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

# Historical Analysis: LDS Church Accommodation to Federal Anti-Polygamy Laws The LDS Church's relationship with federal anti-polygamy legislation evolved from three decades of vigorous resistance to strategic accommodation, representing one of the most significant institutional adaptations in American religious history. This transformation fundamentally altered the Church's public identity and internal practices while preserving core theological beliefs. The initial response (1862-1890) was characterized by constitutional challenges and civil disobedience. Church leaders argued that the First Amendment's free exercise clause protected plural marriage as a religious duty, funding George Reynolds' test case that reached the Supreme Court in 1879. The Court's ruling in Reynolds v. United S