William Law

William Law (September 8, 1809 – January 19, 1892) was an important figure in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement, holding a position in the church's First Presidency under Joseph Smith Jr. Law was later excommunicated for apostasy from the church and was founder of the short-lived True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In this capacity, he published a single edition of the Nauvoo Expositor, the destruction of which set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to Smith's death. Biography Law was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, to Richard Law and Ann Hunter as the youngest of five children. His older brother was Wilson Law. The Law family moved to the United States around 1820. Law eventually ended up in Churchville, Upper Canada, and at the age of 24 married Jane Silverthorn, who was 19 years old. Law and Silverthorn had eight children: two daughters and six sons. Law and his wife joined the Church of Christ in 1836 in Canada, through the proselyting efforts of John Taylor and Almon W. Babbitt. In 1839, Law led a group of Canadian saints to Nauvoo, Illinois, and in 1841, Joseph Smith chose him to be a member of the First Presidency. He was also a member of the Nauvoo city council. Over time, Law became troubled by certain practices of Smith. He felt Smith was confusing church and state roles in Nauvoo, by evading extradition to be tried for crimes in Missouri. He also thought Smith used his church authority to sway political outcomes. However, it was Smith's covert practice of polygamy (and his alleged advances towards Law's wife, Jane) that caused Law to completely separate himself. Rumors circulated that Smith had made several proposals to Jane under the premise that she would enter a polyandrous marriage with Smith. Law and his wife confirmed these rumors were partly true.