A Concise History of Joseph Smith's Polygamy



DISCLAIMER #1:
I obtain information from a variety of sources. I do not believe everything I read. As for topics relating to the church, I sometimes find online sources in which the voice is simply too obscene, bitter, and/or biased that I automatically discredit the source and move on. Other sources of church-related information which are not produced by the church but include highly credible citations and links to historical documents provide meaningful validation which I find to be extremely important and helpful in reaching conclusions and forming personal opinions.

Much of what I read concerning the history of polygamy in the LDS church directly contradicts the traditional church narrative, or, at the very least, fills in gaps with credible information that was omitted in the LDS version of history. Some of the omissions occurred because the church did not rely on trained historians to write its own history, but, rather, traditionally-held narratives and stories meant to inspire and promote complete loyalty to the church and to the latter-day prophets were the accepted method of maintaining and sharing historical events. Some of the omissions, however, were intentional. As discussed in the introduction of this blog, Boyd K. Packer was very firm in his belief that troubling church history should remain hidden from the general membership. Joseph Fielding Smith, as official church historian for many decades, maintained a "rolling vault" in which he would keep potentially controversial documents under lock and key. In his book, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, he edited out many statements made by Joseph Smith that were troubling in nature and/or contradicted the contemporary church teachings at the time. Sadly, some historical accounts which were presented to unsuspecting, faithful church members by well-meaning leaders were, simply put, just not true. The new LDS essays available on lds.org do a much better job of illuminating troubling issues of the past, but are still considered by many to be somewhat biased and only contain semi-transparency.

I believe it's important that I attempt to gain knowledge from as many highly credible sources as I can, thoughtfully consider their content and validity, and develop conclusions that seem the most likely given the information available. I always reserve the right to change my mind as more information becomes available.

DISCLAIMER #2:
The fact that one can believe that Joseph Smith was not authorized by God to restore polygamy to the earth doesn't automatically negate all of his prophetic spiritual experiences and claims. One can certainly support the notion that he was a prophet of God who was, at the very same time, merely mortal and significantly flawed. Put simply, no individual human is all good or all bad. I find the words recorded in D&C 124:1 quite compelling, "Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, I am well pleased with your offering and acknowledgments, which you have made; for unto this end have I raised you up, that I might show forth my wisdom through the weak things of the earth."

For anyone reading this blog who wants to maintain a firm belief in the traditional LDS narrative concerning the origin and purpose of Mormon polygamy I would strongly advise you to skip this post and disregard the attached links.

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In October 2013 General Conference, Dieter F. Uchtdorf made this profound and unprecedented declaration, "And, to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes." (here) Actually, his entire talk deserves revisiting.

Mormon plural marriage, I believe, was one of those mistakes. A HUGE mistake! I am far from alone. Many members of the church are finding themselves struggling with Mormon polygamy. I find myself in a smaller subset of that group - those who's ancestry and personal lived experiences have been highly affected by the practice of polygamy. As I had been taught to believe it was a God-given, God-inspired, God-sanctioned, and God-ordained principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a saving ordinance necessary to obtain eternal exaltation (no longer available to be practiced in this life but definitely required in the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom), various resources now widely available throw a huge wrench into that system of belief.  Countless books, scholarly articles, and now online blogs and podcasts are dedicated to this topic. If you have a few hundred hours to spare, I highly recommend Lindsay Hansen Park's "Year of Polygamy" podcast series (here). Knowing that there is no possible way to do the subject justice in one blog post, I'm providing select historical information concerning Joseph Smith's involvement in polygamy in the form of a brief summary. In the interest of (my) time, I am not including citations. Documented historical evidence to support these claims are easily found online. However, without proper citations, feel free to be completely skeptical as you read what I'm offering. I would suggest anyone who would like to explore the topic further utilize Google for an exhaustive search or follow the links below for select information and opinions.

