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Richard Roswell Lyman (November 23, 1870 – December 31, 1963) was an American engineer and religious leader who was an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1918 to 1943.

Key Information

Lyman is often noted as the most recent LDS Church apostle to have been excommunicated. In 1943, the church's First Presidency became aware that Lyman had for a number of years been in an intimate relationship with a woman other than his legal wife. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles convened a disciplinary council and Lyman was immediately excommunicated. Lyman was rebaptized in 1954 at age 83, nine years prior to his death.[1]: 203 

Lyman was the husband of Amy B. Lyman, the church's Relief Society general president during the period of his excommunication.

Early life and family

[edit]

Lyman was born in Fillmore, Utah Territory, and was closely related to many early leaders of the LDS Church. His father, Francis M. Lyman, was the son of Amasa M. Lyman, both of whom were LDS Church apostles. His mother was Clara Caroline Callister, whose grandfather was John Smith, an uncle of church founder Joseph Smith and a church Presiding Patriarch. Clara's mother was Caroline Smith Callister, the only sister of apostle George A. Smith, who served with Brigham Young as a counselor in the First Presidency. Lyman was ordained an elder in the LDS Church on August 29, 1891, by Joseph F. Smith.

Education and marriage

[edit]

Lyman graduated from high school at Brigham Young Academy (BYA) in Provo, Utah, in 1891 with a Normal Certificate, then taught at Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah, and later studied at the University of Michigan, graduating with a BS degree in 1895. He later pursued graduate studies in civil engineering, earning an MA from the University of Chicago in 1903 and a PhD from Cornell University in 1905.[1]: 175 

In 1888, while attending BYA, Lyman began courting Amy Brown, but then left for the University of Michigan. After his graduation, from 1895 to 1896, Lyman taught at BYA.[2] After eight years of courtship, Lyman married Brown on September 9, 1896; the marriage was performed by Joseph F. Smith in the Salt Lake Temple.[3]

Amy Brown Lyman was a member of the church's Relief Society general board, which had appointed her to lead the church's newly formed Social Service Department to oversee aid to the needy.[4] She had studied and engaged in social work during Lyman's University of Chicago years. She later served as general secretary of the Relief Society,[3] and then the eighth Relief Society general president from 1940 to 1945.[5]

Richard Lyman was a prolific writer and engineer, contributing both non-technical and scientific articles to various publications. He authored key works on road construction and water flow measurement, earning the prestigious J. James R. Croes Gold Medal in 1915 for his contributions to engineering science. As vice-chairman of the Utah State Road Commission from 1909 to 1918, he played a crucial role in expanding its budget and infrastructure projects. Lyman also served as city engineer of Provo, worked on railroad surveys, and designed waterworks systems across Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. He held leadership roles in multiple irrigation, power, and insurance companies.[3]

Apostleship

[edit]

Lyman was ordained an apostle on April 7, 1918.[6] As an apostle, he also served as Assistant Commissioner of the Church Educational System from 1919 to 1924, and as a member of the superintendency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association until 1935. He was also president of the church’s European Mission from 1936 to 1938.[1]: 175 

Excommunication

[edit]

In 1922, Lyman was assigned to counsel Anna Jacobsen Hegsted, a woman previously excommunicated for polygamy, and prepare her for readmittance to the church.[1]: 178  By 1925 the two had formed an attachment, but were unable to marry due to his existing marriage and the church's ban on polygamy. Lyman and Jacobsen exchanged a promise to marry under plural marriage in the next life and continued to see each other.[1]: 180 

Before returning from his service as mission president in Europe in 1938, Lyman maintained their relationship was not sexual.[1]: 179  But upon his return, he reported, "the long separation and the fiery nearness of her being my prospective plural wife ... led to a temptation I did not resist."[1]: 180  By 1943, both individuals were in their seventies.

