 |
| Salt Lake City Fourteenth Ward Meetinghouse |
For an additional perspective concerning the differences in Mormon practice, culture, and belief in the late nineteenth century from that of today, I decided to look into the history of the SLC 14th Ward. Having hosted small-scale church meetings in their home while still living in Beccles, the 14th Ward was the first exposure the Brown family had to a large, mainstream LDS faith community. Throughout it's first few decades of existence, the general leadership of the ward was among the church's elect and elite; however, scandal was never too far away - at least, scandal in the way we would probably define it today.
The 14th Ward was one of the original nineteen wards of Salt Lake City dating back to February 1849. A Sunday School was organized on 9 Dec 1849. According to historical documents which are housed in the Church History Library, "it was the first Sunday School organized in the Rocky mountains." The Relief Society was organized in 1855 but no early records were preserved. The 20 May 1857 edition of the Deseret News reported the following:
The 14th Ward Female Relief Society
The second quarterly report of this society, of which Mrs. Phoebe Woodruff is president and Mrs. Keziah D. Pratt treasurer shows that the sisters of that ward have been energetic in their praiseworthy enterprise. The receipt of the society during the quarter amounted to $200, of which sum $126 was donated to the P.E. [Perpetual Emigration] Fund. The amount remaining in the treasury was $64.56, the balance having been expended for charitable purposes. How many societies there are in the city, we do not know; but if there is one in each ward and they are doing as well as the one in the 14th, they will in the course of a year do much toward the gathering of the Saints and relieving the wards of those who may be destitute of the necessaries and comforts of life. Success to them in their enterprise and to all who are engaged in doing good to that class of people that are always with the Saints.
It's important to note that Relief Society organizations within each ward were completely self-funded and self-sustaining. Their role was literally to offer "relief" to the poor and needy. (It wasn't until the 1960s that ward Relief Societies were forced - and I use that term intentionally - to turn over all their funds to the bishop and become an auxiliary organization under the direction of Priesthood leadership. See an excellent article here for more details. Also, it wasn't until the 1970s when all women on a ward's rolls were automatically considered members of Relief Society. Prior to that, women would have to be admitted to the society.) It was reported in a history of the 14th Ward that "at the close of the [nineteenth] century. . . the society had on hand real estate worth $2000, 587 bushels of wheat, and cash and other property worth about $500."
On 10 February 1870 a Ladies Co-operative Retrenchment Association was organized, headed up by a committee consisting of Eliza R. Snow, Margaret T. Smoot and Sarah M. Kimball. As reported in the Deseret News it's initial resolutions were as follows:
Resolved: - That we, realizing the many evils growing out of the excess and extravagance which our present customs require in the great varieties of dishes demanded in table entertainments, do mutually agree to unite our efforts in sustaining by our examples Table Retrenchment in all of our visiting associations and social parties.
Resolved: - That as health is the mind-spring of happiness, and economy the way mark to prosperity, we recommend a careful consideration of the results of our present mode of fashionable table serving.
Resolved: - That by carrying out the principles of retrenchment, the time, strength and means, redeemed from useless labor and waste, shall be devoted to noble purposes - such as instructing each other and the rising generation in the principles of physical and intellectual improvement, dietetics, etc.
Resolved: - That inasmuch as many of our good and worthy citizens are deterred from inviting company by the consideration that they cannot compete with their more affluent neighbors, and are thereby deprived of many rich and profitable interviews, we say that henceforth any table neatly spread, with no matter how plain, but wholesome food, shall be considered fashionable.
Resolved: - That, as women of God, we feel it a duty incumbent on us, not only to manifest our "diligence in all good works," but to unitedly exert all our power and influence to annihilate degenerating habits and customs, and in establishing such as will benefit future generations.
Resolved: - That we invite all good women to co-operative with us, by their influence and example to aid in this important enterprise.
It was also reported in the Deseret News that following the initial meeting, the entire company was seated "at the neatly spread Retrenchment table, the meal consisting of good bread and butter with stewed dry apples, one kind of cake, blancmange with cream and preserves, and cold water, where with unclogged stomachs and unclouded minds each enjoyed a feast of reason and a flow of soul."
