Find the full text here: The Polygamy Story: Fiction and Fact, by J. Max Anderson – Introduction – SHIELDS (shields-research.org)
Here are my notes:
Woodruff wrote the manifesto alone, only a few edits were made by his counselors. The manifesto was in Wilford Woodruff’s own hand and Charles Penrose denies writing it. The other counselors in the first presidency and apostles did not sign the manifesto because they explained woodruff has the keys, he’s the one man with them and he is using them. The spirit of God influenced the apostles to support woodruff in the manifesto.
Refers to many journals which lack reference of supposed events.
Why would there need to be two people in the angelic visitation, the appearance of Joseph Smith would be enough, if needed at all, so why would Jesus also come?
Accounts vary as to how many people witnessed what was going on in the room during the all night meeting.
In the record of someone supposedly seeing the light in the room for the all night meeting, it does not say anything about what the people said, even though he could supposedly hear them all enough to place them in a room, and it’s not that hard to hear through a wooden door, yet he reported nothing about the content of the conversation.
Lorin Wooley is not mentioned in the records as being a guard of John Taylor, though he claims to have done so for an extended period of time. Lorin Wooley time and again proves to be untrustworthy.
The day where they with supposedly 13 hours of meetings after the all-night visitation, this was a day filled with regular business as recorded in multiple journals. President Taylor was 78 years old and in poor health, yet supposedly he had all day meetings Sunday and then all night meetings and then the next day he had 13 hours of straight meetings.
Compare this to how Joseph Smith did not have the strength to work the next day when Joseph was visited all night by Moroni.
They said that John Taylor’s face shone like the sun but when Joseph Smith had great manifestation the shining face is more of a and bright; the brightness like the sun is reserved for the celestial beings.
Note- Moses did have to veil his face. This may occur after meeting God.
George Earl supposedly at the 8hr meeting, repeatedly denies such a meeting existed.
There is no 1886 Revelation in the church archives.
The day of the supposed 1886 revelation, the diary of John Taylor says nothing of it.
The Lord does not revoke eternal laws but he can and has revoked principles when it is not expedient for the church to practice them.
Supposedly John Taylor Rose off of the floor and said half the church would apostatize over plural marriage; however this statement is troublesome, he probably did not say it; for starters no one rejected when woodruff proposed the manifesto to discontinue plural marriage, so John Taylor should have said 100% would apostatize if that was the case (not just 50%); another problem is that only 2% were living plural marriage at the time, so why would 50% apotheosize?
Brigham said “When Joseph is resurrected, you may find the linen that enshrouded his body, but you will not find his body in the grave, no more than the disciples found the body of Jesus when they looked where it was lain.”
In 1929 reorganized LDS Church disinterred Joseph and Hyrum they were still there not resurrected, so Joseph Smith could not have shaken hands of Lorin Wooley and others.
Oliver county was excommunicated for entering into plural marriage without authorization and Hyrum Smith was threatened lose his soul along with all those he sealed to him without authorization if he did such. Entering plural marriage and preaching plural marriage were very strictly governed, you couldn’t just do it on your own.
As I recall this book refutes the claim that there was a season of 50 years or so where ordinations of priesthood conferral were not done correctly because even from the earliest days of the church it was done various ways.
The church president holds the keys of the priesthood, it is not two separate offices. The president of the church is a shortened form of the proper title being the president of the high priesthood of the church.
There are not two presidencies one of church one of priesthood as fundamentalists claim.
President John Taylor denied plural marriage recommends which people requested and explained that the church was entering into a new era. This was 1887, and the Woodruff manifesto of 1890 was a continuance of that. The saints were valiant, their test had passed, they were released from the requirement. They lived God’s laws despite persecution. They now would submit to the laws of the land.
Lorenzo Snow said plural marriage is removed until the Lord restores it.
Lorenzo Snow said keeping a plural wife secret cannot be done, and that plural marriages must be authorized by him and that he had not authorized any plural marriages as president.
Supposedly some unnamed messenger from Lorenzo Snow gave Joseph Musser permission to enter a plural marriage. But church messengers are supposed to be recognized and sustained by the body of the church.
It was claimed that John Wooley had the sealing keys, yet Joseph Musser claims permission from a messenger from Lorenzo Snow, which Lorenzo snow denies.
For a time plural marriages were performed outside of the United States where it was not illegal, but in 1904 Joseph F Smith put a stop to all of it around the world.
Of the supposed five who were ordained by John Taylor to keep doing plural marriage, we have only what Lorin Wooley wrote about it, and he only came out with this information after the other four were dead, and after he had been excommunicated from the church. He came out with this 5 years after his ex communication which is 43 years after the supposed event.
The law of witnesses was not fulfilled in the case of Lorin Wooley, compare this to Oliver Cowdery being witness to Joseph Smith ordinations.
The claim was made by Lorin Wooley that he was supposed to forget then remember,, however this is an extremely scandalous claim that appears to be an excuse for why he didn’t bring these things up earlier.
Daniel R Bateman’s daughter reported that he said that he was going to vote against the manifesto at the conference where it would be presented but when he went to that conference a power came over him and raised his hand to sustain it and he felt peace; nevertheless he later went against the manifesto.
John Wooley confessed to Joseph F Smith president of the church that John Taylor in fact did not ordain him or others to carry on plural marriage, and that he had lied to others about this.
Lorin Wooley claimed to be an undercover agent for the government, it was shown that he was not, and he failed to have children through plural marriage which was the whole point of the movement he started; we also see Daniel Bateman failing in these regards. Lorin was excommunicated for being a pernicious liar, also lying that he was ordained an apostle at age 13 by Brigham, though Brigham wasn’t anywhere near at the time of the supposed ordination.
Lorin Wooley had dreams of grandiose authority.
Orson Pratt said “The devil can adapt himself to the belief of any person. If you believed in plurality he would make you think it was all right. If he could get you to swallow down one or two great lies that would affect your destruction, and which you would preach and destroy many others. He would not mind how many truths you might believe.”
Heber C Kimball said “I will give you a key which brother Joseph Smith used to give in Nauvoo. He said, that the very step of apostasy commenced with losing confidence in the leaders of this Church and kingdom, and that whenever you discerned that spirit, you might know that it would lead the possessor of it on the road to apostasy.”
Joseph Smith said “It is an eternal principle, that has existed with God from all eternity: That man who rises up to condemn others, finding fault with the Church, saying that they are out of the way, while he himself is righteous, then know assuredly, that that man is in the high road to apostasy; and if he does not repent, will apostatize, as God lives.”
