Albert Carrington
| Albert Carrington | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | ||
| August 29, 1877 – November 7, 1885 | ||
| End reason | Excommunicated for adultery | |
| Assistant Counselor in the First Presidency | ||
| May 9, 1874 – August 29, 1877 | ||
| Called by | Brigham Young | |
| End reason | Dissolution of First Presidency upon death of Brigham Young | |
| Counselor in the First Presidency | ||
| June 8, 1873 – May 9, 1874 | ||
| Called by | Brigham Young | |
| End reason | Called as Assistant Counselor in the First Presidency | |
| Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | ||
| July 3, 1870 – June 8, 1873 | ||
| Called by | Brigham Young | |
| End reason | Called as Counselor in the First Presidency | |
| LDS Church Apostle | ||
| July 3, 1870 – November 7, 1885 | ||
| Called by | Brigham Young | |
| Reason | Death of Ezra T. Benson | |
| End reason | Excommunicated for adultery | |
| Reorganization at end of term | Marriner W. Merrill, Anthon H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon ordained[1] | |
| Personal details | ||
| Born |
January 8, 1813 Royalton, Vermont, United States | |
| Died |
September 19, 1889 (aged 76) Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States | |
| Resting place |
Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′37.92″N 111°51′28.8″W / 40.7772000°N 111.858000°W | |
| Spouse(s) |
Rhoda Maria Woods Mary Rock | |
| Children | 15 | |
| Parents |
Daniel Van Carrington Isabella Bowman | |
| Signature | ||
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Albert Carrington (January 8, 1813 – September 19, 1889) was an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Early life
Carrington was born in Royalton, Vermont. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1833 and taught school and studied law in Pennsylvania.[2][3] In 1839, he married Rhoda Maria Woods.[2] The Carringtons were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Wiota, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1841, and in 1844 moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, to join the gathering of Latter Day Saints.[3][2] In January 1846, Carrington took Mary Rock as a plural wife.[2] Following the death of Joseph Smith, Carrington followed Brigham Young to the Salt Lake Valley.[3]
In Utah Territory
Carrington was the editor of the LDS Church-owned Deseret News from 1854 to 1856 and again from 1862 until 1867.[3] He was elected multiple times to the Legislative Council in the Utah territorial legislature until 1868.[3]
Church service
Carrington became an apostle and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve on July 3, 1870. He was the president of the European Mission four times—once prior to becoming an apostle (1868–70) and three times as an apostle (1871–73, 1875–77, 1880–82).[3] Carrington was the tenth official Church Historian of the LDS Church between 1871 and 1874. From 1873 until 1877, he was a counselor to Young in the First Presidency and served as Young's personal secretary for more than 20 years.[3]
Excommunication and readmission
Carrington was excommunicated from the LDS Church by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on November 7, 1885, for adultery, fornication, and "lewd and lascivious conduct".[2] Carrington's extramarital relationships had begun in England while he was the mission president; he had hid these relationships from the leaders of the church for over 10 years and had lied to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles about them when rumors about Carrington began spreading.[2] (The Salt Lake Tribune first accused Carrington of adultery in 1875.)[4] In 1885, Carrington argued before the Twelve that because he did not ejaculate inside the women he had sexual relations with, he had technically not committed adultery, but had simply committed "a little folly in Israel".[2] The Quorum disagreed and excommunicated him.
Carrington was rebaptized on November 1, 1887.[2] Upon his rebaptism, he was not reinstated as an apostle or as a general authority.
On his deathbed, Carrington received permission to be ordained an elder so that he could be buried in his temple robes.[2] He died before the ordination could take place; Wilford Woodruff, the president of the church, authorized that he be ordained 15 minutes after his death.[2] Carrington died at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, at age 76, and was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Works
- Carrington, Albert (1947). Diary of Albert Carrington (Heart throbs of the West). Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Central Company.
See also
Notes
- ↑ Carrington's excommunication, the death of John Taylor and the reorganization of the First Presidency, and the death of Erastus Snow created three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve which were filled by the ordination of three new apostles.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bergera, Gary James (Summer 2011), "Transgressions in the Latter-day Saint Community: The Cases of Albert Carrington, Richard R. Lyman, and Joseph F. Smith — Part 1: Albert Carrington", Journal of Mormon History 37 (3): 119–161
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Jenson Historical Company, 1901) vol. 1, pp. 126–27.
- ↑ Brigham D. Madsen, "Carrington, Albert", Utah History Encyclopedia, uen.org.
External resources
- Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages
- Works by or about Albert Carrington in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Albert Carrington at Find a Grave
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Brigham Young, Jr. |
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles July 3, 1870 – June 8, 1873; August 29, 1877 – November 7, 1885 |
Succeeded by Moses Thatcher |
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