[Joseph Fielding Smith]
Your letter addressed to the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was referred to me as the historian for answer.
You desire to know what the Urim and Thummim were, how they were used, and what became of them after the translation of the Book of Mormon.
The Urim and Thummim obtained from Moroni were two transparent stones set in silver bows and these stones fastened to a breastplate constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim. It was by the aid of these and by the power of the Lord that Joseph Smith was able to translate the ancient characters from the record and give to the world the Book of Mormon. In making the translation the breastplate was adjusted over the breast with the two stones attached in such a way that they could be held before the eyes. Jut how the characters appeared or how the translation was received by aid of these stones the Prophet Joseph Smith has not told us. All that we have on record that he did say is that he translated the ancient record by the aid of the Urim and Thummim and by the gift and power of God. When he finished the translation it is understood that he returned the Urim and Thummim with the plats to the angel who placed them in his hands.
The Urim and Thummim and breastplate were in the possession of Aaron, who was called to act as the presiding high priest of the order of Aaron, before the congregations of Israel. These stones with the breastplate were handed down from generation to generation in the lineage of the priests, successors to Aaron, until the time came when, through in and apostasy, they were lost to the people of Israel. For references see Exodus 28:30, Leviticus 8:8, Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8, I Samuel 28:5, Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65. Revelations were frequently received through the Urim and Thummim in those ancient times.
It was revealed to Joseph Smith, while he was translating the Book of Abraham, that Abraham had the Urim and Thummim by which the heavens were opened to his view and many things were made known in prophetic vision concerning Gospel truth and the destiny of his posterity.
The Urim and Thummim give to Joseph Smith were those which were received by the brother of Jared from the Lord the account of which is recorded in the third chapter of the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. After the destruction of the people of Jared these stones, called 'interpreters,' were preserved in the hands of the Nephites, finally being placed in the tone box with the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. It was Moroni who hid up these plates and the Urim and Thummim, about 420 A.D., and as the custodian of these sacred things, was sent, after he had received his resurrection from the dead, to Joseph Smith the Prophet and revealed to him where the plates were buried and gave him instruction in relation to the coming forth of the history of the ancient peoples of this western hemisphere.
[Joseph Fielding Smith, Letter to Ellsworth McCarthy, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
110 years ago today - Nov 30, 1909; Tuesday
[George F. Richards]
Had a good heart to heart talk about the action taken by the Church relative to the discontinuance of plural marriages and the disregard given to that action by some. I warned her [his mother, or sister] against her daughters being inviegaled [sic] into the meshes, stating that all such were liable to be dealt with and to be excommunicated.
I spent about an hour with Pres[ident]. F[rancis]. M. Lyman at his home in the evening in considering the matter spoken of above.
[George F. Richards, Diary]
Had a good heart to heart talk about the action taken by the Church relative to the discontinuance of plural marriages and the disregard given to that action by some. I warned her [his mother, or sister] against her daughters being inviegaled [sic] into the meshes, stating that all such were liable to be dealt with and to be excommunicated.
I spent about an hour with Pres[ident]. F[rancis]. M. Lyman at his home in the evening in considering the matter spoken of above.
[George F. Richards, Diary]
130 years ago today - Nov 30, 1889
[Apostle Brigham Young Jr.]
[Judge Anderson decides] no [emmigrating] Mormon can be naturalized in consequence of taking oaths and obligations in the ... endowments.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[Judge Anderson decides] no [emmigrating] Mormon can be naturalized in consequence of taking oaths and obligations in the ... endowments.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
185 years ago today - 30 November 1834 - Sunday
[Joseph Smith]
Sabbath evening, No vember 30, 1834. While reflecting upon the goodness and mercy of the Lord, this evening, a prophecy was put into our hearts, that in a short time the Lord would arrange his providen ces in a merciful man ner and send us assist ance to deliver us from debt and bon dage. [[In January, donations of Latter-day Saint John Tanner materially improved their situation. Tanner's son Nathan recalled that his father donated over three thousand dollars and saved the mortgage on the temple block from being foreclosed.]]
[Joseph Smith, "Joseph Smith Jrs Book for Record," Journal, Nov. 1832–Dec. 1834]
Sabbath evening, No vember 30, 1834. While reflecting upon the goodness and mercy of the Lord, this evening, a prophecy was put into our hearts, that in a short time the Lord would arrange his providen ces in a merciful man ner and send us assist ance to deliver us from debt and bon dage. [[In January, donations of Latter-day Saint John Tanner materially improved their situation. Tanner's son Nathan recalled that his father donated over three thousand dollars and saved the mortgage on the temple block from being foreclosed.]]
[Joseph Smith, "Joseph Smith Jrs Book for Record," Journal, Nov. 1832–Dec. 1834]
60 years ago today - Nov 29, 1959
The Tabernacle Choir received a Grammy award for its recording of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at the first television awards show of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, Calif.
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
85 years ago today - Nov 29, 1934
We hereby approve the Twelve's recommendation in letter of September 29, that a definite time be fixed for the ordaining of Priests to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood, and that this age of 19, thus affording Elders the privilege of two years of training and experience before they become eligible for ordination to the office of Seventy.
We also authorize the adoption of the following schedule, as submitted in your letter above referred to, for advancement in the Aaronic Priesthood:
Three years experience and training for the Deacons'12, 13, 14;
Two years experience and training for the Teachers'15 and 16;
Two years experience and training for the Priests'17 and 18.
[First Presidency, Letter to Rudger Clawson, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
We also authorize the adoption of the following schedule, as submitted in your letter above referred to, for advancement in the Aaronic Priesthood:
Three years experience and training for the Deacons'12, 13, 14;
Two years experience and training for the Teachers'15 and 16;
Two years experience and training for the Priests'17 and 18.
[First Presidency, Letter to Rudger Clawson, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
85 years ago today - Nov 29, 1934
[First Presidency Letter]
We hereby approve the Twelve's recommendation in letter of September 29, that a definite time be fixed for the ordaining of Priests to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood, and that this age of 19, thus affording Elders the privilege of two years of training and experience before they become eligible for ordination to the office of Seventy.
We also authorize the adoption of the following schedule, as submitted in your letter above referred to, for advancement in the Aaronic Priesthood:
Three years experience and training for the Deacons'12, 13, 14;
Two years experience and training for the Teachers'15 and 16;
Two years experience and training for the Priests'17 and 18.
[First Presidency, Letter to Rudger Clawson, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
We hereby approve the Twelve's recommendation in letter of September 29, that a definite time be fixed for the ordaining of Priests to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood, and that this age of 19, thus affording Elders the privilege of two years of training and experience before they become eligible for ordination to the office of Seventy.
We also authorize the adoption of the following schedule, as submitted in your letter above referred to, for advancement in the Aaronic Priesthood:
Three years experience and training for the Deacons'12, 13, 14;
Two years experience and training for the Teachers'15 and 16;
Two years experience and training for the Priests'17 and 18.
[First Presidency, Letter to Rudger Clawson, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
130 years ago today - Nov 29, 1889 (Friday)
[Church Historian Andrew Jensen]
The second grand parade of the Liberals occurred in Salt Lake City; it was the greatest affair of the kind ever witnessed in Utah.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
The second grand parade of the Liberals occurred in Salt Lake City; it was the greatest affair of the kind ever witnessed in Utah.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
175 years ago today - 1844: 29 November
[Patriarchal Blessing of Lucy M. Smith]
...Thou art ... a lawful heir to the priesthood which was sealed upon the head of Ephraim. ... The number of thy years shall be according to thy faith, even to behold all the glory and beauty of Zion, see the coming of the Saviour, the gathering of Israel, and if you desire it with your whole heart, shall not taste of death, but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye and caught up to meet the Lord. Now dear sister be comforted, endure in faith to the end, and not one word which has been spoken shall fail.
[Selected LDS Patriarchal Blessings, New Mormon Studies CD ROM, Signature Book, 2009, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
...Thou art ... a lawful heir to the priesthood which was sealed upon the head of Ephraim. ... The number of thy years shall be according to thy faith, even to behold all the glory and beauty of Zion, see the coming of the Saviour, the gathering of Israel, and if you desire it with your whole heart, shall not taste of death, but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye and caught up to meet the Lord. Now dear sister be comforted, endure in faith to the end, and not one word which has been spoken shall fail.
[Selected LDS Patriarchal Blessings, New Mormon Studies CD ROM, Signature Book, 2009, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
180 years ago today - 1839 29 Nov.
U.S. president Martin Van Buren tells Joseph Smith in a personal meeting that the federal government cannot intervene to protect Mormon property or civil rights in Missouri. In 1833 the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in the Barrow case that the Bill of Rights restrained only the federal government. Until the Civil War and the 14th Amendment the constitutional separation between the federal government and the rights of sovereign states prohibited such intervention. This is also the first meeting between a U.S. president and an LDS president.
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Appendix 7: Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-47, http://amzn.to/origins-power]
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Appendix 7: Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-47, http://amzn.to/origins-power]
185 years ago today - Nov 29, 1834
Joseph and Oliver give thanks for a loan of $430 from brethren in the East. They covenant with the Lord that if he will prosper us in our business and open the way before <us> ... to pay our debts ... that of all he shall give us we will give a tenth, to bestowed upon the poor in his Church, or as he shall command ... and that our children after us shall remember to observe this sacred and holy covenant ... And that our children and our children's [children] may know of the same we here subscribe our names with our own hands before the Lord: [signed].
[Faulring, Scott (ed.), An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith Diary, 1832-34, http://amzn.to/jsdiaries]
[Faulring, Scott (ed.), An American Prophet's Record: The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith: Joseph Smith Diary, 1832-34, http://amzn.to/jsdiaries]
55 years ago today - 55 years ago - Nov 28, 1964
The Church News headlines, "Inauguration Steps In Home Evening Plan For December," which describes detailed instructions to stake presidents and subsequently to ward bishops for implementing the weekly family home evening program for all Mormons. LDS leaders stress this repeatedly from the pulpit and church headquarters eventually enforces it with Monday evening closing of such LDS enterprises in Salt Lake City as the Deseret Gymnasium and the genealogical library and of temples worldwide. This finally succeeds in achieving widespread compliance of Mormon families in holding home evenings which had not occurred after official announcements in 1915, 1946, and 1961.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
85 years ago today - 85 years ago - Nov 28, 1934
[First Presidency to LeGrand Richards]
In order to safeguard the patriarchs throughout the Church from imposition on the part of unworthy people it has been decided that in the future people desiring patriarchal blessings whether from patriarchs in the Stake or the Patriarch of the Church, should secure from their local authorities and present to the patriarch a certificate of recommendation vouching for their worthiness as members of the Church.
[First Presidency, Letter to LeGrand Richards, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951, Electronic Edition, 2015]
In order to safeguard the patriarchs throughout the Church from imposition on the part of unworthy people it has been decided that in the future people desiring patriarchal blessings whether from patriarchs in the Stake or the Patriarch of the Church, should secure from their local authorities and present to the patriarch a certificate of recommendation vouching for their worthiness as members of the Church.
[First Presidency, Letter to LeGrand Richards, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951, Electronic Edition, 2015]
85 years ago today - Nov 28, 1934
Elder Charles A. Callis of the Council of the Twelve recently received a letter from Patriarch James H. Wallis, relative to a family residing in your mission, who are desirous of receiving their patriarchal blessings, but Brother Wallis says that the woman has colored blood in her veins, although neither she nor her husband is aware of this fact.
In Elder Callis' reply, which we fully endorse, he suggested that Brother Wallis excuse himself from giving these people blessing, but that under no circumstances should he intimate to them or any one else that the woman has colored blood. The consequences of s doing might be very serious, and it is almost an impossibility to prove a thing of this kind.
No doubt Brother Wallis has shown you Elder Callis' letter or informed you of its contents, but in case he has not done so we are desirous that you too should be informed of our attitude regarding such cases.
[First Presidency, Letter to John V. Bluth, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
In Elder Callis' reply, which we fully endorse, he suggested that Brother Wallis excuse himself from giving these people blessing, but that under no circumstances should he intimate to them or any one else that the woman has colored blood. The consequences of s doing might be very serious, and it is almost an impossibility to prove a thing of this kind.
No doubt Brother Wallis has shown you Elder Callis' letter or informed you of its contents, but in case he has not done so we are desirous that you too should be informed of our attitude regarding such cases.
[First Presidency, Letter to John V. Bluth, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
85 years ago today - Nov 28, 1934
Your letter of November 21 was received by us a day or two ago.
Patriarchs should not give blessings to people other than those residing within the Stake where they have been properly sustained, unless special authorization be obtained from the Presidency of the Church.
[First Presidency, Letter to Don B. Colton, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
Patriarchs should not give blessings to people other than those residing within the Stake where they have been properly sustained, unless special authorization be obtained from the Presidency of the Church.
[First Presidency, Letter to Don B. Colton, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
105 years ago today - Nov 28, 1914; Saturday
[Apostle Anthony Ivins]
Rigby Idaho. Levi E. Young & I at Rigby Stake Conference. Stake Presidency present. At the morning services there were 120 present [plus] 5-5-9-8-3=185. Bro. [William] Selck said that there had been but one conference since the stake was organized when some of the general authorities of the Church have not been present. Elder Clark returned from California mission. Good remarks. Elder Selck returned from Texas where he had been on mission. Was sent home because he married a girl while in the field. Good remarks. Chas. McClellan. Juarez Stake. I, 15 minutes. 2 P.M. Bishop. 332 present. Prests. S. S., H. C. Bps. Song. Bro Young.
[Anderson, Elizabeth Oberdick, editor, Cowboy Apostle: The Diaries of Anthony W. Ivins: 1875-1932, Signature Books, Salt Lake City in association with the Smith-Pettit Foundation (2013) - http://bit.ly/AnthonyIvins]
Rigby Idaho. Levi E. Young & I at Rigby Stake Conference. Stake Presidency present. At the morning services there were 120 present [plus] 5-5-9-8-3=185. Bro. [William] Selck said that there had been but one conference since the stake was organized when some of the general authorities of the Church have not been present. Elder Clark returned from California mission. Good remarks. Elder Selck returned from Texas where he had been on mission. Was sent home because he married a girl while in the field. Good remarks. Chas. McClellan. Juarez Stake. I, 15 minutes. 2 P.M. Bishop. 332 present. Prests. S. S., H. C. Bps. Song. Bro Young.
[Anderson, Elizabeth Oberdick, editor, Cowboy Apostle: The Diaries of Anthony W. Ivins: 1875-1932, Signature Books, Salt Lake City in association with the Smith-Pettit Foundation (2013) - http://bit.ly/AnthonyIvins]
150 years ago today - Nov 28, 1869
President Brigham Young organizes the Young Ladies' Department of the Cooperative Retrenchment Association, which paves the way for the later creation of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association in the 1870s.
