Charles Wilson Nibley (February 5, 1849 – December 11, 1931) was the fifth presiding bishop 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) between 1907 and 1925 and a member of 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 ...

from 1925 until his death.

Early life

Nibley was born in Hunterfield, Midlothian,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

to James Nibley and Jean Wilson. In 1855, his family moved to the United States to join with the main body of

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

s. They spent some time living in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. In 1860, they moved to the

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 ...

. The family was sent north to settle in Cache Valley, and eventually settled in Wellsville. As an adult, Nibley moved to Brigham City, Utah, where he worked for Morris Rosenbaum (a Jewish convert to Mormonism) and later became a partner in the store where he worked. It was there he met Rebecca Neibaur (who was the sister of one of Rosenbaum's wives) and was married in 1869. Following the 19th century practice of plural marriage, Nibley married Ellen Ricks in 1880 and Julia Budge in 1885.

Business ventures

In 1879 to 1885, Nibley managed a lumber company that was part of the LDS Church's

United Order In the Latter Day Saint movement, the United Order (also called the United Order of Enoch) was one of several 19th-century church collectivist programs. Early versions of the Order beginning in 1831 attempted to fully implement the law of consecr ...

program. He then joined with David Eccles and George Stoddard to form the Oregon Lumber Company in 1889. As one of Nibley's grandsons, Hugh Nibley, related, Charles Nibley used economic tricks, including manipulating the

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...

to acquire large swaths of land, then would pay off government agents who investigated. Nibley was a firm believer in monopolies, believing competition was "economic waste". He also believed that LDS Church members who didn't support paying higher prices to Mormon businesses (versus lower prices to non-Mormon businesses) were betraying the church. This attitude of loyalty was also supported by

Heber J. Grant Heber Jeddy Grant (November 22, 1856 – May 14, 1945) was an American religious leader who served as the seventh president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Grant worked as a bookkeeper and a cashier, then wa ...

in the October 1919 General Conference. Nibley also became involved in railroads, insurance, banking, politics, and major agricultural endeavors, eventually becoming a

multimillionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short scal ...

. The sugar beet growing town of Nibley, Oregon was named for him. He was later instrumental in forming the Amalgamated Sugar Company and the Utah and Idaho Sugar Company (later known as U&I Sugar Co). He was chairman of the executive committee of the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company, President of the Standard Investors Inc. (comprising all of the Nibley holdings) and a valued director of the following business institutions: Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, Utah State National Bank, Zion's Savings Bank & Trust Company, Utah Power & Light Company, Western Pacific Railroad Company, Hotel Utah, Utah Lime and Stone Company, Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Company, and Beneficial Life Insurance Co.

Church service

Missions

Nibley served two missions for the LDS Church. His first mission, from October 1869 to March 1870, was to the eastern United States and was primarily a goodwill mission, trying to counteract the negative press surrounding polygamy in Utah. His second mission, from May 1877 to May 1879, was to England and proved to be influential to later Church history. He traveled with the new mission president, Joseph F. Smith, and while serving in England became good friends with the future Church president.

Stake Presidency

After Nibley had moved to Oregon to participate in the lumber business, an LDS stake was organized in the area, and Nibley was called as the first counselor in the stake presidency. He served from June 1901 to December 1907.

Presiding Bishop

Nibley was called as the presiding bishop of

in December 1907 by Joseph F. Smith, with whom he had served in England a few decades earlier. It was during Nibley's term as presiding bishop that the LDS Church built the Hotel Utah. "Charles W. Nibley was one of the most liberal industrialists of his time. But he had to compromise. Thus to finish the Hotel Utah, it was necessary to borrow $2,000,000, so President Smith sent Brother Nibley to Barney Baruch in New York to raise the money. He succeeded, and President Smith was delighted; but he was also alarmed when he heard the terms: it would all have to be paid back in two years. "Charley, what have you done? How in the world will we ever pay it back in that time?" Not to worry, they would have the whole thing paid off in two years. How? "I'm going to build the largest and finest bar in the West in the basement of the Hotel, and will see that we will pay off every penny of that debt." President Smith went through the ceiling; which was it to be, the Word of Wisdom or fiscal soundness? ''The dollar won"''

First Presidency

In 1925, he was released as presiding bishop and was asked to be second counselor to

in the church's First Presidency. He is one of the few individuals to serve in the First Presidency without having been ordained to the priesthood office of

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 ...

Nibley Park

In 1921 Nibley bought Wandamere (Calder) Park in Salt Lake City, and donated it to the city on Christmas Eve of that year."Salt Lake Chamber of Commerc
Bishop Nibley Bides His Time
January 23rd, 2015 The gift to the city had the stipulation that it would never be sold and remain a golf course or be returned to the Nibley family. The idea was to provide a public golf course where the general public, both poor and rich, could enjoy the game of golf. At the dedication on May 22, 1922, Nibley said, "When I think that this generation and the generations of men and women yet to come shall find healthful enjoyment and rare pleasure here in playing that splendid outdoor Scotch game known as golf, and also in other outdoor amusements which shall not interfere with golf, that thought gives me the highest satisfaction and most genuine pleasure."

Death and legacy

Nibley died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

Salt Lake City, Utah 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 ...

;State of Utah Death Certificate
he was buried in Logan City Cemetery. Nibley, Utah is named after him. Charles's son Preston became a church leader and author of several Mormon books. Hugh W. Nibley, a Mormon apologist and academic, is Charles's grandson, through his son, Alexander. Musician Reid Nibley was a grandson, and Martha Nibley Beck is a great-granddaughter.

Notes

External resources

Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Charles W. NibleyAutobiography of Charles W. Nibley
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nibley, Charles W. 1849 births 1931 deaths Counselors in the First Presidency (LDS Church) Presiding Bishops (LDS Church) Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish Latter Day Saints People from Brigham City, Utah Deaths from pneumonia in Utah People from Midlothian Scottish general authorities (LDS Church)