For many years, people across the United States worked to end polygamy using legal and many other tactics. Congress passed a series of laws: The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 prohibited polygamy in the territories. There never has been a plural marriage by the consent or sanction or knowledge or approval of the church since the manifesto, he testified.43. Marriage between one man and one woman is Gods standard for marriage, unless He declares otherwise, which He did through His prophet, Joseph Smith. Members of the FLDS Church generally believe at least three wives are necessary for entrance to the highest heaven. Although Smoot was a monogamist, his apostleship put his loyalty to the country under scrutiny. [1] After Smith's death in 1844, the church he established splintered into several competing groups. Many Americans did not support the marriage practice. The Manifesto was formally presented to the Church at the semiannual general conference held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle in October 1890. I did not, could not and would not promise that you would desert your wives and children, President Woodruff told the men. The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 prohibited polygamy in the territories. [44] Many of his actions were in direct violation of 2003 House Bill 307 outlining child bigamy laws. As a result of these barriers, relatively few men had multiple wives. Further, a man may be sealed to more than one living wife at the same time, suggesting that polygamy is still a doctrinal principle in the life to come. This government opposition strengthened the Saints resolve to resist what they deemed to be unjust laws. [2] Latter-day Saints believe that monogamythe marriage of one man and one womanis the Lords standing law of marriage. HeberJ. In this context, the early Latter-day Saints believed that . The practice began during the lifetime of Joseph Smith but became publicly and widely known during the time of Brigham Young. The Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church) has rejected the practice of polygamy since its inception and continues to affirm monogamy "as the basic principle of Christian marriage". See, for example, Carolyn OBagy Davis, The Fourth Wife: Polygamy, Love, & Revolution (Tucson, AZ: Rio Nuevo, 2011). People also continued to enter into church-supported polygamous marriages until the early 1900s. "Polygamy and the Frontier: Mormon Women in Early Utah." Utah Historical Quarterly 50, no. Whitney then read the Manifesto, and Lorenzo Snow, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, moved that the document be accepted as authoritative and binding. The assembly was then asked to vote on this motion. In all, 8 of 19 members of the Quorum of the Twelve who served between 1890 and 1904 married new plural wives during those years, and these marriages are not represented on the ledger. Polygamy: What Latter-day Saints Really Believe If a man who practiced polygamy in his maternal country wishes to sponsor more than one wife, he must divorce the wife in the U.S first. Cowley married a plural wife in 1905, and Taylor married a plural wife in 1909. Grant, for example, reported that while visiting Mormon settlements in Mexico in 1900, he received 10 applications in a single day requesting plural marriages. The Manifesto was silent on what existing plural families should do. Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more than half of the 19th century, [citation needed] and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 an. Doctrinal Discussion This seems to indicate a subordination to the government as it changed from a positive thing to an excommunicable offense I'm not a Latter Day Saint so any explanation would be appreciated! [51], A societal view on the purpose marriage and its variants determine the regulations and policies made. [53] Any woman who succeeds in avoiding the bar on polygamy is denied basic legal rights regarding marriage, divorce, and financial support. Polygamy in Christianity - Wikipedia I know the real reason they stopped was for Utah to gain statehood. AbrahamH. Cannon diary, Sept. 30, 1890. W hen Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, received a revelation in about 1831 in which he was commanded by God to break the law and take multiple wives, he at . However, the bill was rarely and weakly enforced and in a matter of years, mostly forgotten. Grant Letterpress Copybook, 38:591, HeberJ. Beginning in 1862, the U.S. government passed laws against the practice of plural marriage. The decree stated that anyone caught entering or performing a plural marriage after 1904 would be excommunicated from the church. It also limited the value of the land that the LDS church could own, among other things. Utah State Code indicates that any male or female under the age of 18 must receive signed consent of legal guardians, and a judge, after determining the legitimacy of the impending marriage, giving permission for that marriage to take place. The Deseret News reported that the vote was unanimous; most voted in favor, though some abstained from voting.22, Rank-and-file Latter-day Saints accepted the Manifesto with various degrees of reservation. The bill also establishes a stronger emphasis on unlawful behavior within polygamist groups. But to this day, mainstream. [8] Since the Second Manifesto, the policy of the LDS Church has been to excommunicate members who practice, officiate, or openly encourage the practice of plural marriages. Return to theI love Utah Historyhome pagehere. There was a light whose brightness cannot be described which filled my soul, she recalled, helping her to know the Manifesto was right (Autobiography of Lorena Eugenia Washburn Larsen [Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1962], 1056). Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Current one is: September 24. The Edmunds Act sent a clear message to the LDS Church that Congress was determined to put an end to the practice of polygamy. HeberJ. See, for example, Benjamin Johnson, My Lifes Review: Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Johnson (Provo, UT: Grandin Book, 1997), 276325; and In the Whirlpool: The Pre-Manifesto Letters of President Wilford Woodruff to the William Atkin Family, 18851890, ed. Contemporary documents, however, state that they were out of harmony with their quorum in 1905 and 1906. But they also accepted plural marriage as a commandment from God and believed the court was unjustly depriving them of their right to follow Gods commands. Grant, July 9, 1929, B.H. Roberts Collection, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; JosephT. Bentley, Life and Letters of Joseph Charles Bentley: A Biography (Provo, UT: By the author, 1977), 7781. Grant said, I approve of the manifesto, and feel that it is merely a public announcement of the course which we had already decided in our private councils to adopt (AbrahamH. Cannon diary, Oct. 1, 1890). 1852-1890: Opposition to LDS Church's Practice of Polygamy See Sarah Barringer Gordon, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth Century America (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002). Courtesy: Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of. For a time, post-Manifesto plural marriages required the approval of a member of the First Presidency. Grant diary, Sept. 30, 1890; Amnesty Petition, Dec. 19, 1891, in JamesR. Clark, ed., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. In this legal setting, President Smith sought to protect the Church while stating the truth. [1] After Smith's death in 1844, the church he established splintered into several competing groups. [28] Lack of prosecution of these polygamist is due to lack of evidence, lack of priority within law enforcement, lack of resources, and a potential influx of orphaned children. After this milestone towards statehood, Mormons began to gradually become more open about their involvement in polygamy. As a result of the bill, at least 1,300 Mormons were found guilty and imprisoned. After JosephF. Smith became Church President in 1901, a small number of new plural marriages were also performed during the early years of his administration.42. After passing in both the House and Senate the bill was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on July 1, 1862. In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Edmunds Act, which made unlawful cohabitation (interpreted as a man living with more than one wife) punishable by six months of imprisonment and a $300 fine. Polygamy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or plural marriage, is generally believed to have originated with the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. Latter-day Saint converts in the 19th century had been raised . [29] Many polygamists are able to legally practice their lifestyle by being legally married to one woman and performing spiritual marriage ceremonies with their other wives. My cell has seemed a heavenly place, and I feel that angels have been there, he wrote.10, The Church completed and dedicated two temples during the antipolygamy campaign, a remarkable achievement.11 But as federal pressure intensified, many essential aspects of Church government were severely curtailed, and civil disobedience looked increasingly untenable as a long-term solution. It's my understanding that it was an everlasting command from God to Joseph Smith. 86 comments 77% Upvoted U.S. Senate, Committee on Privileges and Elections, Proceedings before the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate: In the Matter of the Protests against the Right of Hon. [53] Regardless of the legality of the plural marriage in the country of origin, the U.S. government will only recognize one marriage. The Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887 disincorporated the LDS church, allowed the government to seize church assets, punished offenders with large fines and prison, required wives to testify against husbands, and more. GeorgeQ. Cannon, a counselor in the First Presidency, emerged from his five months in the Utah penitentiary rejuvenated. In response to the newspaper's publication, Smith and the Nauvoo City Council declared the paper a public nuisance, and ordered the press destroyed. Grant diary, Jan. 1, 1890, Church History Library, Salt Lake City; ThomasG. Alexander, The Odyssey of a Latter-day Prophet: Wilford Woodruff and the Manifesto of 1890, in Nielson, In the Whirlpool, 7273. President Harrisons amnesty proclamation pardoned all those who might have been found in violation of the Edmonds and Edmunds-Tucker Acts who had abstained from unlawful cohabitation since November 1, 1890. He was arrested on multiple accounts of being an accomplice to rape and forcing a 14 year old girl to marry her 19 year old cousin. Fast-forward to 1990, a century after the LDS abandoned polygyny, and the upshot was only just beginning to emerge. In the New Testament polygamy was not an issue in the Roman world. They have to depend upon the revelations of God as they come to them. Why did the Mormons stop polygamy? Disagreement over Smith's doctrine of "plural marriage" has been among the primary reasons for multiple church schisms . LDS church leaders decide to change policy. After establishing their new theocratic state centered in Salt Lake City, the church elders publicly confirmed that plural marriage was a central LDS belief in 1852. The Manifesto put the rest of the country at ease, and allowed Utah to move forward toward statehood. While the government does not excuse polygamy because of the nature of the offense it is difficult to prosecute. KennethL. Cannon II, Beyond the Manifesto: Polygamous Cohabitation among LDS General Authorities after 1890, Utah Historical Quarterly 46, no. The Poland Act of 1874 took away the LDS church's power over the territory's judicial system. This resulted in the divine instruction to reinstitute the practice as a religious principle. [42] After examining birth certificates, prosecutors discovered that Tom and Linda had conceived a child when she was only 13 years