Moses Thatcher in the Dock : His Trials, the Aftermath, and His Last Days
Journal of Mormon History
Spring 1998
24
Salt Lake City, UT
Mormon History Association
1998
54-88
In late 1896, Moses Thatcher was deprived of his apostleship and removed from the quorum of the twelve apostles. His refusal to sign the document known as the Political Manifesto precipitated this action. At the time he was undergoing treatment for morphine addiction. Godfrey suggests that these disciplinary actions could have perhaps been avoided if Thatcher had been healthy. In an 1897 Salt Lake Stake high council court, Thatcher was stripped from using his priesthood but allowed to retain his membership. With a clarification of the scope of the Political Manifesto, Thatcher expressed sorrow over his actions the previous year. Godfrey offers some thoughts about what the Thatcher case accomplished in terms of clarifying the depth of the involvement of the Church in politics and internal harmony in the Quorum of the Twelve