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gdm-digest         Saturday, February 14 1998         Volume 02 : Number 006




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Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:29:09 -0700
From: "Perry L. Porter" <[e-mail]>
Subject: ---> Information on OD2

Theologically Grandfather [Hugh B.  Brown] had tried for years to effect a
change in the Mormon Policy that denied the priesthood to blacks.  As he
explained in his memoirs, he never believed this policy had the slightest
doctrinal justification, and he succeeded in initiating a number of
administrative changes to mitigate the effects of this ban.  He changed
the way racial heritage was determined, which smoothed the way to
priesthood ordination for thousands of people in nations such as Brazil.
With President McKay's support he also attempted to open an African
mission.  But this plan ultimately failed.

Grandfather was eventually able to get a proposal allowing full priesthood
for blacks approved by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Elder Harold B.  Lee was not present when this proposal was approved, and
because of the advanced age of Joseph Fielding Smith, then president of
the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Lee was the dominant senior voice among
the Twelve.  Convinced that the ban was doctrinally based, Elder Lee
sought to memorialize his belief by drafting a statement on the matter for
the First Presidency's consideration.  At the time, President McKay's
health was failing and he did not sign such documents.  Grandfather
managed to add language to Elder Lee's statement endorsing full civil
rights for all citizens, but he still resisted signing the statement.
However, he suffered from advanced age and the late stages of Parkinson's
disease and was ill with the Asian flu.  With Grandfather in this
condition, Elder Lee brought tremendous pressure to bear upon him, arguing
that with President McKay incapacitated Grandfather was obliged to join
the consensus within the Quorum of the Twelve.  Grandfather, being deeply
ill, wept as he related this story to me just before he signed the
statement that bore his and President Tanner's names.

Grandfather was dropped from the First Presidency when it was reorganized
under Joseph Fielding Smith in 1970.  Although his health was declining,
Grandfather did not believe this was the reason for his return to the
Quorum of Twelve Apostles.  I believe without the slightest doubt that his
position on blacks and the priesthood was the matter that led to his
removal from the new First Presidency.  This policy change on blacks - so
vital in freeing all our souls - would come several years later during the
presidency of Spencer W.  Kimball, a man Grandfather loved dearly.  By
then all the major protagonists in the earlier struggle would have already
died: Harold B.  Lee, Joseph Fielding Smith, and Grandfather.

From "The Memoirs of Hugh B.  Brown: An Abundant Life," edited by his
grandson, Edwin B.  Firmage, p.  142-143.  Note that the editor refers to
Hugh B.  Brown as "Grandfather."


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Statement by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints on the Negro Question August 17, 1951

The attitude of the Church with reference to Negroes remains as it has
always stood.  It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of
direct commandment form the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the
Church since the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may
become members of the church but that they are not entitled to the
Priesthood at the present time.  The prophets of the Lord have made
several statements as to the operation of the principle.  President
Brigham Young said: "Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth
cursed with a skin of blackness?  It comes in consequence of their fathers
rejecting the power of the Holy Priesthood, and the law of God.  They will
go down to death.  And when all the rest of the children have received
their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed
from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the
priesthood, and receive the blessings which we now are entitled to."
President Woodruff made the statement: "The day will come when all that
race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings which we now have."

The position of the Church regarding may be understood when another
doctrine of the Church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of
spirits in the pre-mortal existence has some determining effect upon the
conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality,
and that while the details of this principle have not been made known, the
principle itself indicates that the coming to this earth and taking on
mortality is a privilege that is given to those who maintained their first
estate; and that the worth of the privilege is so great that spirits are
willing to come to earth and take on bodies no matter what the handicap
may be as to the kind of bodies they are to secure; and that among the
handicaps, failure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the
priesthood, is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order
that they might come to earth.  Under this principle there is no injustice
whatsoever involved in this deprivation as to the holding of the
priesthood by the Negroes.

Why the Negro was denied the Priesthood from the days of Adam to our day
is not known.  The few known facts about our pre-earth life and our
entrance into mortality must be taken into account in any attempt at an
explanation.

1. Not all intelligences reached the same degree of attainment in the
pre-earth life.

And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two
spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another
more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent
than they all. The Lord thy God sent his angel to deliver thee from the
hands of the priest of Elkenah.  I dwell in the midst of them all; I now,
therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which
my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in
the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence,
over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came
down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast
seen.

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were
organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the
noble and great ones;

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of
them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those
that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me:
Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things
whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; And they who keep their
first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate
shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first
estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon
their heads for ever and ever.(26)

2.  Man will be punished for his own sins and not for Adam's
transgression.

(2nd Article of Faith) If this is carried further, it would imply that the
Negro is punished or allotted to a certain position on this earth, not
because of Cain's transgression, but came to earth through the loins of
Cain because of his failure to achieve other stature in the spirit world.

3.  All spirits are born innocent into this world.  Every spirit of man
was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall,
men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God.(27)

4.  The Negro was a follower of Jehovah in the pre-earth life.  (There
were no neutrals.)

One of the best explanations is that given by President David O. McKay:

November 3, 1947 Dear Brother,

In your letter to me of October 28, 1947, you say that you and some of
your fellow students "have been perturbed about the question of why the
Negroid race cannot hold the priesthood." In reply I send you the
following thoughts that I expressed to friend upon the same subject:

Stated briefly your problem is simply this: Since, as Paul states, the
Lord "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the
face of the earth," why is there shown in the Church of Christ
discrimination against the colored race?