In 1943, J. Reuben Clark, first counselor in the church's First Presidency and its de facto leader due to church president Heber J. Grant's poor health, became aware of suspicious behavior by Lyman.[7] After the Salt Lake City Police Department, who were at the time enforcing anti-polygamy laws, joined the investigation by church leaders, Lyman and Jacobsen's relationship was proven.[1]: 185 

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles convened a disciplinary council on November 12, 1943 to hear the case, and Lyman was immediately excommunicated. The church-owned Deseret News published the excommunication the next day, declaring that "Richard R. Lyman has been excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for violation of the Christian law of chastity."[8]

Lyman's wife, Amy B. Lyman, was the general president of the Relief Society at the time of his excommunication. She continued to serve for an additional 16 months before her release.[1]: 195 

A minority opinion holds that Lyman and Jacobsen's promise to marry functioned as a "plural marriage by mutual covenant,"[9] but there is little indication that at any point they considered themselves being actually married.[1]: 180  Apostle Spencer W. Kimball recorded regarding the disciplinary council that "He tried to link his sin with polygamy but the evidence gave no corroboration to the story."[10][1]: 191  After the excommunication, J. Reuben Clark worried that Lyman might join the Mormon fundamentalist movement, though this did not occur.[1]: 193 

Age 72 at the time of his excommunication, Lyman later returned to the LDS Church through rebaptism on October 27, 1954, at age 83, but he was not reinstated as an apostle. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah on December 31, 1963. His full priesthood blessings were restored posthumously in 1970.[5]

  • Lyman at age 20
    Lyman at age 20
  • Richard R. Lyman's grave marker
    Richard R. Lyman's grave marker

Notes

[edit]
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Richard R. Lyman

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Richard Roswell Lyman (November 23, 1870 – December 31, 1963) was an American civil engineer and a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1918 until his excommunication in 1943. Born in Fillmore, Utah, to apostle Francis M. Lyman, he overcame childhood vision impairment to pursue advanced education, earning a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan in 1895, followed by a master's in 1903 and doctorate in 1905 from Cornell University. Lyman's engineering career included devising Salt Lake City's street numbering system and contributing to major projects such as the Columbia Basin Reclamation and the Chicago Sanitary District. In church service, he presided over the European Mission from 1936 to 1938 before its evacuation due to and held positions in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. He married Amy Brown in 1896 after an eight-year courtship; she later served as general president of the . His apostleship ended with excommunication on November 12, 1943, for violating the law of chastity through an extramarital relationship, marking the last such action against an LDS apostle until later cases. Lyman was rebaptized on October 27, 1954, and died in at age 93.

Early Life

Birth and Family Heritage

Richard Roswell Lyman was born on November 23, 1870, in Fillmore, Territory. His father, Francis Marion Lyman, served as an in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1880 until his death in 1915 and held prior leadership roles in stakes and missions in . Lyman's mother, Clara Caroline Callister, was the daughter of early Mormon pioneer James Callister, who migrated to in 1851 as part of the LDS colonization efforts. The Lyman family traced its roots to prominent figures in early LDS history; Richard's paternal grandfather, Amasa Mason Lyman, was an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ordained in 1842, though he was later excommunicated in 1870 for doctrinal deviations. This apostolic lineage positioned Richard within a network of influential church pioneers, including relatives who participated in the Mormon migration and settlement of .

Childhood in Utah Territory

Richard Roswell Lyman was born on November 23, 1870, in Fillmore, Millard County, Utah Territory, the son of Francis M. Lyman, a future apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Clara Caroline Callister Lyman. His family's ties to early church leaders, including his paternal grandfather Amasa M. Lyman, an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, immersed him in the pioneer Mormon culture of the territory during a period of settlement expansion and self-sufficiency following the transcontinental railroad's completion in 1869. Lyman's early years in were marked by the austere conditions of rural , where he rarely smiled or laughed as a young boy, possibly influenced by health challenges including impaired vision. In 1877, at age seven, the family moved to , after his father was called to preside over the local stake, exposing Lyman to stake-level church administration and community responsibilities from an early age. There, he was baptized into the church on July 29, 1879, by his father, aligning with standard practices for children reaching accountability at age eight. During his time in Tooele, Lyman assumed practical duties typical of pioneer youth, such as caring for horses, cleaning harnesses, and maintaining a polished Concord buggy under his father's direction, fostering discipline and self-reliance. At age eleven, he worked briefly for —later church president—fetching him from the train station with a team and buggy, receiving raisins and candy as rewards, and assisting the Grant family, an encounter highlighted by the spiritual impact of observing Sister Grant's prayers. These experiences in Tooele, amid the territory's agricultural and , shaped his formative years until he departed for formal schooling at age twelve.

