I speak stems far
broader than just Utah heritage, as the effects of this Utah transition where
felt through the whole of Mormondom at that time.
To try and ignore or even separate the issues of polygamy
and "the kingdom" from Utah's obtaining of statehood would be like
trying to separate the Book of Mormon and the message of the restoration from
the early persecutions heaped upon the young man, Joseph Smith, in upstate New
York.
Prior to 1890, in the pattern of the patriarchs of old, the
Mormons had come to hold polygamy as an exalted institution requisite for any
man or woman seeking the highest heaven. This religious belief brought upon
the Mormons the severest of persecutions, including continual refusals to
grant Utah its statehood and the accompanying rights of autonomous government.
The persecutors were the "Gentiles," whose carpet-bagger government
over the Mormons was anything but benevolent.
As the persecutions increased and the Mormon's rights
decreased, finally, the Mormons as a people said, "Uncle" to Uncle
Sam. In 1890, their petitions to their God were heard, and He granted them
according to their collective desires for popularity instead of persecution:
polygamy would have to go. With the Manifesto in place the Mormons' task then
was to prove to their Gentile persecutors that they really meant what they had
decreed. Ultimately, this came down to them proving to the Gentiles that they
could themselves be amply proficient in persecuting persisting polygamists.
By 1896, the Gentiles were finally convinced and Utah
received her sought-after prize: Statehood. Hurray! For whom? Certainly it was
a bitter-sweet occasion. Now the Mormons had the right of self-government.
This meant an end to the unjust carpet-bagger oppression under which they had
toiled. But at what price? What had once been a sacred cow had now become an
internal scapegoat.
Perhaps the most poignant example of a willing ram in the
thicket during this difficult transition was the apostle John Wooley Taylor,
son of President John Taylor, who was caught in the middle of this transition.
He was among the most beloved ever of the apostles, possessing an amazing gift
of prophecy that blessed many people's lives, and a charisma that warmed
hearts not a few. In addition to inheriting his father's undying steadfastness
in "the principle," he had been given the privilege of being shown
in prophetic vision his six wives and thirty-six children; and at the time of
the Manifesto he only had three wives C three yet to come. When the
knowledge of his marriage to the fourth and fifth wives, polygamous sisters,
leaked to the public and was subsequently proven, he was expelled from the
Quorum. Marrying the sixth wife brought him excommunication and the
accompanying scorn that would mar his family for years to come, though he held
true in his devotion to the Church. It would be nearly half a century C well
after the storm had passed C before his blessings would be restored on
the Church records, including his status as an apostle; and his good name on
its way to mending. (Samuel W. Taylor, Taylor-Made Tales, Aspen Books,
1994, p. 3.) This story is told by his son and world-renowned author, Samuel
Wooley Taylor, in The Family Kingdom (McGraw-Hill, 1951). Samuel's
biography of his grandfather, John Taylor, is equally poignant (The Kingdom
or Nothing, MacMillan, 1976).
Another historic perspective, often forgotten, is that the
Saints were accused of tyranny: wanting to establish in full priesthood power
the Kingdom of God, also commenced by Joseph Smith and pursued with increasing
fervor until statehood negotiations. Ironically, therefore, a key stipulation
for the Mormons being able to have self-government was that they must utterly
relinquish any and every aspect of their quest to set up this literal
government of God which would protect all mankind in what they may chose to
believe C a theocracy which was destined to fill the whole earth
according to the vision of Daniel. In many regards polygamy became a public
smoke screen for this more deeply-seated political envy and fear regarding the
Mormons, especially considering their industry, unity, faith, and gathering in
strength C all central to the establishment of the kingdom C our
birthright. On this issue as well, the Saints finally cried,
"Uncle!"
Paying the prices of statehood may have won us into the
heart of the world, but did yielding to these pre-conditions also drive our
hearts from God? Somehow, along with implementing a politically mandated
policy of persecuting polygamists seemed to come an inseparably connected
denial of the birthright.
With our industriousness yet in tact, one hundred years
later, true to the 1890/96 wish carried to this day, we Mormons have attained
a popularity unparalleled in any time in our history, unabashedly bragged
about by some as though it is a sign of God's simultaneous approval. True, the
church half of that kingdom has been propagated far and wide. But what of the
mandate to build the governmental aspect of the kingdom of God on
earth as well? What of a dependance upon God so riveted that no power
heaped against it can prevail? Is God's almighty arm shortened at all that it
cannot redeem? Has he no power to deliver?
Such a power and protection is promised in the doctrine of
Christ. When are we finally going to "put on strength," and
"arise from the dust" that all kindreds of the earth might be
blessed?
If there is a celebration to be had this year, let it be
along with the Jews who celebrate 3000 years since Jerusalem was first
established in power. Let our hearts turn fully to God and his deliverance,
and away from a trust in the arm of flesh, so that He may be our God, and we
may be His people.
Sincerely,
Prices
of Statehood
