For Time and All Eternities

by Mette Ivie Harrison

  This was complicated and unconvincing and I looked around the room. Rebecca looked distant, and I suspected she was impatient and wished that she could be doing something useful, like laundry or dishes or food prep, instead of listening to this long conversation for what must be the upteenth time for her.

  “The Manifesto of 1890 was a revelation from God,” Kurt argued, “recorded by His only true prophet on the earth at that time. It was the will of God for us to practice polygamy until 1890, and then it wasn’t His will anymore and anyone who continued practicing it was going against not only the precepts of the church, but against God Himself.”

  “You say that when the very apostles of the church were continuing to practice polygamy themselves?” Stephen asked. “And when they continued to perform temple marriages for other polygamists for at least another decade?”

  “That’s a convenient story promulgated by polygamists and enemies of the church,” Kurt said.

  Was it? I’d heard that Mitt Romney had ancestors in Mexico practicing polygamy after 1890. Maybe there were others, too.

  “Have you never heard of the Second Manifesto given in 1904 by Joseph F. Smith? Why did there have to be a Second Manifesto if the apostles were obeying the first one? John W. Taylor, the son of John Taylor himself, was excommunicated along with Matthias Cowley, both in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, because they believed that the 1890 Manifesto was a political document only, meant to deceive the United States government until the Saints could continue to live the Principle openly.” Stephen’s tone was smug.

  “Even apostles can be deceived at times,” said Kurt stiffly.

  I thought of the recent policy that so harmed LGBTQ members. If Kurt could admit the apostles could be wrong about polygamy, why couldn’t he admit they could also be wrong about that?

  “Deceived? But the many polygamous marriages in Mexico and Canada after 1890 were done officially by men authorized by the presidents of the church, from Wilford Woodruff to Lorenzo Snow and Joseph F. Smith. George Q. Cannon, who performed these marriages, was a counselor in the First Presidency, and Brigham Young Jr. was also officially asked to do marriages in Mexico and Canada for those Mormons who still wanted to live the Principle after Utah was made a state,” said Stephen.

  He was throwing names at me too quickly for me to process. I felt overwhelmed by his information; I had no idea if he was making it all up or not.

  But Kurt said, “It was unclear for a time if the Manifesto of 1890 was only meant to rescind polygamy where it was illegal. It was not illegal in Mexico or Canada.”

  That sounded like a weak excuse to me, but Stephen was ready with a reply.

  “Then what about the fact that there were still apostles of the church living polygamously in the United States in the 1940s?” he said.

  What? I was so shocked at this I could hardly breathe. It felt like my head was floating above my neck by several inches. That wasn’t true, surely. I made a squawking sound, but I couldn’t get out any words.

  “That isn’t possible,” Kurt said.

  “Look it up. You’ll see it’s true. In 1943, apostle Richard Lyman was excommunicated for living in a polygamous marriage. Rebecca, can you get that essay by Michael Quinn?” He nodded toward the bookcase and Rebecca moved to obey him.

  But when he offered the ancient and well-read copy of the magazine Dialogue to Kurt, Kurt simply put it down, unopened. I didn’t blame him. Rebecca handed it to me and I glanced at it briefly, but not closely. Maybe I didn’t want to know the truth. I wanted to remain a Mormon. I was clinging desperately to my faith, even now.

  “Whatever you say about the past, polygamy is no longer a part of our doctrine” Kurt said.

  “What about Doctrine and Covenants Section 132?” asked Stephen. He began to quote: “For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.”

  “That’s referring to marriage in the temple forever,” said Kurt. “It has nothing to do with polygamy.”

  I certainly wanted what Kurt said to be true, but I had read that section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the scriptures that Joseph Smith had written during the early days of the church in the 1830s and 1840s, and I wasn’t sure you could get around reading it as about polygamy.

  Stephen continued, still quoting, “Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law;

  “And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified;

  “Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.”

  I got so tired sometimes of all the old scriptures about men becoming gods. Women were supposed to become goddesses, too, according to the temple, but we also promised to obey our husbands, so what did godhood mean to us?

  “Polygamy continues to be the law of the holy priesthood,” Stephen said. “God Himself is bound by laws and that is one. He cannot offer the blessings of the holy priesthood to those who do not abide by the laws He has instituted.”

  I shook my head adamantly. “No,” I said, but Stephen was waiting for Kurt’s response.

  “It sounds like you’re commanding God, when God works within the laws of the countries the gospel has to be spread within,” Kurt said, his fists clenched. “He has done that many times. Many of the policies of the church are changed to deal with different cultures. Polygamy was a law God used for a time, but it isn’t a requirement. It’s not part of the church anymore.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. My friend Anna had been angry that her husband hadn’t been sealed to her after his first wife died, when he could have been. Men were routinely allowed to be sealed to more than one spouse, while women could only be sealed to one in this life. Even if they had children with both, it was routinely said that the children would be sealed to the first husband alone because there was no polyandry in heaven, only polygyny.

