[Leonard Arrington]
.... One of the NBC [TV] people had asked Elder Hinckley why he wasn't willing to meet with Sonia Johnson. He said, We'd be delighted to meet with her. That word was passed on to Sonia by the NBC person and so when she came she wanted to take Elder Hinckley up on the offer. She worked through Jan Tyler, and Jan was able to get things so that a meeting could be held. ... Sonia had insisted with Jan that they refer to them as Gordon and Neal rather than as Elder Hinckley and Elder Maxwell, and that they be called Jan and Sonia instead of Sister Tyler and Sister Johnson. Sonia had prepared a list of six things to bring up with them, but the confrontation was so intense and so unfriendly that she didn't get more than two covered. ... Jan reported that Elder Hinckley was not in the mood to listen. He took it as his task to "give counsel." Sonia for her part was not seeking counsel but trying to persuade Elder Hinckley and Elder Maxwell to give consideration to various points. ... He was
not sympathetic with Sonia's concerns or the problems of women, and for her part Sonia was not in a mood to tearfully express repentance. Jan said it was the most excruciating experience she had ever had in her life. She thought absolutely nothing in terms of policy would come as the result of the meeting. It was excruciating to Jan partly because of the cruel way that Elder Hinckley treated Sonia, and partly because of his complete unwillingness to listen to the expression of problems and concerns and frustrations.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
Today In Mormon History-fb
Several curious tidbits that happened on this day in Mormon History
75 years ago today - Mar 10, 1950
[Spencer W. Kimball]
[In response to a comment by Meredith Wilson, dean of the School of Education at the University of Utah, regarding the Deseret News's criticisms of the U of u Pen affair (promoting literature critical of the church):] He [i.e., Wilson] felt that the Church made much of little. I told him this was not little'it was not a coincidence that all this array of Church enemies and their long list of scatological writings should be grouped together in the first pages all together in the PEN and should come out on this Centennial day. I told him that we were sorry too for a little girl who had made a mistake but I felt sorrier for the hundred of thousands of good Latter Day Saints dead and living who had been insulted and defamed and attacked by the Pen and its writers held up by it to glorification. I told him we or I felt that the University should be strictly non-religious. They had no more right in the classes, in their magazines or otherwise to belittle the Church than they had to teach
its doctrines. ... I do not know what impression I made upon him, but I told him many things in a quiet kindly manner in those two hours that I hope will sink in and help him. I told him again that I was not so much concerned with the tirade which could easily be forgiven. The thing which distressed me greatly was that it was splitting our L.D.S. people apart and that so many of our own people had lost the sense of injustice and preferred to worship the spirit of free thinking and expression than the spirit of loyalty to a Cause and to our people who were responsible for this great empire and the University and most all else.
[Spencer W. Kimball Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
[In response to a comment by Meredith Wilson, dean of the School of Education at the University of Utah, regarding the Deseret News's criticisms of the U of u Pen affair (promoting literature critical of the church):] He [i.e., Wilson] felt that the Church made much of little. I told him this was not little'it was not a coincidence that all this array of Church enemies and their long list of scatological writings should be grouped together in the first pages all together in the PEN and should come out on this Centennial day. I told him that we were sorry too for a little girl who had made a mistake but I felt sorrier for the hundred of thousands of good Latter Day Saints dead and living who had been insulted and defamed and attacked by the Pen and its writers held up by it to glorification. I told him we or I felt that the University should be strictly non-religious. They had no more right in the classes, in their magazines or otherwise to belittle the Church than they had to teach
its doctrines. ... I do not know what impression I made upon him, but I told him many things in a quiet kindly manner in those two hours that I hope will sink in and help him. I told him again that I was not so much concerned with the tirade which could easily be forgiven. The thing which distressed me greatly was that it was splitting our L.D.S. people apart and that so many of our own people had lost the sense of injustice and preferred to worship the spirit of free thinking and expression than the spirit of loyalty to a Cause and to our people who were responsible for this great empire and the University and most all else.
[Spencer W. Kimball Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
110 years ago today - Mar 10, 1915
The pattern of the temple garment was given by revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith[,] exact date as to month or year unknown.
[Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose to Arthur C. Smith, Mar. 10, 1915 as quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
[Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose to Arthur C. Smith, Mar. 10, 1915 as quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship]
130 years ago today - Mar 10, 1895
[Heber J. Grant]
I will be thankful indeed when the time comes that I can live with her [his plural wife Emily] as a wife and in a manner that will bring peace and happiness to both of us [his wife] Gusta feels as sad over my loss [of a son by Emily] as it could be possible for her to feel. She would gladly do something to comfort Emily were it in her power to do so. ...
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
I will be thankful indeed when the time comes that I can live with her [his plural wife Emily] as a wife and in a manner that will bring peace and happiness to both of us [his wife] Gusta feels as sad over my loss [of a son by Emily] as it could be possible for her to feel. She would gladly do something to comfort Emily were it in her power to do so. ...
[Diary of Heber J. Grant, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
145 years ago today - Mar 10, 1880
Opening session of the territory's first medical school, Medical College of Utah in Morgan, Utah. Its first student and first M.D. graduate in 1882 is Emeline Grover Rich, plural wife of Apostle Charles C. Rich. She is a mother of eight children.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
180 years ago today - March 10, 1845. Monday.
[William Clayton]
....While writing and copying the records of the Kingdom, I was writing these words dropped by Elder H. C. Kimball in the council on the 4th inst. viz. "if a man step beyond his bounds he will lose his kingdom as Lucifer did and it will be given to others who are more worthy." This idea came to my mind. It has been a doctrine taught by this church that we were in the Grand Council amongst the Gods when the organization of this world was contemplated and that the laws of government were all made and sanctioned by all present and all the ordinances and ceremonies decreed upon. Now is it not the case that the Council of the Kingdom of God [Council of Fifty] now organized upon this earth are making laws and sanctioning principles which will in part govern the saints after the resurrection, and after death will not these laws be made known by messengers and agents as the gospel was made known to us. And is there not a similarity between this grand council and the council which sat
previous to the organization of this world.