old. There is no definitive evidence, however, that the decisions were made by the First Presidency as a whole; President Woodruff, for example, typically referred requests to allow new plural marriages to President Cannon for his personal consideration.38 By the late 1890s, at least some of the men who had authority to perform sealings apparently considered themselves free to either accept or reject requests at their own discretion, independent of the First Presidency. Confronted with these contradictory allegiances, Church leaders encouraged members to obey God rather than man. Temples were dedicated in Logan, Utah, in 1884 and in Manti, Utah, in 1888. Crisis in Zion: HeberJ. Why did the Mormons stop polygamy? : r/exmormon - Reddit In 1904, church president Joseph F. Smith issued a more specific and binding decree about polygamy. Colonies in Mexico - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Commonly called Mormon fundamentalists, they may practice as individuals, as families, or within organized denominations. He was convicted on polygamy charges for having two wives and his defense claimed that his First Amendment right to freedom of religion had been violated. It said nothing about the laws of other nations. Initially, the Book of Mormon decried polygamy. GeorgeQ. Cannon, Oct. 5, 1890, in Collected Discourses: Delivered by President Wilford Woodruff, His Two Counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, BrianH. Stuy, comp., 5 vols. The members of the Quorum of the Twelve varied in their reactions to the Manifesto. Followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been practicing the doctrine of plural marriage since the 1840s. The beginning and end of the practice were directed by revelation through Gods prophets. The Edmunds Anti-polygamy Act took further action against polygamy and members of the LDS Church. CIA experiments, Mormon ravers and reformed racists: the untold history JessieL. Embry, Mormon Polygamous Families: Life in the Principle (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1987), 1722; A Mormon Widow in Colorado: The Exile of Emily Wells Grant, in RonaldW. Walker, Qualities That Count: HeberJ. The bill was a response to the Brown v Buhman case,[21] filed by reality TV star Kody Brown from the TLC show Sister Wives. General Relief Society president Zina D.H. Young, writing in her journal on the day the Manifesto was presented to the Church, captured the anguish of the moment: Today the hearts of all were tried but looked to God and submitted.23 The Manifesto prompted uncertainty about the future of some relationships. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. The long debate over Smoot was big news all over the country. In 1882, the U.S. Congress passed the Edmunds Act, which made unlawful cohabitation (interpreted as a man living with more than one wife) punishable by six months of imprisonment and a $300 fine. Cowley was restricted from using his priesthood and later admitted that he had been wholly in error.50. Mormons in Mexico: A brief history of polygamy, cartel violence and faith But these threats were markedly diminished after 1890. In June 2002 Green was sentenced to five years to life in prison. June 1, 2017. [19] In many polygamist communities men marry young girls in their teenage years and are often results of arranged marriages. Latter-day Saints drew upon a long tradition of civil disobedience in the United States, which had begun with the turmoil that led to the American Revolution. [33] James Strang was married to several women during his leadership of the church. In 1885 and 1886 they established settlements in Mexico and Canada, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. law, where polygamous families could live peaceably. Jacob 2:23-28 and 3:5-8 denounce the practice of polygamy as an abomination before God. The Churchs role in these marriages became a subject of intense debate after Reed Smoot, an Apostle, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1903. Polygamy was illegal in Mexico and, after 1890, in Canada as well, but the governments of those countries did not actively prosecute Mormon polygamists. Current state of polygamy in the Latter Day Saint movement We have been led to our present position by degrees, Apostle HeberJ. Brigham Young, born June 1, 1801 in Vermont, made his mark as the American Moses who led his people, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints popularly known as Mormons, to the "New Jerusalem" established in Salt Lake City. [33] The Book of the Law of the Lord, a part of the Strangite canon, sanctions polygamy, but the church reports that "there are no known cases of polygamy currently in the church".[33]. Jacob 2:30; Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo., Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah.. The best available evidence suggests that the church founder, Joseph Smith, first began taking additional wives in 1841, and historians estimate he eventually married more than 50 women. [16] Those who were found in violation were barred from jury duty, voting and possessing positions of public office. LDS church leaders promoted polygamy, and many members believed in the practice as a part of their faith. Polygamy was one reason that Utah was not allowed to become a state. Church president Wilford Woodruff had to make a change, so he issued a statement advising members not to take part in any illegal marriages, which meant polygamy. The precise number of new plural marriages performed during these years, inside and outside the United States, is unknown. Believing that the covenants they made with God and their spouses had to be honored above all else, many husbands, including Church leaders, continued to cohabit with their plural wives and fathered children with them well into the 20th century.32 Continued cohabitation exposed those couples to the threat of prosecution, just as it did before the Manifesto. Polygamy and the Latter-day Saints. No. Latter-day Saints believe that during the mid-1800s, some Church leaders and