View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14

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{{Resource Title|Response to claims made in "Chapter 14: The Politics of Compromise"}}
{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
|title=[[../../|One Nation Under Gods]]
|author=Richard Abanes
|noauthor=
|section=[[../../Index|Index of claims]]: Claims made in "Chapter 14: The Politics of Compromise"
|previous=[[../Chapter 13|Claims made in "Chapter 13: Unholy Matrimony"]]
|next=[[../Chapter 15|Claims made in "Chapter 15: Making the Transition"]]
|notes={{AuthorsDisclaimer}}
}}
{{ChartOneNationUnderGodsChapter14}}
==Quick Navigation==
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 313 - "prosecuting polygamy would be virtually impossible given Mormon leadership’s willingness to lie under oath"|Response to claim: 313 - "prosecuting polygamy would be virtually impossible given Mormon leadership’s willingness to lie under oath"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 313, 585n10 (PB) - "Such admissions, rather than coming from any sincere desire on Cannon’s part to be forthright, likely resulted from the excessive publicity engendered by the controversy"|Response to claim: 313, 585n10 (PB) - "Such admissions, rather than coming from any sincere desire on Cannon’s part to be forthright, likely resulted from the excessive publicity engendered by the controversy"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 315, 585n12 (PB) - The First Presidency statement “They who fight against Zion shall be destroyed; and the pit which has been digged shall be filled by those who digged it" is contrary to the command in D&C 58:21 to obey the laws of the land|Response to claim: 315, 585n12 (PB) - The First Presidency statement “They who fight against Zion shall be destroyed; and the pit which has been digged shall be filled by those who digged it" is contrary to the command in D&C 58:21 to obey the laws of the land]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 316, 587n15 (HB) 585n15 (PB) - Did John Taylor receive a revelation on September 27, 1886 that promised that “polygamy would never be abandoned"?|Response to claim: 316, 587n15 (HB) 585n15 (PB) - Did John Taylor receive a revelation on September 27, 1886 that promised that “polygamy would never be abandoned"?]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 317, 587n25 (PB) - Brigham said that “the only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"|Response to claim: 317, 587n25 (PB) - Brigham said that “the only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 319, 588n35-36(PB) - Did Joseph Smith promise in 1835 that most of the Saints then living would see Jesus’ return by 1890?|Response to claim: 319, 588n35-36(PB) - Did Joseph Smith promise in 1835 that most of the Saints then living would see Jesus’ return by 1890?]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 320, 588n40 (PB) - Did Wilford Woodruff demolish the Church’s Endowment House in response to agreement with the U.S. to “cease practicing plural marriage"?|Response to claim: 320, 588n40 (PB) - Did Wilford Woodruff demolish the Church’s Endowment House in response to agreement with the U.S. to “cease practicing plural marriage"?]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 323, 589n51-52 (PB) - The Manifesto was not a revelation because it was re-written and edited many times before it was released|Response to claim: 323, 589n51-52 (PB) - The Manifesto was not a revelation because it was re-written and edited many times before it was released]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim; 324-325, 589n53 (PB) - Did the Manifesto included "blatantly false statements" since over 200 plural marriages were performed after the Manifesto was issued?|Response to claim; 324-325, 589n53 (PB) - Did the Manifesto included "blatantly false statements" since over 200 plural marriages were performed after the Manifesto was issued?]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 325, 591n54 (HB) 589n54 (PB) - Brigham Young said "I live above the law, and so do this people"|Response to claim: 325, 591n54 (HB) 589n54 (PB) - Brigham Young said "I live above the law, and so do this people"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 325, 589n55 (PB) - Did "countless" plural marriages occur in Utah, Canada, and Mexico after the Manifesto, as the author claims?|Response to claim: 325, 589n55 (PB) - Did "countless" plural marriages occur in Utah, Canada, and Mexico after the Manifesto, as the author claims?]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 326, 590n58-59 (PB) - "Lying, either to bring about a 'greater good' or to protect the church, has always been an acceptable practice within Mormonism"|Response to claim: 326, 590n58-59 (PB) - "Lying, either to bring about a 'greater good' or to protect the church, has always been an acceptable practice within Mormonism"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 326, 590n60 (PB) - Did Joseph F. Smith defy the Manifesto?|Response to claim: 326, 590n60 (PB) - Did Joseph F. Smith defy the Manifesto?]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Index/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 327, 590n62 (PB) - The author states that polygamy continued to "thrive" when Lorenzo Snow became Church president in 1898|Response to claim: 327, 590n62 (PB) - The author states that polygamy continued to "thrive" when Lorenzo Snow became Church president in 1898]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 328, 591n67 (PB) - "These were but a small portion of the documented 262 post-Manifesto marriages between October 1890 and December 1910 involving 22 different Mormon men"|Response to claim: 328, 591n67 (PB) - "These were but a small portion of the documented 262 post-Manifesto marriages between October 1890 and December 1910 involving 22 different Mormon men"]]
*[[Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 14#Response to claim: 328 - "Smith, of course, like every other LDS president before him, would continue utilizing cunning prevarications to conceal his personal activities"|Response to claim: 328 - "Smith, of course, like every other LDS president before him, would continue utilizing cunning prevarications to conceal his personal activities"]]
{{parabreak}}