[George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
....While writing and copying the records of the Kingdom, I was writing these words dropped by Elder H. C. Kimball in the council on the 4th inst. viz. "if a man step beyond his bounds he will lose his kingdom as Lucifer did and it will be given to others who are more worthy." This idea came to my mind. It has been a doctrine taught by this church that we were in the Grand Council amongst the Gods when the organization of this world was contemplated and that the laws of government were all made and sanctioned by all present and all the ordinances and ceremonies decreed upon. Now is it not the case that the Council of the Kingdom of God [Council of Fifty] now organized upon this earth are making laws and sanctioning principles which will in part govern the saints after the resurrection, and after death will not these laws be made known by messengers and agents as the gospel was made known to us. And is there not a similarity between this grand council and the council which sat
previous to the organization of this world.
[George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
195 years ago today - Mar 10, 1830
A Presbyterian committee reports that Lucy, Hyrum, and Samuel Smith acknowledged that they had "entirely neglected the ordinances of the church for the last eighteen months and that they did not wish to unite with us any more".
[Vogel, Dan, Early Mormon Documents, Appendix B: Chronology, 1771-1831, http://amzn.to/T5nY8w]
[Vogel, Dan, Early Mormon Documents, Appendix B: Chronology, 1771-1831, http://amzn.to/T5nY8w]
70 years ago today - Mar 9, 1955
Thomas S. Ferguson makes a presentation to the LDS First Presidency concerning the New World Archaeological Foundation. Ferguson points out that the scholarly world would accept the archaeological discoveries of NWAF, since non-Mormon archaeologists would be used and NWAF was not an official church organization. As a result, Ferguson receives a commitment for $200,000 from the Church, which would be enough money to carry out four seasons of archaeological excavations in Mesoamerica. The presentation was a follow-up to a recent letter Ferguson had sent to the First Presidency stating: "The Book of Mormon is the only revelation from God in the history of the world that can possibly be tested by scientific physical evidence. . . . To find the city of Jericho is merely to confirm a point of history. To find the city of Zarahemla is to confirm a point of history but it is also to confirm, through tangible physical evidence, divine revelation to the modern world through Joseph Smith,
Moroni, and the Urim and Thummim. Thus, Book of Mormon history is revelation that can be tested by archaeology."
Moroni, and the Urim and Thummim. Thus, Book of Mormon history is revelation that can be tested by archaeology."
75 years ago today - Mar 9, 1950
[Spencer W. Kimball]
I was much depressed. It was noticeable for Pres. Clark asked me what the trouble was. I told him I was consulting Dr. Cowan on my throat and that the Doctor seems worried. He said: You looked worried and disturbed. Surely you don't need anything else to worry you. In my turn I had reported to the Brethren 'No report'I am still loafing' and Pres. Clark rejoined 'No you aren't.' The brethren have not given me any stake assignments and almost none other. The only work I can do these days is that which I dig up and encourage. I hope this condition will not be long, for it is terribly depressing to be relieved from service. I am feeling much better physically, though that may be because of the greater worry of the cancer.
[Spencer W. Kimball Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
I was much depressed. It was noticeable for Pres. Clark asked me what the trouble was. I told him I was consulting Dr. Cowan on my throat and that the Doctor seems worried. He said: You looked worried and disturbed. Surely you don't need anything else to worry you. In my turn I had reported to the Brethren 'No report'I am still loafing' and Pres. Clark rejoined 'No you aren't.' The brethren have not given me any stake assignments and almost none other. The only work I can do these days is that which I dig up and encourage. I hope this condition will not be long, for it is terribly depressing to be relieved from service. I am feeling much better physically, though that may be because of the greater worry of the cancer.
[Spencer W. Kimball Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
115 years ago today - Wednesday, Mar 9, 1910
[Apostle John Henry Smith]
St. George
... examined the foundation of the Temple and the Walls. The Mineral is eating away even the black rock as it does the sand stone. The foundation of the Tabernacle is being very badly damaged.
[Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith]
St. George
... examined the foundation of the Temple and the Walls. The Mineral is eating away even the black rock as it does the sand stone. The foundation of the Tabernacle is being very badly damaged.
[Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith]
155 years ago today - Mar 9, 1870
I witnessed another evidence of the far-seeing policy of our President [Brigham Young]. He happened to see some little fellows playing with round stones for want of marbles'"I heard him say to his wife: '"Look into the buggy, and see if there are not some marbles.'" Surely enough they were produced, and given to the children. He also had some tobacco for the Indians. There seemed to be something for every emergency in that buggy. -- Harrisburg, Utah
[Improvement Era. LDS Church. Salt Lake City, 1897-1970. 3:5 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Improvement Era. LDS Church. Salt Lake City, 1897-1970. 3:5 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
165 years ago today - Mar 9, 1860
Conversation changed and fell upon the subject of the unpleasantness which attends marrying women of property, the President [Brigham Young] observed he had been singularly fortunate on that head for one or two of his women had a little property coming to them but they did not get it, and the other woman had but little. -- Salt Lake City
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
180 years ago today - Mar 9, 1845 (Evening)
[Upon a request to begin the Relief Society again, Brigham Young states:] Relative to things in which any of our sisters have been engaged they have no right to meddle in the affairs of the kingdom of God, outside the pale of this they have a right to meddle because many of them are more sagacious and shrewd and more competent [than men] to attend to things of financial affairs. They never can hold the keys of the Priesthood apart from their husbands, When I want sisters or the wives of the members of the church to get up Relief Society I will summon them to my aid but until that time let them stay at home and if you see females huddling together veto the concern and if they say Joseph started it tell them it is a damned lie for I know he never encouraged it'- I am determined to stay these proceedings for by it our best men have been taken from us. One ounce of prevention is better than one pound of cure. -- Nauvoo, Illinois
[Seventies Record Minutes as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Seventies Record Minutes as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
200 years ago today - Mar 9, 1825
A Baptist pastor in Bristol, New York, reports that in Palmyra "Multitudes have abandoned their false hopes, and false schemes .... About three hundred have united with the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches; and to each in about equal numbers."
25 years ago today - Mar 08, 2000
God's Army, an independent film directed by LDS filmmaker Richard Dutcher about missionary life in Southern California, premieres in Sandy, Utah.
45 years ago today - Mar 8, 1980.
Paul Toscano is asked to be a witness at the temple wedding of Ron and Kathy Ray in Mesa, Arizona. At the door his and Margaret Toscano's recommends are confiscated and they are refused entrance. The temple president informs them that their bishop, Sheldon Talbot, called the temple president requesting that action. The Toscanos immediately call him. He gives them no information except that they are "unworthy" to enter the temple, even though they accompanied Kathy for her endowments the day before. Distressed and humiliated the Toscanos participate in the brunch and reception and then return to Orem, Utah, where they discover that several friends have received summonses to church courts, essentially as "accomplices" of the Toscanos. Finally, they learn that Talbot is acting on rumors that the Toscanos have been conducting the temple endowment in their home, are performing plural marriages, have been teaching false doctrine, and have been leading others out of the church. Elder Mark
E. Petersen refuses to meet with Paul. A former BYU bishop intervenes with Elder Petersen. The scheduled courts are canceled. Over the next six months, the Toscanos meet with their stake president and bishop three times in lengthy sessions of five to six hours each. The stake presidency's investigation concludes that there is no substance to the rumors. Their temple recommends are returned to them.
