Tag Archives: Anthony W. Ivins

Anthony W. Ivins View the Anthony W. Ivins Church Leader profile →

LDS apostle and First Presidency member who made significant statements about polygamy’s end.

“Furthermore, insofar as the authorities of the Church are concerned, since this pretended revelation, if ever given, was never presented to and adopted by the Church or by any council of the Church, and since to the contrary, an inspired rule of action, the Manifesto, was (subsequently to the pretended revelation) presented to and adopted by the Church, which inspired rule in its term, purport, and effect was directly opposite to the interpretation given to the pretended revelation, the said pretended revelation could have no validity and no binding effect and force upon Church members, and action under it would be unauthorized, illegal, and void.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933. | wasmormon.org
“Furthermore, insofar as the authorities of the Church are concerned, since this pretended revelation, if ever given, was never presented to and adopted by the Church or by any council of the Church, and since to the contrary, an inspired rule of action, the Manifesto, was (subsequently to the pretended revelation) presented to and adopted by the Church, which inspired rule in its term, purport, and effect was directly opposite to the interpretation given to the pretended revelation, the said pretended revelation could have no validity and no binding effect and force upon Church members, and action under it would be unauthorized, illegal, and void.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933.
“The First Presidency have recently received letters making inquiry concerning the position of the Church regarding the contracting of polygamous or plural marriages. It is evident these letters, a well as from certain published material—some of it distributed during our last General Conference—that a secret and, according to reputation, an oath-bound organization of misguided individuals is seeking to lead the people to adopt adulterous relations under the guise of a pretended and false polygamous or plural marriage ceremony.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933. | wasmormon.org
“The First Presidency have recently received letters making inquiry concerning the position of the Church regarding the contracting of polygamous or plural marriages. It is evident these letters, a well as from certain published material—some of it distributed during our last General Conference—that a secret and, according to reputation, an oath-bound organization of misguided individuals is seeking to lead the people to adopt adulterous relations under the guise of a pretended and false polygamous or plural marriage ceremony.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933.
“While the position of Church since 1893 has been repeatedly set forth, namely that polygamous or plural marriages are not and cannot now be performed, yet in order that there may be no excuse for any Church member to be misled by the false representations or the corrupt, adulterous practices of the members of this secret and (by reputation) oath-bound organisation (of which the history of the Nephites and Lamanites show so many counterparts), it is deemed wise again to set out the position of the Church on this matter, at the same time tracing the outlines of the historical facts lying behind the Church's position, of which many young Church members might not be fully aware.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933. | wasmormon.org
“While the position of Church since 1893 has been repeatedly set forth, namely that polygamous or plural marriages are not and cannot now be performed, yet in order that there may be no excuse for any Church member to be misled by the false representations or the corrupt, adulterous practices of the members of this secret and (by reputation) oath-bound organisation (of which the history of the Nephites and Lamanites show so many counterparts), it is deemed wise again to set out the position of the Church on this matter, at the same time tracing the outlines of the historical facts lying behind the Church's position, of which many young Church members might not be fully aware.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933.
“As to this pretended revelation it should be said that the archives of the Church contain no such revelation; the archives contain no record of any such revelation, nor any evidence justifying a belief that any such revelation was ever given. From the personal knowledge of some of us, from the uniform and common recollection of the presiding quorums of the Church, from the absence in the Church archives of any evidence whatsoever justifying any belief that such a revelation was given, we are justified in affirming that no such revelation exists.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933. | wasmormon.org
“As to this pretended revelation it should be said that the archives of the Church contain no such revelation; the archives contain no record of any such revelation, nor any evidence justifying a belief that any such revelation was ever given. From the personal knowledge of some of us, from the uniform and common recollection of the presiding quorums of the Church, from the absence in the Church archives of any evidence whatsoever justifying any belief that such a revelation was given, we are justified in affirming that no such revelation exists.” - Official Statement from the First Presidency (Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, J. Reuben Clark) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News, June 17, 1933.

The 1886 Revelation Denial and the LDS Church’s Longstanding Dishonesty

In the complex history of Mormonism, few documents expose the tensions between prophetic revelation and institutional survival quite like John Taylor’s 1886 revelation. This revelation, written in Taylor’s own hand, declared that the divine commandment of plural marriage would not and could not be revoked. Yet for over a century, the Church of Jesus Christ …

Continue reading “The 1886 Revelation Denial and the LDS Church’s Longstanding Dishonesty”