The Marriage

Logan Temple

Both Joseph's and Lilian's parents were eternally sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, but by the time Joseph and Lilian were to be married the Endowment House had been demolished. 

In order for Joseph and Lilian to have an eternal marriage the best option available to them was to travel to the temple in Logan some 80 miles away as the Salt Lake temple was still under construction. 

On Monday, 22 September 1890 Joseph wrote:

Started for Logan on the 8:10 a.m. train.  Arrived in Logan in good shape. Arthur was at the depot to meet us, he and his wife having gone there ahead of us. We put up with Sister Elizabeth Horricks who keeps a temple boarding house. Our company consisted of the whole Brown family and the two Pearson girls (15 in all). Martha Pearson is to marry Ben Brown.

In the afternoon went up to the Temple and registered for the work we intended to do.

Arthur was Lilian's oldest sibling who, himself, was married in the Logan Temple about 3 years earlier. Lilian's brother, Ben, was just one year older than Lilian and her twin. Martha Pearson, the fiance of Ben,  was accompanied on the trip by her younger sister, Jane. 

Although Joseph had no family members accompanying him to offer support and witness his nuptials,  he was far from neglected. In fact, it's my belief that this experience ingrained in him an even greater sense of privilege and entitlement which would profoundly define him throughout the rest of his life. On Tuesday, 23 September Joseph wrote:

Left Lilian at the boarding house and went to the Temple.  Through it being known that I worked at the President’s Office, was shown considerable courtesy. Had a long and pleasant talk with Asst. Prest. Edlefsen. Bro. Merrill was away.

We learn from this that Joseph not only worked for the church, he worked in the office of the president of the church, Wilford Woodruff. That association certainly had its perks and created a sense of prestige which Joseph seemed to enjoy very much. I also have no doubt the extra attention given to Joseph did not go unnoticed by the future in-laws.

Later on Tuesday Joseph was rebaptized for himself and did proxy temple work for others. Wednesday, 24 September 1890 was the wedding day. Again, Joseph's privileged position in the church worked to his advantage. He wrote:

Lillian took her endowments.  I went through for Long Spratt, the name being furnished by President Edlefsen.  Though the house was crowded to overflowing, yet Brother Edlefsen called me forward first with my party, also at my request, called Bro. Hewlett and intended, of 3rd ward.  At last the supreme moment came when we were kneeling at the altar and the Servant of God pronounced us man and wife.  It went through me like a shock.  How happy I was to think that Lillian was now my own dear wife.  My heart is full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for this great blessing.  I hope we shall be able to live happily throughout all our days.  And if we raise a family that it may be brought up in the fear of the Lord.

On Thursday Joseph left his brand new bride and her family and went sight seeing before returning to the temple to "wait for the folks". The Brown family spent Thursday in the temple performing more proxy ordinances and, more importantly, securing father Ben Brown's exaltation by sealing him to an eternal plural wife, something I discussed at the end of a previous post here.  It didn't dawn on me until just now that Joseph was not in attendance when this occurred, but it does explain why the entire Brown family - at least those authorized to enter the temple - traveled to Logan. (Perhaps they were there to offer comfort and support to mother Catherine?)

The next morning, Friday 26 September 1980 the entire wedding party returned to Salt Lake City and the newly married couples - Joseph and Lilian Christenson as well as Ben and Martha Brown - began their lives together housed in the Brown family compound. Joseph wrote:

Started for home at 6:35 a.m. Stopped a couple of hours in Ogden. On our arrival home went to work arranging our furniture. The first two or three meals after our return were eaten at Sister Brown’s and elsewhere. Annie shared our first meal at home.

Our friends and relatives gave us quite a nice lot of presents.  Annie gave us a dining room carpet.  Kate Mathison a pair of lace curtains. Emma and Hannah’s dinner set, John a lamp, Minnie and Tilda a pair of vaises, Lizzie Taylor a plush card pocket.  Ben a clock and Annie and Aggie Campbell 1 doz. Table napkins.

Our Logan trip, wedding cake, etc. cost us about $20.00. Making our expences about $289.25. I expect it cost us nearly $300.00, some things may have been forgotten.

It was November before Joseph made another journal entry when he wrote about his participation in the Tabernacle choir which had rehearsed in the Assembly Hall. He also wrote that just prior to his marriage to Lilian he resigned as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Scandinavian Mercantile Union. It was wise that they chose to live in a home so near Lilian's mother and other family members or Lilian would find herself very much neglected and alone as Joseph was not lacking in church responsibilities. Isolation and loneliness would soon find Lilian as a result of an upcoming move, but she dodged that bullet at least for the time being. On Monday 17 November 1890 Joseph wrote:

We have now become settled down, as the saying goes. I attend my duties as of old, being encouraged by dear wife. Am on the Home Mission list, Ward clerk, Prest. Of Y.M.M.I.A. and a Sunday School teacher, etc. so that my time is very much taken up.

24 September 1890 would prove to be a very eventful day, not only in the lives of the newlyweds, but for faithful Latter-day Saint everywhere and from that day forth. Whatever Joseph's previous plans and assumptions were regarding the state of his current marriage and, ahem, his anticipated plural marriages, those plans were met with a very large wrench as we learn from his journal that he was presented with Wilford Woodruff's Manifesto in Logan on the very day of his marriage to Lilian Brown.Yep. Joseph Christenson became aware that plural marriage was outlawed by the current prophet one day prior to his brand new deceased father-in-law being sealed to an eternal plural wife in the temple of God.

Did he share that information with anyone in the Brown family? Was it clear at that time that the manifesto only led to the end of living plural marriages and that eternal plural marriages on behalf of the dead could still take place. Is that why he chose to go sight seeing that day rather than attend the sealing in the temple?

I guess we'll never know.