Joseph Smith, Jr. and Polygamy
Encyclopedia
Polygamy
, or plural marriage
, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints probably originated with the founder of Mormonism
, Joseph Smith, Jr., who taught that polygamy (or at least polygyny
) was a divine commandment. Smith practiced it personally, by some accounts marrying as many as 30 women. Evidence for Smith's position is provided by "sealing" records, public marriage licenses (in many cases notarized), affidavits, letters, journals and diaries, but Smith and the leading church quorums denied that he preached or practiced polygamy. Smith's son Joseph Smith III
, his widow Emma Smith, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
(RLDS, now called the Community of Christ
) challenged the evidence and taught that Joseph Smith had opposed polygamy. They instead claimed that Brigham Young
introduced plural marriage.
is uncertain.
Some scholars believe that Smith proclaimed a revelation recommending polygamy on July 17, 1831. This alleged revelation is described in a letter to Brigham Young
written in 1861 by an early Mormon convert, William W. Phelps, thirty years after the supposed revelation. This was during a period when church leaders were justifying the practice and origins of plural marriage, particularly to Mormon splinter groups who did not agree with the practice.
The key portion of the revelation proclaims:
This wording is comparable with 2 Nephi 30:5–6 in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon
, which states that when Native Americans receive the gospel they will become a "white and a delightsome people." Unlike the 1831 revelation, the 1830 version of the Book of Mormon does not specify that the Native Americans would become "white and delightsome" through plural marriage. A note from W. W. Phelps in the same document explains how the conversion of the Native Americans coincided with Joseph Smith's plan for a new system of marriage:
A reference was made to this revelation five months after its alleged date in a letter by Mormon apostate Ezra Booth
to the Ohio Star on 8 December 1831, in which he refers to the "revelation [that the Mormon Elders] form a matrimonial alliance with the Natives", but the letter makes no reference to polygamy. This letter is important because it confirms the authenticity of the revelation, but some regard it as problematic because had it mentioned polygamy Booth would have mentioned it in his anti-Mormon agenda. Three authors assert that a second record of the revelation exists, believed to be in the LDS Church Historical Department, though its existence is not confirmed.
The Church never published Phelps' note or letter, nor has it been canonized as part of Mormon scripture, which was done with many of Smith's other revelations. The Church never had a policy requiring its members to marry Native Americans. Historian Fawn Brodie said in 1943 that the Utah Church historian Joseph F. Smith told her that a revelation foreshadowing polygamy had been written in 1831 but never published, and that although its existence in the church library is acknowledged, "in conformity with the church policy," Brodie would not be permitted to examine it.
Though the 1831 revelation is cited by Mormon historians, non-Mormon historians, and critics, there are dissenting opinions, and no consensus has been reached.
, and Lyman Johnson
, said that Joseph Smith was teaching plural marriage as early as 1831 or 1832. Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, Smith's ninth wife claimed that Smith had a private conversation with her in 1831 when she was twelve. Pratt reported that Smith told some early members in 1831 and 1832 that plural marriage was a true principle, but that the time to practice it had not yet come. Lyman Johnson also claimed to have heard the doctrine from Smith in 1831. Mosiah Hancock reported that his father was taught about plural marriage in the spring of 1832.
William Clayton, Smith's scribe, recorded early polygamous marriages in 1843, including unions between Smith and Eliza Partridge, Emily Partridge, Sarah Ann Whitney
, Helen Kimball and Flora Woodworth.
, who went into hiding in 1830 to escape imprisonment for supporting polygamy. Mormons held two conferences at Saco, Maine
, the center of Cochranism, on June 13, 1834, and August 21, 1835. At the latter conference at least seven newly-ordained Mormon apostles were in attendance, including Brigham Young. Young became acquainted with Cochran's followers as he made several missionary journeys through Cochranite territory from Boston to Saco, and later married Augusta Adams Cobb, a former Cochranite. Others who spent time among the Cochranites were Orson Hyde
and Joseph Smith, Jr.'s younger brother, Samuel H. Smith.
Among Cochran's marital innovations was 'spiritual wifery'. Ridlon wrote in 1895, "tradition assumes that [Cochran] received frequent consignments of spiritual consorts, and that such were invariably the most robust and attractive women in the community." Some new Cochranites remained polygamists, and moved from the east coast to the Mormon community of Kirtland, Ohio
. Rumors of polygamy associated with Mormons began to become public, enough to be denied in Mormon publications and mentioned in Mormon scripture in 1835, which noted:
In the text of the revelation, Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.
Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same.
For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory. ...
if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood ...
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end ...
to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law. ...
God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises. ...
Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it. ...
Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.
David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me. ...
David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me ...
And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph ...br/> Let no one, therefore, set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him ...
as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.
And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified. ...
[T]hen shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; ... if she receive not this law ... she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt[.]}} Christ commands the practice of polygamy or plural marriage in a "new and an everlasting covenant" and declares that anyone who rejects the new practices will suffer damnation and will not "be permitted to enter into my glory." The 1843 revelation also states that the first wife's consent should be sought before a man married another wife, but also declares that Christ will "destroy" the first wife if she does not consent to the plural marriage, and that the husband is exempt from asking his wife's consent in the future.
