-- Nov 24, 1889
...On October 21, 1889 the First Presidency, consisting of Wilford Woodruff with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as counselors, left for a three to four week trip to Alberta, Canada. President Lorenzo Snow, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was in Brigham City, Utah. L. John Nuttall, Secretary to the First Presidency, was instructed to get in touch with President Snow if any emergency arose.
When the Moore case arose on November 9th and Mr. Lipman was given authority to subpoena witnesses including several of the General Authorities of the L.D.S. Church, L. John Nuttall sent telegrams to the First Presidency via Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, B.C.. asking for their return and also to President Lorenzo Snow in Brigham City asking him to come to Salt Lake City.
On November 12th President Snow called a meeting of a small group of L.D.S. Church officials with the Church attorneys. According to Nuttall's minutes of the meeting J. H. Moyle, one of the Church attorneys, discussed the Moore case after which the group decided on the first course of action, namely:
"It was deemed proper for some of our brethren to be present in Court on Thursday whether they are subpoenaed by our enemies or not, and give testimony that no such oath is required of any Latter-day Saints against the Government of the United States in the Endowment House or elsewhere. That this is an opportune time for the Church to declare itself against these foul untruths so often repeated."
On November 13, 1889 President Snow called a meeting of a larger group of L.D.S. leaders and the problem was again presented to them. Word was also received that the First Presidency were on their way home from Canada at the request of President Snow and L. John Nuttall.
On the first day of the hearings in court (November 14th) Nuttall says that "a number of apostates had been subpoenaed and they were given every opportunity to say all they desired in regard to the Endowments, etc." Nuttall also records that: "Bro. Moyle also testified as one of their witnesses but refused to give the Endowment House ceremony. Judge Anderson allowed all kinds of evidence to be admitted, notwithstanding the objections of our attorneys. I wrote out a telegram in cipher & sent to Pres. Woodruff at Portland (Oregon) informing him of what is now going on."
President Lorenzo Snow called another meeting of the L.D.S. and the Peoples Party leadership for the evening of November 14th. Nuttall records that at this meeting the day in court was reviewed and then President Snow said:
"I shall be very much disappointed if after this investigation we don't come out all brighter for it, and make a good record for the Church. As witnesses in that Court we have a right to the spirit of the Lord. This is His work and He will stand by us in doing our best to maintain it."
President Snow gave permission for M. W. Merrill, Anthon H. Lund and Moses Thatcher, all of whom were thoroughly familiar with the Endowment ceremonies, to "go onto the Stand and testify that there were no such oaths, obligations or covenants required in the Endowments, but if they should be asked what did transpire there they could refuse to answer." He ruled that all of the brethren when on the witness stand should refuse to answer any questions that would give any of the Endowments or instructions received in the Endowment House. This ruling of President Lorenzo Snow was in keeping with a previous stand taken by the Church in the John H. Miles case in 1879 where Daniel H. Wells, counsellor to the quorum of twelve apostles, had similarly refused a court order to reveal the details of the Endowment ceremonies and had been held in contempt of court and been fined and imprisoned. See CHC 5:544-546.
President Wilford Woodruff arrived back in Salt Lake City on November 16, 1889 but "concluded not to stay so as to be subpoenaed."
Nuttall records, on November 18th, that testimony would be offered in court the next day "that the Endowments as given by the Prophet Joseph were the same as given today"... and that ... "It never was the view of any well-informed Latter-day Saint that the Church will supersede the Government of the United States."
In a meeting on Saturday, November 3, 1889 the L.D.S. Church attorneys and John W. Young met with the two counselors in the First Presidency to consider further steps to be taken in the trials or hearings. The questions of the propriety of making a statement in court on a prayer offered "for avenging the blood of the prophets" and on the fact that "instructions have been given the Presidency that no more plural marriages shall be solemnized" were considered. President George Q. Cannon was not in favor of making such statements in court but he said that President Wilford Woodruff was the only one that could make such a decision.
This brings us down to November 24th, the day the revelation was given to President Wilford Woodruff in the John Moore and other naturalization cases. This revelation marked the turning point. As President Cannon had said, only the Prophet could make this decision and he in turn, according to L. John Nuttall, turned to God in prayer for the answer. The entry in L. John Nuttall's diary for November 24, 1889 preceding his recording of the revelation is as follows:
"Sunday, November 24, 1889. Bro. D. R. Bateman called for me this evening & took me to the Gardo House. I found Pres. Woodruff there. He with Pres. Geo. Q. Cannon had met this afternoon with Bro. John W. Young, Legrand Young, Jas H. Moyle & R. W. Young to consider the matters as presented and talked upon yesterday, and the question was left with Pres. Woodruff to decide. The President told me of this & said that he had made the subject a matter of prayer and by the voice of the spirit he was directed to write. After he had concluded writing, which he was doing when I arrived, he asked me to copy a Revelation which he had received-I did so.
