-- Nov 5,1896
[Utah] Apostle Lorenzo Snow's youngest plural wife bears his last child in Canada. At age 82 he is the oldest General Authority to father a child. (1)
-- Nov 6, 1896; Friday
The following letter was sent by President Lorenzo Snow to M[oses]. Thatcher today:
Nov[ember]. 6th, 1896.
Elder Moses Thatcher,
Dear Brother: --
Your letter of the 4th inst., received. In it you state that you learned last week at Logan [Utah] through letter that Brother Franklin D. Richards had called at your house for the purpose of informing you that myself and the Quorum of Apostles desire to meet you in the Annex of the Temple, also intimating that it is our desire that you name a date when you could be present. I wish to correct this impression, the Quorum as such not having expressed themselves in regard to this matter. Doubtless the misunderstanding arose from the fact that some time ago an appointment was made to meet with you in the Temple annex, which appointment was not kept owing to your physical inability to do so, as we learned verbally through Brother John Henry Smith. But since then the Council of First Presidency and Apostles felt it to be due to the late General Conference that something should be said by way of explanation for withholding the presentation of your name to be sustained by the conference as one of the general authorities of the Church, which resulted in the remarks of the brethren on this subject as published in full in the News. Since then also a card has been published over the signatures of the First Presidency informing the officers and members of the Church that the withholding your name from going before the last two Conferences, suspended you from exercising the functions of your priesthood, the publication of this card having been made necessary, contrary to our expectations, by your addressing public congregations of the Saints in your suspended condition. Since then too I sent to you the following under date of the 23rd ult.
"Elder Moses Thatcher, City: --
Dear Brother: -- Your communication of the 16th inst was received by me on the 19th, and its contents carefully noted. Since the writing of your letter the full stenographic report of the remarks of the brethren made at our late general conference has been published in the Deseret News, in which their feelings concerning you are quite fully expressed; and you not having read these published remarks prior to the writing of your communication, I take it for granted that it will not be necessary for me to explain or answer further.
With kindest regards,
Your brother,
Lorenzo Snow.["]
I may say the foregoing was in response to your communication in which you desired that whatever charges your brethren might think proper to make against you, that the same be specifically made in writing, etc. In penning the foregoing I hoped that further correspondence would not be indulged in by you, but that just as soon as you fully realized your true position you would not rest until you had conferred with me personally in regard to arranging for an interview with your quorum for the purpose of regaining their fellowship. I repeat, I hoped your feelings would have prompted you to do this and I felt warranted in believing that your wisdom would have led you to do it; but in this I was disappointed, as so were your brethren one and all.
This being the condition of affairs, you were not admitted to the Temple on the forenoon of Thursday, 15th ult.; for the further reason also that the meeting of that day was not a meeting of our quorum, but the regular Council Meeting of the First Presidency and Apostles, at which business of pressing importance was to be attended to, which could not be deferred for consideration of your suspension.
In accordance with your wishes for a meeting, I take pleasure in appointing 2 o'clock on Thursday next, at the Historian's Office, upon which date the quorum will be pleased to meet with you.
With kindest regards,
Your brother and fellow-servant,
Lorenzo Snow. (2)
Endnotes:
1 - Quinn, D. Michael, The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power, Appendix 5, Selected Chronology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1848-1996, http://amzn.to/extensions-power
2 - First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes
LDS History Chronology: Lorenzo Snow
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Lorenzo Snow
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
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