This is a perplexing question, particularly in the light of the present
trend of civilization to grant equality to all men irrespective of race,
creed, or color. The answer, as I have sought it, cannot be found in
abstract reasoning, for, in this case, reason to the soul is "dim as the
borrowed rays of moon and stars to lonely, weary, wandering travelers."

I know of no scriptural basis for denying the Priesthood to Negroes other
than one verse in the Book of Abraham (1:26); however, I believe, as you
suggest, that the real reason dates back to our pre-existent life.

This means that the true answer to your question (and it is the only one
that has ever given me satisfaction) has its foundation in faith--(1)
Faith in a God of Justice, (2) Faith in the existence of an eternal plan
of salvation for all God's children.

Faith in a God of Justice Essential

I say faith in a god of Justice, because if we hold the Lord responsible
for the conditions of the Negro in his relationship to the Church, we must
acknowledge as an attribute of the Eternal, or conceive Him as a
discriminator and therefore unworthy of our worship.

In seeking our answer, then, to the problem wherein discrimination seems
apparent, we must accept the Lord as being upright, and that "Justice and
judgment are the habitation of His throne." (Psalm 89:14) , and we must
believe that he will "render to every man according to his work," and that
He "shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether
it be good, or whether it be evil." (Eccl. 12-14) Accepting the truth that
God is just and righteous, we may then set our minds at rest in the
assurance that "Whatsoever good thing any man doeth the same shall be
received of the Lord, whether he be bond or free." (Eph. 6:8)

I emphasize Justice as an attribute of Deity, because it is the Lord who,
though He made of one blood all nations," also "determined the bounds of
their habitation." In other words, the seeming discrimination by the
Church toward the Negro is not something which originated with man, but
goes back into the Beginning with God.  It was the Lord who said that
Pharaoh, the first Governor of Egypt, though "a righteous man, blessed
with the blessings of the earth, with the blessings of wisdom . . . could
not have the Priesthood." Now if we have faith in the justice of God, we
are forced to the conclusion that this denial was not a deprivation of
merited right.  It may have been entirely in keeping with the eternal plan
of salvation for all of the children of God.

The Peopling of the Earth is in Accordance with a Great Plan

Revelation assures us that this plan antedates man's mortal existence,
extending back to man's pre-existent state.  In that pre-mortal state were
"intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all
these there were many of the noble and great ones; "And God saw these
souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said:
"These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits,
and he saw that they were good."

Manifestly, from this revelation, we may infer two things: first that
there were many among those spirits different degrees of intelligence,
varying grades of achievement, retarded and advanced spiritual attainment;
second, that there were no national distinctions among those spirits such
as Americans, Europeans, Asiatics, Australians, etc.  Such "bounds of
habitation" would have to be "determined" when the spirits entered upon
their earthly existence or second estate.

In the "Blue Bird" Materlinck pictures unborn children summoned to earth
life.  As one group approaches the earth, the voices of the children
earthward tending are heard to cry: "The earth! The earth! I can see it;
how beautiful it is!  How bright it is!" The following these cries of
ecstasy there issued from out of the depth of the abyss a sweet song of
gentleness and expectancy, in reference to which the author says: "It is
the song of the mothers coming out to meet them."

Materlinck's fairy play is not all fantasy or imagination, neither is
Worthword's "Ode on Intimations of Immortality" wherein he says:

    Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting,
    The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
    Hath had elsewhere its setting
    And cometh from afar;
    Not in entire forgetfulness,
    And not in utter nakedness,
    But trailing clouds of glory do we come
    From God, who is our home;

For, as we have already quoted, it is given as a fact in revelation that
Abraham was chosen before he was born.  Songs of expectant parents come
from all parts of the earth, and each little spirit is attracted to the
spiritual and mortal parentage for which the spirit had prepared itself.

Now of none of these spirits was permitted to enter mortality until they
were all good and great and had become leaders, then the diversity of
conditions among the children of men as we see them today would certainly
indicate discrimination and injustice.  But if in their eagerness to take
upon themselves bodies, the spirits were willing to come through any
lineage for which they were worthy, or to which they were attracted, then
they were given the full reward of merit, and were satisfied, yes, and
even blessed.

Accepting this theory of life, we have a reasonable explanation of
existent conditions in the habitations of man.  How the law of spiritual
attraction works between the spirit and the expectant parents, has not
been revealed, neither can finite mind fully understand.  By analogy,
however, we can perhaps get a glimpse of what might take place in that
spirit world.  In physics we refer to the law of attraction wherein some
force acting mutually between particles of matter tends to draw them
together and to keep them from separating.

In chemistry, there is an attractive force exerted between atoms, which
causes them to enter into combination.  We know, too, that there is
affinity between persons--a spiritual relationship or attraction wherein
individuals are either drawn towards others or repelled by others.  Might
it not be so in the realm of spirit--each individual attracted to the
parentage for which it is prepared.  Our place in this world would then be
determined by our advancement or conditions in the pre-mortal state, just
as our pace in our future existence will be determined by what we do here
in mortality.

When, therefore, the Creator said to Abraham, and to others of his
attainment "You I will make my rulers," there could exist no feeling of
envy or of jealousy among the million other spirits, for those who were
"good and great" were but receiving their just reward, just as do members
of a graduation class who have successfully completed their prescribed
courses of study.  The thousands of other students who have not yet
attained that honor still have the privilege to seek it, or they may, if
they choose, remain in satisfaction down in the grades.