==Response to claim: 313 - "prosecuting polygamy would be virtually impossible given Mormon leadership’s willingness to lie under oath"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
{{AuthorQuote|"prosecuting polygamy would be virtually impossible given Mormon leadership’s willingness to lie under oath."}}
|authorsources=
Supreme Court Case Miles v. the United States
}}
{{propaganda|The United States had no difficulty prosecuting polygamy under the Edmunds-Tucker legislation.  Many members of the Church admitted their plural marriages, and went to prison as a result.
}}
*[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]

==Response to claim: 313, 585n10 (PB) - "Such admissions, rather than coming from any sincere desire on Cannon’s part to be forthright, likely resulted from the excessive publicity engendered by the controversy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=<br>
*George Q. Cannon said “I have taken plural wives, who now live with me, and have so lived with me for a number of years and borne me children…as a teacher of my religion in Utah territory, I have defended said tenet of said church as being in my belief a revelation of God.”
*{{AuthorQuote|Such admissions, rather than coming from any sincere desire on Cannon’s part to be forthright, likely resulted from the excessive publicity engendered by the controversy.}}
|authorsources=
House Misc. Doc. 49 (43-1), 1873, Serial 1617, 5.
}}
{{propaganda|This is the author's conjecture.
}}
* [[../Mind reading|Mind reading]]
*[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]

==Response to claim: 315, 585n12 (PB) - The First Presidency statement “They who fight against Zion shall be destroyed; and the pit which has been digged shall be filled by those who digged it" is contrary to the command in D&C 58:21 to obey the laws of the land==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
The First Presidency statement “They who fight against Zion shall be destroyed; and the pit which has been digged shall be filled by those who digged it" is contrary to the command in D&C 58:21 to obey the laws of the land
|authorsources=
First Presidency (John Taylor, George Q. Cannon, and Joseph F. Smith). Quoted in James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 5 volumes, cited in Samuel W. Taylor, Rocky Mountain Empire, 13.
}}
{{misinformation|LDS doctrine endorses the civil law, but does not grant the civil law supremacy over conscience or religious conviction.
}}
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head02|Illegality and civil disobedience}}

<!-- ====315====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Why did LDS leaders hide in Europe, Canada and Mexico to avoid prosecution for polygamy?
|response=
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head02|Illegality and civil disobedience}}
|authorsources=
*No source provided
}} -->

==Response to claim: 316, 587n15 (HB) 585n15 (PB) - Did John Taylor receive a revelation on September 27, 1886 that promised that “polygamy would never be abandoned"?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did John Taylor receive a revelation on September 27, 1886 that promised that “polygamy would never be abandoned"?	
}}
{{misinformation|The revelation does not say that the practice of plural marriage will never be abandoned: It says that the law of the new and everlasting covenant (which includes monogamous and polygamous marriage) would not be altered or revoked. It enjoins obedience to commandments already received—including the command to practice plural marriage, which had not been rescinded in 1886.
|authorsources=
*Fred C. Collier, ''Unpublished Revelations'', vol. 1, 145-146, 180-183.
}}
[[../Use of sources/John Taylor September 1886 revelation|John Taylor 27 September 1886 revelation]]

<!-- ==Response to claim: 317, 588n20 (HB) 586n20 (PB) - Did Wilford Woodruff receive a revelation that indicated that polygamy was “absolutely essential to godhood" and promise that anyone who hindered plural marriage would be "damned"?==
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
Did Wilford Woodruff receive a revelation that indicated that polygamy was “absolutely essential to godhood" and promise that anyone who hindered plural marriage would be "damned"?
|response=
|authorsources=
{{WWJ1|date=January 26, 1880|vol=7|start=546, 615-617, 621}}
}}
*[[../Polygammy absolutely essential to godhood|Use of sources: Absolutely essential for godhood?]] -->

==Response to claim: 317, 587n25 (PB) - Brigham said that “the only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Brigham said that “the only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
|authorsources=
{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=41|vol=11|start=269}}
}}
{{misinformation|If you read the entire passage from which this quote is taken, you will see that Brigham is also acknowledging those who do not actually practice plural marriage. Critics of the Church, however, only extract this single phrase.
}}
{{:Question: Is plural marriage required in order to achieve exaltation?}}

==Response to claim: 319, 588n35-36(PB) - Did Joseph Smith promise in 1835 that most of the Saints then living would see Jesus’ return by 1890?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Joseph Smith promise in 1835 that most of the Saints then living would see Jesus’ return by 1890?
|authorsources=<br>
*History of the Church, vol. 2, 182.
*History of the Church, vol. 5, 324, 336.
}}
{{disinformation|Joseph never promised that "most of the Saints then living" would see the second coming.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that Jesus Christ would return in 1890?}}

==Response to claim: 320, 588n40 (PB) - Did Wilford Woodruff demolish the Church’s Endowment House in response to agreement with the U.S. to “cease practicing plural marriage"?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Wilford Woodruff demolish the Church’s Endowment House in response to agreement with the U.S. to “cease practicing plural marriage"? 
|authorsources=
Samuel Taylor, 19.
}}
{{misinformation|The Endowment House was taken down because:
a work project was needed to employ new workers within Salt Lake City, who could then vote in civic elections
the Endowment House was superfluous, since the Church had three operating temples besides Salt Lake
a marriage had been performed in the Endowment House which achieved considerable notoriety in the Gentile press; Wilford Woodruff's decision to issue the Manifesto made it politic to do something to address this issue (for more details see Writing the Manifesto (non-wiki)).
There is no evidence, though, that leaders of the Church agreed to stop plural marriage at any point prior to the Manifesto, or that the Endowment House was taken down as part of a "deal" with the government.
}}
*[[../Use of sources/Demolish Endowment House|Demolish Endowment House?]]

<!-- ==Response to claim: 323, 588n48 (PB) - "Despite Christ's assurances that the ruling would favor the Saints, May 19, 1890, saw a five to four decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the government's right to close the LDS church"==
{{IndexClaim
|claim=<br>
*Did Wilford Woodruff receive a revelation on November 24, 1889 that said that the Church would prevail against the Government effort to seize the Church's assets?
*{{AuthorQuote|"Despite Christ's assurances that the ruling would favor the Saints, May 19, 1890, saw a five to four decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the government's right to close the LDS church, seize its property, and redistribute it."}} 
|authorsources=
Samuel Taylor, 19.
}}
*[[../Sarcasm|Sarcasm]]
*[[../Use of sources/Wilford Woodruff 1889 revelation|Wilford Woodruff 1889 revelation]] -->

==Response to claim: 323, 589n51-52 (PB) - The Manifesto was not a revelation because it was re-written and edited many times before it was released==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
The Manifesto was not a revelation because it was re-written and edited many times before it was released.
|authorsources=
Joseph F. Smith, letter to Sarah E. Smith, September 24, 1890, Joseph F. Smith Papers (Letterbook). Quoted in Edward Leo Lyman, ''Political Deliverance'', 138.
}}
{{information|That's why it is labeled "The Manifesto" and not included in the D&C as a revelation. Pres. Woodruff insisted that he had "been struggling all night with the Lord about what should be done under the existing circumstances of the Church. And [a draft of the Manifesto] is the result."
}}
*{{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head27|Writing the Manifesto}}

