The Council of Friends (also known as the Woolley Group and the Priesthood Council ) was one of the original expressions of Mormon fundamentalism , having its origins in the teachings of Lorin C. Woolley , a courier and bodyguard for polygamous leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), who was excommunicated in 1924.
150-420: The LDS Church openly practiced plural marriage from 1852 and went through a series of legal battles with the U.S. government, and eventually ended the practice in 1890 . Sometime before 1920, Woolley taught that LDS Church President John Taylor had set apart five men, including himself and his father John W. Woolley , to ensure that the practice of polygamy would continue into perpetuity even if abandoned by
300-614: A " Second Manifesto ", calling for all polygamous marriages in the church to cease, and established excommunication as the consequence for those who disobeyed. Several small "fundamentalist" groups, seeking to continue the practice, split from the LDS Church, including the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB) and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church). Meanwhile,
450-690: A "home mission" to reactivate lapsed members and call them to repentance, preaching for a renewed commitment to religion throughout the Mormon Reformation . During the time of the Utah War , he moved his family south to Provo in April 1858; they moved back to Salt Lake City in July. During this time there were no public worship services in Salt Lake City, and Woodruff and the other members of
600-405: A case. Under LDS Church policy, a man whose sealed wife has died does not have to request any permission beyond having a current temple recommend and an interview with his bishop to get final permission for a living ordinance, to be married in the temple and sealed to another woman, unless the new wife's circumstance requires a cancellation of sealing. However, a woman whose sealed husband has died
750-562: A copy for his files. In his Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , B. H. Roberts wrote that Woodruff's record was a "priceless" documentary of the discourses of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Woodruff's diaries are featured prominently in Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's book, A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women's Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835-1870 . Woodruff
900-437: A course that seemed to be agonizingly more and more clear. As he explained to church members a year later, the choice was between, on the one hand, continuing to practice polygamy and thereby losing the temples , "stopping all the ordinances therein" and, on the other, ceasing to practice polygamy in order to continue performing the essential ordinances for the living and the dead. Woodruff hastened to add that he had acted only as
1050-403: A deathbed affidavit telling her she was Smith's daughter. LDS Church president Brigham Young had 51 wives, and 56 children by 16 of those wives. LDS Church apostle Heber C. Kimball had 43 wives, and had 65 children by 17 of those wives. Mormons responded to polygamy with mixed emotions. One historian notes that Mormon women often struggled with the practice and a belief in the divinity of
1200-564: A dress and sunbonnet as a disguise. He was able to visit Phebe before her death on November 9, 1885, but fearing arrest, did not attend her funeral, instead watching it from the president's office. After Phebe's death, he lived at Emma's house or with friends. After the death of John Taylor in July 1887, Woodruff assumed leadership of the church as the senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles . Woodruff wanted to reorganize
1350-418: A few hours after birth in 1878. Although Woodruff and Mary Ann Jackson were divorced, he provided a home for her and sent money to her to support her and their son, James. James came to live with Woodruff as a young man in 1863. Among Woodruff's children was church apostle Abraham O. Woodruff . Woodruff's daughter Phebe was sealed as a wife to Lorenzo Snow in 1859. During Woodruff's time as president of
1500-514: A flour mill for his aunt, and after three years, operated mills for other people until moving to Richland, New York , with his brother, Azmon, in 1832. During his time as a mill operator, he studied religion and became interested in Restorationism. Woodruff had his local Baptist minister, Mr. Phippen, baptize him without making him a member of the local congregation. Woodruff joined Smith's original Church of Christ on December 31, 1833. He
1650-780: A geneticist with the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation stated that they had shown "with 99.9 percent accuracy" that five of these individuals were in fact not Smith descendants: Mosiah Hancock (son of Clarissa Reed Hancock), Oliver Buell (son of Prescindia Huntington Buell), Moroni Llewellyn Pratt (son of Mary Ann Frost Pratt), Zebulon Jacobs (son of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith ), and Orrison Smith (son of Fanny Alger ). The remaining seven have yet to be conclusively tested, including Josephine Lyon, for whom current DNA testing using mitochondrial DNA cannot provide conclusive evidence either way. Lyon's mother, Sylvia Sessions Lyon, left her daughter
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#17328026263931800-534: A handful of followers to the small ranching town of Short Creek in the Arizona Strip (now Colorado City, Arizona , and Hildale, Utah ), with the express purpose of building "a branch of the Kingdom of God." Barlow believed that the isolated Creek could provide a place of refuge for those engaging in the covert practice of polygamy, a felony ; within a month, the town's population more than doubled. After
1950-423: A house for Sarah in 1872. Woodruff bought new mowers and rakes, which he used at both Randolph farm and his Salt Lake City farm in 1873. He built a house for Delight in 1876 in Salt Lake City. He helped his older sons, Wilford Jr. and David Patten, with their own farming businesses. Phebe was still Woodruff's most visible wife, appearing with him in public. Beginning in 1877, Woodruff was the first president of
2100-407: A marriage ceremony had taken place (only that a couple had lived together), was a misdemeanor punishable by a $ 300 fine and six months imprisonment. It also revoked the right of polygamists to vote or hold office and allowed them to be punished without due process. Even if people did not practice polygamy, they would have their rights revoked if they confessed a belief in it. In August, Rudger Clawson
2250-790: A member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. He was ordained at Far West, Missouri, in April 1839 where the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve had traveled. He suffered from malaria in Commerce, Missouri, during the July epidemic. In 1839, he and John Taylor were the first two apostles to leave from the Nauvoo/Montrose area to go on missions to Britain. He spent over a month in the Staffordshire Potteries and then traveled to Herefordshire, where he preached to members of
2400-832: A member of the Relief Society General Board from 1892 to 1910. Woodruff spent more time with Emma's children than his children from other wives. He corresponded most frequently with Emma's and Phebe's children, giving them advice on living a virtuous life and saving money. He built homes for his wives, and he sent money to his wives and children, probably based on their individual needs. In the 1880s, Woodruff met Lydia Mary Olive Mamreoff von Finkelstien Mountford, who grew up Christian in Jerusalem. Woodruff and Mountford became friends, and she spent time with Woodruff's family at their summer home. While historian D. Michael Quinn and others have speculated that Mountford
2550-788: A member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Woodruff was dedicated to the Latter Day Saint Church, which distanced him from his family, who did not believe in the church. He returned to Kirtland in November 1836, where he studied Latin and Greek grammar at the Kirtland School, a school for adult education, which met in the attic of the Kirtland Temple . In January 1837, Smith called Woodruff to join
2700-580: A missionary, preaching in Arkansas and Tennessee before returning to Kirtland. He married his first wife, Phebe, that year and served a mission in New England. Smith called Woodruff to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in July 1838, and he was ordained in April 1839. Woodruff served a mission in England from August 1839 until April 1841, leading converts from England to Nauvoo . Woodruff
2850-533: A newly appointed territorial governor to replace Brigham Young, dispatched 2,500 federal troops to Utah to seat the new governor, thus setting in motion a series of misunderstandings in which the Mormons felt threatened. In 1862, the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act became law. The Act criminalized the practice of polygamy, unincorporated the church, and limited the church's real estate holdings. The Act
3000-468: A party from Salt Lake City arrived on October 8. Woodruff's group arrived in the valley on October 15. Woodruff initially focused on building cabins, farming, and grazing his cattle. He experimented with different varieties of wheat. He sold goods from outside of Utah in a retail store. His efforts were not successful, and he focused on farming and herding in 1856. In 1852, Woodruff began serving as church historian . Phebe gave birth to Bulah in 1851 and to
3150-723: A place to settle, leaving his family in Winter Quarters. Woodruff suffered various ailments, as did most of the other migrants. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24 and immediately planted crops. Woodruff learned to fly fish in England, and his 1847 journal account of his fishing in the East Fork River is the earliest known account of fly fishing west of the Mississippi River . Woodruff returned to Winter Quarters that October 31; Phebe
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#17328026263933300-481: A policy that heirs should request in writing for others to perform temple work for their relatives. Woodruff spent his 70th birthday working in the temple in 1877. 154 women from St. George performed temple ordinances vicariously for women who "had previously been sealed to [Woodruff] vicariously" and those who were related to him, Thompson, or the Hart families. Two years earlier, in 1875, Woodruff performed baptisms for
3450-605: A political office. Republican leaders connected Smith's statements with Thatcher and Roberts's political activity and used it to criticize the Democratic Party. Smith's remarks became controversial, with some members calling for the church to not interfere in politics, and with others supporting Smith's position. In response, Woodruff published a statement where he stated that the church did not wish to interfere with members' political endeavors. In December 1895, Woodruff said that Thatcher and Roberts would not be presented for
3600-548: A prominent leader in the church, was denied a non-voting seat in the U.S. House of Representatives due to his polygamous relations. This revived the issue of polygamy in national politics. One month later, the Edmunds Act was passed by Congress, amending the Morrill Act and made polygamy a felony punishable by a $ 500 fine and five years in prison. "Unlawful cohabitation", in which the prosecution did not need to prove that
3750-434: A second wife. A deceased woman may also be sealed to multiple men, but only through vicarious sealing if they are also deceased. In the case where a man's first wife dies, and the man remarries, and both of the marriages involve a sealing , LDS authorities teach that in the afterlife, the man will enter a polygamous relationship with both wives. Current apostles Russell M. Nelson and Dallin H. Oaks are examples of such
3900-803: A single prophet in the 1980s. Other fundamentalist groups led by a Priesthood Council include the Centennial Park group , the Latter Day Church of Christ (Kingston Group), and the Righteous Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Peterson Group). The authority of the Council of Friends pertained to the Priesthood and not to the church, early Mormon fundamentalists, most of whom had been excommunicated from
4050-464: A son who died shortly after birth in 1853. Wilford adopted an orphaned Paiute boy named Moroni Bosnel in 1855. He also purchased a 6-year-old Paiute boy; it is unclear if the boy was part of the household as a slave or a son. An adopted son named Saroquetes helped Wilford Jr. manage day-to-day ranching duties in the 1850s and 1860s. Woodruff served multiple terms in the Utah territorial legislature . He
4200-507: A year later. In 1853, he was sealed to two more women, Emma Smith, age 15, and Sarah Brown, age 19. Sarah bore a son the following year, but Emma did not bear any children until she was 19. Emma's first child died at age 13 months, and her fourth child, born in 1867, died soon after birth. In 1857, Brigham Young sealed Sarah Delight Stocking to Woodruff. Delight's third child died as an infant in 1869. In 1877, Young sealed his daughter, Eudora Lovina Young Dunford, to Woodruff. Their child died
4350-462: Is still bound by the original sealing and must request a cancellation of sealing to be sealed to another man (see next paragraph for exception to this after she dies). In some cases, women in this situation who wish to remarry choose to be married to a subsequent husband and are not sealed to them, leaving them sealed to their first husband for eternity. Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807 – September 2, 1898)
4500-611: Is the most moral form of marriage. Polygamy was sometimes explained as a way to prevent men from falling into sexual temptation, while monogamy was immoral and increased the likelihood of sexual temptation. Some who practiced polygamy defended it as a religious practice that was taught in the Bible. Top leaders used the examples of the polygamy of God the Father and Jesus Christ in defense of it and these teachings on God and Jesus' polygamy were widely accepted among Latter-day Saints by
4650-735: The Anointed Quorum . In May 1844, Woodruff left on another trip to preach and promote Joseph Smith's presidential campaign. News of Smith's death reached Woodruff on July 9, and fellow apostles returned to Nauvoo in August. The apostles called Woodruff and Phebe to serve in England. They left Nauvoo in August 1844, leaving their eldest child with a family in Nauvoo. They left their three-year-old with Phebe's parents in Maine, bringing their one-year-old with them to England. Woodruff worked to square
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4800-515: The Edmunds Act . In 1889, Woodruff became the fourth president of the LDS Church. After government disenfranchisement of polygamists and women in Utah Territory and seizure of church properties, which threatened to extend to temples, Woodruff ended the church's official support of new polygamous marriages in the 1890 Manifesto . Woodruff died in 1898 and his detailed journals provide an important record of Latter Day Saint history. Woodruff
4950-540: The Endowment House in Salt Lake City, but the proxy endowments for these men were first done in the St. George Temple. Woodruff also compiled lists of notable men and women, for whom he performed vicarious temple work with the help of Lucy Bigelow Young. After Brigham Young's death in August 1877, John Taylor became the new president of the church, and Woodruff became president of the Twelve Apostles. Woodruff chaired
5100-512: The Genealogical Society of Utah to help church members complete generational sealings. In Wilford's 1894 address, he also stated that widows could be sealed to their deceased husbands, even if their husbands had never heard the gospel. Woodruff stated that this change in practice was not a change in doctrine, since Joseph Smith had referred to a welding link between fathers and their children. Woodruff also encouraged presidents of
5250-604: The Relief Society , encouraged by its president, Emma Smith , also wrote their experiences that disproved Bennett's statements. They also began a petition in support of Joseph Smith's character which they delivered to the Governor of Illinois. Mormon polygamy was one of the leading moral issues of the 19th Century in the United States, perhaps second only to slavery in importance. Spurred by popular indignation,
5400-577: The Smoot hearings made it clear that polygamy had not been completely extinguished. The ambiguity was ended in the General Conference of April 1904, when Smith issued the " Second Manifesto ", an emphatic declaration that prohibited new polygamous marriages and proclaimed that offenders would be subject to church discipline . It declared that any who participated in additional plural marriages, and those officiating, would be excommunicated from
5550-477: The St. George Temple . This was the first temple in which the endowment ordinances were performed for the dead as well as for the living. Under the direction of Brigham Young , Woodruff was key in implementing endowments for the dead in the temple, in standardizing the ceremonies, and in giving various sermons to encourage broader understanding of the program. Woodruff helped John D. T. McAllister with writing parts of
