LDS Church vs. Federal Anti-Polygamy Laws: The 1890 Manifesto

LDS Perspective

When the United States Congress enacted anti-polygamy legislation beginning with the 1862 Morrill Act, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints initially responded by asserting constitutional protections under the First Amendment. Church leaders contended that the "free exercise" of religion protected plural marriage as a commanded religious practice. In 1879, the First Presidency supported the case of George Reynolds reaching the United States Supreme Court to test whether anti-polygamy laws violated religious liberty. However, the Court ruled in *Reynolds v. United States* that while the First Amendment protected religious belief, it did not protect religious practice, upholding the criminalization of plural marriage. Following this defeat, Latter-day Saints engaged in civil diso

Historical Perspective

The LDS Church's relationship with federal anti-polygamy legislation evolved from three decades of vigorous resistance to strategic accommodation. Following the