"Having heard Bro. J. W. Young's reasoning, I felt very much worked up in my feelings for I did not feel that as a church we could assume the position in regard to Celestial Marriage which he seemed to desire to be taken, and when Pres. Woodruff commenced talking to me this evening I felt he had become converted and actually trembled, for I knew such had not been Prest. Woodruff's feelings before, but as I wrote at his dictation, I felt better all the time and when completed I felt as light and joyous as it is possible to feel, for I was satisfied that Pres. Woodruff had received the word of the Lord. When Pres. Jos. F. Smith returned and read the revelation he was moved to tears and expressed his approval and acceptance of the word of the Lord to His servants & Saints. We all felt well and thankful to the Lord. Prest. Woodruff remained with us at the Garde House tonight."
The revelation so received by President Woodruff and read to and approved by his counselor Joseph F. Smith on November 24, 1889 was read to his other counselor, George Q. Cannon the next day (November 25th).
"Prest. Geo. Q. Cannon expressed his satisfaction at the mind of the Lord as given to Prest. Woodruff in the matter spoken of yesterday and Saturday. Bro. John W. Young also called and was informed by Pres. Woodruff of his decision on Court matters, with which he said he was fully satisfied."
Following this entry in Nuttall's diary and a short one for November 2 the revelation as given below is recorded in full under a date of November 24, 1889.
Despite the L.D.S. defense in the court, Judge Anderson finally ruled on November 30, 1889 that "an alien who is a member of the church [i.e. the Church of the Latter-day Saints] is not a fit person to be made a citizen of the United States." (See decision in full published in the Deseret News Weekly, December 7, 1889, pp. 754-760.)
The Revelation had said: "I the Lord will hold the Courts, with the officers of Government, and the nation responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants of Zion." The revelation did not win the court case but it did clearly fix the responsibility for any court decisions made in the naturalization cases. It also states the ultimate supremacy of God over man.
REVELATION to President Wilford Woodruff, Sunday, Nov. 24th, 1889.
Sunday, Nov. 24th, 1889.
Thus saith the Lord to my servant Wilford, I the Lord have heard thy prayer and thy request, and will answer thee by the voice of my Spirit. Thus saith the Lord, unto my servants, the Presidency of my Church, who hold the keys of the Kingdom of God on the earth. I the Lord hold the destiny of the Courts in your midst, and the destiny of this nation, and all other nations of the earth in mine own hands; all that I have revealed, and promised and decreed concerning the generation in which you live, shall come to pass, and no power shall stay my hand. Let not my servants who are called to the Presidency of my Church, deny my word or my law, which concerns the salvation of the children of men. Let them pray for the Holy Spirit, which shall be given them, to guide them in their acts. Place not yourselves in jeopardy to your enemies by promise; your enemies seek your destruction and the destruction of my people. If the Saints will hearken unto my voice, and the counsel of my servants, the wicked shall not prevail. Let my servants, who officiate as your Counselors before the Courts, make their pleadings as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit, without any further pledges from the Priesthood, and they shall be justified. I the Lord will hold the Courts, with the officers of government, and the nation responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants of Zion. I, Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, am in your midst. I am your advocate with the Father. Fear not little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Fear not the wicked and ungodly. Search the Scriptures, for they are they which testify of me; also those revelations which I have given to my Servant Joseph, and to all my Servants since the world began, which are recorded in the records of divine truth. Those revelations contain the judgments of God, which are to be poured out upon all nations under the heavens, which include great babylon. These judgments are at the door, they will be fulfilled as God lives. Leave judgment with me, it is mine saith the Lord. Watch the signs of the times, and they will show the fulfillment of the words of the Lord. Let my servants call upon the Lord in mighty prayer, retain the Holy Ghost as your constant companion, and act as you are moved upon by that spirit, and all will be well with you. The wicked are fast ripening in iniquity, and they will be cut off by the judgments of God. Great events await you and this generation, and are nigh at your doors. Awake, O Israel, and have faith in God, and His promises, and He will not forsake you. I, the Lord will deliver my Saints from the dominion of the wicked, in mine own due time and way. I cannot deny my word, neither in blessings nor judgments. Therefore let mine anointed gird up their loins, watch and be sober, and keep my commandments. Pray always and faint not; exercise faith in the Lord and in the promises of God; be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ. The eyes of the Lord and the Heavenly Hosts are watching over you and your acts. Therefore be faithful until I come. I come quickly, to reward every man according with deeds done in the body.
