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Originally Posted by myboynoah
Having lived life for quite some time now and seen a lot of things, I wonder how easily it would have been to stop. Is it wrong to assume that it had become a significant element of the culture and practice, hence making cessation a challenge?
For someone who knows, what percentage of the post manifesto plural marriages were for U.S. residents versus those Mormons outside the U.S.? Also, what justification is used for continuing the practice in some form after the manifesto? Do we have any record of what the leaders were thinking and why they would act as they did? If it went on for 15 years afterward, what do the numbers look like over those suceeding 15 years? The majority up front, steadily going downward, or regulary consistent levels over time and then ending?
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Hardy's book would help you with these questions. One of his appendices lists all the post-manifesto plural marriages he could track down, and includes who, when, and where they were performed.
There were bursts of activity and inactivity regarding post-manifesto plural marriages. Things were definitely on the way out with the Smoot hearings and the second manifesto, but some were still done as late as at least 1912 (if memory serves). Of course, Elders Taylor and Cowley were removed from the Quorum of the Twelve over this (in 1905 and 1911, respectively).