Education and Professional Development

Academic Training in Engineering

Lyman commenced his formal academic pursuits at Brigham Young Academy in , enrolling at age 12 and graduating in 1891 with foundational preparation that included scientific and technical coursework. He subsequently attended the in , focusing on , and received a degree in that discipline in spring 1895. After brief teaching experience, Lyman advanced his engineering expertise through graduate-level study. In summer 1902, he conducted advanced work at the in , . He then proceeded to in , where he earned a Master of degree with the class of 1903 and a Ph.D. in in 1905. These qualifications positioned him as one of the early professionally trained civil engineers in , emphasizing practical applications in and .

Early Career as Civil Engineer and Educator

Following his graduation with a in civil engineering in 1895, Lyman joined the faculty of the as a full-time instructor in civil engineering in 1896, where he taught until 1918. During this period, he surveyed and planned the campus, served as city engineer for Provo, and designed water works systems for many of Utah's small towns. Lyman advanced his expertise through graduate studies, earning a Master of Science in civil engineering from Cornell University in 1903 and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the same institution in 1905. In 1906, he was appointed professor of civil engineering at the University of Utah, a position affiliated with the State School of Mines, where he authored The Construction and Maintenance of Earth Roads, a practical guide emphasizing empirical methods for road building and upkeep based on soil mechanics and drainage principles. As vice-chairman of the State Road Commission from its creation in 1909 until 1918, Lyman contributed to the development of Utah's early highway , including the formulation of systematic road standards and the state's address numbering system, which facilitated and transportation efficiency. He also served as chief engineer for the Utah Power and Light Company and consulted on reclamation projects, such as the Great Columbia Basin initiative, applying principles to water resource management and systems. These roles underscored his practical focus on , grounded in observable material properties and cost-effective construction techniques rather than speculative theories.

Marriage and Family

Marriage to Amy Brown Lyman

Richard R. Lyman first met Amy Cassandra Brown, a fellow student, while attending in , from 1888 to 1890. The two developed a relationship over the subsequent years, culminating in their marriage on September 9, 1896, in the in , . The ceremony was performed by , then an in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following the marriage, Lyman accepted an appointment as professor of at the in the fall of 1896, a position he held while pursuing further professional opportunities. Amy Brown Lyman continued her own education and worked as a teacher during this period, supporting the family's establishment in . The couple remained married throughout Lyman's subsequent church leadership roles and personal challenges, including his excommunication in 1943 and rebaptism in 1954.

Family Dynamics and Prominent Relatives

Richard R. Lyman was born to Francis M. Lyman, an in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who served from 1880 until his death in 1916, and Clara Caroline Callister Lyman (1850–1892), one of Francis's plural wives whom he married on October 4, 1869. His paternal grandfather, M. Lyman, had been an from 1842 to 1860 before his amid doctrinal disputes, later rebaptized posthumously in 1909 through efforts involving family members including Francis M. Lyman. This lineage established the Lymans as one of the few families producing three consecutive apostles—grandfather, father, and son—across generations of church leadership. Clara Caroline Callister's lineage further connected Richard to early church figures; her mother, Caroline Clara Smith Callister (1820–1896), was the daughter of John Smith (1781–1854), uncle to and a presiding from 1845 to 1848 and 1855 to 1856. Francis M. Lyman, practicing plural marriage, fathered children with multiple wives, resulting in Richard having numerous half-siblings alongside full siblings from Clara, including Rhoda Alice Lyman McBride (1859–1942), Ida May Lyman Anderson (1878–1968), and others among at least seven children born to Francis and Clara. Lyman's immediate family with wife Amy Brown Lyman included two children: Wendell Brown Lyman (December 18, 1897–1933), born in , and Margaret Callister Lyman Schreiner (1903–1985), born in , during Richard's academic pursuits there. The household dynamics reflected the era's pioneer Mormon ethos, with Richard baptized by his father on July 29, 1879, at age eight, and assisting in practical tasks like tending horses and buggies under Francis's direction, amid the demands of his father's frequent travel for church duties. This environment, steeped in apostolic example and familial religious obligation, oriented Lyman toward lifelong from youth.