Even so, Amen. {1889-November 24-From a copy in the Diary of L. John Nuttall, 1889, pp. 167-171.} (1)
Revelation to President Wilford Woodruff-Civil and Divine Law-- 1889-November 24-From a copy in the Diary of L. John Nuttall,
This revelation to President Wilford Woodruff was given in answer to prayer "by the voice of the spirit." It was first written by Wilford Woodruff as he received it then immediately copied at President Woodruff's request by L. John Nuttall. Another copy of the revelation also exists in the manuscript diary of Wilford Woodruff.
The historical circumstances that led up to the eventual giving of this revelation as a solution for a very serious problem in L.D.S. Church history are given by Roberts (CHC 6:204-205) in his discussion of the naturalization cases of 1889. But Roberts does not mention this revelation as a climax to the naturalization cases. We are not aware of any discussion of this revelation in any of the standard L.D.S. Church histories. It seems appropriate therefore to briefly sketch the story here from the Diary of L. John Nuttall, the private secretary to President Woodruff. The circumstances surrounding the giving of this important revelation were these.
The Liberal Party (anti-Mormon) won control of Ogden, Utah, in the election of February, 1889. They planned to wrest control of Salt Lake City from the Peoples Party (Mormon) in the municipal election of 1890. According to Roberts (CHC 6:204) "both parties colonized voters in the city for the impending election." An effort was made by both political parties to swell their ranks by the naturalization of aliens. One of nine Latter-day Saint aliens whose case came before Judge Thomas J. Anderson, associate justice of the supreme court of Utah, and acting judge of the third judicial district was John Moore.
On Saturday, November 9, 1889 (according to the Nuttall diary) John Moore's admission to citizenship came before Judge Anderson in the U. S. 3rd District Court. "John Moore having passed all questions and before being sworn a Mr. Hurd & Mr. Jos. Lipman asked him if he had taken an oath in the Endowment House against the government of the United States to which he answered NO! But these men insisted that such an oath is taken."
Judge Anderson then ruled that:
"If any organization requires an oath against the Government, we have the right to get at it. ... The issue will be confined to ascertaining whether there is required of those who go through the Endowment House an Oath that is inconsistent with the duties of a citizen. Other sacred rites or obligations shall not be interfered with. Congress has made special laws against this organization and its members, and if there is an oath that is incompatible with the duties of a citizen, that fact should be known."
The Court then granted Mr. Lipman the authority to subpoena witnesses to testify before the Court on the following Thursday (November 14, 1889).
Hearings on the Moore and other cases continued from the 14th until November 30, 1889. This revelation to President Woodruff was given while the cases were still in progress in court. Roberts states that "There was a great array of legal talent." R. N. Baskin and W. H. Dickson appeared for the Liberal Party as counsel and objected to the naturalization of the Mormons. LeGrand Young, J. H. Moyle, Richard W. Young and other attorneys appeared for the applicants. Charles S. Varian, United States district attorney for Utah, appeared near the close of the hearings as "the official representative of the United States." This gives the historical setting which called forth the revelation.
Church procedures in this setting are given in some detail in the Nuttall diary. We will have space to only touch the highlights. We do so because the Nuttall diary is not widely available to readers.
Briefly then, here is a day-by-day account of the circumstances leading up to the giving of this revelation extracted or in some cases paraphrased from the Nuttall diary.
On October 21, 1889 the First Presidency, consisting of Wilford Woodruff with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as counselors, left for a three to four week trip to Alberta, Canada. President Lorenzo Snow, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was in Brigham City, Utah. L. John Nuttall, Secretary to the First Presidency, was instructed to get in touch with President Snow if any emergency arose.
When the Moore case arose on November 9th and Mr. Lipman was given authority to subpoena witnesses including several of the General Authorities of the L.D.S. Church, L. John Nuttall sent telegrams to the First Presidency via Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, B.C.. asking for their return and also to President Lorenzo Snow in Brigham City asking him to come to Salt Lake City.
