....the manual deceptive in disclosing whether or not Brigham Young was a polygamist...."

....the manual deceptive in disclosing whether or not Brigham Young was a polygamist...."

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*Furthermore, the use of square brackets is an accepted editorial convention when a later author wants to use an earlier author's words but change them slightly to fit a different purpose without changing the overall message of the quote. In the case of the quote in question (which is not quoted in the "Letter to a CES Director"), Brigham Young is giving counsel to a group of men on how they can be good leaders in their families, which for many of them at the time would have included polygamous marriages. In the modern church, members would only have one spouse, yet the counsel on how to be good leaders of families is still relevant, though it would require an editorial change (clearly marked in square brackets) to change "wives" to "wife".  

*Furthermore, the use of square brackets is an accepted editorial convention when a later author wants to use an earlier author's words but change them slightly to fit a different purpose without changing the overall message of the quote. In the case of the quote in question (which is not quoted in the "Letter to a CES Director"), Brigham Young is giving counsel to a group of men on how they can be good leaders in their families, which for many of them at the time would have included polygamous marriages. In the modern church, members would only have one spouse, yet the counsel on how to be good leaders of families is still relevant, though it would require an editorial change (clearly marked in square brackets) to change "wives" to "wife".  

*Note also that a careful reading of the quotations as shown in the manual or in their original sources (which is clearly referenced in the manual) will show that Brigham is not actually referring to his ''own'' wives and family in these quotes but to the families of the ''people he was addressing'', so the suggestion that this quote somehow recasts Brigham as a monogamist is somewhat puzzling.  The fact that the author of the letter mentions changing "wives" to "wife" in the Brigham Young manual without sharing the actual quote, which provides this additional explanatory context, suggests that this criticism is borrowed from elsewhere, since many sectarian critics of the church picked up on this story when the manual first came out and characterized it in similar terms and without the proper context, as the author has done here. A FAIR publication by Mike Parker, [http://www.fairlds.org/authors/parker-mike/the-church-portrayal-of-brigham-young "The Church’s Portrayal of Brigham Young,"] explains further:

*Note also that a careful reading of the quotations as shown in the manual or in their original sources (which is clearly referenced in the manual) will show that Brigham is not actually referring to his ''own'' wives and family in these quotes but to the families of the ''people he was addressing'', so the suggestion that this quote somehow recasts Brigham as a monogamist is somewhat puzzling.  The fact that the author of the letter mentions changing "wives" to "wife" in the Brigham Young manual without sharing the actual quote, which provides this additional explanatory context, suggests that this criticism is borrowed from elsewhere, since many sectarian critics of the church picked up on this story when the manual first came out and characterized it in similar terms and without the proper context, as the author has done here. A FAIR publication by Mike Parker, [http://www.fairlds.org/authors/parker-mike/the-church-portrayal-of-brigham-young "The Church’s Portrayal of Brigham Young,"] explains further: