... that Miles A. Romney be permitted to regain his standing in the Church by baptism, he having been excommunicated for marrying a plural wife contrary to the rule of the Church, was considered at our council meeting on Thursday last. In the course of its consideration it was explained by Brother [Anthony W.] Ivins that Brother Romney claims to have married the woman in Mexico and lived with her as his with before he brought her to the temple to have her sealed to him, and that this circumstance is pleaded in mitigation of the offense. While we have no reason to doubt the word of Brother Romney, we do not see how he can consistently expect us to believe him without evidence going to support his claims in this regard, and it became the sense of the council therefore that his request be not granted until at least he shall satisfy the proper authority that he was married before the sealing ordinance was performed in the temple, and that he do this by divulging the name of the party who performed the marriage ceremony in his behalf, and date of marriage.
[Source: First Presidency, Letter to Junius Romney]
Miles Archibald Romney (November 9, 1869–November 28, 1939) was the son of Miles Romney and Elizabeth Gaskell. After wedding Frances Turley in 1889, he married three sisters, Lily, Elizabeth and Emily Burrell, from 1898 to 1909.
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Sources for previous comment:
ReplyDeleteMormon polygamous families: life in the principle. Jessie L. Embry. University of Utah Press, 1987. ISBN 0-87480-277-6, 9780874802771. p. 125, 144.
Solemn Covenant: The Mormon Polygamous Passage. B. Carmon Hardy. University of Illinois Press, 1992. ISBN 0-252-01833-8. Appendix at p. 394, #162.