From 1832 until 1843 Joseph Smith married young teenagers, single women, and married women as plural wives. Some of the married women were propositioned by him after he sent their husbands away on missions. It is believed among many scholars that Joseph may have been indirectly introduced to the concept of modern-day polygamy by John C. Bennett through the teachings of Jacob Cochran (here) as well as his study of the Old Testament. The exact number of his plural wives is unknown, but most scholars put it in the neighborhood of 30-40. Exactly how Joseph was able to justify the acquisition of plural wives several years prior to the sealing power being restored to the earth (in the Kirtland temple, 3 April 1836) is also unknown. Since D&C 132 allows for plural wives as well as "concubines", some present-day historians speculate that some of Joseph's "wives" were actually extra-marital affairs. His first plural wife (in addition to Emma) or "concubine" was a teenage servant in the Smith home, Fanny Alger. Oliver Cowdery would later call their relationship a "dirty, nasty, filthy affair" and it would be reported that Emma had probably witnessed a sexual act between Joseph and Fanny as she looked in the barn and "saw the transaction". There's no credible evidence to suggest that he had sex with all of his wives, but there is significant documentation and court testimony that he had sex with many of them, some while simultaneously married to other men.





Despite the fact that Joseph had already begun practicing plural marriage in 1832, a revelation was given in August 1835 (published as section 101 in an earlier edition of D&C) as a response to outside accusations concerning Joseph's polygamy: "According to the custom of all civilized nations, marriage is regulated by laws and ceremonies; therefore we believe that all marriages in this Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints should be solemnized in a public meeting or feast prepared for that purpose…We believe that it is not right to prohibit members of this Church from marrying out of the Church…Inasmuch as this Church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy, we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife, and one woman but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again." This statement was also published in the Times and Seasons 1 Sept 1842 and again 1 October 1842. Despite this scripture-based doctrine and public declaration, Joseph continued to secretly obtain plural wives.

Often Joseph Smith would convert another trusted male church member to the principle of plural marriage and then ask that he proposition his own wife, sister, or daughter on Joseph's behalf. Sometimes this transaction involved bartering - Joseph would offer to obtain a plural wife for his male associate on the condition that the female relative of the male associate agree to be married to Joseph.

Some women reported receiving spiritual confirmation that plural marriage to Joseph Smith was the Lord's will. Other women, however, reported being coerced or threatened with excommunication and eternal damnation if they didn't comply with his proposal. Some women who had testified in court on related matters had also recounted turning down his marriage propositions. They reported being publicly slandered and discredited by Joseph and other church leaders.

Emma Smith was unaware of most of Joseph's plural marriages as they happened. She was deeply embittered over the practice of polygamy as well as Joseph's lies and deceitfulness associated with it. Emma reportedly gave consent for Joseph to marry a mere handful of his plural wives. In consideration of this gesture, she and Joseph both considered the idea of Emma being given an additional husband, namely William Law.  That relationship never happened. The church claims that the very first modern-day sealing happened between Joseph and Emma on 28 May 1843, but many of Joseph's other wives reported that their sealings to him happened prior to that date. The revelation authorizing plural marriage was presented to Emma in 1843 (several years after Joseph obtained Fanny Alger as his first plural wife or concubine) in hopes of winning her loyalty. Included in the revelation was the Lord's command to "mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else." It also included the threat that "if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law." Reportedly she threw the revelation in the fire. (William Clayton, who acted as Joseph's Smith's scribe in recording the revelation, retained a copy which later became the text for D&C 132.)

In August 1843 plural marriage was announced to the Nauvoo High Council by Hyrum Smith. One high counselor quickly resigned his position. Subsequently, a few more otherwise unsuspecting male church leaders were secretly and selectively informed of the practice. Those who could not accept it were relieved of their church callings. The men who pushed back against it were excommunicated.

In the meantime, accusations of church-sanctioned polygamy were constantly being hurled at the church and, more specifically, at Joseph Smith. Non-Mormons were incensed at the thought of such an immoral, abusive practice happening within the community and among their neighbors. Much of the persecution directed toward the church and to Joseph himself was directly linked to polygamy.

