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Polygamy

Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers: Documents Volume 6: February 1838 – August 1839

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore at 10% off

This volume of the Joseph Smith Papers was edited by Mark Ashurst-Mcgee, David W. Grua, Elizabeth A. Kuehn (who spoke at the FairMormon Conference last year about the Kirtland Crisis of 1837), Brenden W. Rensink, and Alexander L. Baugh. It covers the aftermath of the Kirtland Crisis of 1837 and the move to Far West, the identification of Adam-ondi-Ahman, the formation of the Danites, Hawn’s Mill, the Extermination Order, the stay at Liberty Jail, and the beginning of the building of Nauvoo.

As with all of the volumes, it contains an explanation of the Joseph Smith Papers Project and its methodologies, a volume introduction that gives the general history of the time covered by the volume, section introductions with more detailed history and context of the documents contained in each section, the documents themselves, and reference material such as source notes, timelines, maps, biographical information, organizational charts, and works cited. Each document is introduced by a source note and historical introduction. The document transcripts then contain extensive footnotes with sources and explanations. In some cases, the footnotes are multiple levels deep.

The editors did a good job of explaining controversial events and putting them in context, but also freely admitted when things are unclear. In the first document, the source note discusses Joseph Smith’s plural marriage with Fanny Alger, including Oliver Cowdery’s allegations of adultery. It is explained that “A few individuals who knew JS well recounted later that he had received a revelation about the doctrine of plural marriage as early as 1831, possibly in connection with his work on the revision, or new ‘translation’ of the Bible” (page 12). “After his separation from Alger and the controversy arising from Cowdery’s accusations, JS set aside the practice of plural marriage for several years” (page 13). A later footnote explains “It is unclear precisely what information JS entrusted to Cowdery regarding JS’s relationship with Fanny Alger. Later accounts variously claim that Cowdery performed a marriage ceremony between JS and Alger, was called upon by JS to mediate between JS and Emma Smith after the relationship with Alger was discovered, or had been taught the doctrine of plural marriage privately and took a plural wife contrary to JS’s instructions” (page 91, footnote 454). [Read more…] about Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers: Documents Volume 6: February 1838 – August 1839

Book Review: What You Don’t Know About the 100 Most Important Events in Church History

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Authors: Casey Paul Griffiths, Susan Easton Black, Mary Jane Woodger
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2017
Number of Pages: 336
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1629722467
Price: $22.99

I really don’t like the title of this book. It is the sort of title that is often referred to as “clickbait,” to get people to read an online article. It is also an insult to the reader’s intelligence for an author to assume what they don’t know. The preface indicates that the authors are at least somewhat aware of this, and begins almost with an apology, admitting that “such lists present an excuse for sensationalized writing and shallow analysis.” However, it goes on to explain that the book was inspired by another book called “The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History,” and that such lists “can impel a person to think critically about events, stories, and people.” Casey Griffiths decided to create a list for the history of the Latter-day Saints, enlisting the help of Mary Jane Woodger and Susan Easton Black. They also received assistance from their colleagues at BYU and used resources such as the Joseph Smith Papers.

The book is a large format paperback, printed on fairly cheap-feeling paper. There are small photographs accompanying each of the 100 short (mostly 2 to 3 pages) chapters, but they are all black and white and sadly most are not very high quality, possibly due to the paper used. This might have made a good coffee table book in a different format, but I suppose it’s more likely to be read in this form.

