Scott H. Faulring Collection

Marriott Library

Accn 2316

Box 23, Folder 3

(part of the "Documentary History of Oliver Cowdery," preliminary draft, unpaginated)

"Article on Marriage"

[ca. August 1835]

This declaration of the Latter-day Saint practice of marriage was printed as part of the above assembly minutes in the August, 1835 MA, and it is repeated here in the text and punctuation of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants. In the assembly minutes, the item has a preface: "President W. W. Phelps then read an article on Marriage, which was accepted and adopted, and ordered to be printed in said book, by a unanimous vote." Brigham Young and Joseph F. Smith stated that Oliver Cowdery composed this article for inclusion in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants.

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Oliver Cowdery and Plural Marriage

[ca. August 1835]

The preceding Article on Marriage was evidently written for the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants because the early Latter-day Saint practice of plural marriage by Oliver Cowdery and possibly Joseph Smith was being misrepresented as adulterous or immoral. Neither Oliver Cowdery nor Joseph Smith explained the background of the marriage statement. Years later, some contemporaries made statements or were quoted about Oliver Cowdery and LDS polygamy, linking the marriage article to early practice of this principle. One of the most difficulty early historical questions is, "Was Joseph Smith or Oliver Cowdery the first to practice plural marriage."1 In spite of some minor differences, the essence of these reports is that Oliver was the first to entire into the practice. While serving as the Prophet's assistant, Cowdery learned about polygamy and was the first to take a plural wife.2 In one source, Brigham Young even names Annie Lyman as the young lady that Oliver Cowdery married without Joseph Smith's consent.3 The extent of this marriage relationship has never been defined. Oliver Cowdery evidently felt religiously and morally justified, but the Prophet Joseph Smith had a different view.4 This event in Cowdery's life has been examined recently by several Mormon scholars.5 Not all agree that Oliver practiced an early form of plural marriage.6 Yet circumstantial evident does suggest that Cowdery entered into the Kirtland form of plural marriage sometime between August 1833 and May 1834, was not in good standing as a result of it (July 1834), and afterward (about 1837-148) opposed the practice. This opposition appears to have mellowed when he returned to the Church in 1848. Nine days after arriving at Kanesville in October 1848, Oliver had a "lengthy and agreeable interview" with the presiding officials at Council Bluffs, Elders Orson Hyde and George A. Smith. During their evening discussion, Cowdery stated that he had come to "listen to [their] counsel and would do as [they] told him." He recognized the need to be rebaptized and bore sincere testimony that Joseph Smith had "fulfilled his mission faithfully before God until death." Oliver assured Elders Hyde and Smith that he sought no position or office in the Church; he only wanted to be "one among us, and live with the Saints." Oliver had written an 1846 letter hoping that reports about LDS plural marriages were not true.7 So he was well aware of the issue at his 1848 discussions with Orson Hyde and George A. Smith, both of whom were practicing polygamy, as were many Latter-day Saints that Oliver knew during his two-month stay at Kanesville in 1848. Thus Oliver Cowdery was aware that plural marriage was prominent in Mormon society. Although Oliver's reaction then was not recorded, until his death in 1850, Cowdery was making serious plans to move to Utah. If his deteriorating health had not prevented him, he would have migrated to Salt Lake Valley and served the Church in any assigned capacity. If, as some scholars have suggested, Cowdery was morally offended by [the] Saints' plural marriage relationship, why would he plan to immigrate to Utah and live as "one" among them? During his above interview with Elders Hyde and Smith, Oliver said that he "was determined to rise with the Church, and if it went down he was willing to go down with it."

The following documents deal with Oliver Cowdery, early plural marriage and/or the Article on Marriage.

[Note that I am including below only sources or ideas we don't already have. Note also that the numbers in the above text represent locations of endnote numbers.]

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Brigham Young on Oliver Cowdery and Plural Marriage

[26 August 1857]

The earliest know statement about Cowdery and plural marriage was made by Brigham Young and recorded in the diary of Wilford Woodruff. The diary entry was used in writing the corresponding entry in the Manuscript history of Brigham Young. there is additional detail in the Manuscript History, which is why it is presented in parallel format.

Woodruff Journal

Presiden[t] Young staid 3+ hours Compiling his History. He remarked that the revelation upon a plurality of wives was given to Joseph Smith. He revealed it to Oliver Cowdery alone upon the solem[n] pledge that He would not reveal it or act upon it [note 1] but He did act upon it in a secret manner and that was the cause of his overthrow.

Manuscript History of Brigham Young

Pres[iden]t Young remarked that the Revelation upon a plurality of wives was given to Joseph Smith as early as -as in the year 1831. [note 2] He revealed it Oliver Cowdery alone; under a solemn pledge that he would not reveal it nor act upon it, until the Lord co otherwise commanded, But Oliver did not keep his pledge, but acted upon it in a secret manner, and that was the cause of his overthrow.

