Polygamy (Joseph Smith Era)

Why and how did Joseph Smith practice plural marriage? Who were the women sealed or married to Joseph? What can we say about the nature of their relationships with him? This article gets into the origins of plural marriage and addresses some of the more common questions people have about it.

Timeline of Joseph Smith Era Polygamy

Pre-Kirtland Era (1823–1831)

September 21–22, 1823

Moroni[BIO] appears to Joseph Smith[BIO] and quotes prophecies about the restoration of sealing keys.[1]

January 18, 1827

Joseph Smith marries Emma Hale,[BIO] his first and only legal wife.[2]

ca. June 1829

Joseph Smith translates the Book of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, which includes teachings on when polygamy is authorized by God.[3][4]

June 1830

Joseph Smith begins his inspired translation, or revision, of the Bible,[5] which later sources identify as an early catalyst for Joseph becoming aware of plural marriage as part of the restoration.[6]

Kirtland Era (1831–1839)

May 7, 1831

In response to Shaker teachings on celibacy, Joseph Smith receives a revelation affirming that "marriage is ordained of God unto man."[7]

ca. 1831

According to later sources, Joseph Smith becomes aware of the idea of plural marriage.[8]

July 17, 1831

Joseph Smith reportedly receives a revelation informing a group of elders in Missouri that they should take plural wives among Native Americans.[9]

March 24–25, 1832

Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon[BIO] are tarred and feathered by a mob in Hiram, Ohio.[10] Fifty years later, a source alleges that this was in retaliation for an "intimate" relationship Joseph had with a young woman (and future plural wife) named Marinda Nancy Johnson.[BIO][11]

ca. 1834

According to Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner[BIO] and others, an angel with a drawn sword appears to Joseph Smith for the first of three times between 1834 and 1842 commanding him to practice plural marriage.[12]

ca. 1833–1835

Joseph Smith enters plural marriage by marrying Fanny Alger.[BIO][13] (See Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger.)

Summer 1835

The first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants is published[14] and includes a section on the Latter-day Saint view of marriage at the time.[15]

April 3, 1836

Elijah[BIO] appears in the Kirtland Temple and bestows sealing keys upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.[BIO][16]

April 1838

Oliver Cowdery is excommunicated for, among other things, "insinuating that [Joseph Smith] was guilty of adultry &c,"[17] referring to Joseph's relationship with Fanny Alger.[18]

Nauvoo Era (1839–1844)

ca. late 1840–early 1841

Joseph Smith reportedly teaches others about plural marriage in private and makes vague public hints at its eventual practice among the Latter-day Saints.[19]

April 5, 1841

Joseph Smith is sealed to Louisa Beaman[BIO] by Joseph B. Noble,[BIO] beginning the practice of plural marriage in Nauvoo.[20]

July 1841

Joseph Smith begins introducing plural marriage to members of the Quorum of the Twelve, including Brigham Young,[BIO] John Taylor,[BIO] and Heber C. Kimball.[BIO][21]

October 27, 1841

Joseph Smith is sealed to Zina D. Huntington,[BIO] the first of about a dozen women who had legal husbands at the time of their sealing to Joseph.[22][23]

ca. Late 1841

Joseph Smith possibly performs the first eternal sealing of another couple, Heber and Vilate Kimball.[BIO][24]

December 2, 1841

Joseph Smith receives a revelation for Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde that may contain veiled instruction for her to accept plural marriage.[25]

ca. April 1842

Joseph Smith purportedly writes a letter (later referred to as the "Happiness Letter") to Nancy Rigdon[BIO] which reads as an argument for justifying plural marriage.[26]

May 4, 1842

Joseph Smith introduces the endowment ceremony for the first time.[27]

May 11, 1842

Church leader and Nauvoo mayor John C. Bennett[BIO] is excommunicated for adultery.[28] In a subsequent exposé, Bennett alleges Joseph Smith is secretly practicing "spiritual wifery" and publishes redacted names of some of Joseph's plural wives.[29]

July 27, 1842

Joseph Smith is sealed to Sarah Ann Whitney[BIO] in the presence of her parents, with her father, Newel K. Whitney,[BIO] performing the ceremony using words that were given to him in a revelation from Joseph.[30]

August 18, 1842

Joseph Smith handwrites a letter to Elizabeth and Newel K. Whitney and their daughter Sarah Ann (who was recently sealed to Joseph) asking them to visit him while he is in hiding from Missouri lawmen.[31]

ca. Late Summer 1842

By the end of August, Joseph Smith is sealed to about a dozen plural wives.[32] No additional plural marriages are performed for about the next six months.[33]

October 1, 1842

The Times and Seasons publishes an official statement from the Nauvoo Relief Society condemning John C. Bennett and denying the existence of the "secret wife system" Bennett alleges exists among the Saints in Nauvoo.[34]

Winter 1842

A tract titled The Peacemaker, which advocates for polygamy, is published in Nauvoo. Its non-Mormon author Udney Hay Jacob[BIO] lists Joseph Smith as the "printer."[35] Joseph Smith publicly disavows the publication.[36]

February–ca. May 1843

Joseph Smith resumes plural marriage by marrying Ruth D. Vose[BIO] and Flora Ann Woodworth.[BIO][37] By the end of the year, Joseph is sealed to more than another dozen women, bringing the number of wives to around thirty.[38]

March 3, 1843

Oliver Olney,[BIO] an excommunicated Latter-day Saint,[39] publishes The Absurdities of Mormonism Portrayed, which includes a brief exposé of Joseph Smith's practice of plural marriage.[40]

March 23, 1843

Joseph Smith handwrites a blessing to plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney.[41]

ca. May 1843

Joseph Smith is sealed his youngest wife, fourteen-year-old Helen Mar Kimball.[BIO][42]

ca. May 1843

Emma Hale consents to and participates in the plural marriage sealings of four women to Joseph Smith.[43]

May 28, 1843

Joseph Smith is sealed to Emma Hale for eternity.[44]

July 12, 1843

Joseph Smith receives the revelation on plural marriage, which is now canonized as section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants.[45]

November 2, 1843

Joseph Smith marries Fanny Young,[BIO] his last plural wife with a known marriage date.[46]

February 7, 1844

The Warsaw Message publishes a satirical poem mocking and criticizing Joseph Smith and plural marriage.[47]

June 7, 1844

The Nauvoo Expositor publishes its first and only issue,[48] exposing Joseph Smith's practice of plural marriage.[49] The Nauvoo City Council designates it a "public Nuisance" and the press is destroyed on Joseph Smith's order.[50]

June 27, 1844

Joseph Smith is murdered in Carthage, Illinois.[51]

Expand Timeline

Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy?

Yes. There are testimonies from dozens of independent sources including Eliza R. Snow,[52] Helen Mar Kimball,[53] Lucy Walker,[54] Benjamin F. Johnson,[55] and many others attesting to the fact that Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage.[56]

So it wasn't started by Brigham Young in Utah?

No. Joseph Smith introduced the concept to Brigham Young in Nauvoo,[57] where Brigham married Lucy Ann Decker as his first plural wife on June 14, 1842.[58]

Why did Joseph Smith introduce plural marriage?

There is no direct statement from Joseph Smith specifically explaining why he introduced the practice of plural marriage. However, on July 12, 1843, Joseph received a revelation, now canonized as section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which includes four reasons: to "restore all things," to provide an Abrahamic trial and sacrifice for the Saints, to "multiply and replenish the earth," and to give participants "exaltation in the eternal worlds."[59]

When did Joseph first introduce the practice?

Joseph may have introduced the concept as early as 1831,[60] but he did not practice it until the mid-1830s, probably starting in 1835 when he most likely married Fanny Alger.[61] After that, he waited about six years before resuming the practice by marrying Louisa Beaman in 1841 and began teaching plural marriage to close confidants, eventually bringing them into the practice as well.[62]

He continued practicing plural marriage until his death on June 27, 1844, at which time he had married at least 27 women.[63]

If one of the reasons for polygamy was to "multiply and replenish the earth," then did Joseph have children with his plural wives?

No, probably not. Many of the children who were thought to be Joseph's biological children have been discounted through genetic testing[64] (see below). To date, there is no conclusive historical or genetic evidence that Joseph had children with any wife other than Emma Hale.[65]

Alleged children of Joseph Smith from a plural wife.

Child	Mother	Genetic Testing[66]
Oliver Norman Buell[BIO]	Presendia Huntington	Negative
John Reed Hancock[BIO]	Clarissa Reed[BIO]	Negative
Moroni Llewellyn Pratt[BIO]	Mary Ann Frost[BIO]	Negative
Orson Washington Hyde[BIO]	Marinda Nancy Johnson	No test performed.
Frank Henry Hyde[BIO]	Marinda Nancy Johnson	No test performed.
Josephine Rosetta Lyon (Fisher)	Sylvia Sessions	Negative
Josephine Henry (King)[BIO]	Margaret Creighton[BIO]	No test performed.
Mosiah Lyman Hancock[BIO]	Clarissa Reed	Negative
Zebulon Williams Jacobs[BIO]	Zina Diantha Huntington	Negative
Orrison Smith[BIO]	Fanny Alger	Negative
George Algernon Lightner[BIO]	Mary Rollins Lightner	No test performed.
Sarah Elizabeth Holmes[BIO]	Marietta Carter[BIO]	No test performed.
Alleged son or daughter	Hannah Dubois[BIO]	No test performed.

Expand Table

Did Joseph just make up polygamy to have extramarital sex?

No, probably not. Based on the current documentary record, Joseph's behavior in practicing plural marriage doesn't seem to support the idea that he was primarily motivated by sex,[67] and the available evidence suggests that he did not have sexual relations with many of his plural wives.[68]

Accounts from Joseph's plural wives emphasize the religious nature of the practice of plural marriage, rather than one based on sex or romance.[69]