Church Leadership Prior to Apostleship

Local and Regional Roles

In 1897, Lyman was ordained a on September 12 by Angus M. Cannon, president of the Stake, and simultaneously set apart as superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA) for that stake, overseeing youth programs at a regional level within 's structure. He later served as an alternate high councilor in the Stake, assisting in adjudicating disciplinary matters and stake-wide administrative decisions. These roles positioned him as a key figure in local , leveraging his background and educational experience to support church welfare and youth initiatives in urban congregations. For several years preceding his apostleship, Lyman also supervised parents' classes in the Ensign Stake, focusing on family education and moral instruction amid the stake's growth in . Such assignments reflected the church's emphasis on lay leadership drawing from professional expertise to address community needs in the early .

Contributions to Youth Programs and Missions

Lyman held significant leadership positions in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA), the early LDS Church organization focused on youth development and moral education for young men, established in 1875. Prior to his apostleship, he served for four years as superintendent of the YMMIA in the Salt Lake Stake, which at the time encompassed all of Salt Lake County, overseeing programs aimed at fostering self-improvement, religious instruction, and community service among teenage boys. In 1918, coinciding with his ordination to the Apostles on April 7, Lyman was appointed Second Assistant Superintendent of the YMMIA at the general church level, assisting Anthony W. Ivins in expanding educational and recreational activities, including teacher and publications like the Improvement Era. He contributed to the integration of principles into YMMIA wards, promoting , skills, and patriotic values, as evidenced by his involvement in Boy Scout band initiatives around 1925. These efforts helped standardize youth curricula across stakes, emphasizing practical and vocational aligned with Lyman's professional background. Regarding missions, Lyman presided over the European Mission from September 1, 1936, to August 29, 1938, based in , where he directed proselytizing efforts amid rising political tensions preceding . During this tenure, he emphasized among missionaries, established welfare programs for European Saints facing economic hardship, and maintained church operations despite Nazi restrictions on religious activities in . His leadership stabilized the mission's administrative structure, training local leaders and adapting outreach to cultural contexts, though membership growth remained modest due to external pressures.

Apostleship and Ministerial Contributions

Ordination and Key Assignments

Richard R. Lyman was ordained an and set apart as a member of the Apostles by church president on April 7, 1918, in the . This ordination followed his prior service in regional church roles and came amid the church's expansion of its general authorities to address growing administrative needs. Upon his apostolic calling, Lyman was simultaneously appointed as second assistant superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA), the church's organization for male youth programs, under superintendent Anthony W. Ivins. He advanced in this role, becoming first assistant superintendent after the release of , with serving as second assistant, focusing on faith-promoting activities, recreation, and moral training for boys aged 12 and older. Lyman's involvement extended to integrating principles into YMMIA curricula, as evidenced by his 1923 general conference address emphasizing practical youth training. In administration, Lyman contributed to church initiatives as part of an advisory committee alongside apostles Stephen L. Richards and George F. Richards, and Adam S. Bennion, assisting Commissioner Franklin S. Harris Merrill in developing programs for high school students. A significant overseas assignment occurred from , 1936, to August 29, 1938, when Lyman served as president of the European Mission, overseeing church operations across multiple countries during a period of geopolitical tension preceding . During this tenure, he presided over mission conferences and addressed local challenges, including member retention and missionary work amid rising anti-religious sentiments in .

