Franklin Dewey Richards
April 2, 1821 – December 9, 1899
“Except for a six-and-one-half-year gap, men of the Richards family have served as General Authorities continuously from 1840 to the present.” – D. Michael Quinn, Ensign 1980
Mr. Quinn’s great insight is a shining example of what the Richards
family means to Mormonism, and vice versa. Their identity as a family on a whole, and individually, has been so immersed and wrapped up in Mormonism, it’d be no stretch of the imagination to state they’d be lost without each other. They were, and still are, the ‘who’s who’ of Mormonism.
Franklin Dewey Richards served in the Church as an apostle, missionary, author, teacher, probate judge, university regent, state legislator, and proficient polygamist. His family’s presence at the Haun’s Mill Massacre, Joe Smith’s death, and marching with the Mormon Battalion secured their place in Mormon history.
His life was a busy one as you might imagine, but our main concern this time around isn’t just the number of wives he had, but the fact many were related to each other. He may have ‘made it’ as far as the outside world can see, but in the eyes of God…not so much.
Click here to read a short bio on his life and that of his wives.
Leave a Reply