Read More Difficult Questions

445 Primary Sources

Footnotes

BIOMoroni
Moroni (circa 400 AD) was a son of Mormon, the Nephite a military leader and prophet. He authored the final book in the Book of Mormon, concluding the record, and was the last survivor of the Nephite civilization. According to Joseph Smith's history, Moroni, as a resurrected angel sent from God, appeared to the young visionary and instructed him between the years 1823 to 1827 about the coming forth and translation of the Book of Mormon.
BIOJoseph Smith, Jr.
Joseph Smith (1805–1844) organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Sharon, Vermont, he began to experience visions of deity and angels at a young age. One vision featured the Angel Moroni, who revealed the location of gold plates with an account of ancient Americans. He translated this record and published it as The Book of Mormon. He continued to receive revelations throughout his life which serve as the foundation for the Church's doctrine today. He led the Latter-day Saints across the country from New York to Illinois. In 1844, he was martyred while awaiting trial in Carthage, Illinois.
BIOEmma Hale Smith
Emma Hale Smith (1804–1879) was an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Harmony, Pennsylvania, Emma received a boarding school education in Boston, Massachusetts. She met Joseph Smith in Harmony, Pennsylvania while he was working as a manual laborer and, occasionally, as a treasure-hunter. They married and she followed Joseph Smith throughout his life. Emma served as the first Relief Society President and navigated Joseph Smith's implementation of plural marriage with mixed responses: either supporting or opposing it at various times in her life. After Joseph's death, Emma married Lewis C. Bidamon, a non-Mormon resident of Nauvoo. Later in life, she affiliated with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later called Community of Christ, where her son Joseph III became president.
BIOSidney Rigdon
Sidney Rigdon (1793–1876) was a Campbellite minister in Pennsylvania but joined the Church in 1830. He was a gifted orator and served as a member of Joseph Smith's First Presidency. He ran as Joseph Smith's vice presidential candidate in 1844. After Joseph Smith's death, he claimed to be Joseph Smith's successor in opposition to the Quorum of the Twelve. He was excommunicated and went on to establish "The Church of Jesus Christ" in Friendship, New York, where he lived until his death.
BIOMarinda Nancy Johnson
Marinda Nancy Johnson (June 28, 1815–March 24, 1886) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Her legal husband at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith was apostle Orson Hyde. She migrated to Utah in 1852 and divorced Orson Hyde in 1870. She died in Salt Lake City in 1886.
BIOMary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner (1818–1913) was born in Lima, New York. She moved to Kirtland, Ohio, in 1828, and was baptized in October of 1830. She then moved to Independence, Missouri, in 1831. Two years later, she and her sister Caroline helped save the Book of Commandments from a mob. She married Adam Lightner, who was not a member of the Church, in 1835. Lightner was sealed as a plural wife of Joseph Smith in 1842. She later settled in Utah.
BIOFanny Alger
Fanny Alger (1817?–1889) was born in New York. Her family moved to Ohio during the 1820s. Alger became a housekeeper for the Smith family around 1833. She probably became a plural wife of Joseph Smith in 1835. Alger left the Smith household and moved to Indiana in 1836. She married Solomon Custer in 1836 and bore nine children. Alger joined the Universalists in 1874.
BIOElijah
A biblical prophet who lived and ministered in the northern kingdom of Israel in the ninth century BC during the reign of King Ahab. Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836 to bestow priesthood keys on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (Doctrine and Covenants 110:13–16).
BIOOliver Cowdery
Oliver Cowdery (1806–1850) was a scribe for the Book of Mormon and served as one of the Book of Mormon's Three Witnesses. In 1838, he was excommunicated from the church for a number of reasons, including encouraging lawsuits against the Church and defaming Joseph Smith by accusing him of adultery. He returned to the faith near the end of his life and never denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon's veracity.
BIOLouisa Beaman
Louisa Beaman (Februay 7, 1815–May 16, 1850) was an early Latter-day Saint and plural wife of Joseph Smith. Louisa married Brigham Young in 1844 and migrated to Utah in 1848, where she died two years later.
BIOJoseph B. Noble
Joseph Bates Noble (January 14, 1810–August 17, 1900) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and friend of Joseph Smith who performed the latter's plural marriage to Louisa Beaman in 1841. Noble held multiple church and civic callings in Nauvoo and migrated to Utah in 1847. He subsequently moved to Idaho, where he died in 1900.
BIOBrigham Young
Brigham Young (1801–1877) was an early Latter-day Saint leader. He was born in Whitingham, Vermont. and joined the faith in his twenties after two years of deliberation. He became the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles following the fractionalization of the Church in Kirtland, Ohio. After Joseph Smith's martyrdom in 1844, Young assumed the presidency and led the Latter-day Saints to settle in the Great Basin region. He was married to fifty-five women and fathered fifty-nine children from sixteen of his wives. He also served as the Territorial Governor for Utah Territory until 1857 and as the prophet until his death.
BIOJohn Taylor
John Taylor (1808–1887) was born in Westmorland, England. He was the third president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He moved to Canada in 1832 and joined the Church four years later. Taylor was soon appointed to the apostleship and became a prominent advocate for Latter-day Saint doctrine during his mission to the United Kingdom. Taylor accompanied Joseph Smith to Carthage Jail in 1844, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred. Taylor received a bullet wound to the thigh. He served in the apostleship and First Presidency until his appointment to the Presidency in 1880. Taylor oversaw the Church administration as the Church faced sustained prosecution from federal authorities for the practice of polygamy. He died while in hiding from federal authorities in Kaysville at the age of 79.
BIOHeber C. Kimball
Heber Chase Kimball (1801–1868) was an early Latter-day Saint leader. He was born in Sheldon, Vermont and was trained to be a potter at an early age. Kimball joined the faith through the preaching of Phineas Young, Brigham Young's brother. Kimball was appointed to be an apostle in the Church's first Quorum and served a mission to the United Kingdom. When the Saints were expelled from Missouri, Kimball, along with fellow apostle, Brigham Young, oversaw their flight across the Illinois state border. Kimball served as an apostle and counselor in the First Presidency under Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Following Joseph Smith's death in 1844, Kimball aligned himself with the Quorum of the Twelve against the claims of opponents such as Sidney Rigdon and James J. Strang. In 1847, Kimball became a member of the newly-constituted First Presidency. Once the Saints had arrived in Utah, Kimball served as the Territorial Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor. He died of injuries sustained in a carriage accident in 1868.
BIOZina D. Young
Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young (1821–1901) was a Latter-day Saint leader. Born in upstate New York, Zina joined the Latter-day Saint faith after meeting Hyrum Smith (Joseph Smith's brother) and David Whitmer. Zina became an early plural wife of Joseph Smith in 1841, while still temporally married to another member, Henry Jacobs. After Joseph Smith's death, she married Brigham Young. Zina Young was an active leader in the Utah women's suffrage movement and a leader of the Relief Society from 1888 until her death.
BIOVilate Kimball
Vilate Murray Kimball (June 1, 1806–October 22, 1867) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, the first wife of Heber C. Kimball, and mother of Helen Mar Kimball. She migrated to Utah in 1848 where she died in 1867.
BIONancy Rigdon
Nancy Rigdon (December 8, 1822–November 1, 1887) was the daughter of Sidney Rigdon and Phebe Brooks. In the Spring of 1842, when Nancy was 19 years old, Joseph Smith allegedly propositioned her to become a plural wife, purportedly writing her the "Happiness Letter" to justify the practice of plural marriage. Nancy later moved to Pittsburgh, married Robert Ellis in 1846, and died in 1887.
BIOJohn C. Bennett
John C. Bennett (1804–1867) was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He was a physician, and, for a brief period of time, a high-ranking member of the Church. He was influential in the passing of the Nauvoo City Charter in the Illinois Legislature. After being excommunicated for adultery in 1842, he became a staunch critic of the Church, authoring the book History of the Saints: Or, An Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism (1842).
BIOSarah Ann Whitney
Sarah Ann Whitney Kimball (March 22, 1825–September 4, 1873) was the daughter of Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney. She became a plural wife of Joseph Smith while living in Nauvoo. Thereafter she became the wife of both Joseph C. Kingsbury and Heber C. Kimball. In 1848 she migrated to Utah, where she died in 1873.
BIONewel K. Whitney
Newel K. Whitney (1795–1850) was an early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Vermont, he joined the Church in 1831. He served as one of the first bishops in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Whitney traveled with the Saints to Missouri and later to Nauvoo, where he agreed to allow his daughter, Sarah, be Joseph Smith's plural wife. He relocated to Utah in 1849, where he died.
BIOUdney H. Jacob
Udney Hay Jacob (April 24, 1781–April 10, 1860) was the author of An Extract, from a Manuscript Entitled The Peace Maker, which he published in Nauvoo in 1842 before becoming a Latter-day Saint in 1843. Jacob later migrated to Salt Lake City, where he died in 1860.
BIORuth D. Vose
Ruth Daggett Vose (February 26, 1808–August 18, 1884) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She was legally married to Edward Sayers at the time of her sealing to Joseph. Ruth migrated to Utah in 1849 and died in Salt Lake City in 1884.
BIOFlora Ann Woodworth
Flora Ann Woodworth (1826–deceased) was an early Latter-day Saint and plural wife of Joseph Smith. She subsequently married Carlos Gove and migrated to Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa, where she died sometime after 1850.
BIOOliver H. Olney
Oliver H. Olney (August 11, 1796–ca. 1845) was an early Latter-day Saint convert who served as a Seventy before his excommunication in 1842. He printed two anti-Mormon exposés after his excommunication: The Absurdities of Mormonism Portrayed in 1843 and Spiritual Wifery at Nauvoo Exposed in 1845.
BIOHelen Mar Kimball Whitney
Helen Mar Kimball Whitney (August 22, 1828–November 15, 1896) was the daughter of Heber C. and Vilate Kimball and the youngest of Joseph Smith's plural wives, being sealed to Joseph in May 1843. She married Horace K. Whitney in 1846 and moved to Utah in 1848. Helen went on to become an outspoken defender of plural marriage and Joseph Smith, publishing two books on the subject (Plural Marriage, As Taught by the Prophet Joseph in 1882 and Why We Practice Plural Marriage in 1884) as well as multiple articles. She died in Salt Lake City in 1896.
BIOFanny Young
Fanny Young (November 8, 1787–June 11, 1859) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, sister of Brigham Young, and plural wife of Joseph Smith. She migrated to Utah in 1850 and died in Salt Lake City in 1859.
BIOOliver N. Buell
Oliver Norman Buell (January 31, 1840–Aprul 22, 1872) was an alleged biological son of Joseph Smith and Presendia Huntington. Genetic testing published in 2008 concluded with a high degree of likelihood that Oliver was not Joseph's biological offspring and instead his father was Norman Oliver Buell, Presendia's legal husband.
BIOJohn Reed Hancock
John Reed Hancock (April 19, 1841–April 21, 1882) was the son of Levi Ward Hancock and Clarissa Reed Hancock. He was allegedly the biological son of Joseph Smith and his mother Clarissa, but modern genetic testing has disconfirmed this claim and has confirmed Levi as John's biological father. John married Julia Caroline Huntington in 1865 in Salt Lake City, where he died in 1882.
BIOClarissa Reed Hancock
Clarissa Reed Hancock (December 18, 1814–January 17, 1860) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, the wife of Levi Ward Hancock, and the mother of John Reed Hancock. Clarissa migrated to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1839 and then Salt Lake City, Utah in 1848, where she died in 1860.
BIOMoroni Llewellyn Pratt
Moroni Llewellyn Pratt (December 7, 1844–April 8, 1913) was the son of Mary Ann Frost and Parley P. Pratt. Among his various Church callings, Pratt was President of the British Mission from 1884–1886. He was alleged to be the biological son of Joseph Smith, but DNA testing has disproven that claim.
BIOMary Ann Frost Pratt
Mary Ann Frost Pratt (January 14, 1809–August 24, 1891) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and wife of Parley P. Pratt until their divorce in 1853. She migrated to Utah in 1852 and died in Pleasant Grove. She was the mother of Moroni Llewellyn Pratt, who was alleged to be a biological son of Joseph Smith until DNA testing invalidated the claim.
BIOOrson Washington Hyde
Orson Washington Hyde (November 13, 1843–November 27, 1843) was the son of Marinda Nancy and her husband Orson Hyde. It has been alleged that he was the biological child of Joseph Smith. He died as an infant in Nauvoo, leaving no modern descendants on which to perform genetic testing to resolve Joseph Smith's alleged parentage.
BIOFrank Henry Hyde
Frank Henry Hyde (January 23, 1846–June 28, 1908) was an early Latter-day Saint and the son of Marinda Nancy Hyde and Orson Hyde. It has been alleged that he was the biological child of Joseph Smith, but no genetic testing has been performed to prove these claims. Frank migrated with his family to Utah in 1852. He went on to serve a mission to Great Britain between 1867–1870 and married Mary Ellen O'Neil in 1872. He died in Salt Lake City in 1908.
BIOJosephine Henry King
Josephine Henry King (June 8, 1844–February 12, 1868) was an early Latter-day Saint and daughter of Margaret Creighton and Andrew Henry (or, allegedly, Joseph Smith). She married William Rice King in 1861 and died seven years later at age 23 in Utah after giving birth to four children. No modern testing has yet been performed to either confirm or disconfirm Josephine's alleged status as Joseph Smith's biological daughter.
BIOMargaret Creighton
Margaret Creighton Henry (February 1817–October 7, 1886) was an early Latter-day Saint and the mother of Josephine Henry King. She married Andrew Henry in 1843 and allegedly became a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She migrated to Utah where she died in Fillmore in 1886.
BIOMosiah Hancock
Mosiah Lyman Hancock (April 9, 1834–January 14, 1907) was an early Latter-day Saint and alleged biological son of Clarissa Reed Hancock and Joseph Smith. Genetic testing has since ruled out Joseph Smith's parentage and confirmed that Mosiah's biological father was Levi Hancock.
BIOZebulon Jacobs
Zebulon Williams Jacobs (January 2, 1842–September 22, 1914) was an early Latter-day Saint and the son of Zina D. Huntingon and Henry B. Jacobs. Zebulon was alleged to be the biological son of Joseph Smith, but modern genetic testing has disproved this claim. Jacobs migrated with his family to Utah in 1848, where he married Frances Woods Carrington in 1866. He died in Utah in 1914.
BIOOrrison Smith
Orrison Smith (1833–deceased) was the alleged son of Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger. Genetic testing conducted in 2005 ruled it unlikely but not conclusive that Orrison is a biological son of Joseph.
BIOGeorge Algernon Lightner
George Algernon Lightner (March 22, 1842) was the infant son of Mary Elizabeth Rollins and either Adam Lightner or, allegedly, Joseph Smith. George died at or shortly after childbirth and thus left no living descendants on which to perform genetic testing to confirm parentage.
BIOSarah Elizabeth Holmes
Sarah Elizabeth Holmes (January 24, 1838–May 24, 1908) was the daughter of Jonathan and Marietta Carter Holmes. She was alleged to be the biological daughter of Joseph Smith. Sarah married Miles Weaver in 1855. After her husband's death in 1856, she married his brother Franklin. Franklin and Sarah moved to Idaho in the 1880s, where she died in 1908.
BIOMarietta Carter
Marietta Carter Holmes (April 1, 1818–August 20, 1840) was an early Latter-day Saint, the wife of Jonathan Harriman Holmes, and allegedly a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She was also the mother of Sarah Elizabeth Holmes, allegedly a biological daughter of Joseph Smith with Sarah. Marietta died in Nauvoo in 1840.
BIOHannah Dubois
Hannah Ann Dubois Dibble (July 31, 1808–October 28, 1893) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, the wife of Philo Dibble, and an alleged plural wife of Joseph Smith. Hannah and her family migrated to Utah in 1851, where she died in Springville in 1893.
BIOPresendia Lathrop Huntington Buell
Presendia Lathrop Huntington Buell (September 7, 1810–February 1, 1892) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Buell later married Heber C. Kimball and migrated to Utah in 1846, where she died in 1892.
BIOAgnes Coolbrith Smith
Agnes Coolbrith Smith Pickett (July 11, 1811–December 26, 1876) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and the wife of Joseph Smith's brother Don Carlos Smith. After Don Carlos died, she became a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She migrated to St. Louis, Missouri in 1846, where she married William Pickett. Thereafter she moved to Utah in 1850 and then to California in 1852, where she died in 1876.
BIOPatty Bartlett Sessions
Patty Bartlett Sessions Parry (February 4, 1795–December 14, 1892) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and plural wife of Joseph Smith. She migrated to Utah in 1847, where she married John Parry in 1851. She lived in Bountiful, Utah until her death in 1892.
BIOEliza R. Snow
Eliza Roxcy Snow (1804–1887) was born in Becket, Massachusetts to Oliver and Rosetta Snow. Her younger brother, Lorenzo, became the fifth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Snow joined the Church in 1835. She became a plural wife of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. Snow served as the second General Relief Society President from 1866 to 1887. During her life, she composed around 500 poems, including "O My Father," which references Heavenly Mother.
BIODelcena Didamia Johnson
Delcena Diademia Johnson Babbitt (November 19, 1806–October 21, 1854) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She was the sister of Benjamin F. Johnson, Joseph Smith's close friend. She subsequently married Almon Babbitt as a plural wife in 1846 and moved to Utah in 1854, where she died that same year.
BIOMartha McBride
Martha McBride Kimball (March 17, 1805–November 20, 1901) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She subsuquently married Heber C. Kimball as a plural wife and migrated to Utah in 1850, where she lived until her death in 1901.
BIOSylvia Lyons
Sylvia Porter Sessions Lyon (July 31, 1818–April 2, 1882) was an early Latter-day Saint and plural wife of Joseph Smith. Her legal husband at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith was Windsor Palmer Lyon. She migrated to Iowa in 1846 and then Utah in 1854 where she lived until her death. According to a later account, Sylvia confessed to her daughter Josephine on her deathbed that she, Josephine, was Joseph Smith's daughter, a claim which has since been disconfirmed through modern genetic testing.
BIOEmily D. P. Young
Emily Dow Partridge Young (February 28, 1824–December 9, 1899) was born in Painesville, Ohio. She was the daughter of Edward Partridge (the first bishop of the church) and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. In 1840, after Edward Partridge had died, she and her sister Eliza moved into Joseph and Emma Smith's household in Nauvoo. In March 1843, Emily was sealed as a plural wife to Joseph Smith. She was also sealed as a wife to Brigham Young in 1844. Later, in 1892, she gave evidence of her marriage to Joseph Smith as part of the Temple Lot case.
