Today in Mormon History - Oct 25

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On this day in Mormon History
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-- 190 years ago today - Oct 25, 1831 (Sunday) --

... Br. Joseph Smith jr. said that the order of the Highpriesthood [sic] is that they have power given them to seal up the Saints to eternal life. And said it was the privilege of every Elder present to be ordained to the Highpriesthood [i.e., a high priest].

Brother Hyrum Smith said that he thought best that the information of the coming forth of the book of Mormon be related by Joseph himself to the Elders present that all might know for themselves.

Br. Joseph Smith jr. said that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the book of Mormon, & also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things &c.

Br. Joseph Smith Jr said ... that the promises of God was that the greatest blessings which God had to bestow should be given to those who contributed to the support of his family while translating the fulness of the Scriptures, ... (1)
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-- 190 years ago today - Oct 25, 1831 --

The office of deacon is first introduced. Although deacon is referred to in a published revelation of 6 Apr. 1830, the earliest manuscript does not seem to date before 1831. (2)
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Section 66. A ... note in the "Kirtland Revelation Book" states that section 66 is, "a Revelation given to William E. McLelin a true decendent from Joseph that was sold in Egypt down through the loins of Ephraim his son.". (3)
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-- 180 years ago today - Oct 25, 1841 --

Already married, 19 year-old Zina Huntington remained conflicted with Smith's polygamy proposal "until a day in October, apparently, when Joseph sent [her older brother] Dimick to her with a message: an angel with a drawn sword had stood over Smith and told him that if he did not establish polygamy, he would lose "his position and his life." Zina, faced with the responsibility for his position as prophet, and even perhaps his life, finally acquiesced." They were secretly married within days. (4)
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-- 130 years ago today - Oct 25, 1891 --
[President Wilford Woodruff]
I wish to mak the following remarks upon the principal of Revelation. Some had thought that Revelation had sceased, But this is not the Case. The Lord is with us & gives us Revelation. But I will say for myself that I wish to Avoid saying Thus Saith the Lord as far as I Can when I give the will of the Lord to the people. In the Days of Joseph Smith it was Thus saith the Lord almost Daily untill the Revelations now embodied in the Book of Doctrins & Covenants had Been given. Since that day President Brigham Young John Taylor & myself have seldom used the words (Thus saith the Lord) when giving the word of the Lord to the people.

... I have Received a Revelation and a Commandment from the Lord which I have not revealed to any man which I shall reveal to this assembly and the Command of the Lord I shall give to this people which is this. The Lord has revealed to me that there are many in the Church who feel badly tried about the Manifesto and also about the Testimony of the Presidency and Apostls before the Master in Chancery. The Lord has Commanded me to put the following question to the Saints and those who will give Attention to it shall have the Holy Ghost to be with them to inspire them to Answer that question for themselves and the Lord has promised that the Answer will be to all alike. The question is this. Which is the wisest course for the latter Day Saints to persue, to Continue to attempt to practice plural Marriage with the Laws of the Nation against it and the opposition of 60,000,000 of People and at the Cost of Confiscation and loss of all the Temples and the stoping of all the ordinances therein both for the living & the Dead And the imprisinment of the First Presidency and Twelve and the leaders or heads of family in the Church And the Confiscation of the personal property of the People (All of which of themselve would stop the Practice? Finished on Nov 5th. (5)
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-- 120 years ago today - Oct 25, 1901 --
[Brigham Young Jr.]
Was present with Pres[ident]. [Joseph F.] Smith in Office. He read me portion of manuscript from Lucy Smith Book. Her story I always understood was false. Geo[rge]. Q. C[annon]. in Life of Prophet was correct. Pres[ident]. Smith doubted Bro[ther]. Cannon. (6)
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-- 120 years ago today - Friday, Oct 25, 1901 --

Jos. F. Smith. Pres. Smith said in substance: ... When word reached us of the death of Pres. Wilford Woodruff, I took the news to Pres. Snow at the temple. He remarked that it was very sad and, addressing himself to me, said: Brother Joseph, Pres. Cannon will not live to lead the church but you will. I say to you that whenever the First Presidency become disorganized, it is the duty of the Twelve to effect a reorganization at the earliest possible moment. It is the will of the Lord that such action should be taken. ... There will always be some among us to find fault, I suppose.

... Now, as to the selection of my son to fill the vacancy in the quorum of Apostles, I will say that it was done by the united action of the quorum. If there be those who will find fault, they do it as against the united action of the Twelve, and yet it was my action, too, for I heartily approved it and felt thankful to the Lord that I had a son worthy to be ordained to the apostleship. I believe he will prove himself worthy of his appointment. I shall be very happy to see the sons of my brethren, also, advanced in the authority of the priesthood to the quorum of Apostles and to other quorums.

...Remarks, Horace Cummings. Brother Horace Cummings said in part that he had a feeling in his heart some time ago, or rather a manifestation while in the temple at prayer circle meeting, that Brother Hyrum M. Smith, who was present and who impressed him as very much resembling his uncle [grandfather] Hyrum Smith, the patriarch, would one day be an apostle. ... (7)
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-- 55 years ago today - Oct 25, 1966 --
[David O. McKay]
Reference was made ... that someone had said that he had seen on the desk of the president of the Manti Temple a book regarding second anointings. President [Hugh B.] Brown had conferred with President Petersen of the Manti Temple who said that he has such a book, that he has always kept it in the vault in the Temple and that no one has access to it. The Brethren had not understood that there were copies of this book in the Temples other than one in the Salt Lake Temple. I asked President Joseph Fielding Smith to look into this situation and if there is such a book, it should be brought here. President Tanner mentioned that following this discussion the question was raised about individuals in the Quorum of the Twelve who haven't received their second endowments. I asked that I be given a list of the names of the Brethren of the Twelve who have not received these blessings. (8)
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Because BYU devotional talks were separately broadcast and published, Ezra Taft Benson decided to repeat his conference talk and expand upon its criticisms of the unnamed members of the LDS hierarchy.