The revelation states that plural wives "are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfill the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men."
The revelation was not made public to the LDS church as a whole until Brigham Young revealed it in 1852. Young claimed that the original had been burned by Smith's widow Emma Smith, though Emma denied that the document ever existed and said of the story told by Young: "It is false in all its parts, made out of whole cloth, without any foundation in truth." Published affidavits by eyewitnesses accusing Church leaders of following the teaching and engaging in polygamy had resulted in Smith's murder by a mob in 1844
. The revelation was codified in Mormon canon as part of the Doctrine and Covenants 132 in the 1870s, though it was rejected by the RLDS Church as not originating with Smith. Emma Smith said that the first she knew of the 1843 revelation was when she read of it in Orson Pratt
's booklet The Seer in 1853.
". Kimball, Smith's 28th wife, wrote of her experience of celestial marriage
in 1843–44, Written accounts of Smith's alleged liaisons are recorded as early as 1831, including Smith's relationship with Fanny Alger
(age 16), and with Marinda Nancy Johnson (age 16) in 1831,
and Eliza R. Snow. Historians conclude that Smith had multiple wives, but as Compton states little is known of these marriages after the sealing ceremony. Allegations that Smith had at least one child born to a plural wife remain unproven. Statements by William Law
and Eliza R. Snow indicate that at least some of the marriages included sexual intimacy.
Some of the tallies include proxy sealings that occurred after Smith's death. The use of the term 'sealing' (which is a LDS priesthood
ordinance that binds individuals together in the eternities), and a 'marriage' (a social tradition in which the man and woman agree to be husband and wife in this life) may indicate that the participants did not understand sealing to equate to marriage. In those early days, common practices and doctrines were not yet well-defined. Many of the women, perhaps all but Emma, did not join Smith in a family unit.
In 2005 and 2007 studies, a geneticist with the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
showed that five of these individuals were in fact not Smith descendants: Mosiah Hancock (son of Clarissa Reed Hancock), Oliver Buell (son of Prescindia Huntington Buell), Moroni Llewellyn Pratt (son of Mary Ann Frost Pratt), Zebulon Jacobs (son of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith), and Orrison Smith (son of Fanny Alger). The remaining seven have yet to be tested, including Josephine Lyon, for whom current DNA testing cannot provide conclusive evidence either way. Lyon's mother, Sylvia Sessions Lyon, left her daughter a deathbed affidavit telling her she was Smith's daughter. Research into this history is complicated by Y-DNA genetic testing
only being possible for descendants with an unbroken male line
, and because two candidates died as infants.
Smith was accused by Sarah Pratt in an 1886 interview with "vitriolic anti-Mormon journalist W. Wyl" of allowing John C. Bennett
, a medical doctor, to perform abortions on polygamous wives who were legally single, which Pratt alleged limited Smith's progeny from these wives. She based this on statements made to her by Bennett. Orson Pratt
, Sarah Pratt's husband, later considered Bennett a liar. Sarah Pratt said, "[I] know that the principle statements in John C. Bennett's book on Mormonism are true."
"rocked with tales that connected Joseph with Bennett's scandals." Bennett accused Smith of subsequently introducing new code words
for polygamy—'celestial marriage', 'plurality of wives', 'spiritual wifeism'—to conceal the controversial practice, which Smith and the leadership of the church repeatedly publicly denied. Sarah Pratt claimed in an 1886 interview that while in Nauvoo over forty years earlier Smith was attracted to her and intended to make her "one of his spiritual wives." According to Bennett, while Pratt's husband Orson was in England on missionary service, Smith proposed to Pratt by invoking the 1843 polygamy revelation: "Sister Pratt, the Lord has given you to me as one of my spiritual wives. I have the blessings of Jacob granted me, as he granted holy men of old, and I have long looked upon you with favor, and hope you will not repulse or deny me", to which Bennett claimed Pratt replied: "Am I called upon to break the marriage covenant ... to my lawful husband! I never will. I care not for the blessings of Jacob, and I believe in NO SUCH revelations, neither will I consent under any circumstances. I have one good husband, and that is enough for me."