5700-642: The United Brethren . Almost all of the members of the United Brethren converted to Mormonism. Outside of London, the missionary work in England was successful, and by August 1840, there were around 800 members, with local members acting as leadership and proselyting missionaries. Preaching in London was difficult, and Woodruff had dreams about serpents attacking him before he and his companions were able to baptize 49 people. Many converts left to join
5850-766: The Utah Sugar Company at Lehi. The company was not successful and created over $ 300,000 in debt for the Church. The church also supported local industries like coal and iron mining, the Saltair resort, and the state's first hydroelectric generating facility. The church completed and dedicated the Manti and Salt Lake temples during his tenure. Woodruff also established Bannock Academy in Rexburg, Idaho , which later became Ricks College and Brigham Young University–Idaho . Moses Thatcher and B. H. Roberts attended
6000-528: The 1895 state constitutional convention as Democrats. Both were general authorities of the church. Roberts opposed women's suffrage, while Woodruff and the First Presidency supported it. Thatcher had issues with chronic ulcers and a morphine addiction, and in the rare times when he was in good health, he often failed to attend meetings. Thatcher ran as the Democratic Party's nominee for senate. Heber J. Grant said that Thatcher should have consulted with
6150-505: The 1940s and 1950s. In 1943, the First Presidency learned that apostle Richard R. Lyman was cohabitating with a woman other than his legal wife. As it turned out, in 1925 Lyman had begun a relationship which he defined as a polygamous marriage. Unable to trust anyone else to officiate, Lyman and the woman exchanged vows secretly. By 1943, both were in their seventies. Lyman was excommunicated on November 12, 1943. The Quorum of
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6300-528: The 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy ) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families. Polygamy among Latter-day Saints has been controversial, both in Western society and within
6450-461: The 2006 course of study in the LDS Church's Sunday Relief Society and Melchizedek priesthood classes. Throughout his life, Woodruff believed that the Second Coming of Jesus and a cataclysmic end of the world was imminent. On August 23, 1868, Woodruff preached a sermon in which he famously prophesied that New York City would be "destroyed by an earthquake"; Boston would be "swept into
6600-678: The East Coast. He organized branches, preached, and resolved conflicts. In 1849, Phebe's father and a sister joined the church. Woodruff led 200 members in traveling west, starting in February 1850. They arrived in Nebraska in May 1850, where the price of oxen and their drivers was steep. The trail was heavily grazed by other travelers, leaving little food for their oxen and half died. Woodruff sent word to Brigham Young that his party needed oxen, and
6750-503: The FLDS Church) continues to practice polygamy. Although the LDS Church has abandoned the practice of plural marriage, it has not abandoned the underlying doctrines of polygamy. It is still the practice of monogamous Mormon couples to be sealed to one another. However, in some circumstances, men and women may be sealed to multiple spouses. Most commonly, a man may be sealed to multiple wives: if his first wife dies, he may be sealed to
6900-476: The First Presidency before accepting a political nomination. All members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve signed the document, except for Thatcher. The First Presidency agreed to drop Thatcher's name from the sustaining vote portion of general conference. Thatcher publicized his side of the dispute in a note in The Salt Lake Tribune . Church leaders asked for sustaining votes for
7050-464: The First Presidency right away, continuing with George Q. Cannon as first counselor. Other members of the Quorum took this opportunity to raise grievances against Cannon, stating that he had defended his son John Q. too vigorously during his excommunication, to the point of hiding his crimes. The Twelve Apostles with Woodruff as its president presided over the church until the Quorum came to an agreement in April 1889. After George Q. Cannon apologized to
7200-399: The First Presidency suggested issuing another manifesto to tell polygamous men from associating with plural wives, Woodruff said that a man who neglected his wives and children could face church discipline. Law professor Kenneth L. Cannon II states that Woodruff's intent with the 1890 Manifesto was to stop the creation of more plural marriages but allow existing ones to continue. The judge in
7350-526: The First Quorum of the Seventy. Three months later, over a period of five days, he participated in washing and anointings in the Kirtland Temple, accompanied by prolonged fasting and prayer and Charismatic experiences, such as speaking in tongues and prophecy. Like many early Latter-day Saints, Woodruff practiced plural marriage . Woodruff was married to ten women in total, although not at
7500-472: The Fox Islands in Maine. During some of this time, she resided with her parents in their house in Maine. She headed west with her husband shortly after the birth of their daughter, despite her reluctance to leave home. During their journey west, Phebe became deathly ill. She frequently slipped into unconsciousness starting on December 2, 1838. Phebe reported that she conversed with two angels who gave her
7650-565: The LDS Church continues its policy of excommunicating members found practicing polygamy, and today actively seeks to distance itself from fundamentalist groups that continue the practice. On its website, the church states that "the standard doctrine of the church is monogamy" and that polygamy was a temporary exception to the rule. Adherents of various churches and groups from the larger Latter Day Saint movement continue to practice polygamy. Historian Richard van Wagoner reports that Smith developed an interest in polygamy after studying parts of
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#17328026263937800-537: The LDS Church itself. Many U.S. politicians were strongly opposed to the practice; the Republican platform even referred to polygamy and slavery as "the twin relics of barbarism." " " Joseph Smith , founder of the Latter-day Saint movement, first introduced polygamy privately in the 1830s. Later, in 1852, Orson Pratt , , a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , publicly announced and defended
7950-456: The LDS Church, felt that its existence gave them the right to continue solemnizing plural marriages even after LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff 's 1890 Manifesto discountenancing the practice. Indeed, Woolley claimed to have been ordained to the Council for precisely that purpose by President John Taylor in 1886, along with his father John W. Woolley and four others. In order to ensure that "no year passed by without children being born in
8100-510: The LDS Church, his wife Emma Smith Woodruff accompanied him to public functions, and she was the only wife he lived with after Phebe's death in 1885. She was a niece of Abraham O. Smoot. Although she married Woodruff, then age 46, when she was 15, she did not have the first of her eight children until she was 19. Emma was involved in the Relief Society, serving as both a ward and stake president for that organization. She also served as
8250-467: The LDS Church: eternity-only and time-and-eternity. Eternity-only polygamous marriages applied only in the afterlife and time-and-eternity marriages applied both in mortal life and in the afterlife. Smith had sexual relations with some of his wives; others, he had no sexual relations with. Polygamy was taught as being essential for salvation . Polygamy was seen as "more important than baptism" and
8400-670: The Latter-day Saints at the General Conference and unanimously approved. While many church leaders in 1890 regarded the Manifesto as inspired, there were differences among them about its scope and permanence. Contemporary opinions include the contention that the manifesto was more related to an effort to achieve statehood for the Utah territory. Some leaders were reluctant to terminate a long-standing practice that
8550-660: The Lord directed. In 1879, the Supreme Court ruled that a defendant cannot claim a religious obligation as a valid defense to a crime and upheld the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act in Reynolds v. United States . The Court said that while holding a religious belief was protected under the First Amendment right of freedom of religion, practicing a religious belief that broke the law was not. Reynolds vs. United States