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]
E. Petersen refuses to meet with Paul. A former BYU bishop intervenes with Elder Petersen. The scheduled courts are canceled. Over the next six months, the Toscanos meet with their stake president and bishop three times in lengthy sessions of five to six hours each. The stake presidency's investigation concludes that there is no substance to the rumors. Their temple recommends are returned to them.
[Anderson, Lavina Fielding, "The LDS Intellectual Community and Church Leadership: A Contemporary Chronology," Dialogue, Vol.26, No.1]
135 years ago today - Mar 8, 1890
[James E. Talmage]
'According to an appointment of long standing, I this day went to Provo and there delivered a lecture on the "Theory of Evolution" before the County Teacher's Convention. The convention, after listening to the lecture, asked permission to publish it. Because of the importance of the subject and the ease with which misunderstandings arise as to a speaker's intentions, I read the lecture from notes"
[James E. Talmage diary]
'According to an appointment of long standing, I this day went to Provo and there delivered a lecture on the "Theory of Evolution" before the County Teacher's Convention. The convention, after listening to the lecture, asked permission to publish it. Because of the importance of the subject and the ease with which misunderstandings arise as to a speaker's intentions, I read the lecture from notes"
[James E. Talmage diary]
140 years ago today - Mar 8, 1885
"The scriptures give an account simply of the woman Eve; declaring that this name was given her of Adam, because she was "the mother of all living;" but outside of biblical record there has been handed down from time immemorial the idea that Adam had two wives, the narrators go so far, or rather so near perfecting the tradition so as to give their names, Lilith being said to be the name of one as Eve was the name of the other, and while it may be difficult to harmonize all the Rabbinical and Talmudic versions of this matter, it is said that Joseph Smith the Prophet taught that Adam had two wives."
[Elder H. W. Naisbitt, Journal of Discourses 26:115, as quoted in Quotations Dealing with the Relationship of Our First Earthy Parents to Our Heavenly Parents (1830-1978)]
[Elder H. W. Naisbitt, Journal of Discourses 26:115, as quoted in Quotations Dealing with the Relationship of Our First Earthy Parents to Our Heavenly Parents (1830-1978)]
155 years ago today - Mar 8, 1870 (Afternoon)
I never heard him take a text from the Bible except once. Brother Brigham did not believe in loud laughter; he seldom more than smiled, and rarely repeated jokes to provoke laughter.
[Improvement Era. LDS Church. Salt Lake City, 1897-1970. 3:5 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Improvement Era. LDS Church. Salt Lake City, 1897-1970. 3:5 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
185 years ago today - Mar 8, 1840
While Wilford Woodruff is preaching at John Benbow's Hill Farm to over 1,000 people, the local rector preaches to only 15. The rector sends a constable to arrest Elder Woodruff for preaching without a license. When the constable learns that he has a license, he sits and listens to the sermon and requests baptism at the end of the meeting. The next day the rector sends two more people to spy on Elder Woodruff's preachings, and both of them request baptism.
[Conkling, Christopher J., Joseph Smith Chronology]
[Conkling, Christopher J., Joseph Smith Chronology]
190 years ago today - Mar 8, 1835
At Kirtland an additional 69 brethren are blessed for having "assisted in building the House of the Lord in Kirtland." Exactly fifty were blessed the previous day.
90 years ago today - End of February 1935
[J. Reuben Clark]
Tithing-Death Benefit.
It is the intention of the First Presidency to give, as a matter of aid and reward for faithfulness, from and after January 1, 1936, to one or more or all of the faithful Church members of the family of a deceased tithe-payer dying after January 1, 1936, an amount equal to one-tenth (1/10) of the tithing paid by such deceased tithe-payer after January 1, 1935.
The First Presidency may change, modify, or discontinue the plan and practice thereof in whole or as to any individual case if wisdom or the necessities of the Church seem in their opinion to make such a course desirable.
[The Diaries of J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961, Abridged, Digital Edition, Salt Lake City, Utah 2015]
Tithing-Death Benefit.
It is the intention of the First Presidency to give, as a matter of aid and reward for faithfulness, from and after January 1, 1936, to one or more or all of the faithful Church members of the family of a deceased tithe-payer dying after January 1, 1936, an amount equal to one-tenth (1/10) of the tithing paid by such deceased tithe-payer after January 1, 1935.
The First Presidency may change, modify, or discontinue the plan and practice thereof in whole or as to any individual case if wisdom or the necessities of the Church seem in their opinion to make such a course desirable.
[The Diaries of J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961, Abridged, Digital Edition, Salt Lake City, Utah 2015]
165 years ago today - Feb 28, 1860
[Brigham Young]
President Young remarked to his Bro. Phineas that Joseph Smith Jun [III] (little Joseph as he is called) will be a good latter day saint; in time it may want a revelation from the Lord; but blessings will rest upon the posterity of Joseph Smith the Prophet; and the spirit of the Lord will probably rest upon Joseph that he will be constrained to enquire of the Lord what he would have him do. -- Salt Lake City
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
President Young remarked to his Bro. Phineas that Joseph Smith Jun [III] (little Joseph as he is called) will be a good latter day saint; in time it may want a revelation from the Lord; but blessings will rest upon the posterity of Joseph Smith the Prophet; and the spirit of the Lord will probably rest upon Joseph that he will be constrained to enquire of the Lord what he would have him do. -- Salt Lake City
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
175 years ago today - Feb 28, 1850
Originally named the University of Deseret, the University of Utah is the oldest state university west of the Missouri River. Founded in Salt Lake City on 28 February 1850, the school's first term - for men only - in November of 1850. The second term was opened to both women and men.
[Hosea Stout diary] "Met with the Legislature again[.] The fore noon was mostly spent in passing a bill providing for a University for the State which provided for a Chancellor 12 Regents & Treasurer to be appointed by the Legislature which was donealso 5000 dollars voted out of the Treasurey to commence it."
