Post by BrentKoivopolo888 on Nov 8, 2021 16:14:07 GMT -6
Chapter 6
Early Efforts to Eradicate Polygamy
From the very beginning, the Lord gave warnings against
the invasion of polygamy into the Church. As early as 1831 He
warned the Saints:
And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing which is had
in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction, in
process of time, and ye knew it not, but now I tell it unto you
. .. And again I say unto you, that the enemy in the secret
chambers seeketh your lives . .. And that ye might escape the
power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous
people, without spot and blameless: wherefore, for this cause
I gave unto you the commandment, that you should go to the
Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law. (RLDS DC 38:4,
6-7; LOS DC 38:13-14, 28, 31-32; italics added)
Polygamy was the "thing" about which the Lord warned the
Saints. It was "had in secret chambers" among the Cochranites
at the time of the Church's beginnings. Also, it almost brought
the Church to "destruction, in process of time." No other factor
nor problem has been so devastating to the Lord's work in these
latter days. Some of the apostles and their friends began to
practice it secretly in the early 1840s (in "secret chambers"), and
they knew it had to be denied and covered with falsehoods.
Therefore, the polygamists banded together and conspired more
and more to cover their secret acts.
In 1831 the Lord commanded the Saints to leave New York
State and move to Ohio, promising that there He would give
them the law by which the Church and Zion would be governed.
There Joseph Smith received the revelation of February 9, 1831,
which is known as the "Law of the Church." And what was the
50
law of the Church concerning polygamy? The revelation included the commandment:
Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shall
cleave unto her and none else; and he that looketh upon a
[another] woman to lust after her, shall deny the faith, and
shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not, he shall be cast
out. (RLDS DC 42:7d; see also verses 20a-c, 22a-e; LDS DC
42:22-23)
In August 1831 God warned the Saints further:
I, the Lord, am not pleased . . I gave commandments and
many have turned away from my commandments and have
not kept them. There were among you adulterers and adulteresses; some of whom have turned away from you, and
others remain with you . .. And verily I say unto you, as I have
said before, He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, or
if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not
have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith. (RLDS DC 63:4-5;
LDS DC 63:12-16; italics added)
So God prohibited polygamy and like practices as early as
1831.
There has never been a greater "mystery" in the Church than
the mystery of polygamy. During Joseph's lifetime writers of
books and reporters throughout the civilized world gave
space to the question of whether or not polygamy was practiced
in the Church. At Nauvoo Joseph stood firmly with his brother,
Hyrum, against polygamy. In contrast, Brigham Young and
his brothers, other relatives and loyal friends, practiced polygamy secretly until it became deeply rooted in the Church at
Nauvoo.
When the extent of the polygamous practices of these
brethren became known to Joseph, he went to Stake President
William Marks and explained to him that charges must be
brought against the offenders so they could be tried before the
Standing High Council, over which Marks presided. But Joseph was martyred before these trials could take place.
51
The Article on Marriage Was Adopted
at Kirtland to Thwart Polygamy
Though most polygamous activities occurred at Nauvoo, a
few cases had happened earlier at Kirtland. That was one reason
why Joseph and the committee which published the Doctrine
and Covenants at Kirtland in 1835 included the article on "Marriage," which said: "Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been
reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and
one woman, but one husband" (DC [1835 Kirtland Edition] CI
[101]: 4). In the 1844 Nauvoo Edition the "Marriage" article is
CIX (109), and in the Liverpool Edition, published by Brigham
Young, Jr., it is CIX (109). The "Marriage" article is Section
111 in the 1950 printing of the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants.
Under Brigham Young's administration in Utah, it was deleted
from that church's Doctrine and Covenants at the time the
document commanding the practice of polygamy (Section 132)
was inserted.
At Kirtland the Seventies Took
Action against Polygamy
Polygamy in the Church prompted the Quorums of Seventy
at Kirtland to publish a statement against that doctrine. The
seventies adopted a resolution which stated, "That we will have
no fellowship whatever with any Elder belonging to the quorums of the Seventies who is guilty of polygamy or any offence
of the kind, and who does not in all things conform to the laws
of the church" (Messenger and Advocate 3 [May 1837]: 511).
The Solomon Freeman Case at Kirtland
There are several examples of a person leaving his or her
spouse when gathering to Church headquarters, and marrying
again without a bill of divorcement. On November 29, 1837,
the Quorum of Elders met at Kirtland and charged Elder Solomon
Freeman with the crime of polygamy. Freeman, who was living
52
with a wife at Kirtland at the time, denied that he had two wives
until he was confronted by witnesses. He then admitted that he
had left a wife in Massachusetts without divorcing her, and had
married another woman (Kirtland Elders' Quorum Record
[January 15, 1836-0ctober 5, 1841], 35).
