Messenger

Keeping Eternal Laws and Fulfilling Prophecies

Posted on 12/20/2008 at 8:49:02 AM

Judging the 1886 Meeting

Tens of thousands of Mormon Fundamentalists believe that in 1886 Joseph Smith came to John Taylor and instructed him to set apart a group of men to keep alive plural marriage even when the Church should reject that principle.

Just like the visitation of God to Joseph Smith there were no visual means to record what happened, and although – like the visit of Moroni to show the gold plates – there were witnesses, they also didn’t record it or share what had happened until after the event, as is the case with many of the greatest scriptural and spiritual events.

However, this does not mean that there are no indications of the truthfulness of what went on at that time. God has given us principles by which to judge the truth, history gives us precedents so we can see what is possible, and Prophets foretell the future, so that when it comes to pass we can know it is from God. Using these tools we can judge what someone claims, to see if it contradicts principle, follows precedent, and fulfills prophecy. By seeking the Spirit as we study we can also obtain a divine confirmation.

With these standards in mind let us look into how this story of God providing a way to keep plural marriage alive meets these tests.

Principles

1 – Plural Marriage

“He then put each person under covenant that he or she would defend the principle of Celestial or Plural Marriage, and that they would consecrate their lives, liberty and property to this end, and that they personally would sustain and uphold that principle.”

If Plural Marriage was just a temporary practice, without eternal consequences for not living it or celestial blessings for fulfilling it, then we could easily understand God allowing it to end. Whatever temporal benefits it might have provided and despite the difficult adjustments for some that giving it up might create, there would be no everlasting harm in letting it go.

But if it were an eternal and unchangeable law, necessary for exaltation, required for maintaining Priesthood keys, and if God had promised to keep it on the earth, then we would expect Him to ensure that it continued, despite what course others might take, or what opposition against it there might be. We might also hope that He would explain this through his prophets and the revelations He gave them.

So let us look at the scriptures on this subject and see what they have to say. In Section 130 of the Doctrine and Covenants we are told that:

“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated – And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.”1

This would seem to indicate that God determined before ever sending us to earth that certain laws would lead to definite blessings, and that – as this is irrevocably decreed – these laws would never change, and the blessings would always be available to the righteous. This conforms to what Joseph taught on this subject:

“Ordinances instituted in heaven before the foundation of this world in the Priesthood for the salvation of man, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved upon the same principles.”2

Is it possible that one such law could be plural marriage? At the beginning of Joseph Smith’s 1843 revelation on the subject, the Lord tells us:

“I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.

For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.”3

Some may assume that the Lord here is only speaking about eternal monogamous marriage, but the Lord later clarifies what type of marriage he is talking about. Firstly, he states that he is now going to reveal this eternal law:

“I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.”4

He reminds us that he is the author of this law, that it is a law of the Priesthood, and that it was determined even prior to the earth’s creation. And what is this law?

“God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.”5

Celestial Marriage, as the first verse we quoted tells us, comes with conditions, and the fulfillment of those promises (spoken about in the verse above) comes through keeping the commandment to live plural marriage as Abraham did. It is interesting to note that this is the only revelation to Joseph Smith that speaks of exaltation6, and that the Lord states fourteen times that this law is necessary to celestial glory.7

President John Taylor was once asked if a woman might obtain exaltation with her husband without taking additional wives, referring to these passages, this was his reply:

“You seem desirous to take part of the Law and reject the other part, but it is plainly stated as above quoted, that they were ‘to do the works of Abraham, and that if ye enter not into my Law, ye cannot receive the promise of my Father which was made unto Abraham.’ It is further said: ‘God commanded Abraham and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife, and that the reason why she did it was because it was the Law.’ It is evident therefore from the whole of the above that other wives were included in this Law as well as the one.”8

In a revelation subsequently given to John Taylor the Lord stated even more clearly:

“This law is a Celestial law and pertains to a Celestial Kingdom. … and appertains to thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, and eternal increase in the Celestial Kingdom of God.”9

2 – Authority

“John Taylor set the five mentioned apart and gave them authority to perform marriage ceremonies, and also to set others apart to do the same thing as long as they remained on the earth; and while doing so, the Prophet Joseph Smith stood by directing the proceedings.”