At a subsequent meeting held 27 May 1870, the first Young Ladies department of the Ladies Co-operative Retrenchment Association was organized "and a number of excellent resolutions adopted." A Young Ladies Co-operative Retrenchment Association was organized in the 14th Ward on 4 June 1870. The Young Ladies organization later became known as the YLMIA or the Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Association. Single women as well as young married women could be members of the YLMIA. Membership in the association was not automatic as a young woman would have to express interest and then be admitted into the organization by the leadership as well as the general membership.
A Primary Association was organized 28 Feb 1879 by Eliza R. Snow. It's my understanding that she was not a member of the ward but the visiting authority who organized the Primary and initially "called" or chose the leaders.
And, by the way, from my reading of various historical documents, it appears that "callings" were handled quite differently than they are now. Some positions were filled by more of an "election" process within the organization. Some took place by way of a discussion between church leaders and the one being considered to fill an open position. Volunteering to serve in ward positions was acceptable as well. Waiting for the "powers that be" to pray about it and "call" you to a position in the ward with the distinct understanding that the inspiration to do so originated with the Lord himself was not a practice I found prevalent in the early days of the church. And the personal "shame" one should feel by turning down a calling "directly inspired from the Lord" seems to be something which evolved over time.
Not everyone in a ward had or desired a calling. You were either leader material or you weren't. Church leadership, I believe, qualified you to be held in high regard and you were considered to be, at the very least, on your way to being numbered among the church's elite. Many served in their respective callings for long periods of time. If they served for only a short time it was usually for very specific reasons such as moving, illness, leaving to serve a mission, excommunication, etc.
Lilian served as an assistant counselor in Primary from the Fall of 1888 until sometime in 1891. She was a single woman during most of her service in Primary. In 1891, she served for a few months as the third counselor in the YLMIA Presidency. Her father, Ben, was a prominent leader in the 14th Ward (I'll talk more about him in a subsequent post); her brother, Benjamin B, served in the YMMIA; and her twin sister, Gertie, served as a secretary in the YLMIA. I have found no record of Lilian's mother, Catherine, or any of her other siblings having served in any leadership positions in the 14th Ward.
Additional documents found in the Church History Library which were written sometime in the 1880s present us with even more interesting facts:
FOURTEENTH WARD is separated from the Seventeenth Ward on the north by South Temple Street, from the Thirteenth Ward on the east by East Temple Street, from the Seventh Ward on the south be 3rd South Street and from the Fifteenth Ward on the west by 2nd West Street. It contains nine 10-acre blocks and had 1,803 inhabitants in 1880. The ward house, an adobe building, 55x35 feet, is situated on First South Street, between West Temple and 1st West Streets. Joining it are two school houses, one on the west and another on the east side. About two-thirds of the population are Latter-day Saints, but non-Mormons own about two-thirds of the real estate in the Ward. Quite a number of the "Mormon" families are poor.
This Ward embraces the west side of Main Street with all that business part of the city west of it. Hence, many of the principal business houses and the following hotels are within the limits of the Ward: The continental, Walker House, Metropolitan, Valley house, Clift House and White House. Also the Jewish synagogue, St. Mary's Academy (Catholic) the County Court House, etc.
President Wilford Woodruff and other prominent men in the Church reside in this Ward.
History - Among the first settlers who built houses in this Ward at an early day were a number of leading men in the Church; Willard Richards, second Counselor to Pres. Brigham Young, located on the Council House corner. Parley P. Pratt settled on the same block further west. His house, now known as one of the Valley House cottages, yet stands, facing the Temple Block. Orson Pratt located on the west side of the same block. His house is also standing yet. Wilford Woodruff located on the corner of South Temple and West Temple Streets, where the Valley House now stands. Pres. John Taylor built a house on the south-west corner of the same block. His old house is still standing. Franklin D. Richards located a little south of where the Continental Hotel now stands, and Amasa M. Lyman on the block opposite the former residence of Geo. Q. Cannon, on the corner where Wm. H. Folsom's residence now stands.
