George Reynolds (January 1, 1842 – August 9, 1909) was a
general authority of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church), a longtime secretary to the church's
First Presidency
Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...
, and a party to the 1878
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case ''
Reynolds v. United States
''Reynolds v. United States'', 98 U.S. 145 (1878), was a Supreme Court of the United States case that held that religious duty was not a defense to a criminal indictment. ''Reynolds'' was the first Supreme Court opinion to address the First Amen ...
'', the first
freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
case to issue from that court.
Early life
Reynolds was born in
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, to George Reynolds and Julia Ann Tautz. He spent much of his childhood under the care of his maternal grandmother. His grandmother employed a maid, Sarah White, who invited nine-year-old Reynolds to attend a meeting of the LDS Church with her. Reynolds received permission from his grandmother to do so; Reynolds attended a
sacrament meeting
Sacrament meeting is the weekly worship service held on Sunday in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Sacrament meetings are held in individual wards or branches in the chapel of the meetinghouse. The bishop or branch ...
of the church's
Paddington
Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...
Branch
A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...
with White, and almost immediately decided that he wished to become a member.
However, Reynolds's parents refused to allow him to be
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
a member of the church. Often, he would evade his parents' wishes and attend the Sunday meetings in Paddington. When Reynolds was 14 years old, he attended the church's
Somers Town Branch, where he was unknown, and asked to be received into the church by baptism. Not knowing that Reynolds' parents had forbidden the action, the
branch president
A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, the ...
,
George Teasdale
George Teasdale (8 December 1831 – 9 June 1907) was a Mormon missionary and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Teasdale was born in London, England. Teasdale was ...
, baptized him on May 4, 1856; Reynolds was
confirmed
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
a member of the church by Teasdale on May 11, 1856.
In December 1856, Reynolds was given the
Aaronic priesthood and ordained to the office of
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
. He was responsible for opening the doors to the Sunday meetinghouse for the Somers Town Branch and organizing the seating in preparation for sacrament meeting. In May 1857, at the age of 15, Reynolds was ordained to the office of
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
. Reynolds engaged in
open-air preaching in the streets of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, usually with an adult
elder of the church. After Reynolds began street preaching, his parents discovered that he had become a Latter-day Saint.
In August 1860, Reynolds was given the
Melchizedek priesthood
The priesthood of Melchizedek is a role in Abrahamic religions, modelled on Melchizedek, combining the dual position of king and priest.
Hebrew Bible
Melchizedek is a king and priest appearing in the Book of Genesis. The name means "King of Right ...
and ordained to the office of
elder. In May 1861, he was called to be a full-time
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
of the church in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In 1863, Reynolds was reassigned as a missionary to the
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
area to work as a clerk for church
apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
and
mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on ...
George Q. Cannon
George Quayle Cannon (January 11, 1827 – April 12, 1901) was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and served in the First Presidency under four successive pr ...
. When Cannon returned to the United States later that year, Reynolds retained his position as a clerk under the new mission president, apostle and counselor in the First Presidency,
Daniel H. Wells. As mission clerk, one of the primary responsibilities Reynolds had was organizing and coordinating the efforts to assist European church members in emigrating to
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...
, where the headquarters of the church were located. While acting as mission clerk, Reynolds was asked to serve as the branch president of the Liverpool Branch.
Life in America
In May 1865, Reynolds was released as a missionary and invited to emigrate to Utah Territory. He traveled to
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
with fellow elders of the church,
William S. Godbe and William H. Sherman, arriving on July 5, 1865. On July 22, 1865, mere weeks after his arrival in Utah, Reynolds married his first wife, Mary Ann Tuddenham. Soon afterwards, LDS Church
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
hired Reynolds as secretary to the First Presidency. Reynolds was ordained to the priesthood office of
seventy
70 (seventy) is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71.
In mathematics
70 is:
* a sphenic number because it factors as 3 distinct primes.
* a Pell number.
* the seventh pentagonal number.
* the fourth tridecagonal number.
* the fif ...
by Israel Barlow on March 18, 1866.
In February 1869, Reynolds was elected by the legislature of the Utah Territory to be a member of the board of regency of the
University of Deseret
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
, which was later renamed the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
. Reynolds was re-elected to this position by the legislature a number of times.