Most Latter-day Saints understand the basic principle that in order to perform saving ordinances it is necessary that you hold the proper Priesthood authority, however, having and exercising the proper Priesthood authority is also dependent upon living certain laws. One is not ordained before being baptized, and a person does not get set apart for a calling without keeping at least the law of chastity or tithing.

This is just as true for a deacon as it is for the prophet. As the Lord reminded Joseph, the keys he held were dependent on him fulfilling certain essential obligations:

“the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom shall not be taken from my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., through the means I have appointed, while he liveth, inasmuch as he obeyeth mine ordinances.”10

After Joseph received the sealing keys of Elijah in the Kirtland temple he explained that those keys were dependent upon not only receiving ordinances, but also performing them:

“The spirit, power, and calling of Elijah is, that ye have power to hold the key of the revelation, ordinances, oracles, powers and endowments of the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth; and to receive, obtain, and perform all the ordinances belonging to the kingdom of God, …”11

Could plural marriage have been amongst the ordinances the Lord and Joseph Smith speak of? In this matter we have the words of Joseph himself, who told one of his wives,

“I put it [entering plural marriage] off and put it off till an angel with a drawn sword stood by me and told me if I did not establish that principle upon the earth, I would lose my position …”12

Lorenzo Snow related how Joseph had also told him of the same angelic warning:

“Yet the Prophet hesitated and deferred from time to time, until an angel of God stood by him with a drawn sword, and told him that, unless he moved forward and established plural marriage, his Priesthood would be taken from him …”13

Did this only apply to Joseph Smith though or to all those who might hold the keys of the Priesthood? In this area we are not left to speculate either. “Heber [C. Kimball] was told by Joseph that if he did not do this [take another wife] he would lose his Apostleship.”14 This requirement applied to all of the Apostles, as John Taylor recalled:

“When this commandment was given, it was so far religious, and so far binding upon the Elders of this Church, that it was told them if they were not prepared to enter into it, and to stem the torrent of opposition that would come in consequence of it, the keys of the kingdom would be taken from them and given to others.”15

This was not a temporary test though, but an eternal principle revealed by the Lord later to John Taylor himself:

“Thus saith the Lord to the Twelve, and to the Priesthood and people of my Church: … You may appoint Seymour B. Young to fill up the vacancy in the presiding quorum of Seventies, if he will conform to My law: For it is not meet that men who will not abide My law shall preside over My Priesthood;”16

Subsequently Seymour took another wife.17 John Taylor explained why living this law was so necessary to holding and presiding over the keys of the Priesthood:

“If we do not embrace that principle soon, the keys will be turned against us. If we do not keep the same law our Heavenly Father has kept we cannot go with him. A man obeying a lesser law is not qualified to preside over those who keep a higher law.”18

Those who do not live the law of plural marriage cannot preside over those who do, and are not worthy to hold the keys of the Priesthood at all. In fact, if they had those keys but didn’t embrace that principle, the keys would be turned against them, and “taken from them and given to others” as Joseph Smith warned they could be.

Precedent

1 – Priesthood & Church

“Among many other things stated by President Taylor on this occasion was this: “I would be surprised if ten per cent of those who claim to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood will remain true and faithful to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, at the time of the seventh president, and that there would be thousands that think they hold the Priesthood at that time, but would not have it properly conferred upon them.”

The Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood were restored prior to the organization of the Church.19 Likewise, baptisms were performed, revelations were received, and missionaries were sent out prior to the Church existing.20 These events were not put to a vote of common consent, nor were they recorded upon any official records. God did not wait upon the Church organizing before beginning the restoration, and Joseph wasn’t prevented from being a prophet prior to there being members to sustain or reject his actions.