BIOEliza Partridge
Eliza Partridge (April 20, 1820–March 2, 1886) was an early Latter-day Saint, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and, along with her sister Emily, a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Partridge subsequently married Amasa Lyman in 1844 and moved to Utah in 1848, where she was appointed secretary of the Relief Society in Fillmore in 1867. She died in Oak City in 1886.
BIOAlmera Johnson
Almera Woodward Johnson Barton (October 12, 1812–March 4, 1896) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, sister of Benjamin F. Johnson, and plural wife of Joseph Smith. She subsequently married Rueben Barton in 1845 and migrated to Utah in 1861, where she died in 1896.
BIOLucy Walker
Lucy Walker Kimball (April 30, 1826–October 1, 1910) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and plural wife of Joseph Smith. She subsequently married Heber C. Kimball as a plural wife and migrated to Utah in 1848. She died in Salt Lake City in 1910.
BIOMaria Lawrence
Maria Lawrence (December 18, 1823–1847) was an early Latter-day Saint and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Joseph was Maria's legal guardian at the time of their sealing as, her biological father, Edward Lawrence, had assed away in 1839. She subsequently married Almon W. Babbitt in 1846 and died a year later in Nauvoo.
BIOSarah Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence Mount (May 13, 1826–November 28, 1872) was an early Latter-day Saint, and, along with her sister Maria, a plural wife of Joseph Smith, who was her legal guardian at the time of their sealing. She subsequently married Heber C. Kimball as a plural wife in 1844 and migrated to Utah in 1850. After divorcing Kimball in 1851, she married Joseph Mount in Salt Lake City in 1853. She moved to San Francisco in the 1860s and died there in 1872.
BIOHannah Ells
Hannah Ells (March 4, 1808–ca. 1845) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith.
BIOOlive Frost
Olive Gray Frost Young (July 24, 1816–October 7 or 8, 1845) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and plural wife of both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. She was the sister-in-law of Parley P. Pratt, whom she accompanied to England in 1840. She returned to the United States in 1843 and resided in Nauvoo until her death in 1845.
BIOElvira Annie Cowles
Elvira Annie Cowles (November 23, 1813–March 10, 1871) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, treasurer of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Cowles was legally married to Jonathan H. Holmes at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith. She migrated to Utah in 1847 and died in Farmington.
BIORhoda Richards
Rhoda Richards (August 8, 1784–January 17, 1879) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, the sister of Willard Richards, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. At age fifty-eight, she was the oldest of Joseph Smith's plural wives, twenty years older than Joseph at the time of their sealing. She migrated to Utah in 1848 and lived there until her death in 1879.
BIODesdemona Fullmer
Desdemona Wadsworth Fullmer McLane (October 6, 1809–February 9, 1886) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She subsequently married Ezra Taft Benson in 1846, whom she divorced in 1852. Thereafter she married Harrison Parker McLane in 1853 in Salt Lake City. She lived in Utah until her death in 1886.
BIOMalissa Lott
Malissa Lott Willis (January 9, 1824–July 13, 1898) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She subsequently married John Bernhisel as a plural wife in 1846 and Ira J. Willis in 1849. She migrated to Utah in 1848, where she resided until her death in 1898.
BIOElizabeth Davis Durfee
Elizabeth Davis Durfee (March 11, 1791–December 16, 1876) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. She migrated to Utah in 1855 and then to various locations, including California, Missouri, and Kansas. She was baptized into the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1869 and died in White Cloud, Missouri in 1876.
BIOSarah Kingsley Cleveland
Sarah Kingsley Cleveland (October 20, 1788–April 21, 1856) was an early Latter-day Saint convert, a counselor to Emma Smith in the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Her legal husband at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith was John Cleveland, who was never a Latter-day Saint. Sarah remained in Illinois after the removal of the Saints from Nauvoo. She died in 1856 in Plymouth, Hancock County, Illinois.
BIOLucinda Pendleton
Lucinda Harris Pendleton (September 27, 1807–1856) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and plural wife of Joseph Smith. She was legally married to George W. Harris at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith. She was previously married to William Morgan, an outspoken anti-Mason who was allegedly kidnapped and murdered. She died in Memphis, Tennessee in 1856.
BIONancy Winchester
Nancy Maria Winchester (August 10, 1828–March 17, 1876) was an early Latter-day Saint, a member of the Female Relief Society in Nauvoo, and a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Nancy migrated to Utah in 1849 and resided in Salt Lake City, where she died in 1876.
BIOEsther Dutcher
Esther Dutcher (January 25, 1811–September 17, 1856) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and plural wife of Joseph Smith. Her legal husband at the time of her sealing to Joseph was Albert Smith. She migrated to Utah and died in Manti in 1856.
BIOMary Heron
Mary Heron Snyder (November 10, 1804–January 31, 1852) was an early Latter-day Saint convert along with her husband John Snyder and an alleged plural wife of Joseph Smith. She migrated to Utah in 1851, where she died one year later.
BIOHenry B. Jacobs
Henry Bailey Jacobs (May 5, 1817–August 1, 1886) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and the legal husband of Zina Diantha Huntington, one of Joseph Smith's plural wives. Henry married Zina in 1841, the same year Zina was sealed to Joseph Smith. He served missions in 1842 and 1843 and participated in Joseph Smith presidential campaign. In 1846 he married Aseneth Babcock and migrated to Utah in 1848. He died in Salt Lake City in 1886.
BIOAdam Lightner
Adam Lightner, Jr. (April 14, 1810–August 19, 1885) was the legal husband of Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Adam never joined the Church but remained friendly to Joseph Smith and the Saints. He migrated to Minersville, Utah in 1863 where he died in 1885.
BIODavid Sessions
David Sessions (April 4, 1790–August 11, 1850) was an early Latter-day convert and the legal husband of Patty Bartlett, a plural wife of Joseph Smith. David migrated to Utah in 1847 and married Harriet Elvira Teeples in 1850. That same year he died in Salt Lake City.
BIOEdward Sayers
Edward Sayers (February 9, 1800–July 17, 1861) was the legal husband of Ruth D. Vose at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith as a plural wife. Although Sayers was not a Latter-day Saint, he was sympathetic and friendly to Joseph Smith and the Saints. He migrated to Utah in 1849 and died in Salt Lake City in 1861.
BIOJonathan Harriman Holmes
Jonathan Harriman Holmes (1806–1880) joined the Church in 1832. He was among those arrested for the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor and later served in the Mormon Battalion.
BIOJabez Durfey
Jabez Durfey (December 23, 1791–April 1867) was an early Latter-day Saint and the legal husband of Elizabeth Durfey, a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Jabez was excommunicated in 1850 subsequently moved to Iowa, where he died in 1867.
BIOJohn Cleveland
John Cleveland (May 21, 1790–November 24, 1860) was the legal husband of Sarah Kingsley, a plural wife of Joseph Smith. Cleveland was never a member of the Church but was reportedly friendly and supportive of the Latter-day Saints. He resided in Nauvoo until his subsequent migrations to Eden, Illinois and Berlin Township, Ohio by 1860. He died in Plymouth, Illinois in 1860.
BIOAlbert Smith
Albert Smith (November 18, 1804–October 30, 1892) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and the legal husband of Esther Dutcher at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith. He migrated to Utah and died in Manti in 1892.
BIOJohn Snider
John Snider/Snyder (February 11, 1800–December 19, 1875) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and the legal husband of Mary Heron, believed to be one of Joseph Smith's plural wives. Snider was a member of the Nauvoo Legion and served a mission in the United Kingdom in 1842–1843. He migrated to Utah and died in Salt Lake City.
BIOGeorge W. Harris
George Washington Harris (April 1, 1780–1857) was an early Latter-day Saint convert and the legal husband of Lucinda Pendleton at the time of her plural marriage sealing to Joseph Smith. George held a number of civic and church responsibilities in Nauvoo, including alderman and member of the high council. In 1846 he left Nauvoo and migrated to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he died in 1857.
[1]↩︎
In his 1838 history, Joseph Smith recalled how Moroni quoted from the book of Malachi but with some variation from how it reads in the King James Bible. The King James Version reads:
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5–6)
But the way Moroni quoted this passage, according to Joseph, was:
Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the Children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers, if it were not so the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
- Joseph's 1838 history narrating the appearance of Moroni, who quoted biblical prophecies on the restoration of sealing keys.
[2]↩︎
According to his 1838 history, Joseph married Emma "on the eighteenth of January Eighteen hundred and twenty seven" by "squire" (justice of the peace) Zechariah Tarble. Emma was Joseph's only legal wife recognized by the United States.
- Joseph identifies January 18, 1827 as his marriage date to Emma Hale.
[3]↩︎
In this text, the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob condemns polygamy as an "abomination" to the Lord except when he commands it to "raise up seed."
BYU scholar John Welch estimated the translation of the book of Jacob to be mid- to late-June 1829.
[4]↩︎
Oliver Cowdrey was the scribe for the Book of Mormon translation at this time. Brigham Young reported that when Oliver Cowdery became aware of plural marriage that he asked Joseph if they should practice it, but Joseph said the time was not right. Brigham claimed that Oliver entered into an unauthorized second marriage with Annie Lyman, who was the cousin of George A. Smith.
Joseph F. Smith and George Q. Cannon also reported that Oliver Cowdery practiced unauthorized polygamy.
However, these allegations were made many decades later and the chronology does not seem to work out. Historians differ on the credibility of these accounts.
- Charles Lowell Walker records Brigham Young sermon; Brigham alleges Joseph and Oliver Cowdery learned about polygamy while translating the Book of Mormon and that Oliver took a plural wife.
- Brian C. Hales reviews evidence for claims that Oliver Cowdery practiced plural marriage; concludes he most likely did not.
[5]↩︎
The Bible translation began in June 1830 with Moses 1 and was recorded in the original JST manuscript as having been given to "Joseph the Revelator."
Joseph had likely translated beyond the portion of Genesis that describes the patriarch Abraham as being a polygamist by the end of 1830 or early spring of 1831.
[6]↩︎
In a stake conference meeting in Centerville, UT, on June 11, 1883, Joseph B. Noble related how Joseph Smith had stated that his work on the Bible translation was an early contributor to the restoration of plural marriage.
According to the published minutes of the conference:
He [Noble] stated that the Prophet Joseph told him that the doctrine of celestial marriage was revealed to him while he was engaged on the work of translation of the Scriptures, but when the communication was first made the Lord stated that the time for the practice of that principle had not arrived.
Other writers from the same period affirmed something similar but did not identify their sources.
[7]↩︎
The revelation, now canonized as section 49 of the Doctrine and Covenants, read that "it is lawful that [a husband] should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation" (verses 15–16).
The modern preface to this revelation gives the following context:
Leman Copley had embraced the gospel but still held to some of the teachings of the Shakers (United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing), to which he had formerly belonged. Some of the beliefs of the Shakers were that Christ’s Second Coming had already occurred and that He had appeared in the form of a woman, Ann Lee. They did not consider baptism by water essential. They rejected marriage and believed in a life of total celibacy.
Historian Matthew McBride has further explained,
Latter-day Saints and Shakers also diverged in their views of marriage and sexual relations; devout Believers (as Shakers called themselves) insisted upon absolute celibacy, which they referred to as “taking up the cross.”
[8]↩︎
Some claimed Joseph knew about plural marriage as early as 1831, including plural wives Helen Mar Kimball and Lucy Walker. Orson Pratt also affirmed this, and other turn-of-the-century Latter-day Saint writers such as B. H. Roberts and Osborne J. P. Widtsoe incorporated this understanding into their histories.
However, these later recollections are typically late, unsourced, and second or thirdhand reports.
[9]↩︎
The "substance" of this revelation attributed to Joseph only survived as reproduced by William W. Phelps in a letter to Brigham Young dated August 12, 1861. The revelation partly instructs that these elders "should take unto [themselves] wives of the Lamanites and Nephites, that their posterity may become white, delightsome and Just, for even now their females are more virtuous than the gentiles."
In a comment attached to the text of the revelation, Phelps explained that about three years after the receipt of this revelation Joseph clarified to him that plural marriage among Latter-day Saint men and Native American women was intended.
- Phelps reproduces purported JS revelation dated July 17, 1831 foretelling a time when church elders would take "wives of the Lamanites and Nephites."
[10]↩︎
Joseph Smith provided a detailed firsthand account of this episode in his 1838 history.
- Joseph recounts being tarred and feathered in Hiram, OH in 1832.
[11]↩︎
Clark Braden, a minister with the Disciples of Christ movement, made the allegation in 1884 during a debate with RLDS Bishop E. L. Kelley. He claimed:
The mob was led by Eli Johnson, who blamed Smith with being too intimate with his sister Marinda, who afterwards married Orson Hyde.
In the debate, Braden did not give a source for the claim and said that Eli (Eliphaz) was Marinda's brother (he was actually her uncle).
Luke Johnson, Marinda's brother, left an account of the attack where he mentions that Joseph was threatened with castration but does not specify for what reason.
Marinda was later sealed to Joseph in either 1842 or 1843 and left an account of the incident. She wrote:
I feel like bearing my testimony that during the whole year that Joseph was an inmate of my father's house I never saw aught in his daily life or conversation to make me doubt his divine mission.
Historians have generally been skeptical of Braden's claim, assigning other motives to the mob for the attack.
[12]↩︎
According to her later account, Joseph confided in Mary that "the angel came to me three times between the years of '34 and '42 and said I was to obey that principle or he would slay me."
Other sources also report Joseph being confronted by an angel but do not specify the time period.
[13]↩︎
Historians disagree on the date of the plural marriage.
- Compton writes on Joseph's relationship with Alger; argues it was the first plural marriage.
- Brian and Laura Hales argue that the Alger/Smith marriage took place in 1835-36.
[14]↩︎
The Joseph Smith Papers Project summarized the publication history of the first print edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, explaining how early payments for the book were being accepted by late June 1835 and bound copies appeared advertised for sale by September 1835.
- JSPP summarizes the publication history of the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
[15]↩︎
This section of the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (section 101) was titled "Marriage."
It denied that the Saints were guilty of the "crime[s] of fornication, and polygamy." It further affirmed the Saints' belief that "one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again."
According to The Joseph Smith Papers, "Although the text of the statement on marriage suggests that it was written partly because the church had been charged with fornication and polygamy, the statement may also have been produced in an effort to claim the right for members of the church’s clergy to solemnize marriages."
Sidney Rigdon was denied a license to perform marriages by Geauga County Court of Common Pleas earlier that same year.
- 1835 D&C declares that the Church believes in monogamy.
- The Joseph Smith Papers provides historical context to the statement on marriage in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants.
[16]↩︎
Now canonized as section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the account includes a description of Elijah appearing to Joseph and Oliver:
Elijah, the Prophet, who was taken to Heaven without tasting death, also stood before them, and said, behold the time has fully come which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying, that he should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the Fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.
- J. Smith and O. Cowdery receive the sealing keys in April 1836.
- Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery have a vision in the Kirtland temple; Elijah bestows the sealing keys.
[17]↩︎
This was the second of nine charges brought against Oliver Cowdrey by the high council in a disciplinary council held in Far West, Missouri. The other charges included "treating the Church with contempt," "virtually denying the faith," "selling his lands in Jackson County," and "neglecting his high and Holy Calling."
- Council minutes on the relationship between Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger.
[18]↩︎
The high council minutes make clear that the charge of adultery was related to Joseph's marriage to Fanny some years previous:
Joseph Smith jr testifies that Oliver Cowdery had been his bosom friend, therefore he intrusted him with many things. He then gave a history respecting the girl buisness.
In a January 21, 1838 letter to his brother Warren, Oliver showed he was aware of Joseph's relationship with Fanny Alger to some degree.
- Cowdery calls Joseph's relation with Alger a "dirty, nasty, filthy scrape/affair."
- Council minutes on the relationship between Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger.
[19]↩︎
Joseph B. Noble recalled being taught about "celestial marriage" or plural marriage by Joseph Smith around this time, which coincides with when he personally began practicing plural marriage in Nauvoo.
Helen Mar Kimball also recounted a public sermon Joseph gave in early 1841 where he "astonished his hearers by preaching on the restoration of all things, and said that as it was anciently with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so it would be again, etc."
Marinda Nancy Johnson also recalled being privately taught "the doctrine of Celestial Marriage" in late 1841, indicating Joseph was teaching multiple people plural marriage throughout that entire year.
[20]↩︎
This date for the sealing comes from Noble's 1869 affidavit.
- Joseph B. Noble swears affidavit affirming he "married or sealed" Joseph to Louisa Beaman on April 5, 1841.
[21]↩︎
Brigham and John Taylor recalled their introduction to plural marriage in the summer of 1841. Helen Mar Kimball provided a secondhand account of her father Heber C. Kimball's introduction to plural marriage alongside Brigham and Taylor and dates the incident to July 1841.
Another apostle, George A. Smith, also recalled how in July 1841 he was "greatly astonished" when he first heard Joseph instruct him about plural marriage.