At BYU he made it plain that the context for his remarks was the anti-Birch statements of anyone besides David O. McKay. "Do we preach what governments should or should not do as a part of the Gospel plan, as President McKay has urged? Or do we refuse to follow the Prophet by preaching a limited gospel plan of salvation?" Alluding to the disunity in the hierarchy, Benson affirmed: "We cannot compromise good and evil in an attempt to have peace and unity in the Church any more than the Lord could have compromised with Satan in order to avoid the War in Heaven." He then quoted the church president's April conference statement in favor of anti-Communist organizations, and observed: "Yet witness the sorry spectacle of those presently of our number who have repudiated the inspired counsel of our Prophet . . . It is too much to suppose that all the Priesthood at this juncture will unite behind the Prophet in the fight for freedom." Rather than ascribing this disunity about his anti-Communist crusade to honest differences of opinion, Benson described his church opponents as inspired by Satan:

Now, Satan is anxious to neutralize the inspired counsel of the Prophet, and hence, keep the Priesthood off-balance, ineffective, and inert in the fight for freedom. He does this through diverse means, including the use of perverse reasoning. For example, he [Satan] will argue: There is no need to get involved in the fight for freedom. All you need to do is live the Gospel. . . . It is obvious what Satan is trying to do, but it is sad to see many of us fall for his destructive line.

His next remarks tightened his reference more clearly to the church's presiding quorums. "As the Church gets larger, some men have increasing responsibility, and more and more duties must be delegated. . . . Unfortunately some men who do not honor their stewardships may have an adverse effect on many people. Often the greater the man's responsibility, the more good or evil he can accomplish. The Lord usually gives the man a long enough rope . . . There are some regrettable things being said and done by some people in the Church today."

After quoting to his BYU audience the warning by J. Reuben Clark about "ravening wolves" who "wear the habiliments of the priesthood," Apostle Benson made it clear he was referring to his fellow apostles: "Sometimes from behind the pulpit, in our classrooms, in our Council meetings, and in our Church publications we hear, read or witness things that do not square with the truth. This is especially true where freedom is involved." He concluded: "Some lesser men in the past, and will in the future, use their offices unrighteously. Some will lead the unwary astray . . ."

At the conclusion of his talk Benson let the BYU students know he was referring to general authorities immediately below the church president in authority. "Learn to keep your eye on the Prophet," Benson said, "Let his inspired words be a basis for evaluating the counsel of all lesser authorities." He concluded this remarkable assault on his fellow members of the hierarchy with the only understatement of his BYU talk: "I know I will be abused by some for what I have said." Even the censored publication of this BYU talk retained many of Benson's critical allusions to presidency counselors and apostles.

However, this BYU address in October 1966 was not simply Apostle Benson's public response to Harold B. Lee's sermon "from behind the pulpit" of April 1966 conference. This was also Benson's answer to Mark E. Petersen's anti-Birch editorials "in our Church publications." It was a warning about first counselor Hugh B. Brown ("the greater the man's responsibility, the more good or evil he can accomplish"). In sum, this BYU address was Ezra Taft Benson's dismissal of the anti-Birch statements of any general authority "in our Council meetings" and against "the counsel of all lesser authorities" beneath President McKay. His counter-assault on his unnamed critics in the LDS hierarchy was even more extraordinary than Harold B. Lee's conference talk against the unnamed Apostle Benson. Benson's BYU devotional talk in October 1966 was the clearest evidence that he saw himself and President McKay as fighting alone in a battle for freedom and anti-Communism against all the other general authorities who had fallen for Satan's "perverse reasoning" and "destructive line."

Benson apparently never actually asked McKay for permission to advocate the Birch Society but merely for permission to speak about "freedom." In Benson's thinking there was no distinction among the principles of freedom, the mission of the church, and the teachings of the Birch Society. He sincerely felt he had "a mandate from the prophet" for all of his political speeches. (9)
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1 - Oliver Cowdery Record Copied into the Far West Record -Far West Record, 20-21, 23
2 - Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, Appendix 7: Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-47, http://amzn.to/origins-power
3 - Cook, Lyndon, Revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith: A Historical and Biographical Commentary of the Doctrine and Covenants, http://amzn.to/RevelationsofJosephSmith
4 - Joseph Smith Polygamy Timeline, http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/JS_Polygamy_Timeline.htm
5 - Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies
6 - Brigham Young Jr., Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1835-1951, Electronic Edition, 2015
7 - Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993, http://bit.ly/rudgerclawson
8 - David O. McKay diary, Oct. 25, 1966, in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship
9 - Audio tape of Ezra Taft Benson, "Our Immediate Responsibility," devotional address to students of Brigham Young University, 25 Oct. 1966, available from BYU Media Services in 1992.; Ezra Taft Benson, "Our Immediate Responsibility," Speeches of the Year (Provo, UT: Extension Publications, Division of Continuing Education, Brigham Young University, 1966), esp. 8,13-14.; Dew, Ezra Taft Benson, 372, 385; Dew, "Ezra Taft Benson," in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism: The History Scripture, Doctrine, and Procedure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5 vols. (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1992), 1:102-103. From D. Michael Quinn, Ezra Taft Benson and Mormon Political Conflicts, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 26:2 (Summer 1992), also in Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power Salt Lake City (Signature Books, 1994), Chapter 3.