  Stephen went on, triumphant now that he could see he had gotten to both me and Kurt on an emotional level. “And I suppose you also did not hear that a resurrected Joseph Smith appeared to John Taylor in 1886, four years before the first Manifesto? He warned John Taylor that the church would be led astray and that he had to give the priesthood keys in secret to those who would wait and continue to practice God’s law until Joseph himself and Christ appeared to take the keys back. The true law of the church has been polygamy all this time.”

  “A resurrected Joseph Smith? But his bones rest in his grave, with his wife, Emma,” said Kurt. “I’ve been to that grave in Nauvoo. Hyrum’s bones are there, as well.”

  We’d taken all our children there, in fact, years ago.

  But Stephen waved this idea away. “I don’t know who told you that those were Joseph’s bones. Perhaps they are Hyrum’s, but Joseph was resurrected only a few years after his death. Of course, he would be. Why would God not make use of one of his most valiant servants, a man powerful in the priesthood?”

  I was annoyed by this argument. I didn’t really care whether the bones in the grave we had visited were real. But I seriously doubted that a resurrected Joseph had told John Taylor to send the priesthood keys not to the next church president but to some random group of men. Why would God work in such a backhanded way?

  “So now you have those priesthood keys?” Kurt asked, red-faced and genuinely angry now. “And the church itself doesn’t? You’re saying all
the men in the church who think that they have the power to call God’s blessings down on their children are wrong? You’re saying that the very temples that seal couples and families together throughout the world don’t have the keys to do so?”

  Rebecca had tensed and was looking back and forth between her husband and Kurt.

  Stephen leaned in to Kurt, making me acutely uncomfortable since he was now crowding my space, as well. “I’m making you feel attacked, Kurt, and I don’t intend to do that. Of course, the mainstream LDS church has continued to do the work of God since the Manifestos, as far as is possible under the legal restrictions that it follows. Milk must be drunk before meat for most of the world, and that is what your church is. The church of milk, which is nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Kurt was boiling mad by now. I thought about Kenneth going through all of this rigmarole. It would have bothered him a lot less because he no longer believed in Mormonism and had had his name removed from the records of the church. But wouldn’t Kenneth have seen how much these accusations would bother Kurt? Or had Stephen deliberately hit harder at Kurt than he had at Kenneth?

  “The Lord will never allow the prophet to lead us astray,” Kurt said. “We’ve been promised that. God would take the prophet’s life before that happened, and raise another in his place.”

  Considering the policy and all the other times the prophets had said things that turned out to be wrong, like about blacks and the priesthood, I wasn’t sure I could agree with Kurt on this anymore. Though that didn’t mean I agreed with Stephen, either.

  “Ah, well. If you cannot believe that Wilford Woodruff or any other prophet has been wrong, I must talk to you about this in a different way.” Stephen had pulled back at last, allowing me to take a breath. He templed his hands and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he said abruptly, “Did you know that I lost my parents when I was only eighteen years old?”

  I stared at him, surprised at the sudden vulnerability in his moist eyes. Then I looked at Rebecca, who had tensed at this reference. Why? Was this too personal for her?

  “My younger brother, Edward, died in the same tragedy, a house fire on this very property.” He gestured to the window that looked out on the compound. “It was a horrific life event, and I was never the same afterward. I suffered from depression for many years, something I didn’t share with anyone.” His brow creased with sorrow.

  I hated that he was making me feel sympathy for him. I only wanted to feel sympathy for his wives and children. After all, a tragic past didn’t mean he wasn’t an abuser, I reminded myself.

  Stephen continued, “But that sorrow is part of the reason I clung to my religion so desperately. I had to believe that I would one day be reunited with my parents and brother. And the first time I went through the temple, I saw a glimpse of my father, a flash of the coat he used to wear as I was going through the veil into the celestial room.” Reliving the moment itself, he lifted his right hand as if he was raising the cloth curtain to move through to the other side. “I heard my mother’s voice the next time I went. After that, I went to the temple as often as I could, because it was as close to heaven as I could get in this life. I wouldn’t give up my access to the temple lightly, you must understand.”

  Kurt had his arms folded across his chest. In contrast, Stephen had his arms spread wide open, as if he were inviting everyone into his heart.

  “But as I read and studied more about the gospel in an attempt to make sure that I was living every law in accordance with God’s will, I became convinced that polygamy was right.” He pointed to his substantial bookcase full of church books, including History of the Church and Journal of Discourses, books I kept meaning to get around to reading, except that they were so many volumes long. And also, I preferred fiction, which seemed in severely short supply on the shelves here. Did Rebecca ever have a chance to read a juicy murder mystery? Probably not.

  “The first time I mentioned living the Principle to Rebecca, I was terrified.” Stephen’s voice had gone very soft, and I could see a tremor on the left side of his face.