[Utah History Encyclopedia: University of Utah, http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/]
[Hosea Stout diary] "Met with the Legislature again[.] The fore noon was mostly spent in passing a bill providing for a University for the State which provided for a Chancellor 12 Regents & Treasurer to be appointed by the Legislature which was donealso 5000 dollars voted out of the Treasurey to commence it."
[Utah History Encyclopedia: University of Utah, http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/]
180 years ago today - Feb 28, 1845, Friday
[William Clayton]
``The State of Illinois has severed from us every tie that could possibly bind us to them as a government ... and as a last mark of their vengeance they have taken away our charter and left us open to the enemy without the least shield of law to protect us.'' The Masonic lodge, too, had taken away its charter from Nauvoo, thus breaking another bond with the people of the state, ``so that every tie is gone, and we can now rely on the arm of Jehovah alone for protection and safety from our enemies.'' ... ``We are an independent people claiming n o aliance with any of the kingdoms of the earth. We are hunted and oppressed something like the Lamanites were on the first settlement of the United States by the whites. The mobs are continually getting out writs for the best of our men and seem determined to blot us out from the face of the earth.'' ...
[Fillerup, Robert C., compiler; William Clayton Nauvoo Diaries and Personal Writings, A chronological compilation of the personal writings of William Clayton while he was a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois. http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/clayton-diaries]
``The State of Illinois has severed from us every tie that could possibly bind us to them as a government ... and as a last mark of their vengeance they have taken away our charter and left us open to the enemy without the least shield of law to protect us.'' The Masonic lodge, too, had taken away its charter from Nauvoo, thus breaking another bond with the people of the state, ``so that every tie is gone, and we can now rely on the arm of Jehovah alone for protection and safety from our enemies.'' ... ``We are an independent people claiming n o aliance with any of the kingdoms of the earth. We are hunted and oppressed something like the Lamanites were on the first settlement of the United States by the whites. The mobs are continually getting out writs for the best of our men and seem determined to blot us out from the face of the earth.'' ...
[Fillerup, Robert C., compiler; William Clayton Nauvoo Diaries and Personal Writings, A chronological compilation of the personal writings of William Clayton while he was a resident of Nauvoo, Illinois. http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/clayton-diaries]
190 years ago today - Feb 28, 1835
The First Quorum of the Seventy was organized in Kirtland, and its first seven presidents, who were also selected from members of Zion's Camp, were named.
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
120 years ago today - Feb 27, 1905
[Thomas A. Clawson Diary]
At Alberta Stake Conference, "Among the reports I noted, both in this and the Taylor Stakes, the great children population under 8 years of age. One Bishop said if they would only give him time he would be able to build up a good ward from the children. Many reports showed where there was a population of 80 there were 30 and 40 children under 8 years of age. One ward that has a population of 1200 shows 400 children under 8 years of age which to me was a grand showing."
[Diary Excerpts of Thomas A. Clawson, Signature Books Library, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
At Alberta Stake Conference, "Among the reports I noted, both in this and the Taylor Stakes, the great children population under 8 years of age. One Bishop said if they would only give him time he would be able to build up a good ward from the children. Many reports showed where there was a population of 80 there were 30 and 40 children under 8 years of age. One ward that has a population of 1200 shows 400 children under 8 years of age which to me was a grand showing."
[Diary Excerpts of Thomas A. Clawson, Signature Books Library, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
150 years ago today - Feb 27, 1875
Deseret News reports Orson Pratt's sermon: "Little did we suppose when we were driven out from Jackson County, the place where God has promised to give his Saints their inheritances, and in the regions round about, that nearly half a century would pass over our heads before we would be restored back to that land." He adds that a few who were in the church at the time they were driven from Jackson County "will live to behold the day, and will return and receive their inheritances."
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
150 years ago today - Feb 27, 1875
DESERET NEWS reports Orson Pratt sermon: "Little did we suppose when we were driven out from Jackson County, the place where God has promised to give his Saints their inheritances, and in the regions round about, that nearly half a century would pass over our heads before we would be restored back to that land." He adds that a few who were in the church at the time they were driven from Jackson County "will live to behold the day, and will return and receive their inheritances."
155 years ago today - Feb 27, 1870
Thomas C. Griggs, a faithful Mormon, writes in his diary: "in the afternoon we had a lengthy if not interesting discourse from Elder Erastus Snow."
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
180 years ago today - 1845 27 Feb.
At a meeting of apostles with several Council of Fifty members, W. W. Phelps says, "B. Young has found out that we are in Eternity, the Millennium has now commenced." In the "evening some person or persons took Washington Peck and bedaubed him all over with privy dirt. ...This is one of those mean traitors who lurks about continually in our midst communicating with our enemies & seeking to have the twelve destroyed. He is marked as a mean conspirator." Apostle John Taylor, in the Nauvoo Neighbor, soon writes: "But one person [Washington Peck] has been introduced to 'Queen Peggy's privy cabinet,' and so every man minds his own business." William Marks hurriedly leaves Nauvoo to avoid similar treatment.
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Appendix 7: Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-47, http://amzn.to/origins-power]
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Appendix 7: Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-47, http://amzn.to/origins-power]
180 years ago today - Feb 27, 1845
[Council of Fifty]
Br. [Lewis] Dana is acquainted with nearly all the tribes, & he can take a company right from here to the Pacific -- the Flat Heads have 200,000 warriors-- ano[the]r. tribe 180 & anr. 150,000 they want Mormonism-- we want some to stay among them as missionaries--
[William W.] Phelps says the U.S. report only abt. 2 or 300,000-- & also reported the speechs of Sacs & Foxes-- who are dissatisfied-- we can now make a virtue-- unite our teams & plow with Ephraim as well as the Gentiles-- ....
[Heber C. Kimball:] ... These men [apostles] can make vessels of you, & fit you for God-- there are some who say that the 12 are hard task masters but the day will come when it will be found outâ€" this Council does not justify Lyman Wight-- Emmett or [Sidney] Rigdon, all working against us-- they are sealing women to one another & running into adultry-- we can shew that most of Rigdon's followers enter into the Spiritual Wife doctrine ...
B. Y. ... Jos. wanted we -- visit the Lamanites --I commit to Br B. the keys of the Kingdom to the Lamanites-- he committed them to me-- we visited & preached to them they believed it, we have heard a many times from them--
Phelps sd. or 8. went over the boundaries of the U.S. [in 1831] to preach-- Jos. went to prayer-- he then commenced a revelation that Martin [Harris] was to marry among the Laminites-- & that I was to preach that day-- &c &c it was a long revelation-- we have a living Constitution ...