Included in federal anti-polygamy laws in the 1880s
was the right of the government to take possession of LDS buildings and
assets. Many church-owned buildings were
taken by the federal government and leased back to the church. It was reported
(here) that by June, 1888, the government had confiscated from the Church
property valued in excess of $800,000. The government had seized by this date
most of the real property of the Church and then rented back to the Church part
of this property. The Church rented the Historian's office and the General
Tithing office for $300 per month and the Gardo House for $70. These rentals
were raised to $500 per month for the Tithing and Historian's offices and $450
for the Gardo House. The Church farm was also leased to the Church. The
President's office was placed in the charge of two marshals and Temple block
was leased to the Church for $1.00 per month. In order to maintain ownership of
church meetinghouses, wards were individually incorporated, the bishop acting
as the head of the board of directors.
The 14th Ward began the incorporation process with a meeting of the ward leadership and the majority of the members on 7 March 1882. Images of the Articles of Incorporation with all the accompanying signatures (click to enlarge) are posted below. I found it fascinating and completely foreign to the way LDS wards function today. If you're not interested, just scroll past them. (It's also interesting to note that Catherine B Brown, Lilian's mother, signed the document but Ben did not. This was probably during the time he was living in Logan as that was the only place he could secure employment at the time.)
The responsibilities of a bishop during the Browns' early period of church membership in SLC was much more vast than it is today. Church historian William G. Hartley described the responsibilities of bishops in this way (more here):
During this period, bishops had both temporal and spiritual responsibility for their wards and communities. They called ward officers, conducted meetings and presided over funerals, supervised ordinances, and gave blessings. They assisted the needy through the use of tithes, fast offerings, and volunteer labor. Ward Relief Societies became widespread in the 1870s, and the bishops relied on them to seek out and help the needy.New instructions directed bishops to account for their ward members; keep Aaronic Priesthood units staffed; attend weekly Aaronic Priesthood meetings and monthly stake priesthood meetings; operate an effective ward teaching program; conduct the Sacrament during Sunday School; turn in monthly and quarterly reports of membership, finances, and ward activities; keep accurate records of disciplinary proceedings; support temple laborers; and hold proper Sabbath meetings, thus setting basic patterns for ward organization and procedures today. Bishops' agents replaced regional presiding bishops. In response to instructions to involve boys eleven to nineteen years old in an Aaronic Priesthood office, bishops called them to be deacons in their wards, beginning the shift of Aaronic Priesthood work to the youth. Bishops continued to call elders and high priests as acting priests and acting teachers to do the ward teaching.Nineteenth-century Utah bishops were the civic leaders in their communities. They encouraged immigrants to become citizens and to vote. They discussed political matters at Church meetings; backed the development of the telegraph, railroad, mines, canals, and cooperative stores; and established and superintended local schools. The average length of service for all nineteenth-century Utah bishops was eleven years, but 15 percent served for more than twenty years. Bishops had above-average incomes. They entered into plural marriage more than other male members; at least 60 percent of bishops had one or more plural wives.
Bishops at the time were financially compensated
for their efforts. They were paid a percentage of tithing receipts depending on
the recommendation from the prophet at the time. As found here, on 18 May 1884
the apostles instructed stake leaders about President John Taylor's ruling that
as payment for their services, bishops would receive 8 percent of tithing they
collect, and stake presidents 2 percent of stake tithing. And here, Wilford
Woodruff established annual salaries for stake presidents and ended John
Taylor's provisions for local bishops to receive a fixed percentage (8 percent)
and stake presidents (2 percent) of collected tithing as salary. Until 1896
stake committees apportioned the 10 percent of tithing between stake tithing
clerk and bishops. Later, ward clerks would also receive a portion of tithing
receipts. As time went on the tithing percentage paid to bishops as determined
by the stake leaders could vary among the wards within the stake and was
gradually and significantly reduced. While serving as a counselor in the
bishopric in the SLC 10th Ward, Joseph Christenson wrote in his journal on 6
Feb 1903: "Bishops and counselors . . . received some special instructions
from the Presidency of the Stake. The percentage of tithe collected which would
be allowed the Bishops was announced. The percentage for the present year, for
the 10th Ward, will be 3 1/2 per cent."