Published allegations of adultery against Sarah Pratt and Bennett appeared in local and church publications with signed affidavits from her neighbors Stephen and Zeruiah Goddard and others. Dr. Robert D. Foster made the following allegation against Bennett and Pratt: Pratt later claimed that Zeruiah Goddard told her these testimonies were made under threat from Joseph's brother Hyrum Smith
: Van Wagoner concluded that the adultery charges against Sarah Pratt are "highly improbable" and could "be dismissed as slander." In addition to Pratt, Van Wagoner states that Nancy Rigdon and Martha Brotherton "also suffered slanderous attacks because they exposed the Church's private polygamy posture." Orson Pratt stood by his wife in preference to the denials of Smith, who told his disciple Orson that "If [Orson] did believe his wife and follow her suggestions he would go to hell". Wilford Woodruff
stated that "Dr. John Cook Bennett was the ruin of Orson Pratt". Van Wagoner and Walker note that, on August 20, 1842, "after four days of fruitless efforts at reconciliation, the Twelve excommunicated Pratt for 'insubordination' and Sarah for 'adultery. However, after a brief period of estrangement from Smith and the church in 1842, Orson Pratt labeled Bennett a liar:
Sidney Rigdon
wrote a letter to the Messenger and Advocate
in 1844 condemning the conduct of the Quorum of the Twelve,
According to Van Wagoner,
A group of former church members were in open conflict with Smith for various economic and political reasons, and because Smith had disciplined some of them in church courts for adultery, thievery, and other crimes. William Law, a member of the First Presidency, became the head of this group. Accusations of church leader polygamy were published by the group in the Nauvoo Expositor
on June 7, 1844, in which several signed and notarized affidavits from eyewitnesses about the revelation were reproduced. The affidavit by Law stated, "Hyrum Smith [read] a revelation from God, he said that he was with Joseph when it was received. ... The revelation (so called) authorized certain men to have more wives than one at a time." The affidavit by Austin Cowles stated "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 [containing] the doctrine of a plurality of wives."
Both Joseph and his brother Hyrum, days before their murder by a mob, spoke about the accusations at a Nauvoo city council meeting of June 8, 1844. The meeting's purpose was ostensibly to address the Nauvoo Expositors accusations of Mormon licentiousness, though after two days of consultation, Smith and the Nauvoo city council voted on June 10, 1844 to declare the paper a public nuisance and ordered the paper's printing press destroyed. The published minutes quote Hyrum stating references "to the Revelation read to the High Council of the Church, which has caused so much talk about multiplicity of wives; that said Revelation was in answer to a question concerning things which transpired in former days, and had no reference to the present time [original emphasis]. Following Hyrum, Joseph Smith said "they make a criminality for a man to have a wife on earth while he has one in heaven" and that "the Revelation was given in view of eternity": 'He received for answer, men in this life must marry in view of eternity, otherwise they must remain as angels, or be single in heaven, which was the amount of the Revelation referred to[.].
In author H. Michael Marquardt's opinion, "this was an attempt by Smith to obscure the real intent of the revelatory message," and W. E. La Rue emphasizes the contradiction between the statements of the two brothers. J. L. Clark writes that Hyrum's statement "appeared in the Nauvoo Neighbor
of June 19, 1844, but was omitted from [B.H. Roberts' book] History of the Church
, published years later in Utah."
Joseph and Hyrum Smith were subsequently jailed and charged with treason
against the state of Illinois
for declaring martial law
in Nauvoo. On June 27, 1844, in spite of a promise of protection from Illinois governor Thomas Ford
, a mob attacked the prison and killed both brothers, an event that prompted Smith's successor Brigham Young to lead the Mormon Exodus to Utah
in 1846–47.
Young expounded on Pratt's words later that day. Young's proclamation began:
Pratt and Young's words came nine years after Smith's purported original revelation and five years after the Mormon Exodus to Utah.
and published as the 1890 Manifesto
. Polygamy was finally effectively ended with the Second Manifesto
.
(RLDS). In the late nineteenth century, the origin of polygamy was one issue among many that RLDS and LDS used to assert one organization's legitimacy over the other. Joseph F. Smith
, sixth president of the LDS Church, stated in responding to the claim that polygamy originated with Brigham Young rather than Joseph Smith, Jr.:
. Smith III's ideas about his father and polygamy evolved throughout his life.
Smith III was an ardent opponent of plural marriage. Throughout his tenure as Prophet-President, Smith denied his father's involvement and attributed it instead to Brigham Young. Smith III served many missions to the western United States where he met with associates and women who claimed to be his father's widows. In the end, Smith concluded that he was "not positive nor sure that [his father] was innocent" and that if, indeed, the elder Smith had been involved, it was still a false practice.
One of the founders of the Reorganization, Jason W. Briggs
, a presiding elder in Wisconsin during the early 1840s, maintained throughout his life that Joseph Smith, Jr. had originated polygamy and that God would punish Smith for his "transgressions." Briggs said that the church needed to simply deal with the issue and move on. The editor of the earliest official RLDS periodical, Isaac Sheen, similarly affirmed Smith's involvement. He wrote that Joseph Smith, Jr. gave a revelation and committed polygamy, but repented of this "sin" before his death. Sheen's statement was affirmed by William Marks
, the stake president of Nauvoo during Joseph Smith, Jr.'s lifetime and a close counselor to Joseph Smith III. Marks claimed to have seen Hyrum Smith read the polygamy revelation to the High Council in 1843. Marks also affirmed that Joseph Smith, Jr. had repented of the practice two to three weeks before his death in 1844. Similarly, James Whitehead, an RLDS member and clerk for Joseph Smith, Jr. affirmed that Emma Smith gave plural wives to Joseph Smith, Jr. on several occasions that he witnessed. Early in his life, Joseph Smith III could not affirm Marks and Whitehead despite the eye-witness nature of their statements.