[22]↩︎
The date for Joseph's sealing to Zina (October 27, 1841), who at the time was married to Henry B. Jacobs, is known from her sworn affidavit in 1869. The other women with known legal husbands at the time of their sealing or marriage to Joseph Smith include:
- Presendia Huntington (Norman Buell) — December 11, 1841
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins (Adam Lightner) — Ca. February 1842
- Patty Barlett (David Sessions) — March 9, 1842
- Ruth Vose (Edward Sayers) — Ca. February 1843
- Elvira Annie Cowles (Jonathan Holmes) — June 1, 1843
[23]↩︎
Women who had known legal husbands at the time they were sealed to Joseph with unknown or contested sealing dates included:
- Sylvia Sessions (Windsor Lyon) — February 8, 1842, or November 19, 1842, or ca. May 1843
- Marinda Nancy Johnson (Orson Hyde) — ca. April 1842 or May 1843
- Elizabeth Davis (Jabez Durfee) — Unknown or ca. Summer 1842
- Sarah Kingsley (John Cleveland) — Unknown or ca. Summer 1842
- Esther Dutcher (Albert Smith) — Unknown
- Mary Heron (John Snider) — Unknown
Sarah Ann Whitney, who was sealed to Joseph Smith on July 27, 1842, went on to marry Joseph C. Kingsbury on April 29, 1843.
[24]↩︎
The sealing occurred, according to the late account preserved by Kimball's son-in-law James Lawson, after Joseph tested Heber and Vilate by claiming the Lord had revealed to him (Joseph) that Vilate was to become his plural wife.
According to Lawson's narrative, after Heber and Vilate reluctantly agreed, Joseph "wept like a child" and "after he had cleared the tears away, he took [them] and sealed [them] for time and all eternity, and said, 'Brother Heber, take her, and the Lord will give you a hundred fold.'"
- Orson F. Whitney reprints account of James Lawson retelling how JS sealed Heber C. Kimball to Vilate Kimball after a test of faith.
[25]↩︎
The revelation instructs Ebenezer Robinson to give Marinda shelter until her husband Orson Hyde returns from his mission. At the end, however, it contains the following: "...let my handmaid Nancy Marinda Hyde hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph in all things whatsoever he shall teach unto her, and it shall be a blessing upon her and upon her children after her."
Marinda recalled that this revelation was given to her specificially in the context of Joseph Smith teaching her about plural marriage in late 1841.
- Joseph's revelation for Marinda Nancy Johnson; possibly alludes to encouraging her to accept plural marriage.
- Marinda Nancy Johnson recalls Joseph Smith introducing her to plural marriage.
[26]↩︎
This text first appeared in the Sangamo Journal as a purported copy of the original forwarded by John C. Bennett after his excommunication from the Church.
It essentially says that whatever God commands is right, regardless of whether it appears logical or right to those who receive the commandment.
Some scholars question the authenticity of the letter because of the uncertain provenance of Bennett's reproduced version of the letter, as well as Bennett's unreliable allegations on other matters related to Joseph Smith.
If the letter is authentic, then it could provide insight into Joseph's rationale for the moral basis of plural marriage, although plural marriage is never explicitly mentioned in the text.
[27]↩︎
Both an entry in Joseph Smith's journal and in his manuscript history for this day identify it as when he gave the endowment ceremony to a select group of confidants:
I spent the day in the upper part of the Store . . . instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of Keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of Melchisedec Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the ancient of Days.
- Joseph Smith manuscript history describing the first time the endowment ceremony was given.
- Joseph's Journal entry for May 4, 1842 describing first endowment ceremony.
[28]↩︎
Bennett's excommuncation was publicly announced in the Times and Seasons on June 15, 1842.
The circumstances leading up to Bennett's excommunication, including accusations that Bennett committed adultery and seduced women (among other charges), were chronicled by Bennett's biographer Andrew F. Smith.
[29]↩︎
In his History of the Saints, Bennett identified seven women whom he alleged were "spiritual wives" of Joseph Smith, five of whom may be positively identified:
Mrs: A**** S**** [Agnes Coolbrith Smith], by Apostle Brigham Young; and in that of Miss L***** B***** [Louisa Beaman], by Elder Joseph Bates Noble. Then there are the cases of Mrs. B**** [Presendia Huntington Buell], Mrs. D***** [Elizabeth Davis Durfee], Mrs. S***** [Patty Bartlett Sessions], Mrs. G***** [unknown], Miss B***** [unknown], etc. etc.
- John C. Bennett identifies seven plural wives married to Joseph by mid-1842.
- John C. Bennett publishes exposé of Joseph and alleges the practice of having "spiritual wives" among the LDS in Nauvoo.
[30]↩︎
This revelation provided instruction on how Whitney was to perform the marriage and expounded on some of the theology of plural marriage.
- Revelation to Joseph from July 27, 1842 outlining how to perform plural marriage sealings.
[31]↩︎
This letter is one of the few surviving texts written by Joseph Smith directly to one of his plural wives. In it, Joseph asked Sarah and her parents to comfort him "in this time of affliction" as he hid from lawmen attempting to extradict him to Missouri.
He also promised to give the Whitneys a blessing for visiting him. The letter urged secrecy and caution and warns the three to avoid detection, including by Emma.
- Joseph writes letter to the Whitneys asking them to visit him while he was in hiding.
[32]↩︎
Besides his legal wife Emma Hale, by the end of the summer of 1842, Joseph Smith had been sealed/married to (or likely married to) the following women:
- Fanny Alger (ca. 1833–1835)
- Louisa Beaman (April 5, 1841)
- Zina Huntington Jacobs (October 27, 1841)
- Presendia Lathrop Huntington (December 11, 1841)
- Agnes Coolbrith Smith (January 6, 1842)
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner (ca. February 1842)
- Patty Barlett Sessions (March 9, 1842)
- Delcena Johnson Sherman (ca. June–July 1842)
- Eliza R. Snow (June 29, 1842)
- Sarah Ann Whitney (July 27, 1842)
- Martha McBride Knight (ca. August 1842)
- JSPP website gives day-by-day chronology of Joseph's life in 1841/42; lists known dates for plural marriages with women during this period.
[33]↩︎
Two other women, Sylvia Sessions Lyon and Marinda Nancy Johnson, may have been sealed to Joseph during this time, on February 8, 1842 and ca. April 1842 respectively. However, some sources give late 1842 or early 1843 dates for these two marriages, making it unclear.
In addition, it is possible or likely that Joseph was sealed to Sarah Marietta Kingsley Cleveland, Lucinda Pendleton Harris, and Elizabeth Davis Durfee at this time, although it is not clear since there are not firm dates for these plural marriages.
Historians who have compiled lists of Joseph's plural wives married by late 1842 generally agree on the women with known sealing dates while disagreeing over those with less adequate evidence.
[34]↩︎
Among the signatories of the statement were two women who had been sealed to Joseph Smith as plural wives (Eliza R. Snow and Sarah M. Cleveland) and the mother of another plural wife (Elizabeth Ann Whitney, mother of Sarah Ann Whitney) who witnessed her daughter's marriage to Joseph.
Years later, Eliza R. Snow explained to Joseph F. Smith,
At the time the sisters of the Relief Society signed our article, I was married to the prophet. We made no allusion to any other system of marriage than Bennett’s. His was prostitutio[n], and it was truly his, and he succeeded in pandering his course on the credulity of the unsuspecting by making them believe that he was thus authorized by the Prophet. In those articles there is no reference to divine plural marriage. We aimed to put down its opposite.
- Nauvoo Relief Society condemns John C. Bennett in official proclamation.
- Eliza R. Snow explains to Joseph F. Smith the context of the 1842 Relief Society declaration.
[35]↩︎
In the preface, Jacob clarified that although he himself was not a Mormon, he published with a Mormon press because it was "most convenient." On the title page, Joseph Smith is named as the publisher.
- Udney H. Jacob publishes a tract arguing for plural marriage.
[36]↩︎
In a "notice" published on December 1, 1842, Joseph stated: "I do not wish to have my name associated with the authors, in such an unmeaning rigmarole of nonsense, folly, and trash."
- Joseph disavows "The Peacemaker" and Udney H. Jacob.
[37]↩︎
There are no known specific dates for Joseph's marriages to these two women, only approximate dates of February 1843 for Vose and May 1843, for Woodworth.
- Ruth D. Vose swears affidavit affirming she was married to Joseph as a plural wife in February 1843.
- William Clayton swears affidavit giving details about firsthand knowledge of plural wives married to Joseph.
[38]↩︎
These women included:
- Emily Partridge (March 4 or May 11, 1843)
- Eliza Partridge (March 4 or 8 or May 11, 1843)
- Almera Woodard Johnson (April 1843)
- Lucy Walker (May 1, 1843)
- Maria Lawrence (May 1843)
- Sarah Lawrence (May 1843)
- Helen Mar Kimball (May 1843)
- Hannah Ells (ca. early summer 1843)
- Elvira Annie Cowles (June 1, 1843)
- Rhoda Richards (June 12, 1843)
- Desdemona Fullmer (July 1843)
- Olive G. Frost (ca. summer 1843)
- Malissa Lott (September 20 or 27, 1843)
- Fanny Young (November 2, 1843)
It is also possible that Joseph was sealed to Marinda Nancy Johnson (May 1843) and Sylvia Sessions Lyon (May 18, 1843) during this time, but he may have been sealed to them in 1842 (both women have two attested sealing dates).
He also may have been sealed to Nancy Maria Winchester, Esther Dutcher, and Mary Heron, but their sealing dates are unknown.
[39]↩︎
Olney, who had been ordained a Seventy in 1836, was excommunicated in 1842. He went on to publish a second exposé called Spiritual Wifery at Nauvoo Exposed in 1845.
- JSPP biographical summary for Oliver Olney.
[40]↩︎
Among other things, in The Absurdities of Mormonism Portrayed Olney alleged that "polygamy was first introduced in Kirtland, Ohio about eight years" before its publication, possibly alluding to Joseph Smith's marriage to Fanny Alger.
Olney also states the polygamy was being practiced openly in Nauvoo, and references Udney Jacob's The Peacemaker pamphlet.
- Oliver Olney publishes anti-Mormon book in 1843 that briefly touches on polygamy in Nauvoo.
[41]↩︎
The blessing seals upon "the one into whose hands this may fall" (Sarah Ann) and her family the blessings of exaltation for their faithfulness. "[V]erily it Shall be so Saith the Lord if She remain in the Everlasting covenant to the end as also all her Fathers house Shall be Saved in the Same Eternal glory."
- Joseph writes a blessing to plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney.
[42]↩︎
Later in her life, Helen left an account of her introduction to plural marriage and her sealing to Joseph Smith. Although she and her family felt plural marriage was an enormous trial of faith, she went on to become an outspoken defender of the practice and Joseph as a prophet.
[43]↩︎
Sarah and Maria Lawrence and Eliza and Emily Partridge were sealed to Joseph Smith. The Partridge sisters had already been sealed to Joseph once before that previous March.
Emily went on to leave this account of Emma's reaction: "Emma was a witness to Joseph taking plural wives, on one occassion at least. . . . Emma seemed well until the ceremony was over, when, almost before she could draw a second breath, she turned, and was more bitter in her feelings than ever before, if possible."
[44]↩︎
An entry in Joseph's journal on this date indicates he and James Adam "were married" in the evening. Historians interpret this to mean they were sealed to their respective wives Emma Hale Smith and Harriet Denton Adams.
[45]↩︎
The earliest extant copy of this revelation is preserved in a manuscript composed by Joseph Kingsbury. This copy was made shortly after Joseph dictated the original text to scribe William Clayton.
- Joseph C. Kingsbury manuscript copy of D&C 132.
- Current canonical (2013) edition of D&C 132.
[46]↩︎
Joseph was sealed to Fanny Young on November 2, 1843, according to the affidavit sworn by Augusta Adams Young, one of Brigham Young's plural wives, who witnessed the sealing.
- Augusta Adams Young swears affidavit giving date of Joseph's marriage to Fanny Young.
[47]↩︎
The poem, "Buckeye's Lamentation for Want of More Wives," was most likely written by one of the Law brothers (William or Wilson), who had recently fallen out with Joseph Smith over, among other things, the issue of plural marriage.
- Satirical poem in Warsaw Message criticizes and mocks Joseph and plural marriage.
- Gary James Bergera reviews the likely authorship of "Buckeye's Laments" poems published in 1844; concludes probably Wilson or William Law composed them.
[48]↩︎
The printed document for the Expositor was issued on May 10, 1844, and the single issue of the paper appeared in print on June 7.
- Editors of the Nauvoo Expositor issue a prospectus for the paper.
- Extracts of the NE attacking JS.
[49]↩︎
One of the resolutions of the Expositor condemned Joseph Smith for introducing what the editors considered false doctrine, including plural marriage:
[He] introduced false and damnable doctrines into the Church, such as a plurality of Gods above the God of this universe, and his liability to fall with all his creations; the plurality of wives, for time and eternity, the doctrine of unconditional sealing up to eternal life, against all crimes except that of sheding innocent blood, by a perversion of their priestly authority, and thereby forfeiting the holy priesthood.
- Extracts of the NE attacking JS.
[50]↩︎
The Nauvoo City Council debated what to do in response to the publication of the Expositor and decided it was a public nuisance and warranted suppression. Joseph, as mayor of Nauvoo, subsequently ordered the paper's closure.
[51]↩︎
For the details of the martyrdom, see the Joseph & Hyrum Smith's Martyrdom Q&A.
[52]↩︎
Eliza made both published and unpublished statements on the origins of plural marriage, such as this one from her unpublished autobiography from 1885:
I was sealed to the Prophet, Joseph Smith, for time and eternity, in accordance with the Celestial Law of Marriage which God has revealed—the ceremony being performed by a servant of the Most High—authorized to officiate in sacred ordinances. This, one of the most important circumstances of my life, I have never had cause to regret.
[53]↩︎
Helen was sealed to Joseph Smith as a plural wife and she and her son Orson F. Whitney recorded the Kimball family's introduction to the practice.
[54]↩︎
Lucy left both personal writings on the origins of plural marriage and was deposed on her knowledge of it as part of the Temple Lot case.
[55]↩︎
Johnson left multiple accounts of being introduced to plural marriage by Joseph Smith. In a letter published in 1904, for example, he related: "I do know that he did teach plural marriage and that he did give to me a plural wife who is still living with me, and that I saw one of my sisters married to him."
[56]↩︎
In 1887 and 1905, Andrew Jenson and Joseph Fielding Smith, respectively, compiled many of the sources and testimonies pertaining to Joseph Smith's practice of plural marriage known at the time.
In 1892 several women gave court depositions affirming they were taught plural marriage by Joseph Smith and sealed to him as plural wives.
[57]↩︎
Brigham left accounts of his introduction to plural marriage, including a famous one where he recalled being so shocked at the concept that he envied a corpse he saw at a funeral:
Some of these my brethren know what my feelings were at the time Joseph revealed the doctrine; I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty, nor of failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral, I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin, knowing the toil and labor that my body would have to undergo; and I have had to examine myself, from that day to this, and watch my faith, and carefully meditate, lest I should be found desiring the grave more than I ought to do.
One of Brigham's recent non-Latter-day Saint biographers has written on his early plural marriages in Nauvoo.
[58]↩︎
Lucy Decker left an affidavit attesting to her sealing to Brigham by Joseph Smith.
By Joseph Smith's death in June 1844, Brigham had also married Augusta Adams (November 2, 1843), Harriet Elizabeth Cook (November 2, 1843), and Clarissa Caroline Decker (May 8, 1844) as plural wives.
- George D. Smith gives table of Nauvoo polygamist demographics from 1841–1846.
- Lucy Ann Decker Young swears affidavit affirming her 1842 sealing to Brigham.
[59]↩︎
The "plural marriage revelation" has been in the scriptural canon of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1876.
The references to "restore all things" (v. 40, 45), "to prove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice" (v. 51), "to multiply and replenish the earth" (v. 63), and to give participants "exaltation in the eternal worlds" (v. 63) were included in the original text as well as the current (2013) version.
[60]↩︎
In a letter to Brigham Young dated August 12, 1861, William W. Phelps purported to give the "substance" of a Joseph Smith revelation from July 1831 that in part instructed that elders "should take unto [themselves] wives of the Lamanites and Nephites, that their posterity may become white, delightsome and Just, for even now their females are more virtuous than the gentiles."
There is no other direct corroboration for this purported revelation, so it's unclear how well it accurately reproduced the original revelation, assuming such actually existed.
- W.W. Phelps writes to Brigham about Joseph's 1831 revelation on polygamy.
[61]↩︎
There are no records contemporary with Joseph Smith and Fanny Alger that indicate that they were married, however, recollections from those familiar with the relationship considered it to be a plural marriage.
Joseph and Fanny were posthumously sealed in April of 1899 under the direction of Lorenzo Snow.
[62]↩︎
Joseph married Beaman on April 5, 1841, according to the sworn affidavit of Joseph B. Noble, who performed the "marriage or sealing."
Around this time Joseph began informing others about the practice, such as Brigham Young, who recalled first learning about plural marriage when he returned from his mission that same year. Noble himself recalled being taught plural marriage by Joseph Smith in late 1840.
Helen Mar Kimball also reported that at this time Joseph began publicly preaching on the return of plural marriage.
[63]↩︎
The exact number of Joseph Smith's plural wives is uncertain due to lack of documentation, conflicting evidence, or disagreement over how to interpret some historical sources. Some historians and other scholars have offered the following counts, such as:
Andrew Jenson (1887): 27
Fawn Brodie (1945/1971): 48*
Todd Compton (1997): 33
George D. Smith (2008): 38
Brian Hales (2013): 35
*Brodie's count includes posthumous sealings to Joseph Smith transacted between 1844 and 1846.
[64]↩︎
Alleged children of Joseph Smith such as Oliver Buell, John Reed Hancock, Mosiah Hancock, Zebuluon Jacobs, Josephine Lyon, Orrison Smith, and Moroni Pratt have all been determined by genetic testing not to be his biological offspring. Other children alleged to be Joseph's offspring have yet to be tested.
[65]↩︎
It is possible that future historical or genetic evidence might uncover biological offspring from Joseph Smith and a plural wife.
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner alleged in 1905 that she knew of living children from Joseph's plural wives but did not identify them. She noted:
I know he [Joseph Smith] had three children [from plural wives]. They told me. I think two are living today but they are not known as his children as they go by other names.
- Lightner quotes Joseph saying that an angel commanded him between 1834 and 1842 to practice polygamy; if not, the angel would slay him.
[66]↩︎
Ugo Perego and his colleagues have reconstructed Joseph Smith's genome based on known living biological descendants from Joseph and Emma Hale Smith. From that, they have been able to then compare his DNA with the reconstructed genomes of alleged biological children based on their own known living biological descendants. Perego has run these tests using both reconstructed autosomal and Y chromosomes.
[67]↩︎
The pattern of Joseph practicing plural marriage generally included:
