Charles W. Penrose

“ Nevertheless, we are men and women, and we hope some day, to be able to show to the nation and to the world, that we are law-abiding men and women, men and women desiring to do right, to serve God, and to keep every wholesome and constitutional law of the land; that we are willing not only to labor for our own rights, but for the rights of others; that we will contend inch by inch for those rights under the constitution of our country, and in the spirit of the Gospel, this perfect law of liberty which God has revealed to us. ”

“ That is religion. And I think that religion ought to have a great deal to do with politics. I do not mean to say that people should be compelled by religion or any other power to vote or to refrain from voting; but I do think that religion should enter into all the acts of life, in political as well as social matters; religion should enter into all things; a religious influence should have power over the minds of men for good.
Now, then, seeing there is a secret ballot, and nobody can tell how a person votes, where can the coercion be? ”

“ I think the twelve men called Apostles, have just as much right to get up a political ticket, if they please to do so, as twelve lawyers, or twelve doctors, or twelve merchants, or twelve men who are hunting for office, and if the people choose, of their own free will, to go to the polls and vote that ticket, I think they have a right to do so. But those very "liberal" folks who say we are in bondage, want to make us vote as they think—" If you will only vote our ticket," they say, "it will be all right; but if you vote the People's Ticket, or the church ticket, then you are slaves." ”

“ The last named persons came down from on high and ordained men to the Priesthood upon the earth, to wit, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and they, inspired by the Almighty, dictated by the Holy Ghost, the spirit of revelation, have called and ordained other men to the same authority—to go out into the world and preach the everlasting Gospel, and administer in the ordinances thereof. That is the power of this Priesthood.
Does this authority give men any power to bind the souls of men? Not in the least. Does it give men authority to coerce anybody in any shape, form or manner? ”

“ They who have this authority and influence really have it in the power of God, and for the good and blessing and benefit of their fellows, and not to coerce them. There is no coercion or bondage in it. But some people will say, "Is there not some kind of coercion in your political affairs? You seem to be united in your voting, not only in your Church matters, but in your politics. How is it that, when your people go to the polls, nearly all of them—you may say all of them, for there are very few exceptions—vote the same tickets?" ”

“ Well, if there is any bondage here, if there is any coercion here, if we do not have the power of local self-government, which as free men we have the right to enjoy; if we are not in the exercise of every natural right, and every privilege that people should enjoy under the Constitution and laws of this free country, it is not the fault of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is not the fault of this people. ”

“ They can keep their hands down. They can either vote for or against. That is their privilege; that is their right; it is so recorded in the revelations of God to the Church. Why do they generally—almost always—vote in the affirmative? Simply because they are satisfied that the men who are called to occupy these various positions are men of God, that they are fit for the positions, that they are properly called and ordained, and that they are the right men in the right place. That is the reason they vote in the affirmative.
The same spirit of unity exists among the people in every capacity. ”

“ When the voter goes to the polls, he or she—for the women here vote as well as the men; they vote in church, they vote in state; they have the same freedom and rights in these respects as man—he or she takes the ballot, with the names on it for whom they choose to vote, and then put the ballot in the envelope, which is handed to the judge, and no one can tell how the ballot was cast. There is no chance of repeating here. That is why some folks don't like our style of voting. There is no chance for ballot stuffing. ”

“ The Gospel will be preached to every creature. The Saints of God will be gathered, and there is no power can stop their gathering. They will come to Zion, and build temples to the Most High God. They will unite together, and build up the Zion of God, and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus, whose right it is to reign; and every kingdom, every government, every society and every power upon the face of the earth that fights against Zion will become like the dream of a night vision, it will pass away and there will be no place found for it, upon the earth. ”

“ We have learned to be patient under wrong; we have learned to submit to all kinds of indignities Our Elders who have been sent out to preach the Gospel have been abused, derided, afflicted and tormented, some beaten with stripes, sometimes tarred and feathered, and some of them have laid down their lives for the truth. But we have learned to endure with patience, and to take it as the lot that must fall to us as the followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. ”

“ And I have ever been ready, with the rest of my brethren, to do anything and everything I could to build up this work, because I know it is divine.
I know that there is no power beneath the eternal heavens that can stop its progress. It will go on and conquer. It will grow and spread and increase. ”

“ They cannot understand how it is that when the leaders of the people speak, the people are willing to move in a body, with scarcely a dissenting voice, unless it is that they are terrorized or coerced by some power that is not known on the outside. Now, all the bondage and terrorism that exist in this church is the terrorism and bondage—if such a thing can be—of conscience. The Latter-day Saints not only firmly believe in this work, but have received a spiritual influence which has given them an inward testimony or knowledge that this work is of God. ”

