| OCR Text |
Show NUJ)!IBER 8. ti ~NOW HEPLIE~ TO THATCHER tIGives His -- Version of the Church Controversy. ~ IS INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT Allegations That Thatcher Was Contumacious and Rebellious. I I '1'1,at Jfe Arrnye,I lihnseJf Agn.inst Jiis Q.uo·ru1rn E:Ccl<;sjustica.I un,l Neglecte,l Hhc, Dniies - Cbu.rs·e 'l"lu~t Ile P1·eacl1ecl False Doctrine on One, Occ-usion-These Forn1e,1 · ~he lla>1is F ·or tlte• Recent Action: In ne1n>sing lib•, '.l"l1n.tcJ1er. Foll owing the publication of the cor. respon dence be tween iiioses Thatcher and the quorum of the twelve apostles, cc,mes another important and extreme. ly interesting chapter in that contro. versy. It takes the form or° a letter, published in las t evening's News, from President Snow, the entire article be. ing a,s follows: · 1 I I "A State2ne1,t Fron, Presiclcnt Lo1·en~o Sno,v." The following correspondence needs neither explanation nor co1nment save th e Sllgge,Hion tha.t President Snow's I letter is deserving of, ant) dou~tless will 1 rcce,ive the most C8,reful consid'eration of all Latter-day Saines: Sall Lake City, Nov. 20, 1896. Elder Lorenzo Snow, President of the Twelve Apostles: · Dear Brother-As there has •been much disc ussion over the correspondence. bet ween .Moses '.IThatcher and you1-self, and some Of our own people are at sea in regard to Lhe primn.ry cause o( Brother '.rhatch er's lack o.f harmony with your quorum, leading to his excommunication therefrom, in behalf of a number o.f suchpersons v.re pen you this cornmnnication. VVe are aware that the difficulty mainly rested With the twelve· and one o,f its rnPmbers, also that when action was taken in the case there was no need o.f Your making further explanations. VVe can appreciate your abs.tinencc from con. trove rsy on a purely church matter through the public prirnts. But se<aing that there appears to be a misapprehension of the facts in the case, and that many good peo]'.}Jc are liable, 'in conse. quence of thal, to fo rm incor-rect conclusions, we respectfully ask you, if it be not inconsi&tent with any rule of the church o,r of the counc:J over which you preside, lo make some public statement wb,ich will snve •to, place this- matter in ils t rue light before the Saints, anct· clear away the m!s,ts Which, to some at least, seem to surrouncl the sub.iect of Moses Thatcher's deposltion. As he has given to the world the ririvate correspondE>nce that pasRed betwePn you and him i n a church capacity, is il fair, even to yourself and your associates, to leave , the n1aLter in its present condition and / O·Pen lo so much misconstruction? If you would make an exnlanatory statement through the Descret News, We be1lieve it would be highly esteemed by ma.ny othei·s. as well as your brethren in tho gospel, NEPHI L. :\IORRJS, AHNOLD G. Gll\TQl'E, AR1':HUR ],'. BAR.'.\'ES, R. C. BADfHsR, T. A. CLAWSON. P1·esiclcnt Snu,-,,,s .Ausnyer. Sa!t Letke C'ty, Nov. 30, 18D6. Messrs. Nephi L. .Mor,is, Arnolrl G. Gia.uque, Arthur F. Barnes, R . C. Badge r "'1d T. A. Clawson: Dear Brethren- In response to your esteemed communica-tion o{ the 20th lnsl., I have dnlern1ined, after con~~rc• nce w1Lh so -eral o[ the- apo ·lles, ~ ofle, - om · oc. planation s on the ca.se of Mo:ses 'fhatehe r a nd com1nents on th e corr esponde n ce t o w hi ch you r efer, through the colu mns of th e DeserPt ).Tews. r The anos,tJes cl id not view Llw pu 1, ,cad lion of- the letters that Passed to a n from Brnther :\foses Thatcher and ~l~~r; . . llin" for any controversy on air(a NZr clicl they think. it . a Pl'OJ)Cl' Pl . . to give those ecclesiastical comLimg , . . = neral publicity through mu:n/.eat:10ff1_s ,,e The letters bearini; secular ne,, spapers. . ct with ·t my signatbre we,:e not prep~~1ever th~ design f_or ])':-i1;1~.