When did Mormons abolish polygamy doctrine?

Answer 1

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" Church) discontinued the practice of polygamy nearly 120 years ago, in 1890.

Anyone who entered into a polygamous relationship after this date was excommunicated. This practice of excommunication of polygamists continues today.

To read the official declaration from Church President Wilford Woodruff which outlawed the practice of polygamy in the Church, please see the "Related Link" below.

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While the above answer is accurate, it leaves some interesting information out. When President Wilford Woodruff discontinued polygamy in 1890 a schism occurred within the Church. A small group of men felt they had been ordained by Woodruff's predecessor, John Taylor, to continue the practice of polygamy even if the main body of the Church did not. As a result they broke off from the Church and formed other congregations that are commonly referred to by the media with the common nickname, "Mormon." But in fact they have no connection to the LDS Church headquartered at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Today, the remnants of those groups are found in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church)--popular due to the recent Warren Jeff's trial in Texas--, the Apostolic United Brethren, and other Mormon fundamentalist groups.

However, there were instances that families and individuals who remained with the larger body of the LDS Church continued to practice polygamy. Some members of the Quorum of the Twelve even continued to perform polygamous marriages. For that reason Joseph F. Smith, successor to Woodruff as President of the Church, issued the "Second Manifesto" in 1904. President Heber J. Grant followed up with the "third and fourth Manifestos" that were intended to reiterate the ideals taught in 1890 by President Woodruff. But to answer your question the official date of the end of polygamy within the LDS Church was October 6, 1890.

Note: see Anne Wilde, "Fundamentalist Mormonism: Its History, Diversity and Stereotypes, 1886-Present," in Scattering of the Saints: Schism within Mormonism, edited by Newell G. Bringhurst and John C. Hammer (Independence, MO: John Whitmer Books, 2007), 260-63.

The principal division of Mormonism, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), has never actually abandoned or repudiated the doctrine of plural marriage. The doctrine itself was not reversed, revoked or otherwise invalidated by the 1890 Manifesto of Wilford Woodruff, then-President and "Prophet" of the LDS church.

In FACT, the doctrine and practice of plural marriage were only "SUSPENDED" by the LDS on the basis of a rationale that obliged members to obey civil law, the particular civil law being the law against polygamy. It thus follows that, should that law be rescinded, Mormons would once more become subject to the "new and everlasting covenant" of plural marriage prescribed by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the Doctrine & Covenants, chapter 132.

Those questioning this are referred to an official publication of the LDS church, "Articles of Faith," by "Apostle" James E. Talmage, one of the most esteemed (at least by Mormons) of Mormon theologians. For many years, his book was a standard reference source carried by Mormon missionaries in their ubiquitous backpacks. The subtitle of the book is "Being a Consideration of the Principal Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" It is published by the LDS's own publishing house, Deseret Book Company.

From page 384 of the 1984 edition:

"An illustration of such suspension of divine law is found in the action of the church regarding the issue of plural marriage."

A "suspension" is not a nullification or a reversal. The doctrine of plural marriage still stands; it has merely been "suspended." It would have been inexpedient to revoke the doctrine, seeing that the "Prophet" Joseph Smith, Jr. had boldly declared it to be a "new and everlasting covenant." Something fully abandoned after only a few decades could scarcely be said to be "everlasting." Faced with the need to get away from plural marriage and into statehood, the LDS circumvented the implications of the "everlasting" descriptor and adopted the expedient of "suspension." Should the courts of this nation ever hold that plural marriage is legally valid, the doctrine presumably would return in full force and effect and the LDS branch of Mormonism could than join their maverick cousins, the "Fundamentalist Mormons" in the practice of the "new and everlasting covenant."

Answer 2

Polygamy was officially outlawed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon" church) in October, 1890. Since that time, anyone found entering into a polygamous marriage has been excommunicated.

Answer 3

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stopped the practice of polygamy in the fall of 1890. It was ended by the issuing of an official "manifesto" by Church President Wilford Woodruff, which was accepted by the Church membership in a General Conference on October 6, 1890. However, this 'manifesto' only applied to marriages in the United States.

Church members in Mexico and Canada continued to participate in polygamy until the "second manifesto" was given by Church President Joseph F. Smith in another General Conference on April 6, 1904. This manifesto applied to all members of the Church, no matter if polygamy was legal in their country or not. The issuing of this manifesto caused two apostles, John W. Taylor and Matthias F. Cowley, to resign. Anyone entering into a polygamous marriage or relationship after that date has been excommunicated.

To read the "manifesto" given by Wilford Woodruff, see the "Related Link" below.

Answer 4

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church) banned the practice of polygamy 120 years ago in 1890. Anyone found entering into a polygamous relationship since that time has been excommunicated.