- Approaching the woman's family—such as her parents or another male relative—before the marriage seeking either their consent or their help in approaching a prospective wife.
- Marriage to women of a variety of ages, including several in their fifties.
- Introducing the practice to others.
- Not apparently having offspring with plural wives.
Although these practices do not exclude the idea that Joseph practiced polygamy to gratify his sexual needs, they do not support the theory. The documentary record seems to indicate that Joseph's primary reasons for practicing polygamy were theological.
[68]↩︎
Out of 36 women determined to be possible wives of Joseph, there is only moderate to strong evidence of sexual relationships with nine of them (see The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith table).
[69]↩︎
Lucy Walker, Eliza R. Snow, and Helen Mar Kimball, for example, left accounts of Joseph introducing plural marriage to them that highlight how the participants understood it to be primarily a religious commandment and divine test or sacrifice.
Joseph Smith's two Nauvoo-era revelations on plural marriage also explain and justify the practice on religious grounds.
Historian Todd Compton has written:
Sexuality was undoubtedly an element in Joseph Smith’s plural marriages. . . . However, to view it as the only, or by far the most important, motivating force in his theory and practice of polygamy [results] in an unbalanced picture of Joseph Smith and his religiosity. Joseph Smith’s burnt-over district biblical primitivism and his desire to arrange earthly and heavenly dynastic linkings with other Latter-day Saint leaders must also be considered.
[70]↩︎
For example, Mary Heron is thought by some to be a plural wife of Joseph Smith based on a single uncorroborated source that claimed that Joseph slept with her.
- Joseph E. Johnson alleges during disciplinary council that Joseph "frigged" his mother-in-law Mary Heron.
[71]↩︎
Historian Brian C. Hales has cataloged the primary source data pertaining to each of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, including contested marriages alleged by various historians. His list shows how some marriages are well-documented, while others are less so.
Some historians and other scholars have offered differing counts of the number of Joseph's plural wives, including:
Andrew Jenson (1887): 27
Fawn Brodie (1945/1971): 48*
Todd Compton (1997/2022): 33
George D. Smith (2008): 38
Brian Hales (2013): 35
*Brodie's count includes posthumous sealings to Joseph Smith transacted between 1844 and 1846.
[72]↩︎
This table lists the plural wives of Joseph Smith based on the most reliable available sources in the documentary record. Similar tables or lists of plural wives have been offered by Todd Compton, George D. Smith, and Brian C. Hales.
[73]↩︎
The categories for evaluating and classifying sexuality in Joseph Smith's plural marriages used in this chart are strong, moderate, weak, and none.
Strong: the evidence for a sexual relationship is direct and unambiguous, such as documented biological children, firsthand statements from plural wives, or firsthand eyewitness testimony from others.
Moderate: the evidence may indicate a sexual relationship but is not as direct or unambiguous as strong evidence.
Weak: the evidence for a sexual relationship is ambiguous or unclear or comes from generally less reputible sources (such as second or thirdhand, unsourced, or hostile sources).
None: there is no available evidence indicating whether there was a sexual relationship.
[74]↩︎
Multiple sources suggest an 1835 marriage, although this date is based on late secondhand and thirdhand recollections.
Eliza J. Webb claimed that Fanny's mother said the marriage took place in either 1835 or 1836.
Eliza R. Snow boarded with the Smiths in the "Spring of 1836," which is when she said she became "well acquainted" with Fanny. She later listed Fanny as one of Joseph's plural wives.
Decades after the marriage, Benjamin Johnson recalled being taught about plural marriage in 1835 in Kirtland in connection to Joseph Smith's relationship with Fanny Alger.
Historians have argued over the interpretation of these primary sources and disagree about when Fanny and Joseph were married.
[75]↩︎
Fanny was born between 1816 and 1818, but census records and other geneological sources are not consistent.
[76]↩︎
The evidence for sexuality in Fanny's marriage to Joseph Smith comes primarily from recollections made many decades later from hostile, second, or thirdhand sources.
However, Oliver Cowdery alleged in 1838 that the two were caught up in a "dirty, nasty, filthy ~~scrape~~ affair" and accused Joseph Smith of adultery. However, Oliver was not, apparently, an eyewitness to the relationship, and the source of his information is unknown.
Joseph himself answered the charge of adultery before the Far West high council and "gave a history respecting the girl buisness" that apparently satisfied the council.
[77]↩︎
The date of the marriage comes from Joseph B. Noble, who performed the marriage.
- Joseph B. Noble swears affidavit affirming he "married or sealed" Joseph to Louisa Beaman on April 5, 1841.
[78]↩︎
Joseph B. Noble gave a court deposition in 1892 affirming Joseph Smith stayed overnight with Louisa at his (Noble's) home and that he saw the two in bed together:
"Q:–Do you know whether Joseph Smith ever lived any with Louisa Beeman as his wife? A:–Yes sir. Q:–You may state how you know it? A:–I know it for I saw him in bed with her."
- Joseph B. Noble testifies he saw Joseph in bed with Louisa Beaman.
[79]↩︎
This date was given by Zina in an 1869 affidavit.
- Zina D. Young swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph Smith.
[80]↩︎
This date was given by Presendia in an 1869 affidavit.
- Presendia Lathrop Huntington Buell swears affidavit about her marriage to Joseph Smith.
[81]↩︎
This marriage date comes from Brigham Young's Nauvoo-era journal. The entry was written in a Masonic cipher and when decoded reads, "I was taken in to the lodge J Smith was [wed and sealed] Agness"
- Brigham writes in his journal in Masonic code about one of Joseph's sealings.
[82]↩︎
The date for Mary's sealing to Joseph Smith comes from her 1877 affidavit.
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner swears affidavit affirming her plural marriage to Joseph Smith.
[83]↩︎
This date comes a June 1860 entry from Patty's journal.
- Patty Bartlett Sessions recalls her and David Sessions's conversion to the Church.
[84]↩︎
This date for the marriage comes from Eliza's 1869 affidavit.
- Eliza R. Snow swears affidavit about her marriage to Joseph.
[85]↩︎
Late, hostile sources claimed or insinuated that Eliza got pregnant by Joseph Smith. Eliza denied having a "carnal" relationship with Joseph.
It also appears that Eliza may have been the victim of sexual assault during the Missouri persecutions which rendered her infertile. This doesn't rule out the possibility that she had sex with Joseph, but it does diminish the credibility of later claims that she became pregnant by him.
[86]↩︎
This date for the marriage comes from Delcena's brother Benjamin F. Johnson, who said the marriage took place "before [his] return to Nauvoo" in July 1842.
- Benjamin Johnson recalls being told that Joseph and Fanny were "spied upon & found together"; calls Fanny Joseph's "first plural wife."
[87]↩︎
A revelation received by Joseph Smith and an affidavit from Sarah Ann both affirm this as the date of the marriage.
- Revelation to Joseph from July 27, 1842 outlining how to perform plural marriage sealings.
- Sarah Ann Whitney swears affidavit about her marriage to Joseph Smith.
[88]↩︎
A revelation given on July 27, 1842 may allude to the authorization of sexual relations as a "right" between Joseph and Sarah Ann as husband and wife:
I then give you, S. A. Whitney, my daughter, to Joseph Smith, to be his wife, to observe all the rights between you both that belong to that condition.
However, it is unknown if the two actually engaged in any sexual intercourse after their sealing.
- Revelation to Joseph from July 27, 1842 outlining how to perform plural marriage sealings.
[89]↩︎
Martha's 1869 affidavit identifies the summer of 1842 as the time of the marriage. Martha's obituary specifies that the month was August.
- Obituary for Martha McBride identifies August 1842 as month she was sealed to Joseph.
- Martha McBride swears affidavit about her marriage to Joseph Smith.
[90]↩︎
According to her daughter Josephine, Sylvia was sealed to Joseph Smith at a time when her legal husband, Windsor Lyon, "was out of fellowship with the Church." Historian Andrew Jenson appears to have corroborated this in his own independent investigation.
Windsor was disfellowshipped in November 1842, and according to Sylvia's grandson, he left Nauvoo without Sylvia. He returned to Nauvoo the next May, around the time that his daughter Josephine, who was born February 8, 1844, was conceived.
[91]↩︎
The only evidence for sexual relations between Joseph Smith and Sylvia Sessions is a statement by Sylvia's daughter Josephine, who in 1915 recalled her mother's deathbed confession in 1882 that she was Joseph Smith's daughter.
However, modern DNA testing has ruled out Joseph Smith's parentage of Josephine, complicating this claim (her biological father was Windsor Lyon, Sylvia's legal husband). This could mean Sylvia had sex with both men and was confused about who the father was, it could mean she meant Josephine was Joseph's non-literal spiritual daughter, or it could mean Sylvia was mistaken in her old age. The evidence for sexuality is not especially strong.
[92]↩︎
This date comes from Ruth's 1869 affidavit.
- Ruth D. Vose swears affidavit affirming she was married to Joseph as a plural wife in February 1843.
[93]↩︎
Later sources place Flora Ann's marriage to Joseph Smith in the spring of 1843, around May.
- William Clayton swears affidavit giving details about firsthand knowledge of plural wives married to Joseph.
- Eliza R. Snow lists Fanny Alger and others as one of "Joseph Smith's Plural wives."
[94]↩︎
This date comes from Emily's 1869 affidavit. In a subsequent affidavit, she affirmed being resealed to Joseph Smith on May 11, 1843.
- Emily D. P. Young swears affidavit saying that she was married to Joseph.
- Emily D. P. Young swears second affidavit affirming a second sealing date to Joseph.
[95]↩︎
Emily gave testimony of sexual intercourse with Joseph Smith as part of her deposition in the Temple Lot case:
Q–Did you ever have carnal intercourse with Joseph Smith? A–Yes sir. Q–How many nights? A–I could not tell you.
- Emily D. P. Young affirms she had "carnal intercourse" with Joseph Smith.
[96]↩︎
This date comes from Eliza's 1869 affidavit. Like her sister Emily, Eliza was resealed to Joseph on May 11, 1843.
- Eliza Partridge swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph.
- Eliza Partridge swears affidavit affirming she was resealed to Joseph Smith.
[97]↩︎
Benjamin F. Johnson recalled how Joseph stayed with Eliza at his (Johnson's) home in Ramus, Illinois, and uses language to describe their cohabitation that suggests sexual activity but is not explicit.
- Benjamin F. Johnson recalls Joseph brought plural wives to his (Johnson's) home to live with.
- Benjamin F. Johnson recalls that his sister and Eliza Partridge stayed with Joseph at his (Johnson's) house in 1843.
[98]↩︎
Almera identified the spring of 1843 as the time when she was sealed to Joseph Smith. Her brother, Benjamin F. Johnson, specified it was in or around April of that year.
- Almera Johnson swears affidavit affirming her status as a plural wife of Joseph.
- Johnson recalls Hyrum Smith telling him that an angel had commanded him to practice plural marriage.
[99]↩︎
Almera's brother Benjamin F. Johnson recalled firsthand knowledge of Joseph Smith spending the night with Almera in his (Benjamin's) home in Ramus, Illinois:
After a short period, President Smith . . . came again to Macedonia (Ramus) where he reamined two days, lodging at my house with my sister [Almera], as man and wife. (And to my certain knowledge he occupied the same bed with her.)
In another instance Johnson even recalled the specific dates of this cohabitation:
I do know that he did teach plural marriage and that he did give to me a plural wife who is still living with me, and that I saw one of my sisters [Almera] married to him and know that with her he occupied my house on May 16 and 17, 1843.
- Benjamin F. Johnson recalls Joseph brought plural wives to his (Johnson's) home to live with.
- Benjamin F. Johnson recalls that his sister and Eliza Partridge stayed with Joseph at his (Johnson's) house in 1843.
[100]↩︎
This date comes from William Clayton's 1874 affidavit. It stated, "On the 1st day of May 1843, I officiated in the office of an Elder by marrying Lucy Walker to the Prophet Joseph Smith, at his own residence."
- William Clayton swears affidavit giving details about firsthand knowledge of plural wives married to Joseph.
[101]↩︎
In an 1892 deposition, when asked if she lived with Joseph Smith as a wife, Lucy responded to the questioner, "He was my husband sir."
Although this does not explicitly mention it, Lucy's reply and the context of the questioning suggests she was tacitly affirming sexual relations with Joseph.
- Lucy Walker affirms she lived with Joseph as a wife.
[102]↩︎
Marinda affirmed in her own 1869 affidavit that she was married to Joseph Smith in May 1843.
However, an 1843 entry in Joseph Smith's journal in the handwriting of Thomas Bullock claims the sealing took place in April 1842. The source for Bullock's entry is unknown, whereas Marinda herself affirmed a May 1843 sealing, indicating her dating is probably more likely.
- Marinda Nancy Johnson affirms in affidavit she was sealed as a plural wife to Joseph in May 1843.
- Joseph's Journal entry written by Thomas Bullock dates Joseph's marriage to Marinda Nancy Johnson as occuring in April 1842.
[103]↩︎
The dating of Maria's marriage to Joseph Smith comes from sources who affirm the two were sealed at or around the same time that Joseph was sealed to Emily and Eliza Partridge (March and then May 1843) but are not more specific.
[104]↩︎
Sources indicate that Joseph Smith "associated and cohabited" with Maria as a plural wife, which probably indicates sexuality but is not explicit.
- Lucy Walker swears affidvait to being a plural wife of Joseph Smith and bears her testimony of plural marriage.
- Benjamin F. Johnson recalls that his sister and Eliza Partridge stayed with Joseph at his (Johnson's) house in 1843.
[105]↩︎
As with her sister Maria, the dating of Sarah's marriage to Joseph Smith comes from sources who affirm the two were sealed at or around the same time that Joseph was sealed to Emily and Eliza Partridge (March and then May 1843) but are not more specific.
[106]↩︎
As with her sister Maria, sources indicate that Joseph Smith "associated and cohabited" with Sarah as a plural wife, which probably included sexual relations, but the sources aren't explicit.
- Lucy Walker swears affidvait to being a plural wife of Joseph Smith and bears her testimony of plural marriage.
- Benjamin F. Johnson recalls that his sister and Eliza Partridge stayed with Joseph at his (Johnson's) house in 1843.
[107]↩︎
Helen wrote that she was introduced to plural marriage by her father in "the summer of 1843." William Clayton recorded more precisely that it was during or around May of that year.
[108]↩︎
The dating for Hannah's marriage to Joseph Smith can be inferred from John Benbow's affidavit where he states she was Joseph's wife by that summer while living him with (Benbow) in his house. A more precise date cannot be determined based on present evidence.
- John Benbow gives testimony that Joseph visited plural wife Hannah Ells at his (Benbow's) house.
[109]↩︎
John Benbow affirmed in an affidavit that Hannah Ells boarded with him at his home in the summer of 1843 and that Joseph Smith often visited:
Hannah Ells Smith[,] a wife of the Prophet, boarded at his [Benbow's] house two months during the summer of the same year [1843]. . . . And further, that President Smith frequently visited his wife Hannah at his house.
It is unclear if Joseph's "frequent visits" with his wife Hannah Ells at Benbow's farm included conjugal relations.
- John Benbow gives testimony that Joseph visited plural wife Hannah Ells at his (Benbow's) house.
[110]↩︎
According to her sister Mary Ann, Olive was taught plural marriage and accepted it in the summer of 1843, which is probably when she was married to Joseph Smith.
- Mary Ann Frost Pratt recalls the conversion of her sister Olive Frost to plural marriage and her marriage to Joseph.
[111]↩︎
Joseph E. Robinson recorded in his journal (entry dated October 26, 1902):
During the afternoon I called on Aunt Lizzie [Mary Elizabeth Green Harris]. . . . She told me again of the attempts made by the Josephites to get her to deny the fact that she knew Joseph Smith had more than two wives. Said he married a Pratt girl <and> that Olive Frost had a child by him <and> that both died.
However, this is a thirdhand account from over fifty years after Joseph had died and has no other corroboration.
- Joseph E. Robinson preserves mention of Olive Frost having a child by Joseph Smith.
[112]↩︎
This date comes from Elvira's 1869 affidavit.
- Elvira Annie Cowles swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph.
[113]↩︎
Rhode provided this date in her 1869 affidavit.
- Rhoda Richards swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph.
[114]↩︎
This date was given by Desdemona in her 1869 affidavit.
- Desdemona Fullmer swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph.
[115]↩︎
This date was given by Malissa in her 1869 affidavit and is recorded in the Lott family Bible.
- Malissa Lott swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph Smith.
- Lott family Bible records marriage date for Malissa Lott's marriage to Joseph.
[116]↩︎
Malissa affirmed directly that she cohabitated ("roomed") with Joseph Smith and when asked if that included sexuality answered positively (saying she was Joseph's wife "in very deed").
She recorded an interview she had with Joseph Smith III that included the following exchange:
Question 1. Were you married to my father? Answer. Yes. Question. When? Ans. I handed him the Family Bible, in which was recorded by my father, at that time, the record of my said marriage, and told him he would find it there. Ques. Was you a wife in very deed?
The Lott family Bible mentioned in this account has survived and preserved mention of the marriage date (September 20, 1843).
[117]↩︎
This date comes from Augusta Adams Young, a plural wife of Brigham Young, who gave the date in her 1869 affidavit.
- Augusta Adams Young swears affidavit giving date of Joseph's marriage to Fanny Young.
[118]↩︎
Elizabeth appears in lists of Joseph Smith's plural wives given by John C. Bennett and Eliza R. Snow but without providing a date for the marriage.
- John C. Bennett identifies seven plural wives married to Joseph by mid-1842.
- Eliza R. Snow lists Fanny Alger and others as one of "Joseph Smith's Plural wives."
[119]↩︎
Elizabeth was born on March 11, 1791. Assuming she was sealed to Joseph Smith in either 1842 or 1843, she would have been in her early fifties.
- The Joseph Smith Papers gives biographical summary of Elizabeth Davis.
[120]↩︎
Sarah appears in lists of Joseph Smith's plural wives compiled by Andrew Jenson, who fails to provide a specific date for the marriage.
- Andrew Jenson article on Joseph's plural marriage; identifies 27 women as plural wives.
- Eliza R. Snow lists Fanny Alger and others as one of "Joseph Smith's Plural wives."
[121]↩︎
Sarah was born on October 20, 1788. Assuming she was sealed to Joseph Smith in either 1842 or 1843, she would have been in her mid-fifties.
- JSPP gives biographical summary of Sarah Kingsley.
[122]↩︎
Andrew Jenson listed Lucinda as a plural wife in 1887 and commented that she was "one of the first plural wives of the Prophet" but did not provide a date for the sealing.
- Andrew Jenson article on Joseph's plural marriage; identifies 27 women as plural wives.
[123]↩︎
Lucinda was born on September 27, 1807. Todd Compton argues she was sealed to Joseph Smith as early as 1838, in which case she would have been 31 years old at the time. But this date is not conclusive, so expanding the range to 1844, the year Joseph died, she could have been as old as 37.
- Todd Compton argues Lucinda Pendleton was married to Joseph in 1838.
- Joseph Smith Papers gives biographical summary of Lucinda Pendleton.
[124]↩︎