In 1844, in response to public outcries and slander aimed at a select group of Mormon women accused of engaging in polygamy, Emma Smith, the president of the Relief Society, presented a document entitled "A Voice of Innocence From Nauvoo" to the body of the Relief Society members. The final resolution stated: "That while we render credence to the doctrines of Paul, that neither the man is without the woman; neither is the woman without the man in the Lord, yet we raise our voices and hands against John C. Bennett’s “spiritual wife system,” as a grand scheme of profligates to seduce women; and they that harp upon it, wish to make it popular for the convenience of their own cupidity; wherefore, while the marriage bed, undefiled is honorable, let polygamy, bigamy, fornication, adultery, and prostitution, be frowned out of the hearts of honest men to drop into the gulf of fallen nature, ‘where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched! and let all the saints say, Amen!" It was unanimously adopted by the members of the Relief Society. (Their defiance of plural marriage was a significant factor in Brigham Young's directive to disband the Relief Society following the death of Joseph. It was not reinstated until 1854 after Brigham Young and his followers had relocated to Utah.)




William Law (a member of Joseph's First Presidency) and his associates, in opposition to polygamy, were key figures in the events which resulted in Joseph Smith's death in June 1844. Many important events occurred during the first half of 1844. Here's the timeline:

1 Jan 1844 William Law wrote in his journal that he first learned about Mormon polygamy.

8 Jan 1844 William Law was dropped as the first counselor in the First Presidency.

April 1844 William Law, wife Sarah, and his brother were excommunicated from the church.

1 May 1844 Francis M. Higbee filed a legal complaint in the Fifth Judicial District of Illinois, suing Smith for slander and requesting damages of five thousand dollars.

13 May 1844 William Law wrote in his journal that Joseph "has lately endeavored to seduce my wife." Jane Law reported that Joseph "asked her to give him half her love; she was at liberty to keep the other half for her husband."

18 May 1844 The church excommunicated Higbee and 4 others for apostasy.

23 May 1844 William Law filed suit in Hancock County Illinois against Joseph Smith for living in adultery with Maria Lawrence, one of Joseph's many wives, and obtained a grand jury indictment against Joseph.

Also in May 1844 William Law and his associates distributed a prospectus introducing a new publication called the Nauvoo Expositor. The prospectus indicated that a major purpose of the publication would be to "decry moral imperfections" wherever found.



Joseph vehemently denied practicing polygamy and continued to publicly condemned the practice. On 26 May 1844, as documented in the History of the Church (vol 6, p 408-411), Smith declared:
“Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet. You know my daily walk and conversation. I am in the bosom of a virtuous and good people. How I do love to hear the wolves howl! When they can get rid of me, the devil will also go....What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, and I can only find one.” 

The first and only edition of the Nauvoo Expositor (facsimile here) was published on 7 June 1844. The Expositor publicly exposed Joseph Smith's private teachings concerning polygamy despite his constant and continual public denials. It contained affidavits made by William Law, his wife Jane, and Austin Cowles:

"I hereby certify that Hyrum Smith did, (in his office,) read to me a certain written document, which he said was a revelation from God, he said that he was with Joseph when it was received. He afterwards gave me the document to read, and I took it to my house, and read it, and showed it to my wife, and returned it next day, the revelation (so called) authorized certain men to have more wives than one at a time, in this world and in the world to come. It said this was the law, and commanded Joseph to enter into the law.--And also that he should administer to others. Several other items were in the revelation, supporting the above doctrines." William Law



 "I certify that I read the revelation referred to in the above affidavit of my husband, it sustained in strong terms the doctrine of more wives that one at a time, in this world, and in the next, it authorized some to have to the number of ten, and set forth that those women who would not allow their husbands to have more wives than one who should be under condemnation before God." Jane Law


