Ep 223: Official Declaration 1
Wilford Woodruff writes a memo to the Saints, which then has to be followed up with a few “No, seriously, we mean it!” lectures. Refrain from polygamy because OMG, what if the government takes all our stuff???
Drink count – around 5
Read along with us at Official Declaration 1
My Book of Mormon 
September 29, 2018 at 9:14 pm
I’d say I was late to the party, that is, if there was a party going on here in the comments section…
Echo! [Echo!]
There’d never be enough to say about the long, drawn out end of polygamy in the LDS church, but the church itself seems content to say it ended in 1890, and it’s in the past, now let’s move on. Whatever.
I did want to challenge Bryce’s assertion that this 1890 manifesto is actually the Second Manifesto, not the first. As far as I know, “Second Manifesto” refers specifically to Joseph F. Smith’s declaration in 1904, in the midst of the Reed Smoot hearings, that no polygamous marriages “have been solemnized with the sanction, consent, or knowledge” of the church. In reality, many such marriages were solemnized by apostles after 1890, but the church places all the blame on a couple of scapegoat apostles, John W. Taylor and Matthias Cowley, who “resigned” in 1906 and later received church discipline.
Now, if there’s an earlier manifesto than the 1890 Manifesto, of course I’d like to know all about it.
October 6, 2018 at 3:13 pm
Hey Duke, I’m even later to the party! Your assertion about the 1890 Manifesto being the First Manifesto and the 1904 one being the Second is correct according to D. Michael Quinn. So you’re in good company.
My favorite post-Manifesto polygamous marriage (if you can have such a thing) is Wilford Woodruff’s 1897 marriage to Lydia Mountford, who was Jewish and from Palestine (talk about a religious Trophy wife!). To avoid violating the terms of the First Manifesto, the marriage was performed in secret by another Apostle on board a steamship outside of U.S. territorial waters in the Pacific Ocean!
Boy, the lengths to which people will go to have their cake and eat it too!