Nancy (also known by her middle name Maria) appears in a list of Joseph Smith's plural wives collected by Andrew Jenson but practically nothing more is known about her relationship with Joseph, including the marriage date.
- Eliza R. Snow lists Fanny Alger and others as one of "Joseph Smith's Plural wives."
[125]↩︎
Nancy was born on August 10, 1828. Assuming she was, most likely, sealed to Joseph in either 1842 or 1843, that would have made her about the same age as Helen Mar Kimball at the time of the sealing.
- Biographical summary of Nancy Winchester.
[126]↩︎
Our only source identifying Esther Dutcher as a plural wife of Joseph Smith is Daniel H. Wells, but he does not specify when Esther was sealed to Joseph.
- Daniel H. Wells mentions Albert Smith's reaction to Joseph's marriage to Esther Dutcher.
[127]↩︎
Esther was born on January 25, 1811. Assuming she was sealed to Joseph Smith in either 1842 or 1843, she would have been in her late thirties.
- FamilySearch provides biography of Esther Dutcher Smith.
[128]↩︎
The only source identifying Mary Heron as a plural wife of Joseph Smith is Joseph E. Johnson, who claimed this in 1850. Johnson did not specify when the marriage occurred.
- Joseph E. Johnson alleges during disciplinary council that Joseph "frigged" his mother-in-law Mary Heron.
[129]↩︎
Mary was born on November 10, 1804. Assuming she was married to Joseph Smith in 1842 or 1843, she would have been in her late thirties.
- FamilySearch provides biography of Mary Heron.
[130]↩︎
In 1850 Joseph E. Johnson claimed "he [Johnson] was familiar with the first frigging—that was done in his house with his mother in law [Mary Heron Snider]—by Joseph."
"Frigging" is nineteenth-century slang for sex. Johnson made this statement in the context of a Church disciplinary hearing against him for fornication.
Johnson apparently did not elaborate on how he became "familiar" with this alleged conjugal act (whether he was a witness or heard it secondhand, for example), and aside from this statement there is no other corroboration for his claim that Joseph had sex with Mary Heron.
- Joseph E. Johnson alleges during disciplinary council that Joseph "frigged" his mother-in-law Mary Heron.
[131]↩︎
For example, scholars Richard Bushman and Todd Compton identified Fanny as Joseph's first plural wife, whereas historian Benjamin Park identified Louisa as Joseph's first plural wife because he believes the "reliable evidence is very thin" for Fanny Alger being Joseph's first plural marriage.
[132]↩︎
This included Helen Mar Kimball (14), Nancy Winchester (14 or 15), Flora Woodworth (16), Fanny Alger (16 or 18), Sarah Lawrence (17), Lucy Walker (17), Sarah Ann Whitney (17), Emily Partridge (19), Maria Lawrence (19), and Malissa Lott (19).
The average age of Joseph's teenage wives was about 16.8–17.1 years old.
The date of Nancy Winchester's marriage to Joseph Smith is unknown. She may have been 15 at the time of her sealing.
There are two possible dates for Fanny Alger's marriage to Joseph, 1833 or 1835, meaning she may have been either roughly 16 or 18 at the time of her marriage.
[133]↩︎
U.S. census records before 1850 generally did not include the ages of spouses, so a direct comparison to the 1830s and 1840s is not possible.
Post-1850 census records indicate that it was not uncommon for teenage women to be married to men in their twenties.
Historian Nicholas L. Syrett wrote:
For most of American history there was no distinction between the marriage of two minors or that between one party who was older (sometimes considerably so) and one who was younger. Once contracted, marriage has been, and largely remains, a one-size-fits-all institution.
[134]↩︎
As Nicholas L. Syrett concluded, using the Latter-day Saints as just one example of many nineteenth-century frontier communities that witnessed marriages between younger women and older men:
Because of the racial and gendered demographics in colonial frontiers of the middle nineteenth century, the marriage of young girls with older men was common. Although there were clearly cases of exploitation brokered through such marriages, especially between some white men and some Indian women, in many cases the benefits were reciprocal. Especially because their own societies did not worry about the sexual exploitation of teenage girls and marriage was not allowed to occur before a girl had reached menarche, we must recognize the marriage of some young girls not as exploitation (economic or sexual) but rather as a consequence of the demography and cultural values of a wide variety of antebellum communities.
Todd Compton, however, based on data from nineteenth-century New England, has disputed whether these early marriages were actually demographically normal. He instead attributes these early marriages to specific social dynamics within Mormon polygamy.
[135]↩︎
In the Mountain and Pacific region in 1860, 32% of married women were 15–19 years old.
About 22% of women in 1857 Massachusetts were married under the age of 20, and about 42% of women were married under the age of 20 in 1856 in Kentucky.
- Craig Foster provides data on regional marriage ages between 1850-1880.
- Massachusetts statistics indicate 15-20% of women were married before age 20 in the 1840s.
[136]↩︎
Researchers from the University of Nebraska and Northwestern University analyzed nineteenth-century census data and found that the age gap between husbands and wives increased from 1850 to 1880 before gradually declining to current gap levels of about 2.5 years.
- Study finds that marriage age gaps rose between 1850 and 1880; gaps ranged from 4 to 7 years on average.
[137]↩︎
This number is roughly derived from the data prepared by Foster, Keller, and Smith in their 2010 study. Getting a precise average is impossible because exact sealing dates are not known for some of Joseph's plural marriages, and so only broad estimates in a few cases are possible.
Todd Compton added:
In the group of Smith's well-documented wives, eleven (33 percent) were 14 to 20 years old when they married him. Nine wives (27 percent) were twenty-one to thirty years old. Eight wives (24 percent) were in Smith's own peer group, ages thirty-one to forty. In the group aged forty-one to fifty, there is a substantial drop off; two wives, or 6 percent, and three (9 percent) in the group fifty-one to sixty.
- Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith review demograpgic evidence for the age of Joseph's younger wives.
- Todd Compton identifies 33 women as Joseph Smith's wives with an additional 8 as possibilities; comments on sexual relations of polyandrous marriages.
[138]↩︎
In a speech delivered in 1854, after plural marriage was publicly announced, Orson Hyde said how "in olden times they might have passed through the same circumstances as some of the Latter-day Saints had to in Illinois. What would it have done for us, if they had known that many of us had more than one wife when we lived in Illinois? They would have broken us up, doubtless, worse than they did."
One of Joseph's plural wives, Emily Dow Partridge, also claimed, "The time had not come [in the 1840s] to publish to the world this 'holy order of matrimony.' It would have brought great trouble upon the Prophet and the people."
This was also the apparent reasoning for why D&C 132 was not published until after Joseph Smith's lifetime. Osborn J. P. Widtsoe wrote, "Owing to the persecutions to which the early Saints were subjected, the revelation was not officially published until 1852, five years after the wearisome tramp across the plains to the Rocky Mountains."
[139]↩︎
Some three decades after her marriage to Joseph Smith, Eliza Partridge recalled in 1877 how "times [in the 1840s] were not then as they are now," and that "a woman living in polygamy dare not let it be known."
Benjamin F. Johnson recalled how the "prophet's plural relation [with Fanny Alger] was one of the causes of apostasy and disruption at Kirtland," even though "at the time there was little said publicly upon the subject" (spelling standardized).
- Eliza Partridge recalls her introduction and conversion to plural marriage.
- Benjamin Johnson recalls being told that Joseph and Fanny were "spied upon & found together"; calls Fanny Joseph's "first plural wife."
[140]↩︎
Joseph Kelting, in a 1903 affidavit, recalled hearing Joseph express concern about whether he would face legal punishment for practicing plural marriage.
- Joseph A. Kelting recalls conversation with Joseph Smith about plural marriage; says Joseph was worried about legal problems with the practice.
[141]↩︎
One of Joseph's plural wives, Lucy Walker, affirmed in an 1892 court deposition that "he would have revealed it himself, had he lived, in his own good time, and then there could be no dispute about it, but he did not have the opportunity unfortunately." She also recalled hearing Joseph tell her, "Although I cannot under existing circumstances, acknowledge you as my wife, the time is near when we will go beyond the Rocky Mountains and there you will be acknowledged and honored as my wife."
Cyrus Wheelock, another Nauvoo polygamist, noted:
The time it was taught to me in Nauvoo it was not supposed to be practiced as a principle,—that is publicly like our proceedings in the temple for the dead. It was not taught or practiced openly but it was given to me and I understood it as a crude principle that would be fully and openly revealed to the church when the proper time came for it to be revealed.
[142]↩︎
Sources close to Joseph who reported an angel (sometimes described as having a sword, but other times not) appearing to him to command plural marriage included Joseph B. Noble, Lorenzo Snow, Benjamin F. Johnson, Orson Pratt, and Erastus Snow.
Plural wives of Joseph who reported the incident included Eliza R. Snow, Zina Huntington, Helen Mar Kimball, and Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner.
[143]↩︎
In 1905, Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner gave a speech to students at BYU where she shared her life story, including her plural marriage to Joseph Smith in 1842.
She was 87 years old when she spoke at BYU.
[144]↩︎
In May 1844, one month before his death, Joseph was indicted for adultery and fornication for his relationship with his plural wife Maria Lawrence.
- The Joseph Smith Papers summarizes the case of State of Illinois v. Joseph Smith for allegedly violating anti-adultery laws.
- John S. Dinger reviews legal cases involving sexuality with Joseph; including May 1844 adultery indictment.
[145]↩︎
One legal scholar, Scott Bradshaw, concluded after a close study that Joseph should have expected an acquittal if he was prosecuted:
In any prosecution under the Illinois adultery statute, Joseph would have had every reasonable expectation of acquittal. His conduct did not fit the crime with which he had been charged. . . . Joseph could also have mounted a credible defense using the State’s constitutional guaranty of freedom of religion. . . . [I]t is now clear that sweeping, negative characterizations of Joseph’s legal ethics based on his approach to marriage are in need of reevaluation.
- Scott Bradshaw reviews the legality of Joseph's plural marriages under Illinois state law; concludes he most like was not breaking any laws.
[146]↩︎
Orson Pratt officially announced the practice in a speech delivered on August 29, 1852.
- O. Pratt officially introduces polygamy to the public.
[147]↩︎
For example, "polygamy" as a general practice among the Latter-day Saints was disavowed in 1835 in the Doctrine and Covenants, in 1837 in the Messenger and Advocate, and in 1838 in the Elders' Journal.
In 1838, Joseph denied that the Saints kept a "community of wives," which he equated with "lasciviousness."
In 1841 and 1843, the Times and Seasons published statements saying the Latter-day Saints did not condone "polygamy, nor promiscuous intercourse," and did not advocate "a plurality of wives, and common property."
In 1842 members of the Nauvoo Relief Society publicly avowed that they knew "of no system of marriage being practised in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints save the one contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants," and gave notice to the public "to show that J. C. Bennett’s 'secret wife system' is a disclosure of his own make."
On May 26, 1844, Joseph denied charges of adultery and sarcastically commented he could only find "one wife" of his. He said, "What a thing it is for a man to be accused of commiting adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one" (spelling standardized).
[148]↩︎
In May and July 1845, Parley P. Pratt denounced "the 'Spiritual Wife' doctrine" of John C. Bennet as "but another name for whoredom, wicked and unlawful connection," and every kind of confusion, corruption, and abomination."
Referring specifically to Bennett's unsupported claims of hierarchies of polygamist harems among the Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, John Taylor similarly responded:
We are accused here of polygamy, and actions the most indelicate, obscene, and disgusting, such that none but a corrupt and depraved heart could have contrived. These things are too outrageous to admit of belief; therefore leaving the sisters of the "White Veil," the "Black Veil," and all the other veils, with those gentlemen to dispose of, together with their authors, as they think best.
[149]↩︎
The terminology of "spiritual wives" came from John C. Bennett's 1842 anti-Mormon exposé History of the Saints. Bennett alleged, among other things, that this system of taking "spiritual wives" taught by Joseph Smith allowed for free love and promiscuity so long as it was done in secret.
As defined by nineteenth-century anti-Mormon sources, "spiritual wifery" was understood, based on Bennett's allegations, to be "a sort of clandestine, sneaking system of concubinage," and "spiritual wives" in this system were wives who were "held in common" among practitioners (i.e., spouse-swapping and polyamory).
[150]↩︎
In 1845, Parley P. Pratt condemned the "'Spiritual Wife' doctrine" taught by John C. Bennett as "but another name for whoredom, wicked and unlawful connexion, and every kind of confusion, corruption, and abomination." Pratt contrasted this with "the real principles of the church" that recognized "sealings and covenants to secure the union of parents, children, and companions in the world to come, or in the resurrection."
Joseph F. Smith, writing in the Deseret News in 1886, addressed this point:
Polygamy, in the ordinary and Asiatic sense of the term, never was and is not now a tenet of the Latter-day Saints. That which Joseph and Hyrum denounced and for preaching which without authority an Elder was cut off the Church in Nauvoo was altogether different to the order of celestial marriage including a plurality of wives, which forms the subject of the revelation [D&C 132]. So with that spiritual wife doctrine which lustful men attempted to promulgate at that period. Joseph the Prophet was just as much opposed to that false doctrine as any one could be. It was a counterfeit. The true and divine order is another thing.
Joseph F. Smith also said that "Joseph and Hyrum were consistent in their action against the false doctrines of polygamy and spiritual wifeism," using the language of John C. Bennett. These practices, he said, were "instigated by the devil and advocated by men who did not comprehend sound doctrine nor the purity of the celestial marriage which God revealed for the holiest of purposes."
In 1887 Eliza R. Snow told Daniel Munns:
You refer to the "origin" of polygamy, (more properly plural marriage—polygamy includes plural husbands as well as plural wives) . . . I candidly confess "spiritual wifery" I know nothing of; only as the term was used as an epithet with which to stigmatize those of us who valiantly moved forward in obedience to the commands of God in establishing the practice of plurality. (Spelling and punctuation standardized.)
Joseph Fielding Smith, in a 1905 publication, said something similar:
In using the term "polygamy" in reference to the principle that was taught and practiced by the Saints, I desire it distinctly understood that I use it in the sense of a man having more than one wife. Polygamy, in the sense of plurality of husbands and of wives never was practiced in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah or elsewhere; but Celestial marriage—including a plurality of wives—was introduced by the Prophet Joseph Smith and was practiced more generally by the saints under the administration of President Brigham Young.
[151]↩︎
Bennett, for example, alleged that Nauvoo harbored harems of "spiritual wives" with names like Saints of the Black Veil that engaged in secretive, oath-bound promiscuity with leaders of the Church.
Brian C. Hales has argued that Joseph Smith was carefully denying claims like these made by Bennett and was attempting to preserve the secrecy he felt was required of those who practiced plural marriage. Hales wrote:
Compressed between what was for them a divine directive that clashed with local laws and traditions, [early Latter-day Saint polygamists] were sometimes creative, but generally seemed sincere. When contextualized, the denials of polygamy appear to represent a singular behavior, rather than the tip of a prevarication iceberg for Joseph and the other Saints. The presence of a sinister network of illicit activities that included polygamy and was camouflaged by a web of lies has yet to be discovered. Instead, the denials rose as devout religionists chose their highest priorities in the midst of their convictions and conflictions.
Others, such as Gary Bergera, believe Joseph engaged in "deliberate obfuscation, if not outright lying" in denying plural marriage. He said, "While he no doubt shared the nineteenth-century definition of lying as 'a falsehood uttered for the purpose of deception,' he felt fully justified in lying if he believed the circumstances required it."
[152]↩︎
Some have argued that Abraham did not technically lie because his wife Sarai was, in fact, his half-sister (or niece according to the Talmud), but his intent was clearly to deceive.
The Bible also has other instances of prophetic deceptions, such as Jacob lying about being Esau to his father Isaac. Biblical scholars have debated and discussed the ethics of these passages.
[153]↩︎
However, later in life she did deny that her husband ever had "a revelation on either polygamy, or spiritual wives" and affirmed that he "had no other wife but me."
- Emma Hale Smith gives testimony denying Joseph Smith practiced polygamy.
[154]↩︎
For example, in 1884 Emily Partridge recalled how much Emma seemed to hate plural marriage.
"She often made things very unpleasant," Emily recalled. She also affirmed how "Emma was a witness to Joseph taking plural wives" but "almost before she could draw a second breath, she turned, and was more bitter in her feelings than ever before, if possible."
Emma reportedly "did not believe a word of the revelation" known today as D&C 132 after reading it, and apparently destroyed the original manuscript of the text.
On the other hand, a late source close to Emma recalled a conversation where Emma seemed to accept plural marriage as a divine principle but admitted she opposed it out of jealousy.
"The principle of plural marriage is right," Emma reportedly said, "but I am like other women, I am naturally jealous hearted. . . . You heard me finding fault with the principle. I want to say that that principle is right, it is from our Father in Heaven. . . . The principle is right but I am jealous hearted."
Benjamin F. Johnson likewise claimed that "at no time did [Emma] ever in my hearing deny the plural character of her husband's family."
[155]↩︎
One scholar, summarizing the evidence, wrote, "The historical record indicates [Emma] continually strove to accept plural marriage, despite her vacillations. Unquestioned is Emma's devotion to Joseph and his return devotion to her, despite the surrounding marital whirlwind to which they were exposed."
Another scholar takes a slightly different view, writing, "Although Emma had struggled with the acceptance of the practice herself, her final position seems to have been that although her husband had been a prophet, the revelation on plural marriage had not come from God."
[156]↩︎
In this same interview, Emma claimed Joseph at one point avowed that having "plural wives" was "contrary to the will of heaven."
When asked if Joseph ever had "marital relations with [other] women," she replied by saying that "he did not have improper relations with any woman that ever came to [her] knowledge."
- Emma Hale Smith gives testimony denying Joseph Smith practiced polygamy.
[157]↩︎