) contend that polygamy originated with Brigham Young and not Joseph Smith, Jr., which was the official RLDS stance in the late nineteenth century. They note that the revelation endorsing polygamy and attributed to Smith was first presented by Young to his followers eight years after Smith's death as evidence that the revelation did not originate with Smith. They often cite Smith's own critical words on the subject of polygamy in official church publications as further evidence. They do not see the isolated statements to the contrary by early church reorganization leaders such as Isaac Sheen, William Marks, or Jason W. Briggs as credible, and they deny the legitimacy and truthfulness of sources that are commonly cited to prove that Joseph Smith Jr. was practicing or promoting plural and celestial marriage.
A segment of church members vehemently deny Smith's complicity, although the church no longer sees the issue as important. For people concerned about the topic and related to the RLDS tradition, the issue remains as much about current liberal versus conservative church politics as it does an issue of history.
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, or plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints probably originated with the founder of Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
, Joseph Smith, Jr., who taught that polygamy (or at least polygyny
Polygyny
Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
) was a divine commandment. Smith practiced it personally, by some accounts marrying as many as 30 women. Evidence for Smith's position is provided by "sealing" records, public marriage licenses (in many cases notarized), affidavits, letters, journals and diaries, but Smith and the leading church quorums denied that he preached or practiced polygamy. Smith's son Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...
, his widow Emma Smith, and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
(RLDS, now called the Community of Christ
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
) challenged the evidence and taught that Joseph Smith had opposed polygamy. They instead claimed that Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
introduced plural marriage.
1830s: origins
When polygamy was introduced into the Latter Day Saint movementLatter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
is uncertain.
Possible revelation in 1831
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
written in 1861 by an early Mormon convert, William W. Phelps, thirty years after the supposed revelation. This was during a period when church leaders were justifying the practice and origins of plural marriage, particularly to Mormon splinter groups who did not agree with the practice.
The key portion of the revelation proclaims:
This wording is comparable with 2 Nephi 30:5–6 in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, which states that when Native Americans receive the gospel they will become a "white and a delightsome people." Unlike the 1831 revelation, the 1830 version of the Book of Mormon does not specify that the Native Americans would become "white and delightsome" through plural marriage. A note from W. W. Phelps in the same document explains how the conversion of the Native Americans coincided with Joseph Smith's plan for a new system of marriage:
A reference was made to this revelation five months after its alleged date in a letter by Mormon apostate Ezra Booth
Ezra Booth
Ezra Booth was a member in the early Latter Day Saint movement.Booth had been a popular Methodist minister before going to Kirtland, Ohio with John and Alice Johnson in 1831. After witnessing Joseph Smith, Jr...
to the Ohio Star on 8 December 1831, in which he refers to the "revelation [that the Mormon Elders] form a matrimonial alliance with the Natives", but the letter makes no reference to polygamy. This letter is important because it confirms the authenticity of the revelation, but some regard it as problematic because had it mentioned polygamy Booth would have mentioned it in his anti-Mormon agenda. Three authors assert that a second record of the revelation exists, believed to be in the LDS Church Historical Department, though its existence is not confirmed.
The Church never published Phelps' note or letter, nor has it been canonized as part of Mormon scripture, which was done with many of Smith's other revelations. The Church never had a policy requiring its members to marry Native Americans. Historian Fawn Brodie said in 1943 that the Utah Church historian Joseph F. Smith told her that a revelation foreshadowing polygamy had been written in 1831 but never published, and that although its existence in the church library is acknowledged, "in conformity with the church policy," Brodie would not be permitted to examine it.
Though the 1831 revelation is cited by Mormon historians, non-Mormon historians, and critics, there are dissenting opinions, and no consensus has been reached.
Early teachings and practice
Many early converts, including Brigham Young, Orson PrattOrson Pratt
Orson Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles...
, and Lyman Johnson
Lyman E. Johnson
Lyman Eugene Johnson was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He broke with Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon during the 1837-38 period when schism divided the early Church...
, said that Joseph Smith was teaching plural marriage as early as 1831 or 1832. Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, Smith's ninth wife claimed that Smith had a private conversation with her in 1831 when she was twelve. Pratt reported that Smith told some early members in 1831 and 1832 that plural marriage was a true principle, but that the time to practice it had not yet come. Lyman Johnson also claimed to have heard the doctrine from Smith in 1831. Mosiah Hancock reported that his father was taught about plural marriage in the spring of 1832.
William Clayton, Smith's scribe, recorded early polygamous marriages in 1843, including unions between Smith and Eliza Partridge, Emily Partridge, Sarah Ann Whitney
Sarah Ann Whitney
Sarah Ann Whitney is alleged to have been a polygamous wife of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Early life:...
, Helen Kimball and Flora Woodworth.
Jacob Cochran
LDS historical sources indicate that as early as 1832, Mormon missionaries were converting followers of polygamist religious leader Jacob CochranJacob Cochran
Jacob Cochran was a non-denominational preacher born in Enfield, New Hampshire, USA who founded the Cochranites in Saco, Maine. Cochranite worship is said to have resembled Shakerism, but which also practiced a new doctrine called spiritual wifery...
, who went into hiding in 1830 to escape imprisonment for supporting polygamy. Mormons held two conferences at Saco, Maine
Saco, Maine
Saco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,482 at the 2010 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems , a subsidiary of the defense contractor General Dynamics...