The Strange Case of
High Priest Aaron Lyon at Far West
The separation of husbands and wives gave rise to some
strange events, as is shown in the case of High Priest Aaron
Lyon and Sarah Jackson. Mrs. Jackson and her husband planned
to gather to the Far West area while the Church was headquartered there. Brother Jackson was detained at Alton, Illinois, but
sent his wife to be with the Saints, after promising that he would
join her as soon as possible. Sister Jackson made her home in
the area of Salemtown, a newly organized community between
Far West and Hauns Mill. It was located on Log Creek,
a tributary of Shoal Creek, two and one-half miles southeast
of the present town of Kingston, Missouri. Prominent in this
settlement were three brothers-Aaron, Charles, and Windsor
Lyon, who, after having been driven from Jackson County in
1833, had founded the village. They had built three cabins, a
blacksmith shop, and a water mill. Soon other Saints moved to
the "Lyon settlement." First it was named Jerusalem; then the
name was shortened to Salem or Salemtown.
Sarah Jackson attended the local branch of the Church
where High Priest Aaron Lyon was pastor. Soon Lyon, whose
wife was deceased, decided that Sister Jackson should be his
wife. Therefore, he gave false revelations to her, which declared that her husband was dead, that it was God's will for
Sarah to marry him, and that she would be miserable if she did
not. Brother Jackson arrived before the wedding date, however,
and the irate husband, upon finding what had happened, preferred
charges against Lyon before the High Council. The record
shows:
Lyon . . was their Presiding High Priest, and had gained
53
to himself great influence in and over that Branch; and it also
appears that this man had great possessions, and . . was in
want of a wife . . consequently he set his wits to work to get
one. He commenced, (as he said), by getting a revelation
from God that he must marry Mrs. Jackson, or that she was the
woman to make his wife; and it appeared that these revelations
were frequently received by him, and shortly introduced to
Mrs. Jackson. It was also manifested that the old man had
sagacity enough to know that unless he used his Priestly
office to assist him in accomplishing his designs, he would
fail in the attempt; he therefore told Mrs. Jackson that he had
had a revelation from God that her husband was dead . . and
that she must consent to marry him, or she would be for ever
miserable; for he had seen her future state of existence, and
that she must remember that whomsoever he blessed would
be blessed, and whomsoever he cursed would be cursed,
influencing her mind, if possible, to believe his power was
sufficient to make her for ever miserable, provided she complied not with his request, &c. Accordingly they came to an
agreement, and were soon to be married; but, fortunately or
unfortunately for both parties, previous to the arrival of the
nuptial-day, behold, to the astonishment of our defendant, the
husband of Mrs. Jackson arrived at home, and consequently
disannulled the preceding contract. . .
[The High] Council decided, that . . he should give up
his license as High Priest, and stand as a member in the
Church; and this in consequence of his being considered
incapable of magnifying that office. (Millennial Star 16
[March 11, 1854]: 148-149; Journal of History 15 [July
1922]: 336-338)
This is an example of how men like High Priest Aaron Lyon
practiced priestcraft-they used their priesthood offices and
power to claim they had revelations from God, in order to lead
trusting, undiscerning Saints such as Sarah Jackson into unlawful marriages.
Joseph Published That the Church
Did Not Believe in Polygamy
There were so many different groups practicing polygamy
54
in America and so much speculation about the doctrine, that
nonmembers assumed that the newly organized Church over
which Joseph Smith presided also practiced it. While Joseph
and other Church leaders were journeying from Kirtland to Far
West in the fall of 1837, they were continually asked by nonmembers if the Church believed in polygamy. Joseph listed
twenty "questions which are daily and hourly asked by all
classes of people whilst we are traveling." One question was,
"Do the Mormons believe in having more wives than one?"
(Elders' Journal 1 [November 1837]: 28). Joseph answered,
"No, not at the same time. But they believe, that if their companion dies, they have a right to marry again" (ibid. [July 1838]:
43). Joseph was the editor of the Elders' Journal, so this statement came directly from him in 1838.
Joseph Denounced Polygamy
While Imprisoned in Liberty Jail
While Joseph was imprisoned in jail at Liberty, Missouri,
reports were circulated by his enemies that he and other imprisoned Church leaders were polygamists. From the prison dungeon
Joseph wrote a letter on December 16, 1839, "To the church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Caldwell county," in which
he denied the polygamy charges. Joseph wrote:
Know assuredly Dear brethren, that it is forthe testimony
of Jesus, that we are in bonds and in prison . ..
Was it for committing adultery'> We are aware that false
and slanderous reports have gone abroad, which have reached
our ears, respecting this thing, which have been started by
renagudoes, and spread by the dissenters, who are extremely
active in spreading foul and libilous reports concerning us;
thinking thereby to gain the fellowship of the world . .. Some
have reported that we not only dedicated our property, but
likewise our families to the Lord, and Satan taking advantage
of this has transfigured it into lasciviousness, a community of
wives [polygamy], which things are an abomination in the
sight of God.
