Episode #189: The Release Of The 1886 Revelation W/Cristina Gagliano

Well it was kind a big week in Mormonism, especially if you're an Orthodox Mormon. With the release of the 1886 Revelation By The LDS Church we find ourselves in a place where if you are an Orthodox Mormon we can now beyond a shadow of a doubt point to John Taylor as the man who got the movement started. To help break this all down Cristina (Rosetti)Gagliano joins me again on the podcast. Cristina is a PHD and has made the study of Mormon Fundamentalism and its history the focal point of her scholarly work, having literally wrote the book on Joseph W. Musser. During our conversation we cover what the 1886 Revelation is, the context & history of the times it was received, the Revelations suppression by the LDS Church, and finally wrap it all up by talking about what this all means as it relates to LDS & Orthodox Mormonism. Make sure to come back next week where me and another guest will take a look at the 1886 Revelation and what its release means from theological point of view for Orthodox & Conservative Mormons.
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The you're listening to the
Mormon Renegade podcast.
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Well, you tried to retire, which
I, I respect.
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I respect I, I, I do I, I throw
mad respect your way anytime I
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get a chance, and I can respect
trying to retire.
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But Mormon fundamentalism, it'll
drag you back in.
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You don't have a choice.
Once you're in, you're in.
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And what A and what a, what a
way, right?
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I, I retired thinking what could
possibly happen and what and
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what it's like 5-6 months and
all of a sudden like the moment
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I've been waiting for my whole
career.
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I knew it was good.
I knew it was good when I got
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the message from you saying I'm
coming out of retirement and you
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should take a look at this.
So I'll I'll tell you exactly
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like we were doing the most
Mormon thing ever.
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When when I got your text, me
and the girls jumped in the
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truck.
I was like, let's go to Adam on
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Diamond and I haven't been to
Hans Mill yet, so let's go
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there.
Right.
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Like the only thing I was
missing is like if I just would
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have loaded up a hand cart and
went with that.
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But nonetheless, we were there
and we had just, we had just
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gotten done at Hans Mill.
When, when when I got your
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message and I was like, oh, and
I was like, OK, so actually I
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was like dictating the message
because I was driving and I was
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having my, my wife in the front
seat, who was Amber.
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I was at that time I was like,
OK, you need to text your back.
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And and she's like, well, what
do you want to say?
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I was like, I got to see if I
can get her to come on the
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program.
And Amber goes, she retired.
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I'm like, it's different.
You'll get it.
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It's different, different,
right?
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Like I got, I got to see.
And so like I'm, I'm, I'm
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dictating the messages.
She's like typing away.
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And so, yeah, no, I was.
Had you?
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Had you told her what happened
at this point?
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No, because I was like, I, I was
like, I was trying to figure it
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out all myself, right?
Because look, there's two parts
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of this thing that are huge. 1
is that the church actually
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admits that this was a thing now
and then.
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The second is that we have
evidence now that this was kind
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of deep sixed intentionally,
right?
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It's it wasn't like, oh, what,
you know, I must have left that
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revelation in my other vault.
And so it, it was I, I was like,
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I, I was just ecstatic, right.
And I'm, you know, as I'm want
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to do, I'm trying to think of,
OK, where are the ramifications
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of this and going down the line.
So I was super glad when you
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said you would you'd be willing
to come back on and come out of
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retirement.
Yeah, it was AI mean.
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It was a wild moment because,
you know, I started asking about
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this years ago.
Like, I believed it was in there
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like everyone.
And I never let it go.
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Like I'll be everyone's favorite
gentile who doesn't know how to
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let things go.
And so I just kept asking about
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this.
And it's like, you know,
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Saturday, I'm with my husband at
the library, just having a
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normal day, and I get a text
that says, I hope you're sitting
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down.
And then the follow up text is a
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link that has no preview.
And, and I was like, and I, it
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said the Church of Jesus Christ,
Latter Day Saints or whatever,
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and, or church history library.
And you know, in my mind, I'm
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like, nothing is going to excite
me.
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Like I'm so done with this
field.
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Like there's nothing that I can
click here that is going to make
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me like, you know, whatever, I
don't care.
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And I click it.
And the way that my jaw hit the
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floor and my husband looks at me
and I like get like teary eyed
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and I'm just like kind of
looking around frantically
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because I'm sitting in the
middle of the library in like
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rural Tennessee, Like no one
cares.
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And, and I'm just like freaking
out.
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My husband's like what's going
on?
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And I was like, I knew it.
And I was like, it's the 1886
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revelation.
And I turned the computer and of
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course I'm like rehashing this
whole story of like 1886.
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And he's, and he's very familiar
with the history.
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Of course he is at this point.
And also, yeah, probably the
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only Anglican priest who in
Quebec who like really knows
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this history.
And and then I, I started, I
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didn't know what to do.
I asked if I could share it and
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I impulse Facebook posted it.
But then I immediately started
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messaging all the
fundamentalists I know.
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And I posted in fundamentalist
groups that like the one that
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that I like, used to moderate
with Jacob.
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Like I started posting everyone.
I was like y'all were right.
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Yeah, yeah.
Well, and, and, and that's, you
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know, look, the fact that it's
legit doesn't surprise anybody
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in in the community at large,
right?
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We all knew.
We all knew, right?
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It was, it was a foregone
conclusion.
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But the and, and we'll get
there.
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We'll get there in this
conversation.
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But the fact it's out in public
now and the LDS Church
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recognizes it as legit, that's a
different animal.
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And the implications of this I
think are huge now, right?
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And we'll discuss those later.
But before, before we get there,
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let's because I do have a large
segment of the of the audience
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who is active members of the LDS
Church.
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And a lot of this they do not
quite understand yet.
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So, real quick, let's break down
what the 1886 revelation is.
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Sure.
So I want, I always kind of note
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that the 1886 revelation is
actually not unique or special,
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like John Taylor to paint a
picture of this man, 3rd
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president of the church.
Ride or die for polygamy.
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Like this man.
If there ever was a Mormon
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prophet who was going to die for
this, it was going to be him.
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I mean, Brigham Young, of
course, during the Mormon
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reformation especially.
Like really enthusiastic about
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polygamy.
I I know this is since I've
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retired, this has become
controversial.
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Joseph Smith starts it.
I know, I'm sorry.
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I had no idea.
When I my shock when I realized
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this has become a controversial
statement at this point, Joseph
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starts it.
Brigham Young really expands it,
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certainly, but John Taylor is
willing to die for it.
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Like John Taylor is a ride or
die.
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And the reason why that is so
significant is that John Taylor
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is promoting plural marriage at
the height of government
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persecution and prosecution.
By the time of this writing in
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1885, the Edmonds Act has been
put into place.
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This disenfranchises Mormons.
You don't get to vote now.
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You don't get to hold state
office.
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There's kind of looming concern
that they're going to
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disincorporate the LDS church.
They're going to seize temple
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property.
They're going to seize church
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property.
And I mean, if the, I mean, we
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can all imagine, I mean, LDS
fundamentalists alike, if the
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government comes in and takes
your temples, like your
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marriages are gone, your
endowments are gone, everything
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is gone.
And you have kind of two options
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in light of this.
You can either cave to the
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federal government or you can
double down.
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And our boy John Taylor, would
you believe he double s down
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that?
Dude was gangster.
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I'm sorry, if you're a prophet
that has a wanted poster, you're
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straight up gangster.
I don't know how else to put it.
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That's awesome.
He's like he is.
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I mean, I early in my career I
started referring to him as the
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last of the bad ass prophets.
Yeah, because he like, I mean,
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he was kind of what you imagine
as a wild, blessed rugged.
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Like if bolo ties had been a
thing, he would have worn one.
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Like he he was, I mean, he was
he was English.
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So it's also that kind of like
throws the wrench in the vibe,
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but just in terms of the
aesthetic of the wild rice.
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But but he he really believed
and that was that really
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matters.
So he's in hiding because like
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when we say that like The Wanted
post for everything, he's in
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hiding in Centerville, UT, in
the home of a man named John
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West Woolley.
And that is going to be an
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important part of the story.
And while he's in hiding,
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everyone around him is like,
what are we going to do?
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And kind of me, I don't really
know what they obviously would
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have thought he would have done,
but certainly some people might
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have wondered.
Maybe he'll cave.
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And on September 27th, 1886, he
kind of goes to pray.
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He kind of secludes themselves
for prayer.
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And we can talk about what the
later narratives look like, but
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at the time the only thing we
know is from that a document
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emerges and the document becomes
colloquially known and
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fundamentalism as the 1886
revelation.
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And it is a significant
revelation for two reason.
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For one really big reason.
Like I mentioned, John Taylor
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had been into polygamy forever.
In 1882, he writes A revelation
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about like he loves the new and
everlasting covenant of plural
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marriage.
Like he is so invested in it.
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This is different because 1886
opens with.
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Thus sayeth the Lord.
Right.
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And that creates a situation
like none of the other documents
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about polygamy that John Taylor
produces, that any of them
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produce, say thus saith the
Lord.
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So this has a weight to it that
other polygamy revelations do
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not have.
And now the interesting thing,
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and as we talked about the
history, it is kind of a
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difficult thing to piece
together because the revelation
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is produced.
And then, to make it very
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complicated, John Taylor
proceeds to die the next year.
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Yep.
And there is no explainer,
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there's no diary entries about
it, there's no commentary about
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it.
It pretty much vanishes.
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Now what we do know about the,
and I mean even when the when
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the George Buchanan Diaries were
released, many people, myself
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included, like ran to the date
September 27, 1886 to try to see
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George Buchanan mentions it.
No one mentions it.
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The only thing we know is that
one month after the revelation,
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John Taylor takes a plural wife.
That is the case.
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We also know that John W Wooley,
whose home he was in, he also
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takes a plural life.
The problem with that, of
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course, there's no causal
connection.
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Like none of them are plurally
sealed and say this is because
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of the 1886 revelation, but
that's it.
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So from 1886 until 1889 we
actually have nothing about the
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document.
Wow.
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At all.
And it's actually not until
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Samuel Woolley in his diary in
1889, he just kind of very
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casually says John Taylor was at
John W Taylor was at dinner,
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mentions his dad received a
revelation.
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But we have really nothing about
it for years.
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Right.
And so is the reason that
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revelation isn't brought forward
for for years.
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In your estimation, do just
simply because of the nature of
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his life at that time that he's
running house to house, dodging
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the feds, trying to to evade
capture?
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Yeah.
I mean, one of the things I've
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seen a lot online is a lot of
people have commented that, you
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know, this was never brought
before anyone for kind of
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sustaining vote.
This is never kind of been
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canonized.
And that's true.
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It didn't have to be though.
Polygamy was already part of the
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religion, right?
So, so it is true that John
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Taylor does not bring this
forward to canonize it.
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He does not bring it to the
apostles.
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He doesn't do that.
Why it it?
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It wouldn't have made a
difference.
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Polygamy 132 was stood.
I mean 1890 the the manifestos
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that will eventually happen have
not happened yet.
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So if he brings forth 1886
revelation and says thus saith
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the Lord, we have to do
polygamy, people are going to
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hear that and say we know.
Right, right.
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00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:20,360
Like.
Yeah, it, it's, it's not, I'll,
219
00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,200
I'll be honest as, as and please
correct me if I'm wrong.
220
00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,600
You've, you've done your
research and, and you know, you
221
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,000
got PhD behind your name.
I want to give you that grad
222
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,320
there.
So, so please, if I, if I frame
223
00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,320
this wrong, let me know.
But Christina, as I look at
224
00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:39,800
this, sometimes I feel like this
is as much a revelation to the
225
00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,960
leadership as it is to the
general membership, right?
226
00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:46,560
It's the leadership that's
struggling with us 'cause if I'm
227
00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:49,840
not mistaken, at one point
short, and I believe it comes
228
00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:54,600
out of one of Quinn's books.
But right before he has this
229
00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:59,040
revelation, George Buchanan does
deliver to him what could be
230
00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,000
kind of like a forerunner to the
manifesto, right?
231
00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:05,880
And at which point I think
that's when the prayer really
232
00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,240
starts is, OK, is this something
I should do?
233
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,520
So to me, sometimes I look at
the 1886 revelation, and I think
234
00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:17,080
it's far more about the men who
were leadership at that time
235
00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:19,160
than it was the entire
membership.
236
00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,040
Because like you said, the
membership would be like, well,
237
00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:22,880
duh.
Because they weren't Privy to
238
00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,280
these arguments or these
discussions that were being had.
239
00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:28,560
Is that a fair assessment there
of that, Yeah.
240
00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:30,760
Yeah.
I mean, I think especially in
241
00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,880
light of the political climate
and the government climate, I
242
00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:40,280
think this revelation was simply
or not simply a reaffirming of
243
00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:45,080
we cannot cave to this, right?
I, I don't, it wasn't new, it
244
00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,000
wasn't new information, it
wasn't novel information.
245
00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:50,920
And the revelation itself, it's
short, it's not actually that
246
00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:56,960
exciting, but the revelation is
God affirming to John Taylor
247
00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,720
that I do not revoke eternal
commandments.
248
00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,840
And so it is a reiteration of
God has said something.
249
00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,800
We cannot back down on it.
It is that that's really what it
250
00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:11,040
is.
It is him reaffirming.
251
00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:12,880
This is who we are.
This is what we do.
252
00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:15,280
We're going to the grave with
this.
253
00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,320
Which does of course make it a
bummer that it's like 4 years
254
00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:20,600
later.
Yeah, yeah, no, I get it.
255
00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:26,120
I I do want to cover something
because I've heard especially
256
00:15:26,120 --> 00:15:29,440
for, for my active LDS folks,
they're, they're a little
257
00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,120
confused on, on what this is
really talking about.
258
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:36,200
And that's because like any
language, Mormon has a Mormonism
259
00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,640
has a verbiage, right?
And that verbiage has changed
260
00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:40,280
over the years from group to
group.
261
00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:43,560
And, and I do want to read just
a portion out of this because I
262
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:45,880
think this is important,
especially for for those who
263
00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,160
don't have a real good handle on
on what this revelation is
264
00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,520
about.
And in in the first verse, he
265
00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,520
says, my son John, you have
asked me, considering the new
266
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:57,160
and everlasting covenant, how
far it is binding upon my
267
00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,000
people.
Thus saith the Lord, all
268
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,920
commandments that I give must be
obeyed by those calling
269
00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,800
themselves by my name, unless
they're revoked by me or by my
270
00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,000
authority.
Now the thing I want to point
271
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:14,240
out there is the term the new
and everlasting covenant that
272
00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,880
has gone through some change
right now.
273
00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,960
What?
What is that referring to in the
274
00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,320
1800s during John Taylor's time?
Yeah, new and everlasting
275
00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:26,720
covenant was polygamy.
Right.
276
00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,560
I mean, 132 uses this language
and I I realize in the LDS
277
00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,520
church contemporarily and and
the contemporary kind of shift
278
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,480
really was in 1933.
It's not until 1933 that we
279
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,920
really see this kind of movement
of language, especially I think
280
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:47,080
even more than new and
everlasting covenant.
281
00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:51,160
So the idea of celestial
marriage that phrase the phrase
282
00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,080
celestial marriage really kind
of is reimagined as monogamy in
283
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,520
the 19 in 1933 under Heber J
Grant.
284
00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,520
But prior to that new and
everlasting covenant in
285
00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,560
celestial marriage really were
polygamy in 1933.
286
00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,200
Hebrew J Grant is the first to
say celestial marriage that is
287
00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,160
an LDS people will hear this as
kind of true to their
288
00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:13,920
experience.
Hebrew J Grant says celestial
289
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,520
marriage, that is marriage for
time and eternity, and
290
00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,000
polygamous or plural marriages
are not, are not synonymous
291
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:22,880
terms.
And that was a novel when he
292
00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:25,800
says that, because previously, I
mean, if you look at the
293
00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:30,080
language of 132, if you look at
the language of how ceilings
294
00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:36,840
worked, this idea was that.
I mean, even the idea of eternal
295
00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:41,360
marriage, like the problem with
removing 132 from the Canon is
296
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:44,800
if you remove the polygamy
revelation, you remove the idea
297
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,080
of eternal marriage.
This is a sticky situation.
298
00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:50,280
Eternal family's eternal
marriage is something so near
299
00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,360
and dear to LDS people's heart
that moving 132 would be, I
300
00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:55,720
mean, that would be a
devastation.
301
00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:01,560
And so there was from the very
beginning a deep enmeshment of
302
00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,360
the idea of an eternal marriage
and a polygamous marriage.
303
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,920
And so when John Taylor says
noon everlasting covenant, I've
304
00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,200
heard many people say, you know,
this includes all covenants,
305
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:17,400
this includes your baptism, this
include, and maybe I mean it, I
306
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,800
guess it is true that baptism is
a everlasting covenant.