160 years ago today - Nov 28, 1859
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
I then Called upon President B Young. He asked me what news I had from the spirit world. I told him I had none.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
I then Called upon President B Young. He asked me what news I had from the spirit world. I told him I had none.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
185 years ago today - Nov 28, 1834
E. D. Howe's Mormonism Unvailed is released.
[Kenney, Scott, Saints Without Halos, "Mormon History 1830-1844," http://web.archive.org/web/20120805163534/saintswithouthalos.com/dirs/d_c.phtml]
[Kenney, Scott, Saints Without Halos, "Mormon History 1830-1844," http://web.archive.org/web/20120805163534/saintswithouthalos.com/dirs/d_c.phtml]
45 years ago today - 45 years ago - Nov 27, 1974-Wednesday
[Leonard Arrington]
Yesterday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. the executives of the Historical Department met with our advisors from the Twelve. There were present Elders Hunter and McConkie, Elder Anderson, and Earl, Don, and I. Under the heading of new business Elder Hunter read the attached letter from Elder [Boyd K.] Packer to the First Presidency. [[Packer's letter to the First Presidency read, in part: "I have come to believe that it is the tendency for most members of the Church who spend a great deal of time in academic research, to begin to judge the Church, its doctrine, organization, and history, by the principles of their own profession. Oft times this is done unwittingly, and some of it perhaps is wholesome. However, it is an easy thing for a man with extensive academic training to consider the Church with the principles he has been taught in his professional training as his measuring standard. "In my mind it ought to be the other way around. A member of the Church ought always, particularly if he is pursuing extended academic studies, to judge the professions of man against the revealed word of the Lord. "What concerns me about the Historian's Office is that, unless I am mistaken, the di- rection they are taking is to judge what should be good for the Church and for the operation of the Historical Department against the rules set down for historians. "We have evidently authorized a series of publications in order to make available to all members of the Church much information that is in the Archives and in the Historical Depart- ment. This, I think is a very commendable project. I do feel however, and feel very deeply, that some tempering of the purely historical approach needs to be effected. Otherwise these publi- cations will be of interest to other historians and perhaps serve them well, but at once may have a negative affect upon many. Particularly can they affect our youngsters who will not view the publications with the same academic detachment that a trained historian is taught to develop. I have seen how such published information has disturbed young students in the Church." Packer referenced Dean Jessee's compilation of Brigham Young letters to his sons, citing portions dealing with the Young's estate, Young's use of tobacco, one son's drug addiction, problems of missionaries serving under another son, Young's divorce, and references to Young simply as "Brigham." "[If ] I am not mistaken," Packer continued, "and I think that I am not, if the things I have mentioned go unnoticed, it will be an invitation to put in print many other things from the Historian's Office. Such information will do precious little good and may do a great disservice to individuals both past and present. "I mentioned that I have raised this subject before. Each time the Historical Office has been discussed in our meetings, I have expressed my concern. I think that very often I do not do very well in speaking in council meetings and perhaps my shortcomings there do injury to the very position I am trying to endorse. I make these comments without intending to be critical of any individual. I think our brethren in the Historical Department are wonderful men. Nor would I mind if you were to show them this letter, for they know that I regard them very highly. It is the principle that concerns me. ... "If we determine that we should continue to publish information such as this, that itself will be an interesting bit of history. For the brethren who have preceded us were very careful to do just the opposite." Letter, Oct. 24, 1974, copy in diary at Nov. 27, 1974.]]
This had been read at the meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve on November 14, and had led to a rather full discussion of the work and programs of the Historical Department. Elder McConkie was not present at that meeting, and Elder Hunter had not been presented with an advance copy of the letter, and was not able to furnish answers to some of the questions raised. So his attitude was to "cool it," to postpone any kind of recommendation or action. He said he told Elder Packer that the letter should have been directed to him or to me, rather than to the First Presidency, and give us a chance to consider it and make whatever response we thought it required. Other members of the Twelve seemed to agree with this. Some of the specific points brought out in that discussion in the Twelve were: There was some criticism of the continued heavy involvement of Historical Department personnel in Dialogue. Witness the Maureen Ursenbach [Beecher] and Davis Bitton interviews with Juanita Brooks and the Davis Bitton collaboration in the article on phrenology. I pointed out that Davis Bitton and Maureen Ursenbach's interview with Juanita had been conceived many months ago, even before their employment with the Historical Department, that Dialogue was behind in its publication, that they had talked with me about whether to go ahead with it or withdraw it, and I had told them to go ahead with it. Both Brother Hunter and Brother McConkie said they agreed with this advice; that it would have been more damaging to have asked them to withdraw a piece than to have allowed it to be printed. There was a general feeling that we should be less involved in Dialogue, to avoid any impression that the Historical Department was placing a stamp of approval on Dialogue, and to avoid a tendency for us to dignify the magazine by contributing regularly toward it. After the meeting, I asked Maureen to withdraw, for the time being anyway, her article on Eliza [R. Snow] which she had submitted a week ago. She agreed to write a letter to Bob Rees to this effect immediately. Brother Hunter said they had discussed "Claudia Bushman's Women's Lib magazine, Exponent II." No further remarks on this. Earl asked whether the last paragraph of Elder Packer's letter meant a recommendation that we should channel all of our material through the Correlation Committee, or did it mean there should be a reappraisal of the programs in general. Elder Hunter said he thinks Elder Packer would like to see both. That is, he is very fearful of the sesquicentennial history project, and would like to see it discontinued. Also that he couldn't see why everybody else had to go through Correlation, but we didn't. Both Brother Hunter and Brother McConkie reacted negatively to both these suggestions. Elder McConkie declared, with strong emphasis, "We have to write history. We cannot avoid the responsibility. And as long as we have to do it, we have to get competent professional people. We cannot expect it to be done by an 8th grade Sunday School teacher or someone not trained." Elder McConkie said all General Authorities had been sent copies of the recent issue of Dialogue, and he had read Davis Bitton and Maureen Ursenbach's interview with Juanita Brooks and the Bob Flanders article on the new history. He said he could see nothing wrong with the former, and he was very interested in the latter. He mentioned that Flanders had mentioned my book, Great Basin Kingdom, as an example of the new history. And he assumed this was an attempt to improve upon books like Essentials of Church History by Joseph Fielding Smith, which give more or less a one-sided view of our history. He assumes this means that in writing our history, Flanders would recommend giving the side of the Missourians and the Illinoisans, as well as that of the Church. He commented on this without any pejorative connotations. In discussing Arrington and his work as an example of the new history he was not necessarily saying it was bad or the wrong thing. I made no comment myself except to say I also had read the article. On the matter of having our material go through correlation, Elder McConkie also reacted strongly. He said they were given their assignment to read manuscripts for manuals-for presentation in Sunday School and Priesthood classes. To be sure that the doctrine was right. Here, he said, we have something different. If one of our books was to be used as a manual then presumably they would go over it, and eliminate this and that and change [it], but for the uses we had in mind, he thought they had to be read and approved by people who knew history. He did not think the Brethren would approve asking Correlation to do something they were not prepared by training or knowledge to do. Elder Hunter echoed this sentiment. Elder Hunter asked us to consider the letter and its implications, not to be too fast about responding. And let our recommendations and reactions come back through proper channels-through Elder Anderson and through the advisors. They set the next meeting for December 17 at 2 p.m. in Elder Hunter's office. He said he did not favor us taking any drastic action. I said the letter was thoughtful and expressed some concerns that we ourselves had expressed, and that I did not feel that the letter was unwelcome. Elder Anderson said that some of the criticism went too far. The use of first names, like Joseph and Brigham, had been traditional in the Church, and he could see nothing wrong with that. And as for the statement about Brigham Young advising his son not to smoke while on his mission, he thought that wasn't bad-thought Brigham Young's phrasing was rather good, and the effect of his advice to his sons was positive and good and would have the same effect on young men reading it today.
I pointed out the letter we had from one of the Twelve [Apostles], who I didn't identify, congratulating us and Jack Adamson on the introduction to the Brigham Young book. Elder Hunter said he looked forward to getting the minutes of the meeting of the Twelve to see how the secretary summed it up.
In essence we have a vote of confidence from Elders Hunter, McConkie, and Anderson, and they see the letter as posing no threat to us or our program. They will carry to the Twelve in their meeting today some responses expressed in the meeting yesterday, and point out that we are taking the letter under advisement. My own reaction is:
1. Keep down our involvement with Dialogue, Exponent II, and Sunstone; the less visibility with these periodicals the better.
2. Increase our visibility with church periodicals and BYU Studies.
3. Keep a steady flow of positive articles to balance the controversial ones.
4. Keep reassuring people about the screening done by our present screening committee.
5. To say absolutely nothing, by hint or otherwise, about the letter or the discussion to anybody but Davis, Jim, and Maureen, and to caution them to say absolutely nothing about it to anyone.
6. To carry on as usual except for the points above.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
Yesterday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. the executives of the Historical Department met with our advisors from the Twelve. There were present Elders Hunter and McConkie, Elder Anderson, and Earl, Don, and I. Under the heading of new business Elder Hunter read the attached letter from Elder [Boyd K.] Packer to the First Presidency. [[Packer's letter to the First Presidency read, in part: "I have come to believe that it is the tendency for most members of the Church who spend a great deal of time in academic research, to begin to judge the Church, its doctrine, organization, and history, by the principles of their own profession. Oft times this is done unwittingly, and some of it perhaps is wholesome. However, it is an easy thing for a man with extensive academic training to consider the Church with the principles he has been taught in his professional training as his measuring standard. "In my mind it ought to be the other way around. A member of the Church ought always, particularly if he is pursuing extended academic studies, to judge the professions of man against the revealed word of the Lord. "What concerns me about the Historian's Office is that, unless I am mistaken, the di- rection they are taking is to judge what should be good for the Church and for the operation of the Historical Department against the rules set down for historians. "We have evidently authorized a series of publications in order to make available to all members of the Church much information that is in the Archives and in the Historical Depart- ment. This, I think is a very commendable project. I do feel however, and feel very deeply, that some tempering of the purely historical approach needs to be effected. Otherwise these publi- cations will be of interest to other historians and perhaps serve them well, but at once may have a negative affect upon many. Particularly can they affect our youngsters who will not view the publications with the same academic detachment that a trained historian is taught to develop. I have seen how such published information has disturbed young students in the Church." Packer referenced Dean Jessee's compilation of Brigham Young letters to his sons, citing portions dealing with the Young's estate, Young's use of tobacco, one son's drug addiction, problems of missionaries serving under another son, Young's divorce, and references to Young simply as "Brigham." "[If ] I am not mistaken," Packer continued, "and I think that I am not, if the things I have mentioned go unnoticed, it will be an invitation to put in print many other things from the Historian's Office. Such information will do precious little good and may do a great disservice to individuals both past and present. "I mentioned that I have raised this subject before. Each time the Historical Office has been discussed in our meetings, I have expressed my concern. I think that very often I do not do very well in speaking in council meetings and perhaps my shortcomings there do injury to the very position I am trying to endorse. I make these comments without intending to be critical of any individual. I think our brethren in the Historical Department are wonderful men. Nor would I mind if you were to show them this letter, for they know that I regard them very highly. It is the principle that concerns me. ... "If we determine that we should continue to publish information such as this, that itself will be an interesting bit of history. For the brethren who have preceded us were very careful to do just the opposite." Letter, Oct. 24, 1974, copy in diary at Nov. 27, 1974.]]
This had been read at the meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve on November 14, and had led to a rather full discussion of the work and programs of the Historical Department. Elder McConkie was not present at that meeting, and Elder Hunter had not been presented with an advance copy of the letter, and was not able to furnish answers to some of the questions raised. So his attitude was to "cool it," to postpone any kind of recommendation or action. He said he told Elder Packer that the letter should have been directed to him or to me, rather than to the First Presidency, and give us a chance to consider it and make whatever response we thought it required. Other members of the Twelve seemed to agree with this. Some of the specific points brought out in that discussion in the Twelve were: There was some criticism of the continued heavy involvement of Historical Department personnel in Dialogue. Witness the Maureen Ursenbach [Beecher] and Davis Bitton interviews with Juanita Brooks and the Davis Bitton collaboration in the article on phrenology. I pointed out that Davis Bitton and Maureen Ursenbach's interview with Juanita had been conceived many months ago, even before their employment with the Historical Department, that Dialogue was behind in its publication, that they had talked with me about whether to go ahead with it or withdraw it, and I had told them to go ahead with it. Both Brother Hunter and Brother McConkie said they agreed with this advice; that it would have been more damaging to have asked them to withdraw a piece than to have allowed it to be printed. There was a general feeling that we should be less involved in Dialogue, to avoid any impression that the Historical Department was placing a stamp of approval on Dialogue, and to avoid a tendency for us to dignify the magazine by contributing regularly toward it. After the meeting, I asked Maureen to withdraw, for the time being anyway, her article on Eliza [R. Snow] which she had submitted a week ago. She agreed to write a letter to Bob Rees to this effect immediately. Brother Hunter said they had discussed "Claudia Bushman's Women's Lib magazine, Exponent II." No further remarks on this. Earl asked whether the last paragraph of Elder Packer's letter meant a recommendation that we should channel all of our material through the Correlation Committee, or did it mean there should be a reappraisal of the programs in general. Elder Hunter said he thinks Elder Packer would like to see both. That is, he is very fearful of the sesquicentennial history project, and would like to see it discontinued. Also that he couldn't see why everybody else had to go through Correlation, but we didn't. Both Brother Hunter and Brother McConkie reacted negatively to both these suggestions. Elder McConkie declared, with strong emphasis, "We have to write history. We cannot avoid the responsibility. And as long as we have to do it, we have to get competent professional people. We cannot expect it to be done by an 8th grade Sunday School teacher or someone not trained." Elder McConkie said all General Authorities had been sent copies of the recent issue of Dialogue, and he had read Davis Bitton and Maureen Ursenbach's interview with Juanita Brooks and the Bob Flanders article on the new history. He said he could see nothing wrong with the former, and he was very interested in the latter. He mentioned that Flanders had mentioned my book, Great Basin Kingdom, as an example of the new history. And he assumed this was an attempt to improve upon books like Essentials of Church History by Joseph Fielding Smith, which give more or less a one-sided view of our history. He assumes this means that in writing our history, Flanders would recommend giving the side of the Missourians and the Illinoisans, as well as that of the Church. He commented on this without any pejorative connotations. In discussing Arrington and his work as an example of the new history he was not necessarily saying it was bad or the wrong thing. I made no comment myself except to say I also had read the article. On the matter of having our material go through correlation, Elder McConkie also reacted strongly. He said they were given their assignment to read manuscripts for manuals-for presentation in Sunday School and Priesthood classes. To be sure that the doctrine was right. Here, he said, we have something different. If one of our books was to be used as a manual then presumably they would go over it, and eliminate this and that and change [it], but for the uses we had in mind, he thought they had to be read and approved by people who knew history. He did not think the Brethren would approve asking Correlation to do something they were not prepared by training or knowledge to do. Elder Hunter echoed this sentiment. Elder Hunter asked us to consider the letter and its implications, not to be too fast about responding. And let our recommendations and reactions come back through proper channels-through Elder Anderson and through the advisors. They set the next meeting for December 17 at 2 p.m. in Elder Hunter's office. He said he did not favor us taking any drastic action. I said the letter was thoughtful and expressed some concerns that we ourselves had expressed, and that I did not feel that the letter was unwelcome. Elder Anderson said that some of the criticism went too far. The use of first names, like Joseph and Brigham, had been traditional in the Church, and he could see nothing wrong with that. And as for the statement about Brigham Young advising his son not to smoke while on his mission, he thought that wasn't bad-thought Brigham Young's phrasing was rather good, and the effect of his advice to his sons was positive and good and would have the same effect on young men reading it today.
I pointed out the letter we had from one of the Twelve [Apostles], who I didn't identify, congratulating us and Jack Adamson on the introduction to the Brigham Young book. Elder Hunter said he looked forward to getting the minutes of the meeting of the Twelve to see how the secretary summed it up.
In essence we have a vote of confidence from Elders Hunter, McConkie, and Anderson, and they see the letter as posing no threat to us or our program. They will carry to the Twelve in their meeting today some responses expressed in the meeting yesterday, and point out that we are taking the letter under advisement. My own reaction is:
1. Keep down our involvement with Dialogue, Exponent II, and Sunstone; the less visibility with these periodicals the better.
2. Increase our visibility with church periodicals and BYU Studies.
3. Keep a steady flow of positive articles to balance the controversial ones.
4. Keep reassuring people about the screening done by our present screening committee.
5. To say absolutely nothing, by hint or otherwise, about the letter or the discussion to anybody but Davis, Jim, and Maureen, and to caution them to say absolutely nothing about it to anyone.
6. To carry on as usual except for the points above.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
120 years ago today - 120 years ago - Nov 27, 1899
"One of his followers had a nice black, fat, pet sheep. He told them it was revealed to him that they should dig a trench around a certain spot'[and] cut the artery in the sheep's neck, walk him around the trench and form a circle of blood"to keep the evil spirit out of the circle."then commence digging; but if any one spoke a word the treasure would surely vanish." ...
"[He] cut the artery in the sheep's neck, walk him around the trench and form a circle of blood" to keep the evil spirit out of the circle. "then commence digging."...
"But if any one spoke a word the treasure would surely vanish."
