From Forbidden Love to Eternal Marriage

A pioneer Romeo & Juliet with a twist.

🎶He was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious?🎶

Pioneer girl, Elizabeth Stollworthy was in big trouble…

She was in love with a boy from hell.

You see…

He was from Mt. Carmel, and she was from Orderville.

In the early days of the church, they attempted to live out the law of consecration & set up the “United Order.” Little communities that practiced communal living. Orderville was one of these communities… and they did not like outsiders.

It was said that the people within Orderville called it heaven and Mt. Carmel hell. If anyone wanted to join the Order, it had to be approved by the entire community (majority vote). And according to Elizabeth, marriage had to be approved of by the bishop.

Her beloved, William, went to the bishop not once, not twice, but three times in hopes to be granted permission to marry Elizabeth. However, the bishop denied the request each time. In addition, he told William that if they did get married, they would be excommunicated.

But, Elizabeth and William did not give up.

Like Romeo and Juliet, they decided to get married in secret, never revealing who it was that took the risk and married them. (spoiler alert: It was William’s brother, an Elder of the Church) They wed on April 21, 1875.

Eventually, the church authorities came down and heard their woes. Elizabeth and William were reassured that they would not be excommunicated as the bishop had threatened.

Two years later, the St. George temple was completed and they were sealed there.

After they lived mostly happily ever after.

“William Jackson Jolley Jr and Elizabeth Jenkensen Stolworthy .” FamilySearch.Org, Nov. 2015, www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KWCV-M49.