307
00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,840
But in the context John Taylor
was writing in hiding being
308
00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:35,160
asked specifically to go to the
Lord about polygamy with who
309
00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,360
John Taylor was with his
previous polygamy revelations.
310
00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,080
If you take this document in the
whole of its context, John
311
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,240
Taylor's talking about polygamy.
Yeah, and I wanted to draw that
312
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,000
out cuz.
And I understand having been in
313
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,480
both worlds, right?
When, when I, I was getting
314
00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,360
questions like, well, how does
this deal with polygamy, right?
315
00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:58,320
I don't, I don't see the word
celestial plural marriage any,
316
00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:00,240
anywhere.
And I'm like, OK, you got to
317
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,400
understand the context.
And then you also have to
318
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,680
understand verbiage, right?
The verbiage has changed in, in
319
00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,040
the mainstream church now.
And so it, I, I understand why
320
00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:13,320
people come from so, so Taylor
has the revelation.
321
00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:16,560
He double s down.
Yeah, so John Taylor double s
322
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:18,400
down really hard.
And I mean, I one the
323
00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:20,120
interesting thing is like,
that's kind of it.
324
00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:22,800
It just kind of like fades into
the mist.
325
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:25,840
And so for that reason, the
story that I find most
326
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,000
compelling is like, how does the
how does the church get it?
327
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:31,480
Like how, when do they get it?
Like that really is.
328
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,920
And I mean, we learned that from
the documents that were released
329
00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,000
last weekend.
And we'll talk about that.
330
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,800
We, we do, we do get a picture
that we we knew the history, but
331
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,960
now we have the hard copy
documents that kind of show the
332
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,160
history.
I mentioned.
333
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:50,760
Samuel Woolley kind of briefly
says, hey, John W Taylor notes
334
00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:56,560
something.
The grand irony, I think, is
335
00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,920
that shortly before the 1st
manifesto in 1890, we do have
336
00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,680
one other person that makes
reference to the existence of a
337
00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:06,760
revelation in his diary.
Really.
338
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:10,760
He and it's, you know, it's,
it's a private, it's just
339
00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:15,440
private.
It's he just notes I have heard
340
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,680
about this revelation and that's
our boy Heber J Grant.
341
00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,520
So as early as 1890, Heber J
Grant.
342
00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,240
So he at this time, to be clear,
Heber J Grant hasn't seen it
343
00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,880
necessarily.
He hasn't seen copies
344
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,720
necessarily.
But as early as 1890, Heber J
345
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,960
Grant is noting that there is
the existence of a revelation
346
00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,440
from John Taylor about polygamy
or about the new and everlasting
347
00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:42,160
covenant.
So I think that's kind of
348
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:46,920
interesting.
We also have Abraham H Canon in
349
00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:52,560
1892.
He notes that John W Taylor has
350
00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:57,160
referenced A revelation from his
dad, but that's it.
351
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,600
So we have Samuel Woolley, we
have Hebrew J Grant, and we have
352
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,240
Abraham Canon.
After Abraham Canon's diary
353
00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:09,400
entry in 1892, we do not hear a
single thing about this again
354
00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,680
until the turn of the century
until 19 O 9.
355
00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:17,320
Now that leaves a lot of room
for grand stories to emerge
356
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,920
about it.
And we will talk about kind of
357
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:23,840
the lore around it and how
especially Lauren Woolley kind
358
00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:30,240
of really constructs a really
fantastic narrative that Lauren
359
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:36,280
Woolley has a lot of stories,
but most of the stories about
360
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:40,240
the 1886 revelation, most of the
narrative is an is after the
361
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,720
fact.
What I just relayed.
362
00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:48,440
This kind of like bare bones
revelation happens, two guys get
363
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,560
married a month later, and then
there's three diary entries.
364
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:53,440
That is all we know
contemporarily.
365
00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:59,160
So the, so the, the that
revelation, the 1886 revelation,
366
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:04,520
it's not well known amongst it's
not in the the zeitgeist I guess
367
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,600
of Mormonism at that point for
your average lay member people.
368
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,360
For anyone, I mean, we have many
Diaries.
369
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:17,040
No one is talking about it.
And I mean, there's many reasons
370
00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,480
for that is, or potential
reasons.
371
00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,240
The first, which I can't stress
enough, it's not novel.
372
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:26,920
John Taylor has said this so
many times.
373
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,000
So like in, in some people's
mind, it would be fair to say
374
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,520
like, what's one more time that
John Taylor's going off on this?
375
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,480
You know, for some people,
whatever, it's just another
376
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:40,520
moment.
For other people, that's a bad
377
00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,360
look.
The Edmunds Act went into effect
378
00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:46,200
in 1885 and now your guy is
saying we're never abandoning
379
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,080
it.
Probably not a great time to be
380
00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,320
like shouting it from the
rooftops.
381
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,000
Another kind of significant
thing.
382
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,400
People keep Diaries.
People put, people put
383
00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:57,600
challenging things in their
Diaries.
384
00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:59,600
People write.
Most people don't write criminal
385
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,960
activity in their Diaries.
Right, right, right.
386
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:06,600
The other thing is, again,
they're under persecution,
387
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:07,400
right?
I mean.
388
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,960
Yeah, I mean, I, I have read
Joseph Muster's Diaries front to
389
00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,760
back, shout out we are
publishing them through
390
00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,600
signature books.
So that'll be a big moment for
391
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,680
people.
And he is reticent to write
392
00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:24,600
criminal activity.
Like he doesn't.
393
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:27,400
I mean, he writes some
embarrassing things.
394
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,600
I think my favorite account that
Joseph Muster writes is when his
395
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,760
when his wife Ellis is leaving
him and he writes Ellis is
396
00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:36,800
leaving.
She finds my work obnoxious.
397
00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,640
And I'm like, man, And so people
will do that.
398
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,400
But like, you're not going to
write things that will
399
00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,400
incriminate the man that you
believe is the mouthpiece of God
400
00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,840
in your diary when the
government has now created a
401
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,360
situation where they could seize
your diary for a criminal
402
00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:56,640
investigation.
Like you're not, you're just not
403
00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,160
going to do that.
And so we don't see anything,
404
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:06,160
and we don't really kind of see
much until John Taylor's son
405
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:10,840
comes on the scene.
And John Taylor's son, John W
406
00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:15,160
Taylor, is a big part of the
story because he's the one that
407
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:23,320
starts kind of saying, hey, my
dad said something in 1886.
408
00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:29,280
The 1890 manifesto happens.
Wilford Woodruff says it doesn't
409
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:33,840
end polygamy, but he puts on a
good show about the end of
410
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:35,720
polygamy.
I mean nineteen O 4 because of
411
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,040
the Reid Smoot hearing.
It's also kind of a good show,
412
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:43,320
but he puts on a good show.
And John W Taylor believes his
413
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,160
dad, like of course he does.
And I'm actually consistently
414
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,560
surprised that within the
fundamentalist movement we have
415
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:56,320
a lot of figures that emerge
like Lawrence C Woolly, John W
416
00:24:56,320 --> 00:24:58,160
Woolly.
I'm actually always surprised
417
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:03,440
that like a kind of folk cult of
John W Taylor never emerged of
418
00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,880
like stories about, well, he
ordained me too, you know,
419
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,800
because he's so believable to
have done something like that.
420
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:11,880
But he didn't to our knowledge,
to what we know.
421
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:16,280
But John W Taylor starts kind of
talking, telling people.
422
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:22,960
My dad had this revelation in in
19 O 7.
423
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:28,160
Things start to heat up a bit
because John West Woolley starts
424
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,080
to perform plural marriages.
Now, John West Woolley, this is
425
00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:37,240
the house John Taylor was in.
John West Woolley's son becomes
426
00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,480
a prominent figure in the later
fundamentalist movement.
427
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:45,120
John West Woolley is, you know,
close to John Taylor and he
428
00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:46,640
starts to perform plural
marriages.
429
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,000
The problem again is he doesn't
say why.
430
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,720
Like he never mentions.
John Taylor told me he never
431
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,880
mentions 1886, but he does
mention he does to start to
432
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:03,440
perform plural marriages.
And that's interesting given the
433
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:09,640
timeline of what happens next.
But two years later in 19 O 9,
434
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,520
Joseph Fielding Smith, the
president who becomes the
435
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,360
president of the oldest church
that Joseph Fielding Smith, he
436
00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:22,240
obtains the revelation and he
makes a copy.
437
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:28,160
Why does he make a copy?
He makes a copy for the church
438
00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:33,680
historians office.
Now this is a interesting
439
00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:36,640
question for so this is
interesting for two reasons.
440
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:43,600
The 1st is Joseph Feeling Smith.
If you're handed something fake,
441
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:45,640
are you going to make a copy to
put it in the archive?
442
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,200
No.
I don't know.
443
00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,640
I don't, I don't know.
This is my speculation.
444
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,680
I don't think so.
I think that he always believed
445
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,160
it was in John Taylor's hand,
because why else is he putting
446
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,520
it in the archive of the church?
The other reason why I think
447
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,280
this is interesting is that from
the time I started studying
448
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:06,800
fundamentalism, people
speculated that Joseph Fielding
449
00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,840
Smith was in on it and that he
had obtained keys from John
450
00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:12,200
Taylor to perform plural
marriages.
451
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:17,200
Now, I don't think that happened
because there's no record of
452
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,320
that.
But Joseph Fielding Smith and
453
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:24,200
Joseph like he was, he was kind
of in this story for a long time
454
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:26,520
now.
I think this was just because he
455
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:30,520
was part of the quorum.
He, you know, John W Taylor's
456
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,200
starting to talk about this
story and claiming this is in my
457
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:37,720
dad's hand.
John W Taylor is an apostle.
458
00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,800
Assumably, we we trust him as an
honest narrator of his dad's
459
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,920
life.
So Joseph Fielding Smith makes a
460
00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:52,760
copy of the document.
Who sees it at that point?
461
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:56,800
Who sees the original?
We don't know it.
462
00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:01,160
I believe that.
I believe it would make sense
463
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,840
that the other members of the
Quorum would have like known he
464
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,440
would have talked about it.
So we can safely kind of assume
465
00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:14,960
that at the time.
Heber J Grant and others, we
466
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,040
would have maybe seen it, but we
don't know.
467
00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:18,600
It is safe to assume, but we
don't know.
468
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,800
But in 1911, and this is where
things kind of heat up in terms
469
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:31,480
of what we found, what was
released on Saturday in 1911,
470
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:33,800
John W Taylor comes up for
excommunication.
471
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:43,840
And John W Taylor, his defense,
which is a good defense, He's
472
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:46,360
allowed to present a case for
why should we keep you?
473
00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:50,840
And he brings out a copy of his
dad's revelation and is able to
474
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:57,600
say, because my dad said so,
that's a bold move.
475
00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:03,240
And he looks at the council and
he says, you have a choice right
476
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:05,440
now to side with the government
or to side with the Lord.
477
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:11,400
What are you going to do?
And the Church excommunicates
478
00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,920
him.
And Matthias Cowley as well, if
479
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:18,720
I'm not mistaken, right?
And Matthias Cowley, who is also
480
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:22,280
a figure that I'm surprised
never got kind of like a cult
481
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:28,160
following.
Now, that's what a bold move.
482
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:35,040
So in 1911 he does this.
A detail of the excommunications
483
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:39,000
in this period that I think are
so significant that is worth
484
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,200
mentioning.
We are not at a point where
485
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,360
there is a fundamentalist
movement in the LDS church.
486
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,840
This is 1 religion and nineteen
O 9.
487
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,040
Joseph Musser.
He goes up for his first
488
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,920
disciplinary hearing and nothing
happens, which is very
489
00:29:55,920 --> 00:30:00,520
interesting and nothing happens
for Musser because at the time
490
00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,880
Musser is small potatoes
compared to like John W Taylor.
491
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,360
Musser isn't.
Muster is getting sealed
492
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:10,080
polygamously, but he's not doing
them himself.
493
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:15,000
And Muster is also not like
standing on the pulpit being
494
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,520
like we need to defy the
government.
495
00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:20,920
So in short, the differences
between John W Taylor and Joseph
496
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:25,920
Muster in this period is that
John W Taylor has a level of
497
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:31,000
authority and standing in the
church that is different.
498
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,000
And John W Taylor is
embarrassing.
499
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:39,040
Right.
Because and he's doing the
500
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:40,560
ceilings.
So this is an important
501
00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:45,640
distinction is that really prior
to the 1920s, if you are being
502
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:48,080
sealed polygamously by someone,
if you like, find a guy to do it
503
00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:49,680
for you, you're not going to get
in trouble.
504
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,480
You are going to get in trouble
if you're doing them.
505
00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:56,240
And this is especially true John
W Wooley.
506
00:30:56,240 --> 00:31:00,800
The reason he gets in trouble is
there's a lot of wild, like most
507
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:04,200
plural ceilings at the time.
I mentioned this on a different
508
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:09,040
interview, but when all these
people think of ceiling, they
509
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:11,560
have this vision of you come out
of the temple and everyone's
510
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:15,040
clapping.
Plural ceilings in this time.
511
00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,600
They're happening in cars and
they're happening in houses.
512
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:22,480
And like your stake president is
doing it like it's or your
513
00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,000
patriarch.
The reason why John W Willey
514
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,480
gets in trouble is he decides to
just keep doing them in the Salt
515
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:33,200
Lake Temple.
Well, there's a case to be made
516
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:34,480
for being bold.
I mean and.
517
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,480
So he's, he's his own vibe.
He's going to be, he's going to
518
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:39,480
get in trouble.
But the reason why these
519
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:44,360
discipline hearings are so wild
to me is that 1911 to paint this
520
00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:47,640
picture, 1911, John W Taylor is
called into a disciplinary
521
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:50,480
hearing.
And in his hand is his dad's
522
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:54,640
revelation.
And he is being stared down by
523
00:31:54,640 --> 00:32:00,880
Heber Jay Grant, who will later
go on to deny polygamy by and
524
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:05,920
who is the last man to be an LDS
prophet who was a polygamist
525
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,320
himself.
And we also have Anthony Ivins,
526
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,720
who most people would kind of
maybe know the name Ivins, UT
527
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,400
like, you know, Anthony Ivins,
he, he was an apostle.
528
00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:23,200
But what most people don't know
about Anthony Ivins is, out of
529
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:27,920
anyone in the post manifesto
polygamy period, he did the most
530
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:33,400
plural ceilings out of anyone.
And he was sitting in that room
531
00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:36,800
prepared to excommunicate John W
Taylor for doing this, for doing
532
00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,800
something even lesser than what
he was doing.
533
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,200
You know, I had Michael Ness on
here.
534
00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:46,560
I'll say it was a year ago,
might be a little more.
535
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,160
I don't know.
At at 190 episodes, these things
536
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,880
are starting to run together.
So forgive if I mess up the time
537
00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:56,320
frame, but we did A5 part series
on the Life and Times of John W
538
00:32:56,320 --> 00:33:02,800
Taylor because you in in my
estimation, John W Taylor is
539
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,840
kind of like Joseph Muster in
that he is a witness to pioneer
540
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:11,440
Mormonism turning into modern
day Mormonism, right?
541
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,240
Also, if you're into like cloak
and dagger spy thrillers, you're
542
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:18,000
going to love this section of
history, right?
543
00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:22,640
Because what, because like
Taylor at times doesn't even I,
544
00:33:22,640 --> 00:33:26,080
I think to myself, how did he
know who to trust, right?
545
00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,320
Because you did not have a
united quorum, right.
546
00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:32,400
And so it it's a fascinating
thing.
547
00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:36,400
But Ivans is a huge player
through all of this, right?
548
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,480
When, when they're ride and die
together, right.
549
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:43,280
I mean, you got guys like
setting up hotel rooms, you
550
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:46,320
know, when they travel in each
other's names to throw off the,
551
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:50,520
I mean, it's, it's bonkers.
And so and, and look, that's
552
00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,440
been something I thought about
with, with Grant a lot, right?
553
00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:56,920
Let's not forget Grant was a
polygamist himself, right?
554
00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:02,320
So how, how do you go from,
yeah, bro, I got your back ride
555
00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,720
and die forever to sorry, dude,
I got to cut you, right?
556
00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,120
I mean, it's a massive shift and
tragic on a lot of levels.
557
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,480
Oh, yeah.
I mean, and what you said about
558
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:16,800
things being divided, this what
that is absolutely like, it
559
00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:21,320
cannot be stressed enough that
the quorum was deeply divided on
560
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:23,960
what to do about this issue.
A lot of them, you know, have
561
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:28,000
plural wives still.