Doctrinal Teachings and Public Addresses

Richard R. Lyman, as a member of the Apostles from 1918 to 1943, delivered addresses at general conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emphasizing practical living, youth development, and the role of in spiritual growth. His teachings often drew from his engineering expertise, advocating for systematic, disciplined application of doctrine akin to scientific principles. In his first general conference address in April 1918, shortly after , Lyman focused on 's transformative power for , stating it as "the strongest factor for good that can come into the life of a boy." He urged boys to cultivate habits to foster moral strength and divine guidance amid life's challenges. Lyman's addresses frequently addressed training and , integrating Church programs like with doctrinal imperatives. During the April 1923 general conference, he promoted achieving excellence in , remarking, "You cannot know what real scouting is until you have at least one in your ," to illustrate the need for tangible accomplishments in building character and among young men. He viewed such programs as extensions of priesthood responsibilities, equipping with skills for service and . On 's regularity, Lyman taught in the April 1942 general that it should not be confined to : "Perhaps we all think that only when the emergency comes to us it is the time to pray. The efficiency of a prayer is dependent on the spirit of prayer." This underscored his doctrine of proactive , where consistent communion with builds spiritual resilience, independent of circumstances. In non-conference settings, such as his June 1936 baccalaureate sermon at the University of Utah, Lyman asserted religion's foundational role in education and profession, declaring its importance for ethical decision-making and societal contribution. He linked doctrinal obedience to practical outcomes, like engineering precision applied to moral conduct, warning against compartmentalizing faith from daily endeavors.

Controversies and Excommunication

Relationship with Anna Jacobsen

Richard R. Lyman was assigned in 1922 to counsel Anna Sofie Jacobsen Hegsted, a who had been from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for engaging in unauthorized plural marriages during the early , with the aim of facilitating her readmission to full fellowship. Hegsted, born in 1873 in and previously sealed as a plural wife to John Hegsted (who died in 1918), had her church membership restored following Lyman's intervention. Their professional interaction evolved into a personal attachment, culminating by 1925 in a private exchange of vows that Lyman personally regarded as constituting a celestial plural marriage, though it lacked any , public acknowledgment, or authorization from church leadership. The relationship, which Lyman described as a spiritual union intended for the , involved ongoing intimate meetings but was maintained in , with Lyman continuing to reside primarily with his legal , Amy Brown Lyman. Despite Lyman's framing of it as consistent with historical Mormon polygamous practices—rationalizing it as a "prospective plural " arrangement—contemporary church authorities, adhering strictly to the and subsequent anti-polygamy declarations, viewed such unauthorized unions as violations of marital law rather than legitimate sealings. Hegsted reportedly shared Lyman's perspective initially, denying any mere adulterous intent and emphasizing the eternal nature of their commitment, though evidence of formal priesthood endorsement was absent. Over the subsequent 18 years, the liaison persisted discreetly amid Lyman's apostolic duties, with the couple avoiding to evade detection, though their emotional and physical bond deepened, as Lyman later confided correspondence. This arrangement reflected Lyman's internal conflict between his devotion to pre-Manifesto traditions and the post-1904 church on new plural marriages, a tension he attempted to resolve through personal doctrine rather than institutional approval. The relationship's clandestine nature underscores the absence of communal or hierarchical validation, distinguishing it from sanctioned historical .

Church Investigation and Disciplinary Action

In 1943, rumors of Richard R. Lyman's long-standing extramarital relationship with Anna Sofie Jacobsen Hegsted, which had circulated among members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles since the mid-1920s, prompted formal church investigation after a neighbor reported suspicious activity at Jacobsen's home. Church leaders, including Apostles Harold B. Lee and Joseph Fielding Smith, coordinated with Salt Lake City police to verify the association, culminating in a raid that caught Lyman, aged 72, and Jacobsen, aged 71, together in bed. Evidence gathered included Lyman's confession to a decade-long sexual affair beginning around 1938, records of frequent visits, love letters, and testimonies confirming cohabitation without legal or ecclesiastical sanction. The convened a disciplinary on November 12, 1943, in the , with 10 of its 12 members present (Charles A. Callis and absent). Lyman admitted the charges of immoral conduct but offered no substantive defense, initially showing no and rationalizing the relationship as a purported plural marriage tied to historical church practices—a claim Jacobsen explicitly denied and which lacked corroboration from any officiator or ceremony. He also acknowledged prior associations with other women before his apostleship, further evidencing a pattern of boundary violations. The council unanimously excommunicated Lyman for violating the law of chastity and engaging in unchristian, unapostolic conduct, viewing as a grave sin second only to murder that breached marital, priesthood, and apostolic covenants, especially given his unrepentant posture and the need to safeguard church standards post-1890 . The decision, approved by the First Presidency, was announced publicly in the , marking Lyman as the last LDS apostle excommunicated to date. Despite the severity, the action underscored the church's emphasis on covenant accountability while leaving open a path for restoration upon demonstrated repentance.