When we consecrate our property to the Lord, it is to
55
administer to the wants of the poor and needy according to the
laws of God, and when a man consecrates or dedecates his
wife and children to the Lord, he does not give them to his
brother or to his neighbor; which is contrary to the law of
God, which says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbors wife." "He that looketh upon a
woman to lust after her has committed adultery already in his
heart."-Now for a man to consecrate his property, his wife
and children to the Lord is nothing more nor less than to feed
the hungry, cloth the naked, visit the widows and fatherless,
the sick and afflicted; and do all he can to administer to their
relief in their afflictions, and for himself and his house to
serve the Lord. In order to do this he and all his house must
be virtuous and shun every appearance of evil. Now if any
person, has represented any thing otherwise than what we
now write they have willfully misrepresented us. (Times and
Seasons 1 [April 1840): 82-85)
Joseph and Hyrum Forbade the
Separating of Spouses When Gathering
The problems occurring as a result of husbands and wives
separating from one another when one of them gathered, continued to plague the Church. The problem escalated at Nauvoo
where thousands from across America, Canada, the British
Isles, and other European countries converged in that city. So
many English Saints migrated that the problem was acute
among them. Joseph Fielding, a convert from England who
gathered to Nauvoo, wrote a letter in which he addressed the
problem of English women gathering to Nauvoo without their
husbands. Fielding wrote to Apostle Parley P. Pratt, president
of the English Mission. The letter revealed:
There is one thing, in particular, I wish to caution the church
against, namely this: some women, whose husbands persecute
them for their religion, desire to come here; now, if such
would lay their case before a council of the church and get a
written statement from the presiding elder of their situation,
so that the church here might know it, they might learn
whether it would be lawful for them to be married again.
56
There has been a case or two of this sort here, which has been
a source of trouble. I would advise no one to come in such a
case without such certificate. (Millennial Star 3 [August
1842]: 78-79)
The Millennial Star soon published a letter from Hyrum and
Joseph Smith, which gave an official ruling on this serious
problem. The letter read:
ADDRESS FROM THE FIRST PRESIDENCY.
Nauvoo.
To our well beloved brother, Parley P. Pratt, and to the
elders of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
England, and scattered abroad throughout all Europe, and
to the Saints,-Greeting:
Whereas, in times past persons have been permitted to
gather with the Saints at Nauvoo, in North America-such as
husbands leaving their wives and children behind; also, such
as wives leaving their husbands and children behind; and
such as women leaving their husbands, and such as husbands
leaving their wives who have no children, and some because
their companions are unbelievers. All this kind of proceeding we consider to be erroneous and for want of proper
information. And the same should be taught to all the Saints,
and not suffer families to be broken up on any account
whatever if it be possible to avoid it. Suffer no man to leave
his wife because she is an unbeliever, nor any woman to leave
her husband because he is an unbeliever. These things are an
evil and must be forbidden by the authorities of the church, or
they will come under condemnation; for the gathering is not
in haste nor by flight, but to prepare all things before you, and
you know not but the unbeliever may be converted and the
Lord heal him; but let the believers exercise faith in God, and
the unbelieving husband shall be sanctified by the believing
wife; and the unbelieving wife by the believing husband, and
families are preserved and saved from a great evil which we
have seen verified before our eyes.
Behold this is a wicked generation, full of lyings, and
deceit, and craftiness; and the children of the wicked are
wiser than the children of light; that is, they are more crafty;
and it seems that it has been the case in all ages of the world.
And the man who leaves his wife and travels to a foreign
nation, has his mind overpowered with darkness, and Satan
deceives him and flatters him with the graces of the harlot,
and before he is aware he is disgraced forever: and greater is
the danger for the woman that leaves her husband. The evils
resulting from such proceedings are of such a nature as to
oblige us to cut them off from the church.
There is another evil which exists. There are poor men
who come here and leave their families behind in a destitute
situation, and beg for assistance to send back after their families. Every man should tarry with his family until providence
provides for the whole, for there is no means here to be
obtained to send back. Money is scarce and hard to be obtained. The people that gather to this place are generally
poor, the gathering being attended with a great sacrifice; and
money cannot be obtained by labour, but all kinds of produce
is plentiful and can be obtained by labour; therefore the poor
man that leaves his family in England, cannot get means,
which must be silver and gold, to send for his family; but must
remain under the painful sensation, that his family must be
cast upon the mercy of the people, and separated and put into
the poorhouse. Therefore, to remedy the evil, we forbid a
man to leave his family behind because he has no means to
bring them. If the church is not able to bring them, and the
parish will not send them, let the man tarry with his familylive with them-and die with them, and not leave them until
providence shall open a way for them to come all together.
And we also forbid that a woman leave her husband because
he is an unbeliever. We also forbid that a man shall leave his
wife because she is an unbeliever. Ifhe be a bad man (i.e. the
unbeliever) there is a law to remedy that evil. And if she be
a bad woman, there is law to remedy that evil. And if the law
divorce them, then they are at liberty; otherwise they are
bound as long as they two shall live, and it is not our prerogative to go beyond this; if we do it, it will be at the expense
of our reputation.
These things we have written in plainness, and we desire
that they should be publicly known, and request this to be
published in the [Millennial] STAR.
May the Lord bestow his blessing upon all the Saints
richly, and hasten the gathering, and bring about the fulness
of the everlasting covenant are the prayers of your brethren.
57
58
Written by Hyrum Smith, patriarch, by the order of
Joseph Smith, president over the whole church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. HYRUM SMITH. (Millennial Star
3 [November 1842]: 115; RLDS History of the Church
2:640-641)
Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and other members of the
Quorum of Twelve Apostles did not heed the direction given by
Joseph and Hyrum in the above letter. They not only separated
wives from husbands, but they took some of the women for their
own plural wives. In fact, at the time Hyrum penned his letter,
Brigham Young had already plurally married two other men's
wives. They were Lucy Ann Decker Seely, who was still married to William Seely; and Augusta Cobb, as previously noted.
