B. H. Roberts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Council of the Seventy | |
| In office October 7, 1888 – September 27, 1933 | |
| President | John Taylor |
| Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives fromUtah'sat-large district | |
| Seat refused March 4, 1899 – April 2, 1900 | |
| Preceded by | William H. King |
| Succeeded by | William H. King |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Brigham Henry Roberts (1857-03-13)March 13, 1857 Warrington, England |
| Died | September 27, 1933(1933-09-27) (aged 76) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 15 |
| Education | University of Utah (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Brigham Henry Roberts (March 13, 1857 – September 27, 1933) was a historian, politician, and leader inthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He edited the seven-volumeHistory of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and independently wrote the six-volumeComprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Roberts also wroteStudies of the Book of Mormon—published posthumously—which discussed the validity of theBook of Mormon as an ancient record. Roberts was denied a seat as a member ofUnited States Congress because of his practice ofpolygamy.
Roberts was born inWarrington,Lancashire, England, the son of Benjamin Roberts, analcoholic blacksmith and ship plater, and Ann Everington, aseamstress. In the year of his birth, both parents converted to the LDS Church. Benjamin Roberts then abandoned his family. Roberts later wrote, "My childhood was a nightmare; my boyhood a tragedy."[1]
Assisted by thePerpetual Emigrating Fund, B. H. Roberts and a sister left England in April 1866. InNebraska, they joined a wagon train and proceeded to walk—for much of the way barefoot—toSalt Lake City, where they were met by their mother, who had preceded them.[2] In 1867, Roberts was baptized into the LDS Church by Seth Dustin, who two years later became his stepfather. Dustin eventually deserted his family, and "after several reappearances, he finally disappeared completely."[3] Ann Dustin was granted a divorce in 1884. Upon coming toUtah Territory, Roberts settled inBountiful, which he always from then on considered his home.
Roberts became a miner and participated in the gambling and drinking typical of that time and place. He was once disciplined by a Salt Lakebishop, who warned him that alcohol "would not only beat him to his knees but to his elbows and chin."[4] But Roberts eventually learned to read, and, after a series of menial jobs, was apprenticed to a blacksmith while attending school. He then became a "voracious reader, devouring books of history, science, philosophy," especially theBook of Mormon and other Mormon religious texts. In 1878, Roberts married Sarah Louisa Smith, and, in the same year, he graduated first in his class fromUniversity of Deseret, thenormal school precursor of the University of Utah.[5] He and Sarah eventually had seven children.
After graduation (and the birth of his first child) Roberts was ordained aseventy in his local church branch and taught school to support his family. The LDS Church sent him on a mission toIowa andNebraska, "but because the cold weather was hard on his health, he was transferred to Tennessee in December of 1880." There he rose to prominence as the president of the TennesseeConference of the Southern StatesMission.[3]
On August 10, 1884, a mob in the small community of Cane Creek murdered two Mormon missionaries and two members of the Mormon congregation, with one member of the mob being killed.[6] This attack is known as theCane Creek Massacre. At some personal risk, Roberts disguised himself as a tramp and recovered the bodies of the two missionaries for their families in Utah Territory.[3][7]
During a brief return to Utah, Roberts took asecond wife, Celia Dibble, by whom he had eight children. From 1889 to 1894, Celia was exiled inManassa, Colorado, to protect her husband from prosecution for unlawful cohabitation.[8]
In December 1886, while serving as associate editor of theSalt Lake Herald, Roberts was arrested on the charge of unlawful cohabitation. He posted bond to appear in court the next day and that night left on a mission to England.[3]
In England, Roberts served as assistant editor of the LDS Church publication theMillennial Star and completed his first book, the much reprintedThe Gospel: An Exposition of Its First Principles (1888).
Returning to Salt Lake City in 1888, as full-time editor ofThe Contributor, he was chosen as one of the seven presidents of theFirst Council of the Seventy, the third-highest governing body in the LDS Church.[3] "Tiring of evading federal authorities," Roberts surrendered in April 1889 and pleaded guilty to the charge of unlawful cohabitation. He was imprisoned in theUtah Territorial Prison for five months. Following his release, he moved his families toColorado and married a third wife, Dr. Margaret Curtis Shipp, after[9]church presidentWilford Woodruff issued the1890 Manifesto that prohibited solemnization of newplural marriages.[2][3] (Roberts's third wife was seven years his senior and had obtained a degree inobstetrics. Roberts seemed to prefer Margaret's company, "and this created some trouble" with his other families—although Roberts continued to have children by his other wives. Roberts and Margaret had no children.)[10] Roberts was pardoned in 1894 by U.S. PresidentGrover Cleveland.[11] He resigned as an editor of theSalt Lake Herald in 1896, giving his reason that the position that the paper had taken on the recent "Manifesto" was apt to place him in a false light.[12]
During the transitional period following 1890, the LDS Church disbanded itsPeople's Party and encouraged its membership to align with nationally organized Democrat and Republican parties instead.[13] Roberts became a ferventDemocrat and was electedDavis County Delegate to the Utah State Constitutional Convention in 1894. Roberts proved a vocal member of the Convention, particularly in his opposition to women'ssuffrage.[3]
In 1895, Roberts was the losing Democratic candidate for theU.S. House of Representatives, and Roberts believed LDS Church leaders, who were predominantlyRepublicans, "had unfairly influenced the election by publicly reprimanding him and fellow DemocratMoses Thatcher for running for office without express permission of the Church."