8700-476: The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act for refusing to stop practicing polygamy. The act stripped away some of Utah's powers and gave the federal government greater control over the territory. Among other powers, the act gave US district courts jurisdiction in the Utah Territory for all court cases. The Poland Act was a significant threat to Mormons practicing polygamy as it allowed for men who had multiple wives to be criminally indicted . In February 1882, George Q. Cannon ,
8850-618: The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act in Reynolds v. United States . The Wade, Cragin, and Cullom Bills were anti-bigamy legislation that failed to pass in the US Congress. The bills were all intended to enforce the Morrill Act's prohibition on polygamy with more punitive measures. The Wade Bill of 1866 had the power to dismantle local government in Utah. Three years after the Wade Bill failed, the Cragin Bill, which would have eliminated
9000-445: The Old Testament in which prophets had more than one wife. In the 1830s or early 1840s, Latter Day Saint movement founder Joseph Smith secretly initiated a practice of religious polygamy among select members of the Church of Christ he founded. In Nauvoo, Illinois, Smith introduced ecclesiastical leaders to the practice of polygamy, and he married several plural wives. On July 12, 1843, Smith dictated and had recorded what he said
9150-455: The Quorum, they approved his appointment as first counselor. In 1887, the new U.S. marshal, Frank H. Dyer, told Woodruff he would not arrest him, and Woodruff could make public appearances again in Salt Lake City. Outside of Salt Lake City, deputy marshals vigorously hunted down suspected polygamists, being paid more with more convicts. In an effort to appear more attractive for statehood, Woodruff counseled local press not to excessively criticize
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#17328026263939300-405: The Twelve Apostles organized groups of priesthood holders that met regularly to pray and preach to one another. Woodruff's wife Sara lived and taught school in Fort Harriman in 1860; she returned to Salt Lake City by 1865. His wife Delight moved to Fort Harriman in 1862, and her parents also lived there. In 1866, Emma moved to a house on Woodruff's farm just outside Salt Lake City. In 1868, Woodruff
9450-417: The Twelve provided the newspapers with a one-sentence announcement, stating that the ground for excommunication was violation of the law of chastity . Over time, many of those who rejected the LDS Church's relinquishment of polygamy formed small, close-knit communities in areas of the Rocky Mountains. These groups continue to practice "the Principle". In the 1940s, LDS Church apostle Mark E. Petersen coined
9600-532: The U.S. Congress passed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act , prohibiting polygamous marriage in the territories. Despite the law, many Latter-day Saints continued to practice polygamy, believing it was protected by the First Amendment . However, in 1879, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Morrill Act’s constitutionality in Reynolds v. United States , asserting that while laws could not interfere with religious belief, they could regulate religious practices. In 1890, when it became clear that Utah would not be admitted to
9750-449: The U.S. government took a number of steps against polygamy; these were of varying effectiveness. Anti-polygamy laws began to be passed ten years after the church publicly announced the practice of polygamy. The first legislative attempt to discourage polygamy in Utah was presented in the 33rd Congress. The bill was debated in May 1854. The bill included the provision that any man who had more than one wife would not be able to own land in
9900-430: The Union failed. Woodruff served as a member of the Provo City Council in 1868 and 1869. Woodruff was also on the Board of Regents of the University of Deseret, where he chaired a committee to prepare spelling books in the Deseret Alphabet . Woodruff spent some time in 1854 educating his own children at home before public schools were established. He was president of a society for a lecture and discussion group called
10050-583: The Union while polygamy was still practiced, church president Wilford Woodruff issued the 1890 Manifesto , officially terminating the practice of polygamy within the LDS Church. Although this manifesto did not dissolve existing polygamous marriages, relations with the United States markedly improved after 1890, such that Utah was admitted as a U.S. state in 1896. After the manifesto, some church members continued to enter into polygamous marriages, but these eventually stopped in 1904 when church president Joseph F. Smith disavowed polygamy before Congress and issued
10200-614: The United States. Henry W. Lawrence replaced Marshal Dyer and threatened to confiscate the temples in Logan, Manti, and St. George, as they were not used for public worship. Woodruff issued the 1890 Manifesto , which officially ended the church's support of plural marriage. After the manifesto was issued, judge Charles S. Zane stated that no further church property would be confiscated. Woodruff further clarified in hearings about confiscated church property that men with plural wives should "cease associating with them", though Joseph F. Smith and Lorenzo Snow did not make such strong statements. When
10350-612: The Universal Scientific Society, founded in February 1855 and disbanded in November 1855. He also attended meetings of the Polysophical Society, a literary group including Lorenzo and Eliza Snow. The society stopped meeting after the Mormon Reformation in 1856. Woodruff was president of the Deseret Horticultural Society, founded in September 1855, which sought to find the most productive trees and bushes. By his own report, he had cultivated over 70 kinds of apples via importing and grafting, along with apricots, peaches, grapes, and currants in 1857. On multiple occasions, his products won prizes at
10500-455: The Utah Territorial Fair. Woodruff led the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society from 1862 to 1877. The organization encouraged experimentation and shared knowledge about what plants would grow well in the territory. The Utah Territorial Legislature chartered it in 1856. Woodruff sometimes led ceremonies in the Endowment House after it was built in 1855, officiating every Saturday in sealings and endowments in 1867 to 1868. He served
10650-495: The Utah Territory. This bill was defeated in the House of Representatives after multiple representatives argued that the federal government did not have the authority to legislate morals in the states. As the church settled in what became the Utah Territory, it eventually was subjected to the power and opinion of the United States. Friction first began to show in the James Buchanan administration and federal troops arrived (see Utah War ). Buchanan, anticipating Mormon opposition to
10800-553: The advance company that traveled to the Salt Lake Valley without his family in 1847. After returning to Winter Quarters, Woodruff and Phebe left to preside over the Eastern States Mission . Woodruff and his family arrived in Salt Lake City on October 15, 1850. He served in the Utah territorial legislature and was heavily involved in the social and economic life of his community. He worked as an Assistant Church Historian and as Church Historian from 1856 to 1889. He
10950-440: The attention of LDS Church President Heber J. Grant , who agreed to cooperate with state and federal authorities in a multi-state raid intended to wipe out polygamy. In the 1944 raid, forty-six Community adults were accused of "unlawful cohabitation" and similar crimes, of whom fifteen ultimately received state prison sentences and nine federal prison sentences, with two, Charles Zitting and David Darger, receiving both. The group
11100-401: The choice to live or die. They said that she could choose to live if she would accept the responsibility of supporting her husband in all of his future work for the Lord; she chose to live and persevere with the faithful. She recovered after receiving a blessing from Woodruff. Her firstborn child died of a respiratory infection in 1840 while Woodruff was on a mission in England. Phebe was among
11250-427: The church had any right to overrule any civil court, denied the doctrine of blood atonement, asserted their right to criticize government officials, and the right of all Christians to believe that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand". Historian Thomas Alexander stated that both the judge's interpretation of church history and the manifesto were "a selective reading" of church history. The Edmunds-Tucker Act also took away
