‘‘A sister in Bristol, England, who was procrastinating baptism because of her lack of testimony of the truth of plural marriage, of a sudden accepted baptism, explaining that she had received an answer from God on the subject. She explained that an audible voice from the Lord said, ‘that Plural Marriage is true and was instituted from before the foundation of the world.’’’ Diary of Elder Thomas Rosser.

‘‘Upon hearing this, Brother Smith and I left, rejoicing because of the testimony she had borne to us. ...On Monday morning, the 25th of May our Conference Priesthood Meeting was held...After the preliminary exercises, President Charles W. Penrose asked if any of the brethren had any questions...I said, ‘I have heard much discussion on the Principle of Plural Marriage, some saying that it is withdrawn from the earth and that the Manifesto was a revelation from God. Dear President, what about this case?’ Then I related to him the testimony of the Sister, which is written above, and then I asked him, ‘Why should she receive this testimony if God has withdrawn that principle from the earth, and the Manifesto is a true revelation from God? ‘‘President Penrose then rose to his feet, scratched the side of his head with his right hand for a moment or so, then stretched out his right hand toward us and said: ‘Brethren, I will answer that question, if you will keep it under your hats. I, Charles W. Penrose wrote the manifesto with the assistance of Frank J.
Cannon and John White. It’s no revelation from God, for I wrote it. Wilford Woodruff signed it to beat the devil at his own game. Brethren how can God withdraw an everlasting principle from the earth? He has not, and cannot, and I testify to you as a servant of God that this is true. Is the Manifesto A Revelation?, R.C. Newson, 7-8. (taken from Keys of the Priesthood Illustrated; Lynn. L. and Stephen L. Bishop, p.204.)

The Manifesto

Reading the manifesto shows that it is manifestly from man, not from God, as proven by the language contained therein: 

To Whom It May Concern: 

"Press dispatches having been sent for political purposes, from Salt Lake City, which have been widely published, to the effect that the Utah Commission in their recent report to the Secretary of the Interior, allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that 40 or more such marriages have been contracted in Utah since last June or during the past year, also that in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy- I, there for, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into this practice...’’

‘‘But this much I know from the lips of my Aunt Nellie. She was going to her work at the temple one morning, right after this new declaration on plural marriage that they issued, I think in 1993; and I believe it was when J. Reuben Clark first came into the Presidency-about that time--denouncing this thing anew. And she met Joseph Fielding Smith, and they stopped and chatted a few minutes, and she said, ‘Brother Smith, I’m very much surprised at that statement in the paper this morning.’ And he said, ‘How so, Sister Taylor?’
‘Well’, she said, ‘You surely know about that revelation.’ He said, ‘do you know about that revelation, Sister Taylor?’ She said, ‘Why, certainly.’ ‘Do you know where such a revelation might be?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘Well, Sister Taylor, you would confer a great favor upon the Church if you would bring that to me as Church Historian.’ and she said, ‘Well, I’ll see what can be done about it.’ ‘‘So she went over to the Templeton Building soon after to see Uncle Frank Y. Taylor (President of the Granite Stake for 25 or 30 years), and she told him of this experience. She said, ‘Uncle Frank, perhaps we’d better get that revelation and give it to Brother Smith.’ And he said, ‘Well, I’ll think about it and see about it, Nellie, and let you know.’ ‘‘Well time went on--I don’t know just how much, maybe a few weeks, maybe a month or two--and she met Brother Smith again. And he said, ‘Sister Taylor, you haven’t fulfilled that assignment I gave you.’ And she said, ‘Haven’t I? I thought I had. I did what I could at the time.’ He said, ‘No, that has never come into my hands.’ So she said, ‘Well, I’ll see about it again.’ So she went back to Frank Y. Taylor, who was a full brother of John W. and she said, ‘Uncle Frank, Joseph Fielding Smith spoke to me again about that revelation.’ And he said, ‘Well I’ll take care of it.’ So she left it that way.
  In a few days he came to her and said, ' I'm going to tell you the final chapter on that situation. I went to Rodney Badger, who was at one time in the Church Bank and had been given this revelation (as I understand) by John W. Taylor for safe keeping. I think they were brother-in-law, or something. So he had put that in a safety deposit box and kept it there. He got it out and gave it to Frank Y. Taylor.
After Brother Taylor had it in his hands, he got to thinking; and he thought, ‘Well, I don’t believe that it’s proper to give this to the Church Historian. I think I should take it to the Prophet himself.’ So he took it in to President Heber J. Grant.
They had been boys together and close friends on up through the years, and he said: ‘Heber, was my Father a Prophet of the Lord?’ ‘Why Frank, why do you ask that? Of course he was. We all know that.’ And he said, ‘Would you recognize the handwriting of my Father?’ He said, ‘Yes I would know your Father’s handwriting well.’ So he passed this out and said, ‘I want you to read that (1886 Revelation), and tell me if that’s in the handwriting of my Father.’ Well he did and President Grant said, ‘Well, it certainly is the handwriting of your Father-I know that as well as I know anything.’ And Frank Taylor asked, ‘How do you expect to get around that?’ he said, ‘I don’t expect to get around it.’ ‘Well then, Heber, if I were you, I would be very careful with what I said.’ Private Interview with a Niece of Nellie Taylor; Transcript in Possession of Lynn and Stephen Bishop of Draper, Utah.

