Today in Mormon History - May 20

[TodayInMormonHistory]

On this day in Mormon History
http://TodayInMormonHistory.com/

-- 195 years ago today - May 20, 1831 --
[Revelations]
Doctrine and Covenants 51. Consecration and stewardship. Bishop Edward Partridge deeds what is needed to families. Excommunicants retain deeded property but bishop retains their surplus for the poor and for his own family's needs. Be one. Behave as though this were a permanent settlement until the Lord directs otherwise. This is a church-wide policy. Eternal life promised to participants. (1)
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-- 150 years ago today - May 20, 1876 --

Patriarchal Blessing of James Henry Martineau by Joel Hills Johnson ... Thou shalt visit some of the nations of the earth, and they shall rejoice at the sound of thy voice, and shalt gather them up to the land of Zion. Thou shalt go to the Center Stake of Zion, and shall assist in establishing the saints in that land, and do a great work in the temple which shall be reared there, for the redemption of thy dead; for they shall manifest themselves unto thee when the time comes for their redemption. ...

Thou shalt not come behind the chiefest of the saints of the Most High in the dispensation of the fullness of times. Thou shalt yet take more wives and raise up seed unto the Most High, who shall be great and mighty in their day and generation... When it is necessary for thee to accomplish thy work, the elements shall be subject to thy word, for thou shalt run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and mount up on wings as eagles.

... many of the Nobles of the Earth shall receive counsel from thee and rejoice to hear the words of thy mouth; and thousands of the Lamanites shall lift up their heads and rejoice at the words from thy lips... [I] seal thee up unto eternal lives, to come forth in the morning of the first Ressurrection [Resurrection], with all thy wives and offspring, to inherit glory, immortality and eternal lives, inasmuch as thou art faithful ... (2)
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-- 135 years ago today - May 20, 1891 --
[Heber J. Grant]
[Organization of the Utah republican party] "This evening I attended the Republican meeting in the Theatre and I do not think I have ever been at an entertainment that was the equal of the meeting this evening. It was a first class entertainment. The yelling was something immense. Between the Liberals who wanted organization and those who did not we had a great entertainment. John Hy Smith spoke at the meeting last night. I felt that it was one of the mistakes of his life to speak at the meeting and I felt sure that the roughs present would cry him down and that he would be humiliated, but much to my satisfaction he was given better attention than any other speaker and he made a good talk. I prayed for him with all my heart while he was talking." (3)
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-- 135 years ago today - Wednesday, May 20, 1891 --
[John Henry Smith]
"I was busy all day. At 8 p.m. a large crowd got together at the Theatre. A large number of liberals [liberal party] had come in with the design of breaking up the meeting but they failed to do this. C. W. Bennett was made chairman and speaches were made both for and against organization. W. H. Dixon spoke against and I for. The vote for organization carried. I never felt better in my life in talking." (4)
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-- 130 years ago today - May 20, 1896 --
[First Presidency to Temple Presidents]
"... In baptizing for the dead in the Temples we understand that the form of words used is as follows: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you[,] __________[,] for and in behalf of [,] __________, for the remission of your sins, and in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. We might go into explanations as to the reasons which have caused this form of baptism to be adopted; but it is not necessary, further than to say that baptisms for health and baptisms for the renewal of covenants, etc., have led doubtless to the adoption of this form of ceremony to distinguish it from others. We have had this matter under consideration from time to time, and supposed that our views had been made known to the Presidents of the Temples; but we understand that they have not been informed upon this point, and that the form above given is still the one used in administering baptisms for the dead. The form we think proper, and that we desire to have used
hereafter in administering the ordinance of baptism for the dead, is as follows: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you[,] __________[,] for and in behalf of __________, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. We understand that in some instances baptisms have been administered in the Temples with something like the following ceremony: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you for the remission of sins, for the renewal of your covenant, and for the restoration of your health, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. We do not know upon what authority this form of administering baptism has been adopted, but we think it improper. There have been times in the Church when the First Presidency have felt it necessary to call upon all the members of the Church to renew their covenants, and at such times it was suggested that the words "for the renewal of your covenant" be used in the ceremony;
but it does not follow that at other times, and in individual cases, that form should be used. We think it improper, speaking generally, for the words "for the remission of sins" or "for the renewal of your covenant" to be used in administering the ordinance of baptism. ... The practice which has prevailed in some instances where members of the Church are baptized, of using the words "re-baptize" and "re-confirm," we think unnecessary. When we strictly follow the form the Lord has given us we are sure to be right. In cases where people are baptized for their health, we see no impropriety in using the words "for the restoration of your health" in the ceremony. ..." (5)
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-- 125 years ago today - May 20, 1901 --

A Mormon's funeral has a "white coffin & white horse, flowers." To symbolize their positive view of death, Utah Mormons emphasize white at funerals. (6)
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-- 95 years ago today - May 20, 1931 --
[George F. Richards]
At this [temple] meeting we were each asked to hand in a slip on which we are to write two names of men whom we think would be suitable for a member of the Council of the Twelve, at a later hour to-day. I handed in my names. (7)
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-- 60 years ago today - May 20, 1966 --

Nearly twenty years after President George Albert Smith offers the prayer at the opening of the U.S. Senate, President Hugh B. Brown of the First Presidency opens the U.S. Senate with prayer.
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-- 55 years ago today - May 20, 1971 --

After BYU's 'Wye Magazine' publishes some poetry and fiction which general authorities and others find offensive, the university's administration "confiscated those copies that had not been delivered (1,000 out of 2,000)." Two years later general authorities require the BYU Press to destroy its entire press run of Thomas E. Cheney's 'Golden Legacy,' because he includes some vulgarisms in J. Golden Kimball's folk tales. Cheney republishes it with an independent press and without the offending stories. (6)
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1 - Kenney, Scott; Saints Without Halos, 'Doctrine and Covenants,' http://web.archive.org/web/20120805163534/saintswithouthalos.com/s/_dc.phtml
2 - Patriarchal Blessings
3 - The Diaries of Heber J. Grant, 1880-1945, Abridged, Digital Edition Salt Lake City, Utah, 2015
4 - Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith
5 - Wilford Woodruff, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith to Temple Presidents, May 20, 1896, quoted in Anderson, Devery; The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History, http://amzn.to/TempleWorship
6 - The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database (http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase)]
7 - George F. Richards Diary, as quoted in Minutes of the Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1910-1951, Privately Published, Salt Lake City, Utah 2010