11400-533: The church publicly opposed the Cullom Bill. Op-eds in church-owned newspapers declared the bill as unjust and dangerous to Mormons. The introduction of the Cullom Bill led to protests by Mormons, particularly Mormon women. Women organized indignation meetings to voice their disapproval of the bill. The strong reaction of Mormon women surprised many onlookers and politicians. Outside of the church, Mormon women were seen as weak and oppressed by their husbands and
11550-545: The church were opposed to polygamy as they saw the practice as a violation of American values and morals. Opponents of polygamy believed that polygamy forced wives into submission to their husbands and some described polygamy as a form of slavery. The overall opposition to polygamy led the Republican Party's platform to refer to it as one of the "relics of barbarianism". Sensational and often violent novels provided fictional stories about polygamy which fueled
11700-531: The church's apostles, he was also a member of the Council of Fifty . He took detailed notes on the King Follett discourse . He joined the other apostles in a trip to the East Coast to raise funds for a temple and hotel under construction in Nauvoo, setting out in July 1843 and returning in November 1843. Woodruff and his wife, Phebe, received their second anointing in Nauvoo in 1844, making them members of
11850-798: The church's website states that early Mormons believed that they would receive blessings from God by obeying the commandment of polygamy. Among historians, there is disagreement as to the precise number of wives Smith married. D. Michael Quinn reports 46, George D. Smith 38, Todd M. Compton 33 (plus eight "possible wives"), and Stewart Davenport 37. It is unclear how many of the wives Smith had sexual relations with. Some contemporary accounts from Smith's time indicate that he engaged in sexual relations with some of his wives. As of 2007 , there were at least twelve early Latter Day Saints who, based on historical documents and circumstantial evidence, had been identified as potential Smith offspring stemming from polygamous marriages. In 2005 and 2007 studies,
12000-488: The church, Orson Pratt, defended polygamy by arguing that the practice was a result of divine revelation and that it was protected under the US Constitution as a religious freedom. Following the public announcement of polygamy, members of the church published pamphlets and literature defending the practice. Mormon missionaries were also directed to defend polygamy. The majority of Americans who were not members of
12150-538: The church. Historian Thomas Alexander stated in his biography of Woodruff that Woodruff's decision to stop polygamy was a significant transition "from isolation to assimilation, from extremism to respectability". Some Mormon historians, such as B. H. Roberts , never seemed to come to terms with the manifesto. Despite the manifesto, some Mormon historians have asserted that Woodruff continued to secretly allow new plural marriages to be performed in Mexico , Canada, and upon
12300-574: The church. Taylor's alleged action came shortly after the 1886 Revelation on the subject of polygamy. Between 1929 and 1933, Woolley extended the same supposed apostolic authority that Taylor granted to him, to a seven-man Council of Friends . Following the death of Woolley in September 1934, and of his Second Elder J. Leslie Broadbent six months later, the leadership of the Group fell to John Y. Barlow . In May 1935, Barlow and his fellow Friends sent
12450-536: The church. Those disagreeing with the Second Manifesto included apostles Matthias F. Cowley and John W. Taylor , who both resigned from the Quorum of the Twelve . Cowley retained his membership in the church, but Taylor was later excommunicated. Although the Second Manifesto ended the official practice of new polygamous marriages, existing ones were not automatically dissolved. Many Mormons, including prominent church leaders, maintained their polygamy into
12600-423: The committee to separate Brigham Young's personal property from church property, finding that Brigham Young owed the church almost $ 700,000 in real-estate and other expenses. In 1879, George Reynolds was convicted of polygamy in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Utah's U.S. marshal started looking for Woodruff, and Woodruff fled to Bunkerville, Nevada, northern Arizona, and New Mexico. A new Supreme Court ruling required
12750-485: The communalist program himself. Most United Order programs stopped functioning after a few months. Woodruff started keeping bees in 1870, and founded a society for beekeepers in Utah territory that year. He and Phebe moved to a smaller house in 1871, since their children were no longer living at home. Woodruff's other wives still continued to bear children and needed larger places to live. Woodruff's wife Sarah and his son's family moved to Randolph, Utah, in 1871, and he built
12900-517: The dead on behalf of 141 of his relatives in the Endowment House and for over 900 more in that same year. Woodruff accepted Brigham Young's daughter Eudora as a plural wife in 1877; their union produced a son who died shortly after birth. Eudora divorced Woodruff, probably in 1879. Woodruff, Phebe, and their living children (except for Susan) met and performed more temple work, and at this time, Woodruff adopted various relatives to himself in
13050-575: The eastern United States as he lectured about the church. In his lectures, Bennett included claims of sexual misconduct among church leaders, secret rituals, and violence. In 1842, Bennett published a book entitled The History of the Saints: Or, An Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism which includes alleged stories of sexual misconduct by Smith and other church leaders. The church responded to Bennett's claims about Smith by gathering affidavits and printing contradictory evidence in newspapers. The women of
13200-489: The failure of an attempted communal United Trust in 1935, the Group, particularly Apostle Rulon Jeffs , an accountant, worked to develop the United Effort Plan (UEP), intended to prepare the way for the collectivist United Order described by Mormon founder Joseph Smith . The UEP was incorporated on November 9, 1942. By 1944, the illicit activities of the Group, now boasting about 2,500 members, had come to
13350-514: The federal government and asked missionaries in the southeastern United States to soften their approach to decrease complaints from local ministers. He also asked leaders to stop preaching the practice of plural marriage. On behalf of the church, Woodruff courted the favor of businessman Alexander Badlam Jr. and prominent Republican Isaac Trumbo . The two men moved to Arlington, Virginia, under false names, seeking to persuade Republican congressmen to support Utah's bid for statehood in 1888. After Utah
13500-497: The federal government to provide positive evidence of polygamy before convicting the husband, and Woodruff could appear in public again until the 1882 when the Edmunds Act was passed. The Edmunds Act outlawed unlawful cohabitation, which was easier to prove than polygamy, and church leadership advised men in polygamous marriages to live in one house with one wife. Prosecution of polygamous men began in earnest in 1884, and Woodruff went into hiding in St. George during 1885 and often wore
13650-573: The federally-appointed receiver of church property, and he confiscated the temple block, the Gardo House , and other offices. The church paid to rent the properties back from him. Church leadership discouraged new polygamous marriages in Utah. Late in 1889, federal judges stopped approving naturalized citizenship for Mormon immigrant residents in Utah Territory. Judges cited a disdain for federal law, pointing to doctrines such as blood atonement and temple vows as reported from former members to avenge
13800-488: The four temples in the Utah Territory to coordinate their temple procedures in 1893. An economic recession in 1891 followed by another depression in 1893 affected the church's finances. Bishops used fast offerings as well as tithing to help the poor, and as a result, less money ended up in church headquarters. From July until December 1893, the church was unable to pay the salaries of its employees. Woodruff tried to promote economic development with various ventures, including
13950-490: The government for Joseph Smith's death. Other former members testified that an oath against the federal government was not part of the endowment ceremony. Another $ 3 million in church assets were confiscated in 1887. Judge Anderson ruled against the naturalization of Mormon residents. In response, Charles Penrose wrote a manifesto, signed by the First Presidency and the Twelve, in December 1889. This manifesto denied that
