In 1845, William Smith, Mormon apostles waged war in the LDS press

 

Originally published in 2013 at StandardBlogs

There’s an interesting article in the summer 2013 issue of the “Journal of Mormon History.” Christine Elyse Blythe has contributed a long article on the tenure of William Smith as church patriarch. William is generally considered in LDS history as a kind of “bad boy” of the Smiths, a “legacy apostle” who survived in the church while elder brother Joseph Smith was alive but was eventually kicked out of the church after he died.

There’s a lot of history in the article, “William Smith’s Patriarchal Blessings and Contested Authority in the Post-Martyrdom Church,” but what caught my interest was an intramural newspaper feud over who was best to lead the church a year after Joseph Smith had been murdered. William Smith, despite already shaky relationships with Brigham Young and the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, was named Presiding Patriarch of the LDS Church. It was a lucrative gig for Smith. Besides the high authority of being the church patriarch, William earned a buck per patriarchal blessing, according to Blythe. That doesn’t sound like much, but after 300 blessings over six months, William had earned roughly what a full-time laborer of that era would earn over half a year.

(I digress here to tell readers that receiving a patriarchal blessing is a rite of passage for faithful Latter-day Saints. Those born into an active LDS family usually receive a blessing, from a local patriarch, at the age of 15 or 16. The blessings are considered revelation from God. Indeed, many blessings are described as part of blessings one received in the pre-existence prior to birth. The blessings also provide a relationship to the recipient of their place in the House of Israel.)

In Smith’s time, the presiding patriarch of the LDS Church was considered an elite leader, comparable in rank to an apostle or prophet. Hyrum Smith had preceded William Smith as patriarch. As Blythe recounts, a careful reading of many of William Smith’s patriarchal blessings include words from Smith that assigned him as the LDS leader with the highest authority. As Blythe writes, “… in a blessing given to William A. Beebe, the patriarch concluded: ‘by the highest authority in the church of God I seal thee up to eternal life ...’ This phrase, ‘highest authority in the church’ appeared six times in William’s patriarchal blessings in just over one month.”

Patriarchal blessings, while recorded, are considered personal, and — as Blythe notes — it’s possible the subtle hints in William Smith’s blessings did not get much notice. However, William Smith made his intentions public with an essay in the LDS Church newspaper “Times and Seasons.” In the essay, “Patriarchal,” Blythe notes that William Smith cast himself as “a living martyr,” worthy of continuing in the same high, prophetic place in the post-martyrdom church as his slain brothers, Joseph and Hyrum.

William Smith’s essay was boosted by a testimonial to his claims by W.W. Phelps, an assistant editor at “Times and Seasons.” Phelps, who eventually followed Brigham Young to Utah, wrote that William is “governed by the spirit of the living God.” As Blythe notes, that phrase suggested an autonomy for Smith as patriarch. That was not a trial balloon that the LDS church’s leadership wanted out there.

So, as Blythe notes, Apostle John Taylor penned a rebuttal in the very next issue in the “Times and Seasons.” What Taylor focused on was the debate over whether William Smith was the “patriarch over the church” or “patriarch to the church.” Taylor was direct and to the point in letting church members know the answer. He wrote: “We have been asked, ‘Does not patriarch over the whole church’ place Brother William Smith at the head of the whole church as president? Ans. No. Brother William is not patriarch over the whole church; but patriarch TO the church, and as such he was ordained. The expression ‘over the whole church,’ is a mistake made by W.W. Phelps.”

Taylor, who of course was speaking for Brigham Young and the rest of the Quorum, made it clear what pecking order William Smith had to follow to remain in the Mormon faith. Nevertheless, William Smith remained in the church a while longer. Blythe notes that he gave nine “second blessings” as patriarch, an indicator that the publicity in “Times and Seasons” had boosted his claim.

But it was a matter of time before William Smith and the LDS Church, under Young and the Apostles, would have a divorce. Blythe relates that later in 1845, William Smith trumpeted a claim from Lucy Mack Smith, his mother, that she had had a revelation, with God saying “Thy son William he shall have power over the Churches …” and “… The presidency of the Church belongs to William ...” Soon afterward, Lucy Mack Smith clarified the “revelation,” saying it was just for her family. Around that time, William Smith threatened to leave the Mormons and take all the Smiths with him, adds Blythe. Smith later retracted that threat as well. By August, as Blythe notes, William Smith was complaining that “There seems to be a severe influence working against me and the Smith family in this place.”