By the operation of some eternal law with which man is yet unfamiliar,
spirits come through parentages for which they are worthy--some as Bushmen
of Australia, some as Solomon Islanders, some as Americans, as Europeans,
as Asiatics, etc., etc., with all the varying degrees of mentality and
spirituality manifest in parents of the different races that inhabit the
earth.

Of this we may be sure, each was satisfied and happy to come through the
lineage to which he or she was attracted and for which, and only which, he
or she was prepared.

The Priesthood was given to those who were chosen as leaders.  There were
many who could not receive it, yet who knew that it was possible for them
at sometime in the eternal plan to achieve that honor.  Even those who
knew that they would not be prepared to receive it during their mortal
existence were content in the realization that they could attain every
earthly blessing--progress intellectually and spiritually, and possess to
limited degree the blessing of wisdom.

George Washington Carver was one of the noblest souls that ever came to
earth.  He held a close kinship with his heavenly Father, and rendered a
service to his fellowmen as few have ever excelled.  For every righteous
endeavor, for every noble impulse, for every good deed performed in his
useful life George Washington Carver will be rewarded, and so will every
other man be he red, white, black or yellow, for God is no respecter of
persons.

Sometime in God's eternal plan, the Negro will be given the right to hold
the Priesthood.  In the meantime, those of that race who receive a
testimony of the Restored Gospel may have their family ties protected and
other blessings made secure, for in the justice and mercy of the Lord they
will possess all the blessings to which they are entitled in the eternal
plan of Salvation and Exaltation.

Nephi 26:33, to which you refer, does not contradict what I have said
above, because the Negro is entitled to come unto the Lord by baptism,
confirmation, and to receive the assistance of the Church in living
righteously.

    Sincerely yours,

    Signed by David O. McKay


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Subject: Peterson on blacks

Mark E. Petersen was an apostle when he spoke at BYU on Aug 27, 1954 on
civil rights.  "The discussion of civil rights, especially over the last
20 years, has drawn some very sharp lines. It has blinded the thinking of
some of our own people, I believe. They have allowed their political
affiliations to color their thinking to some extent, and then, of course,
they have been persuaded by some of the arguments that have been put
forth . . .  We who teach in the Church certainly must have our feet on
the ground and not be led astray by the philosophies of men on this
subject . . . I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the
negro is after. He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in
a cafe where white people eat. He isn't just trying to ride on the same
streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. It isn't that he just
 desires to go to the same theater as the white people.  From this, and
other interviews I have read, it appears that the negro seeks absorbtion
[sic] with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it
by intermarriage.  This is his objective and we must face it. We must not
allow our feelings to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for negroes
 that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have.
Remember the little statement that we used to say about sin, 'First we
pity, then endure, then embrace.' . . . Now we are generous with the
negro. We are willing that the negro have the highest kind of education. I
 would be willing to let every negro drive a Cadillac if they could afford
 it. I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out
 of life in the world. But let them enjoy these things among themselves. I
 think the Lord segregated the negro and who is man to change that
segregation? It reminds me of the scripture on marriage, 'What God hath
joined  together, let not man put asunder.' Only here we have the reverse
of the  thing - What God hath separated, let not man bring together
again."  (address to Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College
Level, "Race  Problems as They Affect the Church.")



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... In a meeting with the Quorum of the 12 in the late '60s, 1st counselor
Hugh B. Brown obtained approval for his proposal to end the LDS Church's
ban against African-Americans receiving the Priesthood.  Apostle Harold B.
Lee was absent during this vote and opposed it on his return.  He did not
believe LDS blacks should receive the Priesthood.  Apostle Lee managed to
convince the rest of the Quorum to rescind its previous vote.  Then in Dec
1969, a month before President McKay's death, Lee pressured 2nd Counciler,
Hugh B. Brown, to sign a statement which reaffirmed the Priesthood
restriction on the blacks.  Brown's grandson relates Brown surrendered his
deeply felt convictions to Lee's successful reversal of the 12's vote.
"Grandfather managed to add language to Elder Lee's statement endorsing
full civil rights for all citizens (which wasn't there in the original
statement that Elder Lee presented).  But he still resisted signing the
statement.  However President Brown suffered from advanced age and
advanced stages of Parkinson's disease and was ill with the Asian flu.
With grandfather in this condition, Elder Lee brought tremendous pressure
to bear upon him, arguing that with President McKay incapacitated,
grandfather was obligated to join the consensus within the 12.
Grandfather, deeply ill, wept as he related this story to me just before
he signed the statement that bore his and President Tanner's names." The
Church newspaper published this as a statement of the First Presidency
reaffirming the restriction of the Priesthood against blacks.  Five years
after President Lee's death, President Kimball announced a revelation in
1978 that gave the Priesthood to all African Americans and blacks
throughout the world.  President Kimball had been among the apostles who
had originally voted for this proposal a decade earlier, but reversed it
under Apostle Lee's influence.

