Matthias F. Cowley

Matthias F. Cowley was an apostle from 1897 to 1905 when he resigned to avoid discipline for continuing plural marriages after the Manifesto. He was later disfellowshipped in 1911.

Unlike John W. Taylor who was excommunicated for similar offenses, Cowley received the lesser punishment of disfellowshipment. He continued to perform plural marriages secretly and married additional wives himself.

His priesthood was eventually restored in 1936, and he died in 1940. His case illustrates the uneven discipline applied to leaders who continued polygamy, and his son Matthew later became an apostle.