On November 12th President Snow called a meeting of a small group of L.D.S. Church officials with the Church attorneys. According to Nuttall's minutes of the meeting J. H. Moyle, one of the Church attorneys, discussed the Moore case after which the group decided on the first course of action, namely:
"It was deemed proper for some of our brethren to be present in Court on Thursday whether they are subpoenaed by our enemies or not, and give testimony that no such oath is required of any Latter-day Saints against the Government of the United States in the Endowment House or elsewhere. That this is an opportune time for the Church to declare itself against these foul untruths so often repeated."
On November 13, 1889 President Snow called a meeting of a larger group of L.D.S. leaders and the problem was again presented to them. Word was also received that the First Presidency were on their way home from Canada at the request of President Snow and L. John Nuttall.
On the first day of the hearings in court (November 14th) Nuttall says that "a number of apostates had been subpoenaed and they were given every opportunity to say all they desired in regard to the Endowments, etc." Nuttall also records that: "Bro. Moyle also testified as one of their witnesses but refused to give the Endowment House ceremony. Judge Anderson allowed all kinds of evidence to be admitted, notwithstanding the objections of our attorneys. I wrote out a telegram in cipher & sent to Pres. Woodruff at Portland (Oregon) informing him of what is now going on."
President Lorenzo Snow called another meeting of the L.D.S. and the Peoples Party leadership for the evening of November 14th. Nuttall records that at this meeting the day in court was reviewed and then President Snow said:
"I shall be very much disappointed if after this investigation we don't come out all brighter for it, and make a good record for the Church. As witnesses in that Court we have a right to the spirit of the Lord. This is His work and He will stand by us in doing our best to maintain it."
President Snow gave permission for M. W. Merrill, Anthon H. Lund and Moses Thatcher, all of whom were thoroughly familiar with the Endowment ceremonies, to "go onto the Stand and testify that there were no such oaths, obligations or covenants required in the Endowments, but if they should be asked what did transpire there they could refuse to answer." He ruled that all of the brethren when on the witness stand should refuse to answer any questions that would give any of the Endowments or instructions received in the Endowment House. This ruling of President Lorenzo Snow was in keeping with a previous stand taken by the Church in the John H. Miles case in 1879 where Daniel H. Wells, counsellor to the quorum of twelve apostles, had similarly refused a court order to reveal the details of the Endowment ceremonies and had been held in contempt of court and been fined and imprisoned. See CHC 5:544-546.
President Wilford Woodruff arrived back in Salt Lake City on November 16, 1889 but "concluded not to stay so as to be subpoenaed."
Nuttall records, on November 18th, that testimony would be offered in court the next day "that the Endowments as given by the Prophet Joseph were the same as given today"... and that ... "It never was the view of any well-informed Latter-day Saint that the Church will supersede the Government of the United States."
In a meeting on Saturday, November 3, 1889 the L.D.S. Church attorneys and John W. Young met with the two counselors in the First Presidency to consider further steps to be taken in the trials or hearings. The questions of the propriety of making a statement in court on a prayer offered "for avenging the blood of the prophets" and on the fact that "instructions have been given the Presidency that no more plural marriages shall be solemnized" were considered. President George Q. Cannon was not in favor of making such statements in court but he said that President Wilford Woodruff was the only one that could make such a decision.
This brings us down to November 24th, the day the revelation was given to President Wilford Woodruff in the John Moore and other naturalization cases. This revelation marked the turning point. As President Cannon had said, only the Prophet could make this decision and he in turn, according to L. John Nuttall, turned to God in prayer for the answer. The entry in L. John Nuttall's diary for November 24, 1889 preceding his recording of the revelation is as follows:
"Sunday, November 24, 1889. Bro. D. R. Bateman called for me this evening & took me to the Gardo House. I found Pres. Woodruff there. He with Pres. Geo. Q. Cannon had met this afternoon with Bro. John W. Young, Legrand Young, Jas H. Moyle & R. W. Young to consider the matters as presented and talked upon yesterday, and the question was left with Pres. Woodruff to decide. The President told me of this & said that he had made the subject a matter of prayer and by the voice of the spirit he was directed to write. After he had concluded writing, which he was doing when I arrived, he asked me to copy a Revelation which he had received-I did so.