Excerpts from Mike Quinn's presentation at the 1996 SLC Sunstone Symposium
entitled _Decision Making and Tension in the Mormon Hierarchy_



Ciao Perry     <[e-mail]>    http://pobox.com/~plporter

- -

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 14:48:27 -0700
From: "Perry L. Porter" <[e-mail]>
Subject: ---> polygamy

Polygamy and Mormon Persecution

Whenever people hear of the Mormons, those with some basic knowledge of
American history can probably remember something about persecution of the
Mormons in the last century. What most can't or don't wish to remember are
the legal attempts to outlaw and eliminated the Mormons. These efforts
were almost successful and were done through legal efforts in our United
States government. So interesting did I find this information that I've
written this section, which I intend to elaborate in detail before the end
of the year. I believe you will find it surprising. My references will be
listed at the end of this section.

When we think of the persecution of the Mormons, we tend to only think of
the mobs and violence which caused so many of the Mormons to flee and
migrate to Utah, especially in the 1840's. Lets start this review instead
in the year 1852 when the Church officially announced that it practiced
polygamy. Polygamy was not accepted by the rank and file Mormons with
jubilation. The majority of men actually chose not to live in polygamy and
of those that did (about 20%), most had only two wives. Polygamy was
instead most heavily practiced by the leadership of the Church. To
practice polygamy was considered by many to show one's faith and obedience
to the Church. Although some Church leaders would have preferred to avoid
polygamy, some the leaders of the Church REALLY practiced polygamy. Heber
Kimball, counselor to the President of the Church, had 43 wives. Many
Mormons chose not to follow the Church to Salt Lake because they opposed
polygamy and they established reorganized churches at home.

Joseph Smith III, the son of the first President of the Church, founded
the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints partly as an
objection to the practice of polygamy. Yet even today, I believe most
members of the LDS will not only defend polygamy but declare it was right
and good and the will of God at that time. So, on with the story:

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican War in February
1848, gave the United States title to much of the Southwest, including
Utah. The Mormons responded by forming a political government and creating
the State of Deseret (1849-51).The United States turned down the 1849
application of the Mormons to become a state. They had hoped to become a
state to protect their religious beliefs, including polygamy. In the 1852
general conference (see JD) Orson Pratt gave the official church reasons
for polygamy.

1- that we might have the blessing and promises of Abraham that our
posterity would become as numerous as the sands upon the seashore.

2- There were many spirits in the spirit world who needed to be born into
good families.

3- It was a commandment from the Lord.

Difficulties were compounded during the presidential election campaign of
1856 when national attention was focused on Utah as Republican candidates
vigorously denounced both polygamy and slavery in the territories. False
reports that Utahns were in rebellion against federal authority led
President James Buchanan to send an expeditionary force to Utah in 1857.
Tense settlers in southern Utah and nearby Indians, caught up in an
atmosphere of war hysteria, killed about 100 California-bound immigrants
at Mountain Meadow. This only intensified anti-Mormon feelings against the
Saints. Peace was attained that spring. A military post west of Provo, and
newly appointed Territorial Governor Alfred Cumming assumed civil
authority. (The appointment of Cumming was the beginning of bitter
conflict between Mormon leaders and federal authorities and between
Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah.)

In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President on a platform to abolish
slavery and polygamy. In 1862 he signed the Morrill Act which made
polygamy illegal. The Mormons chose to ignore this law. In 1862 he signed
the Morrill Act which made polygamy illegal. Thus while the Mormons
accepted polygamy as part of their religious beliefs, the United States
considered it comparable to slavery.

After the end of the civil war, Evangelical Protestants,women's rights
groups and many other religious groups came to Utah to eliminate the
practice and even convert the Mormons. Missionaries, schools and YMCA
groups were set up in Utah to rescue the children/women. They were
unsuccessful. On the other hand there developed a disturbing high divorce
rate in polygamist marriages and the practice seemed to be dwindling down
on its own. In 1882 the Edmunds Act was passed which made polygamy a
crime, punishable with a 5 year prison sentence, lose of voting rights,
the right to serve on a jury or hold elective office. The United States
government enforced this law by sending in scores of federal officials to
question men, women and children to seek out those people practicing
polygamy. Since nonMormons had seized control of the legal system and the
juries, the Mormon Church went underground. Arrests for polygamy greatly
increased and soon prisons were overflowing and the courts had difficulty
handling the load.

In 1882 the Edmunds-Tucker Act officially dissolved the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. All funds were confiscated and the Church was
not allowed to collect tithing. All property valued over $50,000 became
property of the federal government.

All Mormon schools were abolished. Mormons could not vote, serve in
political office or on juries (90% of the population was Mormon at the
time). Women voting rights were abolished and children of plural marriages
were disinherited.

In 1890, the Edmunds-Tucker Act was declared constitutional by the Supreme
Court and legislation was pushed in Congress to make it illegal for a
Mormon to be a citizen of the United States. The new president of the
Church, Wilfred Woodruff, was struck by how close the Church was to being
destroyed by the government of the United States and in 1890 issued a
proclamation, called the Manifesto, declaring that Mormons would no longer
practice polygamy.

An interesting footnote to this whole polygamy controversy. As offensive
as polygamy appears to the other Christian churches of today, they would
do well to remember their history.

Here's a quote from Larry Jensen's book, "A Genealogical Handbook of
German Research", rev. edition 1980 by Larry O.

Jensen, p. 154-155. "In southern Germany between the mid-1600s and the
early 1700s you may encounter an unusual p On February 14, 1650, the
Parliament at Nurnberg decreed that because so many men were killed during
the Thirty Years's War, the Churches for the following ten years could not
admit any man under the age of 60 into a monastery. Priests and ministers
not bound by any monastery were allowed to marry. Lastly, the decree
stated that every man was allowed to marry up to ten women. The men were
admonished to behave honorably, provide for their wives properly, and
prevent animosity among them."