What about after the Church was organized – did every ordination wait upon arms raised to the square before it was valid, did every revelation wait until it was printed before being acted upon? Were there ever times when the will of the Lord and the actions of His prophet conflicted with the official rules and policies of the Church? Which took precedence and what was valid in such cases?

Perhaps the most pertinent example of one such conflict was between Church policy and divine principle on the law of plural marriage. It was first revealed by God in 1929, prior to the organization of the Church, whilst Joseph was translating the Book of Mormon21, and was again mentioned in an unpublished 1831 revelation, which was also unknown to Church members.22

Oliver Cowdery, acting in Joseph’s absence, in 1835 made plural marriage against the rules and policies of the Church, in a statement on marriage accepted for publication in the Doctrine and Covenants, where it remained for decades afterwards. It declared “we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife; and one woman but one husband.”23 It was sustained by Church members and canonized by the Church, and yet was in direct conflict with the actions of Joseph Smith (who had not long married his first plural wife) and the revelations given by God to him.

What was Joseph to do? He had two choices – disobey God or the Church. If he believed he derived his authority to perform or enter marriages came from the Church he could not have continued to perform and practice plural marriage against its laws. Doing so could lead to his excommunication24, and – as it was also against the law in the states in which he lived25 – it could also lead to his imprisonment.

It was certainly a difficult decision, one which he did not take lightly. In fact, he hesitated for several years until the Lord sent an angel with a drawn sword who told him:

“Joseph, unless you go to and immediately teach that principle and put the same in practice, [you] should be slain. For thus saith the Lord, that the time has now come that I will raise up seed unto me as I spoke by my servant Jacob as is recorded in the Book of Mormon26, therefore, I command my people.”27

This revelation left him in no doubt as to what the Lord’s will was, despite the rules of the Church, he was commanded to practice plural marriage and to share that principle with his trusted allies, so that the Lord’s choicest spirit children might be raised up on earth.

The Church was a divine organization, and Joseph was the earthly head of it, but he presided over the Priesthood before he ever was sustained President of the Church, and although plural marriage was against the laws of the Church and state, the Lord revealed to him in 1843 that plural marriage was a law of the Priesthood itself:

“I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.”28

By this same authority Brigham Young carried on this law, which was only accepted officially by the Church in 1852.29 However, if the Saints had wanted another man as Church President, would Brother Brigham and the other Apostles have accepted that man as his Priesthood head? President Young faced this prospect when Sidney Rigdon wanted to become the guardian of the Church, and this is what he had to say then:

“If the people want President Rigdon to lead them, they may have him. But I say unto you that the quorum of the Twelve have the keys of the kingdom of God in all the world. They stand next to Joseph and are the Presidency of the Church, and hold the keys and would have to ordain any man unto that appointment that should be chosen. You cannot appoint any man at our head. … But if you want any other man to lead you, take him, and we will go our way to build up the kingdom in all the world. … Don’t put a thread between the Priesthood and God.”30

President Young said he didn’t “care who leads the church”31 because he held the keys. But if the Church had chosen someone else to lead them, it would have led to a division between the Church and Priesthood, with the Apostles going elsewhere to build up the kingdom. But this would not have been the first time it had happened in Gospel history:

“Why have they [the Jews] wandered so far from the path of truth and rectitude? Because they left the Priesthood and have had no guide, no leader, no means of finding out what is true and what is not true. It is said the Priesthood was taken from the Church, but it is not so; the church went from the priesthood, and continued to travel in the wilderness, turned from the commandments of the Lord, and instituted other ordinances.”32

If that happened in our day who would be the prophet and preside over the keys? Would it be the Church President or the head of the Priesthood? On this issue Brigham Young also gives us an important insight:

“Joseph presided over the church by the voice of the Church. Perhaps it would make some of you stumble, were I to ask you a question – Does a man’s being a prophet in this Church prove that he shall be president of it? I answer, no! A man may be a prophet, seer and revelator, and it may have nothing to do with his being the president of the Church. Suffice it to say that Joseph was the president of the Church, as long as he lived. The people chose to have it so. He always filled that responsible station, by the voice of the people. Can you find any revelation appointing him the president of the Church? The keys of the priesthood were committed to Joseph, to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, and were not to be taken from him in time or in eternity; but when he was called to preside over the Church, it was by the voice of the people; though he held the keys of the priesthood independent of their voice.”33

So the people chose to have Joseph as Church President, but he held the keys independently, whether or not the Church members wanted it that way. Fortunately for them they did sustain Joseph and later Brigham, because if they had not done so they would have only separated themselves from the authority and revelation necessary for their exaltation.

2 – Higher Quorums & Ordinations

“After that he talked for about an hour and then sat down and wrote the revelation which was given him by the Lord upon the question of Plural Marriage. Then he talked to us for some time, and said, “Some of you will be handled and ostracized and cast out from the Church by your brethren because of your faithfulness and integrity to this principle, and some of you may have to surrender your lives because of the same, but woe, woe, unto those who shall bring these troubles upon you.”

We learn from the Joseph Smith Translation of Exodus that Moses originally offered the fullness of the Gospel to the Israelites, but upon finding them to have departed so far from the Lord’s laws when he returned from the mount, this offer was revoked and a lesser law put in its place. Thus the Lord informed them:

“I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst …”34

Thus the higher Priesthood ordinances were not available to them, yet they continued to function – albeit in a lesser capacity – as the Lord’s Church and people, whilst a few carried on living the Gospel fully, such as the 70 elders of Israel, who did go to the mount and there saw God. However, the majority of the people either did not want or did not qualify for those blessings:

“Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also.”35

The “holy order” the Lord took away from the children of Israel exited in the days of Alma as can be seen from the thirteenth chapter of the book of his name:

“Now they were ordained after this manner – being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end – … and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God …”36

We are generally only acquainted with two degrees of the Melchizedek Priesthood – the Aaronic (or Levitical Priesthood) and the general Melchizedek Priesthood offices available in the Church. But at the beginning of this dispensation it was prophesied by Moroni that a higher degree of Priesthood would be restored:

“Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”37

In partial fulfillment of this – the keys of this Priesthood were restored in April 1836 (it is worth noting that this was the year after the ordination of the Quorum of Twelve and the formation of the First Presidency):

“After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi – testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come – … Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.”38

That the Kirtland Temple did not complete the process of this higher Priesthood being fully restored can be seen from a revelation to Joseph Smith in 1841 in which he was commanded to:

“Build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein. For there is not a place found on earth that he may come to and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood.”39

As we quoted earlier, Joseph made it clear that this “fullness of the Priesthood” was obtained through the keys and ordinances restored by Elijah:

“The spirit, power, and calling of Elijah is, that ye have power to hold the key of the revelation, ordinances, oracles, powers and endowments of the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth.”40

Those holding the fullness of this Priesthood are called “Kings and Priests” in the scriptures41, Joseph Smith calls this the “last law”42 and set out the requirements for obtaining it:

“If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord.”43

The Prophet taught that it was the highest of the “three grand orders of Priesthood.”44 It was not an optional blessing that some might experience, but a requirement for exaltation, as he told the Saints, “you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, …”45

In 1842 he began giving the initiatory ordinances of this Priesthood to a faithful few, and in doing so set apart an ancient Priesthood Council:

“I spent the day … instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, … and so on to the highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, … by which any one is enabled to secure the fullness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn … In this council was instituted the ancient order of things for the first time in these last days.”46

After this higher Church of the Firstborn was restored, Joseph finally felt that he could entrust a few men with a knowledge of the principle of celestial plural marriage, but doing so did not come without suspicion and opposition, as the Prophet’s scribe recorded:

“Conversed with Heber C. Kimball concerning a plot that is being laid to entrap the brethren of the secret priesthood by Bro. H. and others.”47