[Joseph Smith Papers: Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844-January 1846]
Br. [Lewis] Dana is acquainted with nearly all the tribes, & he can take a company right from here to the Pacific -- the Flat Heads have 200,000 warriors-- ano[the]r. tribe 180 & anr. 150,000 they want Mormonism-- we want some to stay among them as missionaries--
[William W.] Phelps says the U.S. report only abt. 2 or 300,000-- & also reported the speechs of Sacs & Foxes-- who are dissatisfied-- we can now make a virtue-- unite our teams & plow with Ephraim as well as the Gentiles-- ....
[Heber C. Kimball:] ... These men [apostles] can make vessels of you, & fit you for God-- there are some who say that the 12 are hard task masters but the day will come when it will be found outâ€" this Council does not justify Lyman Wight-- Emmett or [Sidney] Rigdon, all working against us-- they are sealing women to one another & running into adultry-- we can shew that most of Rigdon's followers enter into the Spiritual Wife doctrine ...
B. Y. ... Jos. wanted we -- visit the Lamanites --I commit to Br B. the keys of the Kingdom to the Lamanites-- he committed them to me-- we visited & preached to them they believed it, we have heard a many times from them--
Phelps sd. or 8. went over the boundaries of the U.S. [in 1831] to preach-- Jos. went to prayer-- he then commenced a revelation that Martin [Harris] was to marry among the Laminites-- & that I was to preach that day-- &c &c it was a long revelation-- we have a living Constitution ...
[Joseph Smith Papers: Council of Fifty, Minutes, March 1844-January 1846]
180 years ago today - Feb 27, 1845
[Anointed Quorum]
Thursday prayer circle meeting of "the brethren" who prayed for John Smith's recovery from sickness .
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Signature Books, 1994, Appendex: Meetings and Initiations of the Anointed Quorum, 1842-45, http://amzn.to/origins-power]
Thursday prayer circle meeting of "the brethren" who prayed for John Smith's recovery from sickness .
[Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Signature Books, 1994, Appendex: Meetings and Initiations of the Anointed Quorum, 1842-45, http://amzn.to/origins-power]
185 years ago today - Feb 27, 1840
William Clayton, on a mission in England writes: "Sarah [Crooks] appeared rather tempted to get married. I felt to sorrow on this account. I don't want Sarah to be married. I was much [] and tempted on her account and felt to pray that the Lord would preserve me from impure affections. She gave me an orange. I certainly feel my love towards her to increase but shall strive against it. I feel too much to covet her and afraid lest her troubles should cause her to get married. The Lord keep me pure and preserve me from doing wrong." Clayton has a wife in Nauvoo but is falling in love with Sarah Crooks. Later in Nauvoo, when Joseph explains plural marriage to Clayton he sends for Sarah but the two never do marry each other.
190 years ago today - Feb 27, 1835
Joseph Smith discussed how the of the twelve Apostles different from the other callings or of the Church" He continued, are the Twelve Apostles, who called to the offcie of traveling high who are to preside over all the of the Saints among the Gentiles, there is no [stake] presidency and they are to travel and among the Gentiles, until the Lord command them to go to the Jews. They to hold the keys of this ministry to the door of the kingdom of heaven unto nations and to preach the Gospel to every This is the power, authority and of their Apostleship" High Council Book, p. 40, Church
[Lisle G Brown, compiler, "A Chronology of the Development of Apostolic Succession of the First Presidency, 1831-1848"]
[Lisle G Brown, compiler, "A Chronology of the Development of Apostolic Succession of the First Presidency, 1831-1848"]
25 years ago today - Feb 25, 2000
Stuart Matis commits suicide on the steps of his local LDS building. His note stated: "I am now free…I am no longer in pain and I no longer hate myself. As it turns out, God never intended for me to be straight. Perhaps my death might become the catalyst for some good."
[Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality, http://rationalfaiths.com/timeline-of-mormon-thinking-about-homosexuality/]
[Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality, http://rationalfaiths.com/timeline-of-mormon-thinking-about-homosexuality/]
45 years ago today - Feb 25, 1980-Monday
[Leonard Arrington]
I just learned from a more dependable and informed source more about the preparation of the ERA pamphlet in the March issue[s] of the New Era and Ensign. [[The pamphlet, The Church and the Proposed Equal Rights Amendment: A Moral Issue, was inserted in the March 1980 issues.]] The question of what to do about the Sonia Johnson affair had been discussed among the Twelve. That this had been going on was mentioned in the First Quorum of Seventies meeting. Elder [M. Russell] Ballard, in trying to think of something that the Church magazines could do for the Church, conceived the idea of including this pamphlet in the two issues. He convened a meeting of Jay Todd and Brian Kelly, at which he instructed them to prepare such a pamphlet and to put it in the March issue. "But the March issue is due to go to press in two weeks!" "Yes, but we can still make it. You have a week to prepare a first draft and then we can have a week to refine it in the final form and send it to the printer."
... The first draft went through Jay and Brian and Elder Ballard. The seventh draft went to Elder [Gordon B.] Hinckley. His judgment was that it needed to be a little more pointed, or emotional, or propagandizing in nature, and they ended up with the ninth draft being published. On the other hand, those who prepared it would have much preferred the seventh draft. It was more matter-of-fact, more factual; on the other hand, it could have been far more defensive and forensic than the draft finally approved. ...
Maureen said that the insert on ERA in the March New Era and Ensign was done over a weekend on a hurried-up basis by staff members of the Ensign. Brother [M. Russell] Ballard told them to do it. Presumably he had instructions from Elder [Gordon B.] Hinckley. Lavina Fielding Anderson was not involved. Presumably it was Jay Todd, Janet Brigham, and one or two others. Maureen emphasized the hurried nature of it.
