The Dec. 12th, 1889 Declaration
 

Going through some files this morning I came upon this forgotten nugget. What happened in the late 1880s might still influence the way the Church has positioned itself in the recent immigration debates.

In 1889 Judge Thomas J. Anderson decided "an alien who is a member of the [LDS] church is not a fit person to be made a citizen of the United States."

The First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and the two additional counselors (John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells) all signed their names to a declaration that denies the killing of apostates, defends the Endowment, and affirms that the Church wants to be in harmony with the U.S. Government. It also says that:

"We regard all attempts to exclude aliens from naturalization, and citizens from the exercise of the elective franchise, solely because they are members of the 'Mormon' Church, as impolitic, unrepublican, and dangerous encroachments upon civil and religious liberty."