, the center of Cochranism, on June 13, 1834, and August 21, 1835. At the latter conference at least seven newly-ordained Mormon apostles were in attendance, including Brigham Young. Young became acquainted with Cochran's followers as he made several missionary journeys through Cochranite territory from Boston to Saco, and later married Augusta Adams Cobb, a former Cochranite. Others who spent time among the Cochranites were Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde
Orson Hyde was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles...
and Joseph Smith, Jr.'s younger brother, Samuel H. Smith.
Among Cochran's marital innovations was 'spiritual wifery'. Ridlon wrote in 1895, "tradition assumes that [Cochran] received frequent consignments of spiritual consorts, and that such were invariably the most robust and attractive women in the community." Some new Cochranites remained polygamists, and moved from the east coast to the Mormon community of Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
. Rumors of polygamy associated with Mormons began to become public, enough to be denied in Mormon publications and mentioned in Mormon scripture in 1835, which noted:
1843 revelation
On July 12, 1843, Joseph Smith is said to have received a revelation that is much more widely accepted by historians. The revelation was supposedly dictated by Smith to his scribe William Clayton, and was shared with Emma Smith that day. Clayton wrote that day in his journal:In the text of the revelation, Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.
Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same.
For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory. ...
if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood ...
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end ...
to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law. ...
God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises. ...
Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it. ...
Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.
David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me. ...
David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me ...
And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph ...br/> Let no one, therefore, set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him ...
as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.
And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified. ...
[T]hen shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; ... if she receive not this law ... she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt[.]}} Christ commands the practice of polygamy or plural marriage in a "new and an everlasting covenant" and declares that anyone who rejects the new practices will suffer damnation and will not "be permitted to enter into my glory." The 1843 revelation also states that the first wife's consent should be sought before a man married another wife, but also declares that Christ will "destroy" the first wife if she does not consent to the plural marriage, and that the husband is exempt from asking his wife's consent in the future.
The revelation states that plural wives "are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfill the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men."
The revelation was not made public to the LDS church as a whole until Brigham Young revealed it in 1852. Young claimed that the original had been burned by Smith's widow Emma Smith, though Emma denied that the document ever existed and said of the story told by Young: "It is false in all its parts, made out of whole cloth, without any foundation in truth." Published affidavits by eyewitnesses accusing Church leaders of following the teaching and engaging in polygamy had resulted in Smith's murder by a mob in 1844
Death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
The death of Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844 marked a turning point for the Latter Day Saint movement, of which Smith was the founder and leader. When he was attacked and killed by a mob, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for President of the United States...
. The revelation was codified in Mormon canon as part of the Doctrine and Covenants 132 in the 1870s, though it was rejected by the RLDS Church as not originating with Smith. Emma Smith said that the first she knew of the 1843 revelation was when she read of it in Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles...
's booklet The Seer in 1853.
Before Smith's death
Records show that Smith publicly preached and wrote against the doctrine of plural marriage; however, historians wrote that Smith performed dozens of plural marriages. Allegedly, "several were still pubescent girls, such as fourteen-year-old Helen Mar KimballHelen Mar Kimball
Helen Mar Kimball was a wife of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Early life:...
". Kimball, Smith's 28th wife, wrote of her experience of celestial marriage
Celestial marriage
Celestial marriage is a doctrine of Mormonism, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and branches of Mormon fundamentalism.Within Mormonism, celestial marriage is an ordinance associated with a covenant that always...
in 1843–44, Written accounts of Smith's alleged liaisons are recorded as early as 1831, including Smith's relationship with Fanny Alger
Fanny Alger
Fanny Alger has been alleged to have been the first plural wife of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint Movement. Scholars have disagreed as to whether Smith's union with Alger was an early plural marriage or simply a sexual indiscretion.-Biography:Frances W...
(age 16), and with Marinda Nancy Johnson (age 16) in 1831,
Smith's marriages
Poor documentation has led to estimates of the number of Smith's wives ranging from 0 to 33 to 48. Among the more notable women are Fanny AlgerFanny Alger
Fanny Alger has been alleged to have been the first plural wife of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint Movement. Scholars have disagreed as to whether Smith's union with Alger was an early plural marriage or simply a sexual indiscretion.-Biography:Frances W...
and Eliza R. Snow. Historians conclude that Smith had multiple wives, but as Compton states little is known of these marriages after the sealing ceremony. Allegations that Smith had at least one child born to a plural wife remain unproven. Statements by William Law
William Law
William Law was an English cleric, divine and theological writer.-Early life:Law was born at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire in 1686. In 1705 he entered as a sizar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; in 1711 he was elected fellow of his college and was ordained...
and Eliza R. Snow indicate that at least some of the marriages included sexual intimacy.
Some of the tallies include proxy sealings that occurred after Smith's death. The use of the term 'sealing' (which is a LDS priesthood
Priesthood (Mormonism)
In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is considered to be the power and authority of God, including the authority to act as a leader in the church and to perform ordinances, and the power to perform miracles. A body of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.Priesthood denotes elements...
ordinance that binds individuals together in the eternities), and a 'marriage' (a social tradition in which the man and woman agree to be husband and wife in this life) may indicate that the participants did not understand sealing to equate to marriage. In those early days, common practices and doctrines were not yet well-defined. Many of the women, perhaps all but Emma, did not join Smith in a family unit.
