We now look
as far as history allows into the lives and doings of three largely forgotten men
(and their associates), to tell a story of strange doctrine, misplaced loyalty,
and exasperated concern.
In 1881,
Bishop Orson F. Whitney was called on a mission to England, where his assignment
was to preach the gospel as a proselyting missionary for several months, and
then move into the main mission office in Liverpool, where he would become the
sub-editor of the Millennial Star. In
this capacity he would take over for the departing sub-editor, Charles W.
Stayner. Unbeknownst to most in his day and ours, Charles Stayner was a
self-proclaimed prophet and seer, who evidently had a very magnetic
personality, enabling him to persuade Bishop/Elder Whitney, and also many of
the other missionaries serving there, that he was a prophet of God that would
someday lead the Church.
The below
diary entries and historical sources unfold as much as I know of Stayner’s (and
his disciples) beliefs and actions in life. Bishop Whitney was the most
prominent among them and had the best contacts with the senior leadership of
the Church. For those who have not read my biography
of Elder Whitney, after thorough study of his diaries, I came to realize
that because of a susceptibility to flattery, difficulty coping with serious
depression, and a hungry mind that thirsted for heavenly knowledge almost to a
fault, Whitney was particularly vulnerable to Stayner’s claims. Beyond that, I
cannot say why one as gifted and brilliant as Bishop Whitney would be so
gullible as to accept Stayner’s strange doctrines and revelations. Stayner was
not the only man to have a beguiling effect on Whitney during his lifetime, but
he did have the most worrisome influence for the longest time—almost two
decades.
I present
this material now for several reasons. Some of it (the entries from President
George Q. Cannon’s diaries) has just recently become available after
languishing in the First Presidencies vault for a hundred plus years. Further,
most of the entries quoted below from Whitney’s diary are already published in
my biography
of his extraordinary life and are therefore not really new. But the main
reason to narrate this unusual chronicle is because it tells a story that is
repeating itself today in tragic ways. False prophets have arisen among us and
should be recognized for what they are.
