Albert Carrington

Albert Carrington
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
August 29, 1877 (1877-08-29) – November 7, 1885 (1885-11-07)
End reason	Excommunicated for adultery
Assistant Counselor in the First Presidency
May 9, 1874 (1874-05-09) – August 29, 1877 (1877-08-29)
Called by	Brigham Young
End reason	Dissolution of First Presidency upon death of Brigham Young
Counselor in the First Presidency
June 8, 1873 (1873-06-08) – May 9, 1874 (1874-05-09)
Called by	Brigham Young
End reason	Called as Assistant Counselor in the First Presidency
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
July 3, 1870 (1870-07-03) – June 8, 1873 (1873-06-08)
Called by	Brigham Young
End reason	Called as Counselor in the First Presidency
LDS Church Apostle
July 3, 1870 (1870-07-03) – November 7, 1885 (1885-11-07)
Called by	Brigham Young
Reason	Death of Ezra T. Benson
End reason	Excommunicated for adultery
Reorganization at end of term	Marriner W. Merrill, Anthon H. Lund, and Abraham H. Cannon ordained
Personal details
Born	(1813-01-08)January 8, 1813 Royalton, Vermont, United States
Died	Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, United States
Resting place	Salt Lake City Cemetery
Spouse(s)	Rhoda Maria Woods Mary Rock
Children	15
Parents	Daniel Van Carrington Isabella Bowman
Signature

Albert Carrington (January 8, 1813 – September 19, 1889) was an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Early life

Carrington was born in Royalton, Vermont. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1833 and taught school and studied law in Pennsylvania. In 1839, he married Rhoda Maria Woods. The Carringtons were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Wiota, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1841, and in 1844 moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, to join the gathering of Latter Day Saints. In January 1846, Carrington took Mary Rock as a plural wife. Following the death of Joseph Smith, Carrington followed Brigham Young to the Salt Lake Valley.

In Utah Territory

Carrington was the editor of the LDS Church-owned Deseret News from 1854 to 1856 and again from 1862 until 1867. He was elected multiple times to the Legislative Council in the Utah territorial legislature until 1868.

Church service

Carrington became an apostle and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve on July 3, 1870. He was the president of the European Mission four times—once prior to becoming an apostle (1868–70) and three times as an apostle (1871–73, 1875–77, 1880–82). Carrington was the tenth official Church Historian of the LDS Church between 1871 and 1874. From 1873 until 1877, he was a counselor to Young in the First Presidency and served as Young's personal secretary for more than 20 years.

Excommunication and readmission

Carrington was excommunicated from the LDS Church by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on November 7, 1885, for adultery, fornication, and "lewd and lascivious conduct". Carrington's extramarital relationships had begun in England while he was the mission president; he had hid these relationships from the leaders of the church for over 10 years and had lied to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles about them when rumors about Carrington began spreading. (The Salt Lake Tribune first accused Carrington of adultery in 1875.) In 1885, Carrington argued before the Twelve that because he did not ejaculate inside the women he had sexual relations with, he had technically not committed adultery, but had simply committed "a little folly in Israel". The Quorum disagreed and excommunicated him.

Carrington was rebaptized on November 1, 1887. Upon his rebaptism, he was not reinstated as an apostle or as a general authority.

On his deathbed, Carrington received permission to be ordained an elder so that he could be buried in his temple robes. He died before the ordination could take place; Wilford Woodruff, the president of the church, authorized that he be ordained 15 minutes after his death. Carrington died at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, at age 76, and was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.

See also

• Richards-Young family

External resources

• Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages
• Works by or about Albert Carrington in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Albert Carrington at Find a Grave

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles
Preceded by Brigham Young, Jr.	Quorum of the Twelve Apostles July 3, 1870 – June 8, 1873; August 29, 1877 – November 7, 1885	Succeeded by Moses Thatcher