The LDS Church then issued the "Political Manifesto of 1895," which forbade church officers from running for public office without the approval of the Church. Both Roberts and Thatcher refused to agree to the Political Manifesto and were suspended from their ecclesiastical offices. Roberts, believing such a requirement was a basic infringement of his civil rights, capitulated just hours before the deadline of March 24, 1896. He signed the manifesto, wrote a letter of apology to theFirst Presidency, and was reinstated. Thatcher was more stubborn: he refused to sign, was expelled from theQuorum of the Twelve Apostles and barely evaded excommunication.[14]
In 1898, Roberts was elected as a Democrat to the56thCongress, but theHouse of Representatives refused to seat him because of his practice ofpolygamy. The prolonged battle that ensued to keep his seat, which was not successful, left Roberts bitter.[15][16]
Thegovernor of Utah had appointed Roberts a chaplain in the Utah National Guard; in 1917, when the United States declared war on Germany, Roberts volunteered to serve as a U.S. Army chaplain. The age limit of forty was waived—Roberts was then sixty—and Roberts became chaplain to the 145th Field Artillery, which arrived in France in September 1918 but did not see action before the Armistice was signed in November.[3]
Roberts wrote two biographies, a novel, eight historical narratives and compilations, and another dozen books about Mormon theology.[17] In the late 1890s, he also helped establish theImprovement Era and became thede facto editor of this official periodical of the LDS Church.[18] Roberts's six-volumeHistory of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Period I, History of Joseph Smith, the Prophet by Himself featured "critical notes, new documents, sidebar headings for most paragraphs, and extensive interpretive essays that introduced each volume. Unfortunately, Roberts continued the confusing structure of the original, where various documents were spliced together and inaccurately attributed to Joseph Smith."[19] Roberts served asAssistant Church Historian from 1902 until his death in 1933.[20]
Roberts wrote a novelCorianton (1889), published serially inThe Contributor, and based on the story of Corianton, the son ofAlma as told in theBook of Mormon.[21] Though melodramatic and overly didactic, the novel has also been regarded as providing deep and useful portrayals of some of the characters. It was later adapted, along withA Ship of Hagoth byJulia MacDonald, into a play byOrestes Utah Bean,[22] and was the inspiration for the 1931 filmCorianton: A Story of Unholy Love.
Roberts's most important work was a comprehensive treatment of Mormon history, which he began in 1909 as a series of monthly articles for a non-Mormon magazine. Roberts repeatedly (and for many years, unsuccessfully) asked church leaders to republish the articles as a multi-volume set. Finally, in 1930 the church agreed to publish it during its centennial celebration. The six-volumeComprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Century I (3,459 pages) covered for the first time many late-19th- and early-20th-century developments. Further, although its viewpoint was "unabashedly Mormon", Roberts "disdained ... faith promoting myths" and "was a partisan, not an unquestioning apologist."[23]
Roberts "frequently took a broader view" of the place of the LDS Church "in the heavenly scheme of things than did some of his colleagues. In 1902 he told the Saints that 'while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is given a prominent part in this great drama of the last days, it is not the only force nor the only means that the Lord has employed to bring to pass those things of which His prophets in ancient times have testified.'" Roberts' theology included belief in "the modern liberal doctrine of man and the optimism of the nineteenth century, and it required a bold, rebellious and spacious mind to grasp its full implication."[24]
Roberts hoped that the church would publish his most elaborate theological treatise, "The Truth, The Way, The Life", but his attempt to use contemporary scientific theory to bolster Mormon doctrine led, in 1930, to a conflict withMormon apostleJoseph Fielding Smith, who had been influenced by the writings ofyoung Earth creationistGeorge McCready Price. Smith publicly opposed Roberts's quasi-evolutionary views in deference to a literal reading of both the Bible and theLatter-day Saint scriptures.[25] The controversy was debated before theQuorum of the Twelve Apostles, and it "declared a draw: Neither the existence nor the nonexistence of pre-Adamites would constitute church doctrine."[26] "The Truth, The Way, The Life" was not published until 1994.[27]
Although Roberts continued to testify to the truth of theBook of Mormon, a foundational religious text inMormonism, he also wrote three studies, unpublished until 1985, that wrestled with Book of Mormon problems. The first, "Book of Mormon Difficulties: A Study," was a 141-page manuscript written in response to a series of questions by an inquirer, referred to Roberts by church presidentHeber J. Grant. When Roberts confessed that he had no answer for some of the difficulties, and theGeneral Authorities chose to ignore them, Roberts produced "A Book of Mormon Study," a treatise of more than 400 pages. In this work he compared the Book of Mormon to theView of the Hebrews (1823), written byEthan Smith, which argued Native Americans were descendants of theTen Lost Tribes of Israel. Roberts found significant similarities between the two books. Finally, Roberts wrote "A Parallel," a condensed version of his larger study, which demonstrated eighteen points of similarity between the two books, and in which he reflected that the imaginativeJoseph Smith might have written the Book of Mormon without divine assistance.[28]