I asked Maureen on a confidential basis how she felt personally on the issue of ERA. She of course defends the Church in a public capacity and tries to put the best face on the Church posture, but as for her private opinion, Maureen said she thought it would be helpful for ERA to pass. It is a symbolic thing to a large number of "angry women," including a few angry LDS women. Maureen said that things have now developed to the point that it will not make any difference legally whether or not ERA passes. What would be accomplished by ERA has already been accomplished in other ways. What would represent a problem for ERA will be a problem anyway. So Maureen thinks it will not make any difference one way or the other to the status of womenthat it would be a psychological matter to help quiet the vociferous minority.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
I just learned from a more dependable and informed source more about the preparation of the ERA pamphlet in the March issue[s] of the New Era and Ensign. [[The pamphlet, The Church and the Proposed Equal Rights Amendment: A Moral Issue, was inserted in the March 1980 issues.]] The question of what to do about the Sonia Johnson affair had been discussed among the Twelve. That this had been going on was mentioned in the First Quorum of Seventies meeting. Elder [M. Russell] Ballard, in trying to think of something that the Church magazines could do for the Church, conceived the idea of including this pamphlet in the two issues. He convened a meeting of Jay Todd and Brian Kelly, at which he instructed them to prepare such a pamphlet and to put it in the March issue. "But the March issue is due to go to press in two weeks!" "Yes, but we can still make it. You have a week to prepare a first draft and then we can have a week to refine it in the final form and send it to the printer."
... The first draft went through Jay and Brian and Elder Ballard. The seventh draft went to Elder [Gordon B.] Hinckley. His judgment was that it needed to be a little more pointed, or emotional, or propagandizing in nature, and they ended up with the ninth draft being published. On the other hand, those who prepared it would have much preferred the seventh draft. It was more matter-of-fact, more factual; on the other hand, it could have been far more defensive and forensic than the draft finally approved. ...
Maureen said that the insert on ERA in the March New Era and Ensign was done over a weekend on a hurried-up basis by staff members of the Ensign. Brother [M. Russell] Ballard told them to do it. Presumably he had instructions from Elder [Gordon B.] Hinckley. Lavina Fielding Anderson was not involved. Presumably it was Jay Todd, Janet Brigham, and one or two others. Maureen emphasized the hurried nature of it.
I asked Maureen on a confidential basis how she felt personally on the issue of ERA. She of course defends the Church in a public capacity and tries to put the best face on the Church posture, but as for her private opinion, Maureen said she thought it would be helpful for ERA to pass. It is a symbolic thing to a large number of "angry women," including a few angry LDS women. Maureen said that things have now developed to the point that it will not make any difference legally whether or not ERA passes. What would be accomplished by ERA has already been accomplished in other ways. What would represent a problem for ERA will be a problem anyway. So Maureen thinks it will not make any difference one way or the other to the status of womenthat it would be a psychological matter to help quiet the vociferous minority.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
80 years ago today - Feb 25, 1945
[J. Reuben Clark]
[In conversation with Heber J. Grant:] Asked what size contribution we should make to Red Cross this time. He said same as last. We gave $50 000 in 1944.
[The Diaries of J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961, Abridged, Digital Edition, Salt Lake City, Utah 2015]
[In conversation with Heber J. Grant:] Asked what size contribution we should make to Red Cross this time. He said same as last. We gave $50 000 in 1944.
[The Diaries of J. Reuben Clark, 1933-1961, Abridged, Digital Edition, Salt Lake City, Utah 2015]
90 years ago today - Feb 25, 1935
[Heber J. Grant]
You inquire as to whether or not the negroes can hold the priesthood?
In answer will say that no person having negro blood in his veins is permitted to hold the priesthood, nor do we allow such persons to go through the temple to receive endowments for themselves or their kindred dead. ...
You ... ask, 'Who are the brown and yellow races of people?'
I take it for granted that you refer to the Mongolians, including the Chinese and Japanese and the East Indian who are not of the black race. If so it is my understanding that these people are descendants of Shem and Japheth.
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Brigham H. Clegg, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
You inquire as to whether or not the negroes can hold the priesthood?
In answer will say that no person having negro blood in his veins is permitted to hold the priesthood, nor do we allow such persons to go through the temple to receive endowments for themselves or their kindred dead. ...
You ... ask, 'Who are the brown and yellow races of people?'
I take it for granted that you refer to the Mongolians, including the Chinese and Japanese and the East Indian who are not of the black race. If so it is my understanding that these people are descendants of Shem and Japheth.
[Heber J. Grant, Letter to Brigham H. Clegg, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
110 years ago today - Feb 25, 1915
At the afternoon meeting [of the Nebo Stake conference] a resolution was passed expressing the sentiment of the people of the Stake in favor of prohibition. This was done with a view to sending the same to the members representing the county in the legislature. ...
[Journal History, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
[Journal History, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010]
125 years ago today - Feb 25, 1900
A returned missionary from the Southern States Mission speaks in tongues at the Salt Lake Tabernacle and gives "the interpretation which was very beautiful." This may not be the first time, but is probably the last, that someone speaks in an "unknown tongue" (glossolalia) in the Tabernacle.
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
125 years ago today - Feb 25, 1900
Returned missionary from Southern States Mission speaks in tongues at Salt Lake tabernacle and gives "the interpretation which was very beautiful" This may not be first time, but is probably the last, that someone speaks in "unknown tongue" (glossolalia) in Tabernacle.
150 years ago today - Feb 25, 1875
Brigham Young is ordered to pay disgruntled plural wife Ann Eliza Webb Young $3000 for counsel fees and $500 a month alimony. When he fails to obey, he is sentenced to pay a fine of $25 and to one day's imprisonment. Young is driven to his own residence by the deputy marshal for dinner, and, after taking what clothing he required, is conducted to the penitentiary, where he is locked up in a cell for a short time, and then placed in a room in the warden's office for the night. When the divorce case comes to trial in Apr, 1877, A different Judge accepts Young's argument that the marriage was not a legal marriage but an "ecclesiastical" arrangement. He decrees that the polygamous marriage is void, annuls all orders for alimony, and assesses the costs against Ann Eliza.