After Smith's death
Smith was also sealed to individuals during his life and after his death by proxy. Latter Day Saint denominations disagree as to the impact and meaning of these records. In the latter part of his life, Smith taught that all humans must be united or sealed to each other. He taught that a marriage that extends after death is also called "sealing" and that the power to perform such ceremonies was initially held only by him; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) believe that Smith passed the authority to others.Smith's alleged children
The question of progeny from Smith's alleged wives has been raised since his death. Smith has not been proven to have had children other than those born to Emma Smith. , there are at least twelve early individuals who, based on historical documents and circumstantial evidence, had been identified as children of women sealed to Smith at the time of the births.In 2005 and 2007 studies, a geneticist with the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is an independent DNA and genealogical research institution with the goal of demonstrating how the peoples of the world are related...
showed that five of these individuals were in fact not Smith descendants: Mosiah Hancock (son of Clarissa Reed Hancock), Oliver Buell (son of Prescindia Huntington Buell), Moroni Llewellyn Pratt (son of Mary Ann Frost Pratt), Zebulon Jacobs (son of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith), and Orrison Smith (son of Fanny Alger). The remaining seven have yet to be tested, including Josephine Lyon, for whom current DNA testing cannot provide conclusive evidence either way. Lyon's mother, Sylvia Sessions Lyon, left her daughter a deathbed affidavit telling her she was Smith's daughter. Research into this history is complicated by Y-DNA genetic testing
Genealogical DNA test
A genealogical DNA test examines the nucleotides at specific locations on a person's DNA for genetic genealogy purposes. The test results are not meant to have any informative medical value and do not determine specific genetic diseases or disorders ; they are intended only to give genealogical...
only being possible for descendants with an unbroken male line
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
, and because two candidates died as infants.
Smith was accused by Sarah Pratt in an 1886 interview with "vitriolic anti-Mormon journalist W. Wyl" of allowing John C. Bennett
John C. Bennett
John Cook Bennett was an American physician and a ranking and influential—but short-lived—leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, who acted as second-in-command to Joseph Smith, Jr., for a brief period in the early 1840s....
, a medical doctor, to perform abortions on polygamous wives who were legally single, which Pratt alleged limited Smith's progeny from these wives. She based this on statements made to her by Bennett. Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt
Orson Pratt, Sr. was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles...
, Sarah Pratt's husband, later considered Bennett a liar. Sarah Pratt said, "[I] know that the principle statements in John C. Bennett's book on Mormonism are true."
1842 scandal and the new vocabulary
Joseph Smith broke with short-lived church leader John C. Bennett in 1841 over the public scandal that arose when Bennett's practice of 'spiritual wifery' became known, and Nauvoo, IllinoisNauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
"rocked with tales that connected Joseph with Bennett's scandals." Bennett accused Smith of subsequently introducing new code words
Code word (figure of speech)
A code word is a word or a phrase designed to convey a predetermined meaning to a receptive audience, while remaining inconspicuous to the uninitiated.- Medical :...
for polygamy—'celestial marriage', 'plurality of wives', 'spiritual wifeism'—to conceal the controversial practice, which Smith and the leadership of the church repeatedly publicly denied. Sarah Pratt claimed in an 1886 interview that while in Nauvoo over forty years earlier Smith was attracted to her and intended to make her "one of his spiritual wives." According to Bennett, while Pratt's husband Orson was in England on missionary service, Smith proposed to Pratt by invoking the 1843 polygamy revelation: "Sister Pratt, the Lord has given you to me as one of my spiritual wives. I have the blessings of Jacob granted me, as he granted holy men of old, and I have long looked upon you with favor, and hope you will not repulse or deny me", to which Bennett claimed Pratt replied: "Am I called upon to break the marriage covenant ... to my lawful husband! I never will. I care not for the blessings of Jacob, and I believe in NO SUCH revelations, neither will I consent under any circumstances. I have one good husband, and that is enough for me."
Published allegations of adultery against Sarah Pratt and Bennett appeared in local and church publications with signed affidavits from her neighbors Stephen and Zeruiah Goddard and others. Dr. Robert D. Foster made the following allegation against Bennett and Pratt: Pratt later claimed that Zeruiah Goddard told her these testimonies were made under threat from Joseph's brother Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith
Hyrum Smith was an American religious leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the older brother of the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
: Van Wagoner concluded that the adultery charges against Sarah Pratt are "highly improbable" and could "be dismissed as slander." In addition to Pratt, Van Wagoner states that Nancy Rigdon and Martha Brotherton "also suffered slanderous attacks because they exposed the Church's private polygamy posture." Orson Pratt stood by his wife in preference to the denials of Smith, who told his disciple Orson that "If [Orson] did believe his wife and follow her suggestions he would go to hell". Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff, Sr. was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 until his death...
