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Show Xlll mother to eleven children. Some twenty-eight years later, having served in the Idaho legislature for a good span, Grandfather ran for U.S. Senate. His nomination was all but guaranteed when Church authorities telegraphed that he must withdraw from the race because of his 'odious background' -- his brief sojourn in polygamy. Grandfather threw down the nomination and trekked to Canada with his family, where he sulked with the weather for three years, then returned to begin a book in defense of the Principle. He married a third wife and, on publication of his book, was excommunicated from the Mormon Church. All his fine spiritual ambitions netted Grandfather the title of "Apostate" rather than "Apostle" from his brethren in the Church. My father, in trying to dissuade Grandfather from such rash action, accused him of "kicking against the pricks" of proscribed authority. Grandfather calmly defended his point of view, quoting from his book: "I have at last arrived at a milestone in... life where I... fear...facing the consequences of a violated conscience through continued silence, far more than any fear I ever felt of the displeasure and abuse of mortal man." My father, Dr. Rulon Clark Allred followed his father's Church-ordained pattern of "personal revelation" fasting, studing scriptures, and praying for guidance until he, too, converted to the Principle. He forfeited his Church standing and his first family to follow his vision of a righteous life. |