14100-430: The hearing decided not to return confiscated property to the church, stating that while the practice of polygamy may have stopped, it was still taught as part of the religion. Lobbyists managed to obtain amnesty for Mormons who did not enter polygamy after November 1890, but polygamists still did not have the right to vote. When Democrats took office in 1893, they restored property to the church and civil rights to members of
14250-568: The high seas. Starting in 1847, members of the church sealed their relatives to a family member or friend who held the priesthood, since Brigham Young said that all marriages before the Restoration were illegitimate. Brigham Young also stated that children born outside of marriage should be sealed to the parent who lived the Gospel and adopted through a special sealing to a faithful priesthood holder. Woodruff and other members disagreed with
14400-625: The late 1850s. In 1853, Jedediah M. Grant —who later become a member of the First Presidency —stated that the top reason behind the persecution of Christ and his disciples was due to their practice of polygamy. Two months later, apostle Orson Pratt taught in a church periodical that "We have now clearly shown that God the Father had a plurality of wives", and that after her death, Mary (the mother of Jesus) may have become another eternal polygamous wife of God. He also stated that Christ had multiple wives— Mary of Bethany , Martha , and Mary Magdalene —as further evidence in defense of polygamy. In
14550-475: The law of adoption. Woodruff and Heber C. Kimball discussed the law of adoption together in 1857, agreeing that they did not believe in the "custom of adoption", and that sons ought to be sealed to the fathers in their lineage when possible. In a conference address from April 1894, Woodruff announced a specific policy of sealing individuals only to their direct ancestors. He also encouraged members to "trace their genealogies as far as they can". Woodruff helped found
14700-457: The main places they preached were The Fox Islands , Litchfield County, Connecticut , and York County, Maine . Phebe joined Woodruff in Farmington, Connecticut , on July 16, where he baptized some of his relatives. Baptizing his family brought him great joy, saying that it was in fulfillment of a dream he had when he was young. Although Phebe did not accompany him on all of his journeys over
14850-484: The manifesto in local meetings, leading to some disputes. Joseph F. Smith, a Republican, wanted the manifesto to apply to all members, but Woodruff and Cannon disagreed with Smith. After several failed attempts at reconciliation, the Twelve disfellowshipped Thatcher, removing him from his position as an apostle. Woodruff died in San Francisco, California, on September 2, 1898, after a failed bladder surgery. He
15000-562: The members of the Relief Society in Nauvoo. In the late 1840s, Phebe was set apart as a missionary and served with Woodruff as he presided over the Eastern States Mission. Phebe was later numbered among the "leading ladies" who helped organize the Relief Society in Utah Territory in the 1860s through the 1880s. She was also a key figure behind the Indignation Meeting of 1870 that was an important step in
15150-613: The men of the church. The political activism in support of polygamy of Mormon women was unexpected from a group that had been portrayed as powerless. Following the failure of the Wade, Cragin, and Collum Bills, the Poland Act was an anti-bigamy prosecution act that was successfully enacted by the 43rd United States Congress . The Poland Act, named after its sponsor in the US House of Representatives , attempted to prosecute Utah under
15300-907: The mission account books and visited wards and branches throughout the United Kingdom, establishing the authority of the apostles after Smith's death. Members in England tried to form a joint stock company trading with Nauvoo in cotton, wool, and iron. The company failed because of unrest in Nauvoo and problems in management. After hearing that members had been driven out of Nauvoo, the Woodruffs left England in January 1846. Woodruff picked up their daughter and brought some of his relatives with him to Nauvoo, but Woodruff's relatives decided to join James Strang 's followers rather than move west. Before leaving Nauvoo, Woodruff and Orson Hyde dedicated
15450-535: The movement. Leroy S. Johnson and Rulon Jeffs , future leaders of the FLDS Church, were ordained by John Y. Barlow in the 1940s, while Joseph Musser 's ordination of Rulon C. Allred in 1952 caused a division in the community and led to the creation of the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB). Today, the AUB continues to be led by a Priesthood Council, while the FLDS Church transitioned to autocratic "One Man Rule" by
15600-468: The necessity of practicing polygamy in order to receive salvation. Members of the church in St George, Utah report being taught in the late 1800s that there is no "exaltation" without polygamy. In a church-owned newspaper, an article speculates that men and women who refuse to practice polygamy will have a lesser station in the afterlife. Polygamy was also explained as being a commandment of God that
15750-476: The next two years the apostle Orson Hyde also stated during two general conference addresses that Jesus practiced polygamy and repeated this in an 1857 address. In a teaching manual published by the church in 2015, the practice of polygamy is described as a "test of faith" that brought Latter-day Saints closer to God. Other recent church documents point to an increase in children as being why Mormons believe God commanded them to practice polygamy. An article on
15900-751: The next year and a half, she stayed at various locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine—locations that he, to some extent, made his base of operations. Woodruff baptized over 100 people during this mission. In 1838, Woodruff led a party of 53 members in wagons from the Maine coast to Nauvoo, Illinois . Some of the party wintered in Rochester, Illinois, after hearing about the growing persecution of members in Missouri. They moved to Quincy, Illinois, in April 1839. In July 1838, Smith called Woodruff as
16050-404: The night with the Lord regarding the path that should be pursued. The result was a 510-word handwritten manuscript which stated his intentions to comply with the law and denied that the church continued to solemnize or condone polygamous marriages. The document was later edited by George Q. Cannon of the First Presidency and others to its present 356 words. On October 6, 1890, it was presented to
16200-485: The other apostles and the First Presidency before accepting the nomination for senate. Thatcher argued that the First Presidency did not have the right to limit a member's political decisions. At a general priesthood session, Joseph F. Smith said that any obligations that take a member away from their religious duties should be discussed with their presiding officers. He said that any Melchizedek priesthood holder ought to have permission from his church leaders before pursuing
16350-456: The other members in the United States. When he left England in April 1841, 140 members joined him in journeying to New York. Woodruff met Phebe in Maine, and they traveled to Nauvoo together in October 1841. In Nauvoo, the Twelve Apostles assigned Woodruff to assist with the church's temporal matters in Nauvoo. He became co-manager of Times and Seasons in February 1842. Woodruff supervised
16500-660: The physical printing of the paper, and he and John Taylor also published a general interest newspaper called Nauvoo Neighbor , starting in May 1843. He bought and sold real estate, helped clerk in a provision store, and farmed. He became a member of the Nauvoo city council and served as chaplain for the Nauvoo Legion , a local militia. He also helped organize the Nauvoo Masonic Lodge and the Nauvoo Agricultural and Manufacturing Society. As one of
16650-434: The polygamy commandment was often necessary in accepting it. Records indicate that future church leaders, such as Brigham Young, John Taylor , and Heber C. Kimball , greatly opposed polygamy initially. Documents left by Mormon women describe personal spiritual experiences that led them to accept polygamy. Another historian notes that some Mormon women expressed appreciation for polygamy and its effects. An early leader of
16800-592: The practice at the request of then-church president Brigham Young . Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, the LDS Church and the United States remained at odds over the issue. The church defended polygamy as a matter of religious freedom, while the federal government, in line with prevailing public opinion, sought to eradicate it. Polygamy likely played a role in the Utah War of 1857–1858, as Republican critics portrayed Democratic President James Buchanan as weak in opposing both polygamy and slavery. In 1862,