stated that "Dr. John Cook Bennett was the ruin of Orson Pratt". Van Wagoner and Walker note that, on August 20, 1842, "after four days of fruitless efforts at reconciliation, the Twelve excommunicated Pratt for 'insubordination' and Sarah for 'adultery. However, after a brief period of estrangement from Smith and the church in 1842, Orson Pratt labeled Bennett a liar:
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon was a leader during the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Baptist background:...
wrote a letter to the Messenger and Advocate
Messenger and Advocate
Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate was an early Latter Day Saint periodical published monthly in Kirtland, Ohio from October 1834 to September 1837...
in 1844 condemning the conduct of the Quorum of the Twelve,
According to Van Wagoner,
The Nauvoo Expositor
Rumours of Smith's involvement with polygamy continued to circulate in Nauvoo, to which Smith responded on May 26, 1844:A group of former church members were in open conflict with Smith for various economic and political reasons, and because Smith had disciplined some of them in church courts for adultery, thievery, and other crimes. William Law, a member of the First Presidency, became the head of this group. Accusations of church leader polygamy were published by the group in the Nauvoo Expositor
Nauvoo Expositor
The Nauvoo Expositor was a newspaper in Nauvoo, Illinois that published only one issue, which was dated June 7, 1844. Its publication set off a chain of events that led to the death of Latter Day Saint movement founder, Joseph Smith, Jr....
on June 7, 1844, in which several signed and notarized affidavits from eyewitnesses about the revelation were reproduced. The affidavit by Law stated, "Hyrum Smith [read] a revelation from God, he said that he was with Joseph when it was received. ... The revelation (so called) authorized certain men to have more wives than one at a time." The affidavit by Austin Cowles stated "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 [containing] the doctrine of a plurality of wives."
Both Joseph and his brother Hyrum, days before their murder by a mob, spoke about the accusations at a Nauvoo city council meeting of June 8, 1844. The meeting's purpose was ostensibly to address the Nauvoo Expositors accusations of Mormon licentiousness, though after two days of consultation, Smith and the Nauvoo city council voted on June 10, 1844 to declare the paper a public nuisance and ordered the paper's printing press destroyed. The published minutes quote Hyrum stating references "to the Revelation read to the High Council of the Church, which has caused so much talk about multiplicity of wives; that said Revelation was in answer to a question concerning things which transpired in former days, and had no reference to the present time [original emphasis]. Following Hyrum, Joseph Smith said "they make a criminality for a man to have a wife on earth while he has one in heaven" and that "the Revelation was given in view of eternity": 'He received for answer, men in this life must marry in view of eternity, otherwise they must remain as angels, or be single in heaven, which was the amount of the Revelation referred to[.].
In author H. Michael Marquardt's opinion, "this was an attempt by Smith to obscure the real intent of the revelatory message," and W. E. La Rue emphasizes the contradiction between the statements of the two brothers. J. L. Clark writes that Hyrum's statement "appeared in the Nauvoo Neighbor
Nauvoo Neighbor
The Nauvoo Neighbor was a weekly newspaper edited and published by Latter Day Saint Apostle John Taylor in Nauvoo, Illinois from 1843 to 1845. While it was not an official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the Neighbor was consistently pro-Mormon and its primary target...
of June 19, 1844, but was omitted from [B.H. Roberts' book] History of the Church
History of the Church
History of the Church is a semi-official history of the early Latter Day Saint movement during the lifetime of founder Joseph...
, published years later in Utah."
Joseph and Hyrum Smith were subsequently jailed and charged with treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
against the state of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
for declaring martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
in Nauvoo. On June 27, 1844, in spite of a promise of protection from Illinois governor Thomas Ford
Thomas Ford (politician)
Thomas Ford was the eighth Governor of Illinois, and served in this capacity from 1842 to 1846. A Democrat, he is remembered largely for his involvement in the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., and the subsequent Illinois Mormon War...
, a mob attacked the prison and killed both brothers, an event that prompted Smith's successor Brigham Young to lead the Mormon Exodus to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
in 1846–47.
1850s: official sanction
The Mormon doctrine of plural wives was officially announced by Orson Pratt and Brigham Young, Smith's successor, at a special conference at the Mormon Tabernacle on August 28, 1852, and reprinted in an extra edition of the Deseret News, where Pratt stated:Young expounded on Pratt's words later that day. Young's proclamation began:
Pratt and Young's words came nine years after Smith's purported original revelation and five years after the Mormon Exodus to Utah.
Expansion and repudiation
Under Young, the practice of polygamy spread among Utah Mormons for 40 years. A maximum of 20–25% of LDS adults were members of polygamist households. One third of the women of marriageable age and nearly all of the church leadership were involved in the practice. In 1890, the church repealed the practice of polygamy while under pressure by the United States government. The repeal was ostensibly directed by divine revelation to Wilford WoodruffWilford Woodruff
Wilford Woodruff, Sr. was the fourth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1889 until his death...
and published as the 1890 Manifesto
1890 Manifesto
The "1890 Manifesto", sometimes simply called "The Manifesto", is a statement which officially disavowed the continuing practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
. Polygamy was finally effectively ended with the Second Manifesto
Second Manifesto
The "Second Manifesto" was a 1904 declaration made by Joseph F. Smith, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , in which Smith stated the church was no longer sanctioning marriages that violated the laws of the land and set down the principle that those entering into or...