Mormon historians have debated whether the manuscript reflects Roberts's doubts or was a case of his playing thedevil's advocate.[29] When he presented "A Book of Mormon Study" to church leaders, he emphasized that he was "taking the position that our faith is not only unshaken but unshakable in the Book of Mormon, and therefore we can look without fear upon all that can be said against it."[30] However, Roberts withheld some of his materials from the general authorities.[31]
Roberts asserted that the authenticity of theRestoration must "stand or fall" on the truth of Joseph Smith's claim that the Book of Mormon was the history of an ancient people inscribed on a cache ofgold plates; Roberts predicted that if church leaders did not address the historical problems of church origins and possibleanachronisms in the Book of Mormon, these problems would eventually undermine "the faith of the Youth of the Church."[32]
Roberts continued to affirm his faith in the divine origins of the Book of Mormon until his death in 1933; but asTerryl Givens has written, "a lively debate has emerged over whether his personal conviction really remained intact in the aftermath of his academic investigations."[33] According to Richard and Joan Ostling, when Roberts's study became better known, especially after its publication by theUniversity of Illinois Press in 1985,Mormon apologists "went into high gear" and "churned out responses" because "Roberts could not be dismissed as an outsider or an anti-Mormon."[34]
From 1922 to 1927, Roberts was appointedpresident of the Eastern StatesMission, and there he created an innovative "mission school" to teachMormon missionaries the most effective ways toproselytize. Roberts also served for many years as a leader of the church'sYoung Men's Mutual Improvement Association. In 1923, Roberts, suffering fromdiabetes, collapsed at a conference "commemorating the Centennial anniversary of the revealed existence of the Book of Mormon." He was treated with the relatively new druginsulin. A year after the death of his third wife, his companion in New York, Roberts returned to Utah; he was senior president of theFirst Council of Seventy from 1924 to his death.[3] Roberts died on September 27, 1933, from complications of diabetes.[3][35] He was survived by thirteen children and by his second wife.
Regardless of his ultimate religious beliefs, most scholars would accept the judgment of Brigham Madsen that Roberts possessed a "deeply embedded integrity, and above all ... fearless willingness to follow wherever his reason led him. He could be abrasive in his defense of stubbornly held beliefs, but he had the capacity to change his views when confronted with new and persuasive evidence."[36] ToLeonard J. Arrington, Roberts was "the intellectual leader of the Mormon people in the era of Mormonism's finest intellectual attainment."[37]
In his 1907 five-volume book seriesThe Seventy's Course in Theology, Roberts dedicated an entire lesson of the first volume to the "Negro Race Problem",[38]: 68 and approvingly quoted a Southern author who said a social divide between white people and black people should be maintained, as socializing would lead to mixed-race marriages, and such race mixing as it would doom thewhite race.[39]: 125 [40] Roberts used racist pseudoscience such as craniology (phrenology) to defend banning Black–White "commingling".[38]: 73–75 [41]
[T]he south is entirely right in thus keeping open at all times, at all hazards, and at all sacrifices an impassible [sic] social chasm between black and white. This she must do in behalf of her blood, her essence, of the stock of her Caucasian race ... As a race, the Southern Caucasian would be irrevocably doomed. ... No other conceivable disaster that might befall the South could, for an instant, compare with such miscegenation within her borders. ... But some may deny that the mongrelization of the Southern people would offend the race notion ... That the negro is markedly inferior to the Caucasian is proved both craniologically and by six thousand years of planet-wide experimentation; and that the commingling of inferior with superior must lower the higher is just as certain as that the half-sum of two and six is only four ....
The patriots of a hundred years ago are being overrun by the Polish Jews, and Italians, and Irish peasants who are flocking to America in droves ... If we are but true to ourselves, we have the very factors, geographically, spiritually, and socially, that shall perpetuate our race, and lift us up as a beacon light of civilization when all other parts of our great country have gone into the folly of race disintegration and given their birthright into the hands of undesirable foreigners.
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| Preceded by | Member-elect of theU.S. House of Representatives fromUtah's at-large congressional district 1898 | Succeeded by |
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