  Something about his dramatic whisper made me wonder if he had practiced this speech down to the tiniest detail, like an actor playing a part.

  “I couldn’t imagine loving anyone the way that I loved Rebecca,” he continued with a hand to his heart.

  She was looking down, whatever spell he had temporarily cast over her now apparently gone.

  “But you eventually found someone?” asked Kurt with a touch of sarcasm.

  “What happened was that Rebecca and I knew Jennifer already through her work for us as an investment broker, but it was Rebecca who first thought of her in the role of one of my wives. It took some months before I felt the Holy Spirit whispering its confirmation to me.” He was speaking as earnestly as if in prayer. Oh, yes, he was the devout and righteous man in all of this. He could never do anything manipulative or self-serving. It was all about God’s will.

  I couldn’t help but wonder what Jennifer was like, and how this conversation had gone with the three of them. Had Stephen had Rebecca start the ball rolling, so to speak? How do you say to someone in an inoffensive way, I think you’d make a good second wife for my husband?

  “I prayed night and day for several months before I found the courage to speak to Jennifer about the possibility of a second marriage. But then she agreed to study the scriptures herself, and found her own testimony, both of Mormonism and the Principle, which was proof that I had been right all along,” said Stephen.

  So Jennifer hadn’t originally been Mormon. Interesting. That seemed to put Stephen in a position of ecclesiastical power over her. Did she defer to him on all gospel points? Was that Stephen’s attraction to her, that she was a child in the gospel if not in reality?

  Kurt asked, “Just out of curiosity, if you weren’t married in the temple or a church building, who married you? It couldn’t have been a civil ceremony, either, I assume.” Since then Stephen could have been arrested for bigamy, was the unspoken end of Kurt’s sentence.

  “Rebecca did it,” Stephen said with head held high. “I thought it was appropriate, even necessary. She has performed all of the spiritual weddings to make it clear she approved of them all.”

  “But she doesn’t have the priesthood!” Kurt objected.

  He was hung up on the fact that a woman was performing ordinances? It was kind of amusing, considering the fact that Kurt wouldn’t have thought anyone, male or female, had the power to perform an eternally binding polygamous wedding ceremony.

  “All women hold the priesthood,” Stephen said, to my surprise. “It is part of the temple rites. They are ordained as priestesses and queens and they do the washings and annointings in the temple, as you must know. The priesthood is simply the power of God, and it flows through women as much as men.”

  I had not expected Stephen Carter, of all men, to start talking like a Mormon feminist. Maybe that was one of the ways he convinced women polygamy was going to be good for them.

  I knew Kurt, who believed devoutly that only men could be endowed with the Mormon priesthood, was angry about this, even if it was a marriage ceremony he considered a sham anyway. “You know, you can’t just change the doctrine of the church because you think you’re right. You’re not a prophet. You haven’t been called to that authority.”

  Of course, the only authority in Kurt’s mind were the fifteen men, apostles and prophets, who had all agreed with President Nelson’s revelation on the new policy.

  “But I don’t think that the church’s doctrine has changed,” Stephen said patiently. “It is the same as it always was. If a man wants to be in the highest order of heaven and become a god, he must follow the higher law. If a man expects to rule worlds, he must have wives to serve as Heavenly Mothers for each of them, as God Himself does now.”

  Kurt’s fists clenched and unclenched.

  Finally, Rebecca spoke
up, trying to lessen the tension. “Well, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on this for now.”

  “It’s interesting seeing how the same history has led us to different points in the present,” I added, to go along with her.

  At that moment, Sarah came in from the backyard then, a bit of red paint on her nose. “All finished with the indoctrination?” she asked with that same false smile.

  “Sarah, please,” said Rebecca, clearly embarrassed.

  “What? I should have waited longer? I can go back out and do more painting. You know I’d rather be there than here. But I thought Stephen wanted an official appearance from all of us. All the adoring wives, right in a row.” Her tone was acid and I would have sympathized with her more if she hadn’t seemed so determined to antagonize everyone.

  “Sarah, you can go to your room and stay there,” Stephen said, his stern tone like a father to a small child, not like a husband to his wife.

  Rebecca looked back and forth between them but did not intervene.

  “I can? Well, I’m not going to. You can’t frighten me into obedience anymore. There’s nothing left I care about that you can take from me.” Sarah seemed to be trying to goad Stephen. Why?

  “These are our guests. I think they deserve better behavior from you than that,” Stephen said with the same stern tone.

  “Maybe they do. But they’re not going to get it. You’ve told me too many times that I’m not capable of being an adult, so why should I bother to try anymore? I think I’m going to go for a walk. Don’t expect me back anytime soon.” Sarah went out the front door this time, slamming it behind her.

  It was quite the display in front of guests. A part of me had to admire her courage, however uncomfortable it made us all socially.

  “I’m sorry,” Rebecca said softly to Stephen.