==Response to claim; 324-325, 589n53 (PB) - Did the Manifesto included "blatantly false statements" since over 200 plural marriages were performed after the Manifesto was issued?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did the Manifesto included "blatantly false statements" since over 200 plural marriages were performed after the Manifesto was issued?
}}
{{misinformation|On [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_14#325.2C_589n55|p. 325]], the author tells us that "countless" post-Manifesto marriages were performed.  Yet, the best evidence suggests the number is 262.  See also [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_14#328.2C_591n67|p. 328]].

The Manifesto stated only that it was Pres. Woodruff's "intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise."
|authorsources=
*Doctrine and Covenants-Manifesto
*B. Carmon Hardy, ''Solemn Covenant: The Mormon Polygamous Passage'', 394ff.
}}
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head28|The Manifesto and its implementation}}
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head25|Lying after the Manifesto?}}

==Response to claim: 325, 591n54 (HB) 589n54 (PB) - Brigham Young said "I live above the law, and so do this people"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Brigham Young said "I live above the law, and so do this people"
}}
{{misinformation|The statement about "above the law" comes in the context of Brigham asking what would happen "for argument's sake," if the Saints' plural marriage was practiced but unannounced—they would be then bound or in jeopardy to no law, because they were harming no one else by their actions. They would be "above" (i.e., uncondemned by) law. Only the hypocrisy of others, in Brigham's argument, has put them in legal jeopardy.
Brigham also heaps scorn on "the law" later in his remarks, but this is at a law that condemns polygamy while winking at or endorsing infidelity, adultery, and prostitution—a "law" he believes is not worthy of the term.
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=52|vol=1|start=361}}
}}
* [[../Use of sources/Above the law|Use of sources: Above the law?]]

==Response to claim: 325, 589n55 (PB) - Did "countless" plural marriages occur in Utah, Canada, and Mexico after the Manifesto, as the author claims?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did "countless" plural marriages occur in Utah, Canada, and Mexico after the Manifesto, as the author claims?
|authorsources=<br>
*Joseph F. Smith, letter to Reed Smoot, April 1, 1911, Reed Smoot Correspondence. (The first letter mentions Canada and Mexico)
*George Gibbs, letter to Reed Smoot, April 12, 1911, Reed Smoot Correspondence. (The second letter states that inclusion of Canada was a mistake)
}}
{{propaganda|On [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_14#324-325.2C_589n53|p. 324-325]], the author tells us that "over two hundred" post-Manifesto marriages were performed.  On [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_14#328.2C_591n67|p. 328]] we learn about 262 known marriages.  How does this become "countless"?

The first of two letters referenced by the author mention Canada and Mexico, with the second letter stating that "Smith's inclusion of Canada in the telegram was a mistake." The author further states regarding the second letter that removes Canada that "the certainty of this claim is questionable since no record exists of Smith correcting himself."

How does the author convert this to "countless" plural marriages in "Utah, Canada and Mexico?"
}}

<!-- ====325, 590n56-57 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Wilford Woodruff's testimony before the Federal Master-in-Chancery, Charles Loofbourow constitute perjury?
|response=
*{{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head29|Wilford Woodruff's post-Manifesto administration}}
|authorsources=
*J. Reuben Clark, ''Messages of the First Presidency'', vol. 3, 230-231.
*Wilford Woodruff testimony. Quoted in {{CriticalWork:Van Wagoner:Mormon Polygamy|pages=149-150}}
}} -->