A lot of them are, I mean Joseph
562
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,719
F Smith.
The Reed Smoot hearings are a
563
00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:33,480
nightmare because Joseph Smith's
plural wife has a baby during
564
00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:35,719
the hearings, while Joseph F
Smith is like there's no
565
00:34:35,719 --> 00:34:37,159
polygamy anymore.
Right.
566
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:40,880
What and so this is a nightmare.
But I mean, I remember with with
567
00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:44,800
Joseph Messer, he goes to his
first disciplinary hearing and
568
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,120
instead of leaving with kind of
like this sense of remorse of I
569
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:52,040
must amend my ways, whatever he
writes in his diary, he's like,
570
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:55,719
I'm left.
He says, like, what I'm left
571
00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:59,080
with from the disciplinary
hearing is the realization that
572
00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:03,000
the quorum is not united and
that I'm willing to lay down my
573
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:09,200
life for this.
And so like these disciplinary
574
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:13,520
hearings also aren't helping the
situation because, and I mean,
575
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:15,960
this remains the case, and I've
said this quite a bit, and I've
576
00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:22,560
also talked to leaders in the
LDS Church about this, that you
577
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:28,880
excommunicate someone for being
a fundamentalist Mormon, you're
578
00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:31,240
taking their Mormonism to an 11.
Yeah.
579
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:34,720
Because all of their heroes had
that happen to them.
580
00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:36,520
Like, what are you doing?
Like don't.
581
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,520
If you don't want to draw
attention, don't make a martyr.
582
00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:43,280
Yep.
And so John W Taylor is axed.
583
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,800
And then, of course, during this
meeting, he discusses the
584
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:52,480
revelation.
And it is his wife, his plural
585
00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:58,400
wife, Nelly, who ultimately
brings her husband's copy to the
586
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:04,320
church historian's office.
But it's again, she brings her
587
00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:08,960
husband's copy, which now we
have seen.
588
00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:15,280
But in 19 O 9, a copy was
already in there from Joseph
589
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:20,400
Fielding Smith.
So before the excommunication
590
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:22,080
hearing, he's like holding a
copy.
591
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:25,520
And they have one in the
archive.
592
00:36:26,320 --> 00:36:28,960
Joseph Fielding Smith made that
copy.
593
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:33,880
Heber J Grant talked about it.
Remember, in 1890, he noted in
594
00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:38,400
his diary that it existed.
Anthony Ivins has been running
595
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:41,240
through Mexico stealing people
polygamously.
596
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:43,640
And now we're in a situation
where John W Taylor's
597
00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:45,800
excommunicated.
Oh.
598
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:53,400
Man, and I just want to trace
just kind of sum up the the
599
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:58,680
history of the dock.
So Taylor Taylor senior pens it
600
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:02,560
John Taylor pens it.
It kind of goes out of
601
00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:07,000
circulation, although there is
some references to it every so
602
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,240
often.
So we got a continual chain, so
603
00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:14,000
to speak of at least it being
while it's not in every Mormon's
604
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,480
mind, those who are in the know
about what's going on, there's a
605
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:21,200
continual hey, this is a thing
nineteen O 9.
606
00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:25,680
Joseph F Smith makes a copy and
then he Joseph Fielding.
607
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:26,760
Thank you.
Who?
608
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:28,720
Who did I say?
Joseph F.
609
00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:31,920
Remember the F?
OK, Joseph Fielding makes a copy
610
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:37,960
of it, sticks it in the vaults.
It's brought up again in 1911,
611
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:41,840
you said or.
No, that copy just kind of stays
612
00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:44,440
there.
And in 1911, John W Taylor
613
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:47,000
brings.
Brings a copy his copyright.
614
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,160
And I mean, of course, there are
copies of this clearly at this
615
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:55,880
point that John W Taylor
circulating will note as well
616
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,760
that when the fundamentals
movement, when kind of rustling
617
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,760
begins about that, they start
making copies very quickly.
618
00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:08,680
I was talking to Brian Buchanan,
who I'm doing the Joseph Muster
619
00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:12,440
Diaries with, and he actually
brought up something that's so
620
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:16,400
interesting of, you know, when
things go into the archive, they
621
00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:21,440
are scanned and photographed.
And we have that incredibly
622
00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:25,160
beautiful high resolution scan
that we can all now see on the
623
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:28,480
church archive.
And he, I called him yesterday,
624
00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:30,800
we were talking about this and
he was like, who do you think
625
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:32,520
photographed it?
Yeah.
626
00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:36,120
Like who is the person in the
archive who has probably heard
627
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,400
for a long time it's not real
and then was the one who had to
628
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:41,600
scan it?
Yeah, yeah.
629
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:43,960
No.
And and and that's that's the
630
00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,720
other thing that that I couldn't
help but think about, you know,
631
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:51,320
going forward to today.
I was thinking about that as I
632
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:53,760
saw the scan.
It's like, OK, somebody knew it
633
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,560
was there the whole time.
Somebody knew it was there,
634
00:38:56,760 --> 00:39:00,880
right.
And and that that that brings up
635
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,560
a good question, question which
we'll cover here and here in a
636
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:06,640
few, but OK.
So after John W Taylor's ex
637
00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:10,200
excommunication, the split
obviously happens.
638
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:16,840
Yeah, we start to see, I mean,
by this point, 1911, you have a
639
00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:19,040
fleet of people who've been
disciplined.
640
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:21,920
Right.
Or at least maybe not
641
00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:25,480
excommunicated, but have had
talking to's by their state
642
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:28,800
president.
And so obviously most of the
643
00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:30,120
people are in Salt, the Salt
Lake Valley.
644
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:31,560
They're all going to find each
other.
645
00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,320
And we're better to find each
other than at Nathaniel Baldwin,
646
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:38,480
the inventor of headphones
House, right?
647
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:40,920
Of course, he maybe, I don't
know which, he's an interesting
648
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:41,880
character.
I mean, he was never a
649
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:44,800
polygamist himself, but he was
deeply sympathetic to these
650
00:39:44,800 --> 00:39:49,840
people, these families.
People start to Nathaniel
651
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,200
Baldwin in this kind of new
iteration for the 20th century,
652
00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:57,200
and Nathaniel Baldwin starts to
make mention of it.
653
00:39:57,880 --> 00:40:01,000
I don't know where he first
hears about it.
654
00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:07,480
However, in the night late
1910s, he starts hosting
655
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:11,080
meetings at his house.
And John W Willy's son is there
656
00:40:11,280 --> 00:40:16,240
who is starting to talk about.
The revelation, so we don't know
657
00:40:16,240 --> 00:40:18,520
I don't know when Nathaniel
Baldwin it becomes Privy to
658
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:22,920
this, but he starts to hold
meetings at his house with all
659
00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:26,000
these disenfranchised Mormons.
He also hires all of them to
660
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,360
like, right, give them
employment.
661
00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:33,160
They're losing their jobs.
And in 1921, that's the
662
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,040
earliest.
So I I date 19/21 as the
663
00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,760
beginning of the Mormon
fundamentalist movement for no
664
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,800
other reason than that is the
moment that Lauren C Wally
665
00:40:41,800 --> 00:40:46,040
stands up Nathaniel Baldwin's
home in front of a group of
666
00:40:46,240 --> 00:40:48,960
people and says, let me tell you
a story.
667
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:54,480
And he proclaims the story of
the 1886 revelation to this
668
00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,080
group of people.
And this would have been a bit.
669
00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:58,800
I mean, he's vindicating them
like he's telling them like,
670
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:01,680
you've all been disciplined,
like you've all been shunned.
671
00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:03,720
You've all lost your jobs, but
you're all right.
672
00:41:04,520 --> 00:41:07,920
And you're, you're doing what
John Taylor has asked you to do.
673
00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:11,920
So this is a big moment.
Now, Lauren Seewilly does a
674
00:41:11,920 --> 00:41:17,800
second thing that you and I are
going to disagree on many
675
00:41:17,800 --> 00:41:20,960
people.
Lauren Sewell says in 1886, John
676
00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:23,520
Taylor receives A revelation
that is true.
677
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:30,960
He also says John Taylor
ordained men to a priesthood
678
00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:40,200
council to ensure that happens.
Now will agree to disagree on
679
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,920
whether or not that happened.
Woolley then claims this is his
680
00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:47,360
ability to ordain people to the
office of high priest apostle,
681
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:52,040
where many Woolley 8
fundamentalist groups then draw
682
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:54,560
out their authority.
This is where Joseph W Messer
683
00:41:55,240 --> 00:41:57,880
receives his ordination to a
high priest apostle.
684
00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:01,320
Joseph W Messer is special among
the group because he had his
685
00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:04,200
second anointing.
So he's also kind of in a class
686
00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:07,960
of his own.
But John Y Barlow, Charles
687
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,960
Zitting, this is where the
fundamentalist movement kind of
688
00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:17,480
emerges as its own unique thing
between 29 and 19331931.
689
00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:23,320
But now the long standing
question between historians of
690
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:26,000
fundamentalism and Mormon
fundamentalists is, did the
691
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,360
ordinations happen?
I'm one who says no, that they
692
00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:31,080
didn't.
And the reason I say no is
693
00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:33,000
there's no contemporary evidence
for it.
694
00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,240
Again, I told you everything we
know about 1886.
695
00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:38,440
There's no information at all.
Right.
696
00:42:39,160 --> 00:42:42,720
But the problem, the problem
that the LDS Church has now
697
00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:46,800
placed themself in by releasing
the revelation, because you're
698
00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:48,360
going to release the ordination
record next.
699
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:50,440
Like is there like, what do you,
what's going on?
700
00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:54,600
Like, like you said, there's not
a revelation.
701
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:58,080
You also said there's not an
ordination record is 1 different
702
00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:01,440
than the other.
And so, granted, I still
703
00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:05,040
maintain that there is not an
ordination record, but the
704
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:09,720
release of the 1886 revelation
does cast doubt on a narrative
705
00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:12,160
generally about polygamy
history.
706
00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:17,960
Right, right.
Again, there's no contemporary
707
00:43:17,960 --> 00:43:23,520
evidence, but but all to say,
when Woolly starts to tell this
708
00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:27,520
story, and I use story very
broadly, Lawrence C Woolly has
709
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:31,600
many stories about his life,
meaning the Lamanite prophet
710
00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,480
goes down to the Yucatan
Peninsula for some reason, I
711
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:36,440
don't know.
He has a lot of great stories
712
00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:41,160
about the world, but he also
like Ordains.
713
00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:45,640
Who did he meet?
Oh, he said he he said he met a
714
00:43:45,640 --> 00:43:46,800
few people.
Gandhi.
715
00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:50,520
Teddy Roosevelt.
Yes.
716
00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:53,360
He ordained Teddy Roosevelt to
the office of high priest
717
00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:56,520
apostle.
So I mean this Lawrence C Well,
718
00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:58,360
they were reliable there.
He also claims he was probably
719
00:43:58,400 --> 00:44:01,320
like the CIAI don't know.
Was he a reliable narrator?
720
00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:06,760
No.
So do I think that he?
721
00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:10,720
No.
But all to say, his dad has been
722
00:44:10,720 --> 00:44:13,600
in the game a long time.
I mentioned John W Woolley is
723
00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:16,040
doing polygamous ceilings in 19
O 7.
724
00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:20,960
He's excommunicated.
But this is where kind of two
725
00:44:21,040 --> 00:44:26,040
movements really kind of begin.
And around this time, we start
726
00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:30,800
to see the first LDS reaction to
this because the story is
727
00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:32,680
spreading.
And of course, it is spreading
728
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,200
because if you are
disenfranchised, if you have
729
00:44:35,200 --> 00:44:37,920
been excommunicated, if you have
lost your job, if you have lost
730
00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:40,360
your family, and suddenly
someone is like, you've been
731
00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:42,880
right all this time, you're
probably going to join that
732
00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:45,840
movement like.
And so it does.
733
00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:49,320
It never gets, of course, to the
same scale as the LDS Church,
734
00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:54,560
but it does garner sympathy.
And because of that, it starts
735
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:58,000
to kind of slowly raise some
issues in the LDS leadership of
736
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,920
what do we do, How do we handle
this?
737
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:05,240
And the first iteration of that
is in 1923 with a man named J
738
00:45:05,240 --> 00:45:09,160
Reuben Clark.
And at the time, you know, when
739
00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:12,120
we imagine J Reuben Clark, when
many listeners, especially LDS
740
00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:15,240
listeners, imagine J Reuben
Clark, they think of a guy who's
741
00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:18,480
an apostle or a leader.
But J Reuben Clark is an
742
00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:20,400
attorney.
He is.
743
00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:26,400
He's a attorney who is LDS and
embarrassed.
744
00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:29,640
And why is he embarrassed, you
ask?
745
00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:36,080
Well, he's embarrassed because
his uncle is John West Woolley.
746
00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:42,320
Right.
And his dad is a unapologetic,
747
00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:45,480
unrepentant polygamist.
And so for someone like J Ribbon
748
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:47,080
Clark, who has political
ambition, this is an
749
00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:51,480
embarrassing story of your
family are criminals and.
750
00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:53,280
They.
Do.
751
00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:59,760
And so J Rubin Clark pens the
first kind of memorandum in kind
752
00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:06,200
of legalese, without using leg
me to try to explain away the
753
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:09,640
revelation without saying he's
talking about the revelation.
754
00:46:10,720 --> 00:46:13,720
Wow, And you know, it's
important to note too, is that
755
00:46:15,600 --> 00:46:18,120
look, and and I'm not trying to
trash talk the guy.
756
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:20,640
I'm just telling you, like I see
it.
757
00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:26,160
He's not, he's not even like
he's not theologian, right
758
00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:31,120
Clark, he's barely active by all
accounts while he's living in
759
00:46:31,120 --> 00:46:33,960
DC, right?
I mean, he's not there.
760
00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:39,480
His appointment seems to come at
the behest of what, in my
761
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:42,720
opinion, and, and again feel
free to correct me if I'm wrong,
762
00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:46,120
looks like he's an appointment
for the times because of what
763
00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:50,160
the church is going through and
also because of his connections
764
00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:52,680
in Washington.
Great argument to be made for
765
00:46:52,680 --> 00:46:58,760
that.
And he seems, he seems to be one
766
00:46:58,760 --> 00:47:01,200
of the ones and, and that's the
other thing that happened in
767
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:05,520
this dump of documents that we
got is there's a letter from him
768
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:10,000
in there that talks about and
and I'm, I'm paraphrasing, but
769
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:12,400
essentially we need to deep 6
this thing.
770
00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:15,440
Yes, yeah.
And I think that's the document
771
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:18,320
in the folder that's most
significant because we see the
772
00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:24,160
attempt to conceal it.
And he does kind of the first
773
00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:26,960
attempt at this where.
Well, he, he pens a memorandum
774
00:47:27,280 --> 00:47:33,120
in 1923 where it wouldn't seem
weird if you didn't know that
775
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:36,040
there was this document
circulating because he mentions
776
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:40,840
something about polygamy without
using the word polygamy.
777
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:50,600
And he he basically says that
seed key is an authority and at
778
00:47:50,600 --> 00:47:53,920
the point of death.
And So what he ends up writing
779
00:47:53,920 --> 00:48:00,960
is a memorandum that basically
says 1886 Revelation is void
780
00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:04,880
about saying that.
And you know, at the time, you
781
00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:07,240
know, he's really kind of
extrapolating on how authority
782
00:48:07,240 --> 00:48:09,960
works in the church, how
stealing keys work, how they end
783
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:14,640
at the moment of death, how the
keys to perform plural ceilings.
784
00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:17,720
And at death, you can't kind of
pass these on like you can with
785
00:48:17,720 --> 00:48:21,720
other things.
And at face value, that's kind
786
00:48:21,720 --> 00:48:22,960
of like a, oh, that's
interesting.
787
00:48:23,160 --> 00:48:25,000
But when you realize that
there's this document
788
00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:28,160
circulating with a group that
just in 1921 has started to
789
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:32,600
promote this, that in 1923,
we're starting to circulate it
790
00:48:32,600 --> 00:48:36,240
in pamphlets in the Salt Lake
Valley that Joseph White, that
791
00:48:36,240 --> 00:48:38,240
Joseph Muster is making prints
of it.
792
00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:41,200
Joseph Muster, who is a very
compelling writer and speaker,
793
00:48:41,200 --> 00:48:45,280
is starting to talk about this.
They are all kind of uniting
794
00:48:45,280 --> 00:48:47,280
around this.
And then all of a sudden in 1923
795
00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:50,760
someone is like making these
cryptic claims about by ceiling
796
00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:53,000
authority ends at the point of
death and so therefore any
797
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:55,280
previous revelation on the
matter doesn't hold water.
798
00:48:55,880 --> 00:48:58,360
It doesn't make sense in Mormon
theology, right?
799
00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:03,080
No, no, it, it doesn't.
And and then and then again we
800
00:49:03,080 --> 00:49:06,360
kind of like, I think there's an
attempt at, you know, we
801
00:49:06,360 --> 00:49:11,760
excommunicated people in the
1911 let's let it die and then
802
00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:13,920
1923 we're releasing the
memorandum.
803
00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:18,800
Let's just kind of see if it
dies, but the Mormon
804
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:21,000
Fundamentals movement doesn't
die is the problem.
805
00:49:22,280 --> 00:49:29,320
And so in 1931, the last kind of
iteration of this is J Reuben
806
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:33,240
Clark or Heber J Grant, the prep
now president of the LDS Church,
807
00:49:33,240 --> 00:49:35,880
begins to make a statement make
begins to make statements to
808
00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:42,680
statements about polygamy.
And in 1931, he starts to
809
00:49:42,680 --> 00:49:45,960
basically say we're
excommunicating you.
810
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:49,640
It doesn't matter if you are in
leadership, it doesn't matter if
811
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:52,040
you're performing pro ceilings,
It doesn't matter if you are
812
00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:54,840
practicing polygamy.
And the wildest one, it does.
813
00:49:54,880 --> 00:49:56,920
If you believe in it, you're
out.
814
00:49:57,080 --> 00:50:01,000
And so Hebrew Jake, Hebrew Jake
Grant is the one that starts to
815
00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:04,840
make excommunication for people
who believe in it.
816
00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:08,320
So this becomes also thought
policing of do you believe in
817
00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:12,080
the principle of marriage?
Because it's, you know, the
818
00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:15,480
reality is if you are living
like, how do you know?
819
00:50:15,760 --> 00:50:21,160
And so the question, how do you
know people think it or practice
820
00:50:21,160 --> 00:50:24,880
it or whatever is this is when
we start to get neighbors
821
00:50:24,880 --> 00:50:27,280
turning against neighbors.
This is when we start to get
822
00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:29,120
state presidents telling on
people.
823
00:50:29,360 --> 00:50:34,520
I mean, to put into perspective,
if you can imagine like you talk
824
00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:37,160
to your state president in a
confidential setting and he goes
825
00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:39,240
and tells on you for being a
polygamist like this is going
826
00:50:39,240 --> 00:50:41,520
to, you're going to feel deep
betrayal at this moment.
827
00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:46,920
And then 1933 really is the end
of the story.
828
00:50:47,280 --> 00:50:50,560
And it's also the last time that
we hear anything about the
829
00:50:50,560 --> 00:50:55,640
revelation in 1933.
The 1931 excommunications still
830
00:50:55,640 --> 00:50:59,240
aren't ramping up as intensely
as we want them to.
831
00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:04,760
Loyalty do start to go out that
you have to be loyal to the LDS
832
00:51:04,760 --> 00:51:06,560
Church.
Loyalty to the LDS Church means
833
00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:10,560
an abandonment of polygamy.
We especially see this in places
834
00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:12,960
that become kind of strongholds
of the fundamentalist movement.
835
00:51:13,200 --> 00:51:17,640
What becomes Short Creek ends up
get the Zion parks, what was the
836
00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:21,960
Zion Park Stake gets a lot of
loyalty oaths sent out that you
837
00:51:22,120 --> 00:51:25,880
have to sign later on if you go
to prison.
838
00:51:26,080 --> 00:51:27,600
There's an easy way out of
prison.
839
00:51:27,840 --> 00:51:32,080
It's to sign a loyalty oath.
And so this becomes a problem.
840
00:51:32,080 --> 00:51:40,760
But in 1933, J Reuben Clark
writes a statement to Church
841
00:51:40,760 --> 00:51:45,720
News that is published in Church
News and it says it is alleged
842
00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:49,640
on September 26th, 27, John
Taylor receives A revelation.
843
00:51:50,160 --> 00:51:56,680
The purported text dot dot dot
So J Reuben Clark writes to
844
00:51:56,680 --> 00:52:00,160
Church News casting doubt on the
documents existence.
845
00:52:00,480 --> 00:52:03,560
Heber, J Grant, Anthony W Ivins.
Sign off on this Now.
846
00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:10,640
He's very good at he's a lawyer.
He's very good writing things.
847
00:52:10,960 --> 00:52:13,200
So he never says it doesn't
exist.
848
00:52:13,600 --> 00:52:17,240
Right, pretended is the word he
uses a lot.
849
00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:21,280
A purported, A purported text.
So is he saying it's a forgery?
850
00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:24,600
Is he saying it's fake?
He's very good at that.
851
00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:28,280
Subsequently, of course,
famously, Heber J Grant stands
852
00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:32,680
up at general conference and
unleashes what becomes the third
853
00:52:32,680 --> 00:52:37,680
manifesto where he says that
celestial marriage is monogamy.
854
00:52:38,200 --> 00:52:43,240
And he says the purported plural
marriages of the so-called
855
00:52:43,240 --> 00:52:48,200
fundamentalists are fake and
they're purported revelation or
856
00:52:48,200 --> 00:52:52,920
they're pretended revelation and
that's it.
857
00:52:53,280 --> 00:52:57,240
So the last we hear about the
document is Heber J Grant.
858
00:52:57,600 --> 00:53:04,080
Heber J Grant, who in 1890 wrote
in his diary that he heard about
859
00:53:04,080 --> 00:53:09,440
a John Taylor revelation.
Heber J Grant, who in 19 O 9
860
00:53:09,520 --> 00:53:13,600
likely knew that Joseph Fielding
Smith had made a copy of it.
861
00:53:14,000 --> 00:53:19,400
Heber J Grant, who in 1911 saw
John W Taylor's copy.
862
00:53:19,800 --> 00:53:25,600
Heber J Grant, The polygamist.
Heber J Grant very close friends
863
00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:30,320
with Anthony W Ivins the the
face of Post manifesto Polygamy
864
00:53:30,320 --> 00:53:34,240
in Mexico.
Heber J Grant says the pretended
865
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:36,960
revelation of the so-called
fundamentalists.
866
00:53:38,160 --> 00:53:40,480
Now you hit on something good
that I always like to throw in
867
00:53:40,480 --> 00:53:42,160
when I can.
Someday I'm going to write a
868
00:53:42,160 --> 00:53:44,480
book about the five stages of
becoming a Mormon
869
00:53:44,480 --> 00:53:46,800
fundamentalist.
Now, one of those stages is
870
00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:50,840
going to be a deep, white hot,
seething hate for Wilford
871
00:53:50,840 --> 00:53:52,720
Woodruff.
And then you're going to do some
872
00:53:52,720 --> 00:53:55,160
research and you're going to be
like, OK, probably shouldn't
873
00:53:55,160 --> 00:53:58,840
have issued the manifesto, but I
can kind of sympathize, right?
874
00:53:59,080 --> 00:54:00,960
Have the whole world coming down
on him.
875
00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:03,880
And furthermore, he never meant
it, right?
876
00:54:04,720 --> 00:54:08,280
It's my opinion that the reason
that the one that gets canonized
877
00:54:08,280 --> 00:54:11,720
gets canonized as far as the
manifesto is because of the way
878
00:54:11,720 --> 00:54:14,720
he words it.
In my opinion, he words it so
879
00:54:14,720 --> 00:54:18,760
far from a revelation that a
Mormon would recognize that
880
00:54:18,760 --> 00:54:22,040
everybody knows.
Meanwhile, meanwhile, the 1886
881
00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:25,920
says thus saith the Lord.
Right, Exactly, exactly right.
882
00:54:26,440 --> 00:54:30,640
And OK, so we have that.
And so that white hot seething
883
00:54:30,640 --> 00:54:33,720
hatred that you had for Wilfred
Woodruff.
884
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:36,480
Well, that's going to change and
you're going to have a new white
885
00:54:36,480 --> 00:54:41,080
hot seething hatred and it will
be for Hebrew J Grant because of
886
00:54:41,080 --> 00:54:43,160
the things that you kind of
talked about, right.
887
00:54:43,160 --> 00:54:48,920
I mean, it's, I, I try to be
very forgiving of historical
888
00:54:48,920 --> 00:54:52,840
figures, right?
Because I don't like presentism.
889
00:54:52,840 --> 00:54:55,760
I don't like looking back on
somebody and trying to judge
890
00:54:55,760 --> 00:55:01,160
them based on my own social
norms of the time, right?
891
00:55:01,160 --> 00:55:03,800
I don't think that's fair.
Now, certainly you can do crappy
892
00:55:03,800 --> 00:55:06,000
things and it's crappy
throughout history no matter
893
00:55:06,000 --> 00:55:11,120
what, but I, I try to be careful
with Grant.
894
00:55:11,120 --> 00:55:13,840
What I see is it's really hard
for me to get to that point.
895
00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:18,360
It it's very hard when I see
all, it's not just one thing,
896
00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:22,960
it's just over and over and over
and over and it's hard for me to
897
00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:27,560
get past that.
Well, and I think the reason,
898
00:55:27,760 --> 00:55:37,360
the reason why it bothers, why
the 1933 bothers me or I'm
899
00:55:37,360 --> 00:55:43,800
sorry, 1931 in particular
bothers me because when he gets
900
00:55:43,800 --> 00:55:47,080
up and starts talking about the
revelation, it becomes very or
901
00:55:47,080 --> 00:55:51,520
about post manifesto polygamy.
It becomes very clear that it is
902
00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:59,000
not an issue of doctrine.
It's not it's not even an issue
903
00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:02,800
of authority.
It's not an issue of history.
904
00:56:03,000 --> 00:56:05,800
It becomes very clear that it's
an issue of embarrassment.
905
00:56:07,440 --> 00:56:11,320
And the kind of the
quintessential example of this
906
00:56:11,720 --> 00:56:16,400
is that in 1931, when he stands
up and he like he speaks on
907
00:56:16,400 --> 00:56:21,960
this, he does a pretty robust
condemnation of those who,
908
00:56:21,960 --> 00:56:26,200
quote, persist in teaching the
doctrine and maligning the
909
00:56:26,200 --> 00:56:30,200
leaders of the church.
So Hebrew J Grant is not
910
00:56:30,200 --> 00:56:34,800
necessarily upset with polygamy.
He's upset at fundamentalists
911
00:56:34,960 --> 00:56:39,480
for saying for saying that, that
leaders of the LDS Church
912
00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:42,800
continued polygamy.
It's so it's.
913
00:56:42,880 --> 00:56:43,880
True.
Yep.
914
00:56:44,600 --> 00:56:47,320
Yep, I was going to say, if I'm
not mistaken, this is the time
915
00:56:47,320 --> 00:56:50,600
frame in which the the recommend
question.
916
00:56:50,600 --> 00:56:54,480
Do you believe whoever Hebrew J
Grant in this point is the only
917
00:56:54,480 --> 00:56:59,120
guy authorized to exercise the
keys of the priesthood right?
918
00:56:59,600 --> 00:57:06,120
We also see the question of in
19, I believe 1935 don't quote
919
00:57:06,120 --> 00:57:08,200
me on that date.
It's like the one date that I
920
00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:11,920
don't have.
We also it it's AI think it's
921
00:57:11,920 --> 00:57:14,800
1935 that that's when the
question, the temper recommend
922
00:57:14,800 --> 00:57:16,680
question.
Do you associate with groups?
923
00:57:17,040 --> 00:57:19,000
Yeah.
Whatever about the LDS Church,
924
00:57:19,520 --> 00:57:25,480
this is also when we get the the
children of polygamist families
925
00:57:25,480 --> 00:57:27,120
cannot be baptized into the
Aldous church.
926
00:57:28,240 --> 00:57:33,880
This is when we get kind of
small, many small moves that
927
00:57:33,880 --> 00:57:37,160
shape a broader culture of
animosity against polygamists.
928
00:57:38,440 --> 00:57:43,520
Now, I say many small moves, but
of course for fundamentalists
929
00:57:43,520 --> 00:57:46,560
that these are all very kind of
big things that the Aldous
930
00:57:46,560 --> 00:57:48,880
Church does to create a hostile
environment.
931
00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:52,600
But they do kind of lay lay the
groundwork of small things that
932
00:57:52,600 --> 00:57:54,760
really do create create a
hostile environment.
933
00:57:55,840 --> 00:57:59,640
But I mean, it, it is the case
that, you know, by this time
934
00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:04,200
Truth magazine is starting, we
start to see the publication of
935
00:58:04,200 --> 00:58:06,600
pamphlets that the
fundamentalists, I mean, Joseph
936
00:58:06,600 --> 00:58:11,920
Messer has lost all of his jobs
for being a unrepentant
937
00:58:11,920 --> 00:58:15,240
polygamist.
And Lauren Woolley comes to him
938
00:58:15,360 --> 00:58:20,000
and says basically, basically
gives him a calling to promote
939
00:58:20,040 --> 00:58:22,280
the fundamentals and to promote
fundamentalism.
940
00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:25,640
And so he starts publishing
pretty widely pamphlets.
941
00:58:25,640 --> 00:58:27,920
He starts publishing the
revelation, he starts publishing
942
00:58:27,920 --> 00:58:32,000
the account of the ordinations,
and he starts publishing pretty
943
00:58:33,640 --> 00:58:38,480
scathing op eds about the
leaders of the LDS Church.
944
00:58:39,120 --> 00:58:42,600
Some of my favorites are Joseph
Muster does a conference report
945
00:58:43,760 --> 00:58:48,760
twice a year in truth where he
like writes a commentary on all
946
00:58:48,760 --> 00:58:52,920
the conference talks and like
with particular attention to a
947
00:58:52,920 --> 00:58:57,840
bridge a grant like he just kind
of those hard and it is true.
948
00:58:57,840 --> 00:59:02,560
But Joseph Messer does call
these men liars like he does.
949
00:59:02,680 --> 00:59:04,760
He calls them liars for several
reasons.
950
00:59:04,760 --> 00:59:07,400
He calls them liars for
concealing the revelation.
951
00:59:07,600 --> 00:59:11,840
He calls them liars for saying
plural marriage ended when it
952
00:59:11,840 --> 00:59:17,720
didn't.
And he calls them liars for not
953
00:59:18,600 --> 00:59:21,360
really being lifelong
monogamists.
954
00:59:21,600 --> 00:59:23,720
Right.
And so he does malign the
955
00:59:23,720 --> 00:59:28,680
leaders of the LDS church.
And it wouldn't be maligning or
956
00:59:28,680 --> 00:59:31,240
embarrassing if there wasn't
truth to what he was saying.
957
00:59:31,240 --> 00:59:36,560
Like Joseph Muster actually, for
all of his maybe flaws, I don't
958
00:59:36,560 --> 00:59:40,000
know, I happen to like the guy,
but for everything he was, he
959
00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:41,800
never lied about it.
Right.
960
00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:44,680
Right, he did.
He did promote kind of weird
961
00:59:44,680 --> 00:59:52,280
Lauren Woolley stories, sure,
but he didn't lie about Anthony
962
00:59:52,280 --> 00:59:54,960
Ivan's continuing polygamy.
Right.
963
00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:59,200
Like he didn't.
And so so that's what has always
964
00:59:59,200 --> 01:00:03,960
kind of bothered me about Huber
J Grant, is that him being
965
01:00:03,960 --> 01:00:05,880
bothered by the maligning of the
leaders.
966
01:00:05,880 --> 01:00:08,640
What it actually was is he was
angry at people for telling the
967
01:00:08,640 --> 01:00:11,600
truth about it.
And that was that's a
968
01:00:11,600 --> 01:00:14,800
frustrating reality.
And I think that the documents
969
01:00:14,800 --> 01:00:17,360
we received on Saturday or were
made available on Saturday.
970
01:00:18,360 --> 01:00:20,920
Everyone's very excited about
the revelation, of course they
971
01:00:20,920 --> 01:00:24,800
are.
But what we find also is a paper
972
01:00:24,800 --> 01:00:32,760
trail about this story that this
had this was this was concealed.
973
01:00:33,200 --> 01:00:34,960
Yep.
OK.
974
01:00:35,480 --> 01:00:38,160
So that's kind of the history
behind the revelation, which I
975
01:00:38,160 --> 01:00:40,280
wanted to go over because I
think it was super important,
976
01:00:40,680 --> 01:00:44,120
especially for, for the audience
who's not familiar with it, it's
977
01:00:44,120 --> 01:00:45,760
important to, to lay that
groundwork.
978
01:00:46,200 --> 01:00:49,480
And you're right, after 33 it,
it or 31, I can't remember.
979
01:00:49,480 --> 01:00:50,880
It doesn't get brought up a
whole lot.