16950-520: The practice of polygamy is to increase the Mormon population by childbirth. In the Millennial Star , a church owned and operated newspaper, an article teaches that monogamous marriages result in offspring that are physically and mentally lesser than offspring of polygamous marriages. An early church leader argued that polygamy has historically been the main form of marriage and that polygamy
17100-429: The practice of polygamy was required before the Second Coming of Christ . Brigham Young said that any male member of the church who was commanded to practice polygamy and refused would be damned. Other leaders of the church taught that men who refused to have multiple wives were not obeying God's commandments and that they should step down from their priesthood callings. Church president Joseph F. Smith also spoke about
17250-516: The principle of plural marriage." Woolley, who had ostensibly become the last member of the Council after his father's death in December 1928, ordained six more men to the same calling between 1929 and 1933: J. Leslie Broadbent , John Y. Barlow , Joseph White Musser , Charles Zitting , LeGrande Woolley, and Louis A. Kelsch. The following are the leaders of the Council of Friends prior to the 1954 split: Mormonism and polygamy Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in
17400-576: The public's dislike for the practice and Mormons. However, some non-Mormons held more positive views of polygamy. For example, after surveying the Utah Territory, Captain Howard Stansbury concluded that most polygamous marriages were successful and there were good feelings between families. John C. Bennett was a member of the church and close friend of Joseph Smith who was disfellowshipped and later excommunicated for adultery. Following his excommunication, Bennett began to travel around
17550-408: The right to a jury for bigamy trials, was introduced but not passed. After that, the Cullom Bill was introduced. One of the most concerning parts of the Cullom Bill for polygamists was that, if passed, anyone who practiced any type of non-monogamous relationship would not be able to become a citizen of the United States, vote in elections, or receive the benefits of the homestead laws. The leadership of
17700-514: The right to vote from practicing polygamists and all women in Utah. Combined with the influx of non-Mormons, the church could no longer control political offices in Utah Territory, and the members of the Liberal Party achieved a majority over the People's Party in 1890. In June 1890, the First Presidency told church officials that leaders were no longer allowed to perform plural marriages in
17850-592: The same time. His first wife, Phebe, stated that she thought plural marriage was "the most wicked thing I ever heard of", but she eventually embraced it. His wives: Six of Woodruff's wives bore him a total of 34 children, with three wives and 14 children preceding him in death. Woodruff met his first wife, Phebe Carter, in Kirtland shortly after his return from his first mission through Southern Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Woodruff came to Kirtland on November 25, 1836, along with Abraham O. Smoot . He
18000-430: The sea, by the sea heaving itself beyond its bounds"; and Albany, New York , would be "destroyed by fire". Speaking afterwards, church president Brigham Young stated that "what Brother Woodruff has said is revelation and will be fulfilled". Woodruff believed that the United States would disassemble by 1890. In January 1880, he received a revelation referred to as the "Wilderness Prophecy", which stated that enemies of
18150-487: The teachings and practiced polygamy. The number of members aware of polygamy grew until the church started openly practicing polygamy in early 1852, eight years after Smith's death. According to some historians and then-contemporary accounts, by this time, polygamy was openly taught and practiced. The doctrine authorizing polygamy was canonized and first published in the 1876 version of the church's Doctrine and Covenants . There were two types of polygamous marriages in
18300-486: The temple ceremony. McAllister served as first counselor in the temple presidency and later succeeded Woodruff as temple president in 1884. In February 1877, Woodruff received a revelation that church members could act as a proxy in the temple for not only their own relatives, but for anyone they could identify by name. Woodruff stated that temple presidents were "authorized to exercise discretion in permitting persons to be baptized for friends." In 1893, Lorenzo Snow made it
18450-446: The temple on April 30, 1846. Woodruff oversaw 40 families, and they stayed at Winter Quarters. Many people got sick in Winter Quarters, and Woodruff's 16-month-old son, Joseph, died of a respiratory infection on November 12, 1846. Phebe's friend from England, Jane Benbow, also died, and Phebe went into labor 6 weeks early, giving birth to a son who died two days after birth. Woodruff joined an advance company that left in April 1847 to find
18600-468: The temple. He also sealed five single women to his recently deceased son Brigham. He was baptized on behalf of the signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and other Founding Fathers . He stated in a September 16, 1877, discourse that he had been visited by the departed spirits of these men. Many of the proxy baptisms for the Founding Fathers had been done previously in Nauvoo and in
18750-467: The term " Mormon fundamentalist " to describe such people. Fundamentalists either practice as individuals, as families, or as part of organized denominations. Today, the LDS Church objects to the use of the term "Mormon fundamentalists" and suggests using the term "polygamist sects" to avoid confusion about whether the main body of Mormon believers teach or practice polygamy. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also referred to as
18900-654: The territorial government, and many members and leaders were being actively pursued as fugitives. Without being able to appear publicly, the leadership was left to navigate "underground". Following the passage of the Edmunds–Tucker Act, the church found it difficult to operate as a viable institution. After visiting priesthood leaders in many settlements, church president Wilford Woodruff left for San Francisco on September 3, 1890, to meet with prominent businessmen and politicians. He returned to Salt Lake City on September 21, determined to obtain divine confirmation to pursue
19050-468: The traditional vote of approval at April's general conference until both repented. Utah became a state with a Republican majority in the state government. Thatcher refused to reconcile with the apostles and continued to experience ill health. George Q. Cannon drafted a "Political Manifesto" at Woodruff's request. It stated that religion and politics had always been separate in the church, but that people in full-time church positions should get approval from
19200-457: The women of Utah being granted the right to vote. Woodruff's second marriage to Mary Ann Jackson ended in divorce a year after their son, James, was born in 1847. Woodruff's third and fourth marriages ended in divorce only three weeks after their sealing, after the two young women started dating men their own age. In 1852, Woodruff married Mary Giles Meeks Webster and Clarissa Henrietta Hardy, but Mary died that same year and Clarissa divorced him
19350-422: Was "perhaps, the best chronicler of events in all the history of the Church". The diaries are "one of the significant records of 19th-century Mormonism". In an introduction to selections from Woodruffs journals, compiler Susan Staker wrote that the journals were "public, official—and ultimately very male". In addition to writing in his diary, Woodruff wrote over 12,000 letters during his lifetime, sometimes keeping
19500-458: Was a member of the legislative house from its formation in 1851 until 1854, and then served in the legislative council from 1854 until 1876. Woodruff promoted public schools and noted attendance statistics when he traveled to southern Utah. Woodruff served as a member of the 1862 Utah Constitutional Convention and the committee that drafted the appeal to the U.S. Congress to approve the constitution and grant statehood for Utah. This attempt to join