.
Stance of other Latter Day Saint sects
Though the LDS church teaches that Joseph Smith taught plural marriage, other branches of the Latter Day Saint movement reject this position. The strongest rejection comes from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day SaintsCommunity of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
(RLDS). In the late nineteenth century, the origin of polygamy was one issue among many that RLDS and LDS used to assert one organization's legitimacy over the other. Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith, Sr. was the sixth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
, sixth president of the LDS Church, stated in responding to the claim that polygamy originated with Brigham Young rather than Joseph Smith, Jr.:
RLDS - Joseph Smith III
The first RLDS leader was Joseph Smith's oldest son Joseph Smith IIIJoseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and Emma Hale Smith...
. Smith III's ideas about his father and polygamy evolved throughout his life.
Smith III was an ardent opponent of plural marriage. Throughout his tenure as Prophet-President, Smith denied his father's involvement and attributed it instead to Brigham Young. Smith III served many missions to the western United States where he met with associates and women who claimed to be his father's widows. In the end, Smith concluded that he was "not positive nor sure that [his father] was innocent" and that if, indeed, the elder Smith had been involved, it was still a false practice.
Historical RLDS
From the 1880s to the 1960s, official RLDS publications maintained Smith's complete uninvolvement in polygamy. This official position contradicted the testimony of earlier RLDS members who lived in Nauvoo during Joseph Smith's lifetime. It also overlooked disagreement within the ranks of the RLDS hierarchy on this issue.One of the founders of the Reorganization, Jason W. Briggs
Jason W. Briggs
Jason W. Briggs was a leader in the early history of the Latter Day Saint movement and was instrumental in bringing about the 1860 "Reorganization" of the church, which resulted in the establishment of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.-Early membership:Jason W. Briggs...
, a presiding elder in Wisconsin during the early 1840s, maintained throughout his life that Joseph Smith, Jr. had originated polygamy and that God would punish Smith for his "transgressions." Briggs said that the church needed to simply deal with the issue and move on. The editor of the earliest official RLDS periodical, Isaac Sheen, similarly affirmed Smith's involvement. He wrote that Joseph Smith, Jr. gave a revelation and committed polygamy, but repented of this "sin" before his death. Sheen's statement was affirmed by William Marks
William Marks
William Marks may refer to:*William Marks , American lawyer, U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania*William Marks , American early religious leader in the Latter Day Saint movement...
, the stake president of Nauvoo during Joseph Smith, Jr.'s lifetime and a close counselor to Joseph Smith III. Marks claimed to have seen Hyrum Smith read the polygamy revelation to the High Council in 1843. Marks also affirmed that Joseph Smith, Jr. had repented of the practice two to three weeks before his death in 1844. Similarly, James Whitehead, an RLDS member and clerk for Joseph Smith, Jr. affirmed that Emma Smith gave plural wives to Joseph Smith, Jr. on several occasions that he witnessed. Early in his life, Joseph Smith III could not affirm Marks and Whitehead despite the eye-witness nature of their statements.
Modern RLDS Restorationists
Modern RLDS Restorationists (such as the Restoration BranchesRestoration Branches
The Restoration Branches movement is a Christian/Latter Day Saint religious sect which was formed in the 1980s by members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in a reaction against the events of the RLDS 1984 world conference...
) contend that polygamy originated with Brigham Young and not Joseph Smith, Jr., which was the official RLDS stance in the late nineteenth century. They note that the revelation endorsing polygamy and attributed to Smith was first presented by Young to his followers eight years after Smith's death as evidence that the revelation did not originate with Smith. They often cite Smith's own critical words on the subject of polygamy in official church publications as further evidence. They do not see the isolated statements to the contrary by early church reorganization leaders such as Isaac Sheen, William Marks, or Jason W. Briggs as credible, and they deny the legitimacy and truthfulness of sources that are commonly cited to prove that Joseph Smith Jr. was practicing or promoting plural and celestial marriage.
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, formerly the RLDS, has not made a definitive statement that Smith taught and practiced polygamy. Instead, their approach has been to stress their historical abhorrence of polygamy, that members of the church and the leadership are open to continue their "ongoing quest for truth", and that "the Community of Christ takes into account the growing body of scholarly research and publications depicting the polygamous teachings and practices of the Nauvoo period of church history (1840–1846)". Further,A segment of church members vehemently deny Smith's complicity, although the church no longer sees the issue as important. For people concerned about the topic and related to the RLDS tradition, the issue remains as much about current liberal versus conservative church politics as it does an issue of history.
See also
- 1890 Manifesto1890 ManifestoThe "1890 Manifesto", sometimes simply called "The Manifesto", is a statement which officially disavowed the continuing practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
- Criticism of the Latter Day Saint movement
- Mormonism and IslamMormonism and IslamMormonism and Islam have been compared to one another ever since the earliest origins of the former in the nineteenth century, often by detractors of one religion or the other—or both. For instance, Joseph Smith, Jr., the founding prophet of Mormonism, was referred to as "the modern Mahomet" by...