FairMormon is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Joseph Smith/Polygamy
FairMormon Answers Wiki Table of Contents
Joseph Smith and polygamy
Summary: Joseph Smith is frequently criticized for his introduction and practice of polygamy. From a Christian perspective, these attacks usually focus on arguing that polygamy is unchristian or unbiblical, and that Joseph hid the truth from the world. From a secular perspective, it is asserted that the practice of polygamy sprung from Joseph's carnal desires to marry young women. Of particular interest is the fact that Joseph was sealed to women who were already married to other men (polyandry).Jump to Subtopic:
- Plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
- Implementation of plural marriage
- Doctrinal issues related to plural marriage
- Critics' claimed motivations for Joseph's implementation of plural marriage
- Keeping plural marriage a secret
- Entering into plural marriage
- Joseph Smith and polyandry
- Emma Smith and polygamy
- Children of Joseph Smith by polygamous marriages
- Mormonism and divorce in the nineteenth century
Plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Summary: This collection of articles lists a number of known plural wives, with responses to critical claims related to specific plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.Jump to Subtopic:
- Fanny Alger
- Louisa Beaman
- Prescindia Lathrop Huntington Buell
- Sarah Kingsley Howe Cleveland
- Agnes Moulton Coolbrith
- Elizabeth Davis Goldsmith Brackenbury Durfee
- Esther Dutcher
- Hannah Ells
- Olive Grey Frost
- Desdemona Catlin Wadsworth Fulmmer
- Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris
- Clarissa Reed Hancock
- Elvira Annie Cowles Holmes
- Sarah Maryetta Kingsley Howe
- Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde
- Vienna Jacques
- Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs
- Almera Johnson
- Helen Mar Kimball
- Maria Lawrence
- Sarah Lawrence
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
- Malissa Lott
- Sylvia Sessions Lyon
- Martha McBride
- Eliza Partridge
- Emily Partridge
- Rhoda Richards
- Ruth Vose Sayers
- Patty Bartlett Sessions
- Delcena Diadamia Johnson Sherman
- "Miss Smith"
- Mary Heron Snider
- Eliza R. Snow
- Lucy Walker
- Sarah Ann Whitney
- Nancy Maria Winchester
- Flora Ann Woodworth
- Fanny Young
Implementation of plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
- Initiation of the practice of plural marriage
- The "Cochranites" and their potential influence on Mormon plural marriage
- Lorenzo Snow's statements about polygamy during the Temple Lot case
- William Marks claimed Joseph intended to abandon plural marriage
Initiation of the practice of plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?
- Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?
The "Cochranites" and their potential influence on Mormon plural marriage
Summary: Did another religious group from the 1830s--the "Cochranites"--act as the source for plural marriage in the LDS faith?Jump to Subtopic:
Lorenzo Snow's statements about polygamy during the Temple Lot case
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What is Lorenzo Snow claimed to have said about plural marriages being adultery prior to 1843?
- Question: Did Lorenzo Snow state that polygamy was actually adultery prior to 1843?
- Question: Are the original Temple Lot Case transcripts available online?
- Question: I've seen Temple Lot court transcripts online. Are these not accurate?
William Marks claimed Joseph intended to abandon plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
Jump to Subtopic:
- The Bible and plural marriage
- Book of Mormon statements about the practice of polygamy
- Early Christians on plural marriage
- 19th century attitudes about plural marriage
- The Law of Adoption: The sealing of men and women as children to prominent Latter-day Saint leaders
The Bible and plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Was there no biblical mandate for plural marriage?
- Question: Does the Bible forbid plural marriage?
- Question: What are the "works of Abraham" and how does this relate to plural marriage?
- Gregory L. Smith, M.D., "Polygamy, Prophets, and Prevarication: Frequently and Rarely Asked Questions about the Initiation, Practice, and Cessation of Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
Book of Mormon statements about the practice of polygamy
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Does the Book of Mormon condemn polygamy?