In May 1871, Young asked Reynolds to return to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
to assist apostle
Albert Carrington
Albert Carrington (January 8, 1813 – September 19, 1889) was an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Early life
Carrington was born i ...
in the publication of the ''
Millennial Star
''The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star'' (usually shortened to ''Millennial Star'') was the longest continuously published periodical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was printed in England from 1840 unti ...
'', a church newspaper for
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Latter-day Saints. Reynolds did so, and in September of that year Carrington was required to return to the United States, leaving Reynolds as the de facto
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the church's European
Mission
Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to:
Organised activities Religion
*Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity
*Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...
. However, Reynolds was suffering from ill health due to a severe case of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, and when Carrington returned in May 1872, Reynolds was sent home to Utah to recover.
Like many early Latter-day Saints, Reynolds practiced the religious principle of
plural marriage
Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...
. On August 3, 1874, Reynolds married his second wife, Amelia Jane Schofield. At this time, Young continued to employ Reynolds as the secretary to the First Presidency and also appointed him to be the manager of the Salt Lake Theatre. In 1875, Reynolds was elected as a member of the
Salt Lake City Council.
Party to polygamy test case
In 1874, strong efforts were being made to prosecute Latter-day Saints who practiced
polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
in violation an 1862
Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act
The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act (37th United States Congress, Sess. 2., ch. 126, ) was a federal enactment of the United States Congress that was signed into law on July 1, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. Sponsored by Justin Smith Morrill of Vermo ...
. Confident that the law would be declared to be an unconstitutional violation of the
Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment
The Free Exercise Clause accompanies the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ''Establishment Clause'' and the ''Free Exercise Clause'' together read:
Free exercise is the liberty of persons to re ...
to the
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
, the leaders of the church agreed to furnish a defendant for a test case. Young asked Reynolds if he would be willing to serve as the test defendant. Reynolds agreed and was indicted for bigamy by a grand jury on June 23, 1874.
Because it was a test case the church wished to pursue before the United States Supreme Court, Reynolds cooperated with investigators and the trial court, supplying the witnesses and testimony that proved he was married to two women at the same time. Reynolds was found guilty by a jury on April 1, 1875, and was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and a fine of five hundred dollars. On appeal, the indictment was overturned by the Utah Territory's
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
because the grand jury had not been empanelled in compliance with the
Poland Act
The Poland Act (18 Stat. 253) of 1874 was an act of the US Congress that sought to facilitate prosecutions under the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act by eliminating the control members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) exert ...
. Thus, for the test case to proceed, Reynolds had to be reindicted and retried.
On October 30, 1875, Reynolds was indicted a second time; he was found guilty of bigamy by a jury on December 9 and sentenced to two years imprisonment of hard labor and a fine of five hundred dollars. On June 13, 1876, the
Utah Supreme Court
The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice, ...
upheld the conviction. The stage was set for the case to be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
''Reynolds v. United States''
Arguments were heard in the Reynolds case before the United States Supreme Court on November 14, 1878. On January 6, 1879, the Court issued its unanimous decision for ''
Reynolds v. United States
''Reynolds v. United States'', 98 U.S. 145 (1878), was a Supreme Court of the United States case that held that religious duty was not a defense to a criminal indictment. ''Reynolds'' was the first Supreme Court opinion to address the First Amen ...
''. The court rejected his argument that the Latter-day Saint practice of plural marriage was protected by the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Thus, his conviction was upheld, as was the constitutionality of the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act. (The court did rule that the hard labor clause of his sentence was not permitted by law; as a result, this clause of his sentence was lifted.)
Imprisonment
Reynolds had been imprisoned in Utah since his second conviction was confirmed by the Utah Supreme Court in June 1876. After his failed appeal to the Supreme Court, Reynolds was transferred from a jail in Utah to the
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
State Penitentiary in
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
, where he became U.S. Prisoner Number 14 and was appointed to be the bookkeeper in the knitting department. Reynolds only remained in the Nebraska penitentiary for 25 days, after which he was transferred to the Utah Territory Penitentiary, where regulations were more primitive and vermin more abundant. Reynolds reported that the prisoners were not permitted to have a fire for fear that the prison would burn down; as a result, on many winter mornings he would awake and his beard would be one solid mass of ice. Reynolds was released from prison on January 20, 1881, having served his full sentence, less five months for good behavior. He was pardoned in 1894 by U.S. President
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
.
Life after release from prison
Upon his release from prison, Reynolds resumed his position as secretary to the First Presidency; he also became an active organizer within the
Deseret Sunday School Union
Sunday School (formerly the Deseret Sunday School Union) is an organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). All members of the church and any interested nonmembers, age 11 and older, are encouraged to participate i ...