980
01:00:50,880 --> 01:00:54,440
The, the most I could come up
with is a quote from Marky
981
01:00:54,440 --> 01:00:58,600
Peterson in his book Way of the
Master, where he seems to take a
982
01:00:58,600 --> 01:01:02,280
shot at anybody espoused in this
because of a pretended
983
01:01:02,480 --> 01:01:05,480
revelation or whatever, kind of
a veiled shot there.
984
01:01:07,560 --> 01:01:10,200
But it it largely goes away
outside of fundamentalist
985
01:01:10,200 --> 01:01:13,720
circles.
And so I want to start talking
986
01:01:13,720 --> 01:01:17,280
first kind of kind of about the
ramifications.
987
01:01:17,280 --> 01:01:21,800
But before we do that,
Christina, do you have any like
988
01:01:22,240 --> 01:01:26,440
I can get?
I'm going to try to be gentle
989
01:01:26,440 --> 01:01:30,560
here.
The church is super concerned
990
01:01:30,560 --> 01:01:34,360
with its good name, right?
That is a big thing.
991
01:01:34,720 --> 01:01:40,160
So I could understand releasing
the revelation itself, but why
992
01:01:40,160 --> 01:01:43,320
release the documents that are
kind of the smoking gun that
993
01:01:43,320 --> 01:01:47,880
show, hey, this was suppressed?
Do we have any indication on why
994
01:01:47,880 --> 01:01:55,280
that happened?
So I, what I can say is in
995
01:01:55,280 --> 01:02:02,280
general folder, like things are
usually released it like it it
996
01:02:03,560 --> 01:02:06,240
this is a folder of documents
pertaining to each other and
997
01:02:06,240 --> 01:02:08,000
pertaining to a particular
historical moment.
998
01:02:08,360 --> 01:02:11,280
And they go together.
Now, one of the things that is
999
01:02:12,080 --> 01:02:15,360
important that I, I really
remind people of as often as I
1000
01:02:15,360 --> 01:02:19,720
can is the Church historians
Office of the Church History
1001
01:02:19,800 --> 01:02:24,320
Library and the Quorum of the 12
apostles are not the same thing.
1002
01:02:25,680 --> 01:02:31,160
They are the the church.
No, this is this will probably
1003
01:02:31,160 --> 01:02:34,400
sound strange to some listeners.
The church did not release this
1004
01:02:34,400 --> 01:02:37,760
document.
The Church historical library
1005
01:02:37,760 --> 01:02:40,600
did.
Which of course it's all part of
1006
01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:45,560
the LDS church.
Yes, but at the end of the day
1007
01:02:45,560 --> 01:02:49,120
this was not like right?
It wasn't posted on LDS Newsroom
1008
01:02:51,640 --> 01:02:56,720
and most things that come out of
CHL, the Church history library
1009
01:02:56,960 --> 01:03:02,280
aren't because this wasn't like
this wasn't the church releasing
1010
01:03:02,280 --> 01:03:05,440
it.
Now of course, the truth, like
1011
01:03:05,480 --> 01:03:07,760
everyone, it is a hierarchical
institution.
1012
01:03:07,760 --> 01:03:09,600
Everyone kind of knows when
things are released.
1013
01:03:10,320 --> 01:03:14,480
But the LDS Church History
library, for anything people can
1014
01:03:14,480 --> 01:03:17,920
say about the LDS church or
about its history or whatever,
1015
01:03:18,720 --> 01:03:22,480
the Church History Library is a
world class archive.
1016
01:03:22,600 --> 01:03:29,080
It is a world class library.
It it it employs some of the
1017
01:03:29,080 --> 01:03:32,720
finest archivists that I've ever
met, some of the best people
1018
01:03:32,720 --> 01:03:37,600
I've ever met who are incredibly
trained in.
1019
01:03:37,600 --> 01:03:42,280
I mean, they pH DS in history
library science, really
1020
01:03:42,280 --> 01:03:48,800
phenomenally gifted and trained
scholars run this library and
1021
01:03:48,800 --> 01:03:54,080
they are people and the church
history library is an A lot of
1022
01:03:54,080 --> 01:04:01,720
ex Mormons will not like this,
but it is a library that it is
1023
01:04:01,720 --> 01:04:04,760
an archive and it acts like one
more often than not.
1024
01:04:05,160 --> 01:04:08,920
And so archives generally when
they release documents, they
1025
01:04:08,920 --> 01:04:12,640
will release documents with the
context of the documents and in
1026
01:04:12,640 --> 01:04:15,520
folders that kind of pertain to
the document.
1027
01:04:15,800 --> 01:04:17,880
So if you're going to be
releasing papers that talk about
1028
01:04:17,880 --> 01:04:19,720
a document, probably a good
thing to release a copy of the
1029
01:04:19,720 --> 01:04:22,200
document with it.
And so releasing a folder
1030
01:04:22,200 --> 01:04:25,720
pertaining to the 1886
revelation of John Taylor, it
1031
01:04:25,720 --> 01:04:30,040
makes sense for or what a normal
archive would do.
1032
01:04:30,280 --> 01:04:33,880
I think kind of the questioning
around it comes from comes from
1033
01:04:33,880 --> 01:04:37,320
what the document happens to be
of people being like, what's
1034
01:04:37,320 --> 01:04:40,240
going on here?
You know, of course there are
1035
01:04:40,240 --> 01:04:44,920
restrictions on what is what
people can see and what people
1036
01:04:44,920 --> 01:04:46,960
can't see in the LDS Church
archive.
1037
01:04:47,680 --> 01:04:52,600
But I do note more often than
not that the LDS church, I mean,
1038
01:04:52,600 --> 01:04:54,600
because I hear a lot of people,
especially in the next Mormon
1039
01:04:54,600 --> 01:04:57,120
community, talk about how the
LDS Church is secretive and
1040
01:04:57,120 --> 01:05:04,040
whatever the LDS church is more
open about their you and me.
1041
01:05:04,040 --> 01:05:07,480
Me, this random woman from
California, can go to the church
1042
01:05:07,480 --> 01:05:10,160
history library and just like,
rustle through documents.
1043
01:05:11,240 --> 01:05:13,880
You don't get to go to the
Vatican and do that to my
1044
01:05:13,880 --> 01:05:15,280
people.
Right.
1045
01:05:16,360 --> 01:05:19,440
You don't get to do that.
No, I it's a fairpoint.
1046
01:05:19,840 --> 01:05:22,440
I don't get to do that,
actually, and I'm a Roman
1047
01:05:22,440 --> 01:05:25,320
Catholic.
And so it is the case, as much
1048
01:05:25,320 --> 01:05:27,440
as there are hard feelings about
the history, as much as there
1049
01:05:27,440 --> 01:05:29,640
are hard feelings about how the
Church operates, the oldest
1050
01:05:29,640 --> 01:05:34,920
church history library is
incredibly receptive to even
1051
01:05:35,120 --> 01:05:38,800
people without advanced degrees.
People who are just wanting to
1052
01:05:38,800 --> 01:05:41,120
study their family are able to
go and look at things.
1053
01:05:41,480 --> 01:05:44,200
So am I shocked the 1886
revelation was published?
1054
01:05:44,520 --> 01:05:48,920
Yes, I am, but it is.
I also want to extend the
1055
01:05:48,920 --> 01:05:53,160
reality that the LDS Church
history library is it does
1056
01:05:53,160 --> 01:05:56,640
function like a world class
archive that does value history
1057
01:05:57,280 --> 01:05:59,120
even when it's difficult.
And I think we can thank Leonard
1058
01:05:59,120 --> 01:06:01,000
Arrington, former church
historian, for this.
1059
01:06:01,560 --> 01:06:04,320
Who believe the history of the
church had to be shown words and
1060
01:06:04,320 --> 01:06:07,600
all as he worded it and he
wanted to release.
1061
01:06:08,080 --> 01:06:11,040
I mean he got he got in time in
trouble in his time for talking
1062
01:06:11,040 --> 01:06:14,400
about how Brigham Young's sons
chewed tobacco right.
1063
01:06:15,040 --> 01:06:16,920
And so.
And they told him not to include
1064
01:06:16,920 --> 01:06:19,840
that in his writing and he
argued about it.
1065
01:06:20,960 --> 01:06:24,880
But yeah, I, I just want to note
that it is a kind of a way that
1066
01:06:24,880 --> 01:06:27,320
his, that archives usually
operate.
1067
01:06:27,680 --> 01:06:30,080
It makes a lot of sense from an
archival standpoint.
1068
01:06:30,680 --> 01:06:34,680
I think a lot of my, our and my
own shock is just because there
1069
01:06:34,680 --> 01:06:38,080
has been so much concealment
about this document.
1070
01:06:38,080 --> 01:06:40,520
But for all of that to be said,
it is a.
1071
01:06:40,560 --> 01:06:45,240
It is a world class archive.
Well, and, and look here, here's
1072
01:06:45,240 --> 01:06:48,800
where so and hearing that
explanation, it makes sense,
1073
01:06:48,800 --> 01:06:51,160
right, that it sounds like
that's just kind of the way
1074
01:06:51,160 --> 01:06:53,360
these these documents are
released, right?
1075
01:06:54,280 --> 01:06:57,280
Standard of maybe standard of
care is a good word.
1076
01:06:57,280 --> 01:07:01,080
Maybe it's not, but kind of how
how this how this work is done.
1077
01:07:01,080 --> 01:07:04,160
When you release something, you
release the adjacent documents
1078
01:07:04,160 --> 01:07:06,680
that give context and.
And I mean, I think a great
1079
01:07:06,680 --> 01:07:10,480
example of this is when the
priesthood band conversation
1080
01:07:10,480 --> 01:07:15,120
really got going again in 20,
18, I think people were really
1081
01:07:15,120 --> 01:07:19,240
talking about this issue.
You know, the big question of
1082
01:07:19,320 --> 01:07:21,360
was Elijah Abel?
Was he ordained to the
1083
01:07:21,360 --> 01:07:22,880
priesthood by the hand of Joseph
Smith?
1084
01:07:23,280 --> 01:07:29,440
And they could have released the
one page of the ordination
1085
01:07:29,440 --> 01:07:32,320
record.
Instead, what the archive did,
1086
01:07:32,320 --> 01:07:35,840
which was bold and incredible,
is they got a beautiful glass
1087
01:07:35,840 --> 01:07:38,560
case and they put it in the
middle of the church history
1088
01:07:38,560 --> 01:07:42,200
library with the entire
ordination record book.
1089
01:07:42,360 --> 01:07:43,640
So you could see the whole
thing.
1090
01:07:46,920 --> 01:07:49,560
And so, and it was real, like
you could walk up to this box
1091
01:07:49,800 --> 01:07:56,280
and you could see the ordination
book from Nauvoo and you could
1092
01:07:56,280 --> 01:07:58,840
see Elijah Abel's name, but you
could see it in its full
1093
01:07:58,840 --> 01:08:01,640
context.
They couldn't have just released
1094
01:08:01,640 --> 01:08:03,480
a scan of the page.
Right.
1095
01:08:04,400 --> 01:08:05,840
But it wouldn't have been the
same.
1096
01:08:05,840 --> 01:08:08,440
No, it could.
Have been the same vibe and so I
1097
01:08:08,440 --> 01:08:12,480
think they have done or when
they first started when they
1098
01:08:12,480 --> 01:08:17,600
first showed the papyrite from
the book of Abraham, they put
1099
01:08:17,600 --> 01:08:20,399
the papyri on display, which was
very cool.
1100
01:08:20,760 --> 01:08:23,840
They also put the original
printing plate with it.
1101
01:08:24,040 --> 01:08:27,279
They also put the very first
copy that ever came out of it.
1102
01:08:27,479 --> 01:08:30,560
They also put the first
transcription with it and it was
1103
01:08:30,560 --> 01:08:34,279
kind of as a package deal of
this is what this is
1104
01:08:34,279 --> 01:08:37,040
historically.
And so I think they, they're
1105
01:08:37,040 --> 01:08:39,120
really good at doing that.
I mean, again, they're world
1106
01:08:39,120 --> 01:08:41,200
class archivists behind the
scenes.
1107
01:08:41,200 --> 01:08:45,880
And the people who I've talked
to about the document generally
1108
01:08:45,880 --> 01:08:49,640
are people who, who are very
good at what they do.
1109
01:08:49,640 --> 01:08:54,479
They're they're brilliant
historians and they, they get
1110
01:08:54,520 --> 01:08:57,319
the importance of telling a
historical picture that makes
1111
01:08:57,319 --> 01:09:00,399
sense and that is comprehensive.
And like I mentioned, we don't
1112
01:09:00,399 --> 01:09:04,319
have anything else from 1886.
There's nothing else to put with
1113
01:09:04,319 --> 01:09:09,439
it from the time.
And so any, so when we looked at
1114
01:09:09,439 --> 01:09:13,080
this folder, this is really all
we this is this is the picture
1115
01:09:13,080 --> 01:09:15,399
unfortunately, but this is all
this is what we have about the
1116
01:09:15,399 --> 01:09:20,080
document because we don't have
much else.
1117
01:09:20,080 --> 01:09:22,720
And so they did paint the full
picture of the document, even if
1118
01:09:22,720 --> 01:09:25,160
it just looks like there's a
couple kind of weird things.
1119
01:09:25,680 --> 01:09:28,560
Gotcha.
All right, so that takes us to
1120
01:09:29,160 --> 01:09:34,080
today and the ramifications of
what this what this really means
1121
01:09:34,080 --> 01:09:37,200
now, right.
So let's talk for a second.
1122
01:09:37,200 --> 01:09:38,439
What?
What do you think this should
1123
01:09:38,439 --> 01:09:44,760
mean for for fundamentalists?
Well, I mean, I'm not one, so
1124
01:09:44,760 --> 01:09:47,680
this matters to me in a very
weird way in that I just get to
1125
01:09:47,680 --> 01:09:52,479
like be excited that I knew it.
And that's like a very different
1126
01:09:52,479 --> 01:09:56,880
experience than people who I do
know have spent a long, a lot of
1127
01:09:56,880 --> 01:10:01,560
their life feeling crazy,
feeling like the foundational.
1128
01:10:02,640 --> 01:10:04,840
I mean, it makes me 6.
Revelation is so wild because
1129
01:10:04,840 --> 01:10:10,960
it's one piece of paper folded.
It's like 12 lines, you know,
1130
01:10:10,960 --> 01:10:13,960
it's not, it's not like the
Bible where it's like this
1131
01:10:13,960 --> 01:10:18,240
giant.
It's a very totally small, but
1132
01:10:18,680 --> 01:10:22,600
thousands of people base their
faith.
1133
01:10:23,080 --> 01:10:24,720
They base the structure of their
family.
1134
01:10:25,040 --> 01:10:27,760
They base the structure of the
cosmological order.
1135
01:10:28,000 --> 01:10:32,400
They base the nature of God.
They base the nature of how the
1136
01:10:32,400 --> 01:10:35,640
temporal world should look.
They base everything.
1137
01:10:35,760 --> 01:10:37,720
They base their willingness to
go to jail.
1138
01:10:37,920 --> 01:10:40,280
They base their willingness to
lose their family.
1139
01:10:40,440 --> 01:10:43,640
That everything is based on this
piece of paper and whether or
1140
01:10:43,640 --> 01:10:48,080
not it is real.
And for 100 years, they were
1141
01:10:48,080 --> 01:10:52,120
told that it's fake, whether
that means it's a forgery or
1142
01:10:52,120 --> 01:10:53,640
whether that means it doesn't
exist.
1143
01:10:53,880 --> 01:10:59,240
They were told this is fake.
And that is difficult.
1144
01:10:59,360 --> 01:11:02,800
And granted, you know, the
people I know who believe in
1145
01:11:02,800 --> 01:11:06,520
this document, we're willing to
have faith in it regardless of
1146
01:11:06,520 --> 01:11:08,080
that in the same way.
I mean, I thought it was real.
1147
01:11:08,080 --> 01:11:10,200
And so like, whatever.
But that's different than what
1148
01:11:10,200 --> 01:11:13,720
I'm, I'm not basing my life, my
livelihood on it.
1149
01:11:13,720 --> 01:11:19,320
But that is set, that is a
challenging and a painful
1150
01:11:19,320 --> 01:11:23,480
experience to go to bed every
night being told you're crazy by
1151
01:11:23,840 --> 01:11:29,280
in many cases, the religious
institution of your family, the
1152
01:11:30,040 --> 01:11:33,040
religious institution that
excommunicated you for this, the
1153
01:11:33,560 --> 01:11:37,000
for, for, I mean, so many people
I know have been excommunicated
1154
01:11:37,720 --> 01:11:42,600
or disciplined or lost family
members or have lost a lot.