[Sara Melissa Ingersoll, "Mormonism Unveiled," copy in letter to Hellen Miller Gould, 27 November 1899, as quoted in A Topical Guide of Treasure-Seeking Rituals From the American Northeast during the 18th and 19th Centuries, Compiled by Joseph T. Antley (2010)]
"[He] cut the artery in the sheep's neck, walk him around the trench and form a circle of blood" to keep the evil spirit out of the circle. "then commence digging."...
"But if any one spoke a word the treasure would surely vanish."
[Sara Melissa Ingersoll, "Mormonism Unveiled," copy in letter to Hellen Miller Gould, 27 November 1899, as quoted in A Topical Guide of Treasure-Seeking Rituals From the American Northeast during the 18th and 19th Centuries, Compiled by Joseph T. Antley (2010)]
85 years ago today - Nov 27, 1934
During a gun battle between FBI agents and gangster George "Baby Face" Nelson, Inspector Samuel P. Cowley, the first LDS agent in the FBI and the head of the antigangster unit, is mortally wounded. Cowley continues firing his weapon as he falls to the ground and kills Nelson. Cowley died the following day.
85 years ago today - Nov 27, 1934
The Authorities of the Church have always advised the people against card games, that is, cards of the kind that are used by gamblers and others, with ace, king, jack, queen, etc. Your relief society president is undoubtedly mistaken when she says that branches of the Church have given card parties for the purpose of raising funds, provided she refers to cards of this kind. Certainly such parties have not been held with our knowledge or consent. We do not disfellowship people who indulge in such games for having done so, but we feel that it is a waste of valuable time which might be used to better advantage, and often it leads to quarreling, heating, etc.
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Leolin N. Dickey, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Leolin N. Dickey, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
120 years ago today - Nov 27, 1899
[Post-Manifesto plural marriage]
William Coon, born in Green County, Illinois, December 4, 1840
Elizabeth Braithwaite, born at Yorkshire, England, June 15, 1858
Married at Colonia Juarez, November 27, 1899
[Stanley Ivins typewritten copy of Anthony Ivins "Record Book of Marriages" [Plural] performed in Mexican colonies, Anderson, Elizabeth Oberdick, editor, Cowboy Apostle: The Diaries of Anthony W. Ivins: 1875-1932, Signature Books, Salt Lake City in association with the Smith-Pettit Foundation (2013), Appendix A]
William Coon, born in Green County, Illinois, December 4, 1840
Elizabeth Braithwaite, born at Yorkshire, England, June 15, 1858
Married at Colonia Juarez, November 27, 1899
[Stanley Ivins typewritten copy of Anthony Ivins "Record Book of Marriages" [Plural] performed in Mexican colonies, Anderson, Elizabeth Oberdick, editor, Cowboy Apostle: The Diaries of Anthony W. Ivins: 1875-1932, Signature Books, Salt Lake City in association with the Smith-Pettit Foundation (2013), Appendix A]
130 years ago today - Nov. 27th, 1889
[Apostle Abraham H. Cannon]
(at Fillmore) Two young unmarried people have committed fornication. "Bro. Kelly (1st Counselor in stake pres.) was told that on asking forgiveness they should be permitted to receive re baptism and not be cut off; but where persons thus sin who have received their endowments, they must be excommunicated."
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, http://www.amazon.com/Apostles-Record-Journals-Abraham-1889-1896/dp/B000MFD1K4]
(at Fillmore) Two young unmarried people have committed fornication. "Bro. Kelly (1st Counselor in stake pres.) was told that on asking forgiveness they should be permitted to receive re baptism and not be cut off; but where persons thus sin who have received their endowments, they must be excommunicated."
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, http://www.amazon.com/Apostles-Record-Journals-Abraham-1889-1896/dp/B000MFD1K4]
180 years ago today - Nov 27, 1839
En route to Washington, D.C. Just before arriving in Washington, D.C. the horses on the stagecoach ran off at full speed while the coachman was getting a drink. Joseph Smith climbed outside the door of the coach and regained control of the horses after a two to three mile run, saving the passengers from injury.
[BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith, http://byustudies.byu.edu]
[BYU Studies Journal, volume 46, no. 4: A Chronology of the Life of Joseph Smith, http://byustudies.byu.edu]
40 years ago today - 40 years ago - Nov 26, 1979-Monday
[Leonard Arrington]
Fred Babbel telephoned ... had heard that our sesquicentennial volumes were being put on the shelf. Because of his close connection with Elder [Ezra Taft] Benson, I suppose he has heard something from that source. I told him as far as I knew, the volumes were proceeding, though more slowly than expected. He said he felt very strongly that we need to have good honest history-that the Church has nothing to fear from opening up the records. If he is ever with Elder Benson and the subject comes up, I'm sure he'll say a word favorable to us.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
Fred Babbel telephoned ... had heard that our sesquicentennial volumes were being put on the shelf. Because of his close connection with Elder [Ezra Taft] Benson, I suppose he has heard something from that source. I told him as far as I knew, the volumes were proceeding, though more slowly than expected. He said he felt very strongly that we need to have good honest history-that the Church has nothing to fear from opening up the records. If he is ever with Elder Benson and the subject comes up, I'm sure he'll say a word favorable to us.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
105 years ago today - 105 years ago - Nov 26, 1914
[James E. Talmage]
Talmage remarks in his journal that World War I marks fulfillment of prophecies depicting the conditions of the Last Day.
[MSS 229, Box 5, Folder 1, Journal 17; Chronology of the Life and Work of James E. Talmage, J. Trevor Antley, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MJsHY83JZL_n6CjWq11y1trT_CVXMMXAx2uYOWAwn0c/edit#heading=h.2zfdaoa]
Talmage remarks in his journal that World War I marks fulfillment of prophecies depicting the conditions of the Last Day.
[MSS 229, Box 5, Folder 1, Journal 17; Chronology of the Life and Work of James E. Talmage, J. Trevor Antley, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MJsHY83JZL_n6CjWq11y1trT_CVXMMXAx2uYOWAwn0c/edit#heading=h.2zfdaoa]
115 years ago today - 115 years ago - Nov 26, 1904
Apostle [Francis M.] Lyman addressed us [in stake priesthood meeting] and among other things said the action of the government of the United States had relieved us from the duties of plural marriage and we are not now under the law.
[James D. Cummings, Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951, Electronic Edition, 2015]
[James D. Cummings, Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951, Electronic Edition, 2015]
135 years ago today - 135 years ago - Nov 26, 1884
[Heber J. Grant]
Saml. Brannan an apostate, and the man in who had charge of the company of saints who left New York 1846 and arrived in California 1847, called at our camp this morning. He is badly broken down and I understand is quite poor, although at one time he was worth several millions of dollars.
[The Diaries of Heber J. Grant, 1880-1945, Abridged, Digital Edition Salt Lake City, Utah, 2015]
Saml. Brannan an apostate, and the man in who had charge of the company of saints who left New York 1846 and arrived in California 1847, called at our camp this morning. He is badly broken down and I understand is quite poor, although at one time he was worth several millions of dollars.
[The Diaries of Heber J. Grant, 1880-1945, Abridged, Digital Edition Salt Lake City, Utah, 2015]
20 years ago today - Nov 26, 1999
Lee Groberg's American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith, narrated by Gregory Peck, makes its national premier on PBS. (Utah residents saw it on September 26 on KBYU television.)
35 years ago today - Nov 26, 1984
The First Presidency announced that, beginning Jan. 1, the term of full-time missionary service for single elders would again be 24 months. It had been shortened from two years to 18 months in April 1982.
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
170 years ago today - Nov 26, 1849
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
I had an interview with Hiram Kimball. He sympathieses much with Foster the Laws[,] Marks &c [who had conspired against Joseph Smith]. He saw Foster out on the prairie by himself vary poor & in trouble. Said he would be willing to sacrafice his last Child he has if that would place him back in his former Standing in the Church And if He possessed riches He would give it all to have 5 minutes Conversation with Joseph Smith. Kimball said he was vary sorry for him & Could not help sheding tears for him. Said he could forgive him with all his heart & Advised him to go to the valley And thought all would forgive him. He seemed to take much interest in that Class of people than in building up the Kingdom of God.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
I had an interview with Hiram Kimball. He sympathieses much with Foster the Laws[,] Marks &c [who had conspired against Joseph Smith]. He saw Foster out on the prairie by himself vary poor & in trouble. Said he would be willing to sacrafice his last Child he has if that would place him back in his former Standing in the Church And if He possessed riches He would give it all to have 5 minutes Conversation with Joseph Smith. Kimball said he was vary sorry for him & Could not help sheding tears for him. Said he could forgive him with all his heart & Advised him to go to the valley And thought all would forgive him. He seemed to take much interest in that Class of people than in building up the Kingdom of God.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
180 years ago today - Nov 26, 1839
[Apostle Brigham Young]
... we had an exclent time on the lakae, the wind arose about one o'clock in the morning I went upon deck and I felt impres in spirit to pray to the Father in name of Jesus for a forgiveness of all my sins and then I fet to command the winds to secs [cease] and let ous goe safe on our Jorney the winds abated and glory & ouner [honor] & prase be to that God that rules all things.
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
... we had an exclent time on the lakae, the wind arose about one o'clock in the morning I went upon deck and I felt impres in spirit to pray to the Father in name of Jesus for a forgiveness of all my sins and then I fet to command the winds to secs [cease] and let ous goe safe on our Jorney the winds abated and glory & ouner [honor] & prase be to that God that rules all things.
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
30 years ago today - Nov 25, 1989
A major change in policy for financing local Church units in the United States and Canada was announced by the First Presidency. Ward members would no longer have stake and ward budget assessments.
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
45 years ago today - Nov 25, 1974
On November 25, 1974 the Universe published a favorable article about the Birch Society.
[Quinn, D. Michael; Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]
[Quinn, D. Michael; Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]
130 years ago today - Nov 25, 1889
... Every young man in the Church should refrain from the use of hot drinks, as well as tobacco and liquor, and from the use of meat except in the way that the Lord has directed. But you can see what the result would be if we were to enforce a rigid rule of this character. * we should be reluctant to give recommends to young men who would refuse to abstain from the use of tobacco. There might be some cases, however where to[o] strict an application of this might not be wisdom. ...
[Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith to O. G. Larsen and counselors, Nov. 25, 1889 as quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
[Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith to O. G. Larsen and counselors, Nov. 25, 1889 as quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
130 years ago today - Nov 25, 1889
[Revelation]
When I [George Q. Cannon] reached the Gardo House this morning President [Wilford] Woodruff showed me a revelation that he had received upon the question of which we were speaking yesterday. He said that he had prayed about it and the Lord had given him his word. I copy it herein: Sunday night, November 24, 1889 Thus saith the Lord to my servant Wilford, I, the Lord, have heard thyprayers and thyrequest and will answer thee by the voice of my spirit. Thus saith the Lord unto my servants the Presidency of my Church, who hold the keys of the kingdom of God upon the earth. I, the Lord, hold the destiny of the courts in your midst, and the destiny of this nation and all the nations of the earth, in mine own hands. And all that I have revealed and promised and decreed concerning the generation in which you live shall come to pass, and no power shall stay my hand. Let not my servants who are called to the presidency of my Church deny mu word or my law which concerns the salvation of the children of men Let them pray for the Holy Spirit, which shall be given them to guide them in their acts. Place not yourselves in jeopardy to your enemies by promise. Your enemies seek you destruction and the destruction of my people. If the saints will hearken unto my voice and the counsel of my servants, the wicked shall not prevail. Let my servants who officiate as your counselors before the courts, make their pleading as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit, without any further pledges from the priesthood, and they shall be justified. I, the Lord, will hold the courts, with the officers of the government, and the nation, responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants of Zion. I, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, am in your midst. I am your advocate with the Father. Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Fear not the wicked and ungodly Search the scriptures, for they are they that testify of me, and the revelations which I have given to my servant Joseph, and to all my servants since the world began, which are revealed in the records of divine truth. These revelations contain the judgments of God which are to be poured out upon all nations under heaven, which includes Great Babylon. These judgments are at the door. They will be fulfilled, as God lives. Leave judgment with me; it is mine, saith the Lord. Watch the signs of the times, they will show the fulfilment of the word of the Lord. Let me servants call upon the Lord in mighty prayer. Obtain the Holy Ghost as thy constant companion, and act as you are moved upon by that spirit and all will be well with you. The wicked are fast ripening in iniquity, and they will be cut off by the judgments of God. Great events await you in this generation, and are nigh at your door. Awake, O Israel, and have faith in God and His promises, and he will not forsake you. But I, the Lord, will deliver my saints from the dominion of the wicked in mine own due time and way. I cannot deny my word, neither in blessing nor judgment. Therefore, let mine anointed gird up their loins, watch and be sober, and keep my commandments. Pray always and faint not. Exercise faith in the Lord and in the promises of God. Be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ. The eyes of the Lord and the heavenly hosts are watching 522 over you and over your acts. Therefore be faithful until I come. I come quickly, to reward every man according to the deeds done in the body. Even so, Amen.
[George Q. Cannon Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
When I [George Q. Cannon] reached the Gardo House this morning President [Wilford] Woodruff showed me a revelation that he had received upon the question of which we were speaking yesterday. He said that he had prayed about it and the Lord had given him his word. I copy it herein: Sunday night, November 24, 1889 Thus saith the Lord to my servant Wilford, I, the Lord, have heard thyprayers and thyrequest and will answer thee by the voice of my spirit. Thus saith the Lord unto my servants the Presidency of my Church, who hold the keys of the kingdom of God upon the earth. I, the Lord, hold the destiny of the courts in your midst, and the destiny of this nation and all the nations of the earth, in mine own hands. And all that I have revealed and promised and decreed concerning the generation in which you live shall come to pass, and no power shall stay my hand. Let not my servants who are called to the presidency of my Church deny mu word or my law which concerns the salvation of the children of men Let them pray for the Holy Spirit, which shall be given them to guide them in their acts. Place not yourselves in jeopardy to your enemies by promise. Your enemies seek you destruction and the destruction of my people. If the saints will hearken unto my voice and the counsel of my servants, the wicked shall not prevail. Let my servants who officiate as your counselors before the courts, make their pleading as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit, without any further pledges from the priesthood, and they shall be justified. I, the Lord, will hold the courts, with the officers of the government, and the nation, responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants of Zion. I, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, am in your midst. I am your advocate with the Father. Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Fear not the wicked and ungodly Search the scriptures, for they are they that testify of me, and the revelations which I have given to my servant Joseph, and to all my servants since the world began, which are revealed in the records of divine truth. These revelations contain the judgments of God which are to be poured out upon all nations under heaven, which includes Great Babylon. These judgments are at the door. They will be fulfilled, as God lives. Leave judgment with me; it is mine, saith the Lord. Watch the signs of the times, they will show the fulfilment of the word of the Lord. Let me servants call upon the Lord in mighty prayer. Obtain the Holy Ghost as thy constant companion, and act as you are moved upon by that spirit and all will be well with you. The wicked are fast ripening in iniquity, and they will be cut off by the judgments of God. Great events await you in this generation, and are nigh at your door. Awake, O Israel, and have faith in God and His promises, and he will not forsake you. But I, the Lord, will deliver my saints from the dominion of the wicked in mine own due time and way. I cannot deny my word, neither in blessing nor judgment. Therefore, let mine anointed gird up their loins, watch and be sober, and keep my commandments. Pray always and faint not. Exercise faith in the Lord and in the promises of God. Be valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ. The eyes of the Lord and the heavenly hosts are watching 522 over you and over your acts. Therefore be faithful until I come. I come quickly, to reward every man according to the deeds done in the body. Even so, Amen.
[George Q. Cannon Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
160 years ago today - Nov 25, 1859
[Brigham Young Sermon]
Pres. Young said I would like an article written referring to Haun's Mill Massacre, noticing instances when Indians had massacred the whites. Pres. said it will be in the States and then other countries, that if a man lived a truthful, honest, virtuous life, he will be accused of being a Mormon, and he will have to leave their society if he will not enter into their wickedness. -- Salt Lake City
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan.; Archives, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.; New Mormon Studies CD-ROM as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
Pres. Young said I would like an article written referring to Haun's Mill Massacre, noticing instances when Indians had massacred the whites. Pres. said it will be in the States and then other countries, that if a man lived a truthful, honest, virtuous life, he will be accused of being a Mormon, and he will have to leave their society if he will not enter into their wickedness. -- Salt Lake City
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan.; Archives, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.; New Mormon Studies CD-ROM as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
185 years ago today - Nov 25, 1834
Section 106, Place: Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio.