The book lists the events in chronological order. Many should be quite well known, in which case they have tried to include lesser known information. For instance, for the First Vision (event number 1), they include details from multiple accounts from Joseph Smith and his contemporaries, concluding by noting that “the details are less significant than the central message of the reality of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and of the Savior’s infinite atonement. President Henry B. Eyring said that the First Vision ‘represents that moment when Joseph learned there was a way for the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be unlocked fully. Because of what Joseph saw and what began at this moment, the Savior was able, through this great and valiant servant and through others that He sent, to restore power and privilege. That power and privilege allows us, and all who will live, to have the benefits of Jesus Christ’s Atonement work in our lives’” (page 3). [Read more…] about Book Review: What You Don’t Know About the 100 Most Important Events in Church History

Book Review: A Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine & Church History

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Available from the FairMormon bookstore at 20% off
Available from the FairMormon bookstore at 20% off

In the prologue of A Reason for Faith, the editor, Laura Hales, lays out the purpose of the book. Members of the church sometimes come across new information in an unfriendly setting that damages their faith. This book is a compilation of articles about many of the topics that are not often discussed in a church or family setting, and can be difficult to understand. They are laid out by scholars in an honest but faithful manner, and while they can’t possibly cover the topics completely in the amount of space given, they are meant to be a springboard for further study where necessary.

The first chapter is by Richard Bushman, on “Joseph Smith and Money Digging.” He recounts the history of scholarship in this area, where it was originally denied by those inside the church due to being based on accounts thought to be unreliable published by critics of the church. As he began his own research, he found evidence that convinced him that Joseph was indeed involved with folk magic and seer stones, and that these things were too common in the 19th century to invalidate Joseph’s prophetic claims or be scandalous. [Read more…] about Book Review: A Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine & Church History

Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers: Documents Volume 4, April 1834 – September 1835

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Available from the FairMormon bookstore at 20% off
Available from the FairMormon bookstore at 20% off

This is the fourth in a projected twelve volumes in the Documents series of the Joseph Smith Papers. The Documents series is the core of the JSP project, containing documents that Joseph Smith was personally involved in producing in chronological order. The documents in the book are also available online, but the annotations and introductions – which are very valuable in understanding the documents – are not put online until 18 months after each volume is published.

The main events covered in this volume are Zion’s Camp; the publication of the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants; financial difficulties (particularly those related to publishing and the building of the Kirtland Temple); the formation and operation of the Kirtland high council; the call of Joseph Smith, Sr., to patriarch, and the calling of 12 apostles; and the beginning of the writing of the early history of the church.

The main body of the book consists of documents directly involving Joseph Smith, and then there are a series of appendices with documents for which Joseph Smith’s involvement is questionable. Such documents include the first Lecture on Faith, “Letter to the Saints Scattered Abroad”, “Statement on Marriage”, “Declaration on Government and Law”, and patriarchal blessings given to Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, Hyrum Smith, Samuel Smith, and William Smith. [Read more…] about Book Review: The Joseph Smith Papers: Documents Volume 4, April 1834 – September 1835

Book Review: The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore at 15% off
Available from the FairMormon Bookstore at 15% off

This is the first publication from The Church Historian’s Press other than the Joseph Smith Papers. It is a collection of documents brought together for the first time that cover the first fifty years of the Relief Society, starting in Nauvoo, restarting in Utah, and then spreading throughout LDS settlements as far away as Canada. The book format and production procedures (transcription, verification, etc.) are very similar to how the Joseph Smith Papers are being done, and at least some of the staff (including editor Matthew J. Grow) are involved in both. And as with the JSP project, much of the book is available for free online. It is accessible at https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/the-first-fifty-years-of-relief-society

The book contains a general table of contents, then a Detailed Contents listing each document, followed by a list of illustrations, a general introduction, and a description of the editorial method. The main section is split into four parts, covering the time periods of 1830 and 1942 to 1845, then 1854 to 1866, 1867 to 1879, and finally 1880 to 1892. The end matter contains reference material including lists of the different Relief Society, Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association, and Primary Association presidencies from 1842 to 1892, a biographical directory, works cited, acknowledgments, and then a pretty thorough index spanning 50 pages.

The main feature of this book is the Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book, which was kept by Eliza R. Snow and then brought to Utah by her, where it was used in getting the Relief Society going again. This is the first time it has appeared in print, although it was included in the Selected Collections DVD set published in 2002, and more recently has been included in the online documents for the JSP project. Among other things, it has the only sermons given by Joseph Smith to the women of the church.

