Mormon Church History

Mormon Church History
Written, Compiled or Analyzed by Perry L. Porter

www.xmission.com/~plporter/lds.htm

Has been re-hosted at: www.ldshistory.net

New documents added this month / year

Former BYU professor D. Michael Quinn gave a two hour speech at Bluffdale, Utah on, 11 August 1991 about, Plural Marriages after the 1890 Manifesto, I have received permission from Mike to put his remarks on my Mormon Church History web site.

When it comes to Adam God, most Mormons believe, if not use the excuse that Brigham Young was probably misquoted the 2 or 3 times that President Young referred to Adam as being "our Father and our God and the only God with which we have to do". Thanks to someone else's research and my time and effort formatting, here are more quotes on Adam God, by the brethren, than I ever imagined had been uttered from the pulpit in Salt Lake City. First take a guess as to how many quotes there were 20, 30, or 50, then go read all the Adam God quotes for yourself.

Plural Marriage, a more unbiased look

Was Plural Marriage a requirement for Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom?

A major page, A Chronology of Federal Legislation on Polygamy, from which links to supporting documents will when I get time, grow and grow.

While as a Graduate student in History at BYU, (Brigham Young University), I wrote a paper for a Utah History class that included a chapter entitled, Review of Misleading Histories. That is to say, LDS one volume Histories of the Church, with what I thought at the time was purposely white washing of Mormon History surrounding the 1st Manifesto of 1890, by Wilford Woodruff. Not to mention the 2nd Manifesto of 1904, by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Mary Elizabeth Rollins (Lightner Smith Young), one of the (polyandry) wives featured in Todd Compton's book, In Sacred Loneliness : The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, Signature books 1998. This page includes the Autobiography, Life Story, Testimony at BYU in 1905, and the Dream of Mary Elizabeth Rollins, regarding Josephites, Godbeites and Brighamites. While white washed it is still very interesting Mormon History to read.

Anson Bowen Call; Post 1890 Manifesto Polygamist, Typical Mormon or Religious Zealot? Anson B. was engaged to marry his first (polygamous) plural wife, before the first 1890 Wilford Woodruff Manifesto, as things worked out, he ended up marrying 3 plural wives after the September 1890 press release.

The Kirtland 1835 D&C section 101, contained church policies on marriage, which are not in the current, D&C 134 Notes or Article on Marriage, but are still published in the RLDS D&C. (The D&C or Doctrine and Covenants refers to the main book of scripture and law for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.)

"The 1852 Utah Territorial Legislature Enactment on Inheritance of Illegitimate "Polygamists"' Children: a Novelty Among Legitimacy Statutes", is a paper I write back in 1980. It points out some interesting twists in the past LDS History of Mormon / Anti-Mormon approach to preserving / destroying polygamous families.

Gov. Mike Leavitt, carrying out his sworn duty to uphold the Utah Constitution is becoming a public relations hot potato, when it comes to prosecuting fundamentalist polygamy.

Fundamentalist Polygamist leader Owen Allred of Draper, seeking to distance his fundamentalist group's practices from the well publicized alleged abuses of certain other polygamous clans in Utah, sent this letter, to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Attorney General Jan Graham.

Kingston Inc.: Polygamy's Entrepreneurial Empire, A Company, a Clan, a Corp. with a Plan. From the Salt Lake Observer August 14, 1 998. With commentary and analysis on fundamentalist polygamists is provided.

LDS Church History Issues

Aborted Attempt at Disavowing Previous Bigotry. June 6th 1998, marks the 20th anniversary of the lifting of the ban on Blacks from holding the Priesthood in the Mormon church (OD2 , Official Declaration 2). Apparently church leaders very much want to maintain the perception, that all changes to Mormonism, even the most obvious, come from the very top down. They would rather be seen as being bigoted, than admit that someone, anyone, on any level of Mormonism, came up with an idea first.

LDS History Sunday meeting manual paints polygamist Brigham Young as monogamist. An article from the Idaho State Journal, in Pocatello. Plus the original unaltered quotes and commentary.

Is "Translated" the correct word for how Joseph Smith produced the Book of Mormon? (Newly revised Mar 23rd 1997)

The LDS Church produced film Legacy script historical references, a beginning point in analyzing if it truly is a compilation of multiple Mormon Women's diaries, and how historically faithful it is to Mormon Women at that time period, women such as Mary Elizabeth Rollins.

A more accurate perspective on how the Mormons experienced crossing the plains. This is not the typical version of LDS History.