Historical Note: During the month of November 1834, Joseph Smith was occupied in making preparations for the School of the Elders. "No month," he said, "ever found me more busily engaged than November; but as my life consisted of activity and unyielding exertions, I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it.".
Section 106 directed Warren A. Cowdery to preside over the branch of the Church in Freedom, Cattaraugus County, New York.
Publication Note. Section 106 was first published as section 99 in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
[Cook, Lyndon, Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, http://amzn.to/RevelationsofJosephSmith]
Historical Note: During the month of November 1834, Joseph Smith was occupied in making preparations for the School of the Elders. "No month," he said, "ever found me more busily engaged than November; but as my life consisted of activity and unyielding exertions, I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it.".
Section 106 directed Warren A. Cowdery to preside over the branch of the Church in Freedom, Cattaraugus County, New York.
Publication Note. Section 106 was first published as section 99 in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
[Cook, Lyndon, Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, http://amzn.to/RevelationsofJosephSmith]
130 years ago today - Nov 24, 1889
Wilford Woodruff, as church president, receives revelation, which continued the defiant discourse with the church's enemies. He says that Jesus Christ himself promised protection for the church's practice of polygamy: "I, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, am in your midst ... Awake, O. Israel, and have faith in God and His promises, and he will not forsake you. I the Lord will deliver my Saints from the domination of the wicked, in my own due time and way."
[Brigham Young Jr. writes: "His Presidency is not to make promises to their enemies nor concessions. The wicked are filling up their cup of iniquity. Thank God for this revelation, and as He commands we must seek for His holy spirit by mighty prayer."]
[Tungate, Mel, Mormon Polygamy, http://www.tungate.com/polygamy.htm]
[Brigham Young Jr. writes: "His Presidency is not to make promises to their enemies nor concessions. The wicked are filling up their cup of iniquity. Thank God for this revelation, and as He commands we must seek for His holy spirit by mighty prayer."]
[Tungate, Mel, Mormon Polygamy, http://www.tungate.com/polygamy.htm]
130 years ago today - Nov 24, 1889
[First Presidency Office Journal]
Pres[iden]ts [Wilford] Woodruff & [George Q.] Cannon met this afternoon with Bro[ther] John W Young and Att[orne]ys Le Grand Young, J[ames] H Moyle & R[ichard]. W. Young'-to consider the advisability of putting further testimony in court more fully explaining the instructions to pray for the avenging the blood of the Prophets in the Endowments also in regard to anointing the arm &c. Bro[ther] John W. Young felt that it would be a proper time to state in court that instructions had been given by the Presidency that no more plural marriages should be solemnized if such a step is deemed advisable by the brethren. This was talked over and fullyconsidered, and the question was left with President Woodruff to decide.
Pres[iden]t Woodruff made a matter of prayer of this question and he was directed by the Spirit of the Lord by revelation which he wrote, and submitted it to Pres[iden]t. Joseph F. Smith, this evening on his return, who feelingly acknowledged the word of the Lord in the revelation given to Pres[iden]t Woodruff in this matter & expressed himself as fully satisfied. ...
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
Pres[iden]ts [Wilford] Woodruff & [George Q.] Cannon met this afternoon with Bro[ther] John W Young and Att[orne]ys Le Grand Young, J[ames] H Moyle & R[ichard]. W. Young'-to consider the advisability of putting further testimony in court more fully explaining the instructions to pray for the avenging the blood of the Prophets in the Endowments also in regard to anointing the arm &c. Bro[ther] John W. Young felt that it would be a proper time to state in court that instructions had been given by the Presidency that no more plural marriages should be solemnized if such a step is deemed advisable by the brethren. This was talked over and fullyconsidered, and the question was left with President Woodruff to decide.
Pres[iden]t Woodruff made a matter of prayer of this question and he was directed by the Spirit of the Lord by revelation which he wrote, and submitted it to Pres[iden]t. Joseph F. Smith, this evening on his return, who feelingly acknowledged the word of the Lord in the revelation given to Pres[iden]t Woodruff in this matter & expressed himself as fully satisfied. ...
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
150 years ago today - Nov 24, 1869 (Wednesday)
Street lamps were first used in Salt Lake City.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
160 years ago today - Nov 24, 1859
Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was first published. All 1,250 copies of the first printing were sold out on the very first day.
[Cline, Austin, History of American Religion: Timeline]
[Cline, Austin, History of American Religion: Timeline]
115 years ago today - Nov 23, 1904
[Apostle Marriner W. Merrill]
Wednesday. I came to Logan yesterday and brought some geese for Thanksgiving dinner for Temple workers on Thursday, as we do not close the Temple.
[Notes from the Miscellaneous Record Book, 1886-1906: Selected diary notes from the journal books of Marriner Wood Merrill, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
Wednesday. I came to Logan yesterday and brought some geese for Thanksgiving dinner for Temple workers on Thursday, as we do not close the Temple.
[Notes from the Miscellaneous Record Book, 1886-1906: Selected diary notes from the journal books of Marriner Wood Merrill, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
120 years ago today - Nov 23, 1899; Thursday
[First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve minutes]
An informal discussion of the [B. H.] Roberts case, then took place. President Snow expressed his feelings as follows. He hoped that Brother Roberts would have from two to four hours before the house of Representatives, as he believed the Lord would inspire him on that occasion, and that broad-minded people everywhere would be favorably impressed with his presentation of his own case. "After that", said the President, "I don't care what is done, that is, whether he retains his seat or not".
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
An informal discussion of the [B. H.] Roberts case, then took place. President Snow expressed his feelings as follows. He hoped that Brother Roberts would have from two to four hours before the house of Representatives, as he believed the Lord would inspire him on that occasion, and that broad-minded people everywhere would be favorably impressed with his presentation of his own case. "After that", said the President, "I don't care what is done, that is, whether he retains his seat or not".
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
120 years ago today - Nov 23, 1899
[Brigham Young Jr.]
Met in Temple. did not have my clothes so not enough present. we did not dress. Had long talk on 'obeying the law.' Concluded to let the spirit direct us in counciling brethren what to do. We must not council men to disobey the Law, but separate their families to other states etc. is my feeling. Truly I am a good christian and follow their example in that I always send away one wife before I take an other never having two women at once.
[Brigham Young Jr. Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
Met in Temple. did not have my clothes so not enough present. we did not dress. Had long talk on 'obeying the law.' Concluded to let the spirit direct us in counciling brethren what to do. We must not council men to disobey the Law, but separate their families to other states etc. is my feeling. Truly I am a good christian and follow their example in that I always send away one wife before I take an other never having two women at once.
[Brigham Young Jr. Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
120 years ago today - Thursday, Nov 23, 1899
[Apostle Rudger Clawson]
... The following is a copy of a letter addressed to S. A. Hunsaker, in answer to one he wrote to me:
Salt Lake City,
Nov. 23rd, 1899
Simeon A. Hunsaker,
Payson, Utah.
Dear Brother:
In answer to your letter of the 1st inst., would say that the reply you received from Pres. Woodruff, as quoted by yourself, would not in any sense justify you in taking another wife. You certainly did wrong in this matter. Why did you not seek counsel from the president of the stake ....
[Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993, http://bit.ly/rudgerclawson]
... The following is a copy of a letter addressed to S. A. Hunsaker, in answer to one he wrote to me:
Salt Lake City,
Nov. 23rd, 1899
Simeon A. Hunsaker,
Payson, Utah.
Dear Brother:
In answer to your letter of the 1st inst., would say that the reply you received from Pres. Woodruff, as quoted by yourself, would not in any sense justify you in taking another wife. You certainly did wrong in this matter. Why did you not seek counsel from the president of the stake ....
[Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993, http://bit.ly/rudgerclawson]
130 years ago today - Nov 23, 1889
[George Q. Cannon]
Brother Joseph F. Smith and myself were there. We had interviews with the attorneys concerning the case and gave such counsel as was necessary. A list of names of suitable persons to testify was selected, and the points which it was thought they could substantiate were assigned them, and the brethren were instructed to notify them and get them together, so that theymight understand. Brother John W. Young and some of the attorneys were quite anxious to have the testimony given concerning some features of the endowment. It was proposed to have Brother John W. Young go on the stand and testify. Another point was, whether he could not tell that plural marriage was entirelydiscontinued in the territory, and that it had been decided that none should take place. We were pressed for our views upon this subject and I gave mine freely and said that I could not answer this question for President Woodruff. He was the man and would have to answer it. ...
[George Q. Cannon Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
Brother Joseph F. Smith and myself were there. We had interviews with the attorneys concerning the case and gave such counsel as was necessary. A list of names of suitable persons to testify was selected, and the points which it was thought they could substantiate were assigned them, and the brethren were instructed to notify them and get them together, so that theymight understand. Brother John W. Young and some of the attorneys were quite anxious to have the testimony given concerning some features of the endowment. It was proposed to have Brother John W. Young go on the stand and testify. Another point was, whether he could not tell that plural marriage was entirelydiscontinued in the territory, and that it had been decided that none should take place. We were pressed for our views upon this subject and I gave mine freely and said that I could not answer this question for President Woodruff. He was the man and would have to answer it. ...
[George Q. Cannon Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
130 years ago today - Nov 23, 1889
[Apostle Heber J. Grant]
This evening I had a chat with Bro. Thatcher and I learned that his ideas as to the resurrection of the Prophet Joseph and his leading the people back to redeem the Center Stake of Zion were not as I had supposed they were. I was glad to have the chat as I had been misjudging him.
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
This evening I had a chat with Bro. Thatcher and I learned that his ideas as to the resurrection of the Prophet Joseph and his leading the people back to redeem the Center Stake of Zion were not as I had supposed they were. I was glad to have the chat as I had been misjudging him.
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
130 years ago today - Nov 23, 1889
[Apostle Brigham Young Jr.]
Much business done by Presidency. Lawyers are seeking instruction to guide them before the Courts. Judge Anderson is determined to disfranchise the church.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
Much business done by Presidency. Lawyers are seeking instruction to guide them before the Courts. Judge Anderson is determined to disfranchise the church.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
170 years ago today - Nov 23, 1849
Parley P. Pratt and fifty other men leave the Salt Lake Valley to explore southern Utah. By the first of the year, they reach the site of St. George and collect a wealth of information about central and southern Utah's settlement potential.
85 years ago today - Nov 22, 1934
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Mrs. John F. Reaney]
Some years ago I suffered with insomnia, but now when I wake up at three or four o'clock in the morning I sit up and talk to my dictaphone for an hour or two and then manage as a Rule to get a good nap afterwards, and almost every day I take a nap of a full hour at my office. It is my seventy- seventh birthday today, and I am in better health, both in vigor of min and body
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Mrs. John F. Reaney, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
Some years ago I suffered with insomnia, but now when I wake up at three or four o'clock in the morning I sit up and talk to my dictaphone for an hour or two and then manage as a Rule to get a good nap afterwards, and almost every day I take a nap of a full hour at my office. It is my seventy- seventh birthday today, and I am in better health, both in vigor of min and body
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Mrs. John F. Reaney, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
105 years ago today - Nov 22, 1914; Sunday
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
Between the morning and the afternoon meetings President Joseph F. Smith, accompanied by his wife and daughter Bishop Nibley and wife and Elders George Albert and Joseph F[ielding]. Smith Jr., called on Joseph Smith [III], president of the Reorganized Church. They found him feeble, tho apparently in his usual health. He has been nearly blind for some time and also deaf. He received us kindly as did also his wife, who appears to be a very excellent woman, and his son Israel who informed the visitors that he held no official position in the Reorganized church. There are three boys belonging to the present wife who appear to be of some promise, if they can kept from the bitterness of Reorganiteism and brought to see the truth. The visit was but brief and apparently effected Joseph Smith whose feelings have softened considerably in latter years. Formerly he manifested a very bitter spirit towards his cousin President Joseph F. Smith of whom he had said and written many unfavorable things.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
Between the morning and the afternoon meetings President Joseph F. Smith, accompanied by his wife and daughter Bishop Nibley and wife and Elders George Albert and Joseph F[ielding]. Smith Jr., called on Joseph Smith [III], president of the Reorganized Church. They found him feeble, tho apparently in his usual health. He has been nearly blind for some time and also deaf. He received us kindly as did also his wife, who appears to be a very excellent woman, and his son Israel who informed the visitors that he held no official position in the Reorganized church. There are three boys belonging to the present wife who appear to be of some promise, if they can kept from the bitterness of Reorganiteism and brought to see the truth. The visit was but brief and apparently effected Joseph Smith whose feelings have softened considerably in latter years. Formerly he manifested a very bitter spirit towards his cousin President Joseph F. Smith of whom he had said and written many unfavorable things.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
120 years ago today - Nov 22, 1899; Wednesday
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
Attorney F[ranklin]. S. Richards called. He had just come from court, where he had appeared in the case of Elder Joseph E. Taylor, charged with unlawful cohabitation. The defendant had been asked as to his future intentions, that is whether or not he proposed to obey the law. Brother Richards, holding this to be a new phase of the case, had asked that it be not pressed, but the prosecuting attorney had insisted on an answer to the question. The court then informed Brother Richards that he should deal with this class of cases as with all others, and that this question would therefore be asked of the defendants.
Now arose the consideration, what course ought to be taken by the brethren who might be made to answer to this charge. In view of the evident determination of our enemies to work up public opinion against us for the purpose of securing a constitutional amendment forbidding polygamy, it was thought advisable for the brethren who may hereafter be placed in the position of defendants, to promise to obey the law.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
Attorney F[ranklin]. S. Richards called. He had just come from court, where he had appeared in the case of Elder Joseph E. Taylor, charged with unlawful cohabitation. The defendant had been asked as to his future intentions, that is whether or not he proposed to obey the law. Brother Richards, holding this to be a new phase of the case, had asked that it be not pressed, but the prosecuting attorney had insisted on an answer to the question. The court then informed Brother Richards that he should deal with this class of cases as with all others, and that this question would therefore be asked of the defendants.
Now arose the consideration, what course ought to be taken by the brethren who might be made to answer to this charge. In view of the evident determination of our enemies to work up public opinion against us for the purpose of securing a constitutional amendment forbidding polygamy, it was thought advisable for the brethren who may hereafter be placed in the position of defendants, to promise to obey the law.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
130 years ago today - Nov 22, 1889
Henry Lawrence, who had administered sacraments in the Endowment House from 1865 to 1869 before joining the Godbeite protest movement testified that the "substance" of the oath of vengence was: "You each and all agree to avenge the blood of the prophets, Joseph and Hyrum, who have sealed their testimony with their blood, this you will teach this to your children and your children's children to the third and fourth generations."
[Salt Lake Tribune, 22 November 1889 as quoted in Aird, Nichols, Bagley, "Voices of Dissent in the Mormon West"]
[Salt Lake Tribune, 22 November 1889 as quoted in Aird, Nichols, Bagley, "Voices of Dissent in the Mormon West"]
140 years ago today - Nov 22, 1879
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
I went to bed slept untill 12 oclok and I awoke and my Monitor guide or spirit of the Lord Call it by what name you will said to me arise, tarry not, go to Sunset Council A M Tenney to Close the bargin buy St John and send the missionaries to take possession of the Colorado Meadows for much depends upon your action in this matter.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
I went to bed slept untill 12 oclok and I awoke and my Monitor guide or spirit of the Lord Call it by what name you will said to me arise, tarry not, go to Sunset Council A M Tenney to Close the bargin buy St John and send the missionaries to take possession of the Colorado Meadows for much depends upon your action in this matter.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
165 years ago today - Nov 22, 1854
The Saint Louis Luminary first published in St. Louis, Missouri; Erastus Snow, editor. ―It existed primarily to answer false accusations against both the Mormons and Utah and… devote[d] itself to the ‗exposion of the favorable side of Mormonism.'
[Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984]
[Sherry Baker: Mormon Media History Timeline: 1827-2007, http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=7984]
180 years ago today - Nov 22, 1839
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
22d Elder Pratt & myself attended a debate in the methodist meeting house between mr Spear a methodist Preacher & Elder James. It was the 5th Day of the debate & it Closed. I rode 7 miles & spent the night with J. Ivins. 7 miles.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
22d Elder Pratt & myself attended a debate in the methodist meeting house between mr Spear a methodist Preacher & Elder James. It was the 5th Day of the debate & it Closed. I rode 7 miles & spent the night with J. Ivins. 7 miles.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
70 years ago today - Nov 21, 1949
At the suggestions of George Albert Smith, first counselor J. Reuben Clark informs a representative of Kennecott Copper in Salt Lake City that the Guggenheim family's investments in Utah will suffer if the Guggenheim Foundation continues to sponsor Dale L. Morgan's proposed multi-volumed history of Mormonism. The Guggenheim Foundation agrees to stop funding Morgan, who never finishes even one volume of his history.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
35 years ago today - Nov 21, 1984
[Mark Hofmann]
"Mike Hansen" orders printing plate for Emma Smith hymnal back page from Debouzek Engraving, Salt Lake City.
[Whittaker, David J., The Hofmann Maze, A Book Review Essay with a Chronology and Bibliography of the Hofmann Case, BYU Studies Vol. 29, No. 1, pg.80,]
"Mike Hansen" orders printing plate for Emma Smith hymnal back page from Debouzek Engraving, Salt Lake City.
[Whittaker, David J., The Hofmann Maze, A Book Review Essay with a Chronology and Bibliography of the Hofmann Case, BYU Studies Vol. 29, No. 1, pg.80,]
75 years ago today - Nov 21, 1944
Margaret Dyreng (Nadauld), later the eleventh general president of the Young Women, is born in Manti, Utah.
120 years ago today - Tuesday, Nov 21, 1899
[Apostle John Henry Smith]
Salt Lake City
The members of the Literary and Scientific society voted to dose their business by transfering their property to Lorenzo Snow, Trustee in Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in payment of a debt of about $25,000.00. Prest. G. Q. Cannon presided.
[Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith]
Salt Lake City
The members of the Literary and Scientific society voted to dose their business by transfering their property to Lorenzo Snow, Trustee in Trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in payment of a debt of about $25,000.00. Prest. G. Q. Cannon presided.
[Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith]
175 years ago today - Nov 21, 1844
[Hosea Stout]
... stood guard at Br Brighams till 12 ...
[Diaries of Hosea Stout]
... stood guard at Br Brighams till 12 ...
[Diaries of Hosea Stout]
120 years ago today - Monday, Nov 20, 1899
[Apostle Rudger Clawson]
Spoke of the Manifesto and said the saints were enabled to receive it because of their experience. "Don't worry about the future. Do right today, and we will be sufficient for tomorrow." "Some people are worrying about an amendment to the Constitution. This should not be.
[Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993, http://bit.ly/rudgerclawson]
Spoke of the Manifesto and said the saints were enabled to receive it because of their experience. "Don't worry about the future. Do right today, and we will be sufficient for tomorrow." "Some people are worrying about an amendment to the Constitution. This should not be.
[Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993, http://bit.ly/rudgerclawson]
120 years ago today - Nov 20, 1899
[Apostle Heber J. Grant]
I had a chat this morning with Judge Henderson regarding the position taken by some of the leading Democrats at a recent meeting at which they refused to sustain B.H. Roberts as the representative of our party in Congtess (sic). I also chatted with him regarding the issue of the moral on this same subject and told him so far as I was concerned that if the Democratic party had no use for men of my kind, namely those who had more than one wife I wanted to know as I was prepared in such an event to drive such a party from having control in the State or the city.
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
I had a chat this morning with Judge Henderson regarding the position taken by some of the leading Democrats at a recent meeting at which they refused to sustain B.H. Roberts as the representative of our party in Congtess (sic). I also chatted with him regarding the issue of the moral on this same subject and told him so far as I was concerned that if the Democratic party had no use for men of my kind, namely those who had more than one wife I wanted to know as I was prepared in such an event to drive such a party from having control in the State or the city.
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
130 years ago today - Nov 20, 1889 (Wednesday)
Charles W. Penrose, who had testified as a witness in the naturalization case before Judge Anderson in the Third District Court, was committed to the Penitentiary for refusing to answer an impertinent question with reference to his family affairs.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
175 years ago today - Nov 20, 1844
Parley P. Pratt is secretly sealed to Belinda Marden by Brigham Young. On 1 January 1846, she gave birth to a son, Nephi. Though Belinda was living in the Pratt home, Parley's legal wife Mary Ann did not know of the sealing.
[Richard S. Van Wagoner, "Sarah M. Pratt: The Shaping of An Apostate," Dialogue, Vol.19, No.2, p.85]
[Richard S. Van Wagoner, "Sarah M. Pratt: The Shaping of An Apostate," Dialogue, Vol.19, No.2, p.85]
175 years ago today - November 20, 1844. Wednesday.
...P.M. went with President Young to see Sister Jane Hardman. President Young blessed her with the blessings of the everlasting covenant and she was sealed up to eternal life and to W[illiam] C[layton] for time and for all eternity.
[George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
[George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
10 years ago today - 11/19/2009
Los Angeles Times reports that hate crimes in 2008 were down 4% in general, but hate crimes against GLBT community members were up "prompted in part" by the Prop 8 debate.
[Mormons for Marriage: A Prop 8 Timeline, http://mormonsformarriage.com/?page_id=68]
[Mormons for Marriage: A Prop 8 Timeline, http://mormonsformarriage.com/?page_id=68]
35 years ago today - Nov 19, 1984
BYU's football team is ranked "the No. 1 college football team in America" by United Press International, and the next day by the Associated Press polls of the nation's sportswriters and broadcasters.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
105 years ago today - Nov 19, 1914; Thursday
[First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve]
Pres[iden]t. [Joseph F.] Smith informed the Council that Pres[iden]t. Richard W. Young had suggested to the First Presidency the advisability of the Church making an effort to collect subscriptions in behalf of the Red Cross, the amounts thus subscribed to be used at the discretion of the Society. The suggestion was that it be announced generally that a portion of our regular monthly fast donations be set aside for the Red Cross, and that our people generally be invited to increase their donations, the idea being that the Church would get credit for the amounts thus raised instead of the individuals, and that therefore individual members who might be asked for donations might consistently answer that they were contributing through the Church in the way suggested.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
Pres[iden]t. [Joseph F.] Smith informed the Council that Pres[iden]t. Richard W. Young had suggested to the First Presidency the advisability of the Church making an effort to collect subscriptions in behalf of the Red Cross, the amounts thus subscribed to be used at the discretion of the Society. The suggestion was that it be announced generally that a portion of our regular monthly fast donations be set aside for the Red Cross, and that our people generally be invited to increase their donations, the idea being that the Church would get credit for the amounts thus raised instead of the individuals, and that therefore individual members who might be asked for donations might consistently answer that they were contributing through the Church in the way suggested.
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
115 years ago today - Nov 19, 1904
[James Henry Martineau]
Blessed Bishop John Neff and his daughters Frances and Eugenia, the latter about to go on a mission. Sister Mary A. Hyde White also blessed the two girls in tongues. We had a delightful time.
[An Uncommon Common Pioneer: The Journals of James Henry Martineau 1828-1918, edited by Donald G. Godfrey XXX Rebecca S. Martineau-McCarty]
Blessed Bishop John Neff and his daughters Frances and Eugenia, the latter about to go on a mission. Sister Mary A. Hyde White also blessed the two girls in tongues. We had a delightful time.
[An Uncommon Common Pioneer: The Journals of James Henry Martineau 1828-1918, edited by Donald G. Godfrey XXX Rebecca S. Martineau-McCarty]
120 years ago today - Sunday, Nov 19, 1899
[Apostle John Henry Smith]
President L. Snow shook hands with 1,065 Sunday school children.
[Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith]
President L. Snow shook hands with 1,065 Sunday school children.
[Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith]
115 years ago today - Nov 17, 1904; Thursday
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
A letter was read from George Osmond and William W. Burton, to the effect that it was common report that Brother Anson V. Call, counselor in the Stake Presidency, had married a plural wife recently and they ask that some of the Apostles attend the conference and investigate the affair. Letter referred to Brother [Francis M.] Lyman. ...
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
A letter was read from George Osmond and William W. Burton, to the effect that it was common report that Brother Anson V. Call, counselor in the Stake Presidency, had married a plural wife recently and they ask that some of the Apostles attend the conference and investigate the affair. Letter referred to Brother [Francis M.] Lyman. ...
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
130 years ago today - Nov 17, 1889
[Apostle Brigham Young Jr.]
[Evening] Attended meeting at Gardo house Presidency several of the Twelve and Church lawyers present. Agreed to push our views before the Court and establish our innocence of all [?] grievous charges brought against us. Men are revealing what they learned at the Endowment house 40 years ago and lying before God and man to accomplish the destruction of this people. The pot is boiling with a vengeance and I am glad. The wicked must have opportunity as well as the saints.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[Evening] Attended meeting at Gardo house Presidency several of the Twelve and Church lawyers present. Agreed to push our views before the Court and establish our innocence of all [?] grievous charges brought against us. Men are revealing what they learned at the Endowment house 40 years ago and lying before God and man to accomplish the destruction of this people. The pot is boiling with a vengeance and I am glad. The wicked must have opportunity as well as the saints.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
135 years ago today - Nov 17, 1884
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
Presidet Taylor directed that the sealing room for the dead [of the Manti temple] should be over the Baptismal font.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
Presidet Taylor directed that the sealing room for the dead [of the Manti temple] should be over the Baptismal font.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
175 years ago today - Nov 17, 1844
Emma gives birth to David Hyrum Smith at Nauvoo, her ninth biological child and eighth son. late 1844-early 1845 Lucy begins dictating her memoirs to Martha Jane Knowlton Coray.
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, Editor, Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, 2001, Signature Books, http://bit.ly/lucys-book]
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, Editor, Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, 2001, Signature Books, http://bit.ly/lucys-book]
180 years ago today - Nov 17, 1839
[Brigham Young]
... in the evening I anointed Brother Taylor in the House of the Lord the Prose was as follows after Brother Taylor had washed in pure water and castel soap then we all went to House of the Lord H. C. K. [Heber C. Kimball] opened the meeting by prayer I then anointed J. Taylor with pure sweet oil and pronounced such blessings as the spirit gave witness J. T. then rose and praid for himself Brother Turley was anointed by D. [Daniel] S. Miles than it was seled [sealed] by Hozanna then their feet was washed the meeting closed.
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
... in the evening I anointed Brother Taylor in the House of the Lord the Prose was as follows after Brother Taylor had washed in pure water and castel soap then we all went to House of the Lord H. C. K. [Heber C. Kimball] opened the meeting by prayer I then anointed J. Taylor with pure sweet oil and pronounced such blessings as the spirit gave witness J. T. then rose and praid for himself Brother Turley was anointed by D. [Daniel] S. Miles than it was seled [sealed] by Hozanna then their feet was washed the meeting closed.
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
115 years ago today - Nov 17, 1904; Thursday
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
A letter was read from George Osmond and William W. Burton, to the effect that it was common report that Brother Anson V. Call, counselor in the Stake Presidency, had married a plural wife recently and they ask that some of the Apostles attend the conference and investigate the affair. Letter referred to Brother [Francis M.] Lyman. ...
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
A letter was read from George Osmond and William W. Burton, to the effect that it was common report that Brother Anson V. Call, counselor in the Stake Presidency, had married a plural wife recently and they ask that some of the Apostles attend the conference and investigate the affair. Letter referred to Brother [Francis M.] Lyman. ...
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
130 years ago today - Nov 17, 1889
[Apostle Brigham Young Jr.]
[Evening] Attended meeting at Gardo house Presidency several of the Twelve and Church lawyers present. Agreed to push our views before the Court and establish our innocence of all [?] grievous charges brought against us. Men are revealing what they learned at the Endowment house 40 years ago and lying before God and man to accomplish the destruction of this people. The pot is boiling with a vengeance and I am glad. The wicked must have opportunity as well as the saints.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[Evening] Attended meeting at Gardo house Presidency several of the Twelve and Church lawyers present. Agreed to push our views before the Court and establish our innocence of all [?] grievous charges brought against us. Men are revealing what they learned at the Endowment house 40 years ago and lying before God and man to accomplish the destruction of this people. The pot is boiling with a vengeance and I am glad. The wicked must have opportunity as well as the saints.
[Diary of Apostle Brigham Young Jr., http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
135 years ago today - Nov 17, 1884
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
Presidet Taylor directed that the sealing room for the dead [of the Manti temple] should be over the Baptismal font.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
Presidet Taylor directed that the sealing room for the dead [of the Manti temple] should be over the Baptismal font.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
175 years ago today - Nov 17, 1844
Emma gives birth to David Hyrum Smith at Nauvoo, her ninth biological child and eighth son. late 1844-early 1845 Lucy begins dictating her memoirs to Martha Jane Knowlton Coray.
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, Editor, Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, 2001, Signature Books, http://bit.ly/lucys-book]
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, Editor, Lucy's Book: A Critical Edition of Lucy Mack Smith's Family Memoir, 2001, Signature Books, http://bit.ly/lucys-book]
180 years ago today - Nov 17, 1839
[Brigham Young]
... in the evening I anointed Brother Taylor in the House of the Lord the Prose was as follows after Brother Taylor had washed in pure water and castel soap then we all went to House of the Lord H. C. K. [Heber C. Kimball] opened the meeting by prayer I then anointed J. Taylor with pure sweet oil and pronounced such blessings as the spirit gave witness J. T. then rose and praid for himself Brother Turley was anointed by D. [Daniel] S. Miles than it was seled [sealed] by Hozanna then their feet was washed the meeting closed.
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
... in the evening I anointed Brother Taylor in the House of the Lord the Prose was as follows after Brother Taylor had washed in pure water and castel soap then we all went to House of the Lord H. C. K. [Heber C. Kimball] opened the meeting by prayer I then anointed J. Taylor with pure sweet oil and pronounced such blessings as the spirit gave witness J. T. then rose and praid for himself Brother Turley was anointed by D. [Daniel] S. Miles than it was seled [sealed] by Hozanna then their feet was washed the meeting closed.
[Brigham Young Journal (1801-1877) Journal #2 July, 1837- Mar. 1845]
175 years ago today - Nov 17, 1844
Birth of David Hyrum Smith, son of Joseph and Emma.
[Proctor, Scott and Maurine Jensen, editors, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced]
[Proctor, Scott and Maurine Jensen, editors, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother: Revised and Enhanced]
110 years ago today - Nov 16, 1909 (Tuesday)
Prof. John Phillip Sousa, the world's most famous band master, arrived in Salt Lake City with his great band. He gave a concert in the evening.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
120 years ago today - Nov 16, 1899; Thursday
President Snow explained to President Cannon the mind of the Council in relation to resuming the prayer circle, and President Cannon replied that he was very glad to learn of it.
The order of procedure, as to the prayer circle and the business of the Council, was next considered, and a decision reached that it would be better to have the prayer circle first.
...The brethren present now clothed and assembled for prayer using the room of the Apostles, where they have always met to do the business of the Council, in lieu of the First Presidency's room, where the prayer circle was formerly held, but which is not now in readiness.
The hymn "Lord, we come before thee now", was sung; Elder Brigham Young offered the opening prayer, and Elder John W. Taylor was mouth in the circle. After the members of the Council had disrobed, and resumed their ordinary attire, the following business was transacted. ...
Brother Grant now brought to the consideration of the Council the constant efforts that were being made by the Gentiles of Salt Lake City, to draw business southward... [discussion of counter-measuers by moving Z.C.M.I further south]...
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
The order of procedure, as to the prayer circle and the business of the Council, was next considered, and a decision reached that it would be better to have the prayer circle first.
...The brethren present now clothed and assembled for prayer using the room of the Apostles, where they have always met to do the business of the Council, in lieu of the First Presidency's room, where the prayer circle was formerly held, but which is not now in readiness.
The hymn "Lord, we come before thee now", was sung; Elder Brigham Young offered the opening prayer, and Elder John W. Taylor was mouth in the circle. After the members of the Council had disrobed, and resumed their ordinary attire, the following business was transacted. ...