1155
01:11:42,680 --> 01:11:47,000
I've lost jobs, have given up a
lot for this and have given up a
1156
01:11:47,000 --> 01:11:48,760
lot for something that they were
told is fake.
1157
01:11:49,400 --> 01:11:53,440
And so for the people that I
know that, you know, I mean,
1158
01:11:53,440 --> 01:11:56,520
I've messaged you immediately.
I, I messaged so many people
1159
01:11:57,080 --> 01:12:00,200
when it came out with the
realization that, and I, I
1160
01:12:00,200 --> 01:12:03,320
mentioned this to others that,
you know, for me, this was just
1161
01:12:03,320 --> 01:12:07,400
like a fun historical thing,
like a fun historical find, but
1162
01:12:07,400 --> 01:12:10,120
messaging people who it matters
to it.
1163
01:12:10,160 --> 01:12:13,680
I, it hit me have like this is,
this is people's lives.
1164
01:12:14,240 --> 01:12:16,400
Like this is a document that
changes everything.
1165
01:12:16,400 --> 01:12:19,040
And I mean, you might not get
your family back.
1166
01:12:19,120 --> 01:12:21,200
You might not get your standing
in the LDS church back.
1167
01:12:21,200 --> 01:12:22,600
You probably won't get your
standing in the.
1168
01:12:22,600 --> 01:12:27,520
LDS Church you no it's.
Probably less likely now you you
1169
01:12:27,560 --> 01:12:29,040
probably won't get your job
back.
1170
01:12:29,440 --> 01:12:33,560
A lot of things that
fundamentalists lose they will
1171
01:12:33,560 --> 01:12:37,720
not get back because of this.
But it does matter that you
1172
01:12:37,720 --> 01:12:41,560
weren't crazy.
Well, and and you hit on
1173
01:12:41,560 --> 01:12:46,920
something just just this week, a
gentle, I heard a gentleman
1174
01:12:46,920 --> 01:12:49,080
rehearse the story.
And I'm going to be as vague as
1175
01:12:49,080 --> 01:12:55,000
possible, but not terribly long
ago there was a gentleman who
1176
01:12:55,000 --> 01:12:59,240
encountered this, right, who had
not not the document but had
1177
01:12:59,240 --> 01:13:04,600
become a fundamentalist.
And he essentially was drug in
1178
01:13:05,360 --> 01:13:08,800
to the Bishop's office.
His wife wasn't happy, right,
1179
01:13:08,800 --> 01:13:15,040
that he went down this road.
And the Bishop was like, you are
1180
01:13:15,040 --> 01:13:17,520
base.
When asked for why do you do
1181
01:13:17,520 --> 01:13:19,920
this, he pointed to the 1886
revelation.
1182
01:13:20,880 --> 01:13:24,640
And the Bishop looked at him and
said you are basing your faith
1183
01:13:25,400 --> 01:13:29,320
on a historical inaccuracy and
an urban legend.
1184
01:13:30,400 --> 01:13:32,600
And this man said, I have
received a witness.
1185
01:13:32,640 --> 01:13:37,320
I am going to stick by this.
The man, his wife leaves him.
1186
01:13:38,760 --> 01:13:46,480
He never gets remarried.
He he loses his job, he loses
1187
01:13:46,480 --> 01:13:50,400
his standing in his community.
I mean, it is the Horror Story,
1188
01:13:50,600 --> 01:13:53,600
right?
And it is from a place of you
1189
01:13:53,600 --> 01:13:57,120
have banked it all on a
fictitious account.
1190
01:14:00,320 --> 01:14:03,360
And at least today and and I get
a little emotional about this.
1191
01:14:03,400 --> 01:14:07,560
At least today, that man can at
least stand vindicated that it
1192
01:14:07,560 --> 01:14:12,640
wasn't pretended that he was
following John Taylor's advice,
1193
01:14:12,760 --> 01:14:17,080
you know, prophetic counsel.
And I think that's huge, right?
1194
01:14:17,080 --> 01:14:21,880
I think that that lends, lends
credence to what it is we do
1195
01:14:21,880 --> 01:14:27,520
that it's not based off of off
of just somebody else's
1196
01:14:27,520 --> 01:14:29,520
pretended authority, so to
speak, right?
1197
01:14:29,520 --> 01:14:33,120
That this this did originate at
the highest office of the LDS
1198
01:14:33,120 --> 01:14:35,960
Church in in that moment in
time.
1199
01:14:36,680 --> 01:14:38,680
And it said thus, saith the Lord
on it.
1200
01:14:38,680 --> 01:14:40,480
It wasn't John to where it was
God.
1201
01:14:40,920 --> 01:14:44,560
Yes, it wasn't to to whom it may
concern.
1202
01:14:44,560 --> 01:14:46,400
You should keep doing this
right.
1203
01:14:46,640 --> 01:14:51,120
It was thus, saith the Lord.
This is the way it is.
1204
01:14:52,120 --> 01:14:56,520
In AI mean the manifesto it is
to whom it may concern.
1205
01:14:57,040 --> 01:15:00,160
Yes.
To whom it may concern we won't
1206
01:15:00,160 --> 01:15:04,360
do it anymore wink, nod.
Those are very different
1207
01:15:04,360 --> 01:15:08,320
documents.
And, and it, I mean, the reason
1208
01:15:08,320 --> 01:15:10,800
I've always been sympathetic to
the fundamentalist movement is
1209
01:15:11,280 --> 01:15:15,040
there is a very large, I mean,
it is to whom it may concern
1210
01:15:15,040 --> 01:15:20,240
versus thus sayeth the Lord when
it comes to the year 1885 to
1211
01:15:20,240 --> 01:15:23,560
1890.
And those are rough.
1212
01:15:23,880 --> 01:15:27,640
Those are rough things.
But yeah, I mean, I messaged
1213
01:15:27,640 --> 01:15:32,200
someone who has I, I, who has
been, his family's been so good
1214
01:15:32,200 --> 01:15:34,680
to me.
And he's a, you know, he's a
1215
01:15:34,960 --> 01:15:39,160
fundamentalist and dude, I can't
imagine how difficult it would
1216
01:15:39,400 --> 01:15:43,600
be.
And, and yeah, I mean, it would,
1217
01:15:43,680 --> 01:15:48,960
it'll change the way that people
experience their life.
1218
01:15:49,200 --> 01:15:52,720
Now, I will also say as like, I
feel like an obligation to say
1219
01:15:53,120 --> 01:15:56,880
that the fundamentals movement
has some rough patches.
1220
01:15:57,040 --> 01:16:03,280
Sure does sure does that.
I've, I don't think I've been
1221
01:16:03,280 --> 01:16:07,760
like a rosy, like rosy eyed.
No, but I mean, I've been
1222
01:16:07,760 --> 01:16:10,920
accused of that.
And and so I do feel an
1223
01:16:10,920 --> 01:16:12,880
obligation to say that, you
know, the fundamentals movement
1224
01:16:12,880 --> 01:16:15,920
has had a rough time.
It has it's at a violent time
1225
01:16:15,920 --> 01:16:20,040
and it's had a a bad time
because of this document.
1226
01:16:20,440 --> 01:16:25,240
And so I think there is, I think
this can also, I hope be kind of
1227
01:16:25,240 --> 01:16:30,080
maybe a call to like to a
renewed reflection, self
1228
01:16:30,080 --> 01:16:33,200
reflection of what are the
values?
1229
01:16:34,720 --> 01:16:39,760
Why do we do what we do kind of
moment of and kind of think
1230
01:16:39,760 --> 01:16:44,280
through the that this is a, this
is an important moment for the
1231
01:16:45,120 --> 01:16:49,600
for American polygamy and to
kind of really evaluate what is
1232
01:16:49,600 --> 01:16:51,280
polygamy going to look like for
the next.
1233
01:16:51,280 --> 01:16:54,480
Like polygamy for the last 100
years was in the shadows.
1234
01:16:55,160 --> 01:16:59,360
It was a hidden revelation.
We were told it was fake.
1235
01:16:59,920 --> 01:17:06,320
Now it is something that
everyone knows is real and it
1236
01:17:06,520 --> 01:17:09,920
we're having documents come to
light and maybe there's a way
1237
01:17:09,920 --> 01:17:12,400
that we can look at what this
means, how we're going to do
1238
01:17:12,400 --> 01:17:14,560
this moving forward.
That would, I guess, be my hope
1239
01:17:14,560 --> 01:17:16,680
about what it does for the
community.
1240
01:17:17,120 --> 01:17:20,840
Got you.
So here's one that and I got to
1241
01:17:20,840 --> 01:17:22,560
be honest, I'm a little nervous
to ask this one.
1242
01:17:22,560 --> 01:17:26,760
What does this mean for for your
average, run-of-the-mill member
1243
01:17:26,760 --> 01:17:27,960
of the LDS church?
Now you?
1244
01:17:29,240 --> 01:17:31,000
Know I don't think it means
anything.
1245
01:17:31,320 --> 01:17:34,880
OK.
Yeah, I, I have seen many
1246
01:17:34,880 --> 01:17:37,680
comments about is the church
going to bring back polygamy
1247
01:17:37,880 --> 01:17:42,600
like is no.
I mean, I think if J Reuben
1248
01:17:42,600 --> 01:17:47,480
Clark's memorandum stands,
meaning the keys to polygamous
1249
01:17:47,480 --> 01:17:49,880
ceilings are void at death, then
you don't have to worry about
1250
01:17:49,880 --> 01:17:52,440
it.
Then the then the 1896
1251
01:17:52,440 --> 01:17:55,200
revelation is void and you can
go to bed at night being glad
1252
01:17:55,200 --> 01:17:59,240
this doesn't apply to you.
I don't think that the LDS
1253
01:17:59,240 --> 01:18:01,640
church is going to bring back
polygamy at least.
1254
01:18:01,920 --> 01:18:04,560
No.
In any of our lifetimes, I think
1255
01:18:04,560 --> 01:18:08,080
the LDS, I think the LDS church
has gone through such an intense
1256
01:18:08,080 --> 01:18:13,200
shift toward trying to be like
the American mainline churches,
1257
01:18:13,200 --> 01:18:16,120
trying to be very kind of
similar to Methodism in its vibe
1258
01:18:16,120 --> 01:18:18,840
and aesthetic, even though it's
it's theologically not.
1259
01:18:19,760 --> 01:18:21,320
I think it's tried really hard
to do that.
1260
01:18:22,080 --> 01:18:24,800
Bringing back polygamy is the
end of that attempt, right?
1261
01:18:25,880 --> 01:18:28,520
Polygamy is illegal in all 50
states.
1262
01:18:28,680 --> 01:18:32,960
It has been decriminalized in
some places, but it is illegal
1263
01:18:33,320 --> 01:18:36,640
in all 50 states.
So you're not it.
1264
01:18:36,640 --> 01:18:39,960
It would be, it would be very
weird to have a temple recommend
1265
01:18:39,960 --> 01:18:43,440
question of like the law of the
land when you're doing this.
1266
01:18:43,440 --> 01:18:48,320
So I mean, I think if I was, so
I don't think institutional
1267
01:18:48,320 --> 01:18:51,280
change if I was a member of the
LDS Church, I think it would
1268
01:18:51,280 --> 01:18:54,400
raise maybe some questions
about, I don't think the
1269
01:18:54,400 --> 01:18:57,400
document raises questions.
I think the period of the 1910s
1270
01:18:57,400 --> 01:19:02,440
to 1930s has a lot to answer for
of how it was, how the document
1271
01:19:02,440 --> 01:19:06,960
was handled by the institution.
So I don't think the document
1272
01:19:06,960 --> 01:19:08,480
does anything to the average
person.
1273
01:19:08,720 --> 01:19:10,960
I think the handling of the
document is something that I
1274
01:19:10,960 --> 01:19:12,480
would kind of want some answers
for.
1275
01:19:13,040 --> 01:19:16,480
Yeah, no, I think so.
I think, I think that's exactly
1276
01:19:16,480 --> 01:19:19,120
where it's at.
And, and look, I, I want to be
1277
01:19:19,120 --> 01:19:21,320
fair.
None of the men who are in
1278
01:19:21,320 --> 01:19:24,240
charge now were in charge in the
1930s, right.
1279
01:19:24,720 --> 01:19:28,360
And so I do want to say thanks,
right?
1280
01:19:28,360 --> 01:19:31,960
Like who, whoever this, you
know, came from what as you were
1281
01:19:31,960 --> 01:19:35,840
saying, there's 22 divisions,
there's the church and then the
1282
01:19:35,840 --> 01:19:37,560
the church history library,
right?
1283
01:19:39,200 --> 01:19:41,640
It's it's a huge thing.
It means a lot to the to the
1284
01:19:41,640 --> 01:19:44,800
people that I know, right.
And so for them to be this
1285
01:19:44,800 --> 01:19:47,280
forward, just thank you.
I, I know that couldn't have
1286
01:19:47,280 --> 01:19:51,040
come without a little bit of
consternation, but or maybe it
1287
01:19:51,040 --> 01:19:52,960
did.
Maybe the rookie on the team was
1288
01:19:52,960 --> 01:19:55,040
like, yeah, just ship that out.
It's fine.
1289
01:19:56,560 --> 01:19:58,800
Well, I mean, fortunately, I
mean, that is something we can
1290
01:19:58,800 --> 01:20:00,920
say for hierarchical
institutions, they usually know
1291
01:20:00,920 --> 01:20:04,560
better than to let like a new
intern or a rookie run something
1292
01:20:04,560 --> 01:20:06,880
big.
So.
1293
01:20:07,040 --> 01:20:11,880
But yeah, I mean, I, yeah, it is
AI also.
1294
01:20:11,920 --> 01:20:20,240
I mean, if we're honest, I also
would be shocked if the release
1295
01:20:20,240 --> 01:20:23,440
of this if anyone who was part
of this even thought about
1296
01:20:23,440 --> 01:20:26,600
fundamentalists in the moment.
Right, right.
1297
01:20:27,240 --> 01:20:30,400
I, I think, I think they would
have had to spend the 30s if it
1298
01:20:30,400 --> 01:20:33,320
had been the 70s.
I think they would have kind of
1299
01:20:33,320 --> 01:20:34,600
had that in the back of their
mind.
1300
01:20:35,400 --> 01:20:37,880
But I think it's been long
enough that the average kind of
1301
01:20:38,120 --> 01:20:41,320
archivist people working in CHL,
even the leadership, I don't
1302
01:20:41,320 --> 01:20:44,560
think they really kind of think
about fundamentalists as much as
1303
01:20:45,080 --> 01:20:46,880
maybe sometimes fundamentalist
think about them.
1304
01:20:48,240 --> 01:20:52,080
But, and, and so I, I think
that's probably more likely than
1305
01:20:52,080 --> 01:20:53,800
not.
I think a lot of this is kind of
1306
01:20:53,800 --> 01:20:57,520
a renewed interest in an
accurate telling of history,
1307
01:20:57,680 --> 01:21:01,600
which which I can fully applaud.
Yeah, no, I think so.
1308
01:21:01,600 --> 01:21:07,520
And look, Mormon history is, you
know, I you don't need to tell.
1309
01:21:07,560 --> 01:21:11,000
You don't need me to tell you
this Mormon history is a strange
1310
01:21:12,560 --> 01:21:14,960
piece of history to try and not
navigate, right.
1311
01:21:16,280 --> 01:21:21,360
And because like within Mormon
history, you get to about the
1312
01:21:21,360 --> 01:21:24,880
40s and 50s and correlation
starts to become a thing, right?
1313
01:21:24,880 --> 01:21:27,960
Like we're going to, we're going
to have a standard narrative
1314
01:21:27,960 --> 01:21:32,960
here.
And so often a lot of the things
1315
01:21:32,960 --> 01:21:36,480
that at least that drove me nuts
when I had all this knowledge
1316
01:21:36,480 --> 01:21:41,560
and was still in the LDS church
was just like the frustration of
1317
01:21:41,560 --> 01:21:44,160
like, no, that's not how the
story went down, right.
1318
01:21:45,640 --> 01:21:48,400
And that telling of history has
to be important.
1319
01:21:48,400 --> 01:21:52,040
And look, I do want to say we do
see seem to be seeing in the LDS
1320
01:21:52,040 --> 01:21:56,400
church a more willingness to
address the address the actual
1321
01:21:56,400 --> 01:21:57,960
history rather than the
narrative.
1322
01:21:58,320 --> 01:22:01,680
But nonetheless, there there
there's those narratives that
1323
01:22:01,720 --> 01:22:03,920
it's going to take a hot minute
to break, right?
1324
01:22:04,680 --> 01:22:08,600
And look, I've had LDS people
reach out to me over this just
1325
01:22:09,120 --> 01:22:12,280
incensed, right?