170 years ago today - Feb 25, 1855
Apostle Wilford Woodruff preached:"That same organization and Gospel that Christ died for…is again established in this generation. How did it come? By the ministering of an holy angel from God…The angel taught Joseph Smith those principles which are necessary for the salvation of the world…He told him the Gospel wasnot among men, and that there was not a true organization of His kingdom in the world…"
["Journal of Discourses", Vol. 2, pp.196-197 as quoted in A Documented History of Joseph Smith's First Vision, http://beggarsbread.org/2013/04/01/a-documented-history-of-joseph-smiths-first-vision/]
["Journal of Discourses", Vol. 2, pp.196-197 as quoted in A Documented History of Joseph Smith's First Vision, http://beggarsbread.org/2013/04/01/a-documented-history-of-joseph-smiths-first-vision/]
170 years ago today - Feb 25, 1855
Apostle Wilford Woodruff preached:"That same organization and Gospel that Christ died for…is again established in this generation. How did it come? By the ministering of an holy angel from God…The angel taught Joseph Smith those principles which are necessary for the salvation of the world…He told him the Gospel wasnot among men, and that there was not a true organization of His kingdom in the world…"
["Journal of Discourses", Vol. 2, pp.196-197 as quoted in A Documented History of Joseph Smith's First Vision, http://beggarsbread.org/2013/04/01/a-documented-history-of-joseph-smiths-first-vision/]
["Journal of Discourses", Vol. 2, pp.196-197 as quoted in A Documented History of Joseph Smith's First Vision, http://beggarsbread.org/2013/04/01/a-documented-history-of-joseph-smiths-first-vision/]
170 years ago today - Feb 25, 1855 (Council Meeting)
William Smith has got to live some years before he comes to his senses... He [Joseph Smith III] will not always feel as he does now. Emma tried to poison her husband and was connived with the mob that did kill him. I will be glad when I die if it is written in truth that Brigham Young never rebelled against Joseph Smith nor the priesthood, but I would like to see all the devils kicked off this continent.
[Leonard J. Arrington Papers, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan.. (A reference reading LJA 12-55-5, 10, means LJA Series 12, Box 55, Folder 5, page 10.) 9-13-4, 120 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Leonard J. Arrington Papers, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan.. (A reference reading LJA 12-55-5, 10, means LJA Series 12, Box 55, Folder 5, page 10.) 9-13-4, 120 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
195 years ago today - Feb 25, 1830
The first all-county Antimasonic gathering assembled at Chardon, Geauga County [Ohio, 9 miles from Kirtland], and the 300 delegates who attended helped organize the party on a statewide basis. ... some sixty Masons also attended and attempted to cause a disturbance about passage of a resolution disapproving of "all secret combinations." (Moses 5:31, 35; Alma 37:30-31; Ether 8:19, 22; 14:8, 10; 9:1; 13:18; 2 Ne. 9:9; 26:22; Hel. 3:23; 3 Ne. 4:29; Morm. 8:27; D&C 42:64)
[Grunder, Rick, Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source]
[Grunder, Rick, Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source]
20 years ago today - Feb 24, 2005
Hugh Nibley, Mormon scholar, defender of the LDS faith, and sometimes critic of Mormon society, dies at his home in Provo, Utah at age 94. Coincidentally on the same day the New York Times runs an article about a book by his daughter, Martha Nibley Beck, titled LEAVING THE SAINTS: HOW I LOST THE MORMONS AND FOUND MY FAITH. In the book the daughter, who had resigned from the Church, accuses her father of ritual sexual abuse of her when she was a child. The accusations are based upon "recovered memories" that Beck had (some while undergoing therapy involving hypnosis) over a decade previously. The article states "Dr. Beck's seven siblings have condemned her assertions and have hired a psychologist and lawyer who has worked on lawsuits against therapists practicing recovered-memory therapy."
40 years ago today - Feb 24, 1985
SALT LAKE TRIBUNE article tells of Darla Tarrant's attempt to become excommunicated from LDS church. Tarrant, a teminally ill widow, wishes to sever any connections with LDS church before she dies. In writing, she asks three bishops three different times to be formally excommunicated. Her requests, however, are responded to with "vague excuses" and "the same patronizing response of having my wish ignored." Because of Tarrant case and case of Norman Hancock in Mesa, Arizona who sues the church to be allowed to resign his membership, procedures for membership resignation are put in the 1989 edition of the CHURCH HANDBOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS.
45 years ago today - Feb 24, 1980
A full- page ad appears in the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE describing Jerald and Sandra Tanner's THE CHANGING WORLD OF MORMONISM. The ad draws attention to changes in the Church's position on such matters as polygamy and the granting of the priesthood to blacks and thereby questioned the consistency of the prophetic leadership of the Church. Two days later Ezra Taft Benson gives a speech at BYU, in which he dismisses the issue of conflicting past and present policies by declaring that the words of living prophets supplant or make moot the directives of past prophets.
50 years ago today - Feb 24, 1975-Monday
[Leonard Arrington]
.... Ernest Wilkinson made some comments which are worth recording in this diary.
In President Wilkinson's judgment President Harold B. Lee was disappointed, perhaps to some extent bitter, that he had been passed over four times to be a member of the First Presidency of the Church. This at a time when he was obviously destined to become president of the Church. President [David O.] McKay preferred to have older men that had been associated with him when he was a younger apostle.
President [Henry D.] Moyle, when a member of the First Presidency, used his power freely. He might telephone somebody to put somebody on a committee or in an important position or to remove somebody peremptorily or have this bought or that sold. He was very free wheeling in his use of his position to achieve goals which he thought should be achieved, even to some extent when he knew President McKay might oppose it.
On the other hand, President Moyle did not harbor grudges nor was he vindictive and if you disagreed with him or defeated him, he did not hold it against you. This was not true of President Lee and Boyd Packer, both of whom have long memories and found it difficult to forgive and forget.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
.... Ernest Wilkinson made some comments which are worth recording in this diary.
In President Wilkinson's judgment President Harold B. Lee was disappointed, perhaps to some extent bitter, that he had been passed over four times to be a member of the First Presidency of the Church. This at a time when he was obviously destined to become president of the Church. President [David O.] McKay preferred to have older men that had been associated with him when he was a younger apostle.
President [Henry D.] Moyle, when a member of the First Presidency, used his power freely. He might telephone somebody to put somebody on a committee or in an important position or to remove somebody peremptorily or have this bought or that sold. He was very free wheeling in his use of his position to achieve goals which he thought should be achieved, even to some extent when he knew President McKay might oppose it.
On the other hand, President Moyle did not harbor grudges nor was he vindictive and if you disagreed with him or defeated him, he did not hold it against you. This was not true of President Lee and Boyd Packer, both of whom have long memories and found it difficult to forgive and forget.
[Confessions of a Mormon historian : the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, 1971-1997, Gary James Bergera, editor, Signature Books, 2018]
65 years ago today - Feb 24, 1960
Counselor J. Reuben Clark tells BYU's president: "You have got some members of the faculty who are destroying the faith of our students. You ought to get rid of them."
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
75 years ago today - Feb 24, 1950
The last two missionaries of the Czechoslovakian Mission were released from prison after 27 days and expelled from communist Czechoslovakia.