19650-468: Was a revelation from God describing the theology and purpose of polygamy, relating it to biblical portrayals of polygamous marriage by Old Testament patriarchs such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When he dictated the document, Smith said he already "knew the revelation perfectly from beginning to end". At the time, the practice was kept secret from most people, both adherents and not. The church publicly denounced polygamy, and only some membership knew about
19800-429: Was an Assistant Church Historian from 1856 to 1883 and was the church's eleventh official Church Historian from 1883 to 1889. Woodruff and his assistants compiled and edited historical documents from Joseph Smith's and Brigham Young's lives. They also wrote biographies of members of the Council of the Twelve. Edward Tullidge helped Woodruff write his autobiography in 1856. Woodruff's teachings as an apostle were
19950-575: Was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of plural marriage among members of the LDS Church in 1890. Woodruff joined the Latter Day Saint church after studying Restorationism as a young adult. He met Joseph Smith , founder of the Latter Day Saint movement in Kirtland, Ohio , before joining Zion's Camp in April 1834. He stayed in Missouri as
20100-522: Was away promoting Smith's presidential campaign at the time of Smith's death . After returning to Nauvoo, he and Phebe traveled to England, where Woodruff preached and supported local members. The Woodruffs returned to the United States just before the Saints were driven out of Nauvoo, and Woodruff oversaw forty families in Winter Quarters , where he was sealed to his first plural wives. He joined
20250-505: Was denied statehood, Woodruff personally traveled to California in 1889 to speak with politicians. During Woodruff's tenure, the church faced a number of legal battles with the United States. The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 made it illegal for religious entities to own property worth more than $ 50,000 in any territory, and the Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 put forth the procedure for confiscating Church property. Marshal Dyer became
20400-470: Was elected to be part of the city council in Provo; Delight moved to Provo to facilitate his work there. Woodruff was the founding director of Zion's Cooperative Savings Bank in August 1871. He was also on the board of directors for ZCMI . When Brigham Young set up United Order communities in 1874, Woodruff helped organize United Orders in Provo, Pleasant Grove, American Fork, and Lehi, but did not enroll in
20550-722: Was impressed with how the missionaries ( Zerah Pulsipher and Elijah Cheney) preached their message voluntarily and free of charge, and how they purported to heal the sick. Woodruff left his home in Richland after members recruited him to join Zion's Camp in April 1834. He met prominent church leaders, including Joseph Smith, in Kirtland, Ohio, before leaving with Zion's Camp for Missouri in May. When Zion's Camp left Missouri, Woodruff stayed to help members in Clay County, Missouri . He
20700-478: Was imprisoned for continuing to cohabit with wives that he married before the 1862 Morrill Act. In 1887, the Edmunds–Tucker Act allowed the disincorporation of the LDS Church and the seizure of church property; it also further extended the punishments of the Edmunds Act. On July 31 of the same year, U.S. Attorney General George Peters filed suit to seize all church assets. The church was losing control of
20850-534: Was introduced to Phebe by Milton Holmes on January 28, 1837. She was a native of Maine and had become a Latter Day Saint in 1834. Woodruff and Phebe were married on April 13, 1837, with the ceremony performed by Frederick G. Williams . Their marriage was later sealed in Nauvoo by Hyrum Smith . Due to a loss of records, this ordinance was later repeated by Heber C. Kimball in Salt Lake City in 1853. Phebe accompanied her husband on his 1837–1838 mission to
21000-565: Was largely understood to be unconstitutional and was only enforced in rare cases. While, the Act outlawed bigamy in the US territories, it was seen to be largely weak and infective at preventing people from practicing polygamy. However, due to the continuous threat of legislation targeting polygamy and the church, Brigham Young pretended to comply. On January 6, 1879, the Supreme Court upheld
21150-490: Was married to three more wives between 1852 and 1853. In 1877, he became president of the St. George Temple , where endowment ordinances were first performed for the dead as well as the living. Woodruff helped standardize the temple ceremony and decreed that church members could act as proxy for anyone they could identify by name. He also ended sealings of members to unrelated priesthood holders . In 1882, Woodruff went into hiding to avoid arrest for unlawful cohabitation under
21300-515: Was notorious for the practice of polygamy due to media coverage during the Short Creek raids of 1945 and 1953. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) later developed in the same geographical region and changed the name of the town to Colorado City and Hildale to eliminate any ties to the Short Creek raids . Additions were made to Woolley's Council of Friends as time went on and former members died or left
21450-482: Was one of four sons born to Beulah Thompson and Aphek Woodruff. Beulah died of " spotted fever " in 1808 at the age of 26, when Wilford was fifteen months old. Aphek married Azubah Hart in 1809. In 1826, Aphek lost his mill and moved from Northington (now Avon, Connecticut ) to Farmington, Connecticut . Woodruff attended school until he was 18 years old, which was unusual at the time. He survived having typhus and numerous accidents. At age 20, Woodruff left home to manage
21600-701: Was ordained as a priest in 1834 and volunteered to serve a mission . After donating all his belongings to the church, Woodruff left Kirtland on January 12, 1835, preaching without "purse or scrip" in Arkansas and Tennessee . Woodruff's original companion was Harry Brown, who later left Woodruff to return to his family in Kirtland. Most of the mission, Woodruff preached in small towns and villages in western Kentucky and Tennessee and supported new members there. Warren Parrish ordained Woodruff as an elder in June 1835, and Woodruff heard in February 1836 that Smith had called him as
21750-420: Was received by divine revelation and that polygamy was a part of God's plan. Latter-day Saints believed that a woman could secure her place in heaven by being sealed to a righteous man who held the priesthood. Some women embraced polygamy because of this teaching and their desire to receive divine blessings. The salvation of women was understood to be dependent on their status as wives. One reason given for
21900-407: Was regarded as divinely mandated. As a result, over 200 polygamous marriages were performed between 1890 and 1904. It was not until 1904, under the leadership of church president Joseph F. Smith , that the church completely banned new polygamous marriages worldwide. Not surprisingly, rumors persisted of marriages performed after the 1890 Manifesto, and beginning in January 1904, testimony given in
22050-537: Was sealed to Woodruff as a plural wife in 1897, there is no evidence for it. According to Thomas G. Alexander , Mountford was away giving lectures in California while Woodruff was in Oregon at the time that Quinn postulated they were sealed. On May 30, 1837, a month after his marriage to Phebe, Woodruff left Kirtland with Jonathan Hale and Milton Holmes to serve a mission in New England. According to their accounts,
22200-486: Was succeeded as church president by his son-in-law, Lorenzo Snow . Woodruff was buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery . Woodruff's journals are a significant contribution to LDS Church history. He kept a daily record of his life and activities within the LDS Church, beginning with his mission to the southern states in 1835. Matthias F. Cowley , editor of his published journals, observed that Woodruff
22350-473: Was the Supreme Court's first case in which a party used the right of freedom of religion as a defense. The ruling concluded that Mormons could be charged with committing bigamy despite their religious beliefs. The final element in Woodruff's revelatory experience came on the evening of September 23, 1890. The following morning, he reported to some of the general authorities that he had struggled throughout
22500-554: Was there and had given birth three days earlier to a daughter named Shuah. The apostles assigned Woodruff to preside over the Eastern States Mission, centered in Boston. Phebe was specially blessed to teach and be a mother in Israel, and they left Winter Quarters in June 1848. Shuah died, probably of dysentery, on July 22 during the journey east. Phebe went with the children to visit her father in Maine while Woodruff organized church work on
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