Debates on Adultery versus Plural Marriage Claims

Lyman's relationship with Anna Jacobsen, which began around 1925 after he was assigned to provide to her in , lasted nearly two decades before coming to light in 1943. During the church's investigation, Lyman admitted to the sexual nature of the relationship but insisted to the First Presidency and Apostles that it constituted a celestial or plural marriage, performed without formal ceremony but justified in his view by ongoing doctrinal validity despite the ending authorized . He argued this alignment with eternal marriage principles, though he acknowledged lacking approval from church president or other leaders. Church authorities, led by Grant and including apostles like George F. Richards and , unanimously rejected Lyman's framing, determining the affair violated the Manifesto's on new plural marriages and constituted under both doctrinal and civil standards. The November 1943 disciplinary , prompted by reports from Jacobsen's associates and a confirming , emphasized that unauthorized unions did not qualify as valid plural marriage, especially absent prophetic sanction and given legal risks of charges. Excommunication followed on November 4, 1943, with Jacobsen similarly disciplined in February 1944; no children resulted from the liaison, underscoring its classification as illicit rather than a sanctioned extension. Historians remain divided, with some like interpreting Lyman's actions as a deliberate, albeit rogue, entry into post-Manifesto , reflecting personal conviction in the doctrine's enduring applicability among certain apostles. Others, including church-affiliated scholars, maintain it was straightforward rationalized post-facto, as Jacobsen herself reportedly denied any plural marriage intent, and Lyman's secrecy evaded the collective revelation required for such unions. This interpretive split highlights tensions between individual apostolic autonomy and centralized authority, though official LDS records consistently affirm as the excommunicating offense, prioritizing of unchastity over subjective doctrinal claims.

Later Life and Restoration

Post-Excommunication Activities

Following his on November 12, 1943, Richard R. Lyman withdrew from public life and resided privately in , with his wife, Amy Brown Lyman, who had served as general president of the until 1940. The couple, married since September 9, 1896, maintained their relationship despite the circumstances leading to Lyman's removal from the Apostles. No records indicate Lyman resumed significant professional roles in or , fields in which he had previously been prominent as a professor and dean at the , nor did he engage in public church-related activities during this decade. At age 72 upon , he appears to have lived in relative seclusion at their home on 1084 3rd Avenue, avoiding the spotlight amid the scandal involving his admitted violations of church standards on .

Rebaptism and Final Years

Following his excommunication on November 12, 1943, Lyman maintained a low public profile for over a decade. On October 27, 1954, at the age of 83, he was rebaptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, restoring his basic membership but not his prior priesthood offices or apostolic standing. In his final years, Lyman resided quietly in , Utah, without resuming ecclesiastical roles or public engagements. He died on December 31, 1963, at age 93, in full fellowship with the Church. His remains are interred at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in .

Legacy and Historical Assessment

Enduring Church Contributions

Lyman's background in enabled significant infrastructural advancements in areas with substantial Latter-day Saint populations. He devised City's street numbering system, which standardized addressing and improved navigation across the urban center housing the church's headquarters, benefiting administrative efficiency and daily life for members into the present day. His publications and expertise on districts and earth roads addressed key challenges in arid Western settlements, where church colonization efforts relied on such systems for agricultural sustainability; for instance, he served as chief engineer for a $50 million project in , a region with heavy Mormon settlement, enhancing water management that supported community growth. In church leadership, Lyman contributed to youth development through his role as second assistant superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA) starting in 1918, under Anthony W. Ivins, promoting educational and moral training programs that evolved into modern priesthood quorum activities emphasizing self-reliance and service. As a member of the Apostles from April 7, 1918, to November 12, 1943, he supervised stakes and missions, including extensive travel to bolster local leadership and member morale, fostering organizational stability during periods of church expansion. His academic career at the from 1896 to 1918, where he headed the civil engineering department for 18 years, trained generations of engineers from Latter-day Saint backgrounds, applying skills to church-related and reclamation projects in and beyond. These efforts aligned with the church's emphasis on practical and self-sufficiency, leaving a legacy in technical capacity-building despite later personal controversies.