In two different interviews given these years, Emma denied that Joseph taught or practiced "polygamy" and "spiritual wifery."
- Jason W. Briggs interviews Emma Hale Smith who denies Joseph taught "polygamy."
- J. C. Chrestensen recalls Emma Hale Smith denying that Joseph practiced polygamy.
[158]↩︎
Lawrence Foster, for example, characterized Emma's denial this way:
Emma clearly faced conflicting loyalties to truth and to her sons. Her answers [in the interview] indicate that she chose her words carefully in an attempt to satisfy both. For example, when asked whether there had been a 'revelation on polygamy' and about 'spiritual wifery,' she stated: 'There was no revelation on either polygamy or spiritual wives,' thus denying the old John C. Bennett terms. The question had not asked about 'patriarchal marriage' or the 'new and everlasting covenant' or any of the other code words for the system that early church leaders had used.
Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery also believe that with her "selective terminology" in the interview, "Emma easily denounced the old John Bennett term[s]" of "polygamy" and "spiritual wifery" without lying, all the while still "sidestepping her sons' questions very adeptly."
Newell wrote elsewhere, "She finally understood the code words the church leaders had used in Nauvoo to protect themselves and continued to use them throughout the remainder of her life to protect herself and her family. Her denials do not refute 'the true order of marriage,' the 'new and everlasting covenant,' 'celestial marriage,' or any of the other recognized terminology."
[159]↩︎
For example, in the case of the Partridge sisters, Joseph was actually sealed to them twice: once apparently without Emma's knowledge in March 1843, and a second time with her knowledge in May 1843.
Late, hostile sources allege that Emma discovered Joseph's marriage to Fanny Alger after the fact.
[160]↩︎
The current evidence indicate that Emma consented to four or five of Joseph Smith's plural marriages; namely, Joseph's marriages to Eliza and Emily Partridge, Sarah and Maria Lawrence, and Malissa Lott.
In the case of the Partridge sisters, however, things are complicated by the fact that Joseph was actually sealed to them twice: once apparently without Emma's knowledge in March 1843, and a second time with her knowledge in May 1843.
[161]↩︎
The practice of "polyandry," or a woman having more than one simultaneous husband, has gathered attention among historians of Joseph Smith's polygamy.
[162]↩︎
Table arranged and adapted from the information provided by Brian and Laura Hales.
- Brian C. Hales and Laura H. Hales give overview and chart of Joseph's plural wives.
- Hales provides appendix listing plural wives of Joseph; identifies 35 women as wives.
[163]↩︎
Martha Sonntag Bradley and Mary Brown Firmage Woodward chronicled Zina's marriage to Henry and her sealing to Joseph Smith.
- Martha Sonntag Bradley and Mary Brown Firmage Woodward write about Zina Huntington's relationships with Henry Jacobs and Joseph Smith.
[164]↩︎
According to his brother-in-law Oliver Huntington, Norman became disaffected from the Church and "would not let his wife [Presendia] say a word in favor of her brethren, and would say all manner of evil of them himself. He was once an Elder in the church of Jesus Christ."
- Oliver B. Huntington describes Norman Buell's disaffection from the Church.
[165]↩︎
Mary recalled in a late autobiography how Joseph Smith tried to convince Adam to be baptized but that "he [Adam] said he did not feel worthy, but would, some other time."
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner recalls how her husband Adam Lightner was never baptized.
[166]↩︎
Patty was baptized on July 2, 1834 and David a year later in August 1835. The two received their endowments on December 16, 1845 in Nauvoo.
- Patty Bartlett Sessions recalls her and David Sessions's conversion to the Church.
[167]↩︎
According to a biographical sketch prepared by Andrew Jenson, Ruth was sealed to Joseph but continued to live with her non-Latter-day Saint legal husband Edward Sayers.
- Andrew Jenson provides biographical summary of Ruth D. Vose and her husband Edward Sayers.
[168]↩︎
Holmes joined the Church in 1832 and remained loyal to Joseph his entire life, even helping bury Joseph's body after the martyrdom.
- Joseph Smith Papers lays out biographical summary of Jonathan Holmes.
[169]↩︎
According to Josephine Lyon, her mother Sylvia was sealed "to the Prophet at the time that her husband Mr. Lyon had was out of fellowship with the Church."
- Josephine Lyon recalls Sylvia Lyons saying on her deathbed she is the daughter of Joseph's.
[170]↩︎
Marinda was sealed to Joseph in either April 1842 or May 1843.
[171]↩︎
Jabez was a faithful Church member in Nauvoo and labored on the Nauvoo Temple, but he was later excommunicated in 1850 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
- Biographical summary of Jabez Durfee.
[172]↩︎
John never joined the Church but was friendly and supportive of the Saints.
- Late anonymous biography of Sarah Kingsley Cleveland indicates her husband was a non-Mormon.
- John L. Smith recounts visit with Sarah Kingsley Cleveland and John Cleveland.
[173]↩︎
Daniel H. Wells left a secondhand account of Albert's reaction to Joseph's sealing to Esther in an 1888 letter to Joseph F. Smith. He noted:
It seems that [Esther] was sealed to Joseph the Prophet in the days of Nauvoo, though she still remained his wife, and afterward nearly broke his heart by telling him of it, and expressing her intention of adhering to that relationship. He however got to feeling better over it, and acting for Joseph, had her sealed to him, and to himself for time.
- Daniel H. Wells mentions Albert Smith's reaction to Joseph's marriage to Esther Dutcher.
[174]↩︎
Snider was ordained a seventy in 1839 and served a mission in 1842–1843.
- Biographical summary of John Snider.
[175]↩︎
George was a member of the Nauvoo high council and a city alderman.
- Biographical summary of George Harris.
[176]↩︎
This may have been the case in Joseph's sealings to Presendia Huntington, Mary Elizabeth Rollins, Ruth Vose, Sylvia Sessions, and Sarah Kingsley.
[177]↩︎
In the revelation dictated on July 12, 1843, and now canonized as section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants, sealing marriages in the "new and everlasting covenant" is clearly identified as neccessary for couples' exaltation (vv. 4–7, 15–24).
That same year Joseph taught Benjamin F. Johnson:
[E]xcept a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity while in this probation by the power and authority of the Holy priesthood they will cease to increase when they die (i e) they will not have any children in the resurrection, but those who are married by the power & authority of the priesthood in this life & continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost will continue to increase & have children in the celestial glory. . . . He also said that in the celestial glory there was three heavens or degrees, and in order to obtain the highest a man must enter into this order of the priesthood and if he dont he cant obtain it. He may enter into the other but that is the end of his kingdom he cannot have an increase.
[178]↩︎
This may have been the case with Zina Huntington and Marinda Nancy Johnson. Zina's brother Dimick Huntington and husband Henry Jacobs were close friends of Joseph; Marinda's husband Orson Hyde was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Todd Compton includes Zina as a possible "dynastic" marriage alongside Sarah Ann Whitney (daughter of Bishop Newel K. Whitney), Fanny Young (sister of Brigham Young), Rhoda Richards (sister of Willard Richards), and Melissa Lott (daughter of Cornelius Lott). He wrote:
It is possible that even Smith's polyandry, his marriage to women already married (of which there are eleven instances among the "certain" wives), had dynastic overtones. . .The writings of Henry Jacobs, the "first husband" in the best-documented polyandrous triangle, show that he felt a great reverence for Joseph Smith even though he knew that his wife would be married to Joseph in eternity; this would fit comfortably within the dynastic model for explaining some polygamous marriages.
[179]↩︎
Norman Buell was reportedly hostile towards the Church when his wife was sealed to Joseph. Jabez Durfee was a faithful Church member in Nauvoo and labored on the Nauvoo Temple but he was later excommunicated in 1850 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Adam Lightner, Edward Sayers, and John Cleveland never joined the Church, and Windsor Lyon was out of fellowship with the Church at the time of his wife Sylvia's sealing to Joseph.
[180]↩︎
There are records that may indicate that Joseph Smith had sexual relations with two of his polyandrous wives.
One is an statement that Josephine Sessions gave in 1915 in which she said her mother, Sylvia Sessions, told her on her death bed that she was Joseph Smith's daughter. However, this record is late, secondhand, uncorroborated, and has been disproven by DNA testing.
Historian Todd Compton has written that "barring strong evidence to the contrary, such an affidavit as this qualifies as strong evidence" for sexual polyandry.
The second record comes from the 1850 minutes of the disciplinary council of Joseph E. Johnson in which he made a rerefence that Joseph had sex with his mother-in-law, Mary Heron. It's unclear when this happened, or the source for his testimony.
[181]↩︎
For example, Todd Compton has written that Joseph's polyandrous marriages involved sex. Compton maintained, "There is no good evidence that Joseph Smith did not have sexual relations with any wife, previously single or polyandrous."
And historian Gary James Bergera stated, "From a strictly pragmatic point of view, such marriages to already married women would have functioned to deflect attention away from Joseph Smith in the event of a pregnancy."
[182]↩︎
Brian Hales has argued that Joseph performed "ceremonial polyandry" whereby he was sealed to women with legal husbands at the time but that these marriages did not involve sex. He wrote:
To date, authors chronicling Joseph Smith's plural marriages have documented the presence of ceremonial polyandry where a woman has experienced two marriage ceremonies, usually one legal and one religious. However, no one has provided credible evidence demonstrating the presence of sexual polyandry in any of those unions.
- Brian C. Hales discusses polyandry in Joseph Smith's plural marriages.
- Brian C. Hales discusses Joseph Smith's polyandry; concludes he did not practice "sexual polyandry" but merely "ceremonial polyandry."
[183]↩︎
Bennett made the accusation in July 1842 that Joseph had secretly married women "whose husbands he had sent off preaching." In his History of the Saints, he similarly accused Joseph of "sending off the Elders to preach, in order to cloister their wives, sisters, and daughters." Bennett did not provide any supporting evidence and did not name the men for this allegation.
- John C. Bennett alleges JS sent men "preaching" and then married their wives.
- John C. Bennett accuses Joseph of sending men on missions to "cloister" their wives.
[184]↩︎
Thomas Bullock added a line in Joseph Smith's journal backdating the sealing of Marinda Nancy Johnson to April 1842 while her legal husband, apostle Orson Hyde, was on a mission.
However, this date is contradicted by an affidavit Marinda made in 1869 that stated she was sealed to Joseph in May 1843, a few months after Orson returned from his mission.
Secondary sources conflict on whether Orson was aware of the marriage. Two sources indicate he was, but another two say that he wasn't. None of the secondary sources are conclusive, as they are all either late, hearsay, or unsourced.
[185]↩︎
Zina provided this date for her sealing in an 1869 affidavit.
- Zina D. Young swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph Smith.
[186]↩︎
Henry left for a mission to Chicago with Amos Fuller on January 17, 1842, two and a half months after Joseph's sealing to Zina.
- Joseph's Journal records Henry B. Jacobs being called on a mission in January 1842.
[187]↩︎
Presendia swore an affidavit in 1869 indicating her sealing date to Joseph was on December 11, 1841.
Norman Buell's disaffection from the Church before this time was described by Oliver B. Huntington:
During all this time Norman Buell was in Clay Co. saying good Lord and kind devil, for a time; but the time finally came that he must choose a side, so he chose the Master that would give him the most money then, and in whos hands he thought he would be the safest. He even got to the pitch that he would not let his wife say a word in favor of her brethren, and would say all manner of evil of them himself. He was once an Elder in the church of Jesus Christ.
- Oliver B. Huntington describes Norman Buell's disaffection from the Church.
- Presendia Lathrop Huntington Buell swears affidavit about her marriage to Joseph Smith.
[188]↩︎
Mary wrote in a late account, "The Prophet Joseph tried hard to get Mr. Lightner to go into the water, but he said he did not feel worthy, but would, some other time. Joseph said to me that he never would be baptized, unless it was a few moments before he died."
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner recalls how her husband Adam Lightner was never baptized.
[189]↩︎
The date for Patty's sealing to Joseph as being March 9, 1842 comes from her own journal.
Records indicate David served on a jury in Nauvoo the day after the sealing on March 10, 1842, in the case of City of Nauvoo v. Davis for Slander of JS–A.
- Patty Bartlett Sessions recalls her and David Sessions's conversion to the Church.
- John C. Bennett issues a jury summons and includes David Sessions as a juror.
[190]↩︎
According to historian Andrew Jenson, "though [Edward] was not a member of the Church, yet he willingly joined his fortune with [Ruth] and they reached Nauvoo together some time in the year 1841."
- Andrew Jenson provides biographical summary of Ruth D. Vose and her husband Edward Sayers.
[191]↩︎
This date comes from Elvira's 1869 affidavit.
- Elvira Annie Cowles swears affidavit affirming her marriage to Joseph.
[192]↩︎
Jonathan was deeded land in Nauoo in March 1843 and his accounting book indicates he was in Nauvoo busily working that summer at the time of Elvira's sealing to Joseph.
- Deed from Joseph to Jonathan Harriman Holmes for land in Nauvoo.
- Jonathan Harriman Holmes business ledger indicating his work between May–July 1843.
[193]↩︎
Family sources indicate Sylvia was sealed to Joseph in Nauvoo at a time when Windsor was living in Iowa City, Iowa.
[194]↩︎
Thomas Bullock added a line in Joseph Smith's journal backdating the sealing of Marinda Nancy Johnson to April 1842 while her legal husband, apostle Orson Hyde, was on a mission.
However, this date is contradicted by an affidavit Marinda made in 1869 that stated she was sealed to Joseph in May 1843, a few months after Orson returned from his mission.
Secondary sources conflict on whether Orson was aware of the marriage. Two sources indicate he was, but another two say that he wasn't. None of the secondary sources are conclusive, as they are all either late, hearsay, or unsourced.
[195]↩︎
Elizabeth was identified as a plural wife of Joseph Smith by John C. Bennett and Eliza R. Snow, but neither source provided a date for the marriage.
- John C. Bennett identifies seven plural wives married to Joseph by mid-1842.
- Eliza R. Snow lists Fanny Alger and others as one of "Joseph Smith's Plural wives."
[196]↩︎
John L. Smith recorded that John Cleveland was cordial to Latter-day Saints, but a late biography of Sarah Kingsley indicates Cleveland never joined the Church.
- John L. Smith recounts visit with Sarah Kingsley Cleveland and John Cleveland.
- Late anonymous biography of Sarah Kingsley Cleveland indicates her husband was a non-Mormon.
[197]↩︎
Albert recorded his mission dates in his later reminiscences and journal.
- Albert Smith records serving a mission from September 12, 1842 to August 22, 1843.
[198]↩︎
Daniel H. Wells recorded that "it seems" Esther "was sealed to Joseph the Prophet in the days of Nauvoo" but did not provide a date for this sealing or any additional sources for his claim.
- Daniel H. Wells mentions Albert Smith's reaction to Joseph's marriage to Esther Dutcher.
[199]↩︎
The dates for John's mission come from Joseph Smith's journal.
[200]↩︎
There is a single source that says Mary was a plural wife of Joseph Smith, and this source provides no additional information or context beyond an alleged sexual encounter between the two.
- Joseph E. Johnson alleges during disciplinary council that Joseph "frigged" his mother-in-law Mary Heron.
[201]↩︎
Harris received a mission call from Joseph Smith on July 17, 1840. He returned to the Nauvoo High Council on September 22, 1841.
- Joseph issues mission call to George Washington Harris in July 1840.
- Nauvoo City Council Minutes note return of George W. Harris from his mission.
[202]↩︎
Todd Compton has argued that Joseph's sealing to Lucinda could have been as early as 1838.
- Todd Compton argues Lucinda Pendleton was married to Joseph in 1838.
- Joseph Smith Papers gives biographical summary of Lucinda Pendleton.
[203]↩︎
According to Helen's 1881 autobiography and reminiscience, "Just previous to my father’s starting upon his last mission but one, to the Eastern States, he taught me the principle of Celestial marriage, & having a great desire to be connected with the Prophet, Joseph, he offered me to him; this I afterwards learned from the Prophet’s own mouth."
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney recalls her introduction to plural marriage and sealing to Joseph Smith in late autobiography.
[204]↩︎
As retold by Orson in a biography of his grandfather, "Soon after the revelation was given, a golden link was forged whereby the houses of Heber and Joseph were indissolubly and forever joined. Helen Mar, the eldest daughter of Heber Chase and Vilate Murray Kimball, was given to the Prophet in the holy bonds of celestial marriage."
The "revelation" Orson refers to in this passage appears to be a testimony Vilate Kimball received that plural marriage was of divine origin.
- Orson F. Whitney recalls the circumstances surrounding his mother Helen Mar Kimball Whitney's marriage to Joseph.
[205]↩︎
Some historians refer to language in Helen's later writings that the marriage was for "eternity only" to argue the relationship was understood to only take force in the afterlife.
Todd Compton has argued that Helen may have at first misunderstood the nature of her sealing to Joseph Smith. Even so, he wrote that it's unlikely that Joseph consummated his marriage with Helen:
"Though there is no solid evidence either way, I do not believe the marriage was consummated. However, it was nevertheless emotionally difficult for Helen."
[206]↩︎
Catherine Lewis, author of the anti-mormon book Narrative of Some of the Proceedings of the Mormons, alleged that she overheard Helen say to her mother, "I would never have been sealed (married) to Joseph, had I known it was any thing more than ceremony. I was young, and they deceived me, by saying the salvation of our whole family depended on it. I say again, I will never be sealed to my Father; no, I will sooner be damned and go to hell, if I must. Neither will I be sealed to Brigham Young."
This claim, however, is at odds with Helen's own account, which does not say she felt deceived and which makes it that she understood and accepted the "principle of Celestial marriage."
Lewis also made other unsubstantiated claims in her book, such as that Joseph Smith ordered the assassination of Governor Boggs, and that she "repeatedly heard" that disobedient children would be stoned to death once the Saints left Nauvoo and journeyed into the "wilderness."
- Catherine Lewis alleges Helen Mar Kimball confided to her that she felt deceived by Joseph.
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney recalls her introduction to plural marriage and sealing to Joseph Smith in late autobiography.
[207]↩︎
Todd Compton and Richard Bennett have both described the marriage using this language. As Compton wrote:
There is absolutely no evidence that there was any sexuality in the marriage, and I suggest that, following later practice in Utah, there may have been no sexuality. . . . All the evidence points to this marriage as a primarily dynastic marriage.
[208]↩︎
As described by Bennett, "In what might be termed a 'dynastic' sealing between two of the most prominent families in early Mormonism, the Smith and Kimball houses would now be eternally linked together."