However, this secret Priesthood continued, despite such plots and betrayals, and in the Autumn of 1843, the ordinance and ordination required for the fullness of the Priesthood and admittance into its holy order were given in full, as Joseph Smith’s diary records:

“Baurak Ale [code name for Joseph48] was by common consent, and unanimous voice chosen president of the quorum, and anointed and ordained to the highest and holiest order of the priesthood (and companion).”49

The History of the Church just records this as “By the common consent and unanimous voice of the council, I was chosen president of the special council.”50 It was amongst men ordained to this order, that higher doctrines were taught and plural marriages performed, outside of the auspices of the Church, and the knowledge of the majority of its members.

A couple of months earlier, as he was anticipating being made head of a higher Priesthood organization, Joseph felt as if he could leave the running of the Church in the capable hands of his brother Hyrum, said He, “Hyrum should be the prophet;” but, the Church History adds, he “did not tell them he was going to be a Priest now, or a King by and by;”51 Referring to the higher organization he was involved in. The Saints did not take this news well, however, as they did not fully understand that he was talking about higher Priesthood and offices. He recalled in his journal that:

“Last Monday morning, certain men came to me and said, 'Brother Joseph, Hyrum is no Prophet - he can't lead the Church. If you resign, all things will go wrong; you must not resign; if you do, the Church will be scattered.’ I felt curious and said, “Have you not learned the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, which includes both Prophets, Priests, and Kings?”52

Upon Joseph’s death, Brigham Young even considered keeping alive this Priesthood more important than the lives of the Twelve Apostles being taken:

“I know there are those in our midst who will seek the lives of the Twelve as they did the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. We shall ordain others and give the fullness of the priesthood, so that if we are killed the fullness of the priesthood may remain.”53

Even though these were ordinations sometimes outside of the Quorum of twelve and without public knowledge, he was determined at all costs that the Fullness of the Priesthood should remain upon the earth. It was under its authority that celestial plural marriages and the ordinances of the temple were carried out, and by 1852 – when plural marriage was officially accepted by the Church – this higher Priesthood and the Church were able to act in harmony in keeping these laws alive.

However, by 1886 it had become apparent that much of the Church would no longer sustain higher laws, nor were worthy of higher Priesthood, and so – as Joseph did in 1843 – John Taylor set men apart as he had been to keep these laws alive, so that when it was again against the choices and policies of the Church, the authority would continue – in secret if necessary – as it had before 1852.

Prophecy

1 – Plural Marriage Would Not End / Would Continue

“He then set us apart and placed us under covenant that while we lived we would see to it that no year passed by without children being born in the principle of plural marriage. We were given authority to ordain others if necessary to carry this work on, they in turn to be given authority to ordain others when necessary, under the direction of the worthy senior (by ordination), so that there should be no cessation in the work.”

If plural marriage was merely a temporary practice, then we might expect God to say so either at its beginning or end. If it was a harmless tradition that didn’t lead to conflict with the world then we might understand the Lord not saying anything about it. But the Lord, as we have already seen, declared it an eternal law, and essential to exaltation. In light of this what did the Lord’s prophets have to say about how long it would continue, or if it could ever end?

Joseph Smith: “It is an eternal principle, and was given by way of commandment and not by way of instruction.”54

Brigham Young: “For so God help us, we will never give up that holy law that noble prophets laid down their lives to maintain. ... The powers of hell will do their utmost to get this people to give up that holy law which God designs to maintain.”55

John Taylor: “It is an eternal part of our religion, and we will never relinquish it - We cannot withdraw or renounce it - He has promised to maintain it.”56

Wilford Woodruff: “We wont quit practicing plural marriage until Christ shall come.” “The Lord will never give a revelation to abandon Plural Marriage.”57

Lorenzo Snow: “Though I go to prison, God will not change His law of celestial marriage.”58

