-- Monday, Oct 30, 1899
[Apostle John Henry Smith Diary] Logan
Conference at 10 a.m.
President Lorenzo Snow presented Marriner W. Merrill to preside over the Cache Stake. He was unanimously sustained. He chose Joseph Morrell and Isaac Smith as councillors. All spoke a short time and said they would do their best. Bro. Merrill related a dream he had had about Satan. ... (1)
-- Tuesday, Jan 9, 1900
[Apostle Rudger Clawson Diary] ...Apostle M. W. Merrill followed. Topics treated: The death of Pres. F. D. Richards; he missed him very much. Knew the gospel to be true. In speaking of the principle of plural marriage, said it had come to stay in some form or another. Said that the people of Cache Stake, where he is presiding, are greatly involved in debt, and his counsel to them is to get out of debt and keep out. Related a dream he had had concerning Satan and the power he has in the world. Benediction by Apostle J. W. Taylor.... (2)
-- Apr 5, 1900
[Apostle Marriner W. Merrill Diary] Salt Lake City. I attended meeting with First Presidency and Twelve today. Several matters were discussed and decided. One subject decided after full discussion was that Joseph F. Smith stood ahead and outranked Brigham Young in the Quorum of Apostles. The vote was unanimous. After business we partook of bread and wine. We adjourned at 3 p. m. At 4 p. m. I went with the First Presidency and Twelve to Apostle Heber J. Grant's home. Had dinner, which was served on small tables holding 4 and 6 persons. Had an excellent time until 8 p. m. I spoke twice and related two dreams by request. (3)
-- Apr 17, 1900
Brigham Young Academy president Benjamin Cluff Jr. along with a company of two teachers and about twenty students leave Provo expecting to be gone for two years. Their destination is South America where they hope to locate rivers, cities, and places that would "throw light on the divine claims of the Book of Mormon." When the expedition reaches Spanish Fork they are received with a Brass Band and a Banquet in their honor. They are received with so many banquets that they don't cook their own food until eleven days into the journey. At the Mexican Border Cluff negotiates with border officials to allow passage through Mexico while the rest of the group boards with church members in Thatcher, Arizona. Cluff lingers in Mexico hoping to marry a polygamous third wife, Florence Reynolds, daughter of George Reynolds, and one of his former students. Florence had been using his last name for the previous year. While Cluff is in Colonia Diaz, he orders other expedition members to begin
proselyting in Thatcher. The students discover why Cluff had prolonged his stay and became disheartened and angry. His assistant, Professor Walter Wolfe, reacts to the news of Cluff's delay by escaping to Nogales for an "extended three-day alcoholic spree." Wolfe (who had been told in a dream that he would find gold plates on the expedition and be able to translate them) later sells his mule to buy liquor. The students determine not to do any more missionary work and "took every opportunity to visit with the young ladies and to attend the weekly dances" in Thatcher. Apostle Heber J. Grant learns of the expedition's behavior while traveling in Arizona. He informs President Lorenzo Snow who sends Second Councilor Joseph F. Smith. Smith authorizes Cluff's plural marriage but instructs the group to either disband or proceed on their own as a "purely scientific" group without church endorsement. Most return to Provo but Cluff and five others press on to Columbia. A week after arr
iving, all but one student, Chester Van Buren, return to Utah. Van Buren remains in Colombia long enough to conduct scientific investigations. When he finally returns to Provo, his wildlife specimens become a prized collection. Cluff is censured by the Board of Trustees for "unwarranted use of authority" and is kept as Brigham Young Academy's president for only one more year. One of his last official acts is to change the name to "Brigham Young University." (4)
Footnotes:
1 - Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990
2 - Stan Larson (editor), A Ministry of Meetings: The Apostolic diaries of Rudger Clawson, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1993
3 - Notes from the Miscellaneous Record Book, 1886-1906: Selected diary notes from the journal books of Marriner Wood Merrill
4 - On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com
Mormon Timeline: Dreams
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