And I'm like, look, slow your
1326
01:22:12,280 --> 01:22:15,840
roll before you just jump ship.
There does seem to be a more
1327
01:22:15,840 --> 01:22:18,160
openness towards that history,
which I applaud.
1328
01:22:18,160 --> 01:22:22,520
I think that's fantastic because
I think that can only lead to
1329
01:22:22,600 --> 01:22:27,400
greater understanding between,
you know, the, the fundamental
1330
01:22:27,400 --> 01:22:30,880
circles I run in and more
understanding with the LDS
1331
01:22:30,880 --> 01:22:32,920
Church and hopefully vice versa,
right?
1332
01:22:32,920 --> 01:22:35,760
Like whether you agree or
disagree, you can be like, at
1333
01:22:35,760 --> 01:22:37,480
least I know how you got there,
right?
1334
01:22:38,480 --> 01:22:43,040
And I think for too long it was
just a history that was spun of,
1335
01:22:43,040 --> 01:22:45,520
well, it was just for plural
marriage, right?
1336
01:22:45,640 --> 01:22:49,360
Like it we were, we were really
trying to do what was right
1337
01:22:49,360 --> 01:22:50,640
there.
Yeah.
1338
01:22:50,640 --> 01:22:54,600
I mean, I think I think we're
all seeing, at least
1339
01:22:54,600 --> 01:22:57,520
institutionally, I think there
is kind of maybe not, not a
1340
01:22:57,520 --> 01:22:59,800
sympathy that's too much, but I
think an interest in kind of
1341
01:22:59,800 --> 01:23:02,480
figuring out why there are
polygamists still.
1342
01:23:03,360 --> 01:23:06,080
For most of history, it was kind
of like those weird people over
1343
01:23:06,080 --> 01:23:08,000
there.
Yeah.
1344
01:23:08,000 --> 01:23:10,320
And I don't think that has
inverted to those great people
1345
01:23:10,320 --> 01:23:12,720
over there.
But I think there's a curiosity
1346
01:23:12,720 --> 01:23:17,040
of how did that happen?
And I remember it's probably
1347
01:23:17,040 --> 01:23:20,240
been long enough that I can talk
about the story that in
1348
01:23:20,240 --> 01:23:28,480
20/17/2018, 2017, I think 2018,
I don't know, one of those
1349
01:23:28,480 --> 01:23:32,040
years, for some reason, I was
invited to the LDS Church's
1350
01:23:32,040 --> 01:23:35,040
Christmas party.
I don't.
1351
01:23:35,600 --> 01:23:37,920
Wow.
And I was excited because like,
1352
01:23:37,920 --> 01:23:40,680
my question is like, what do
they drink at like a fancy party
1353
01:23:40,680 --> 01:23:41,720
with no alcohol?
Like what?
1354
01:23:41,760 --> 01:23:46,800
What does that look like?
It's no, it is a CRAN guava
1355
01:23:46,800 --> 01:23:48,280
juice.
Oh.
1356
01:23:49,720 --> 01:23:51,120
I know it's very, it was very
interesting.
1357
01:23:51,360 --> 01:23:53,640
Was it good?
Yeah, it was great.
1358
01:23:54,040 --> 01:23:54,880
OK.
I was just curious.
1359
01:23:55,440 --> 01:23:59,000
Oh, yeah, it was great.
And it was in the big church
1360
01:23:59,000 --> 01:24:00,960
office building on the, like,
roof.
1361
01:24:00,960 --> 01:24:03,840
And like some of the apostles
were there.
1362
01:24:03,840 --> 01:24:05,600
I don't know.
And I was like, why am I here?
1363
01:24:06,960 --> 01:24:08,920
And I think it was because I was
a fellow at the University of
1364
01:24:08,920 --> 01:24:09,760
Utah.
I don't know.
1365
01:24:09,880 --> 01:24:11,000
It didn't make.
I don't know.
1366
01:24:11,000 --> 01:24:18,240
But I, before the dinner, I
talked to Sister Jean Bingham,
1367
01:24:18,240 --> 01:24:21,640
the Relief Society president,
like the head one, like the big
1368
01:24:21,640 --> 01:24:25,520
Relief Society president, and
she asked what I did.
1369
01:24:25,760 --> 01:24:31,000
And I, I, I didn't really know
how much, you know, like I, I
1370
01:24:31,000 --> 01:24:32,080
didn't really know how to
approach it.
1371
01:24:32,080 --> 01:24:35,960
And I was like, oh, you know, I,
I study fundamentalist Mormons.
1372
01:24:36,520 --> 01:24:39,160
And her husband said, what's
that?
1373
01:24:40,640 --> 01:24:47,240
And she very generously said,
those are the Mormons who still
1374
01:24:47,240 --> 01:24:54,840
practice polygamy.
And, and I was like, and she
1375
01:24:55,480 --> 01:25:02,480
started talking about how in the
1930s and 40s there was splits
1376
01:25:02,480 --> 01:25:05,440
in the church over this.
And many of them moved and went
1377
01:25:05,440 --> 01:25:08,800
down to southern Utah and, and,
you know, she didn't have this
1378
01:25:08,800 --> 01:25:11,200
robust history like she, it was
like a couple minutes like
1379
01:25:11,200 --> 01:25:16,120
before dinner.
But I was really taken aback the
1380
01:25:16,120 --> 01:25:18,720
way that she answered.
What's that?
1381
01:25:18,720 --> 01:25:22,600
Like, she, she had an answer for
it that was more generous than I
1382
01:25:22,600 --> 01:25:26,280
think I would have imagined.
And then I would have imagined
1383
01:25:26,280 --> 01:25:29,840
would have happened in the
1980s, seventies, 60s.
1384
01:25:30,600 --> 01:25:35,240
And so I think there is kind of
a renewed curiosity without
1385
01:25:35,240 --> 01:25:38,200
sympathy for most people, but
probably with for some of why
1386
01:25:38,200 --> 01:25:40,480
aren't, why is it like that?
Like, why are there?
1387
01:25:40,760 --> 01:25:44,240
Why?
Why does Bluffdale have people
1388
01:25:44,240 --> 01:25:46,160
with big families?
What is going on?
1389
01:25:47,800 --> 01:25:50,200
And so I think maybe some of
that is there and I, I would
1390
01:25:50,200 --> 01:25:51,680
hope so.
Yeah.
1391
01:25:52,200 --> 01:25:54,600
You know, it's funny, you, you
bring, you bring up that
1392
01:25:54,600 --> 01:25:56,640
encounter with, with Gene
Bingham.
1393
01:25:57,480 --> 01:26:02,160
And when, when me, Amber and
Tanya came out here to visit
1394
01:26:02,160 --> 01:26:05,800
Missouri, I thought, you know,
we're not actually close, but
1395
01:26:05,800 --> 01:26:07,840
we're closer.
Let's go ahead and go to Nauvoo
1396
01:26:07,840 --> 01:26:09,040
too.
Tanya had never been.
1397
01:26:09,040 --> 01:26:14,240
So I'm like, let's go to Nauvoo.
And it was, it was in August.
1398
01:26:14,240 --> 01:26:17,000
So there wasn't a lot of people
there right when we hit it.
1399
01:26:17,000 --> 01:26:20,880
And, and one of the places I
always like to go in Nauvoo is
1400
01:26:20,880 --> 01:26:24,720
John Taylor's home, just because
there's so much history happens
1401
01:26:24,720 --> 01:26:25,840
there, right?
That's where they plan the
1402
01:26:25,840 --> 01:26:27,680
exodus.
It's it's a big, it's, it's a
1403
01:26:27,680 --> 01:26:30,560
big area.
And the missionary couple who
1404
01:26:30,560 --> 01:26:33,560
was there were brand new, like
they got in the night before.
1405
01:26:35,240 --> 01:26:37,800
And so I was, I was just sitting
there.
1406
01:26:37,800 --> 01:26:40,680
And then she brought a couple
through who weren't Mormon at
1407
01:26:40,680 --> 01:26:44,680
all.
And she was explaining who John,
1408
01:26:44,680 --> 01:26:46,560
you know, they'd ask the
question, who was John Taylor?
1409
01:26:46,560 --> 01:26:49,640
And she was explaining it.
And she looked at me and she's
1410
01:26:49,640 --> 01:26:51,400
like, do you have anything else
on John Taylor?
1411
01:26:51,400 --> 01:26:53,640
I feel like I'm leaving it out,
something out.
1412
01:26:53,640 --> 01:26:55,240
And I'm like, oh, yeah, well, of
course I.
1413
01:26:55,480 --> 01:26:58,680
And so I just go in about
halfway through my diatribe,
1414
01:26:58,680 --> 01:26:59,680
right.
And I'm respectful.
1415
01:26:59,680 --> 01:27:01,760
I'm not bringing up.
And he's the prophet that
1416
01:27:01,760 --> 01:27:05,560
started fundamentalism.
But I, I was like, you know,
1417
01:27:05,560 --> 01:27:08,200
this is where he planned it.
He also took bullets and
1418
01:27:08,200 --> 01:27:10,800
Carthage and, you know, just
kind of went through it about
1419
01:27:10,800 --> 01:27:12,840
halfway through.
I thought, oh, I probably have
1420
01:27:12,840 --> 01:27:16,480
overstepped my bounce, right.
So I wrap it up real quick.
1421
01:27:16,960 --> 01:27:20,160
And then when it's all over,
Amber and Tonya and I step
1422
01:27:20,160 --> 01:27:22,760
outside and the missionaries
follow me And I'm like, look,
1423
01:27:22,760 --> 01:27:25,280
I'm sorry.
I did not mean to, to overstep
1424
01:27:25,280 --> 01:27:27,320
If I, you know, share too much
or whatever.
1425
01:27:28,080 --> 01:27:29,680
And her and her husband were
sweet.
1426
01:27:29,680 --> 01:27:32,120
They were like, oh, no, we're
glad you, you, we're, we're glad
1427
01:27:32,120 --> 01:27:34,120
that you shared that because we,
we didn't know half that.
1428
01:27:34,600 --> 01:27:40,400
And the lady looks at me and she
goes, so which, which woman
1429
01:27:40,400 --> 01:27:46,400
there is your wife.
And I was like, yes, like I
1430
01:27:46,400 --> 01:27:49,400
didn't know what else to say.
And she's like it, the, the
1431
01:27:49,400 --> 01:27:51,840
gears turned for about 5
seconds.
1432
01:27:51,840 --> 01:27:55,440
She's like, oh, oh, you're,
you're a fundamentalist.
1433
01:27:55,440 --> 01:28:00,000
And I'm like, I am, but we had a
conversation there the the five
1434
01:28:00,000 --> 01:28:05,400
of us together for probably, I
don't know, 45 minutes, maybe an
1435
01:28:05,400 --> 01:28:09,360
hour.
And the, the lady said something
1436
01:28:09,360 --> 01:28:12,640
really sweet when when we left,
she's like, I just want you to
1437
01:28:12,640 --> 01:28:15,480
know I'd have no problem sitting
next to you in a temple session,
1438
01:28:16,040 --> 01:28:17,080
right?
And moves on.
1439
01:28:19,760 --> 01:28:23,480
And I don't know if she'll ever
know how good that felt to us,
1440
01:28:23,680 --> 01:28:26,520
right?
That there's way more that
1441
01:28:26,520 --> 01:28:32,360
unites us than separates us.
And I think, I think we have to
1442
01:28:32,360 --> 01:28:36,920
be able to get to a point to
where, again, we may not be able
1443
01:28:36,920 --> 01:28:39,560
to hug it out theologically on a
Sunday, but there's nothing that
1444
01:28:39,560 --> 01:28:42,680
says we can't get together on a
Saturday for a BBQ, right?
1445
01:28:43,160 --> 01:28:46,040
But it is good times, right?
I mean, this, this was huge for
1446
01:28:46,040 --> 01:28:47,520
our people.
What?
1447
01:28:47,880 --> 01:28:49,200
Did it mean to your family and
to you?
1448
01:28:50,240 --> 01:28:57,440
Oh man, so to me, I, I now get
to have at least a piece of the
1449
01:28:57,440 --> 01:29:01,360
history that is recognized by
all parties involved where I can
1450
01:29:01,360 --> 01:29:05,160
be like, I'm not asking you to
accept it, right?
1451
01:29:05,160 --> 01:29:11,480
I'm not asking you to, to get
behind 100% endorse what I
1452
01:29:11,480 --> 01:29:13,200
believe.
That's not what I or practice.
1453
01:29:13,200 --> 01:29:17,600
That's not what I'm asking for.
What I am asking is for a little
1454
01:29:17,600 --> 01:29:21,720
bit of acknowledgement here in
that this was more than just a
1455
01:29:21,720 --> 01:29:26,720
guy who got a feeling in 1930
whatever to start a
1456
01:29:26,720 --> 01:29:29,440
fundamentalist movement.
This has chops going to the
1457
01:29:29,440 --> 01:29:36,760
highest office within the LDS
Church in a very important time
1458
01:29:36,760 --> 01:29:39,520
in church history.
And this is where that comes
1459
01:29:39,520 --> 01:29:41,160
from.
This is the injunction.
1460
01:29:41,560 --> 01:29:44,320
This is the the the mission,
right?
1461
01:29:44,680 --> 01:29:47,320
And it doesn't compass more than
plural marriage, right.
1462
01:29:47,320 --> 01:29:52,080
I do believe it encompasses
Adam, God teachings, the
1463
01:29:52,080 --> 01:29:55,160
original temple endowment and
those things.
1464
01:29:55,200 --> 01:29:58,360
And again, I'm not here to tell
anybody else how they believe is
1465
01:29:58,360 --> 01:29:59,600
wrong.
That's not what I'm doing.
1466
01:30:00,040 --> 01:30:05,400
And you know, yeah.
So for us, it was very much a
1467
01:30:05,400 --> 01:30:10,200
vindication.
And that, no, we have, we have
1468
01:30:10,200 --> 01:30:15,240
historical chops on this, right.
It's not just a fancy of of
1469
01:30:15,240 --> 01:30:17,440
feeling.
Yeah, yeah.
1470
01:30:17,440 --> 01:30:20,000
And I think more, I mean, one of
the, when you were mentioning
1471
01:30:20,000 --> 01:30:22,800
the missionaries, your
experience with missionaries,
1472
01:30:23,600 --> 01:30:27,320
but I think also with the
release of the revelation, you
1473
01:30:27,320 --> 01:30:29,560
know, I've been really fortunate
to get to, I mean, like with
1474
01:30:29,560 --> 01:30:34,320
Sister Bingham, get to talk to
people in the LDS church who are
1475
01:30:34,320 --> 01:30:37,240
not, I mean, not I, I don't,
I've never, I haven't talked to
1476
01:30:37,240 --> 01:30:38,600
like, except for the Christmas
party.
1477
01:30:38,600 --> 01:30:40,800
I haven't talked to like
apostles or anything, but to
1478
01:30:40,800 --> 01:30:46,160
talk to people in leadership
positions And I don't.
1479
01:30:46,440 --> 01:30:48,280
And like with the release of
this document, I think something
1480
01:30:48,280 --> 01:30:51,240
that we're, that we're finding
more and more is the animosity
1481
01:30:51,240 --> 01:30:53,360
between the polygamists and the
non polygamists.
1482
01:30:54,360 --> 01:30:57,440
That's everyone's dad and
grandpa's fight.
1483
01:30:59,160 --> 01:31:02,000
It's not most people's fight
anymore.
1484
01:31:02,440 --> 01:31:06,160
The people who, you know, talked
about the publication of this
1485
01:31:06,160 --> 01:31:09,560
document, they're not, we're not
in the 1930s.
1486
01:31:09,800 --> 01:31:13,440
This is not their fight to win.
This is something that their
1487
01:31:13,440 --> 01:31:16,920
grandparents fought hard for and
against.
1488
01:31:18,200 --> 01:31:22,560
You know, I I have a memory of
when I went on a tour of the
1489
01:31:24,280 --> 01:31:27,200
Jordan River Temple.
Is that the one in West Valley?
1490
01:31:27,880 --> 01:31:29,280
Yeah.
The Jordan River Temple.
1491
01:31:29,720 --> 01:31:34,040
And I, I was really lucky to get
to go through with one of the
1492
01:31:34,040 --> 01:31:35,600
someone in a position of
leadership.
1493
01:31:36,320 --> 01:31:39,920
And I talked to him about how I
knew that there was a temple
1494
01:31:39,920 --> 01:31:43,560
building that had been
desecrated, but had there was a
1495
01:31:43,560 --> 01:31:46,840
time when some like dumb LDS
kids had like spray painted it.
