Wilford Woodruff (new fourth Chairman of Chapel away from Jesus Christ of Second-time New orleans saints) is probably most commonly known for their giving of your own 1890 Manifesto you to definitely requisite an end to the technique of polygamy inside the latest church. For this, he could be maybe just about the most questionable prophets on Mormon believe. While good devout person in the latest LDS chapel which struggles that have polygamy, you really have become grateful to help you Woodruff when planning on taking the first strategies to help you putting and stop towards the behavior. While you are a beneficial Mormon fundamentalist just who however believes on concept away from plural matrimony, you actually select Woodruff’s actions given that cowardly and possibly actually treacherous. In any event, their history was inextricably associated with how the guy already been the procedure that contributed to the termination of polygamy on church. This may become since the a shock up coming to discover that Woodruff was possibly shut so you can significantly more plural spouses than nearly any almost every other leader from the church. Certainly, they are up around towards the top of the list. The newest catch, but not, is the fact that bulk of them sealings were to deceased feminine and you may did because of the proxy.
An incredibly Patriarchal Birthday celebration, if you ask me!
I found which tale when you look at the David J. Buerger’s The latest Secrets out of Godliness: A history of Mormon Temple Praise, which details the development of brand new forehead ceremonies therefore the means they’ve become changed over the years. This can be a phenomenal book and that i suggest it to help you someone who’s interested in the brand new theological and historic record of modern day Mormon temple praise. One of the developments so you’re able to temple praise is the new advent of endowments on dry, which have been first performed into the eleven January 1877 regarding the St. George Temple. Less than a few months after that, Wilford Woodruff blogged within his log he is commanded by the revelation to do proxy endowments from the St. George Forehead into the of many dry feminine he previously had sealed in order to him:
Help my personal slave Wilford label upon the fresh new virgins, maidens, daughters & mothers into the Zion, and you will let them enter into my personal Holy Temple into the first day's March, your day one to my servant Wilford keeps seen the go out allocated in order to people, three score decades and you can ten, there let them discover its laundry and anointing and you may endowments to own and account of wives who're inactive while having started sealed to my slave Wilford, otherwise those who are are shut to help you him, hence will be acceptable unto me personally saith the father, therefore the deceased from my personal slave shall be redeemed about soul industry and start to become willing to meet my personal servant from the lifetime of his Upcoming . . . Now visit and you will perform so it really works as well as will likely be complete according to desire of center. Revelation filed by Wilford Woodruff in the record, 1 February 1877 Spelling and you can punctuation remedied, importance my personal.
New 267 Undetectable Brides from Wilford Woodruff
Appropriately, into step one March 1877-from inside the occasion out of his 70th birthday celebration-Woodruff try with 154 feminine to visit a party in the St. George Forehead to execute proxy endowments to have deceased ladies who got been otherwise was basically becoming shut to help you Woodruff just like the plural spouses. Of this celebration, Woodruff facts inside the log:
I became here surrounded that have a hundred and fifty four virgins, Maidens Daughters and Moms and dads inside Zion on chronilogical age of 14 to the Old Mother tilting on their unique Group. All the got built for the purpose of getting into this new Forehead of one's Lord while making me personally a bithday present by being washed and you can anointed and getting the endowments getting plus in account of a single hundred and you can thirty away from my personal wives who were inactive plus in the brand new soul globe, more that has been close in my opinion. . . . Once they had all developed to one another about Design Room We demonstrated me personally prior to them dressed within my white doe facial skin forehead top. I around produced unto them a preliminary target. . . . You are now within endowment instead of a guy to you, however, we are going to give one man an Adam. . . . I experienced the fresh new endowments during the day similar to getting in attention than simply an actuality. These 154 siblings Kolombiya kadД±n personel was in fact led to about three veils and you will three of you . . . every wearing forehead gowns, got these from three veils. . . . President More youthful is actually establish within temple in watching the fresh ceremonies. . . . At close of your labor on temple We . . . are placed in the midst of a shock cluster had upwards on the celebration. The area adorned and you may a desk put laden up with every luxuries off lifetime, in the middle of nearly one hundred ones who have been finding endowments to own my personal inactive the whole day. President Young sat from the lead of the dining table enclosed by his family relations and you will just after blessing are questioned, discover showed before myself something special of a birthday bridesmaid cake, about three reports high, decorated to the giants of one's profession throughout the elephant down, and you may ornamented having two satin sheet sets covered with posted poetry authored on event. Wilford Woodruff Record, 1 February 1877 Spelling and punctuation corrected, emphasis my own. Quoted verses located over 6 pages.