Brother Grant now brought to the consideration of the Council the constant efforts that were being made by the Gentiles of Salt Lake City, to draw business southward... [discussion of counter-measuers by moving Z.C.M.I further south]...
[First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes]
125 years ago today - Fri., Nov 16, 1894
[Apostle Abraham H. Cannon]
He [one of the First Presidency] told of the spirit which led away from the Church in early days six of the Twelve Apostles. He said that the Prophet Joseph frequently did peculiar things in order to try those who were about him. One Sunday two Methodist preachers came to visit him in his house. He talked with them for some time, and then took a coal from the ash pan and marked on the floor. He then jumped, and said to one of the brethren present that he could not jump as far. This very much offended his sanctimonious visitors, when he opened out on them and said he merely did it to try them, as he perceived they were visiting him merely to find some sin in him.
When Pres. Woodruff first met him and his brother Hyrum they were coming in from target shooting with pistols, which they held in their hands. Bro. Joseph remarked that he was intending to go up to Missouri, and thought he would have to do some shooting, and wanted first to see if he could hit anything.
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, http://www.amazon.com/Apostles-Record-Journals-Abraham-1889-1896/dp/B000MFD1K4]
He [one of the First Presidency] told of the spirit which led away from the Church in early days six of the Twelve Apostles. He said that the Prophet Joseph frequently did peculiar things in order to try those who were about him. One Sunday two Methodist preachers came to visit him in his house. He talked with them for some time, and then took a coal from the ash pan and marked on the floor. He then jumped, and said to one of the brethren present that he could not jump as far. This very much offended his sanctimonious visitors, when he opened out on them and said he merely did it to try them, as he perceived they were visiting him merely to find some sin in him.
When Pres. Woodruff first met him and his brother Hyrum they were coming in from target shooting with pistols, which they held in their hands. Bro. Joseph remarked that he was intending to go up to Missouri, and thought he would have to do some shooting, and wanted first to see if he could hit anything.
[Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, http://www.amazon.com/Apostles-Record-Journals-Abraham-1889-1896/dp/B000MFD1K4]
155 years ago today - Nov 16, 1864
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
16 Wednesday We Started Early in the morning to return home. Soon After we left Kays word a snow Storm accompanied by a strong Canyon wind Struck us and it was almost impossible for us to travel. It Came near blowing over our Carriages. I was in the lightest Carriage of the Company & it was with the greatest difficulty we Could keep it right side up. It blew 4 small windows out. We finally reached Farmington. President Young stoped with Bishop Hess. J. Taylor G A Smith & myself went to Ezra Clarks & spent the night in the worst gale I Ever Experienced on land in my life. It damaged Ezra Clark some $700 in Blowing off Roofs & blowing away Hay &c. It blew down some Houses & tooke the Roof off from Many. It took the roof off from Bountiful Meeting House. 22.
[Note, Andrew Jenson (a church historian) classified this as a hurricane]
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
16 Wednesday We Started Early in the morning to return home. Soon After we left Kays word a snow Storm accompanied by a strong Canyon wind Struck us and it was almost impossible for us to travel. It Came near blowing over our Carriages. I was in the lightest Carriage of the Company & it was with the greatest difficulty we Could keep it right side up. It blew 4 small windows out. We finally reached Farmington. President Young stoped with Bishop Hess. J. Taylor G A Smith & myself went to Ezra Clarks & spent the night in the worst gale I Ever Experienced on land in my life. It damaged Ezra Clark some $700 in Blowing off Roofs & blowing away Hay &c. It blew down some Houses & tooke the Roof off from Many. It took the roof off from Bountiful Meeting House. 22.
[Note, Andrew Jenson (a church historian) classified this as a hurricane]
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
30 years ago today - Nov 15, 1989
Announced at a priesthood satellite broadcast that all tithing monies collected from local congregations would be sent directly to Church headquarters, and all expenditures of local units would be paid by annual budget allowances from Church tithing funds, ending the established practice of having members pay many local costs. All local budgets were to be funded entirely by tithing, beginning January 1, 1990. Any unit having funds on deposit or in saving accounts were to transfer these funds to the general find of the Church.
[Correlation Timeline, Compiled by Lisle Brown]
[Correlation Timeline, Compiled by Lisle Brown]
40 years ago today - Nov 15, 1979-Thursday
[Leonard Arrington]
We saw an advertisement in Bookcraft's Christmas brochure for Truman Madsen's biography of B. H. Roberts. I went to Carol [Cornwall] Madsen to express delight. Gordon Madsen happened to be with her. He said it may not come out after all. He said that Truman had decided to clear it with the General Authorities before publishing, so he took a copy of the manuscript to Elder [Gordon B.] Hinckley. Brother Hinckley said he would refuse to read it. He just didn't have time and didn't want to be responsible. So he said it should be cleared through President [Spencer W.] Kimball's office. He then gave the copy to President Kimball, who appointed Mark Petersen to read it. I told Gordon it'll never come out. [[Publication was delayed slightly, but the book appeared early in 1980 after Mark E. Petersen deferred to G. Homer Durham's judgment.]]
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
We saw an advertisement in Bookcraft's Christmas brochure for Truman Madsen's biography of B. H. Roberts. I went to Carol [Cornwall] Madsen to express delight. Gordon Madsen happened to be with her. He said it may not come out after all. He said that Truman had decided to clear it with the General Authorities before publishing, so he took a copy of the manuscript to Elder [Gordon B.] Hinckley. Brother Hinckley said he would refuse to read it. He just didn't have time and didn't want to be responsible. So he said it should be cleared through President [Spencer W.] Kimball's office. He then gave the copy to President Kimball, who appointed Mark Petersen to read it. I told Gordon it'll never come out. [[Publication was delayed slightly, but the book appeared early in 1980 after Mark E. Petersen deferred to G. Homer Durham's judgment.]]
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
105 years ago today - Nov 15, 1914
[James E. Talmage]
I was entertained at noon at the home of President Joseph B. Keeler where I met a number of the stake and general officers of the Relief Society; and in the early evening took dinner at the home of Brother Jesse Knight. For the first time I heard from Brother Knight's own lips the account of the answer to his prayers by which he was placed on the road to abundant prosperity; and his statement is in flat contradiction to the many unauthorized rumors of his having received supernatural visitations by which he was directed to hidden ore bodies. His testimony is given in a spirit of humility and a sincerity; and he is very emphatic in saying that he has never received any such 'manifestation' as the promoters of the 'Dream Mine' in Utah county, and the Holton 'Dream Mine' in Boxelder county, profess to have had. ...
[James E. Talmage Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
I was entertained at noon at the home of President Joseph B. Keeler where I met a number of the stake and general officers of the Relief Society; and in the early evening took dinner at the home of Brother Jesse Knight. For the first time I heard from Brother Knight's own lips the account of the answer to his prayers by which he was placed on the road to abundant prosperity; and his statement is in flat contradiction to the many unauthorized rumors of his having received supernatural visitations by which he was directed to hidden ore bodies. His testimony is given in a spirit of humility and a sincerity; and he is very emphatic in saying that he has never received any such 'manifestation' as the promoters of the 'Dream Mine' in Utah county, and the Holton 'Dream Mine' in Boxelder county, profess to have had. ...
[James E. Talmage Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
155 years ago today - Nov 15, 1864
George A. Smith accuses Warren Parrish, from the pulpit of the Ogden Tabernacle, of taking $100,000 out of the vault, buying up everything, and putting the money back before Joseph was aware. Given that $100,000 KSS would only be worth $1,250 of goods at the time (or $2,650 at the best of times), Warren could have done it. This claim is dubious, and odds that someone else would have noticed and mentioned it are high.
[Kirtland Timeline – Kirtland Safety Society, the Bank of Monroe, Temple Dedication, Consecration, and significant historical events related, http://www.exploringmormonism.com/kirtland-timeline-kirtland-safety-society-the-bank-of-monroe-temple-dedication-consecration-and-significant-historical-events-related/]
[Kirtland Timeline – Kirtland Safety Society, the Bank of Monroe, Temple Dedication, Consecration, and significant historical events related, http://www.exploringmormonism.com/kirtland-timeline-kirtland-safety-society-the-bank-of-monroe-temple-dedication-consecration-and-significant-historical-events-related/]
180 years ago today - Nov 15, 1839
The first issue of the Times and Seasons is published at Nauvoo.
[Conkling, Christopher J., Joseph Smith Chronology]
[Conkling, Christopher J., Joseph Smith Chronology]
20 years ago today - Nov 14, 1999
Gorden B. Hinckley dedicated the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple the same day the Regina Saskatchewan Temple was dedicated by President Boyd K. Packer, the first time in Church history two temples were dedicated on the same day
[LDS Newsroom, Time line of Significant Events as President, http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/time-line-of-significant-events-as-president]
[LDS Newsroom, Time line of Significant Events as President, http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/time-line-of-significant-events-as-president]
130 years ago today - Nov 14, 1889 (Thursday)
In the Third District Court, Salt Lake City, the extraordinary proceedings, in which John Moore and other "Mormons" were refused citizenship, on the pretence that they had subscribed to a certain secret and disloyal oath in the Endowment House, was commenced before Judge Thos. J. Anderson. Proceedings were continued day by day until the 25th.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
125 years ago today - Nov 14, 1894
[Apostle Marriner W. Merrill]
Met with the Apostles in our room in the Temple at 10:30 a. m. Discussed the propriety of educating our Elders before sending them on missions, as suggested by John W. Young, who has lived in London the last 3 years. The suggestion was repudiated; it was decided to select the best Elders we could and let them depend on the Lord as formerly. We also had suggestions from Professor Ben Cluff of the B. Y. at Provo offering to educate the Priesthood and make them proficient to preside over Wards, Stakes, and the Saints in general; this was also repudiated.
[Notes from the Miscellaneous Record Book, 1886-1906: Selected diary notes from the journal books of Marriner Wood Merrill, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
Met with the Apostles in our room in the Temple at 10:30 a. m. Discussed the propriety of educating our Elders before sending them on missions, as suggested by John W. Young, who has lived in London the last 3 years. The suggestion was repudiated; it was decided to select the best Elders we could and let them depend on the Lord as formerly. We also had suggestions from Professor Ben Cluff of the B. Y. at Provo offering to educate the Priesthood and make them proficient to preside over Wards, Stakes, and the Saints in general; this was also repudiated.
[Notes from the Miscellaneous Record Book, 1886-1906: Selected diary notes from the journal books of Marriner Wood Merrill, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
130 years ago today - Thursday, Nov 14th 1889
[John Nuttle]
... Prest. L. Snow was of the opinion that Bros. Merrill & Lund and Thatcher could go onto the Stand and testify that there were no such oaths, obligations or covenants required in the Endowments, but if they should be asked what did transpire there they could refuse to answer. Bro. John Henry Smith, asked if there would be any objections to his referring to what is written in the Revelations of St. John in regard to prayer &c. by way of rebuttal. Bro. Snow answered No! that it would be proper for him to do so and that Bros Merrill & Lund could corroberate (sic) that; but that none of the brethren should give any of the Endowments or instructions but refuse to answer questions to that end. ...
[Diary Excerpts of L. John Nuttall, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
... Prest. L. Snow was of the opinion that Bros. Merrill & Lund and Thatcher could go onto the Stand and testify that there were no such oaths, obligations or covenants required in the Endowments, but if they should be asked what did transpire there they could refuse to answer. Bro. John Henry Smith, asked if there would be any objections to his referring to what is written in the Revelations of St. John in regard to prayer &c. by way of rebuttal. Bro. Snow answered No! that it would be proper for him to do so and that Bros Merrill & Lund could corroberate (sic) that; but that none of the brethren should give any of the Endowments or instructions but refuse to answer questions to that end. ...
[Diary Excerpts of L. John Nuttall, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
130 years ago today - Nov 14, 1889
Testimony of John Henry Smith:
Q. I will ask you, Mr. Smith, if, in the course of the administration of the ceremonies there in the Endowment House, there is any covenant or oath or affirmation made by, or required of, those, passing through there, that they will avenge the blood of the prophets on this nation or its people, or against the government of the United States? Has there ever been since you first went through there?
A. I absolutely declare that there was no such oath, or such covenant, no such bond entered into by me, nor did I ever administer such an oath, covenant or bond to any man, that could be construed, by any reasonable construction of language, any way upon the earth, to mean a thing of that kind; and will say here for myself, that had any man presented to me an oath that bound me to become a deliberate enemy of my country that I love and respect, I would have repudiated it upon the spot.
. . .
Q. Weren't the people instructed to pray the Lord to avenge the blood of the prophets, and to teach that to their children and their children's children?
A. I have no remembrance of any such instructions of that positive kind.
Q. Well, that they were instructed to pray to the Lord to avenge the blood of the prophets, wasn't that it?
A. I decline to answer any further questions with regard to that.
Testimony of Heber John Richards:
Q. You say there was no covenant to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation?
A. None that I heard, sir.
Q. What was said about avenging the blood of the prophets?
A. In the fore part of the ceremony [in the Endowment House], in the annointing, they annointed my right arm that it might be strong to avenge the blood of the prophets, but that was all that was said.
Q. What was said about avenging the blood of the prophets, Joseph and Hyrum?
A. Nothing whatever about Joseph and Hyrum, that I recollect—It was just "prophets."
[The Inside of Mormonism, A Judicial Examination of Endowment Oaths Administered in All the Mormon Temples, by the United States District Court for the Third Judicial District of Utah, to Determine Whether Membership in the Mormon Church is Consistent with Citizenship in the United States, https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=6FhqT9uHS-cC pp. 48–49, as quoted in Sources on the Oath of Vengeance or Law of Retribution, Christopher C. Smith, privately circulated]
Q. I will ask you, Mr. Smith, if, in the course of the administration of the ceremonies there in the Endowment House, there is any covenant or oath or affirmation made by, or required of, those, passing through there, that they will avenge the blood of the prophets on this nation or its people, or against the government of the United States? Has there ever been since you first went through there?
A. I absolutely declare that there was no such oath, or such covenant, no such bond entered into by me, nor did I ever administer such an oath, covenant or bond to any man, that could be construed, by any reasonable construction of language, any way upon the earth, to mean a thing of that kind; and will say here for myself, that had any man presented to me an oath that bound me to become a deliberate enemy of my country that I love and respect, I would have repudiated it upon the spot.
. . .
Q. Weren't the people instructed to pray the Lord to avenge the blood of the prophets, and to teach that to their children and their children's children?
A. I have no remembrance of any such instructions of that positive kind.
Q. Well, that they were instructed to pray to the Lord to avenge the blood of the prophets, wasn't that it?
A. I decline to answer any further questions with regard to that.
Testimony of Heber John Richards:
Q. You say there was no covenant to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation?
A. None that I heard, sir.
Q. What was said about avenging the blood of the prophets?
A. In the fore part of the ceremony [in the Endowment House], in the annointing, they annointed my right arm that it might be strong to avenge the blood of the prophets, but that was all that was said.
Q. What was said about avenging the blood of the prophets, Joseph and Hyrum?
A. Nothing whatever about Joseph and Hyrum, that I recollect—It was just "prophets."
[The Inside of Mormonism, A Judicial Examination of Endowment Oaths Administered in All the Mormon Temples, by the United States District Court for the Third Judicial District of Utah, to Determine Whether Membership in the Mormon Church is Consistent with Citizenship in the United States, https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=6FhqT9uHS-cC pp. 48–49, as quoted in Sources on the Oath of Vengeance or Law of Retribution, Christopher C. Smith, privately circulated]
130 years ago today - Nov 14, 1889
[First Presidency Office Journal]
[At a meeting concerning testimony regarding the nature of the oaths of the endowment:] The question of testifying to any of the Endowments or instructions was considered, by some it was 519 thought that the instructions given about praying to the Lord to avenge the blood of the Prophets and referring to the 6th Chapter of revelations 9 & 10th verses as what is prayed for and taught so as to refute the testimony which has been given. would be proper. others thought that it should not be mentioned as fully as it is given &c.
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
[At a meeting concerning testimony regarding the nature of the oaths of the endowment:] The question of testifying to any of the Endowments or instructions was considered, by some it was 519 thought that the instructions given about praying to the Lord to avenge the blood of the Prophets and referring to the 6th Chapter of revelations 9 & 10th verses as what is prayed for and taught so as to refute the testimony which has been given. would be proper. others thought that it should not be mentioned as fully as it is given &c.