members were commanded by God to enter into the practice of plural marriage, also known as polygamy, or the marriage of one man to more than one woman (see " Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo ,"). Some who were excommunicated coalesced into independent movements and are sometimes called fundamentalists. Polygamy - Church Newsroom Revelation came line upon line, precept upon precept.1, For half a century, beginning in the early 1840s, Church members viewed plural marriage as a commandment from God, an imperative that helped raise up a righteous posterity unto the Lord.2 Though not all Church members were expected to enter into plural marriage, those who did so believed they would be blessed for their participation. Other Americans did not widely know that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes known as Mormons or LDS) practiced polygamy until 1852. Polygamy. FrancisM. Lyman, President of the Twelve, noted in his diary entry for that day that this purported revelation was never submitted to the Councils of the Priesthood nor the church and was therefore not binding on the Church (FrancisM. Lyman diary, Feb. 22, 1911). They cannot see the end from the beginning, as the Lord does. All that we can do, Cannon said, speaking of the First Presidency, is to seek the mind and will of God, and when that comes to us, though it may come in contact with every feeling that we have previously entertained, we have no option but to take the step that God points out, and to trust to Him.53. In the late-19th century and early-20th century, the practice was formally abandoned as various laws banned polygamy in the United States and led to the confiscation of LDS Church properties. When discovered, these marriages troubled many Americans, especially after President GeorgeQ. Cannon stated in an 1899 interview with the New York Herald that new plural marriages might be performed in Canada and Mexico.40 After the election of B.H. Roberts, a member of the First Council of the Seventy, to the U.S. Congress, it became known that Roberts had three wives, one of whom he married after the Manifesto. [9] However, LDS leaders even in the late 20th century, such Joseph Fielding Smith have acknowledged the belief in polygamy in the afterlife, in the case of a widower becoming sealed in eternal marriage to a second wife after the death of the first wife. After its passing in the legislature, the bill was signed by Utah Governor Gary Herbert on March 28, 2017. For the first time, Church members were put on notice that new plural marriages stood unapproved by God and the Church. People who chose to create polygamous unions chose to leave the official LDS church to organize other sects. Over time, the US Congress passed several laws that aimed to end the practice: Federal marshals arrested many LDS men who spent time in prison. On September 24, 1890, faced with the imminent destruction of their church and way of life, religious leaders reluctantly issue the "Mormon Manifesto" in which they command all Latter-day. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 19046), 1:12930. When Utah became a territory in 1851, Brigham Young was appointed by the US Congress to be its first governor. Because they made their lifestyle so public, they were forced to take residence in Nevada to avoid Utah law enforcement. Ever since the opening of colonies in Mexico and Canada, Church leaders had performed plural marriages in those countries, and after October 1890, plural marriages continued to be quietly performed there.34 As a rule, these marriages were not promoted by Church leaders and were difficult to get approved. In response, the US Senate refused to seat Reed Smoot, a church apostle elected as a senator by Utahns. Why did Mormons stop practicing polygamy? Obeying the Lord's command, Mormons followed this practice for about 50 years during the nineteenth century, but it is often a misunderstood part of Church history. Best estimates suggest that men with two or more wives made up only 5 to 15 percent of the population of most LDS communities. Utah's Road to Statehood: The Obstacle of Polygamy The number diminished to 51 in the year 1888 and then 4 in the year 1889. AnthonH. Lund, the monogamist who was called to the Twelve in 1889, became a counselor in the First Presidency under President JosephF. Smith beginning in 1901. Official Statement by President JosephF. Smith, Deseret Evening News, Apr. In such a case, a man can be married to two or more women in the celestial kingdom. Why did the Mormon Church ban polygamy? - Quora Many were not ready for plural marriage to come to an end. Between 1850 and 1896, Utah was a territory of the U.S. government, which meant that federal officials in Washington, D.C., exercised great control over local matters. The girl testified in court against Jeffs and in 2007, and he was sentenced to two terms of five years to life in prison. LinkedIn. After federal agents began seizing Church property in accordance with the Edmunds-Tucker legislation, management of the Church became more difficult.12, After two decades of seeking either to negotiate a change in the law or avoid its disastrous consequences, Church leaders began to investigate alternative responses. After four injections of MDA left him chilled, shaking and begging for doctors to stop, Blauer got a final, massive dose of 450mg of MDA. Other smaller Latter Day Saint churches were also formed as a means of opposing the LDS Church's polygamy. I confess, he told a friend, that it has always gone against my grain to have any violations of documents [i.e. Grant to FrankY. Taylor, April 28, 1904, HeberJ. What About Polygamy in the Bible? | Answers in Genesis [49] In the case of Bronson v. Swensen the plaintiffs followed suit as they claimed violation of privacy, religious freedom, and restriction of sexual relationships. Both President John Taylor and President Wilford Woodruff felt the Lord directing them to stay the course and not renounce plural marriage.14, This inspiration came when paths for legal redress were still open.
