[David O. McKay]
Attention was called to the application of Sister I--- R------- P----- for permission to do the sealing work in the Temple for her father, Joseph E. Robinson, and his three wives. ... Attention was also called to a ruling made by me on March 3, 1964, [that] * "in the case of polygamous marriages performed in Mexico before the Manifesto, and there [is] no official record, the work should be done again." ... I stated that if the polygamous marriage took place prior to the state ment by President Joseph F. Smith in 1904 to the effect that polygamous marriages could not be solemnized anywhere in the world, * the work could be performed for the parties concerned or the President of the Church could ratify the marriages that had been performed. It was agreed that the simpler way would be to ratify the marriages * We reversed the decision made in our meeting of March 23, 1966, and ruled that it would be inadvisable to ratify purported sealings performed for Joseph E. Robinson and three women. In giving this matter further consideration, we had in mind that were the Church to adopt the policy of ratifying polygamous marriages that took place prior to the announcement by President Joseph F. Smith in 1904 * it would let down the flood gates and descendants of many polygamous marriages performed after the Manifesto would make application for permission to have the purported sealings of their parents or grandparents ratified, and perhaps in some cases where the individuals entering into these relationships have been excommunicated from the Church, there would be individuals such as cultists and others. The former action was therefore rescinded and it was decided to notify Sister I--- R------- P----- that the case of Joseph E. Robinson and the three women referred to would have to be left in the hands of the Lord for decision by Him in the Hereafter.
[David O. McKay diary, Mar. 23, Apr. 12, 1966; hyphens added to conceal the individual's identity, in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
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