[First Presidency Office Journal, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
150 years ago today - Nov 14, 1869
Brigham Young, in the Salt Lake Tabernacle addressed mothers specifically: "Why do you not live so as to rebuke disease? It is your privilege to do so without sending for the Elders ...It is the privilege of a mother to have faith and to administer to her child; this she can do herself, as well as sending for the Elders to have the benefit of their faith."
[Journal of Discourses, 13: 155, as quoted at http://ordainwomen.org/quotes. See Quinn, "Mormon Political Conflicts" for full cite and context.]
[Journal of Discourses, 13: 155, as quoted at http://ordainwomen.org/quotes. See Quinn, "Mormon Political Conflicts" for full cite and context.]
130 years ago today - Nov 14, 1889
[Apostle Heber J. Grant]
There are some lively times in the Court and we hardly know what way to turn. I feel that it is better for us to suffer rather than to allow any of the endowments to be revealed. It is too bad that we should be placed in such a position as we are in today. There is no worse lie on earth than the one that there is something in the Endowments to make a man a traitor to this Nation or that there are any oaths to avenge the blood of the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum Smith on this Nation. ...
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
There are some lively times in the Court and we hardly know what way to turn. I feel that it is better for us to suffer rather than to allow any of the endowments to be revealed. It is too bad that we should be placed in such a position as we are in today. There is no worse lie on earth than the one that there is something in the Endowments to make a man a traitor to this Nation or that there are any oaths to avenge the blood of the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum Smith on this Nation. ...
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
160 years ago today - Nov 14, 1859
Peter Maughan is "Presiding Bishop in Cache Valley." He is among the first, if not the first, of nineteenth-century stake bishops who function in most stakes outside the Salt Lake Stake. This office does not continue in the twentieth century.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
175 years ago today - Nov 14, 1844
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff. <> indicate shorthand, used by Woodruff to obscure entries]
(Nov 14th Thursday + When the destroyer reigns darkness prevails.) [discussion of sickness]
I dreamed of being in Nauvoo. Br Kimball <going to> England. Br Webster, <denied the faith>, my sister Eunice <[left?] in the hands of Elder Young>.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
(Nov 14th Thursday + When the destroyer reigns darkness prevails.) [discussion of sickness]
I dreamed of being in Nauvoo. Br Kimball <going to> England. Br Webster, <denied the faith>, my sister Eunice <[left?] in the hands of Elder Young>.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
170 years ago today - Nov 14, 1849
[Apostle Wilford Woodruff]
During the evening in company with Brother Cannon I Attended one of Le Roy Sunderland Lectures upon Patheism. He had some 10 persons in a state of Clarvoyance And About a dozen asleep And many affected in the first degree. He classes his Mesmerism under 3 degrees 1 2 3 But it is evident in a great measure that his operation are a money making scheme. Those in the third degree are trained subjects And I could free-quently see the Cloven foot manifest.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
During the evening in company with Brother Cannon I Attended one of Le Roy Sunderland Lectures upon Patheism. He had some 10 persons in a state of Clarvoyance And About a dozen asleep And many affected in the first degree. He classes his Mesmerism under 3 degrees 1 2 3 But it is evident in a great measure that his operation are a money making scheme. Those in the third degree are trained subjects And I could free-quently see the Cloven foot manifest.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
105 years ago today - Nov 13, 1914
[James E. Talmage]
Talmage has dinner with Jesse Knight, whom Talmage says denied that he received his wealth by supernatural means, contrary to the beliefs of the promoters of the "Dream Mine."
[Chronology of the Life and Work of James E. Talmage, J. Trevor Antley, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MJsHY83JZL_n6CjWq11y1trT_CVXMMXAx2uYOWAwn0c/edit#heading=h.2zfdaoa]
Talmage has dinner with Jesse Knight, whom Talmage says denied that he received his wealth by supernatural means, contrary to the beliefs of the promoters of the "Dream Mine."
[Chronology of the Life and Work of James E. Talmage, J. Trevor Antley, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MJsHY83JZL_n6CjWq11y1trT_CVXMMXAx2uYOWAwn0c/edit#heading=h.2zfdaoa]
125 years ago today - Nov 13, 1894
The genealogical society of the Church, known as the Genealogical Society of Utah, was organized.
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
130 years ago today - Nov 13, 1889
[Apostle Heber J. Grant]
At seven thirty attended a meeting at the Gardo. The question of how far we would be justified in revealing the secrets of the Endowments to head off the attempts that are being made to show that there are oaths taken in the Endowments that are contrary to those that a good citizen should take was fully and freely talked over, and the general feeling was to say nothing about the endowments in Court and to suffer the consequences no matter what they would be.
[The First Presidency Office Journal entry for this day noted during a court hearing: " ... then Bro[ther] A. D. Thatcher, John Clark, W[illiam] W Riter, E[dwin] G Woolley, Frank Jennings & J H Anderson were asked some questions in point as to oaths & all of whom answered very well & pointedly. Bro[ther] Riter had formed an impression in regard to avenging the blood of the prophets & church when he got his endowments which had continued with him so that he was not clear as to other brethren.]
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
At seven thirty attended a meeting at the Gardo. The question of how far we would be justified in revealing the secrets of the Endowments to head off the attempts that are being made to show that there are oaths taken in the Endowments that are contrary to those that a good citizen should take was fully and freely talked over, and the general feeling was to say nothing about the endowments in Court and to suffer the consequences no matter what they would be.
[The First Presidency Office Journal entry for this day noted during a court hearing: " ... then Bro[ther] A. D. Thatcher, John Clark, W[illiam] W Riter, E[dwin] G Woolley, Frank Jennings & J H Anderson were asked some questions in point as to oaths & all of whom answered very well & pointedly. Bro[ther] Riter had formed an impression in regard to avenging the blood of the prophets & church when he got his endowments which had continued with him so that he was not clear as to other brethren.]
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
70 years ago today - Nov 12, 1949
[Former apostle Richard R. Lyman, Letter to Stephen L Richards (regarding his excommunication for adultry)]
Deep down in my heart I feel as if I had no trial. I think I was in the presence of the Brethren fewer than ten minutes. Brother Joseph Fielding [Smith] said 'We desire to give this serious matter as little publicity as possible' then came that terrible publicity the very next day that was read all over the world. My Michigan classmates (and I had been made president for life of the class of '95) heard it everywhere. My engineering friends, some of them the greatest engineers in the world, began discussing it.
Does it not appear to you to have been a strange way to treat a friend after being in session with him all day under such conditions that at the slightest whisper he could have been held and he would gladly and quickly have explained his conduct. I say does it not seem to have been most unkind to have sent after him, not an automobile full but a bus as large as a streetcar full of armed officers who split and [s]mashed down the door as if they were endeavoring to capture the worse kind of wicked armed and fighting criminal. The Chief of Police, Reed Vetterli, told me immediately afterward that if he had known that I was the one involved he would not have permitted the officers to do it to say nothing of his leading it himself as he did. He was only told that they were after a 'Big Shot.'
More than six years have not passed since this tragic affair happened. Many have forgotten it and I am treated by my school and engineering friends as if nothing had ever happened and many Church people, apparently thinking I was harshly treated, pay me more attention than they ever did before. I went to Midvale [Utah] today to the home of a friend who has lost his wife and the people flocked around like a long lost brother and one woman insisted on my going to her home to see her father and mother. I feel as if I cannot go to any chapel except in my own ward. I never miss my sacrament meeting but of course regret having to refuse to partake of the sacrament.
Now as to my offense. For reasons that seemed to me to justify it I agreed to regard that woman as my wife and she agreed to regard me as her husband. While no written note was made of this agreement at the time the date I feel sure was Nov[ember]. 9, 1925. This relationship had gone on for 18 years in a most quiet way before the publicity of more than six years ago. It seems to me therefore, now that I am nearly 80 years old, and since the Lord knows my heart and all the facts concerning my case, it may be wisest and best, as I stated above, and after these six long years, to wait and let the Lord over there give me what I deserve. ...
If anything could possibly be done, without publicity to induce the Brethren to extend to me the hand of welcome and friendship in the Church Office Building and in our various places of worship that would be the richest blessing I could ask. But having had another wife since Nov. 9, 1925, although not living with her, this is a something that I presume is impossible.
Please regard this letter as personal and confidential. Perhaps after reading it you may think it desirable for us to meet again and discuss some of these things further. Some one has said: 'If a man has not done anything for which he ought to be ashamed or sorry he is not a very bad man.' I hope this is the case with me. Can I ever be forgiven for saying that?
[Richard R. Lyman, Letter to Stephen L Richards, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
Deep down in my heart I feel as if I had no trial. I think I was in the presence of the Brethren fewer than ten minutes. Brother Joseph Fielding [Smith] said 'We desire to give this serious matter as little publicity as possible' then came that terrible publicity the very next day that was read all over the world. My Michigan classmates (and I had been made president for life of the class of '95) heard it everywhere. My engineering friends, some of them the greatest engineers in the world, began discussing it.
Does it not appear to you to have been a strange way to treat a friend after being in session with him all day under such conditions that at the slightest whisper he could have been held and he would gladly and quickly have explained his conduct. I say does it not seem to have been most unkind to have sent after him, not an automobile full but a bus as large as a streetcar full of armed officers who split and [s]mashed down the door as if they were endeavoring to capture the worse kind of wicked armed and fighting criminal. The Chief of Police, Reed Vetterli, told me immediately afterward that if he had known that I was the one involved he would not have permitted the officers to do it to say nothing of his leading it himself as he did. He was only told that they were after a 'Big Shot.'
More than six years have not passed since this tragic affair happened. Many have forgotten it and I am treated by my school and engineering friends as if nothing had ever happened and many Church people, apparently thinking I was harshly treated, pay me more attention than they ever did before. I went to Midvale [Utah] today to the home of a friend who has lost his wife and the people flocked around like a long lost brother and one woman insisted on my going to her home to see her father and mother. I feel as if I cannot go to any chapel except in my own ward. I never miss my sacrament meeting but of course regret having to refuse to partake of the sacrament.
Now as to my offense. For reasons that seemed to me to justify it I agreed to regard that woman as my wife and she agreed to regard me as her husband. While no written note was made of this agreement at the time the date I feel sure was Nov[ember]. 9, 1925. This relationship had gone on for 18 years in a most quiet way before the publicity of more than six years ago. It seems to me therefore, now that I am nearly 80 years old, and since the Lord knows my heart and all the facts concerning my case, it may be wisest and best, as I stated above, and after these six long years, to wait and let the Lord over there give me what I deserve. ...
If anything could possibly be done, without publicity to induce the Brethren to extend to me the hand of welcome and friendship in the Church Office Building and in our various places of worship that would be the richest blessing I could ask. But having had another wife since Nov. 9, 1925, although not living with her, this is a something that I presume is impossible.
Please regard this letter as personal and confidential. Perhaps after reading it you may think it desirable for us to meet again and discuss some of these things further. Some one has said: 'If a man has not done anything for which he ought to be ashamed or sorry he is not a very bad man.' I hope this is the case with me. Can I ever be forgiven for saying that?
[Richard R. Lyman, Letter to Stephen L Richards, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
130 years ago today - Nov 12, 1889
[Apostle Heber J. Grant]
This afternoon at 4 I attended a meeting at the Gardo House. The meeting was called to see what the best action to take would be to head off the efforts that were being made to prevent the members of the church from becoming citizens.
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
This afternoon at 4 I attended a meeting at the Gardo House. The meeting was called to see what the best action to take would be to head off the efforts that were being made to prevent the members of the church from becoming citizens.
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
135 years ago today - Nov 12, 1884
[Lorenzo Saunders Interview regarding Joseph Smith]
... I know it was before Jo. claimed to have taken the plates from the hill Cummorah. And there was some two or three of us traveled that ground over, & we could not find a hole. There was a great raft of them digging for money. E.L.K.
Who was at the head? Mr. S.
Jo. Smith with his peep Stone. I never saw Jo. Smith digging[.] ...
Mr. S.
(Excited) I tell you, sir, I am one of them that saw digging there & I will Swear to it. I am one of them that went & tore the door down to the cave. My Father was in possession & he ordered us to break that door down & put the hole up.--
Benjamin Tabor owned the land at that time. The cave was situated on the East side of the hill. ... I never Saw young Jo. Smith there by the cave. I will tell you I take the evidence from what the old man said respecting that; The old man said: what: Jo. could see in his peep stone what there was in that cave. & the old man said that Joseph could see. [p. 8] E.L.K.
Was it not an account of the stories of there being treasure hidden there by old Spanish Buchaneers? Mr. S.
Well I will tell you they did dig; Willard Chase & Alvin, the one that died. Willard Chase told me about a place; He said he & alvin Smith went there to dig & there was a chest there; and he said it was so large, & so wide (measuring with a cane) It was an iron chest. And he said they dug down & it only lay a little under the ground. I says how did this shovel become broken up like that? Willard Chase then told me; He says Alvin & I went down & found that chest. Willard Chase claimed his sister Sally had a peep stone. The Lord bless you I have seen her peep stone a hundred times; It was a little bit of a stone & it was green & she would hold it before light. After I left there, it was thirty years ago:--after I left there I can not tell you whether the peep stone was used or not[.] When men will come to me & tell me that men can pick stones out of this Earth [sentence incomplete]. as I told Jo. Smith when he dug one out of a well on Chases Farm in the Shape of a baby's foot. They dug that hole for money. Chase's & Smiths altogether was digging it[.] [p. 9] I knew all about the stone; Edmund Chase told me all about it, He lives here now, this side of Kalamazoo. He is a man older than I am[.] his name is Edmund Chase[.] I tell you when a man will come <<tell>> me that any one can get a stone, & see knowledge of futurity, I say that he is a liar & the truth is not in him. Steve Mungou lost his pocket book in the road with some $50. in money in it. He went right to Sally Chase to get her to look & see where it was; She went & looked. He was drawing wood out of the woods. She said that pocket book lays right at the side of a log in the woods where you loaded that wood. It lays right at the side of the log well we went & hunted & raked the ground over where she said but could not find it. It past along & finally one night got a paper from Canadagua [Canandaigua, New York], & in it was that a pocket book was found & taken to an old Ontario Bank[.] Took it there & the owner could come & describe his book. And he went & found his pocket book at the bank. I lost [a] drag tooth out of my drag, dragging on my brothers premises there; I says: Sally, tell me where is that drag tooth? She told me "it lays in a log heap." She says I think it lays a little past you will find it [p. 10]
I went & hunted & hunted but could not find it there. I afterwards found it away over in one corner of the field. Well I was going to tell you about Jo. We went to Smiths one day, it was a rainy day; We went into the old mans shop, he was a cooper, and the old man had a shirt on it was the raggedest & dirtyest shirt, and all full of holes. & we got Jo. Smith to look & tell us what color our Girls hair was. well you see by & by some of them says go to Jo. says he Jo. come look into futurity & tell us how it is there? Jo. says I can not do that, I can not look into futurity I can not look into anything that is holy. The old man stood there and says: "I guess he can not look into my shirt then["] E.L.K.
Do you remember whether Joseph Smith's wife was there when you saw Rigdon? M[r]. S.
I think she was. she used to be frequently at our house but I cant tell certainly for Jo. went down & married her in Penn. she used to be an awful fine pretty girl; she was an intelegent woman. My oldest sister & she used to be very intimate after Joseph was married. Right away after they was married she used to come to our house. My Father died in 1825. [p. 11]
Speaking of the Smith family I gave them credit for everything except Mormonism; They were good neighbors; They were kind neighbors in sickness; & Hiram Smith in particular when my father died he was at our house all the time. He <<& I>> had a brother died and he was as attentive then. They was always ready to bestow anything. The old man was always telling yarns, he would go to turkey shoots & get tight & he would pretend to put spells on their guns & would tell them they could not shoot a turkey. At the time the big hole was dug in the hill they was duped by one Walters who pretended to be a conjurer, I heard Willard Chase say that he was duped. They could not be deceived in it after he had gone through with a certain movements & [-] charged them $7. I seen the old man dig there day in and day out; He was close by. I used to go there & see them work. Joseph Smith never did work. They claim there in that book that Jo. Smith was a great worker. he was a lazy dog, I tell you the truth. He never worked for my brother; because I was there all the time. & Jo. Smith never worked there, & Jo. Smith was a fellow that would not form any acquaintance with anybody [p. 12] much & if he did he would get have conflict. Them days people drank liquor everybody drank whiskey & the Smiths with the rest ... L.S.