Joseph F. Smith: “There are, however, enough witnesses to these principles to establish them upon the earth in such a manner that they never can be forgotten or stamped out. For they will live; ... they are bound to prevail, because they are true principles.”59

The test of a true prophet is whether their prophecies are fulfilled. If plural marriage has continued then we can place confidence in their callings and words, but if not then we “lay the axe to the root of the tree” that we as Latter-day Saints reside on the branches of. Perhaps some might argue that they couldn’t have anticipated what was going to happen. Would they say the same of our heavenly Father - Did He expect plural marriage to end in 1890, or to continue to our day? In 1886 he gave a revelation to John Taylor which left us in no doubt as to what His will was:

“Thus saith the Lord ... I have not revoked this law nor will I for it is everlasting, and those who will enter into my glory must obey the conditions thereof, even so, Amen.”60

With these words, the Lord promised that he would never revoke (end, repeal or withdraw) the law of celestial plural marriage. John Taylor was in hiding because of the persecution that arose due to this law, and God left him and us in no uncertainty of His intention to keep this law alive, and never remove it.

2 – Another People

“President Taylor said that the time would come when many of the Saints would apostatize because of this principle. He said “one-half of this people will apostatize over the principle for which we are now in hiding, yea, and possibly one-half of the other half" (rising off the floor while making the statement). He also said the day will come when a document similar to that (Manifesto) then under consideration would be adopted by the Church, following which “apostasy and whoredom would be rampant in the Church.”

Did God change His mind? Was He taken by surprise? Or did He anticipate what might happen and let His servants know what they should do in such a situation? Did God’s prophets also warn about the results of the Church giving up the principle? Did they ever imagine it could ever do so? Did they ever inform the Saints what they should do in such a situation? Or how the Lord would accomplish His plans without the involvement of the Church?

From the beginning of this dispensation the Lord has warned that he would be willing to bypass the majority of the Saints and select a few willing to keep His laws, if the rest would not honor them, as Joseph Smith warned -

“His word will go forth, in these last days, in purity; for if Zion will not purify herself, so as to be approved of in all things, in His sight, He will seek another people ...”61

As we have quoted earlier, the Elders of the Church (General Authorities) were cautioned after plural marriage was revealed to them that “if they were not prepared to enter into it, and to stem the torrent of opposition that would come in consequence of it, the keys of the kingdom would be taken from them and given to others.”62 In John Taylor’s day the same warning was repeated to the Apostles that:

“If we do not embrace that principle soon, the keys will be turned against us.”63

This did not mean, however, that the Lord would abandon those Saints who would be faithful, or that he would remove His Priesthood authority entirely. As Brigham Young promised:

“The Lord Almighty will not suffer His Priesthood to be again driven from the earth, even should He permit the wicked to kill and destroy this people... God will preserve a portion of this people, of the meek and the humble, to bear off the kingdom to the inhabitants of the earth, and will defend his priesthood, for it is the last time, the last gathering time.”64

Thus we see that the Lord would not allow a complete apostasy in this dispensation, but would rather preserve a portion of His people with the priesthood necessary to carry out his purposes. However, the Saints prior to the Manifesto cannot claim ignorance of the results of the majority of them not living plural marriage and many of them fighting against it. They were told in no uncertain terms what the result of their actions would be. As an official Church publication warned them five years prior to the Manifesto:

“The entire Church and all of its Priesthood, with the Presidency at the head of it might motion and vote against this principle until doomsday with just one effect, (namely) to vote themselves away from the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, from the possession of their Priesthood, and to find themselves very speedily outside the Church and Kingdom of God; while he would raise up others that would honor and observe his law.”65

These warnings were not only to the general membership but also to any leaders who would not live and perpetuate this law. Yet the First Presidency officially and publicly admitted that this is what the membership of the Church and some of its leaders chose to do:

“We formerly taught to our people that polygamy, or celestial marriage as commanded by God through Joseph Smith, was right; that it was a necessity to man's highest exaltation in the life to come. That doctrine was publicly promulgated by our President, the late Brigham Young, forty years ago, and was steadily taught and impressed upon the Latter-day Saints up to a short time before September, 1890.

