Page "B. H. Roberts" Paragraph 11

In 1895, Roberts was the losing Democratic candidate for the U. S. House of Representatives, and Roberts believed LDS Church leaders, who were predominately Republicans, " had unfairly influenced the election by publicly reprimanding him and fellow Democrat Moses Thatcher for running for office without express permission of the Church.

" The LDS church then issued the " Political Manifesto of 1895 ," which forbade church officers from running for public office without the approval of the church.

Both Roberts and Thatcher refused to sign and were suspended from ecclesiastical office.

Roberts, believing such a requirement was a basic infringement of his civil rights, capitulated just hours before a deadline of March 24, 1896, signed the manifesto, wrote a letter of apology to the First Presidency, and was reinstated.

Thatcher was more stubborn: he refused to sign, was expelled from the Quorum of the Twelve and barely evaded excommunication.

In 1898 Roberts was elected as a Democrat to the 56th Congress, but the House of Representatives refused to seat him because of his practice of polygamy.