References:

1.Home Page - Utah Dept. of Community and Economic Development
http://www.ce.ex.state.ut.us/

2.The Mormon Church by Roger Thompson, publisher Hippocrene Books

3.The Story of the Latter-day Saints by James Allen and Glen Leonard,
publisher Deseret Books

4.A Genealogical Handbook of German Research", rev. edition 1980 by Larry
O. Jensen

http://www.nettally.com/LDS/polygamy.html


- --------------- The Doctrine of Plural Marriage

by Elder Bruce R. McConkie

According to the Lord's law of marriage, it is lawful that a man have only
one wife at a time, unless by revelation the Lord commands plurality of
wives in the new and everlasting covenant. (D. & C. 49:15-17.) Speaking of
"the doctrine of plurality of wives," the Prophet said: "I hold the keys
of this power in the last days; for there is never but one on earth at a
time on whom the power and its keys are conferred; and I have constantly
said no man shall have but one wife at a time, unless the Lord directs
otherwise." (Teachings, p. 324.)

The Lord, by the mouth of his Prophet Jacob, gave similar direction to the
Nephites: "For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife;
and concubines he shall have none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the
chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith
the Lord of Hosts. Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments,
saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes. For if I
will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my
people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things." (Jacob 2:27-30.)

>From such fragmentary scriptural records as are now available, we learn
that the Lord did command some of his ancient saints to practice plural
marriage. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- among others (D. & C. 132) --
conformed to this ennobling and exalting principle; the whole history of
ancient Israel was one in which plurality of wives was a divinely accepted
and approved order of matrimony. Those who entered this order at the
Lord's command, and who kept the laws and conditions appertaining to it,
have gained for themselves eternal exaltation in the highest heaven of the
celestial world.

In the early days of this dispensation, as part of the promised
restitution of all things, the Lord revealed the principle of plural
marriage to the Prophet. Later the Prophet and leading brethren were
commanded to enter into the practice, which they did in all virtue and
purity of heart despite the consequent animosity and prejudices of worldly
people. After Brigham Young led the saints to the Salt Lake Valley, plural
marriage was openly taught and practiced until the year 1890. At that time
conditions were such that the Lord by revelation withdrew the command to
continue the practice, and President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto
directing that it cease. (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 213-218.)
Obviously the holy practice will commence again after the Second Coming of
the Son of Man and the ushering in of the millennium. (Isa. 4.)

Plural marriage is not essential to salvation or exaltation. Nephi and his
people were denied the power to have more than one wife and yet they could
gain every blessing in eternity that the Lord ever offered to any people.
In our day, the Lord summarized by revelation the whole doctrine of
exaltation and predicated it upon the marriage of one man to one woman.
(D. & C. 132:1-28.) Thereafter he added the principles relative to
plurality of wives with the express stipulation that any such marriages
would be valid only if authorized by the President of the Church. (D. & C.
132:7, 29-66.)

All who pretend or assume to engage in plural marriage in this day, when
the one holding the keys has withdrawn the power by which they are
performed, are guilty of gross wickedness.

Mormon Doctrine, p. 578

Copyright by Bookcraft

- -------------------

Polygamy and the Utah Territory



Mormon pioneers - 1870s  The United States received title to much of the
Southwest, including Utah, at the end of the Mexican War in 1848. The
church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, commonly known as
"Mormons" established a theocracy by forming a political government and
creating the State of Deseret (1849-1851).

The United States Congress refused to admit Deseret to the Union. Congress
instead established the Utah Territory, an expansive area including most
of present day Nevada and parts of Wyoming and Colorado. The Utah
Territory had a tumultuous history lasting 45 years (1851-1896). This
period in time encompassed a substantial Mormon expansionism, the
immigration and settlement of non-Mormons, the development of
transportation, communication systems, economic growth and conflict.

Church leaders knew that they must dominate the new Territory, if the
violent persecutions of the past were to be eliminated. Mormons were
encouraged to buy only Mormon goods and from other Mormon merchants.
Cooperative church-sponsored businesses were created. Mormon control
spread throughout the territorial government. By 1870 non Mormons
("Gentiles") denounced the churchs' political and economic domination of
the Territory. Reports of a Mormon rebellion against federal authority
resulted in President James Buchanan sending a small army to put down the
Mormon insurrection. This expeditionary force was led by Albert Sidney
Johnston. It was during this time period that a group of California bound
immigrants were murdered, in southern Utah, in what has been called the
"Mountain Meadow Massacre". Peace was eventually reached when Alfred
Cumming was appointed the new territorial Governor.

The appointment of Cumming started a deep and bitter conflict between
Mormon leaders and federal authorities and between Mormons and
non-Mormons. The struggle for power and domination for the political and
economic future of the territory was the backdrop for the explosive issue
of polygamous marriages.

The doctrine of the church basically believed that there were countless
number of souls waiting to begin an earthly life. The human soul was
united with the body at birth which grew and matured, and eventually
created new families which led to more births and more souls beginning
earthly existences. Procreation was therefore a very important part of the
Mormon religious doctrine because spiritual souls could be granted earthly
bodies. Polygamy or the system of "plural marriages" first appeared in the
church in 1841 and by 1870 there were an increasing number of plural
marriage families in the Utah Territory.