 "To all whom it may Concern: Forasmuch as the public mind hath been much agitated by a course of procedure in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by a number of persons declaring against certain doctrines and practices therein, (among whom I am one,) it is but meet that I should give my reasons, at least in part, as a cause that hath led me to declare myself. In the latter part of the summer, 1843, the Patriarch, Hyrum Smith, did in the High Council, of which I was a member, introduce what he said was a revelation given through the Prophet; that the said Hyrum Smith did essay to read the said revelation in the said Council, that according to his reading there was contained the following doctrines; 1st, the sealing up of persons to eternal life, against all sins, save that of sheding innocent blood or of consenting thereto; 2nd, the doctrine of a plurality of wives, or marrying virgins; that 'David and Solomon had many wives, yet in this they sinned not save in the matter of Uriah.' This revelation with other evidence, that the aforesaid heresies were taught and practiced in the Church; determined me to leave the office of first counsellor to the president of the Church at Nauvoo, inasmuch as I dared not to teach or administer such laws. And further deponent saith not." Austin Cowles

Fearing the repercussions of his public lies and deceits having been exposed, three days later, on 10 June 1844, as Mayor of Nauvoo, Joseph Smith convened the Nauvoo City Council where "he proceeded to put the Expositor and its editors on trial, as if that body was of a judicial instead of a legislative character." After the city council declared the Expositor a public nuisance, Smith issued two orders for the Expositor's destruction, "You are hereby commanded to destroy the printing press from whence issues the Nauvoo Expositor, and to pi the type of said printing establishment in the street, and burn all the Expositors and libelous handbills found within said establishment." City Marshall John P. Greene, accompanied by a posse of several hundred, carried out the destruction. On 12 June 1844 the Hancock County Justice of the Peace issued a warrant for the arrest of Joseph Smith and 17 others. On 19 June, Joseph Smith declared martial law and put his four-thousand-member Nauvoo Legion militia on alert before he and his brother Hyrum Smith escaped across the Mississippi River. They returned home after Joseph read a letter from his wife Emma pleading for him not to run from his charges.

More legal actions ensued, and finally, on 25 June 1844 Joseph and Hyrum, along with 15 other co-defendants surrendered. Following additional testimony and legal proceedings, the Smith brothers were charged with treason against Illinois and transported to Carthage Jail. At about 5pm on 27 June 1844, as Joseph and Hyrum Smith along with Willard Richards and John Taylor were confined in an upper room of the jail, members of the "Carthage Greys" converged on the prison grounds. Some of them made their way up the staircase and began firing at the 4 men through the locked door. Hyrum was killed early on in the attack. Joseph, having obtained a pistol earlier that day, fired 6 shots toward the mob, wounding at least 3 of the attackers. As reported by John Taylor (here), Joseph attempted to make his escape through an open window to avoid his eminent death. There are contradictory accounts as to the specifics of his death. Some report that he fell out the window and was subsequently killed on the ground while others report that he was shot multiple times and died as a result of bullet wounds and the fall. As Joseph Smith lay on the ground, it was reported that William Vorhease, one of the attackers, turned Joseph on his back, struck him, and proclaimed "...now go and see your spiritual wives in hell." Willard Richards and John Taylor survived their wounds.




But the concept and practice of Mormon polygamy didn't die with Brother Joseph. At the time of Joseph Smith's death, at least 27 other men in the Mormon hierarchy had been converted to the practice as a way to build their own principalities in God's Kingdom, populate their own worlds, and provide eternal exaltation to a multitude of their wives and posterity as only worthy, Priesthood-holding Mormon men could do. It wasn't until 1852, after Brigham Young led the majority of the church members to the Salt Lake Valley away from the close, watchful eye of the US government was Mormon plural marriage publicly announced by church leaders and openly practiced.