White-washing Mormon Church History, my perspective after 20 years. Particularly the "Manuscript History of Brigham Young 1846 - 1847" and OD1 (Official Declaration 1) also known as the Wilford Woodruff Manifesto of 1890.

When was Root beer invented? What does that have to do with LDS Church History, other than that J Willard Marriott first got stated with fast food A&W drive-in's in Washington DC? If you look at a can of A&W root beer you will see that it is named after Willard and his wife.

The second coming of Christ to Jackson County Missouri and whom owns what.

Some notes on Fort Bridger just 6 miles from where I lived until age 15.

Mormonism in General

Free the Birdies - Deconstructed. The story about a young boy that has what his parents consider a Near Death Experience, has been circulating the internet and sanitized versions given over the pulpit. Here are some reason that it is more of a "Theological Twenkie", then a gospel nugget.

LDS Church History Jeopardy answers/questions.

Significance of Ancient, Geometric Symbols, or how some Mormons can go off the deep end as much as any other whacko religion.

Transubstantiation in the 1852 Italian Book of Mormon, a humorous translating or printing error.

Vicarius filii dei or 666 (56k) or how we how we taught American Halloween culture to teenage Italians

The start of a section on my Mormon Mission Journal, in 1975-76 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This is not a lame proselytizing attempt or an unsolicited testimony, it is safe, non threatening, no pressure look at what a mission is sometimes like.

Unsolicited e-mail Evangelism. A set of questions showed up in my e-mail box. So I gave a shot at answering them. Not a particularly serious attempt at answering, as I provide no references, but I feel that the questions are not directed at finding religious truth, but a back door method at promoting this type religion and simplistic thinking.

Celestial Marriage A Few Definitions

bigamy (big·a·my) n. 1. The criminal offense of marrying one person while still legally married to another. From Late Latin bigamous twice married Latin bi- two; See bi- 1 Greek gamos marriage; See -gamous [Often the criminal nature of the offense of bigamy was not as much multiple wives, but a man leaving a wife in one town, moving for work to an other and pretending to be single, courting anohter women and marrying her, while neither of the women knew of the other wife.]
plural marriage n. 1. See polygamy. [In Mormon History terms it not just more than one spouse, but Celestial marriage (or more than one wife) through special permission, authority, sanction, vow, covenant and sometimes command, by or on behalf of God. See the partially completed table of Joseph Smith's wives.]
polygamy (po·lyg·a·my) n. 1. The condition or practice of having more than one spouse at one time. Technically this could mean more than one husband, but most people think it only means more than one wife. Also referred to as plural or Celestial marriage by most Mormons, to refer to more than one wife. Poly = many, gamos = Marriages.
Polygyny (po·lyg·y·ny) n. 1. The condition or practice of having more than one wife at one time. Poly = many, gyno = Females. [Joseph F. Smith, at one point in time, while testifying to a Congressional Subcommittee, rationalized that Mormons were no longer living polygamy, as he had rationalized in his own mind that they were technically living polygyny. However this ruse did not cover all of his, less than forthright, testimony under oath.]
polyandry (pol·y·an·dry) n. 1. The condition or practice marrying or of having more than one husband at one time. Poly = many, andro = Males. [See the story of Joseph Smith, Adam Lightner and Mary Elizabeth Rollins. The majority of the early marriages of Joseph Smith were of the polyandy type (8 of the first 11). ]

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I have recently had a very forceful Epiphany, a major paradigm shift, yea even a change of heart! See Disclaimer.

, after almost one year of no changes.

Ciao Perry

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All opinions on Mormon Church History and Mormonism in general are mine and mine alone, and represent my thinking at this point in time, (subject to change based on better information).

All original writings of mine are just that, to reproduce, forward or use, parts or whole, you need to get permission from me first.

Spellings constructed for effect and to confound the ridged. ;)

©1996 by Perry L. Porter. All copyrights are maintained by any parties (individual or corporate) which may have originally created any of the information or artwork contained herein. If you see your work, and I've mistakenly not given you or your company credit, please E-mail me, I'll gladly add the appropriate credit, if you feel it is necessary.

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Visitors (hits), restarted counting January 13th 2007.

The LDS Adam-God Sources web site contains links to Testimony "Friendly", Testimony "Neutral" as well as Testimony "Hostile" sources reguarding Adam-God.

LDS Church History
(.net)
1830 - 1904

Mormon History

1904 - 1990

Mormon History

1990 - 2000

Mormon Church History
(1831 - 1904)
Polygamy Central