"Having heard Bro. J. W. Young's reasoning, I felt very much worked up in my feelings for I did not feel that as a church we could assume the position in regard to Celestial Marriage which he seemed to desire to be taken, and when Pres. Woodruff commenced talking to me this evening I felt he had become converted and actually trembled, for I knew such had not been Prest. Woodruff's feelings before, but as I wrote at his dictation, I felt better all the time and when completed I felt as light and joyous as it is possible to feel, for I was satisfied that Pres. Woodruff had received the word of the Lord. When Pres. Jos. F. Smith returned and read the revelation he was moved to tears and expressed his approval and acceptance of the word of the Lord to His servants & Saints. We all felt well and thankful to the Lord. Prest. Woodruff remained with us at the Garde House tonight."
The revelation so received by President Woodruff and read to and approved by his counselor Joseph F. Smith on November 24, 1889 was read to his other counselor, George Q. Cannon the next day (November 25th).
"Prest. Geo. Q. Cannon expressed his satisfaction at the mind of the Lord as given to Prest. Woodruff in the matter spoken of yesterday and Saturday. Bro. John W. Young also called and was informed by Pres. Woodruff of his decision on Court matters, with which he said he was fully satisfied."
Following this entry in Nuttall's diary and a short one for November 2 the revelation as given below is recorded in full under a date of November 24, 1889.
Despite the L.D.S. defense in the court, Judge Anderson finally ruled on November 30, 1889 that "an alien who is a member of the church [i.e. the Church of the Latter-day Saints] is not a fit person to be made a citizen of the United States." (See decision in full published in the Deseret News Weekly, December 7, 1889, pp. 754-760.)
The Revelation had said: "I the Lord will hold the Courts, with the officers of Government, and the nation responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants of Zion." The revelation did not win the court case but it did clearly fix the responsibility for any court decisions made in the naturalization cases. It also states the ultimate supremacy of God over man.
REVELATION to President Wilford Woodruff, Sunday, Nov. 24th, 1889.
Sunday, Nov. 24th, 1889.
Thus saith the Lord to my servant Wilford, I the Lord have heard thy prayer and thy request, and will answer thee by the voice of my Spirit. Thus saith the Lord, unto my servants, the Presidency of my Church, who hold the keys of the Kingdom of God on the earth. I the Lord hold the destiny of the Courts in your midst, and the destiny of this nation, and all other nations of the earth in mine own hands; all that I have revealed, and promised and decreed concerning the generation in which you live, shall come to pass, and no power shall stay my hand. Let not my servants who are called to the Presidency of my Church, deny my word or my law, which concerns the salvation of the children of men. Let them pray for the Holy Spirit, which shall be given them, to guide them in their acts. Place not yourselves in jeopardy to your enemies by promise; your enemies seek your destruction and the destruction of my people. If the Saints will hearken unto my voice, and the counsel of my servants, the wicked shall not prevail. Let my servants, who officiate as your Counselors before the Courts, make their pleadings as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit, without any further pledges from the Priesthood, and they shall be justified. I the Lord will hold the Courts, with the officers of government, and the nation responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants of Zion. I, Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, am in your midst. I am your advocate with the Father. Fear not little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Fear not the wicked and ungodly. Search the Scriptures, for they are they which testify of me; also those revelations which I have given to my Servant Joseph, and to all my Servants since the world began, which are recorded in the records of divine truth. Those revelations contain the judgments of God, which are to be poured out upon all nations under the heavens, which include great babylon. These judgments are at the door, they will be fulfilled as God lives. Leave judgment with me, it is mine saith the Lord. Watch the signs of the times, and they will show the fulfillment of the words of the Lord. Let my servants call upon the Lord in mighty prayer, retain the Holy Ghost as your constant companion, and act as you are moved upon by that spirit, and all will be well with you. The wicked are fast ripening in iniquity, and they will be cut off by the judgments of God. Great events await you and this generation, and are nigh at your doors. Awake, O Israel, and have faith in God, and His promises, and He will not forsake you. I, the Lord will deliver my Saints from the dominion of the wicked, in mine own due time and way. I cannot deny my word, neither in blessings nor judgments. Therefore let mine anointed gird up their loins, watch and be sober, and keep my commandments. Pray always and faint not; exercise faith in the Lord and in the promises of God; be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ. The eyes of the Lord and the Heavenly Hosts are watching over you and your acts. Therefore be faithful until I come. I come quickly, to reward every man according with deeds done in the body.
Even so, Amen. {1889-November 24-From a copy in the Diary of L. John Nuttall, 1889, pp. 167-171.} (1)
Endnotes:
1 - Clark, James R., Messages of the First Presidency (6 volumes)
LDS History Chronology: Lorenzo Snow
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Lorenzo Snow
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
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