In one of these sermons, on April 28, 1842, Joseph Smith addressed speaking in tongues and administering to the sick: [Read more…] about Book Review: The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History

Book Review: “The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals: Volume 3: May 1843 – June 1844”

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Available from the FairMormon Bookstore at 15% off
In 1992, the second volume of Dean C. Jesse’s “The Papers of Joseph Smith” was published, containing the journal entries of 1832-1842. Many of us waited for years for the third volume, which would cover the remainder of Joseph’s life, before finally finding out that Jesse’s work was being expanded into the Joseph Smith Papers Project. Finally, with the recent release of volume 3 of the Journals series, the journals have all been published.

The volume begins with a timeline of Joseph Smith’s life, maps, an introduction that outlines the events of the last year of a very busy life, and the usual explanation of the editorial method being used for the Joseph Smith Papers Project. It then contains the text of the journals followed by three appendixes which are relevant excerpts from journals kept by Willard Richards and William Clayton detailing Joseph Smith’s activities during this time period. There is also a section of reference materials containing things like a chronology, pedigree chart, glossary, and organizational charts of the church and Nauvoo. There is a full index of all three volumes in the Journals series. (Previous volumes didn’t contain an index due to this planned combined index, but individual indexes can be found online and were provided in print on request.) There are also photos scattered throughout of things like the actual journals, the Kinderhook plates, the first issue of the Nuavoo Neighbor, a list of marriages and sealings that was added at the end of one of the journals later, and the guns in the possession of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail.

[Read more…] about Book Review: “The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals: Volume 3: May 1843 – June 1844”

Articles of Faith Podcast: Joseph Smith’s Polygamy – Interview with Brian and Laura Hales

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Podcast: Download (48.6MB)

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Hales HeadshotsBio:

Brian and Laura Harris Hales are the co-authors of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding. Brian is the award-winning author of six books on polygamy, including the first three volumes in the Joseph Smith’s Polygamy series. Together they are the co-webmasters of JosephSmithsPolygamy.org and speak frequently about the history of early polygamy. Laura is an active blogger and editor of an upcoming anthology on 16 topics of historical and theological significance to members of the LDS Church (BYU Religious Studies Center, early 2016). Laura and Brian, combined, have nine children.

Questions addressed in the interview:

How did you both work on this, what was the work contributed from each of you?

There are three sources of information that you use for information on Joseph Smith’s polygamy and basically the earliest teachings and implementations of polygamy. What are those three main sources?

Let’s start out with theological polygamy, what is the theological reasons for the practice of polygamy?

What is the difference (if there is a difference) between plural marriage and polygamy and what does that distinction matter?

You also make the distinction that there were times where plural marriage was permitted, and other times it was commanded. What are the examples of those differences?

With an issues such as Race and the Priesthood, there are many who distance themselves from the idea that God commanded the priesthood ban in the first place. Is there such a position when it comes to polygamy? Is there any merit to a dismissal of the practice as having no divine origin?

One of the conflicts that seems to catch people is the concept of Plurality of Husbands or Polyandry. There is a couple sections of your book that discusses this particular issue. What is the main question that people have here, and in what way does your text resolve questions about polyandry.

Emma Smith, Joseph Smith’s first and primary wife, had a role in this story that is heart wrenching at times, and can leave a person feeling conflicted. What was Emma’s view of polygamy?

Explain the Mini-biographies on Joseph Smith’s wives.

To purchase a copy of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding, click here.

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A Response to Kristy Money’s Salt Lake Tribune Op-Ed

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The LDS doctrine of
“The same revelation that Money wants us to ignore also provides the proof text that gives Latter-day Saint couples hope for an eternal union and companionship.”