NOTES:

Manuscripts, excerpts, 26 August 1857, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, Wilford Woodruff Journal, 26 August 1857, HDC, and 26 August, Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1857: 439, HDC.

[Next presents the 1868 HCK source, which we have, and cites it thus: Manuscript, excerpt, 24 May 1868, Provo, Utah Territory, "Record of the Provo Stake of Zion," LR 9629 11, vol. 9 (reel 1), 118, HDC.]

Brigham Young on Oliver Cowdery and the "Article on Marriage"

[9 October 1869]

Apostle Joseph F. Smith noted in his diary a comment made by Brigham Young in a discourse where President Young credited Oliver with the "Article on Marriage." The diary entry here is duplicated by a contemporary newspaper summary. [note 1]

Prest. Young spoke 12 minutes in relation to Sec[tion] 109 [note 2] B[ook] of Doctrine and covenants. Saying Oliver Cowdry wrote it, and incisted on its being incerted in the Book of D. & C. contrary to the thrice expressed wish and refusal of the Prophet Jos[eph] Smith.

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Joseph F. Smith on the Marriage Article and Polygamy

Born in 1838, Joseph F. Smith was a counselor to Brigham Young for a dozen years before the president's death in 1877, and afterward counselor to President John Taylor. In 1878 and 1883 respectively, Joseph F. Smith elaborated on Oliver's role in preparing the 1835 marriage statement after his example had helped create the impression that the Church taught plural marriage. Elder Smith may have spoken about what he learned from President Young or may have discovered this information independently. [note 1]

[Cites a couple sources I'm pretty sure have from JFS. One is Deseret News 20 May 1886.]

Joseph F. Smith 1883 Discourse

[4 March 1883]

Oliver Cowdery was not so discreet in regard to this matter [plural marriage] but in consequence of his conduct brought reproach upon the Church bringing upon the Church the accusation of fornication and polygamy—He wrote an article to stave off the impression that had been made which was published in the Book Doctrine and Covenants which has been left out in the New Edition because it was not one of the Revelations.

March 4, 1883, Utah Stake Historical Record, 1877-1888, LR 9629, series 11-20, reel 2, vole. 12, 271-275

Selected Endnotes

[Note that the endnotes of this draft are listed at the end of each year's record, without any indication of which document they belong with. So, I have simply transcribed the few notes that were of interest, without attempting to establish in which document above they belong.]

4 It is supposed that Oliver Cowdery's plural marriage to Annie Lyman took place sometime between late August 1833 (when he returned to Kirtland without his wife Elizabeth) and early May 1834 (departure of Joseph Smith and others on the march of Zion's Camp). In July 1834, at the conclusion of the Zion's Camp expedition, Joseph Smith held a general conference in Clay County, Missouri and appointed David Whitmer his contingent successor. This appointment was done so that there was someone to lead the church in the event he (Joseph Smith) did not live to make it back to Kirtland. When David Whitmer was chosen some wondered why Oliver Cowdery, the Second Elder, was not chosen. To this query, Joseph Smith is reported to have replied, "Olive has lost that privilege in consequence of transgression." See testimony of Martin Harris, Leonard Rich, and Calvin Beebe in William E. McLellin, "The Successor of Joseph, the Seer," Ensign of Liberty 1 (December 1847): 43.

1 If divine inspiration on plural marriage came during BoM translation, the verse of inquiry would probably be Jacob 2:22-30, indicating monogamy as the Lord's norm, with his right to command polygamy. The beginning verse of DC 132 suggests an inquiry was made while translating Genesis in 1831.

2 The identification of "Annie Lyman" is somewhat problematic. Our identification is tentative based on the brief details President Young provided, 1) her name and 2) her relationship to George A. Smith. We think that Mary A. [Ann?] Lyman is possibly who B was referring to. She was the daughter of Asa and Sarah Davis Lyman and was born in February 1817. Her father was a brother to George A. Smith's mother Clarissa Lyman Smith. Thus Mary Ann Lyman was a first cousin to George A. Smith. Exactly when Mary Ann arrived in Kirtland is difficult to date. From the MS we know that her father, Asa Lyman, was in Kirtland in May 1833. There is the possibility that Mary Ann arrived sometime between May 1833 and mid-1834. See George A. Smith, Sketch of the Autobiography of George Albert Smith, MS 27 (15 July 1865): 438 and Lyman Coleman, Lyman, from High Ongar in England, 1631 (Albany, J. Munsell, 1872): 122-23. See also […] ["Davis, Sarah R." and "Lyman, Asa" in Susan Easton Black's compilation of early LDS members.]

[I did not transcribe all the genealogical sources cited regarding the identity of "Annie Lyman."]

[A later note indicates that Mary Ann Lyman later married a J. D. Roland, according to Lyman Coleman, p. 123; see also 1850 census, Jesse D. Roland, in Ray Co MO.]

Cowdery, Oliver, information from Scott H. Faulring Collection, Marriott Library, Accn 2316, Box 23, Folder 3, (part of the "Documentary History of Oliver Cowdery," preliminary draft, unpaginated)