Soon other apostles who had served in England and Europe,
along with their relatives and close friends, joined Brigham in
secretly practicing polygamy. Apostle Parley P. Pratt was
among them. After returning to Nauvoo, he secretly married his
first plural wife, Elizabeth Brotherton, on July 24, 1843. She
was a twenty-six-year-old convert from Manchester, England.
All together Apostle Pratt married a total of twelve plural
wives-four were from England and one from Scotland (Pratt,
Autobiography, 462-464).
Whitehead Testified about Joseph's
Conflict with Pratt
Joseph Smith's private secretary at the time of the martyrdom
(June 1844) was High Priest James Whitehead, a convert from
England. He testified that Joseph made a public statement
against Apostle Pratt while preaching from the "Stand." Elder
Whitehead had Joseph's private papers in his possession at the
time of Joseph's death, and he delivered the records to the
Twelve at Winter Quarters in December 1847, as instructed by
the administrator of Joseph's estate (Complainant's Abstract of
Pleading and Evidence [Temple Lot Case], 31). While at Winter Quarters near Omaha, Brother Whitehead saw the depravity
which the polygamous apostles had brought upon the Saints.
Therefore, he took his family to Alton, Illinois, and held himself
59
aloof from all groups until he joined with the RLDS Church
under Joseph Ill's administration. In a sermon he declared:
Did Joseph [Smith] say anything about the church being
led away into this terrible condition [polygamy and other
evils]? He did, and I heard him. One Sunday afternoon after
partaking of the sacrament, Joseph got up and spoke and
said, "Brothers and sisters, I am going to warn you today of things to come. Do not let these things overthrow
you, but be faithful and cleanse yourselves from filthiness
and everything corrupt. Beware of all kinds of iniquity, for
it is in high places."
He then turned around to Parley Pratt, and pointing to
him, said, "Brothers and sisters, if that brother knew what I
know, he would turn around and want my life." ("Supplement,"
Lamoni Gazette [January 1888], 7; Autumn Leaves 1 [May
1888]: 203)
What secret had Joseph discovered-a deed so dark that
Parley would want to take Joseph's life? The dark secret could
have been that Joseph had learned that Parley had taken Elizabeth
Brotherton as his plural wife.
Joseph Called upon Marks to Help
Expel the Polygamists
Joseph was determined that polygamy was not going to continue in the Church. He was standing firmly between the polygamous conspirators and the Church. Standing with the
Prophet were Emma, Hyrum, William Marks, and a few others.
Most of the Saints were unaware of the deadly struggle going on
behind the scenes. Both sides were growing more determined.
When Joseph warned the Saints of iniquity in high places, and
turned and spoke against Parley, he was aware that a conspiracy
existed-that several apostles and others were planning to make
polygamy a practice of the Saints and a doctrine of the Church.
However, Joseph was determined to eradicate polygamy, even
though he realized that his lack of cooperation with the polygamists could cost him his life.
The struggle between the pro-polygamists and Joseph became
60
more and more severe. A few weeks before Joseph's death it
became apparent to him that polygamy could not be eradicated
without bringing the struggle into the open. Therefore, Joseph
went to High Priest William Marks, the president of the Nauvoo
Stake and president of the High Council, as previously noted.
He told Brother Marks that he would bring the polygamists to
trial before the High Council, and that President Marks must
expel them from the Church. Elder Marks later testified:
I met with Brother Joseph. He said that he wanted to converse
with me on the affairs of the church, and we retired by
ourselves. I will give his words verbatim, for they are indelibly stamped upon my mind. He said he had desired for a
long time to have a talk with me on the subject of polygamy.
He said it eventually would prove the overthrow of the
church, and we should soon be obliged to leave the United
States, unless it could be speedily put down. He was satisfied
that it was a cursed doctrine, and that there must be every
exertion made to put it down. He said that he would go
before the congregation and proclaim against it, and I must
go into the High Council, and he would prefer charges against
those in transgression, and I must sever them from the church;
unless they made ample satisfaction. There was much more
said, but this was the substance. The mob commenced to
gather about Carthage in a few days after, therefore there was
nothing done concerning it.
After the Prophet's death, I made mention of this conversation to several, hoping and believing that it would have
a good effect; but to my great disappointment, it was soon
rumored about that Brother Marks was about to apostatize,
and that all that he said about the conversation with the
Prophet was a tissue of lies. (RLDS History of the Church
2:733)
A few weeks after this consultation with Elder Marks,
Joseph was killed and the pro-polygamist apostles gained control of the Church. They continued their polygamous practices
in Nauvoo, and later in Utah, where in 1852 they publicly proclaimed that Joseph had left a polygamous revelation commanding the Church to practice polygamy. They produced a
document, now Section 132 in the LDS Doctrine and Cove-
61
nants, and declared it to be Joseph's revelation-but it will be
seen in later chapters that Joseph had no part in producing it.
If the apostles who went on missions to Europe had stood
with Joseph against polygamy, that doctrine would have been
kept out of the Church. Instead, they were the vehicle through
which it entered-which caused the "mystery which is had in
secret chambers" to almost destroy the Church in the "process
of time."