As an increasing number of Gentiles grew in their dissatisfaction of the
Mormon theocracy they complained to federal authorities that polygamy was
not American and the Mormons were preventing them from becoming part of
the economic system within the Territory. Congress wanted to ban polygamy
for some time; therefore, in 1862 Congress passed the Morill Act
(anti-bigamy) which made bigamy a federal offense in the Utah Territory.
The Act , largely unenforced during the Civil War; proved difficult to get
convictions. Federal prosecutors won only two convictions in the twenty
years after the passage of the Morill Act. To get a conviction for bigamy,
under the Morill Act, a prosecutor was forced to prove both marriages.
Since most polygamous marriages were secret it made it difficult to get
convictions.

U.S. attorney Van Zile, federal territorial judges, Attorney General
Brewster and President Chester Arthur began lobbying Congress for new
legislation to battle polygamy. The lobbying efforts resulted in the
passage of the Edmunds Act in 1882. It was introduced by Senator George F.
Edmunds of Vermont and made polygamy in the territories a federal offense
punishible by a fine of not more than $500, and imprisonment for a term of
not more than five years. A man had violated the statute if he had a
living wife and subsequently married another, or simultaneously married
more than one woman. The Edmunds Act also proscribed the lesser offense of
unlawful cohabitation, in which a man lived with more than one woman. The
punishement for unlawful cohabitation was a fine of not more than $300, or
a term of imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both. Federal
prosecutors chose to prosecute polygamist Momons under this new
territorial statute, since it was easier to get convictions.

The church hired the best lawyers and lobbyists to petition Congress for
statehood, starting in 1849; however, Utah was not to become a state until
1896. During this time period the territory was governed by federal
appointees, most of which were non-Mormons. Among the factors which made
Non-Mormons feel increasing pressure and fear were the Mormon dominance,
communitarian economic practices, lack of free public schools, polygamy,
church authoritarianism and the church's interferring with state affairs.
When the legal avenues, failed the church engaged in civil disobedience in
their efforts to stop the federal enforcement policies.. The church was
nearly bankrupt, its assets were in the hands of a federal receiver,
hundreds of its members, including some church leaders were either
imprisoned or in hiding, and legislation appeared likely to pass in
Congress which would have disenfranchised Mormons by virtue of their
membership in the church.

During the late 1800's twelve Mormon polygamy cases reached the United
States Supreme Court within a fifteen year period. The Supreme court
decided in favor of the Mormons on three of the twelve cases. The court
handed down sixteen opinions concerning the constutionallity or
interpretation of the laws and judicial doctrines that were created to
eliminate polygamy

The church was brought to the brink of extinction before the church
President, Wilford Woodruff, announced the abandonment of polygamy as a
church doctrine. The doctrine of Polygamy, within the Mormon faith, began
on April 5, 1841, near the city of Nauvoo, Illinois with the sealing of
Louisa Beaman to Joseph Smith. It was brought to an official end by a
resolution adopted at the 74th Annual Conference of the Utah church, on
April 4, 1904. Therefore, the practice of polygamy enjoyed an embryonic
life of ten years, a healthy life of forty years and a slow death of
fifteen years. Since plural marriages were not publicly recorded, and
private disclosure of records is not likely the extent to which polygamy
was practiced in Utah will probably never be known.

http://www.andjusticeforall.com/polygamy.html

- ------------------ JOSEPH SMITH DENIES & PRACTICES POLYGAMY

The major point that I will attempt to convey in this article is that
Joseph Smith and the other LDS Church leaders knowingly decieved its
members and the public at large regarding polygamy. Most Mormons and
non-Mormons now know that Joseph Smith practiced polygamy. This historical
fact is really only debated by the RLDS Church which has claimed that
Brigham Young invented polygamy after Joseph Smith's death. However, there
is substantial historical evidence that Joseph Smith practiced and taught
polygamy during his lifetime. This post will start by showing the early
LDS teachings against polygamy and the denials of any member practicing
the act. I have been very exhaustive in my search and hope that the
evidence I present will convince you of the deception the LDS Church
promulgated to its members and the world.

In this article I will use all Mormon sources, including the History of
the Church, two LDS publications, the Messenger and Advocate and the Times
and Seasons, and personal speeches and documents of faithful Mormons.

EXAMPLES OF THE DENIAL AND PRACTICE OF POLYGAMY

DENIALS: History of the Church, vol. 2, pg. 247 (August 1835) "The clerk
of every church should keep a record of all marriages solemnized in his
branch. All legal contracts of marriage made before a person is baptized
into this Church should be held sacred and fulfilled.

Inasmuch as this Church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of
fornication and polygamy, we declare that we believe that one man should
have one wife, and one woman but one husband, except in the case of death,
when either is at liberty to marry again."(This was included in the first
published Doctrine and Covenants and accepted unanimously by the Twelve
before being published. This passage in *every* D&C edition until 1876
when D&C 132 was first introduced to the Doctrine and Covenants).

Messenger and Advocate (Aug 1835) pg. 163 "All legal contracts of marriage
made before a person is baptized into this church should be held sacred
and fulflled. Inasmuch as this Church of Christ has been reproached with
the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that
one man should have one wife: one woman, but one husband, except in teh
case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again."

History of the Church, vol. 5, pg. 30 (May 1836) "Inasmuch as this Church
of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy,
we declare that we believe that one man, should have one wife, and one
woman but one husband, except in case of death,, when either is at liberty
to marry again."