Smith left the Mormons, was excommunicated and, like many other Mormon leaders who didn’t go to Utah, hopscotched among different branches of Mormonism. He tried a position with the James J. Strang “Strangites,” and later started his own church for a while, and had an alliance with the Lyman Wight branch in Texas. All that ended and improbably, William Smith was rebaptized as a Mormon in 1860. That failed to last as well. Eventually, Smith became a member of the Reorganized LDS church. Although the uncle tried to persuade his nephew, church leader Joseph Smith III to make him an apostle or presiding patriarch, he was unsuccessful. William Smith died in 1893.

The very short intramural newspaper battle between Smith, a sort of populist threat to the church led by Young and the apostles, and the rebuttal by John Taylor, which more or less ended Smith’s effort to become a Mormon leader, is fascinating to me as a journalist. Try to imagine today’s prominent Latter-day Saints waging a public relations battle — against each other — in “The Mormon Times,” “Church News,” or “The Ensign.”

It would never happen, of course. But it did 168 years ago, and it must have made for eager reading by Latter-day Saints.

Another excellent source for William Smith’s short tenure as LDS church patriarch is the summer 1983 issue of “Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought.”

-- Doug Gibson

American Polygamy history focuses on fundamentalist Mormons

Review by Doug Gibson

I wonder how many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are aware of a statement in 1886, preserved in writing, from LDS Prophet John Taylor. In part it reads, "Thus sayeth the Lord: All commandments that I give must be obeyed by those calling themselves by my name unless they are revoked by me or by my authority, and how can I revoke an everlasting covenant, for I the Lord am everlasting and my everlasting covenants cannot be abrogated nor done away with, but they stand forever."

I had never heard of that statement by Taylor before reading "American Polygamy: A History of Fundamentalist Mormon Faith," by Craig L. Foster and Marianne T. Watson, The History Press, 2019. (Buy it here or via Amazon here.) The authors have diverse backgrounds. Foster is an LDS historian. Watson, also an historian, is wife in a polygamous family. With others plural marriage wives, she was a contributor to the book, "Voices In Harmony."

Taylor's words, uttered 134 years ago in Centerville, Utah, is a foundation of polygamists' argument for maintaining an earthly belief long shed by the LDS Church. Within polygamous circles it's regarded as a revelation. To the LDS Church it's not a revelation. To the owner of the home where it occurred, John Woolley, it was a revelation. Both he and his son, Lorin, were prominent leaders and advocates of polygamy, an ordinance believers regard as essential to achieve the highest glory in the afterlife. As Foster and Watson note, the Woolleys claimed that both Joseph Smith and Jesus Christ were with Taylor when he was given that counsel.

Just before John Woolley died in 1928, his son Lorin claimed that both he and his father met with resurrected beings Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith Sr., Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, John Taylor and Joseph F. Smith. Shortly after that event, a "Priesthood Council" was formed of prominent polygamists, designed to preside over continuation of the movement. As the others note, these presiding councils oversaw polygamous groups lived and tried to keep the safe from law enforcement.

American Polygamy covers a lot of ground in -- allowing for photos and footnotes -- about 200 pages of text. I recommend it. It is a fascinating -- and often sympathetic -- account of roughly 130 years of fundamentalist polygamy. Despite the 1890 Manifesto, polygamy continued for at least a generation within the LDS Church, with opposition to the practice slowly getting more serious by church leaders. Foster and Watson include accounts of patriarchs and apostles eventually being kicked out of the church for continuing to participate in plural marriage ordinances after its became a liability within the LDS Church. By the time of President Heber J. Grant's leadership, LDS church officials actively assisted law enforcement in tracking down polygamists.

The 1944 law enforcement raids on polygamous groups in Utah and Short Creek, Arizona (1944) and Short Creek in 1953, are covered in detail by the authors. Whatever revulsion readers may personally feel for polygamy, those affected were badly mistreated, having their constitutional rights abused. Families were forced apart. On anecdote recalls how trauma over the raids led to the death of an 84-year-old fundamentalist.

The raids, coordinated for maximum press coverage, boomeranged for law enforcement. Even 50 years later, the authors note, the Texas raids on a polygamous community was also predicated on incorrect intelligence, although later information uncovered resulted in FLDS leader Warren Jeffs being convicted of child sex crimes that will keep him in prison for life.