By Russell Stevenson

In Kristy Money’s recent op-ed for the Salt Lake Tribune, she urges seminary teachers and parents to “ignore [the] lesson altogether” on Doctrine and Covenants 132—which includes a discussion of the rationales undergirding Joseph Smith’s practice of polygamy. By calling for seminary teachers to ignore section 132, Money would have us silence the teaching of an important aspect of Latter-day Saint history. While section 132 has often raised difficulties for even the most committed of Latter-day Saints, the best solution to these anxieties is not increased ignorance but education, knowledge, and understanding.

Over the past decade, faithful Latter-day Saint historians—men and women who have spent years in the archives—have made venerable strides in creating the kind of faith community that can bear rigorous inquiries into its own past and appreciate its own relationship to broader political contexts. Johann von Goethe warned that “those who cannot draw conclusions/From three thousand years of learning/Stay naïve in dark confusions” and go “day to day undiscerning.”[1] For a people as historically conscious as the Latter-day Saints, Goethe’s poetic injunction holds no less true in matters of the past two centuries.

The study of history ought not be a discipline given to validating our assumptions or even our lived experiences; it demands constant vigilance to ensure that we are not projecting onto the primary sources what we want them to say. When we do, we are not pursuing history but crafting mythologies and perpetuating morality tales, useful though they may be. Immanuel Kant’s quip functions in reverse as well: simply because an interpretation is useful does not mean that it is true.[2]

Money urges seminary teachers to “simply teach that Joseph Smith began practicing polygamy in the early 1830s,” that they should “teach the facts without the spin.” Serious historical inquiries demand that we seek to capture a sense for the man or woman’s values and motivations whether the subject of study are activists such as Harvey Milk and Jane Addams, dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, or religious figures such as Mary Baker Eddy and Joseph Smith. Omitting Joseph Smith’s conviction in his own divinely-sanctioned mission does not present the kind of candid history that I assume Money wants to see. How can one seriously broach the historical Joseph Smith without acknowledging that he believed himself to be a Prophet, the very mouthpiece of God? “This is eternal lives,” he dictated in regards to the polygamy doctrine, “to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent.” Joseph Smith enjoined readers to “receive ye, therefore, my law.” Transparency demands that educators of all stripes not merely state that Joseph Smith practiced polygamy but also, explore why he did as well.

Moreover, the same revelation that Money wants us to ignore also provides the proof text that gives Latter-day Saint couples hope for an eternal union and companionship. Whether one wishes to embrace or dismiss the doctrine of eternal marriage, it is undeniable that the Latter-day Saint marriage ritual and its foundational text provide peace, comfort, and fulfillment to couples across the globe. Surely, Money recognizes the kind of emotional pain that would come as a result.

I share Money’s desires to eradicate environments that foster justifications for sexual exploitation. And the best weapons against these evils are not ignorance and taboo but awareness and candor. Latter-day Saints must seek out their history on the grassroots level; then and only then, can the Mormon community hope to make meaning of their rich, courageous, troubling, and inspiring past.

[1]: Albrecht Schone, “Faust—today,” in Hans Schulte, John Noyes, and Pia Kleber, Goethe’s Faust: Theatre of Modernity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 18–19.

[2]: In his Lectures on Logic, Immanuel Kant said that “many things can be true and still useful to man. Not all truth is useful.” See Immanuel Kant, Lectures on Logic, trans. J. Michael Young (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 43.

Russell Stevenson is the author of For the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013.

A Plea to Seminary Teachers and Parents

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seminary-class-1112861-galleryOver the last several years, the LDS Church history department has become increasingly open about the Church’s history. This can be seen in the work made available by the Joseph Smith Paper’s Project and in the recent release of several milestone Gospel Topics essays, especially those on the practice of polygamy by members of the LDS Church during the nineteenth century.

In an unanticipated and exciting step in the right direction, the LDS Church has now decided to teach this information in seminary classes. Parents can view the lessons on D&C 132 and the discussion of Joseph Smith’s practice of polygamy on the lds.org website under seminary lessons here and temple-marriage-766624-galleryhere.

