Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto [Hardcover]

Brian C. Hales (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1589580354 | ISBN-13: 978-1589580350 | Publication Date: March 29, 2007 | Edition: First Edition

Modern Polygamy: The Generations After the Manifesto provides a background for understanding the practice of polygamy by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as the discontinuation of that practice, which occurred in 1904. This book charts new ground by tackling the previously unexamined period of plural marriages between 1904 and 1934. Without authorization from the Church President after 1904, dissenters assumed authority from several sources. But in the 1920s, a man named Lorin Woolley began to promote a new priesthood line of authority that he said could solemnize polygamous unions. By 1934, most modern polygamists had united behind Woolley's teachings and authority claims. Modern Polygamy investigates those assertions and the Mormon fundamentalist organizations that have arisen from them. The Allreds, the FLDS Church in Texas and on the Utah-Arizona border, the Kingstons, the LeBarons, the TLC Church in Manti, Utah, and other splinter groups are all scrutinized. Regardless of one's beliefs regarding Joseph Smith and plural marriage, this historical and doctrinal volume will provide interesting reading and enlightenment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian C. Hales, co-author of the 1992 publication The Priesthood of Modern Polygamy, an LDS Perspective, works as an anesthesiologist at the Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, Utah. An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a former full-time missionary, he is the webmaster of mormonfundamentalism.com, a website dedicated to provided viewers with a historical and doctrinal examination of Mormon fundamentalist topics including the practice of polygamy. Brian has presented at the Mormon History Association meetings and at the Sunstone Symposium on polygamy-related topics. His articles have also been published in Dialogue, A Journal of Mormon Thought and the Journal of Mormon History. In addition to his historical works, Brian has authored three books on doctrinal themes entitled The Veil (Cedar Fort, 2000), Trials (Cedar Fort, 2002), and Light (Cedar Fort, 2004) He is the father of four children.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

Plural Marriage Restored

One of the more controversial doctrines taught by the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith was that, under the proper circumstances, the marriage of one man to more than one wife was sanctified and holy.1 For puritan mentalities of nineteenth-century America, the practice was virtually unheard of except as an exotic practice of the "heathen Turks," and resistance was high.2 Nevertheless, Joseph Smith felt compelled to teach a new form of marriage which he believed the Lord had restored to the earth through him. Called the "New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage," it described how husbands and wives may be joined together in a bond that transcended death. Included as a part of this new marriage covenant was plural marriage as had been practiced by Old Testament patriarchs.3 Joseph Smith and Plural Marriage

Precisely when Joseph Smith learned of the correctness of plural marriage is not known. He published the Book of Mormon in 1830, which states: "For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none. . . . For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people, otherwise they shall hearken unto these things" (Jacob 2:27, 30). While specifying monogamy, this statement leaves the door open for future polygamy should God command it.

It appears that Joseph Smith may have asked the Lord about plural marriage as early as 1831. In that year Joseph felt inspired to revise the Bible wherein he reviewed the accounts of the ancient patriarchs who practiced polygamy.4 Abraham was married to Sarai (Sarah) and had two additional wives: Hagar (Gen. 16: 1-3) and later Keturah (Gen. 25:1) and concubines (Gen. 25:6). Jacob, (renamed Israel by God), had twelve sons by four wives and concubines (Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah). Moses too was a polygamist (Exod. 2:21; Num. 12:1). Early Church member Lyman E. Johnson recalled that "Joseph ...

Product Details

• Hardcover: 524 pages
• Publisher: Greg Kofford Books Inc; First Edition edition (March 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589580354
• ISBN-13: 978-1589580350
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,996,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing look at polygamy after the manifesto, October 7, 2009

By 

Jeffrey Van Wagoner (Gilbert, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto (Hardcover)

I originally purchased this book for my wife who has been interested in what makes modern polygamists tick. I browsed through it and decided that it would be worth my time to read. It turned out to be a very educational experience and helped me understand the history of Mormon fundamentalists much better.

This book was published by Greg Kofford Books, a small publishing house in Utah specializing in Mormon and regional studies. I have read several of their books and have been impressed with the quality of their material.

This book is a study of the beginnings and history of Mormon fundamentalism. It is not an apologetic work on polygamy, but focuses on the claims of authority by the leaders of the major polygamous sects. The author states that he did the research and wrote this book after a sister became involved in one of the polygamous sects.

The first part of the book talks of the claims of authority that the LDS church used to implement and then stop the practice of polygamy. The discussion then went into detail of how difficult it was to stop polygamy within the church. After the first manifesto, the practice was still continued outside of the US and even somewhat within the US. There was opposition from several key leaders including some apostles. Eventually a second manifesto with issued during the time of the Smoot hearings, where penalties of excommunication were threatened for anyone performing plural marriages. Two apostles were ultimately excommunicated along with several other local leaders over the next several years in an attempt to stop the practice.

The fundamentalist movement grew out of those issues, and the claims of authority were ultimately tracked back to John Taylor and a revelation he received and ordinations he allegedly secretly performed back in 1886, but not brought to light until the 1930's. Hales spends most of the book tracing these lines of authority up to modern times. He also points out what he sees as the weaknesses of these claims of authority.

The last chapter is an attempt to try to understand why people become fundamentalists. I thought his discussion of how to determine true doctrine from false doctrine to be very well thought out. He clearly writes as a believing LDS sincerely trying to understand these groups that his sister became involved in.

Having grown up in Utah, the history was a good review of the many groups that I have heard of throughout my life. He covers the FLDS group (Warren Jeffs), the Lafferties (Famous for assassinating other polygamists), and many other sects that have been in the news.

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more about Mormon fundamentalists.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism, April 8, 2009

By 

artmajor "artmajor" (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto (Hardcover)

This book is rich in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how certain Church members split away from the main Church to form their own group in the early 20th century. It is a facinating review of American history.
I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in American history or religious history.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars BIASED!, March 23, 2011

By 

Windy E. Shaffer (Green Valley, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto (Hardcover)

This book purports to be a reasonably accurate history of Mormon Fundamentalism. It is instead a work of unabashed Mormon Apology. Throughout the book Brian Hales demonstrates a general lack of respect for historical facts and constantly interjects his bias against his subjects. This book is clearly an attempt to discredit Mormon "Fundamentalists" and support mainstream mormon veiwpoints. If you are looking for a biased narrative whose only purpose is to convince you that all other veiwpoints are wrong and those of the curent mainstream in the church are the only credible ones, then by all means buy this book. If you actually want to understand the big picture, and get historically acurate information, buy "Silencing Mormon Polygamy" from Drew Briney.