To be at peace with the government and in harmony with their fellow citizens who are not of their faith, and to share in the confidence of the Government and the people, our people have voluntarily put aside something which all their lives they have believed to be a sacred principle.”66

However, others kept this law alive, including many of the leaders of the Church from Wilford Woodruff to Joseph F. Smith.67 But the Lord set apart others to carry on His laws, so that the actions of subsequent Church Presidents could not stop this principle or it’s practice, as John Taylor promises:

“If God has introduced something for our glory and exaltation, we are not going to have that kicked over by an improper influence, either inside or outside of the Church of the living God. ...”68

As we illustrated earlier - this is not a new situation, it happened in the days of Moses, when the majority preferred a lesser law (even though it was not capable of exalting them), whilst the few who were willing to do all the Lord asked of them carried on regardless:

“The kingdom of God is to be enjoyed by the Saints - those who are righteous, not those who are wicked. If we prove unworthy, Zion will have to be redeemed by our children, who may be more worthy, while we may be kept, like the ancient children of Israel, wandering in the wilderness, enduring hardships, persecution and trials, until we shall have suffered the penalty of neglected, not to say broken and unfulfilled covenants.”69

Yet, in the end it is those who live the laws of God who will be exalted, and God has made a way for them to be lived, despite the actions of the Church and nation. Those who still wander about in the wilderness may yet emerge to fulfill their covenants and become part of the Lord’s higher purposes, but whatever their course; this principle, God’s priesthood, and those people who honor them will continue to fulfill the prophecies given by Him and receive the promises made to them.

Summary

We have established that:

• Celestial plural marriage is an eternal principle and practice.
• Holding the Priesthood keys is dependent upon living this law.
• There is higher priesthood that can act separately from the Church.
• God and his prophets prophesied that this law would never end.
• God intended to set apart “another people” if the Church rejected it.

The question now remains – how do we respond to these truths? Do we trust the words of God and of the early prophets? Do we believe their prophecies are being fulfilled by those set apart to keep these principles alive? Will we ignore what God expects of us, or will we sustain God in His plans and seek to further them?

Spiritual Confirmation

While examining the last window, and feeling greatly agitated, a voice spoke to me, saying, “Can't you feel the Spirit? Why should you worry?”

We may be wondering why we have not seen these things before. Perhaps this study has opened up for us possibilities we have never seen if we had not looked more deeply. Prior to reading these things our preconceptions may have kept us from accepting that God might have worked in this way. Now we can consider these principles with a more open mind and willing heart, that the Lord can work with more easily.

When Lorin Woolley was checking the outside window of President John Taylor’s room to see if someone had forced entry, the Spirit whispered to him, “Can’t you feel the Spirit? Why should you worry?” Many have felt that same Spirit reading his account of how the Savior came to Taylor, giving him a revelation stating “I have not revoked this law [of plural marriage], nor will I”, and they have gained a spiritual witness for themselves that Joseph Smith oversaw Taylor ordaining several men so that “no year would pass by without children being born into this principle.”

We may never have physical evidence in this life of Moses parting the red sea, of the Savior appearing to the brother of Jared, or of Elijah coming to the Kirtland temple, but we can have a spiritual witness of these events. We can know for ourselves if they happened, and if we can trust in God’s words and the prophets that relate them.