==Response to claim: 326, 590n58-59 (PB) - "Lying, either to bring about a 'greater good' or to protect the church, has always been an acceptable practice within Mormonism"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
{{AuthorQuote|"Lying, either to bring about a 'greater good' or to protect the church, has always been an acceptable practice within Mormonism, and continues to be an unspoken tenet of the faith."}}
|authorsources=<br>
*Matthias F. Cowley, minutes of Council of the Council of the Twelve, May 10, 1911. Quoted in {{CriticalWork:Van Wagoner:Mormon Polygamy|pages=151}}
*Abraham H. Cannon. Quoted in {{CriticalWork:Van Wagoner:Mormon Polygamy|pages=150}}
*D. Michael Quinn, "LDS Church Authority and New Plural Marriages, 1890-1904," ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', vol. 18, no. 1, 61.
}}
{{propaganda|This claim is nonsense.
}}
*{{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head13|Lying for the Lord}}
*{{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head33|Revelatory integrity of the Church}}
*[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]
{{:Question: Does the Church teach that it is okay to "Lie for the Lord"?}}
{{:Question: Are there circumstances in which lying is necessary in order to avoid a greater harm?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of Mormonism define "lying for the Lord"?}}

==Response to claim: 326, 590n60 (PB) - Did Joseph F. Smith defy the Manifesto?==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
Did Joseph F. Smith defy the Manifesto by saying: 
<blockquote>
"Take care of your polygamous wives; we don't care for Uncle Sam now."
</blockquote>
|authorsources=
*Joseph F. Smith. Quoted in William Edward Biederwolf, ''Mormonism Under the Searchlight'', 65.
}}
{{misinformation|The author fails to tell us that the leaders of the Church did not intend to have men abandon their wives and children.  The government insisted that they had to abandon these families.  Most members thus persisted in civil disobedience, refusing to leave wives they had married and children they had fathered in good faith without support.
}}
*{{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head29|Refusal to abandon plural families}}

==Response to claim: 327, 590n62 (PB) - The author states that polygamy continued to "thrive" when Lorenzo Snow became Church president in 1898==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
The author states that polygamy continued to "thrive" when Lorenzo Snow became Church president in 1898. The endnote states the Snow said during his trial: "Though I go to prison, God will not change his law of celestial marriage. But the man, the people, the nation that oppose and fight against this doctrine and the Church of God, will be overthrown."
}}
{{propaganda|How does Lorenzo Snow serving jail time and making a statement 13 years before he became President of the Church prove that "polygamy continued to thrive?"
|authorsources=
Andrew Jenson, "Lorenzo Snow," ''HR'', February 1887, vol. 6, no. 2, 144.
}}
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head30|Lorenzo Snow's administration}}
<!-- ====328, 591n66 (PB)====
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Did Joseph F. Smith take additional polygamous wives himself after the Manifesto, and enourage at least 63 others to do so as well?
|response=
*{{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head31|Joseph F. Smith's administration}}
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Van Wagoner:Mormon Polygamy|pages=159}}
}} -->

==Response to claim: 328, 591n67 (PB) - "These were but a small portion of the documented 262 post-Manifesto marriages between October 1890 and December 1910 involving 22 different Mormon men"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
{{AuthorQuote|"These were but a small portion of the documented 262 post-Manifesto marriages between October 1890 and December 1910 involving 22 different Mormon men."}}
|authorsources=<br>
*Hardy, 389-425.
*D. Michael Quinn, "Plural Marriages After The 1890 Manifesto," lecture delivered August 1991 at Bluffdale, Utah. (The author includes a lengthy excerpt from this speech in the endnote.)
}}
{{information|[[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_14#325.2C_589n55|p. 325]], the author tells us that "countless" post-Manifesto marriages were performed.  Yet, the best evidence suggests the number is 262.  See also [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_14#324-325.2C_589n53|p. 324-325]].
}}
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage:The Second Manifesto}}

==Response to claim: 328 - "Smith, of course, like every other LDS president before him, would continue utilizing cunning prevarications to conceal his personal activities"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=One Nation Under Gods
|claim=
{{AuthorQuote|"[Joseph F.] Smith, of course, like every other LDS president before him, would continue utilizing cunning prevarications to conceal his personal activities and anything else that might embarrass the church."}}
}}
{{propaganda|President Smith was frank about his own actions; he preferred to sacrifice himself for the Church.  See [[One_Nation_Under_Gods/Index/Chapter_15#339.2C_593n32|p. 339]] in next chapter for more details.
|authorsources=
No source provided.
}}
* {{Offsite|http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head31|Joseph F. Smith administration}}
*[[../Loaded and prejudicial language|Loaded and prejudicial language]]

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