Significance as Last Excommunicated Apostle

Richard R. Lyman was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on November 12, 1943, following a disciplinary council of the Apostles that determined he had violated the law of chastity through an extramarital relationship with Anna Jacobsen, which had persisted for over a decade. This action marked the conclusion of a formal investigation initiated by church leadership upon evidence of the affair, emphasizing the institution's post-1890 enforcement of monogamy and rejection of unauthorized plural marriage practices. Lyman's case, involving a prominent ordained in 1918 and son of earlier Francis M. Lyman, underscored the potential for personal failings even among senior leaders, with the church issuing a brief public statement citing "unchristianlike conduct" without detailing the specifics to maintain . As the final apostle to face excommunication—a disciplinary measure more common in the church's 19th-century foundational period amid schisms and doctrinal shifts—Lyman's removal highlighted the evolving rarity of such interventions in the 20th and 21st centuries. No member of the has been excommunicated since, spanning over eight decades as of 2025, reflecting heightened scrutiny in apostolic callings, private handling of leadership issues, or the stabilizing influence of centralized authority under presidents like and . This absence of subsequent cases positions Lyman's excommunication as a historical endpoint, demonstrating the church's capacity for accountability while avoiding the public scandals that characterized earlier eras, such as the removals of apostles like William E. McLellin in 1838 or Amasa M. Lyman in 1867. The episode's enduring assessment reveals tensions between apostolic authority and human vulnerability, with Lyman's in 1954—but without priesthood restoration—illustrating pathways for short of full reinstatement. Historians note it as a pivotal enforcement of laws against lingering fundamentalist sympathies, closing a chapter on post-Manifesto plural marriage experiments and reinforcing the church's monogamous orthodoxy amid broader American legal pressures. Unlike earlier excommunications tied to doctrinal dissent, Lyman's centered on moral conduct, signaling a shift toward personal ethics as the primary grounds for apostolic discipline in modern times, and serving as a cautionary that even high-ranking leaders remain subject to the same covenants as rank-and-file members.

References

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  30. https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/science-a-part-of-or-apart-from-mormonism/
  31. https://archive.org/download/conferencereport1942sa/conferencereport1942sa.pdf
  32. https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.org/catalog/v1/delivery/d1e90431-689e-4f4d-b418-93030d5d51d7?op=ORIGINAL
  33. https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/issues/V31N03.pdf
  34. https://bycommonconsent.com/2013/12/17/hannah-grover-hegsted/
  35. https://hemlockknots.com/monogamy-polygamy-timeline/
  36. https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/a-ministry-of-blessing-nicholas-groesbeck-smith/
  37. https://reachouttrust.org/mormon-excommunication/
  38. https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/feet-of-clay-queer-theory-and-the-church-of-jesus-christ/
  39. https://addfaith.org/forums/topic/52621-richard-roswell-lyman/
  40. http://www.todayinmormonhistory.com/2013/11/70-years-ago-today-nov-12-1943.html
  41. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=mormonhistory
  42. https://user.xmission.com/~plporter/lds/postman.htm
  43. https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/65186-failed-brethren/
  44. http://www1.todayinmormonhistory.com/2024/02/80-years-ago-today-feb-14-1944.html?m=1
  45. https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V18N01_11.pdf
  46. https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1atynud/no_inspiration_apostle_richard_lyman_had_an/
  47. https://gospeltangents.com/2022/09/shannon-caldwell-montez-roberts-lyman/
  48. https://archive.timesandseasons.org/2006/12/never-look-at-the-trombones/index.html
  49. https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/43283-od-1-the-manifesto-how-seriously-did-the-1st-pres-twelve-regard-it/page/2/
  50. https://www.sltrib.com/news/2017/08/08/high-ranking-mormon-official-excommunicated-first-such-ouster-in-nearly-3-decades/
  51. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-obit-richard-r-lyma/2836243/
  52. https://ascelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1061/TACEAT.0003695
  53. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=NVS19680515.1.6
  54. https://www.kuer.org/religion/2017-08-09/excommunication-of-lds-church-leaders-highly-unusual-in-recent-history
  55. https://benspackman.com/2017/08/on-elder-hamula/
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