I urge parents to not only read the lessons but also discuss them together as a family. These lessons are carefully written to emphasize those aspects of the section dedicated to eternal marriage and can serve as a basic introduction to the early practice of polygamy in Nauvoo.

From these lessons, students will be taught about eternal marriage, the zenith doctrine of the Restoration. Then they will be taught that God commanded Joseph Smith to establish polygamy as part of the restitution of all things, he married many women, and it was a trial for both Joseph and Emma Smith. It was also a trial for other early polygamists who were reluctant to participate. Fortunately, this was a temporary commandment that was removed in 1890. These are not easy topics to discuss or understand, but avoiding them will not make them go away.

An Op Ed piece written by Kristy Money, a member of the Ordain Woman board, was published in the Salt Lake Tribune on Sunday, March 29, encouraging the boycott of these lessons by seminary teachers and parents. This seems like a step backwards if we want to be open about our past. In urging nonparticipation, she listed several concerns. Interestingly, what I read in the lessons was quite different from the references in Ms. Money’s essay.

Students will not be taught God commanded Joseph to marry teenagers, which is good because there is no evidence that he was ever commanded to marry teenaged brides, even though he did.

Students will not be taught that Joseph married women without Emma’s knowledge. Parents may, emma-hale-smith-155871-thumbnailhowever, want to discuss this with their children, as the LDS Gospel Topics essay on Nauvoo polygamy covers this concern.

The lesson does not teach that “if a man simply ‘desires a virgin,’ he has a God-given right to take her as a plural wife,” despite the opinion of his first wife. This is a simplified contortion of complicated doctrine, and it is best that students learn it as worded in the revelation instead of how it is interpreted from critics or spun on the Internet.

The lesson does not teach the only reason polygamy was practiced was to raise righteous seed. It is listed as one of the reasons “as part of the restitution of all things.” The Gospel Topics essays also mention it being a customized trial for the Saints of that time. Parents may want to discuss these other reasons with their children.

Ms. Money contends that “sexual predators have been using these rationalizations to seduce girls long before the church recently published them.” If this is the case, then, as parents, we need to do all we can to make sure our teenagers are properly informed of what the historical record showsportrait-family-941042-gallery regarding Joseph’s institution of polygamy and its limited practice, so they will not fall prey to such reprehensible acts out of ignorance. D&C 132 explicitly condemns sexual relations outside of the bounds of marriage.

The LDS Church is to be commended for their continual efforts to increase dialogue regarding challenging topics. As members, let’s own our genuine past and study our canonized scripture. Protecting our children includes teaching them truth, so when they encounter misinformation they can recognize it as error. As parents and their children discuss these deep doctrines and difficult aspects of history, they can move toward a better understanding of Joseph Smith’s practice of polygamy.

Laura Harris Hales is the mother of a seminary student and the co-author of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding (Kofford Books, 2015).

Lending Clarity to Confusion: A Response to Kirk Van Allen’s “D&C 132: A Revelation of Men, Not God”

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temple_night2By Brian and Laura Hales

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has generally not addressed the practice of plural marriage, but increased attention on the subject apparently prompted the Church to release several essays on the topic last year. The postings created a frenzy in the media with coverage by major national newspapers, television news, and countless blogs. While the essays were unexpectedly candid, they did not seem to assuage all of the concerns of members as evidenced by the questions and concerns that continue to be expressed. On February 2, 2015, Kirk Van Allen posted a blog titled, “D&C 132: A Revelation of Men, Not God.” In it, he brings up some valid questions, which have previously been voiced by members and non-members in their quest to try and understand this “strange doctrine.” However, he also advances arguments that seem to superficially examine the topic without taking into account important theological and historical contexts. Since this essay is traversing the blogosphere and stirring up a whirlwind, an alternative view of his assertions seems useful.

Lending Clarity to Confusion: A Response to Kirk Van Allen’s “D&C 132: A Revelation of Men, Not God”