Links concerning Mormon polygamy:

1 - lds.org essay: "Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo" here
2 - lds.org essay: "Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" here
3 - lds.org essay: "Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah" here
4 - lds.org essay: "The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage"here
5 - Blog post: "Polygamy Timeline" (with comprehensive citations and documentation) here
6 - Blog post: "Honesty and Polygamy – A timeline from only official LDS sources" here
7 - Book: Why the "LATTER DAY SAINTS" Marry a Plurality of Wives, by Benjamin F. Johnson, 1854, in which he wrote (p 13) here:
“And were we called upon, we should feel abundantly able to show, not only that our Saviour honored this doctrine of polygamy, by being born into the world through such a lineage, but that He adopted and practiced it himself in a marriage with Mary, Martha and Mary Magdalene, which is not only shown by the predictions of the Prophets, but by His general demeanor and inter course with them, whose affections for Him were in every way demonstrated by kindness, solicitude and attention; and such being his love for Mary and Martha that He sympathized in the death of their brother, and wept with them over his tomb, manifesting such especial regard for the sister of Martha that she became known as ‘the Mary whom Jesus loved;’ His marriage to whom, no doubt, occurred at Canaan of Galilee, where His mother, who officiated, called upon Him to furnish wine for the guests which was so miraculously produced by the changing of water into wine – His wives following Him whithersoever He went – being the last at the Cross and the first at the Sepulchre – unto whom he also first appeared after His resurrection from the dead.”

Benjamin F. Johnson was a member of the Council of Fifty and a former private secretary to Joseph Smith. An account of him being introduced to Mormon polygamy by Joseph Smith himself can be found here.

8 - Blog post: "Polygamy by Numbers: How Many Mormons Were Really Involved?" here
9 - Blog post: "Ten Things Polygamy Gave Mormonism" here
10 - Wikipedia: "Origin of Latter-day Saint Polygamy" here
11 - Mormon Polygamy Documents here


UPDATE: Through a recent online discussion I became aware of a version of this story published in an LDS Primary teaching manual currently used to teach 8-11 yr. old children (here) entitled "Lesson 37: Joseph and Hyrum Smith are Martyred". It reads in part:
"By 1844 the Saints had built Nauvoo into a large and prosperous city in Illinois, and more members of the Church were moving to Nauvoo each day. Many non–Latter-day Saints in Illinois were afraid of the potential economic and political power of so many members of the Church. They began to persecute the Saints.
"Some enemies of the Church believed that if they got rid of Joseph Smith, the Church would fall apart. These men started a newspaper in which they told many vicious lies about Joseph Smith. The members of the Church were angry about these lies. Joseph Smith, who was mayor of Nauvoo at the time, called a meeting of the city council, which was composed of both Church members and nonmembers. The city council declared the newspaper a “public nuisance” and ordered the town marshal to destroy the printing press used to print the newspaper."
Not only is there absolutely no mention of polygamy contributing to the death of Joseph Smith and the persecution of the church, but, as I have linked to the one and only edition of the Mormon Expositor, I can find nothing that would be classified as "vicious lies". William Law and his associates were not "enemies of the church" as implied in the statement in the manual. They were faithful, loyal associates of the prophet until they became aware that polygamy was taught and practiced by the prophet and other high-ranking church leaders and they were cut off (excommunicated) from the church because of their rejection of plural marriage. Joseph Smith's secret practice of plural marriage and his constant denial of that fact is well-proven and documented, even by the church itself (see lds.org links above). The three short statements exposing Joseph Smith's practice of and beliefs concerning Mormon polygamy as published in the Mormon Expositor were not "vicious lies" and they did not anger the general membership of the church in the way the Primary manual implies. 

I understand that some may feel the subject of polygamy would not be an appropriate discussion for impressionable children, especially when the discussion would be led by non-professional teachers, but misrepresenting the truth to very impressionable youth is extremely troubling to me. This is but one of many, many examples of how the church has historically and routinely white-washed its own history and the portrayal of its leaders. Ultimately, as the truth is eventually discovered by otherwise unsuspecting members they will be forced to deal with the church's disingenuous methods of reporting and teaching its own history. As more and more discrepancies are discovered, it becomes impossible to know when church historians and leaders were telling the truth and when they were not. For members earnestly seeking a resolution to the conflicting historical accounts their complete trust in the church and its leaders will fail them. Members who experience this suffer a huge loss and experience symptoms much akin to a grieving process. I know from very personal experience just how painful and isolating this process can be.  In this information age and in the interest of faithful members everywhere, it needs to stop.


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