There's sadness in the history of fundamentalist Mormonism. The personal accounts of their suffering, both social and legal, men thrown in jail and prison, children separated from parents, one can't read these accounts without being affected. We should regret the institutional efforts against modern polygamists as much as we do those same efforts against early members of the LDS Church.

Yet, fundamentalist Mormonism also has a history of dysfunction, exploitation and other criminal behavior. The authors devote considerable space to the crimes and continued poisoned legacies of mass murderer Ervil LeBaron and pedophile and sadist Warren Jeffs. They are the two main "villains" of the book. But they are also extreme examples of significant problems that still plague fundamentalist Mormonism..

Polygamy by necessity has been isolated, with its followers pursued by law enforcement and forced to rely to a fault on either a council of leaders, or a sole leader. Foster and Watson note that disagreement within modern polygamous movements often focused on the amount of control male leaders, or a single male leader, had over the agency of followers. Control can be so pervasive that marriages are arranged. That's another debate that can occur in polygamy -- are spouses allowed to find each other? In some instances they are not allowed any say in marriage, or forced into marriage as children. This leads to tragic, criminal actions where, as noted in the book, 13-year-old girls are raped and another teenager is beaten by her father because she doesn't want to be forced to marry her uncle and have regular sex with him. One can't help wondering how much of this type of abuse still goes unpunished.

Not surprisingly, the movement has split into different factions, some with thousands, some with large single-family units. Today there is polygamy mass entertainment in the form of reality shows, talk shows, or fictionalized television. In recent years, the authors note the irony of same-sex marriage acceptance helping polygamy become less of a taboo and more accepted. Consenting adults should not be denied the right to live within polygamy. Society is moving that way.

The biggest strength of American Polygamy is it provides a human face to the sacrifices, suffering, and re-appraisals of those who sincerely believe in what is often called "The Principle." And it addresses openly some of the dysfunction of polygamy. More important than the histories of major families, Woolley, Barlow, Johnson, Allred, Jessop, Jeffs, Kingston, etc., are the personal accounts of followers, including woman and children. One may never accept polygamy as a principle but still respect the faith and commitment of those who live a still-shunned lifestyle with humility and charity.

It's interesting to wonder if fundamentalist Mormonism will stay at consistent numbers through this century or dissipate to near extinction by 2100. Author Watson provides optimistic anecdotal evidence that young polygamist women will stay in the faith. But I think all religions face skepticism from large percentages of young adults. Fundamentalist Mormonism, still tethered to 19th century mores and doctrines, has its work cut out to remain attractive to ensuing generations.

Elijah Ables: Black Mormon priesthood holder in the 19th century

Elijah Ables is no stranger to Mormon history, although he’s virtually unknown. Ables was a black man who was ordained to the LDS priesthood in the 1830s, and remained a faithful Mormon for the next half-century. In the Spring 2013 Journal of Mormon History, there’s a very interesting account of his life and times by Russell W. Stevenson, who teaches at Salt Lake Community College. Stevenson later published the book, "Black Mormon: The Story of Elijah Ables." 

In "A Negro Preacher: The Worlds of Elijah Ables," Stevenson writes of the persistent loyalty of Ables to the Mormon Church despite repeated offenses derived from the widespread racism of that era. As Ables and the young church aged, the racism directed at the mixed-blood faithful Latter-day saint priesthood holder increased. Eventually, the elderly Ables was told that his ordination to the priesthood decades earlier by Joseph Smith was a mistake. Nevertheless, the priesthood was never taken from Ables, and he died in good standing, after falling ill while on a church mission.

Ables was baptized into the LDS Church in 1832 by Ezekiel Edwards near Cincinnati, Ohio. He was likely a free man at the time. He later received his washing and anointing ordinances from fellow member Zebedee Coltrin. Reflecting the racism that followed Ables’ unique status, Coltin later repudiated his act. Stevenson quotes him as saying “... while I had my hands upon his head, I never had such unpleasant feelings in my life.”

Still, by the end of 1836, Ables was listed as a member of the LDS Melchizedek Priesthood group, the Seventy. He received a patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith Sr. The timing of Ables’ involvement with the Mormons is interesting. It was near the time the young church was expelled from Missouri, largely due to concerns from the pro-slavery forces there that the church was anti-slavery. 

In fact, Joseph Smith followed a position that was consistent among many anti-slavery advocates of that era. He favored moving blacks from America to other areas where they were assured freedom. Two areas frequently mentioned as migration points were Liberia (in Africa) and Upper Canada (or the Ontario area). This relates to Ables’ life because he was soon called to be a missionary to Upper Canada. Ables was a natural choice for Smith. Living in the Ontario area at that time were an estimated 10,000 fugitives from slavery, writes Stevenson. He further supposes, likely correctly, that Smith wanted his black missionary to look at the possibility of setting up a black LDS congregation.

Whatever Ables’ ability to be a bridge between races for the Mormon Church, he faced a lifetime battle trying to maintain acceptance in a church with attitudes on race that were slowly hardening against blacks. This may have been due initially to the conflicts in Missouri. In 1839, LDS apostle Parley P. Pratt wrote, cites Stevenson, “that one dozen free negroes or mulattoes never have belonged to our society in any part of the world, from the first organization to this date.”

Obviously, Ables — and others — participation in the early LDS Church prove Pratt’s claims wrong. But the intemperate remarks underscore how difficult typical 19th century racism made it for early Mormon leaders to have the collective Gospel-oriented society they were preaching. Smith’s solution was to move blacks to their own collective societies. This was likely a key reason for Smith calling Ables to another mission, to Cincinnati, where there was a large population of free black workers.

As Stevenson notes in his article, Smith’s appointment of Ables shows he must have had great trust in the elder. The Concinnati branch of the church was unstable, and prone to apostasy. Outside the church there were race riots between free blacks and white settlers.  This area was to be Ables’ home for nearly a decade, long past Joseph Smith’s murder in 1844. During that time, Ables was a stabilizing force there, remaining a church member under Brigham Young but staying on good terms with members of divergent branches, including followers of Sidney Rigdon, James Strang, David Whitmer, William Smith and those who formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Eventually, Ables, his wife, and family decided to migrate to Utah. Unfortunately, as mentioned, racial attitudes hardened under Brigham Young’s leadership. As Stevenson notes, Young allegedly opined that the “curse of Cain” remained because Cain had once been a mighty captain in the pre-existence. After he killed Abel, Cain’s followers in the pre-existence still respected him enough to take the curse and come to the earth with black skin. This curse of dark skin, Young allegedly claimed, wuld last until all of Captain Abel’s spirits could come to the earth.

This kind of suppositions by Young led him to say in 1852, as Stevenson notes from Wilford Woodruff’s journal, “If a man has one drop of Cain in him (he) cannot receive the Priesthood.” (He further stated that if a Caucasian) “mingles his seed with the seed of Cane (sic) the ownly (sic) way he could get rid of it or have salvation would be to come forward & have his head cut off & spill his blood upon the ground.” (The penalty for interracial marriage “would also take the life of the children,” Woodruff records Young as saying.

Despite this rhetoric, appropriately regarded as horrendous, there is no evidence that Ables was physically harmed in Utah. He worked as a arpenter and hotel manager in Salt Lake City, and spent a few years in Ogden. His family performed minstrel shows for LDS wards in Utah, writes Stevenson.

His attempts to receive temple endowments for himself, his wife, and his children were rebuffed by Young. In 1853, Young framed his racism with an expectation that the “curse of Cain’ would be removed one day by the order of God, and, as Stevenson quotes him, ”all the races will redeemed and possess all the blessings which we now have.“

After Young’s death, Ables, now a widower, again petitioned the new church president, John Taylor, for temple endowment privileges. Again he was denied. As Stevenson writes, ”Taylor and the Twelve decided that Joseph Smith had erred in ordaining Ables to the priesthood. ... nevertheless, (he was) allowed to remain.“

It was a final insult to Ables’ reasonable request after a lifetime of service to his church, but the longtime member took it in stoically, remaining an active member of his Seventies quorum, notes Stevenson. Soon after leaving for another mission to Cincinnati, Ables took ill, returned to Salt Lake City, and died on Christmas Day 1884. He was likely born between 1808 and 1810.

As late as 1908, Stevenson writes, Mormon president Joseph F. Smith was claiming that church founder Joseph Smith had declared the late Ables' priesthood "null and void." Yet in the same contradictions that Ables dealt with all his life, Joseph F. Smith also declared that Ables had been a "staunch member of the church." In 2002, a gravestone for Ables was placed in the Salt Lake City Cemetery. His church accomplishments, including his priesthood status, are summarized.

-- Doug Gibson

This post was originally published in StandardBlogs.