Early Efforts to Eradicate Polygamy
From the very beginning, the Lord gave warnings against
the invasion of polygamy into the Church. As early as 1831 He
warned the Saints:
And now I show unto you a mystery, a thing which is had
in secret chambers, to bring to pass even your destruction, in
process of time, and ye knew it not, but now I tell it unto you
. .. And again I say unto you, that the enemy in the secret
chambers seeketh your lives . .. And that ye might escape the
power of the enemy, and be gathered unto me a righteous
people, without spot and blameless: wherefore, for this cause
I gave unto you the commandment, that you should go to the
Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law. (RLDS DC 38:4,
6-7; LOS DC 38:13-14, 28, 31-32; italics added)
Polygamy was the "thing" about which the Lord warned the
Saints. It was "had in secret chambers" among the Cochranites
at the time of the Church's beginnings. Also, it almost brought
the Church to "destruction, in process of time." No other factor
nor problem has been so devastating to the Lord's work in these
latter days. Some of the apostles and their friends began to
practice it secretly in the early 1840s (in "secret chambers"), and
they knew it had to be denied and covered with falsehoods.
Therefore, the polygamists banded together and conspired more
and more to cover their secret acts.
In 1831 the Lord commanded the Saints to leave New York
State and move to Ohio, promising that there He would give
them the law by which the Church and Zion would be governed.
There Joseph Smith received the revelation of February 9, 1831,
which is known as the "Law of the Church." And what was the
50
law of the Church concerning polygamy? The revelation included the commandment:
Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shall
cleave unto her and none else; and he that looketh upon a
[another] woman to lust after her, shall deny the faith, and
shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not, he shall be cast
out. (RLDS DC 42:7d; see also verses 20a-c, 22a-e; LDS DC
42:22-23)
In August 1831 God warned the Saints further:
I, the Lord, am not pleased . . I gave commandments and
many have turned away from my commandments and have
not kept them. There were among you adulterers and adulteresses; some of whom have turned away from you, and
others remain with you . .. And verily I say unto you, as I have
said before, He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, or
if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not
have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith. (RLDS DC 63:4-5;
LDS DC 63:12-16; italics added)
So God prohibited polygamy and like practices as early as
1831.
There has never been a greater "mystery" in the Church than
the mystery of polygamy. During Joseph's lifetime writers of
books and reporters throughout the civilized world gave
space to the question of whether or not polygamy was practiced
in the Church. At Nauvoo Joseph stood firmly with his brother,
Hyrum, against polygamy. In contrast, Brigham Young and
his brothers, other relatives and loyal friends, practiced polygamy secretly until it became deeply rooted in the Church at
Nauvoo.
When the extent of the polygamous practices of these
brethren became known to Joseph, he went to Stake President
William Marks and explained to him that charges must be
brought against the offenders so they could be tried before the
Standing High Council, over which Marks presided. But Joseph was martyred before these trials could take place.
51
The Article on Marriage Was Adopted
at Kirtland to Thwart Polygamy
Though most polygamous activities occurred at Nauvoo, a
few cases had happened earlier at Kirtland. That was one reason
why Joseph and the committee which published the Doctrine
and Covenants at Kirtland in 1835 included the article on "Marriage," which said: "Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been
reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and
one woman, but one husband" (DC [1835 Kirtland Edition] CI
[101]: 4). In the 1844 Nauvoo Edition the "Marriage" article is
CIX (109), and in the Liverpool Edition, published by Brigham
Young, Jr., it is CIX (109). The "Marriage" article is Section
111 in the 1950 printing of the RLDS Doctrine and Covenants.
Under Brigham Young's administration in Utah, it was deleted
from that church's Doctrine and Covenants at the time the
document commanding the practice of polygamy (Section 132)
was inserted.
At Kirtland the Seventies Took
Action against Polygamy
Polygamy in the Church prompted the Quorums of Seventy
at Kirtland to publish a statement against that doctrine. The
seventies adopted a resolution which stated, "That we will have
no fellowship whatever with any Elder belonging to the quorums of the Seventies who is guilty of polygamy or any offence
of the kind, and who does not in all things conform to the laws
of the church" (Messenger and Advocate 3 [May 1837]: 511).
The Solomon Freeman Case at Kirtland
There are several examples of a person leaving his or her
spouse when gathering to Church headquarters, and marrying
again without a bill of divorcement. On November 29, 1837,
the Quorum of Elders met at Kirtland and charged Elder Solomon
Freeman with the crime of polygamy. Freeman, who was living
52
with a wife at Kirtland at the time, denied that he had two wives
until he was confronted by witnesses. He then admitted that he
had left a wife in Massachusetts without divorcing her, and had
married another woman (Kirtland Elders' Quorum Record
[January 15, 1836-0ctober 5, 1841], 35).