Footnotes

1. Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21.
2. Teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 308.
3. D&C 132:4-5.
4. D&C 132:28
5. D&C 132:34 (see 29-37)
6. D&C 132:17,19,22-23,26,29,37,39,49,57 & 63.
7. D&C 132:3,4,6,17,19,20,24,25,27,32,37,54 & 64.
8. John Taylor to Malinda Merrill, 19 January 1883.
9. Revelation to John Taylor, 25-26 June 1882, Unpublished Revelations 80:21-22.
10. Doctrine & Covenants 64:5.
11. History of the Church 6:251, Teachings, p. 337.
12. Zina Huntington, 23 December 1894, Collected Discourses, Vol. 5.
13. Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, Ch.13, p.69-70.
14. Life of Heber C. Kimball, Orson F. Whitney, p. 336 (1888 edition).
15. John Taylor, 7 June 1866, Journal of Discourses 11:221-222.
16. Revelation to John Taylor, October 13th, 1882.
17. He married Abbie Corrila Wells on 28th April 1884.
18. John Taylor, October 10th, 1882, Life of Wilford Woodruff, Matthias F. Cowley, p. 542.
19. Joseph Smith – History 1:68-72.
20. See Doctrine & Covenants, Sections 2-19.
21. Brigham Young, Journal of Charles Walker, 26th July 1872. See Joseph B. Noble testimony, June 1886.
22. Revelation to Joseph Smith, 17th July 1831. See W.W. Phelps letter to Brigham Young, 12th August 1861.
23. Doctrine & Covenants 101:4 (1835 Edition).
24. William Clayton's Journal, 19th October 1843.
25. Illinois state bigamy law, enacted 12th February 1833.
26. Jacob 2:30.
27. Joseph Lee Robinson Journal, Fall 1841.
28. Doctrine & Covenants 132:28.
29. 29th August 1852, Journal of Discourses 1:53.
30. 8th August 1844, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 2:436-37.
31. History of the Church 7:230.
32. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 12:69.
33. Brigham Young, Contributor 10:3, Journal of Discourses 11:333.
34. JST Exodus 34:1.
35. Doctrine & Covenants 84:23-25.
36. Alma 13:8-11.
37. Doctrine & Covenants 2:1; Joseph Smith – History 1:38.
38. Doctrine & Covenants 110:13-14.
39. Doctrine & Covenants 124:27-28.
40. History of the Church 6:251
41. Revelations 5:10; Doctrine & Covenants 76:56.
42. History of the Church 5:554-556.
43. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 308.
44. History of the Church 5:554-556.
45. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 346.
46. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 237.
47. William Clayton diary, 23 May 1843, George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, p. 105.
48. Doctrine & Covenants 103:22 (Pre-1981 editions)
49. Joseph Smith, Diary, 28 Sept. 1843, LDS Church Archives.
50. History of the Church 6:39.
51. History of the Church 5:512.
52. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 318
53. Brigham Young, History of the Church 7:230.
54. Contributor 5:259; History of the Church 6:280; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith p. 94.
55. Life of Mosiah Hancock p. 48. See Journal of Discourses 9:36.
56. Millennial Star 47:708, 9 November 1855. See Journal of Discourses 23:240-41 & 26:151-53.
57. John Henry Smith Journal, see Heber J. Grant Journal, 17 May 1888 & Minutes of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, 12 December 1888.
58. Millennial Star 48:110-11; History of Utah, Orson F. Whitney, 1879.
59. Journal of Discourses 21:10, 7 December 1879.
60. 27 September 1886, Revelation to John Taylor, Church History Office; Unpublished Revelations 88:1, 9.
61. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 18.
62. John Taylor, 7 June 1866, Journal of Discourses 11:221-222.
63. John Taylor, 10 October 1882, Life of Wilford Woodruff, Matthias F. Cowley, p. 542.
64. Brigham Young, Contributor 10:362. see Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses 6:125.
65. Deseret News, Editorial, 1 April 1885.
66. Petition for Amnesty, First Presidency, 19 December 1891, Contributor 13:197.
67. See Solemn Covenant, B. Carmon Hardy; Post-Manifesto Plural Marriages, D. Michael Quinn; or Mormon Polygamy, Richard S. VanWagoner for extensive documentation.
68. John Taylor, 7 June 1874, Journal of Discourses 25:310.
69. Joseph F. Smith, 2 April 1877, Journal of Discourses 19:26.