-- Nov 13, 1888
[Apostle Heber J. Grant Diary] At 10:30 attended a meeting of our quorum W. Woodruff, L. Snow, F. D. Richards, Jos[eph] F. Smith, Moses Thatcher, John H[enr]y Smith, H. J. Grant, Cha[rle]s W. Penrose, John T. Caine, F. S. Richards and L. John Nuttall were present ... Pres[iden]t Woodruff suggested that we defer action on this matter until afternoon and talk now on our chance of Statehood. John T. Caine said he did not know what our chances for Statehood were and could hardly form an opinion without first having a consultation with the leaders of the Democratic party. Quite an amount of talk was indulged in and the general feeling was that if the Democratic Party would make the admission of Utah a Party measure and take it up with a zeal & earnest desire to put Utah into the Union that it could be accomplished. All that spoke were decidedly in favor of making a strong effort statehood between now and March 89. Pres[ident] Jos[eph] F. Smith spoke in warm praise of the labors of Richards and Penrose at Washington last spring and fall and said he could have testimony that the Lord blessed them. (Discussed attempt to remove Berry as judge and decided it would be a mistake to try to get Cleveland to remove him.) On motion was decided to send a committee to Washington D.C. to labor for Statehood. Concluded that Penrose and Richards would be enough for the present and that they should start as soon as convenient. Concluded that we would give the brethren to understand that we would place no restraints upon them coming into court and pleading. Thatcher, Snow and Richards were appointed a committee for the att[orne]ys to consult with in these cases. Some remarks were made about the course of W[illia]m Bromley of American Fork and none of the brethren felt that we could sustain him and the general feeling was that a new Bishop would be selected. While on this subject Lorenzo Snow remarked that children were coming along all the time and he could not condemn anyone but the felt sooner or later we would have to come up and face the music and come up to the law of the Lord, Carried, ... (1)
-- Dec 20, 1888
... The Council of Apostles met at the President s office at 7:30 p.m. Present: President Wilford Woodruff, Elders Lorenzo Snow, F[ranklin]. D. Richards, B[righam]. Young, Joseph F. Smith, Moses Thatcher, F[rancis]. M. Lyman, John Henry Smith, and H[eber]. J. Grant, also L. John Nuttall, Sec[retary]. Prayer by Elder L[orenzo]. Snow.
President Woodruff said: I have a matter to [lay?] before the quorum on a subject that I wish the brethren to put their minds upon. There are times when we are called upon to consider matters which are for the inter[e]st of the Church and Kingdom of God.
At the time of the session of the last Constitutional convention to draft a constitution for this territory to be admitted as a State our friends in Washington [D.C.] got up and submitted certain propositions for the adoption of the people of this territory. I have now got a document to present that has come from some source and has not been gotten up by our or any person in the Church.
Elder Nuttall then read the document.
President Woodruff said he would like this matter to be kept among ourselves. This is a subject of great importance and is not known outside of ourselves, only by those who sent it. He wished the brethren to speak their minds freely but to the point.
By request Elder Nuttall read the document again.
The youngest members were called upon to speak first.
Some of the quotations made in the document were compared with the Doctrine and Covenants, and were found to be not correctly quoted.
... Elder L[orenzo]. Snow: I feel as some of the brethren have expressed themselves. If this Church would put itself in harmony with the country I believe the Lord would approve of it if it did not cost too much. There are a great many in this nation who are honorable and if we could place ourselves in a favorable position they might turn to investigate the principles of the Gospel; as we are now they do not believe we are in earnest, but if we could do something that would show to them we were in earnest that might answer. I don t know how this can be brought about. I cannot bring my mind to accept of this document only upon the same ideas we had in accepting the test oath. We have endeavored to adopt politics with the best wisdom we have had and have acted in accordance with the best light we had.
Referred to the election of the taking of the test oath at Brigham City [Utah] and getting the word of the Lord through President John Taylor.
Stated that the Prophet Joseph Smith had told him that the principle of plural marriage was of God, that an angel of the Lord with a drawn sword told him that he must enter into the practice of that law, and he told me that I must enter into it. That was a revelation through the Prophet to me and unless I can get the word of the Lord through His servants I cannot abandon that principle now... (2)
Endnotes:
1 - Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies
2 - First Presidency Office Journal; Brigham Young Jr., Diary
LDS History Chronology: Lorenzo Snow
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Lorenzo Snow
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
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