Messenger and Advocate (May 1837) Warren Cowdery editor, pg. 511 "1st.
That we will have no fellowship whatever with any Elder belonging to the
quorums of the Seventies who is guilty of polygamy or any offense of the
kind, and who does not in all things conform to the laws of the church
contained in the Bible and in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants."

PRACTICED: Benjamin Johnson Letter to Gibbs, 1903 in E. Dale LeBaron
(1967) "And now to your question, 'How early did the Prophet Joseph
practice polygamy?' I hardly know how wisely to reply, for the truth at
times may be better withheld; but as what I am writing is to be published
only under strict scrutiny of the wisest, I will say, that the revelation
[D&C 132] to the Church at Nauvoo, July 21, 1843, on the Eternity of the
Marriage Covenant and the Law of Plural Marriage, was not the first
revelation of the law received and practiced by the Prophet. In 1835, at
Kirtland, I learned from my sister's husband, Lyman R. Sherman, who was
close to the Prophet, and received it from him, "that the ancient order of
Plural Marriage was again to be practiced by the Church." This at the
time, did not impress my mind deeply, although there then lived with his
family a neighbor's daughter, Fannie Alger, a very nice and comely young
woman about my own age, toward whom not only myself, but every one, seemed
partial for the amiability of her." (Date of marriage to Fannie Alger:
prior to 1838, probably 1835 when Fannie Alger lived with Joseph Smith)

DENIALS: Times and Seasons, vol. 4, pg. 869 (August 1, 1842) "The church
afterwards publicly withdrew their fellowship from him [John C. Bennett],
and his character was published in the 17th number of this paper; since
that time he John C. Bennet] has published that the conduct of the Saints
was bad that Joseph Smith and many others were adulterers, murderers, &c.
- -- that here was a secret band of men that would kill people, &c. called
Danites -- that he was in duress when he gave his affidavit, and testified
that Joseph Smith was a virtuos man -- that we believed and practiced
polygamy -- that we believed in secret murders, and aimed to destroy the
government &c."

Times and Seasons, vol. 4, pg. 909 (September 1, 1842) "All legal
contracts of marriage made before a preson is baptized into this church,
should be held sacred and fulfilled. Inasmuch as this church of Christ has
been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare
that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one
husband, except in the case of death, when either is at liberty to marry
again. It is not right to persuade a woman to be baptized contrary to the
will of her husband neither is it lawful to influence her to leave her
husband."

Times and Seasons, vol. 4, pg. 939 (October 1, 1842) "All legal contracts
of marriage made before a preson is baptized into this church, should be
held sacred and fulfilled. Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been
reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we
believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one
husband, except in the case of death, when either is at liberty to marry
again. It is not right to persuade a woman to be baptized contrary to the
will of her husband neither is it lawful to influence her to leave her
husband."

Times and Seasons, vol. 4, pg. 28 (December 1, 1842) "He spoke of the
various publications of Bennett and others, and of the prejudices which
they had necessarily excited-that the Mormons were charged with
sanctioning a community of wives and of goods, with polygamy, and various
other enormities, not one word of which is true."

PRACTICED: Orange Wight Autobiography, BYU, pg. 8-9 (1903) "I now come to
that part of my story that you will be most likely interested in, which
regard the doctrine taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith in regard to the
plural marriage system ....... After we got in the house Sister Woodworth
took me in another room and told me that Flora was one of Joseph's wives.
I was aware or believed that Eliza R. Snow and two of Partridge girls were
his wives but was not informed about Flora. But now Sister Woodworth gave
me all the information necessary, so I knew Joseph believed and practiced
polygamy." (Date of marriages: Prior to 1842)

Mary Lightner 1905 Address, typescript, BYU, pg. 2-3 "Two of his sisters
were Joseph's wives. Emma took them by the hand and gave them to
Joseph...... I went forward and was sealed to him [Joseph Smith]. Brigham
Young performed the sealing, and Heber C. Kimball the blessing. I know he
had six wives and I have known some of them from childhood up. I knew he
had three children. They told me. I think two are living today but they
are not known as his children as they go by other names." (Date of
marriage to Mary Lightner: February 1842)

Helen Whitney "Scenes in Nauvoo," WE 11 (1882), pg. 146 "It was not until
the summer of after he had gone east that I learned of the existence of
the plural order of marriage, and that the spring of 1842 had seen his
sister Sarah Ann the wife of Joseph Smith." (Date of marriage of Sarah
Ann: July 27, 1842)

DENIALS: History of the Church, vol. 6, pg. 405 (May 25, 1844) "Saturday,
25 -- At home, keeping ou to fhte way of expected writs from Carthage.
Towards evening, Edward Hunter and William Marks, of the grand jury
returned from Carthage; also Marshal John P. Greene and Almon W. Babbitt,
who informed me there were two indictments found against me, one chargine
me false swearing on the testimony of Joseph H. Jackson and Robert D.

Foster, and one charging me of polygamy, or something else, on the
testimony of William Law, that I told him so! The particulars of which I
shall learn hearafter. There was much false swearing before the grand
jury."

History of the Church, vol. 6, pg. 411 (May 1844) "It is not right for a
man to bare down his neck to the oppressor always. Be humble and patient
in all circumstances of life; we shall then triumph more gloriously. What
a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having
seven wives, when I can only find one."