- Question: Why does Doctrine and Covenants 132 speak favorably about some Old Testament practitioners of plural marriage, while Jacob 2 is negative?
- Question: Did early Church leaders state that the Book of Mormon condemns polygamy?
- Gospel Topics: The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that the marriage of one man to one woman is God’s standard, except at specific periods when He has declared otherwise
Early Christians on plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: How did early Christians view plural marriage?
- Question: If polygamy was commanded of God in order to "raise seed," then why were Adam and Noah not commanded to practice polygamy?
19th century attitudes about plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
The Law of Adoption: The sealing of men and women as children to prominent Latter-day Saint leaders
Summary: Critics point to the early practice of sealing men and women as children to prominent LDS leaders as an example of changes in LDS belief.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What is the "Law of Adoption" practiced among 19-century Mormons and why has it changed?
- Question: What is the history behind the Mormon practice called the "Law of Adoption"?
- Question: Why were men sealed to other men during the early days of the Church?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith perform marriages between brothers and sisters?
Critics' claimed motivations for Joseph's implementation of plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
- Did Joseph have "lustful motives" for practicing polygamy?
- Did Joseph Smith send men on missions in order to "steal" their wives?
- Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy for the purpose of monetary gain?
Did Joseph have "lustful motives" for practicing polygamy?
Summary: Neutral observers have long understood that this attack is probably the weakest of them all. One might reasonably hold the opinion that Joseph was wrong, but in the face of the documentary evidence it is wrong to argue that he and his associates were insincere or that they were practicing their religion only for power and to satisfy carnal desires. Those who insist that “sex is the answer” probably reveal more about their own limited perspective than they do of the minds of the early Saints.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Smith institute polygamy because he had a "voracious sexual appetite"?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith have a youthful struggle with unchastity?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith have a long history of "womanizing" before practicing plural marriage?
- Stephen H. Webb: "Evidence That Demands Our Amazement... Joseph Smith was a remarkable person"
Did Joseph Smith send men on missions in order to "steal" their wives?
Summary: Beginning with LDS dissident John C. Bennett, some have charged that Joseph would send men on missions in order to marry their wives. Does this claim match the historical evidence?Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Smith send men on missions in order to "steal" their wives while they were gone?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith send William Law, Robert D. Foster, and Henry Jacobs on missions so that he could steal their wives?
- Question: Was Apostle Orson Hyde sent on a mission to dedicate Israel so that Joseph Smith could secretly marry his wife, Marinda Hyde, while he was away?
Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy for the purpose of monetary gain?
Jump to Subtopic:
Keeping plural marriage a secret
Jump to Subtopic:
- Joseph Smith hid polygamy from the general Church membership
- Joseph Smith hiding plural marriages from his first wife, Emma
- Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family
- Legality of polygamy
- Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "“Thou Shalt not Lie” and Denials of Polygamy: FAQ", by Brian C. Hales
Joseph Smith hid polygamy from the general Church membership
Summary: It is true that Joseph did not always tell others about plural marriage. He did, however, make some attempt to teach the doctrine to the Saints. It is thus important to realize that the public preaching of polygamy—or announcing it to the general Church membership, thereby informing the public by proxy—was simply not a feasible plan. Critics of Joseph's choice want their audience to ignore the danger to him and the Saints.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Smith ever publicly attempt to teach the doctrine of plural marriage?
- Question: Why did Joseph keep the doctrine of plural marriage private?
- Question: Why did Joseph Smith say "I had not been married scarcely five minutes...before it was reported that I had seven wives"?
- Question: Was Joseph Smith ever charged with adultery under Illinois law?
- Question: Were there any similar cases under Illinois adultery statute which demonstrate that Joseph was not breaking the law?
Joseph Smith hiding plural marriages from his first wife, Emma
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph hide his plural marriages from Emma, his first wife?
- Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?
- Question: What possible modern lessons can we learn from Emma and Joseph's struggle with plural marriage?
Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family
Summary: Is it true that on 18 August 1842 Joseph Smith wrote a “love letter” to Sarah Ann Whitney requesting a secret rendezvous or "tryst?" Joseph had been sealed to Sarah Ann three weeks prior to this time. What does this letter actually say?Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?
- Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?
- Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?
Legality of polygamy
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Was polygamy illegal?
- Was the practice of polygamy against the law in Illinois in the 1840s?
- Gregory L. Smith, M.D., "Polygamy, Prophets, and Prevarication: Frequently and Rarely Asked Questions about the Initiation, Practice, and Cessation of Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "“Thou Shalt not Lie” and Denials of Polygamy: FAQ", by Brian C. Hales
Summary: During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, the Prophet and other Church leaders issued several denials regarding the practice of polygamy. “Polygamy” means “poly” or “many” and “gamy” means “marriages.” Combined they mean: “many marriages.”
Entering into plural marriage
Jump to Subtopic:
- Joseph Smith's marriages to young women
- Fanny Alger was Joseph Smith's first plural wife
- Did Joseph Smith coerce women to marry him?
- Mormon women refusing offers of plural marriage
- Does Joseph Smith's lack of children through polygamy contradict the commandment to "multiply and replenish the earth"?
Joseph Smith's marriages to young women
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Why was Joseph Smith sealed to young women?
- Question: Was Joseph Smith a "serial practitioner of statutory rape?"
Fanny Alger was Joseph Smith's first plural wife
Summary: With a lone exception, there is no account after Joseph’s death of Emma admitting Joseph’s plural marriages in any source. The reported exception is recorded in a newspaper article and two letters written by excommunicated Latter-day Saint apostle William E. McLellin. The former apostle claimed to have visited Emma in 1847 and to have discussed Joseph’s relationship with Fanny Alger. McLellin also reported a tale he had heard about Joseph and Fanny Alger in which they were allegedly observed by Emma together in the barn.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What do we know about Joseph Smith's first plural wife Fanny Alger?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith marry Fanny Alger as his first plural wife in 1833?
- Question: How could Joseph and Fanny have been married in 1831 if the sealing power had not yet been restored?
- Question: Did some of Joseph Smith's associates believe that he had an affair with Fanny Alger?
- Question: Did Emma Smith discover her husband Joseph with Fanny Alger in a barn?
- Question: Did Fanny Alger have a child by Joseph Smith?
Did Joseph Smith coerce women to marry him?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?
- Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?
- Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?
- Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?
- Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?
Mormon women refusing offers of plural marriage
Summary: Some have claimed that significant pressure was put on women to practice plural marriage in Nauvoo. Did any of these women resist or refuse? What were the consequences of doing so?Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?
- Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?
- Question: How many Mormon women refused offers of plural marriage?
Does Joseph Smith's lack of children through polygamy contradict the commandment to "multiply and replenish the earth"?
Summary: Joseph Smith does not appear to have produced any children by his plural wives, except for Emma, yet, Doctrine and Covenants 132:63 states, "But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil 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." Why did Joseph practice polygamy, if it was not for the purpose of multiplying and replenishing the earth?Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Was the only purpose of polygamy to "multiply and replenish the earth" and "bear the souls of men"?
- Question: If the only purpose of polygamy was to "raise up seed," then why did Joseph not have children by his plural wives?
Joseph Smith and polyandry
Summary: Joseph Smith was sealed to women who were married to men who were still living. Some of these men were even active members of the Church.Jump to Subtopic:
Joseph Smith was sealed to other men's wives
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Was Joseph Smith married or sealed to women who were already married to other living men?
- The Joseph Smith Papers: "Several later documents suggest that several women who were already married to other men were, like Marinda Hyde, married or sealed to Joseph Smith"
- Improvement Era (1946): "Did Joseph Smith Introduce Plural Marriage?...It is also possible, though the Church does not now permit it, to seal two living people for eternity only, with no association on earth"
- Question: What is "Polyandry?"
- Question: What was the nature of Joseph Smith's "polyandrous" marriages?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith consummate any of these marriages with married women?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith have any children through any of his polyandrous marriages?