“ WE always feel it our duty when called upon to undertake any task which may be imposed upon us by our brethren in authority in the Church, no matter how unexpected it may be to us, or how much we may shrink from the duty we are called upon to perform. Brother Goss, who has just spoken to us, at the call of the servant of God, went to his native land to preach the Gospel. Every other Elder in the Church holds himself ready—that is, if he is in the line of his duty—to respond to a similar call ”

“ How are you going to compel a woman to do anything that she does not want to do? Such an idea as that must have sprung up in the mind of some one who does not understand female nature. It is preposterous. There is no such thing in this Church. This Church is a church of liberty; that is, within the lines of the law. If people take the liberty to do wrong, to transgress the laws of God, to do that which is impure, they can be disfellowshipped—cut off the Church ”

“ I think sometimes we have a little too much liberty in this Church. People are allowed sometimes to go on doing that which is wrong a little too long. People are allowed to speak evil of their brethren too much. People are allowed to find fault with men that are striving to do them good, and to do the world good. I think sometimes when, I look around and see what transpires in this city, that there is a little too much liberty; not that I would infringe upon the rights of any man or any woman ”

“ The spirit that was in the head, was in the body, just as it is with a healthy man. When the head dictates, the whole body responds, to the very extremities, the feet and hands and every part; the whole body thrills with the influence that comes from the head. That is how it was in the Church. ”

“ It is part of our faith that every individual has a perfect right to worship God according to the dictates of his or her conscience. We claim that right, and we are going to stand up for it, quietly but firmly, by the help of God, and we expect to conquer some day. ”

“ We think that eating, drinking, wearing clothes, and the performance of various temporal acts, as they are called, are a part of religion, that is if they are done under a religious spirit and influence. We desire to do right, to serve God, and to keep from evil. ”

“ We have no paid ministry in this Church, no hired clergy either to preach at home or to go out as missionaries; but every man in the Church who has received a testimony of the truth, and a portion of the Holy Priesthood—which is generally diffused among the male members of the Church—stands ready to perform any duty in connection with his calling in the ministry. ”

“ They have a perfect assurance—a knowledge they call it. Some people may dispute technically as to whether it is knowledge or not, but it is knowledge to them. They are as sure that it is true, and that it is divine, as that they are alive. ”

“ They have no doubt, no dubiety, they know it is true. Hence, when any movement is necessary for the building up of the great work of God, which they know to be true, they feel it is their duty to respond. That is all the bondage there is ”

“ There is no man, there is no woman in Utah Territory, who is obliged to vote this way, that, or the other way, and as a clear proof of this the fact remains,—a fact that cannot be gainsaid—that our voting is entirely secret. Ballots may be made by anybody, people vote just as they please ”

“ They do not expect to gain any earthly reward, but they are of the firm conviction that it is their bounden duty to help their fellow men to come to the same knowledge as they have arrived at themselves. ”

“ The liquor traffic results in more police, more drunkenness, more dissipation, and more licentiousness of every kind. Our judges—who are sent to us in the same way as the Governor, without any voice of ours—whenever they can get the chance (with but few exceptions, a few honorable exceptions) , to twist a word in favor of the liquor sellers, will do it every time. In one of our cities, recently, where prohibition was established, the liquor dealers tried to establish themselves, and they were taken up and fined. ”

“ The people hold their primaries or caucuses in the different precincts, and select men to act as delegates to the County Convention. Or, if Territorial offices are to be filled, the people select delegates to the Territorial Convention, and when these men meet they take into consideration what shall be for the best interests of the people, and who will be the most likely men to fill the offices vacant, and when that Territorial Convention makes up a ticket, the people are ready to accept it. ”

“ I might go on and enumerate a great many other things that exist in our midst, that are not of our choice. We pass laws for the restriction or suppression of the liquor traffic. If we had our way we would not have any liquor sold in any of our settlements. It might be necessary, perhaps, in a city like Salt Lake City, where there is such a mixed population, to make an exception, for we have no desire to curtail the rights of anyone ”

“ They do not do it because they choose to do it. They do it because they are willing to do it. They do not perform the duty because they are obliged to do it, because of any coercive power exercised over them, or because they will be called upon to submit to any penalty ”

“ These men understand our wants, understand our circumstances, and they pass laws suitable to our local needs, requirements and conditions. But this one man, sent here without any consent of ours in any shape or form, by simply withholding his signature, can make void and of no effect the labors of the sixty days of those thirty-six men we have elected to make our laws! ”

“ It is supposed by a great many people, that there is a spirit of tyranny and oppression existing in this Church, wielded by a few men, or concentrated in one man who stands at the head, by which the people are coerced into certain lines of action. ”

“ That is pretty near to knowledge if it is not exact knowledge; and because of this they are ready to perform any work at home, or to take their grip-sacks in their hands and start, out abroad at their own expense. They receive no salary. ”