... I do not think Joseph Smith ever got any plates or ever had any plates. He got a glass box. I saw where the box was that was all. They claimed it was in that box. Now, if the plates was the thickness of tin the box could not hold one quarter of them. ... it was when Jo. Smith claimed to get the plates. Jo. Smith told the story but he told so many stories, it was a hard thing to get the fact in any way or shape. Now I can tell you what he told to our house respecting this revelation that he had in the very commencement before Alvin died, his brother; Sometime before this he claimed that he saw the Angel & that he was notified of these plates & all that & the time would be made known to him but it was not at that time made known to him but he must take his oldest brother & go <<to>> the spot & he could obtain them. Before that time his oldest brother died. Jo. Smith got that revelation a year or two before that. I do not know as I can tell what year Alvin died in[.] It was in the summer before Alvin died he told it at our house. perhaps Mrs. Smith has got the date of Alvins death in her record. After that Alvin died; Then Joseph said that he saw the angel again; The Angel told him he must go & get him a wife & then he could take his wife & go & get the plates. & he pretended he must get a black horse or a mule to go & get the plates[.] We went there & we examined the hill [p. 16] all over where he claimed to got the plates & we could not find a place that was broke & there was no plates on the ground where the hill was not broke. Robinson said he tried many times to find the hole where he took them out, that is on the west hill it was C cleared off E.L.K.
He claimed he threw it into a brush heap there is trees on the top of the hill & timber on the South side. ...
About the revelation that Joseph had that there was going to be a new Messiah brought into the world, I heard it intimated that Catherine was in a family way. I know nothing about it. I do not know anything about it, says I, this is a very delicate matter to meddle with female characters. E.L.K.
It is Catherine Saulbury now. L.S.
The time they lived there was 1830; She was quite a solid woman at that time. If you have read Tuckers book dont you know it is said that Martin Harris went through the streets claiming they had received a new [r]evelation there was coming out a new Jesus Christ Martin proclaimed one that would open the Eyes of the blind & cause the dum[b] to Speak. I never heard him say so. & on the way to Kirtland that child was born & it was a dead one & it was a she Jesus. It was implicated there at the time it Catherine & I told your brother so. says I it is intimated around that Sidney Rigdon was the origin of that [child][.] [p. 21] says I if you want to go into obscene matters I can tell somethings too. I went to Manchester at a Tavern. The old man Smith got tight there & Blue Brown. And they was always Contending to old Jo. that his Penis was 16 inches long. I told your brother that he climax was [once?][.] it was in a cold day & there their wives sat waiting outside for them & old Jo. & al measuring his drink. And then they had a square, & they measured; so old Jo. believed it was longer[.] so they pushed so hard they pushed it right through the seat of his breeches. I never believed about this there matter that Tucker put in the book, they claimed about the Wm Stafford black s[h]eep.
[Lorenzo Saunders, Interviewed by E. L. Kelley, 12 November 1884, 1-22, E. L. Kelley Papers, "Miscellany," RLDS Church Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri., as cited in Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents: Lorenzo Saunders Interview]
... I know it was before Jo. claimed to have taken the plates from the hill Cummorah. And there was some two or three of us traveled that ground over, & we could not find a hole. There was a great raft of them digging for money. E.L.K.
Who was at the head? Mr. S.
Jo. Smith with his peep Stone. I never saw Jo. Smith digging[.] ...
Mr. S.
(Excited) I tell you, sir, I am one of them that saw digging there & I will Swear to it. I am one of them that went & tore the door down to the cave. My Father was in possession & he ordered us to break that door down & put the hole up.--
Benjamin Tabor owned the land at that time. The cave was situated on the East side of the hill. ... I never Saw young Jo. Smith there by the cave. I will tell you I take the evidence from what the old man said respecting that; The old man said: what: Jo. could see in his peep stone what there was in that cave. & the old man said that Joseph could see. [p. 8] E.L.K.
Was it not an account of the stories of there being treasure hidden there by old Spanish Buchaneers? Mr. S.
Well I will tell you they did dig; Willard Chase & Alvin, the one that died. Willard Chase told me about a place; He said he & alvin Smith went there to dig & there was a chest there; and he said it was so large, & so wide (measuring with a cane) It was an iron chest. And he said they dug down & it only lay a little under the ground. I says how did this shovel become broken up like that? Willard Chase then told me; He says Alvin & I went down & found that chest. Willard Chase claimed his sister Sally had a peep stone. The Lord bless you I have seen her peep stone a hundred times; It was a little bit of a stone & it was green & she would hold it before light. After I left there, it was thirty years ago:--after I left there I can not tell you whether the peep stone was used or not[.] When men will come to me & tell me that men can pick stones out of this Earth [sentence incomplete]. as I told Jo. Smith when he dug one out of a well on Chases Farm in the Shape of a baby's foot. They dug that hole for money. Chase's & Smiths altogether was digging it[.] [p. 9] I knew all about the stone; Edmund Chase told me all about it, He lives here now, this side of Kalamazoo. He is a man older than I am[.] his name is Edmund Chase[.] I tell you when a man will come <<tell>> me that any one can get a stone, & see knowledge of futurity, I say that he is a liar & the truth is not in him. Steve Mungou lost his pocket book in the road with some $50. in money in it. He went right to Sally Chase to get her to look & see where it was; She went & looked. He was drawing wood out of the woods. She said that pocket book lays right at the side of a log in the woods where you loaded that wood. It lays right at the side of the log well we went & hunted & raked the ground over where she said but could not find it. It past along & finally one night got a paper from Canadagua [Canandaigua, New York], & in it was that a pocket book was found & taken to an old Ontario Bank[.] Took it there & the owner could come & describe his book. And he went & found his pocket book at the bank. I lost [a] drag tooth out of my drag, dragging on my brothers premises there; I says: Sally, tell me where is that drag tooth? She told me "it lays in a log heap." She says I think it lays a little past you will find it [p. 10]
I went & hunted & hunted but could not find it there. I afterwards found it away over in one corner of the field. Well I was going to tell you about Jo. We went to Smiths one day, it was a rainy day; We went into the old mans shop, he was a cooper, and the old man had a shirt on it was the raggedest & dirtyest shirt, and all full of holes. & we got Jo. Smith to look & tell us what color our Girls hair was. well you see by & by some of them says go to Jo. says he Jo. come look into futurity & tell us how it is there? Jo. says I can not do that, I can not look into futurity I can not look into anything that is holy. The old man stood there and says: "I guess he can not look into my shirt then["] E.L.K.
Do you remember whether Joseph Smith's wife was there when you saw Rigdon? M[r]. S.
I think she was. she used to be frequently at our house but I cant tell certainly for Jo. went down & married her in Penn. she used to be an awful fine pretty girl; she was an intelegent woman. My oldest sister & she used to be very intimate after Joseph was married. Right away after they was married she used to come to our house. My Father died in 1825. [p. 11]
Speaking of the Smith family I gave them credit for everything except Mormonism; They were good neighbors; They were kind neighbors in sickness; & Hiram Smith in particular when my father died he was at our house all the time. He <<& I>> had a brother died and he was as attentive then. They was always ready to bestow anything. The old man was always telling yarns, he would go to turkey shoots & get tight & he would pretend to put spells on their guns & would tell them they could not shoot a turkey. At the time the big hole was dug in the hill they was duped by one Walters who pretended to be a conjurer, I heard Willard Chase say that he was duped. They could not be deceived in it after he had gone through with a certain movements & [-] charged them $7. I seen the old man dig there day in and day out; He was close by. I used to go there & see them work. Joseph Smith never did work. They claim there in that book that Jo. Smith was a great worker. he was a lazy dog, I tell you the truth. He never worked for my brother; because I was there all the time. & Jo. Smith never worked there, & Jo. Smith was a fellow that would not form any acquaintance with anybody [p. 12] much & if he did he would get have conflict. Them days people drank liquor everybody drank whiskey & the Smiths with the rest ... L.S.
... I do not think Joseph Smith ever got any plates or ever had any plates. He got a glass box. I saw where the box was that was all. They claimed it was in that box. Now, if the plates was the thickness of tin the box could not hold one quarter of them. ... it was when Jo. Smith claimed to get the plates. Jo. Smith told the story but he told so many stories, it was a hard thing to get the fact in any way or shape. Now I can tell you what he told to our house respecting this revelation that he had in the very commencement before Alvin died, his brother; Sometime before this he claimed that he saw the Angel & that he was notified of these plates & all that & the time would be made known to him but it was not at that time made known to him but he must take his oldest brother & go <<to>> the spot & he could obtain them. Before that time his oldest brother died. Jo. Smith got that revelation a year or two before that. I do not know as I can tell what year Alvin died in[.] It was in the summer before Alvin died he told it at our house. perhaps Mrs. Smith has got the date of Alvins death in her record. After that Alvin died; Then Joseph said that he saw the angel again; The Angel told him he must go & get him a wife & then he could take his wife & go & get the plates. & he pretended he must get a black horse or a mule to go & get the plates[.] We went there & we examined the hill [p. 16] all over where he claimed to got the plates & we could not find a place that was broke & there was no plates on the ground where the hill was not broke. Robinson said he tried many times to find the hole where he took them out, that is on the west hill it was C cleared off E.L.K.
He claimed he threw it into a brush heap there is trees on the top of the hill & timber on the South side. ...
About the revelation that Joseph had that there was going to be a new Messiah brought into the world, I heard it intimated that Catherine was in a family way. I know nothing about it. I do not know anything about it, says I, this is a very delicate matter to meddle with female characters. E.L.K.
It is Catherine Saulbury now. L.S.
The time they lived there was 1830; She was quite a solid woman at that time. If you have read Tuckers book dont you know it is said that Martin Harris went through the streets claiming they had received a new [r]evelation there was coming out a new Jesus Christ Martin proclaimed one that would open the Eyes of the blind & cause the dum[b] to Speak. I never heard him say so. & on the way to Kirtland that child was born & it was a dead one & it was a she Jesus. It was implicated there at the time it Catherine & I told your brother so. says I it is intimated around that Sidney Rigdon was the origin of that [child][.] [p. 21] says I if you want to go into obscene matters I can tell somethings too. I went to Manchester at a Tavern. The old man Smith got tight there & Blue Brown. And they was always Contending to old Jo. that his Penis was 16 inches long. I told your brother that he climax was [once?][.] it was in a cold day & there their wives sat waiting outside for them & old Jo. & al measuring his drink. And then they had a square, & they measured; so old Jo. believed it was longer[.] so they pushed so hard they pushed it right through the seat of his breeches. I never believed about this there matter that Tucker put in the book, they claimed about the Wm Stafford black s[h]eep.
[Lorenzo Saunders, Interviewed by E. L. Kelley, 12 November 1884, 1-22, E. L. Kelley Papers, "Miscellany," RLDS Church Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri., as cited in Dan Vogel, Early Mormon Documents: Lorenzo Saunders Interview]
145 years ago today - Nov 12, 1874 (Thursday)
Geo. Q. Cannon was arrested in Salt Lake City, on a charge of polygamy, and placed under $5,000 bonds.
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
100 years ago today - Nov 11,1919
Apostle James E. Talmage attends Third Christian Citizenship Conference in Pittsburgh as delegate chosen by Utah's governor. Utah delegates are booed and hissed by 4,000 other delegates. Talmage hurriedly leaves after some delegates surround him and threaten to strip off his clothes in order to display his temple garments.
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power, Appendix 5, Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1848-1996, http://amzn.to/extensions-power]
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power, Appendix 5, Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1848-1996, http://amzn.to/extensions-power]
165 years ago today - Nov 11, 1854 (Saturday)
Professor Orson Pratt discovered "a new and easy method of solution of the cubic and biquadratic equations."
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
[Jenson, Andrew, Church Chronology]
10 years ago today - 11/10/2009
[Same-Sex Marriage]
LDS Church comes out in favor of anti-discrimination ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah.
[Mormons for Marriage: A Prop 8 Timeline, http://mormonsformarriage.com/?page_id=68]
LDS Church comes out in favor of anti-discrimination ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah.
[Mormons for Marriage: A Prop 8 Timeline, http://mormonsformarriage.com/?page_id=68]
10 years ago today - 11/10/2009
LDS Church comes out in favor of anti-discrimination ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah.
[Mormons for Marriage: A Prop 8 Timeline, http://mormonsformarriage.com/?page_id=68]
[Mormons for Marriage: A Prop 8 Timeline, http://mormonsformarriage.com/?page_id=68]
125 years ago today - Nov 10, 1894
[Apostle Francis M. Lyman]
[Deseret] [Bishop Moody had been called to apologize for challenging Brother Western's vote at election because he was a polygamist living with his wives] [Conference] I taught them upon our status in relation to plural marriage. A man is not an adulterer because he lives with his plural wife. We must protect one another. Never betray a brother. All concluded to do right in the future ... Bro[ther] Grant spoke splendidly for an hour upon the Word of Wisdom and politics. There was much Republicanism in his Democracy.
[Excerpts of Apostle Francis M. Lyman Diaries, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[Deseret] [Bishop Moody had been called to apologize for challenging Brother Western's vote at election because he was a polygamist living with his wives] [Conference] I taught them upon our status in relation to plural marriage. A man is not an adulterer because he lives with his plural wife. We must protect one another. Never betray a brother. All concluded to do right in the future ... Bro[ther] Grant spoke splendidly for an hour upon the Word of Wisdom and politics. There was much Republicanism in his Democracy.
[Excerpts of Apostle Francis M. Lyman Diaries, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
125 years ago today - Nov 10, 1894
[Apostle Francis M. Lyman]
[Deseret] [Bishop Moody had been called to apologize for challenging Brother Western's vote at election because he was a polygamist living with his wives] [Conference] I taught them upon our status in relation to plural marriage. A man is not an adulterer because he lives with his plural wife. We must protect one another. Never betray a brother. All concluded to do right in the future ...
[Excerpts of Apostle Francis M. Lyman Diaries, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
[Deseret] [Bishop Moody had been called to apologize for challenging Brother Western's vote at election because he was a polygamist living with his wives] [Conference] I taught them upon our status in relation to plural marriage. A man is not an adulterer because he lives with his plural wife. We must protect one another. Never betray a brother. All concluded to do right in the future ...
[Excerpts of Apostle Francis M. Lyman Diaries, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
140 years ago today - Nov 10, 1879
I dreamed last night of seeing my Father. He was dressed in white robes. I was myself as were many others. I saw Thomas Bullock the [scribe?] and among other Persons I saw a Number of Gentiles who were our enemies in our midst and I thought they ought not to be with us. I have had a Number of Dreams Lately that seem to have some meaning to them.
I read the following in the Arizona Miner:
"Apostle Wilford Woodruff of the Latter Day Saints x x x recently unbosomed himself to the Mormon Church as follows:
"I will never dishonor my wives & children at the Demand of a Nation Steeped in Sin and ripe for the Damnation of Hell x x x. ..."
I glory in the Epistle & Testimony which I have bourn to all Nation and all the world from which that extract was made and God will hold up my testimony and the testimony of all the righteous. Though the heaven and Earth Pass away The Testimony of inspiration will not Pass away but will all be fulfilled as the Lord liveth.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
I read the following in the Arizona Miner:
"Apostle Wilford Woodruff of the Latter Day Saints x x x recently unbosomed himself to the Mormon Church as follows:
"I will never dishonor my wives & children at the Demand of a Nation Steeped in Sin and ripe for the Damnation of Hell x x x. ..."
I glory in the Epistle & Testimony which I have bourn to all Nation and all the world from which that extract was made and God will hold up my testimony and the testimony of all the righteous. Though the heaven and Earth Pass away The Testimony of inspiration will not Pass away but will all be fulfilled as the Lord liveth.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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