(DSSU), acting as the editor of and writing many articles for its publication, the ''
Juvenile Instructor
''The Juvenile Instructor'' was a magazine for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It began publication in 1866 as a private publication, but by the late 1860s served as the de facto publication of the LDS Churc ...
''. From 1899 until his death in 1909, Reynolds was a first or second assistant to three general superintendents of the DSSU: From 1899 to 1901, he was the second assistant to
George Q. Cannon
George Quayle Cannon (January 11, 1827 – April 12, 1901) was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and served in the First Presidency under four successive pr ...
; in 1901 he was first assistant to
Lorenzo Snow
Lorenzo Snow (April 3, 1814 – October 10, 1901) was an American religious leader who served as the fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1898 until his death. Snow was the last president of the L ...
; and from 1901 until 1909 he was first assistant to
Joseph F. Smith.
On April 25, 1885, Reynolds married his third and final wife, Mary Goold. His first wife, Mary Ann, died on December 17, 1885, following the birth of a child.
In 1890, LDS Church president
Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...
asked Reynolds to become one of the seven members of the
First Council of Seventy, a calling in the church hierarchy that ranked just below the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
. Reynolds agreed, and on April 10, Reynolds was
set apart to this position by Lorenzo Snow, who was then
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Reynolds continued in this position and as the secretary to the First Presidency until his death in 1909.
Reynolds was a gifted writer and after his release from prison he became active in writing religious literature. His most famous works are his ''Story of the Book of Mormon'' (1888), which was intended for children; ''Complete Concordance to the Book of Mormon'' (1900); and ''Dictionary of the Book of Mormon'' (1910).
Reynolds suffered a nervous breakdown in 1907 as a result of stress incident from overwork. He died from
meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
at Salt Lake City on August 9, 1909, at the age of 67.
Reynolds had three wives and 32 children. One of his daughters married
Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. (July 19, 1876 – July 2, 1972) was an American religious leader and writer who served as the tenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1970 until his death in 1972. He was t ...
.
Published works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
1890 Manifesto
The 1890 Manifesto (also known as the Woodruff Manifesto, the Anti-polygamy Manifesto, or simply "the Manifesto") is a statement which officially advised against any future plural marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...
*
Alice Louise Reynolds
*
Edmunds Act
The Edmunds Act, also known as the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882,U.S.History.com is a United States federal statute, signed into law on March 23, 1882 by President Chester A. Arthur, declaring polygamy a felony in federal territories. The act ...
*
Edmunds–Tucker Act
The Edmunds–Tucker Act of 1887 was an Act of Congress that focused on restricting some practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). An amendment to the earlier Edmunds Act, it was passed in response to the dispute ...
*
Reed Smoot hearings
The Reed Smoot hearings, also called Smoot hearings or the Smoot Case, were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U.S. Senator Reed Smoot, who was elected by the Utah legislature in 1903. Smoot was an ...
*
Ruth H. Funk
*
Second Manifesto
*
Phrenology and the Latter Day Saint Movement
References
Sources
*
Jensen, Andrew (1901), ''
Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia
''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'' (abbreviated ''LDS Biographical Encyclopedia'') is a four-volume biographical dic ...
'', vol. 1, Andrew Jensen History Co.
206
*.
* Van Orden, Bruce A. (1992), ''Prisoner for Conscience' Sake: The Life of George Reynolds'', Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book.
External links
*
*
*
George Reynolds papers, MSS 10a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections Brigham Young University
Transcription of above papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, George
1842 births
1909 deaths
19th-century Mormon missionaries
American Latter Day Saints
American members of the clergy convicted of crimes
American people convicted of bigamy
American prisoners and detainees
British Latter Day Saints
Burials at Salt Lake City Cemetery
Converts to Mormonism
Counselors in the General Presidency of the Sunday School (LDS Church)
Neurological disease deaths in Utah
Infectious disease deaths in Utah
Deaths from meningitis
Editors of Latter Day Saint publications
English Latter Day Saint writers
English Mormon missionaries
English emigrants to the United States
English general authorities (LDS Church)
Mission presidents (LDS Church)
Mormon missionaries in England
People from Marylebone
Presidents of the Seventy (LDS Church)
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
Recipients of American presidential pardons
Secretaries to the First Presidency (LDS Church)
University of Utah people
19th-century American clergy