Heber J. Grant’s carefully worded denial that Frank and Nellie Taylor were referring: ‘‘It is alleged that on Sept. 26, 1886, President John Taylor received a revelation from the Lord, the purported text of which is given in a publication circulated apparently by or at the instance of this same organization. As to this pretended revelation it should be said that the archives contain no record of any such revelation, nor any evidence justifying a belief that any such revelation, nor any evidence justifying a belief that any such revelation was ever given.
From the personal knowledge of some of us, from the uniform and common recollection of the presiding quorums of the Church, from the absence in the Church Archives (it is in a vault in the First Presidency Office, not the Archives) of any evidence whatsoever justifying any belief that any such revelation was given, we are justified in affirming that no such revelation exists. Deseret News; June 17, 1933; p.4.

What BYU Scholars Have Said Concerning 1886 Revelation:
‘‘The family of John Taylor claims that the revelation referred to above was found in the prophet-leader’s papers and the original was given to the Church Historian. Since that time it has not been available to the public and the Church Historian allegedly has declared that it is not in the Church Historian’s Library.
However Dean Jesse concluded in his study that it is highly probable that such a revelation does exist.’’ Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought; Autumn, 1970, pg. 15, footnote 10.

Minutes of the Church Trial of John W. Taylor: ‘‘The date of this Revelation is Sept. 1886, four years before the Manifesto of President Woodruff and I remember at that time that President Taylor and all his brethren were very strongly entrenched in the principle of plural marriage. From 1880-1890 men were almost commanded to enter it, especially the officials of the Church...’’ Published Minutes of John W. Taylor’s Church Trial.

Quote from John Taylor:

John Taylor's watch was struck with a ball
which saved his life,
fired in Carthage Jail when he and others were
attacked by the mob that killed Joseph Smith.

‘‘God has given me a revelation in regard to celestial marriage, I did not make it...Yet they would like us to tone that principle down, and change it, and make it applicable to the views of the day.  Yet they would like us to tone that principle down, and change it, and make it applicable to the views of the day.’’  This we cannot do, nor can we interfere with any of the commandments of god to meet the persuasions and behest of men. I cannot do it  and will not do it. I find some men trying to twist round the principle in any way and every way they can. They want to sneak out of it in some way. Now, God doesn’t want any sycophancy like that. He expects us to be true to Him and the principles he has delivered, and to feel as Job did, ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.’ ...These are our feelings in relation to this matter. We have been told that, ‘It is not meet that men who will not abide my law shall preside over my priesthood’,  and yet some people would like very much to do it. Well they cannot do it. If God has introduced something for our glory and exaltation, we are not going to have that kicked over by improper influences), neither inside or outside of the Church of the living God.’’ John Taylor, JD 25:309.