| 510 After two days trial in the First District Court of Ogden, Utah, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against Lorenzo Snow, for unlawful cohabitation in 1885, to which charge he had plead not guilty November 21.
The year 1885 was in several respects a year of unusual interest and importance to the church.
The work of President Joseph Smith in Utah, to which he had been especially moved by the Spirit, was performed in the direct line of the special duty imposed upon him to oppose the "sin in the West," and was attended with unusual excitement, as the officers of the law sought to punish the transgressors, and the prophet of God simultaneously raised his voice to remind them that those who obey the law of God are placed under obligations not to transgress the laws of our land. Altogether, the situation in Utah was one of intense interest; and the subsequent abandonment of polygamy justifies the high expectations which were had in regard to the work to be accomplished by the double instrumentality employed of God to call back to paths of duty, purity, and peace, a long-erring and wandering people.
Open doors for the preaching of the word, largely characterized the year in many localities. A desire to hear the word was manifest, and good results followed the proclamation of the elders.
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