Times and Seasons, vol. 5, pg. 423 (February 1, 1844) "As we have lately
been credibly informed, that an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ, of
Latter day Saints, by the name of Hiram Brown, has been preaching
Polygamy, and other false and corrupt doctrines, in the county of Lapeer,
state of Michigan."

PRACTICED: Benjamin Johnson My Life's Review (1947), pg. 93-95 "In talking
with my mother after the revelation [D&C 132] on plural marriage was
given, he told her that when the Lord required him to move in plural
marriage, that his first thought was to come and ask her for some of her
daughters; and I can now understand that the period alluded to was at
Kirtland, where she had three unmarried daughters at home, two of whom
died there, and Almira, the other, was sealed to him in Nauvoo; the other
two, Nancy M. and Susan E., being sealed to him by proxy since his
death...........Early on Sunday morning he [Joseph Smith] said, "Come
Brother Bennie, let us have a walk." I took his arm and he led the way
into a by-place in the edge of the woods surrounded by tall brush and
trees. Here, as we say down upon a log he began to tell me that the Lord
had revealed to him that plural or patriarchal marriage was according to
His law; and that the Lord had not only revealed it to him but had
commanded him to obey it; that he was required to take other wives; and
that he wanted my Sister Almira for one of them, and wished me to see and
talk to her upon the subject." (Date of marriage to Almera Johnson: Spring
1843)

Emily Young "Auto," Woman's Exponent 14 (1885), pg. 38 "The first
intimation I had from Brother Joseph that there was a pure and holy order
of plural marriage, was in the spring of 1842, but I was not married until
1843. I was married to him on the 11th of May, 1843, by Elder James Adams.
Emma was present. She gave her free and full consent. She had always up to
this time, been very kind to me and my sister Eliza, who was also married
to the Prophet Joseph Smith with Emma's consent; but ever after she was
our enemy." (Date of marriage of Emily Dow Partridge: May 11, 1843)

Cordelia Cox Autobiography, BYU, pg. 4 "In the spring of forty-four
[1844], plural marriage was introduced to me by my parents from Joseph
Smith, asking their consent and a request to be his wife." (Date of
marriage of Cordelia Cox: None, Cordelia Cox refused)

DENIALS, DENIALS, & MORE DENIALS: Times and Seasons, vol. 6, pg. 893-894
(May 1, 1845) "Dear Sir: To condemn unheard, any man or set of men or
their principles, on the strength of popular rumor, or the testimony of
enemies, would be gross injustice. An impartial investigation should
always precede condemnation. The Latter-day Saints are charged by their
enemies, with th blackest crimes. Treason, murder, theft, polygamy, and
adultery, are among the many crimes laid to their charge. -- The press
reiterates and gives publicity to these charges. Under these
circumstances, it is but right, that they should be heard in their
defence. I shall, therefore, in this communication, briefly examine and
refute a few of the charges, for it would need a legion of writers to
answer (all) the lies told about us."

Times and Seasons, vol 6., pg. 894 (May 1, 1845) "Most of the stories
against the Mormons have been propagated by apostates and traitors, (who
have been generally cut off from the church for their crimes.) They
publish their lies, and straightway they are believed, and hawked about as
awful disclosures, and received by community with trembling and holy
horror. Sidney Rigdon, I see by the papers, has made an exposition of
Mormonism, charging Joseph Smith and the Mormons with polygamy, &c. it
dones not require a very sagacious mind to fathom Mr. Rigdon's motive for
doing."

I hope the reader takes a good look at this next reference, knowing full
well that Joseph Smith and other LDS Church leaders practiced polygamy
prior to May 1845.

Times and Seasons, vol. 6, pg. 894 (May 1, 1845) "As to the charge of
polygamy, I will quote from the Book of Doctrine and Convenants, which is
the subsrcibed faith of the church and is strictly enforced. Article of
Marriage, sec. 91, par. 4, says, "Inasmuch as this church of Christ has
been reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy, we declare
that we believe that one man should have but one husband except in the
casse of death when either is at liberty to marry again." Sec. 12, par. 7.
"Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart and shall cleave unto her and
NONE ELSE." In ancient till God cleanses the earth, and restores the
government of his says, "know this that, in (the last days of perilous
times shall come), for men shall be TRAITORS, FALSE ACCUSSERS,
INCONTINENT, fierce despiser of those that are good." No wonder then that
apostates rage, or that the fulness of truth revealed again should bring a
storm of persecution."

I now ask you who is the "TRAITOR, FALSE ACCUSSERS, INCONTINENT, fierce
despiser of those that are good"? Joseph Smith and the LDS Church leaders
were the ones that clearly deceived its members and the public. This is
now historical fact.

After performing this exhaustive search I am certainly convinced that many
of the early Mormons knew nothing about polygamy.

The LDS Church leaders not only lied about their practice of polygamy,
they denied the charges brought against them, falsely accussing those that
raised the charges against them. Polygamy was both against Illinois State
law and also againts the Doctrine and Covenants. Some Mormons have
justified this act of lieing and deceiving because God must have commanded
it.

The God I know is not a God of deception and not a God of lies. I can only
hope that my Mormon friends and family can see this and the other
deceptions passed on by Mormon leaders.

RETURN TO MAIN MENU BACK TO RELATED TOPIC

Joseph Smith Denies and Practices Polygamy  Last Updated February 14, 1997
 Copyright 1996, 1997, All Rights Reserved.

Created by James David, [e-mail] URL:
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http://www.mindspring.com/~engineer_my_dna/mormon/denpract.htm

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