When the Brown family arrived in SLC in 1881 and
settled into the 14th Ward the bishop of the ward was Thomas Taylor (no relation
to President John Taylor). Thomas was baptized in England and emigrated to Utah
in the late 1840s. As a faithful,
practicing polygamist he had 3 wives, 2 of whom gave birth to a total of 14
living children. In partnership with his brothers he became a successful farmer
and businessman. He initially received criticism from the church leaders for
trading with the "enemies", a title Brigham Young often used to refer
to the gentiles who were passing through on their way to California. Following
a mission to England in the early 1860s, Thomas was asked by Brigham Young to
serve as an emigration agent with the promise that he would be well
compensated. Thomas lost a lot of his own money in that deal and was never
compensated by the church. Despite that, he traveled throughout Utah with
church leaders on speaking assignments. In March 1872 he was ordained bishop of
the SLC 14th Ward. In April 1873 he was made trustee-in-trust of the entire
church.
Thomas became heavily invested in the iron
industry in Iron County Utah and worked extensively with John Taylor to include
the church in his investment opportunity so that each party could offer support
and receive a generous profit. The church's goal, aside from making money, was
to keep any investments or assets out of the hands of the gentiles. The
business relationship became quite complicated, even to the point of President
Taylor receiving a revelation that all the riches of the earth belonged to the Lord
and Thomas was merely a steward, which Thomas understood to mean that he should
turn all his interests over to the church without compensation. Needless to
say, that didn't happen. Promises were broken, courts were involved, and
ultimately it did not end as expected.
We trust that the children of the Fourteenth Ward who have, once a week ever since they were born, heard Bishop Taylor bear testimony to the perfect truth of his religion, will reflect over what a liar and hypocrite he is and always has been, and from the present showing will learn the needed lesson, that no one should take another man's word concerning the human soul. What Saint knows whether there are not other human beasts bearing the same testimony?
Thomas was subsequently released as bishop and later excommunicated. He confessed his sins (though he was not specific as to what they entailed) in a letter sent to John Taylor:
I am sending consent to day for my [first] wife to obtain a divorce, she never has appreciated the addition of [other] wives to my family, and now I have sinned, her patience is exhausted, and I fear for my children. I am ashamed to think that I have been so weak and I feel to cry God be merciful to me, and I want my brethren to be merciful to me[.] I want to be humble and live so that I can purify my thoughts and words and actions...Oh, help me to come back to [God's] favor. I expect to have offended you greatly[.] I humbly ask your forgiveness. I am suffering terribly. My nerves are unstrung[.] I have such throbbings of the heart, and headache[s]. I cannot sit still, nor sleep, when I doze off to sleep, I wake and see before me ["]excommunicated["], and my wife suffers almost if not quite as much as bad, and I feel for her because it is my doing and I ought to be alone the sufferer, and I will try to endure. I do not want to apostatize[.] I want to return to my allegance to God and his work and I pray you to grant me this favor as soon as you can in righteousness, and I will try to live so as to be worthy of so great a favor.
Thomas' church membership was restored to him
sometime prior to 1892. You can read an excellent, detailed account of the
entire ordeal here.
While Bishop Thomas Taylor was in Iron County in 1886 answering for his crimes against nature, his first counselor, George H. Taylor (no relation), also a polygamist, was in the penitentiary for six months having been tried and convicted of unlawful cohabitation. His second counselor, Samuel H. Hill, was (per 14th Ward history) "also away from home". (As a practicing polygamist he would later serve 2 months in prison and be fined $75 for unlawful cohabitation.) Benjamin Brown was appointed to serve as acting bishop while all the actual members of the SLC 14th Ward Bishopric were...ahem..."away".
 |
| From notes found in the SLC Fourteenth Ward History, Church History Library |
In October 1886, 2 months after being released from
the penitentiary, George Hamilton Taylor was called to serve as the bishop of
the 14th Ward. Thomas E. Taylor (no relation to former Bishop Thomas Taylor or
then current Bishop George H. Taylor, but he was the son of President John
Taylor and would later become the half brother-in-law to Lilian's future
husband Joseph Christenson) was called to serve as the first counselor, and
Benjamin Brown was called to serve as the second counselor.
Comments
Post a Comment