- Question: What was the purpose of an eternity-only sealing, which was performed during Joseph Smith's lifetime?
- Question: Since Joseph Smith "married" the wives of 11 other men, why were those women not "destroyed" as specified in the Doctrine and Covenants since they continued to live with their "previous" husbands?
- Brian C. Hales, "Joseph Smith’s Sexual Polyandry and the Emperor’s New Clothes: On Closer Inspection, What Do We Find?"
- Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "Joseph Smith and Polyandry: FAQ", by Brian C. Hales
Joseph's polyandrous marriages
Summary: Nothing in plural marriage mystifies—or troubles—members of the Church more than Joseph's polyandrous sealings. Marriage to multiple wives may seem strange, but at least it intrudes on our historical awareness, while many remain unaware of polyandry's existence in LDS history. But, most critical accounts do not provide all the facts. When we understand what these marriages consisted of—and what they did not consist of—they are much less strange.Was Joseph Smith sealed or married to other men's wives without the knowledge or consent of their husbands?
Summary: It is claimed that Joseph was sealed or married to women who were married to other men without the knowledge or consent of their husbands.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What did the husband of Ruth Vose Sayers know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Esther Dutcher know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Mary Elizabeth Rollins know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Presendia L. Huntington know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Sarah Kingsley know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Patty Bartlett know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Elizabeth Davis know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Elvira Annie Cowles know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Marinda Nancy Johnson know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Zina D. Huntington know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Sarah Ann Whitney know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: What did the husband of Mary Heron know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
What is known about possible children through Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages?
Summary: Is it possible that Joseph Smith fathered children with some of his plural wives, and that he covered up the evidence of pregnancies? Did Joseph Smith have intimate relations with other men’s wives to whom he had been sealed, and did any children result from these unions? DNA testing has so far proven these allegations to be false.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?
- Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: Did Prescindia Buell (or Sarah Pratt, or Mrs. Hyde) not know who was the father of her son?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith father children by polyandrous plural wife Prescindia Buell?
Did Joseph Smith send men on missions in order to "steal" their wives?
Summary: Beginning with LDS dissident John C. Bennett, some have charged that Joseph would send men on missions in order to marry their wives. Does this claim match the historical evidence?Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Smith send men on missions in order to "steal" their wives while they were gone?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith send William Law, Robert D. Foster, and Henry Jacobs on missions so that he could steal their wives?
- Question: Was Apostle Orson Hyde sent on a mission to dedicate Israel so that Joseph Smith could secretly marry his wife, Marinda Hyde, while he was away?
Mormon women refusing offers of plural marriage
Summary: Some have claimed that significant pressure was put on women to practice plural marriage in Nauvoo. Did any of these women resist or refuse? What were the consequences of doing so?Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?
- Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?
- Question: How many Mormon women refused offers of plural marriage?
Divine manifestions to plural wives and families
Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"?
- Question: How did Heber and Vilate Kimball receive a divine manifestation regarding plural marriage?
Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs
Summary: A collection of articles about Zina.
Emma Smith and polygamy
Jump to Subtopic:
- Emma Smith's reaction to Joseph Smith's plural marriages
- Joseph Smith hiding plural marriages from his first wife, Emma
Children of Joseph Smith by polygamous marriages
Jump to Subtopic:
What is known about possible children through Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages?
Summary: Is it possible that Joseph Smith fathered children with some of his plural wives, and that he covered up the evidence of pregnancies? Did Joseph Smith have intimate relations with other men’s wives to whom he had been sealed, and did any children result from these unions? DNA testing has so far proven these allegations to be false.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?
- Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- Question: Did Prescindia Buell (or Sarah Pratt, or Mrs. Hyde) not know who was the father of her son?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith father children by polyandrous plural wife Prescindia Buell?
Mormonism and divorce in the nineteenth century
Jump to Subtopic:
- Divorce among Mormons in the 19th century
- Some 19th century Mormons did not receive civil divorces before remarrying
- Joseph Smith's performance of marriages in Ohio