The Strange Case of
High Priest Aaron Lyon at Far West
The separation of husbands and wives gave rise to some
strange events, as is shown in the case of High Priest Aaron
Lyon and Sarah Jackson. Mrs. Jackson and her husband planned
to gather to the Far West area while the Church was headquartered there. Brother Jackson was detained at Alton, Illinois, but
sent his wife to be with the Saints, after promising that he would
join her as soon as possible. Sister Jackson made her home in
the area of Salemtown, a newly organized community between
Far West and Hauns Mill. It was located on Log Creek,
a tributary of Shoal Creek, two and one-half miles southeast
of the present town of Kingston, Missouri. Prominent in this
settlement were three brothers-Aaron, Charles, and Windsor
Lyon, who, after having been driven from Jackson County in
1833, had founded the village. They had built three cabins, a
blacksmith shop, and a water mill. Soon other Saints moved to
the "Lyon settlement." First it was named Jerusalem; then the
name was shortened to Salem or Salemtown.
Sarah Jackson attended the local branch of the Church
where High Priest Aaron Lyon was pastor. Soon Lyon, whose
wife was deceased, decided that Sister Jackson should be his
wife. Therefore, he gave false revelations to her, which declared that her husband was dead, that it was God's will for
Sarah to marry him, and that she would be miserable if she did
not. Brother Jackson arrived before the wedding date, however,
and the irate husband, upon finding what had happened, preferred
charges against Lyon before the High Council. The record
shows:
Lyon . . was their Presiding High Priest, and had gained
53
to himself great influence in and over that Branch; and it also
appears that this man had great possessions, and . . was in
want of a wife . . consequently he set his wits to work to get
one. He commenced, (as he said), by getting a revelation
from God that he must marry Mrs. Jackson, or that she was the
woman to make his wife; and it appeared that these revelations
were frequently received by him, and shortly introduced to
Mrs. Jackson. It was also manifested that the old man had
sagacity enough to know that unless he used his Priestly
office to assist him in accomplishing his designs, he would
fail in the attempt; he therefore told Mrs. Jackson that he had
had a revelation from God that her husband was dead . . and
that she must consent to marry him, or she would be for ever
miserable; for he had seen her future state of existence, and
that she must remember that whomsoever he blessed would
be blessed, and whomsoever he cursed would be cursed,
influencing her mind, if possible, to believe his power was
sufficient to make her for ever miserable, provided she complied not with his request, &c. Accordingly they came to an
agreement, and were soon to be married; but, fortunately or
unfortunately for both parties, previous to the arrival of the
nuptial-day, behold, to the astonishment of our defendant, the
husband of Mrs. Jackson arrived at home, and consequently
disannulled the preceding contract. . .
[The High] Council decided, that . . he should give up
his license as High Priest, and stand as a member in the
Church; and this in consequence of his being considered
incapable of magnifying that office. (Millennial Star 16
[March 11, 1854]: 148-149; Journal of History 15 [July
1922]: 336-338)
This is an example of how men like High Priest Aaron Lyon
practiced priestcraft-they used their priesthood offices and
power to claim they had revelations from God, in order to lead
trusting, undiscerning Saints such as Sarah Jackson into unlawful marriages.
Joseph Published That the Church
Did Not Believe in Polygamy
There were so many different groups practicing polygamy
54
in America and so much speculation about the doctrine, that
nonmembers assumed that the newly organized Church over
which Joseph Smith presided also practiced it. While Joseph
and other Church leaders were journeying from Kirtland to Far
West in the fall of 1837, they were continually asked by nonmembers if the Church believed in polygamy. Joseph listed
twenty "questions which are daily and hourly asked by all
classes of people whilst we are traveling." One question was,
"Do the Mormons believe in having more wives than one?"
(Elders' Journal 1 [November 1837]: 28). Joseph answered,
"No, not at the same time. But they believe, that if their companion dies, they have a right to marry again" (ibid. [July 1838]:
43). Joseph was the editor of the Elders' Journal, so this statement came directly from him in 1838.
Joseph Denounced Polygamy
While Imprisoned in Liberty Jail
While Joseph was imprisoned in jail at Liberty, Missouri,
reports were circulated by his enemies that he and other imprisoned Church leaders were polygamists. From the prison dungeon
Joseph wrote a letter on December 16, 1839, "To the church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Caldwell county," in which
he denied the polygamy charges. Joseph wrote:
Know assuredly Dear brethren, that it is forthe testimony
of Jesus, that we are in bonds and in prison . ..
Was it for committing adultery'> We are aware that false
and slanderous reports have gone abroad, which have reached
our ears, respecting this thing, which have been started by
renagudoes, and spread by the dissenters, who are extremely
active in spreading foul and libilous reports concerning us;
thinking thereby to gain the fellowship of the world . .. Some
have reported that we not only dedicated our property, but
likewise our families to the Lord, and Satan taking advantage
of this has transfigured it into lasciviousness, a community of
wives [polygamy], which things are an abomination in the
sight of God.