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
[Church News: Historical Chronology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58765/Historical-chronology-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints.html]
80 years ago today - Feb 24, 1945
The Deseret News "Church News" prints a letter concerning LDS captain Denmark C. Jensen of Idaho during the U.S. invasion of the Philippines: "The next day -Christmas Day-Mark issued the same order [to his men], that they were not to kill any Japs they found but to send for him. During the course of the day another Jap was located with his rifle by his side, bathing his feet in a small mountain stream. They called Mark and unobserved he crept up on the Jap, took his rifle away from him and led his captive down to his waiting men." Captain Jensen explains that "it just didn't seem right to kill even a Jap on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day-the time we have set aside to commemorate the birth of our Lord and Savior."
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
[The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]
80 years ago today - Feb 24, 1945
DESERET NEWS "CHURCH NEWS" prints letter concerning DLS captain Denmark C. Jensen of Idaho during U.S. invasion of Philippines: "The next day-Christmas Day-Mark issued the same order [to his men], that they were not to kill any Japs they found but to send for him. During the course of the day another Jap was located with his rifle by his side, bathing his feet in a small mountain stream. They called Mark and unobserved he crept up on the Jap, took his rifle away from him and led his captive down to his waiting men." Captain Jensen explains that "it just didn't seem right to kill even a Jap on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day-the time we have set aside to commemorate the birth of our Lord and Savior."
110 years ago today - Feb 24, 1915
In an affidavit to Church Historian Andrew Jenson Josephine Sessions describes how her mother, faithful Mormon and polyandrous wife of Joseph Smith, Sylvia Sessions (Lyon), on her deathbed told her daughter of her true parentage: "Just prior to my mothers death in 1882 she called me to her bedside and told me that her days on earth were about numbered and before she passed away from mortality she desired to tell me something which she had kept as an entire secret from me and all others but which she now desired to communicate to me. She then told me that I was the daughter of the Prophet Joseph Smith, she having been sealed to the Prophet at the time that her husband Mr. [Windsor P.] Lyon was out of fellowship with the Church."
DNA testing shows that Windsor P. Lyon was the father, raising the questions about polyandrous sexuality.
[Affidavit to Church Historian Andrew Jenson, 24 Feb. 1915]
DNA testing shows that Windsor P. Lyon was the father, raising the questions about polyandrous sexuality.
[Affidavit to Church Historian Andrew Jenson, 24 Feb. 1915]
145 years ago today - Feb 24, 1880
Pres. Jensen referred to the condition of some of the High Priests in the Malad Ward who were contending one with another concerning some point of doctrine, which they did not understand. The point in dispute being, was Adam our God, some taking the affirmation and some the negative of the question.
[Minutes of the High Priests Quorum", p. 86; Box Elder Stake as quoted in Quotations Dealing with the Relationship of Our First Earthy Parents to Our Heavenly Parents (1830-1978)]
[Minutes of the High Priests Quorum", p. 86; Box Elder Stake as quoted in Quotations Dealing with the Relationship of Our First Earthy Parents to Our Heavenly Parents (1830-1978)]
155 years ago today - Feb 24, 1870
As a matter of course the people desired to see and hear President Young. No meeting was complete unless he spoke. He seldom led in speaking; but the cap-stone was laid by him. Usually all present were silent, all who were out came indoors, and the indifferent listeners woke up. The great leader cut right and left, handling the subjects affecting the interests of the people with a fearless, decisive dignity, which unmistakably indicated his broadminded views of the people's needs. -- American Fork, Utah
[Improvement Era. LDS Church. Salt Lake City, 1897-1970. 3:4 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Improvement Era. LDS Church. Salt Lake City, 1897-1970. 3:4 as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
165 years ago today - Feb 24, 1860
President Young in the course of his remarks alluded to the zeal of Hyrum Smith Brother of the Prophet, in his views of the word of wisdom. who prophesied that every Saint who chewed tobacco would apostatize. President Young observed he prophesied by Hyrum Smith and not by the Spirit of the Lord. and that he (Hyrum) would eat about 3 lb. of fat pork in a day; and yet be so severe upon a tobacco chewer; upon other points observed the President Hyrum Smith was a man of knowledge. Once Joseph told his Brother Hyrum if he would suffer him to dictate [to] him he should lead the Church to Hell; and he would frequently sit and sneer at the remarks of Bro. Hyrum, which were frequently delivered to the congregation when they were weary with the remarks of the preachers that had preceded him.
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan.; Archives, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.; New Mormon Studies CD-ROM as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
[Brigham Young Office Journals, Special Collections, Merrill-Cazier Library, Utah State University, Logan.; Archives, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.; New Mormon Studies CD-ROM as quoted in The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young, Ed. Richard S. Van Wagoner, Smith-Pettit Foundation, Salt Lake City (2009), http://bit.ly/BY-discourses]
175 years ago today - Feb 24, 1850
[Wilford Woodruff]
.... I felt the spirit of God like fire shut up [in] my bones as I spoke upon the things of the kingdom of God.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
.... I felt the spirit of God like fire shut up [in] my bones as I spoke upon the things of the kingdom of God.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
185 years ago today - Feb 24, 1840. Monday.
[William Clayton]
.... Have advised the Saints to give up the practice of kissing.
[George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
.... Have advised the Saints to give up the practice of kissing.
[George D. Smith, An Intimate Chronicle; The Journals of William Clayton, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1995, http://amzn.to/william-clayton]
190 years ago today - Feb 24, 1835
[Patriarchal Blessing of Jared Carter given by Joseph Smith, Sr.]
.... if necessary thou shalt pass through the fire without being harmed; for the Lord hath spoken unto thee, and thou need not fear. Thou shalt proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, even to nations thou knowest not of, if thou desire it, and proclaim to them in their own language. ... And thou shalt stand upon the earth till the heavens shall be revealed and the Son of Man descends in flaming fire.
[Patriarchal Blessing Book 1:28-29 as quoted in Early Patriarchal Blessings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Joseph Smith Sr. (Author), H. Michael Marquardt (Editor), http://amzn.to/rCBHVe]
.... if necessary thou shalt pass through the fire without being harmed; for the Lord hath spoken unto thee, and thou need not fear. Thou shalt proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, even to nations thou knowest not of, if thou desire it, and proclaim to them in their own language. ... And thou shalt stand upon the earth till the heavens shall be revealed and the Son of Man descends in flaming fire.
[Patriarchal Blessing Book 1:28-29 as quoted in Early Patriarchal Blessings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Joseph Smith Sr. (Author), H. Michael Marquardt (Editor), http://amzn.to/rCBHVe]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)