1496
01:31:47,760 --> 01:31:52,600
And we're kind of mean about it.
And he expressed real sorrow for
1497
01:31:52,600 --> 01:31:56,040
that reality that that was still
happening in in his language was
1498
01:31:56,400 --> 01:32:00,560
he was shocked that was still
happening and that that was
1499
01:32:00,560 --> 01:32:02,640
still going on.
And that like hostility was
1500
01:32:02,640 --> 01:32:05,520
still the case.
And I think more and more it is
1501
01:32:05,520 --> 01:32:10,040
true that the fight against the
fundamentalist movement is an
1502
01:32:10,040 --> 01:32:16,000
old fight that I don't think
most people in leadership are as
1503
01:32:16,240 --> 01:32:18,240
concerned about.
Now, granted, when it comes to
1504
01:32:18,240 --> 01:32:20,480
like people like Warren Jeffs,
etcetera, with law enforcement,
1505
01:32:20,480 --> 01:32:24,480
that is its own thing when it
comes to your, I mean, even
1506
01:32:24,480 --> 01:32:29,720
when, when the polygamy bill
came up and the
1507
01:32:29,720 --> 01:32:33,080
decriminalization of polygamy,
and I remember talking to
1508
01:32:33,080 --> 01:32:37,400
legislators about it and asking
like, I'm just being kind of
1509
01:32:37,400 --> 01:32:42,000
nervous, is the LDS church gonna
gonna send in their lobbyists?
1510
01:32:42,000 --> 01:32:43,040
Like, is there gonna be a
problem?
1511
01:32:43,760 --> 01:32:47,520
And that they chose to remain
decidedly neutral on it.
1512
01:32:48,040 --> 01:32:50,760
And I mean, that was huge.
But they were going to remain
1513
01:32:50,760 --> 01:32:53,920
neutral on the polygamy question
after siding with the government
1514
01:32:53,920 --> 01:32:57,320
in the in 1935 to go after the
polygamist.
1515
01:32:58,840 --> 01:33:01,440
And I think there is a sense of
like, this is just not their
1516
01:33:01,440 --> 01:33:03,880
fight.
This is not, this isn't.
1517
01:33:03,880 --> 01:33:06,520
This is no one's fight anymore.
Right, right.
1518
01:33:06,800 --> 01:33:11,920
I think enough time has passed
that that divorce has had scars
1519
01:33:11,920 --> 01:33:17,880
that have healed over right.
And and I, I think what we see
1520
01:33:17,880 --> 01:33:22,200
now are, are the offspring,
offspring of the children of the
1521
01:33:22,200 --> 01:33:25,600
parents of that divorce going,
Oh, well, you know, let's let's
1522
01:33:25,600 --> 01:33:28,960
start talking, let's have a
dialogue and.
1523
01:33:29,400 --> 01:33:31,040
Technology.
It's a great analogy for it.
1524
01:33:31,360 --> 01:33:33,880
And, and I think, I think that's
where we're at now.
1525
01:33:33,920 --> 01:33:37,480
And, and look, I'll say this, I,
I have a lot of active LDS folks
1526
01:33:37,480 --> 01:33:42,280
on the podcast, right?
And I value the the things that
1527
01:33:42,280 --> 01:33:46,520
they can bring to the table.
And I think this also shows that
1528
01:33:46,520 --> 01:33:49,320
we don't necessarily have to be
scared of this history, that we
1529
01:33:49,320 --> 01:33:56,120
can share this history and share
honestly and openly and not have
1530
01:33:56,120 --> 01:33:58,600
to hate each other over it.
Yeah, absolutely.
1531
01:33:58,600 --> 01:34:01,120
Yeah.
So, well, awesome.
1532
01:34:01,120 --> 01:34:03,080
Is there anything else you
wanted to go over that we didn't
1533
01:34:03,080 --> 01:34:04,760
touch on?
Anything.
1534
01:34:04,960 --> 01:34:09,320
Worth it in conclusion.
I think, I mean just excited it
1535
01:34:09,320 --> 01:34:12,320
happened.
I didn't, I didn't think, I
1536
01:34:12,320 --> 01:34:15,400
didn't think I'd ever get to see
it like so many people.
1537
01:34:15,400 --> 01:34:18,000
I mean, I know that again, my
experience is such a microcosm,
1538
01:34:19,240 --> 01:34:24,320
but I mean, just spending, you
know, years, years writing about
1539
01:34:24,320 --> 01:34:27,640
this document and writing about
it.
1540
01:34:27,640 --> 01:34:32,840
Like in most articles, in most
in my book, in the book that's
1541
01:34:32,840 --> 01:34:35,240
coming out with Brian from
Signature, in most things I've
1542
01:34:35,240 --> 01:34:39,320
written, it has talked about the
revelation and it has always had
1543
01:34:39,320 --> 01:34:42,760
a footnote basically saying we
don't have it.
1544
01:34:43,600 --> 01:34:47,760
Right.
And so man, just having written
1545
01:34:47,760 --> 01:34:51,720
about this document, presenting
on it and having to explain, but
1546
01:34:51,720 --> 01:34:55,400
like, yeah, we don't, it's not,
it isn't there, but like it is
1547
01:34:55,400 --> 01:35:01,360
real, like, and then just now it
is, man.
1548
01:35:01,880 --> 01:35:04,080
Yeah, it's huge.
So it's.
1549
01:35:04,280 --> 01:35:07,840
Still it is still open.
The tab from Saturday is still
1550
01:35:07,840 --> 01:35:09,880
open on my computer.
Yeah, yeah.
1551
01:35:09,880 --> 01:35:13,680
No, I, I'll be honest with you
there.
1552
01:35:13,680 --> 01:35:16,600
There were moments when I got
home after I asked you to come
1553
01:35:16,600 --> 01:35:19,920
on the podcast was like, did I
did I really read that
1554
01:35:19,920 --> 01:35:21,880
correctly, right?
Like I got to go back.
1555
01:35:22,480 --> 01:35:24,680
I got to go back.
I got to make sure right?
1556
01:35:25,080 --> 01:35:26,440
I.
Didn't believe that.
1557
01:35:26,480 --> 01:35:29,920
I didn't believe that.
I like, I just called people
1558
01:35:30,000 --> 01:35:31,960
like who like, how did this
happen?
1559
01:35:32,680 --> 01:35:35,640
What's going on?
And just talking to people who
1560
01:35:35,680 --> 01:35:38,600
like, who know how much, how big
of a deal it was, I'm like,
1561
01:35:38,600 --> 01:35:41,680
yeah, I still don't really.
Also like my husband has not
1562
01:35:41,680 --> 01:35:44,320
stopped hearing about it.
Yeah, although.
1563
01:35:44,520 --> 01:35:46,920
He he never like he never
stopped hearing about it.
1564
01:35:46,920 --> 01:35:50,000
He has been from the day, like
the day we met, he was like, oh,
1565
01:35:50,040 --> 01:35:52,760
I guess like Mormon polygamy is
a big part of your life.
1566
01:35:53,320 --> 01:35:58,960
Yeah, yeah.
My entire for some reason, it's
1567
01:35:58,960 --> 01:36:02,240
my entire personality.
Yeah, OK.
1568
01:36:02,280 --> 01:36:06,360
I, I'm not going to lie to you.
I I do have this question for
1569
01:36:06,360 --> 01:36:08,760
you, a couple of them before we
go.
1570
01:36:08,960 --> 01:36:12,520
One, do you, now that this is
for real, do you have to go back
1571
01:36:12,520 --> 01:36:14,600
and look at your own work and
go, OK, I need to shore
1572
01:36:14,600 --> 01:36:17,400
something up or something like
that or do you feel like.
1573
01:36:18,320 --> 01:36:20,160
I always wrote about it as
though it was real.
1574
01:36:20,320 --> 01:36:25,920
OK, cool.
And then my, my next observe
1575
01:36:26,480 --> 01:36:30,520
question is this, are you out of
retirement forever or are you
1576
01:36:30,520 --> 01:36:36,480
going back back into retirement?
No, I'm, I haven't happily
1577
01:36:36,480 --> 01:36:38,000
retired.
I mean, I did quit my job.
1578
01:36:38,200 --> 01:36:40,040
I moved to Canada to be with my
husband.
1579
01:36:41,360 --> 01:36:44,840
And you know, it's it's funny
that when I quit my job and
1580
01:36:44,840 --> 01:36:47,880
moved to Canada and like quote
retired from Mormon studies, I
1581
01:36:47,880 --> 01:36:50,240
didn't think that meant I would
never see a Mormon again.
1582
01:36:51,280 --> 01:36:55,080
But would you believe rural
Quebec does that actually has no
1583
01:36:55,080 --> 01:36:59,640
Mormons in it?
There's, I haven't seen one
1584
01:36:59,640 --> 01:37:03,520
since I moved, but there's no
meeting house near me.
1585
01:37:03,520 --> 01:37:07,720
There's no eldest meeting house
near me, like for hours.
1586
01:37:07,880 --> 01:37:10,600
What's interesting is I've
talked to people, like even I've
1587
01:37:10,600 --> 01:37:13,200
talked to people who've served
missions in Quebec and they'll
1588
01:37:13,200 --> 01:37:14,720
be like, yeah, no, it's a rough
mission.
1589
01:37:16,040 --> 01:37:17,520
And so there's not, there's not
Mormons.
1590
01:37:17,520 --> 01:37:26,280
But yeah, I got married, retired
and it's been great.
1591
01:37:26,280 --> 01:37:30,880
But but now with this, you know,
I odds and ends I I'll do a plug
1592
01:37:30,880 --> 01:37:33,640
for I Co edit Mormon studies
review.
1593
01:37:33,640 --> 01:37:38,240
So I still do that and I guess
what is retirement.
1594
01:37:39,120 --> 01:37:43,560
I am editing the Musser Diaries
with Brian.
1595
01:37:44,080 --> 01:37:46,520
I'm really excited to put it.
The collection is going to be
1596
01:37:46,520 --> 01:37:50,920
called St.
The Diaries and correspondences
1597
01:37:50,920 --> 01:37:54,760
of Saint Joseph White Musser
using his blessing, the name
1598
01:37:54,760 --> 01:37:58,560
from his blessing, Cuz I think
we should be calling him that
1599
01:37:58,560 --> 01:38:00,560
like this name.
He was blessed, baby.
1600
01:38:01,880 --> 01:38:08,040
And then I will be writing, I
will be writing an article about
1601
01:38:08,040 --> 01:38:12,000
or two about the revelation and
it's kind of impact.
1602
01:38:12,600 --> 01:38:14,120
Nice.
So I am gonna be some writing,
1603
01:38:14,120 --> 01:38:19,760
but you know, I also AM.
My husband's going to laugh at
1604
01:38:20,040 --> 01:38:22,400
this.
I'm the devotions coordinator
1605
01:38:22,520 --> 01:38:26,000
for a segment of the Anglican
Church Women So.
1606
01:38:26,480 --> 01:38:28,360
Nice, nice.
I am.
1607
01:38:28,360 --> 01:38:31,960
I am a member of the Relief
Society presidency in this tiny
1608
01:38:31,960 --> 01:38:33,320
corner of Anglicanism.
Nice.
1609
01:38:35,160 --> 01:38:38,440
Nice.
Well, I got to tell you after we
1610
01:38:38,440 --> 01:38:45,840
talked, I think it was Tuesday.
Being the guy that I am, I love
1611
01:38:45,840 --> 01:38:49,480
the John Wick movies, right?
When I want to go brain dead and
1612
01:38:49,480 --> 01:38:53,400
I just want to not think about
anything, that's what I go to.
1613
01:38:53,400 --> 01:38:58,280
However, something was said in
the first one that made me think
1614
01:38:58,280 --> 01:39:00,720
of you.
And that's when Wick walks back
1615
01:39:00,720 --> 01:39:03,880
into the nightclub where all the
hit men are and he gets warned.
1616
01:39:04,040 --> 01:39:08,200
If you step put one pinky back
in these waters, it could bring
1617
01:39:08,200 --> 01:39:09,560
you back in.
So.
1618
01:39:10,720 --> 01:39:13,360
Everyone has been sending me the
Godfather meme.
1619
01:39:13,680 --> 01:39:18,120
Like.
Thought I was out like everyone
1620
01:39:18,360 --> 01:39:20,960
every both.
My husband was the first person
1621
01:39:20,960 --> 01:39:23,120
to like.
He'd like texted it to me from
1622
01:39:23,120 --> 01:39:24,800
like across the table.
Awesome.
1623
01:39:26,000 --> 01:39:29,120
On Saturday as I'm like
panicking and then just telling
1624
01:39:29,120 --> 01:39:31,840
people to send that to me.
No, but I mean, I love I love
1625
01:39:31,840 --> 01:39:35,320
Mormon studies.
I loved it but.
1626
01:39:35,840 --> 01:39:38,320
You're on to other things now.
I.
1627
01:39:38,400 --> 01:39:41,240
Get it?
Aching and canning and.
1628
01:39:42,720 --> 01:39:46,480
Very Mormon skills, by the way.
They are my husband.
1629
01:39:46,480 --> 01:39:48,360
To be fair though, my husband
was raised Mennonite.
1630
01:39:48,680 --> 01:39:50,680
OK, there you go.
They they do it too.
1631
01:39:51,200 --> 01:39:53,480
They they're they're they're
pretty.
1632
01:39:53,840 --> 01:39:55,720
They're for real.
You know their skills, they're.
1633
01:39:56,440 --> 01:39:58,240
They're they're for real.
They're for real.
1634
01:39:58,760 --> 01:39:59,920
Yeah.
So I'm gonna, yeah, I'm doing
1635
01:39:59,920 --> 01:40:04,120
that.
And I'm tentatively interested
1636
01:40:04,120 --> 01:40:07,280
in writing about schismatic
Catholic movements.
1637
01:40:08,840 --> 01:40:11,600
To try to maybe take some of
what I did in Mormon studies to
1638
01:40:11,600 --> 01:40:13,760
my own people.
That's interesting.
1639
01:40:13,760 --> 01:40:16,320
You should bring that.
So I just had a conversation,
1640
01:40:16,560 --> 01:40:19,000
shouldn't say just, it was
probably six months ago I had a
1641
01:40:19,000 --> 01:40:22,200
buddy out here in Missouri who,
you know, is a fundamentalist,
1642
01:40:22,200 --> 01:40:25,520
but he's also very religiously
curious, right, Which is what I
1643
01:40:25,520 --> 01:40:28,320
love about him.
And he was studying the schisms
1644
01:40:28,320 --> 01:40:30,560
between the Catholic Church and
the Eastern Orthodox.
1645
01:40:30,560 --> 01:40:33,840
And we had a conversation about
that because there were some
1646
01:40:33,840 --> 01:40:36,880
really interesting parallels
with Mormonism on that even.
1647
01:40:37,320 --> 01:40:37,640
Right.
Sure.
1648
01:40:37,640 --> 01:40:39,240
And the.
Big thing was the papacy.
1649
01:40:39,640 --> 01:40:41,800
Yeah, yeah.
But I mean, there's a lot of
1650
01:40:41,800 --> 01:40:48,480
really tiny, tiny, tiny Catholic
religions that are Catholic but
1651
01:40:48,480 --> 01:40:51,320
don't think the Pope is real,
that he's lost his authority.
1652
01:40:51,720 --> 01:40:56,560
And, and so I know it's an
interest and I, it's an
1653
01:40:56,560 --> 01:40:57,840
interesting route.
They're called State of
1654
01:40:57,840 --> 01:41:01,840
Acontists.
And so when I started slowly,
1655
01:41:01,880 --> 01:41:05,160
like learning about them, I was
like, seems kind of shit.
1656
01:41:05,160 --> 01:41:06,480
And we have a lot of them near
where I live.
1657
01:41:06,560 --> 01:41:12,520
So maybe.
But for now, I'm just baking.
1658
01:41:12,840 --> 01:41:16,480
Well, awesome.
I can't tell you how much I
1659
01:41:16,480 --> 01:41:18,080
appreciate you making time for
me.
1660
01:41:18,480 --> 01:41:22,200
Like I said, I know you were in
retirement and I, I, I wanted to
1661
01:41:22,200 --> 01:41:24,680
respect that, but at the same
time I'm like, she started it
1662
01:41:25,120 --> 01:41:28,440
game on.
So I I do appreciate you jumping
1663
01:41:28,440 --> 01:41:30,880
on with me, Christina.
It's always great.
1664
01:41:31,240 --> 01:41:33,040
Awesome.
All right, hang out for just 5
1665
01:41:33,040 --> 01:41:34,160
minutes.
Bye everybody.
1666
01:42:05,320 --> 01:42:08,120
You're listening to the Mormon
Renegade podcast.