As discussed previously here at Splendid Sun, there is a dynamism in the administration of Temple ordinances. A fascinating example of this is recounted by Joseph C. Kingsbury. The following is the outline of his experience as presented in his diary (1):

• 26 January 1845 – First anointing (2). Recieved into the Anointed Quorum.
• 4 March 1845 – Sealed to Caroline posthumously and to Dorcas A. More by Heber Kimball.
• 8 December 1845 – Endowment.
• 27 January 1846 – Adopted to Newell K. Whitney as son at the same time as Dorcas A. More and Loenza A. Pond were adopted to Whitney as daughters. The two women were then sealed to Joseph Kingsbury as his wives by Brigham Young.
• 28th or 29th January 1846 – Second anointing.

The following is a brief history of Joseph Kingsbury:

Joseph C. Kingsbury, having been exposed to the Book of Mormon, moved to Kirtland and Bishop Whitney took him in. When Orson Hyde was ordained an Apostle, Kingsbury replaced him on the High Council (3) and he married Caroline Whitney, Bishop Whitney’s younger sister (4). Kingsbury eventually made his way to Nauvoo where he remained Whitney’s secretary.

Caroline died in 1842 shortly after giving birth. While Joseph Smith never brought Kingsbury into the inner rites of the priesthood, he did keep Kingsbury in his inner circle. In order to help obfuscate Smith’s plural marriage to Sarah Ann Whitney, Newell’s daughter, there was a public mock-matrimony between Kingsbury and Sarah (5).

Perhaps most famously, Joseph Kingsbury is the scribe of the only extant manuscript of section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Emma burned the original that was dictated by Joseph Smith and recorded by William Clayton. Before Emma was given access to the original, Kingsbury made a copy under direction of Bishop Whitney (6).

Kingsbury received the various Temple ordinances during 1845 and left with the saints to Utah in 1847. In Salt Lake, he was the Bishop for the 2nd ward and led a life out of the spotlight of history.

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1. Joseph Kingsbury Diary. University of Utah Archives. pg 21-23. Images available at both the UU and BYU digital archives.
2. Joseph’s Diary includes only the month and year for his first anointing. The William Clayton Diary, 26 January 1845, LDS Church Archives, includes the actual date.
3. Arrington, L. J. (1972) Oliver Cowdery’s Kirtland, Ohio, “Sketch Book.” BYU Studies, vol. 12 no. 4 pg. 421. There is some controversy in the literature as to whether Caroline was really Bishop Whitney’s sister as Nauvoo era records refer to her as his daughter. Oliver Cowdrey’s note is, however, explicit that this is not the case. The misunderstanding was likely due to her being “adopted” to her brother.
4. History of the Church, vol. 2, pg. 366
5. Compton, T. (1997) In Sacred Lonliness pg. 351-352.
6. A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vol. 2 pg. 107.