When we consecrate our property to the Lord, it is to
55
administer to the wants of the poor and needy according to the
laws of God, and when a man consecrates or dedecates his
wife and children to the Lord, he does not give them to his
brother or to his neighbor; which is contrary to the law of
God, which says, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou
shalt not covet thy neighbors wife." "He that looketh upon a
woman to lust after her has committed adultery already in his
heart."-Now for a man to consecrate his property, his wife
and children to the Lord is nothing more nor less than to feed
the hungry, cloth the naked, visit the widows and fatherless,
the sick and afflicted; and do all he can to administer to their
relief in their afflictions, and for himself and his house to
serve the Lord. In order to do this he and all his house must
be virtuous and shun every appearance of evil. Now if any
person, has represented any thing otherwise than what we
now write they have willfully misrepresented us. (Times and
Seasons 1 [April 1840): 82-85)
Joseph and Hyrum Forbade the
Separating of Spouses When Gathering
The problems occurring as a result of husbands and wives
separating from one another when one of them gathered, continued to plague the Church. The problem escalated at Nauvoo
where thousands from across America, Canada, the British
Isles, and other European countries converged in that city. So
many English Saints migrated that the problem was acute
among them. Joseph Fielding, a convert from England who
gathered to Nauvoo, wrote a letter in which he addressed the
problem of English women gathering to Nauvoo without their
husbands. Fielding wrote to Apostle Parley P. Pratt, president
of the English Mission. The letter revealed:
There is one thing, in particular, I wish to caution the church
against, namely this: some women, whose husbands persecute
them for their religion, desire to come here; now, if such
would lay their case before a council of the church and get a
written statement from the presiding elder of their situation,
so that the church here might know it, they might learn
whether it would be lawful for them to be married again.
56
There has been a case or two of this sort here, which has been
a source of trouble. I would advise no one to come in such a
case without such certificate. (Millennial Star 3 [August
1842]: 78-79)
The Millennial Star soon published a letter from Hyrum and
Joseph Smith, which gave an official ruling on this serious
problem. The letter read:
ADDRESS FROM THE FIRST PRESIDENCY.
Nauvoo.
To our well beloved brother, Parley P. Pratt, and to the
elders of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
England, and scattered abroad throughout all Europe, and
to the Saints,-Greeting:
Whereas, in times past persons have been permitted to
gather with the Saints at Nauvoo, in North America-such as
husbands leaving their wives and children behind; also, such
as wives leaving their husbands and children behind; and
such as women leaving their husbands, and such as husbands
leaving their wives who have no children, and some because
their companions are unbelievers. All this kind of proceeding we consider to be erroneous and for want of proper
information. And the same should be taught to all the Saints,
and not suffer families to be broken up on any account
whatever if it be possible to avoid it. Suffer no man to leave
his wife because she is an unbeliever, nor any woman to leave
her husband because he is an unbeliever. These things are an
evil and must be forbidden by the authorities of the church, or
they will come under condemnation; for the gathering is not
in haste nor by flight, but to prepare all things before you, and
you know not but the unbeliever may be converted and the
Lord heal him; but let the believers exercise faith in God, and
the unbelieving husband shall be sanctified by the believing
wife; and the unbelieving wife by the believing husband, and
families are preserved and saved from a great evil which we
have seen verified before our eyes.
Behold this is a wicked generation, full of lyings, and
deceit, and craftiness; and the children of the wicked are
wiser than the children of light; that is, they are more crafty;
and it seems that it has been the case in all ages of the world.
And the man who leaves his wife and travels to a foreign
nation, has his mind overpowered with darkness, and Satan
deceives him and flatters him with the graces of the harlot,
and before he is aware he is disgraced forever: and greater is
the danger for the woman that leaves her husband. The evils
resulting from such proceedings are of such a nature as to
oblige us to cut them off from the church.
There is another evil which exists. There are poor men
who come here and leave their families behind in a destitute
situation, and beg for assistance to send back after their families. Every man should tarry with his family until providence
provides for the whole, for there is no means here to be
obtained to send back. Money is scarce and hard to be obtained. The people that gather to this place are generally
poor, the gathering being attended with a great sacrifice; and
money cannot be obtained by labour, but all kinds of produce
is plentiful and can be obtained by labour; therefore the poor
man that leaves his family in England, cannot get means,
which must be silver and gold, to send for his family; but must
remain under the painful sensation, that his family must be
cast upon the mercy of the people, and separated and put into
the poorhouse. Therefore, to remedy the evil, we forbid a
man to leave his family behind because he has no means to
bring them. If the church is not able to bring them, and the
parish will not send them, let the man tarry with his familylive with them-and die with them, and not leave them until
providence shall open a way for them to come all together.
And we also forbid that a woman leave her husband because
he is an unbeliever. We also forbid that a man shall leave his
wife because she is an unbeliever. Ifhe be a bad man (i.e. the
unbeliever) there is a law to remedy that evil. And if she be
a bad woman, there is law to remedy that evil. And if the law
divorce them, then they are at liberty; otherwise they are
bound as long as they two shall live, and it is not our prerogative to go beyond this; if we do it, it will be at the expense
of our reputation.
These things we have written in plainness, and we desire
that they should be publicly known, and request this to be
published in the [Millennial] STAR.
May the Lord bestow his blessing upon all the Saints
richly, and hasten the gathering, and bring about the fulness
of the everlasting covenant are the prayers of your brethren.
57
58
Written by Hyrum Smith, patriarch, by the order of
Joseph Smith, president over the whole church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. HYRUM SMITH. (Millennial Star
3 [November 1842]: 115; RLDS History of the Church
2:640-641)
Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and other members of the
Quorum of Twelve Apostles did not heed the direction given by
Joseph and Hyrum in the above letter. They not only separated
wives from husbands, but they took some of the women for their
own plural wives. In fact, at the time Hyrum penned his letter,
Brigham Young had already plurally married two other men's
wives. They were Lucy Ann Decker Seely, who was still married to William Seely; and Augusta Cobb, as previously noted.