~atboein-:ncl were r(• . i~1~(~1~: ~~~~'~ ~si~i~rch matters fo~i~l~c e1•a,tion solely o.f }~e .[1~~firs have been lll is of~\11bt':uubwc ~;cl because it seems, g ven , that an improper lmfrom whaJ}'.0 ~e~i:-,Y·maclc upon the ,.,.~nds 8 1~ oplc thereby, that I ~fmr~~ with t h e rcr:.uest to !)leet some gr°~"c;~~ 0 0 stTh :i~i~e~f~ir~~~~a~~~J'ub~~~lt~g p\;'t1~~ commnn1cat~J1l11e:~~1cce3sa1y and su~ersympathy, they contain convey the im flous _appeti!t they were concocted for pression t They were 110,t relevant to that purpose. · :Mo es Thatcher was the issue _mvoflv_e1.. "fetowship. S!>eciflc, not on tnal 01 118 · · d it h er in pubcharges w<c.re not r.>;rcfci~:sti~n was solely lie or i~ p11vay. 'I!~e .;'he o-f the apostles, as to his stanc mg . lack of harmony in consequence of /i~1e twelve of which with U1e a_uorum b O • That question he he was a mem eL t'rne if he had could have settled 11~\ a;Tth~uot a formal so desired, , .'1.nd. t - himself in harmony trial. Dy placmg in the spirit of hu- . with his quorum, . w i th its rules. of rnility and co,nfo'.:°I~(~gnora.nce, he ooulcl which he ~af. n~~lf all the trouble and ha.Vt, saye o,lfH~~hich he complains. clepnvat1011 f, THAT NE,W MANIFESTO. . hee calls his·ofcase, I n his review o f w h a t ·h matter (he he lays %re•a t _stre.ss fn1e~ which he r e declara:trn~, of ~l:;;:c i~ h~d received the fnsecl to ~,gn thc !lrsL presidency, t_he. endorsement o . himself). the seven apostles (exce~trng enti;s tf1e patriarch, presidents of td!' seiishop~ic comprisi ng and the pres, ··tie-- of 'the church. the general .• at°r~e had only about an His e x cuse 1s ~.. _ in which to conhour Rnd 30 m/t1 t ~ en do not reQuire s icler it. Usua Y ··aer a matter which much time to eons1 be ri~ht. There they hav~ a lways h elr11!~ docu;';,ent as. it was nothrng neh ig.sdpline It contams 1 • · s relates lo churc be.en an estabthat which.. has f af;ea~hurch. ·when. the lishecl doctnnc. o ·)ared it s ubmlited commHtee wh,-:h pr,e1h n.uthorities, they it to the oth?t . cldur,';:. witho-ut heR1tat1on signed it .,,[(e1 1 ea. ."; time to deliberate. and with?ut requ,~\~estly a concederl and, It embodies s o m'." t every one in harmony l 'Y/Tif tra nece·s Sary l'U]f!r ·w ith the c.hu. c i a 11thorities acceJ;Hled it ll'Ch as a. body has at once, and the ~~~ it as an essential receiY<;_d. and . ad11' Ivloscs Thatcher alone, rule ,v hy shou ·T s feel that he of th<' churc,h aull~otai\eges, ' 'without could not. si,;_,1:-, not that in itself stultification· and had been out evidence that hetlwh's brethren? And of hannony ,vi 1 little d!s9osed as are they _not~ ~~11 stu.ltify themselve_s, or ny one lnrn " th· wrong that is of to assent to any j."g them and to, the rital hnrportance o all tt,;J';.s a; church? that his letter refusing t~ Ile charrres . . vias "supressed. s·gn the deelarat10n ·ion in the matte,· . here wae; nr tstf p~ve:: no-t arldressed to l al!. The e e . t the public. Out of e conference no1 io to him no rcfc rercy and ~ompas\7~1 co-ntumacy at the ce was made to t his name simply pril confer,rnt1e, N,:'t of authori ties !]re. ·oppcd ie Id he have been S•US• nted. from How cou |