Soon other apostles who had served in England and Europe,
along with their relatives and close friends, joined Brigham in
secretly practicing polygamy. Apostle Parley P. Pratt was
among them. After returning to Nauvoo, he secretly married his
first plural wife, Elizabeth Brotherton, on July 24, 1843. She
was a twenty-six-year-old convert from Manchester, England.
All together Apostle Pratt married a total of twelve plural
wives-four were from England and one from Scotland (Pratt,
Autobiography, 462-464).
Whitehead Testified about Joseph's
Conflict with Pratt
Joseph Smith's private secretary at the time of the martyrdom
(June 1844) was High Priest James Whitehead, a convert from
England. He testified that Joseph made a public statement
against Apostle Pratt while preaching from the "Stand." Elder
Whitehead had Joseph's private papers in his possession at the
time of Joseph's death, and he delivered the records to the
Twelve at Winter Quarters in December 1847, as instructed by
the administrator of Joseph's estate (Complainant's Abstract of
Pleading and Evidence [Temple Lot Case], 31). While at Winter Quarters near Omaha, Brother Whitehead saw the depravity
which the polygamous apostles had brought upon the Saints.
Therefore, he took his family to Alton, Illinois, and held himself
59
aloof from all groups until he joined with the RLDS Church
under Joseph Ill's administration. In a sermon he declared:
Did Joseph [Smith] say anything about the church being
led away into this terrible condition [polygamy and other
evils]? He did, and I heard him. One Sunday afternoon after
partaking of the sacrament, Joseph got up and spoke and
said, "Brothers and sisters, I am going to warn you today of things to come. Do not let these things overthrow
you, but be faithful and cleanse yourselves from filthiness
and everything corrupt. Beware of all kinds of iniquity, for
it is in high places."
He then turned around to Parley Pratt, and pointing to
him, said, "Brothers and sisters, if that brother knew what I
know, he would turn around and want my life." ("Supplement,"
Lamoni Gazette [January 1888], 7; Autumn Leaves 1 [May
1888]: 203)
What secret had Joseph discovered-a deed so dark that
Parley would want to take Joseph's life? The dark secret could
have been that Joseph had learned that Parley had taken Elizabeth
Brotherton as his plural wife.
Joseph Called upon Marks to Help
Expel the Polygamists
Joseph was determined that polygamy was not going to continue in the Church. He was standing firmly between the polygamous conspirators and the Church. Standing with the
Prophet were Emma, Hyrum, William Marks, and a few others.
Most of the Saints were unaware of the deadly struggle going on
behind the scenes. Both sides were growing more determined.
When Joseph warned the Saints of iniquity in high places, and
turned and spoke against Parley, he was aware that a conspiracy
existed-that several apostles and others were planning to make
polygamy a practice of the Saints and a doctrine of the Church.
However, Joseph was determined to eradicate polygamy, even
though he realized that his lack of cooperation with the polygamists could cost him his life.
The struggle between the pro-polygamists and Joseph became
60
more and more severe. A few weeks before Joseph's death it
became apparent to him that polygamy could not be eradicated
without bringing the struggle into the open. Therefore, Joseph
went to High Priest William Marks, the president of the Nauvoo
Stake and president of the High Council, as previously noted.
He told Brother Marks that he would bring the polygamists to
trial before the High Council, and that President Marks must
expel them from the Church. Elder Marks later testified:
I met with Brother Joseph. He said that he wanted to converse
with me on the affairs of the church, and we retired by
ourselves. I will give his words verbatim, for they are indelibly stamped upon my mind. He said he had desired for a
long time to have a talk with me on the subject of polygamy.
He said it eventually would prove the overthrow of the
church, and we should soon be obliged to leave the United
States, unless it could be speedily put down. He was satisfied
that it was a cursed doctrine, and that there must be every
exertion made to put it down. He said that he would go
before the congregation and proclaim against it, and I must
go into the High Council, and he would prefer charges against
those in transgression, and I must sever them from the church;
unless they made ample satisfaction. There was much more
said, but this was the substance. The mob commenced to
gather about Carthage in a few days after, therefore there was
nothing done concerning it.
After the Prophet's death, I made mention of this conversation to several, hoping and believing that it would have
a good effect; but to my great disappointment, it was soon
rumored about that Brother Marks was about to apostatize,
and that all that he said about the conversation with the
Prophet was a tissue of lies. (RLDS History of the Church
2:733)
A few weeks after this consultation with Elder Marks,
Joseph was killed and the pro-polygamist apostles gained control of the Church. They continued their polygamous practices
in Nauvoo, and later in Utah, where in 1852 they publicly proclaimed that Joseph had left a polygamous revelation commanding the Church to practice polygamy. They produced a
document, now Section 132 in the LDS Doctrine and Cove-
61
nants, and declared it to be Joseph's revelation-but it will be
seen in later chapters that Joseph had no part in producing it.
If the apostles who went on missions to Europe had stood
with Joseph against polygamy, that doctrine would have been
kept out of the Church. Instead, they were the vehicle through
which it entered-which caused the "mystery which is had in
secret chambers" to almost destroy the Church in the "process
of time."