Other plural wives who might be considered "dynastic" marriages, according to Compton, include Sarah Ann Whitney (daughter of Bishop Newel K. Whitney), Zina Huntington (sister of Dimick Huntington), Fanny Young (sister of Brigham Young), Rhoda Richards (sister of Willard Richards), and Melissa Lott (daughter of Cornelius Lott).
- Richard E. Bennett characterizes Helen Mar Kimball's marriage to Joseph as a "dynastic sealing."
- Todd Compton reviews Brodie's work on plural marriage; discusses advances made in scholarship on Joseph's polygamy.
[209]↩︎
Helen explains in her autobiography how her father had already taken a plural wife, Sarah Noon, at the time that he "introduced to me this principle & asked me if I would be sealed to Joseph, who came next morning & with my parents I heard him teach & explain the principle of Celestial marrage-after which he said to me, 'If you will take this step, it will ensure your eternal salvation and exaltation & that of your father’s household & all of your kindred.'"
Helen concluded her account by saying how even though her marriage to Joseph was an enormous trial, it nevertheless strengthened her testimony in eternal sealings. Because of her sealing to Joseph Smith, she affirmed that she "would not have the chain broken for I have had a view of the principle of eternal salvation & the perfect union which this sealing power will bring to the human family."
Helen's son Orson F. Whitney likewise wrote how his mother's marriage to Joseph Smith was understood by the family to be "a golden link was forged whereby the houses of Heber and Joseph were indissolubly and forever joined."
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney recalls her introduction to plural marriage and sealing to Joseph Smith in late autobiography.
- Orson F. Whitney recalls the circumstances surrounding his mother Helen Mar Kimball Whitney's marriage to Joseph.
[210]↩︎
Helen wrote how "this promise was so great that I willingly gave myself to purchase so glorious a reward."
Helen also explained in her account how Joseph asked her mother Vilate for her consent to the marriage, writing, "[W]hen Joseph asked her if she was willing, she replied 'If Helen is willing I have nothing more to say.'"
Helen's father Heber was the one who approached Joseph to arrange the marriage in the first place, so he also consented to the union.
To be sure, Helen felt that her marriage to Joseph was a trial and wrote about her struggles to accept the practice. However, later in life, Helen would go on to defend Joseph as a prophet and plural marriage as a divine principle. There is no evidence that Helen ever accused Joseph of coercion or that she somehow felt manipulated.
Helen concluded her account with this testimony:
I am thankful that He has brought me through the furnace of affliction & that He has condesended to show me that the promises made to me the morning that I was sealed to the Prophet of God will not fail & I would not have the chain broken for I have had a view of the principle of eternal salvation & the perfect union which this sealing power will bring to the human family & with the help of our Heavenly Father I am determined to so live that I can claim those promises
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney recalls her introduction to plural marriage and sealing to Joseph Smith in late autobiography.
[211]↩︎
Helen published these relatively short booklets (52 and 72 pages) defending plural marriage as a divine commandment and Joseph Smith as a prophet.
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney publishes book defending plural marriage.
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney published book defending plural marriage and Joseph Smith as a prophet.
[212]↩︎
In her 1888 autobiography, Lucy said it was sometime in 1842, but according to Lucy's brother William, it appears this was in the "spring of 1843." At that time Joseph approached William about marrying Lucy, since their father was on a mission.
[213]↩︎
Lucy's account of the incident reads in full:
The Prophet discerned my sorrow. He saw how unhappy I was, and sought an opportunity of again speaking to me on this subject, and said: "Although I cannot under existing circumstances, acknowledge you as my wife, the time is near when we will go beyond the Rocky Mountains and there you will be acknowledged and honored as my wife." He also said, this principle will yet be believed in and practiced by the righteous. I have no faltering words to offer, it is command of God to you. I will give you untill to-morrow to decide this matter. If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you." This arroused every drop of scotch in my veins. for a few moments I stood fearless before him and looked him in the eye[.]
- Lucy Walker recounts her introduction to plural marriage.
- Lucy Walker gives firsthand account of her introduction to plural marriage.
[214]↩︎
For example, historian Todd Compton has characterized the ultimatum as a message from Joseph that "to refuse him would bring damnation." Historian Brian Hales, however, considers this claim to be nothing more than "folklore," and believes the ultimatum was merely meant to be a "time limit."
[215]↩︎
In her 1888 autobiography, Lucy recalled how she received an answer to her prayer to know if she should enter into plural marriage with Joseph:
My soul was flled with a calm sweet peace that I never knew. Supreme happiness took posession of my whole being. And I received a powerful and iristable testimony of the truth of themariage covenant called "Celestial or plural mariage". Which has been like <an> anchor to the soul through all the temptations and trials of life. I felt that I must go out into the morning air and give vent to the Joy and grattitude that filled my soul.
- Lucy Walker recounts her introduction to plural marriage.
[216]↩︎
Lucy's 1902 testimony, given towards the end of her life, reads:
When the Prophet Joseph Smith mentioned the principle of plural marriage to me I felt indignant, and so expressed myself to him, because my feelings and education were averse to anything of that nature. But he assured me that this doctrine had been revealed to him of the Lord, and that I was entitled to receive a testimony of its divine origin for myself. He counseled me to pray to the Lord, which I did, and thereupon received from Him a powerful and irresistible testimony of the truthfulness and divinity of plural marriage, which testimony has abided with me ever since.
- Lucy Walker swears affidvait to being a plural wife of Joseph Smith and bears her testimony of plural marriage.
[217]↩︎
Besides her autobiographical sketch that identifies this as the date of her marriage to Joseph Smith, Lucy and William Clayton both left affidavits affirming this date as well.
- William Clayton swears affidavit giving details about firsthand knowledge of plural wives married to Joseph.
- Lucy Walker swears affidvait to being a plural wife of Joseph Smith and bears her testimony of plural marriage.
[218]↩︎
In 1899 Lucy publicly recounted her introduction to plural marriage and "testified to [Joseph's] great moral worth" and "of him as a man" despite the fact of "how loth she was to enter into polygamy."
On the centennial of Joseph's birth six years later, Lucy published her testimony of the Prophet in the Young Woman's Journal. She said:
Most gladly will I join with the remaining few whose privilege it was to be personally acquainted with the Prophet of the 19th Century, those who have looked with admiration upon his noble countenance, and listened to his prophetic utterances.
- Lucy Walker publishes her testimony of Joseph's prophetic qualities.
- Newspaper report of Lucy Walker's public testimony of Joseph and polygamy.
[219]↩︎
This includes Esther M. Johnson, Lydia Moon, Sarah Granger, Rachel Ivins, Cordelia C. Morley, Nancy Rigdon, and Sarah Pratt.
Besides these women, other possible women who rejected plural marriage proposals from Joseph include Jane Law, Leonora Cannon, Eliza Winters, Melissa Schindle, Emeline White, "Mrs. Robert Foster," Pamela Michael, Caroline Grant, Lucy Smith Milligan/Miliken, "Miss Marks," and Athalia Rigdon.
However, Compton has emphasized that "some of [these women] are fairly well documented" while "others are sensationalist and badly documented."
An example of just such a "sensationalist" claim comes from Joseph Jackson, who alleged that Joseph Smith proposed a plural marriage to his own sister (Lucy Smith Millikin).
[220]↩︎
In an 1855 speech Brigham Young described how he "desired the grave" upon learning about plural marriage:
Some of these my brethren know what my feelings were at the time Joseph revealed the doctrine; I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty, nor of failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral, I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin, knowing the toil and labor that my body would have to undergo; and I have had to examine myself, from that day to this, and watch my faith, and carefully meditate, lest I should be found desiring the grave more than I ought to do.
- Brigham recalls being introduced to plural marriage by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo.
[221]↩︎
In an 1854 speech John Taylor recalled being introduced to plural marriage along with Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball:
It tried our minds and feelings. We saw it was something going to be heavy upon us. It was not that very nice, pleasing thing some people thought about it. It is something that harried up our feelings. Did we believe it? Yes, we did. I did. The whole rest of the brethren did. But still we should have been glad to push it off a little further. We [would have] been glad if it hadn’t come in our day; but that somebody else had something to do with it instead of us.
- John Taylor recalls being introduced to plural marriage along with Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball in the summer of 1841.
[222]↩︎
Secondhand accounts from family members and close friends recalled how Heber and his wife Vilate were both greatly tried and tested when Joseph introduced plural marriage, and how Heber generally shared the same initial shock as Brigham Young and John Taylor over the teaching.
[223]↩︎
In an 1869 letter George A. Smith described being "greatly astonished" upon being taught plural marriage by Joseph Smith.
- George A. Smith recalls being introduced to plural marriage in the summer of 1841.
[224]↩︎
Orson Pratt's introduction to plural marriage was especially difficult for him because it happened in the context of a series of allegations and counter-allegations that either Joseph Smith or John C. Bennett had attempted to seduce his wife Sarah Pratt (or had done so successfully). Orson went back and forth on whether he believed Joseph's or Sarah's version of events, and his feelings at the time were so tumultuous that he apparently even contemplated or attempted suicide.
Orson came to accept Joseph's claims and went on to both practice and defend plural marriage.
Historians disagree on whose version of events are most reliable and what they indicate about Joseph's introduction of plural marriage.
[225]↩︎
This includes Eliza R. Snow, Helen Mar Kimball, Lucy Walker, and Eliza Partridge.
[226]↩︎
Olive Frost, according to a secondhand account, "never opposed" plural marriage and soon after it was taught to her she "accepted it to be her creed, in practice as well as theory."
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner also described her initial reaction to polygamy in generally more positive terms.
Eliza Partridge felt that plural marriage "was truly a great trial for me," but also affirmed that she "had the most implicit confidence in [Joseph] as a Prophet of the Lord" and so "as a matter of course accept[ed] of the privilege of being sealed to him as a wife for time and all eternity."
[227]↩︎
Lucy Walker described receiving a heavenly manifestation affirming that plural marriage was from God after struggling greatly to accept Joseph's offer for her to become a plural wife.
Others, such as Zina Huntington and Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner, spoke more generally of accepting plural marriage after prayer and studying the scriptures.
[228]↩︎
The historical background to the letter has been summarized by the Joseph Smith Papers Project.
- Joseph Smith Papers gives historical background to the Happiness Letter; throws caution on Joseph's authorship.
- Purported Joseph Smith letter to Nancy Rigdon that offers oblique justification for plural marriage.
[229]↩︎
The beginning of the letter read:
Happiness is the object and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping ALL the commandments of God.
- Purported Joseph Smith letter to Nancy Rigdon that offers oblique justification for plural marriage.
[230]↩︎
The letter never actually mentions plural marriage explicitly, leaving readers to infer that this was its intent based on the supposed historical circumstances of its composition.
B. H. Roberts, as editor of History of the Church, included the letter in that compilation with the following note:
It is not positively known what occasioned the writing of this essay; but when it is borne in mind that at this time the new law of marriage for the Church—marriage for eternity, including plurity of wives under some circumstances—was being introduced by the Prophet, it is very likely that the article was written with a view of applying the principles here expounded to the conditions created by introducing said marriage system.
D. Michael Quinn speculated that the letter was written to "justify [Joseph's] polygamous proposal to the ninteen-year-old daughter of counselor Sidney Rigdon."
Richard Bushman saw the letter as Joseph attempting to explain "the apparent breach of the [sexual] moral code" in plural marriage.
[231]↩︎
Historian and Joseph Smith Papers editor Gerrit Dirkmaat has recently challenged Joseph Smith's authorship of the Happiness Letter. The editors of the Joseph Smith Papers Project also put the letter in an appendix to reflect the uncertain nature of its authorship.
- Gerrit Dirkmaat writes article disputing Joseph's authorship of the "Happiness Letter."
- Joseph Smith Papers gives historical background to the Happiness Letter; throws caution on Joseph's authorship.
[232]↩︎
This count was made by Brian C. Hales in 2013. Hales was able to reach this number based on contemporary sources from Nauvoo as well as later reminiscient and biographical accounts and other documents, such as affadavits.
- Brian C. Hales gives overview of known polygamists other than Joseph by 1844.
[233]↩︎
This count, made by George D. Smith in 2008, increasing the number of an earlier count made in 1994, is based on of "diaries and journals, census and church records, and various biographical writings."
Nineteenth-century Church leaders, including future presidents of the Church, who entered plural marriage by 1846 included Ezra Taft Benson, Orson Hyde, Heber C. Kimball, Amasa Lyman, Orson Pratt, Parley P. Pratt, Willard Richards, George Albert Smith, Erastus Snow, Lorenzo Snow, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Brigham Young.
- George D. Smith gives table of Nauvoo polygamist demographics from 1841–1846.
- George D. Smith publishes early report on the demography of Nauvoo polygamy.
[234]↩︎
Eliza recorded this in her 1885 autobiography.
- Eliza R. Snow recounts her conversion to plural marriage.
[235]↩︎
Eliza said this in a Relief Society meeting in Payson, Utah in 1872.
- Eliza R. Snow bears testimony of plural marriage in Relief Society meeting.
[236]↩︎
Helen recorded this in her unpublished 1881 reminiscience.
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney recalls her introduction to plural marriage and sealing to Joseph Smith in late autobiography.
[237]↩︎
Helen wrote this in her 1882 book Plural Marriage, As Taught by the Prophet Josep (p. 27).
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney published book defending plural marriage and Joseph Smith as a prophet.
[238]↩︎
Helen wrote this in her 1882 book Plural Marriage, As Taught by the Prophet Joseph.
- Helen Mar Kimball Whitney relates Joseph's account of an angel appearing to him and commanding him to practice plural marriage.
[239]↩︎
Mary wrote this in a letter composed in 1904.
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner recounts her introduction to plural marriage; affirms JS told her an angel appeared to him and commanded him to begin the practice.
[240]↩︎
Mary gave these remarks to an audience gathered at Brigham Young University in 1905.
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner recalls being introduced to plural marriage; affirms that Joseph told her an angel appeared to him multiple times to command he practice it.
[241]↩︎
Zina wrote this in her undated and unpublished autobiography.
- Zina D. Young recalls her conversion to the doctrine of "celestial marriag."
[242]↩︎
Zina bore this testimony in 1895.
- Zina D. Young recalls hearing from Joseph how an angel with a drawn sword commanded him to practice plural marriage.
[243]↩︎
Presendia wrote this in her unpublished 1881 autobiography.
- Presendia Lathrop Huntington Buell briefly mentions her sealing to Joseph and feelings on plural marriage.
[244]↩︎
Emily wrote this in a letter she composed in 1899.
- Emily D. P. Young writes letter explaining her marriage to Joseph and testimony of plural marriage.
[245]↩︎
Emily gave this testimony in 1884.
- Emily D. P. Young recounts her conversion to plural marriage.
[246]↩︎
Eliza left this testimony in her unpublished autobiography.
- Eliza Partridge recalls her introduction and conversion to plural marriage.
[247]↩︎
Lucy gave this testimony in a 1902 affidavit.
- Lucy Walker swears affidvait to being a plural wife of Joseph Smith and bears her testimony of plural marriage.
[248]↩︎
Lucy left this testimony in her 1892 court deposition.
- Lucy Walker recounts introduction to plural marriage; bears testimony of its divine origin.
[249]↩︎
Lucy recorded this in her autobiography published in 1888.
- Lucy Walker recounts her introduction to plural marriage.
- Lucy Walker gives firsthand account of her introduction to plural marriage.
[250]↩︎
Rhoda's testimony was published in 1877 in Edward W. Tullidge's The Women of Mormondom.
- Rhoda Richards bears testimony of her sealing to Joseph and her faith in him as a prophet.
[251]↩︎
Marinda's testimony appeared in 1877 in Edward W. Tullidge's The Women of Mormondom.
- Marinda Nancy Johnson provides account of Joseph being tarred and feathered in 1832.
[252]↩︎
Spelling and grammar standardized. Marinda recorded this around 1880 in an unpublished account about her introduction to plural marriage and after recording an uncanonized revelation Joseph gave her on December 2, 1841.
- Marinda Nancy Johnson recalls Joseph Smith introducing her to plural marriage.
[253]↩︎
Wilford Woodruff and Joseph F. Smith both issued official Church proclamations announcing the discontinuation of plural marriage in 1890 and 1904, respectively.
- Official text of Wilford Woodruff's 1890 manifesto ending plural marriage.
- Joseph F. Smith issues "Second Manifesto" discontinuing plural marriage.
[254]↩︎
For example, post-1890 discussion of Joseph Smith beginning or practicing plural marriage appeared in such publications as:
- Joseph F. Smith, "Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, the Prophet" (1902).
- Joseph Fielding Smith, Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage (1905).
- Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, The Doctrine and Covenants (1919; 1923).
- B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church (1930; 1965).
- John A. Widtsoe, Gospel Interpretations (1947).
- John A. Widtsoe, Joseph Smith (1951).
- Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine (1958).
- Encyclopedia of Mormonism (1992).
[255]↩︎
Teachings about Joseph Smith and plural marriage have appeared in Church publications over the decades since the 1890 manifesto. This includes magazines such as the Improvement Era and the Ensign and general reference books published by the Church.
For example, in multiple articles published in the Improvement Era in the 1940s, Apostle John A. Widtsoe directly addressed the question of why and how Joseph Smith introduced plural marriage.
And in the 1970s, historians D. Michael Quinn and Dean Jessee published brief discussions of Joseph Smith's marriages to Sarah Ann Whitney and Eliza and Emily Partridge in the Ensign.
A manual for Institute students published initially in 1989 and revised in 2003 contains the following:
Accustomed to conventional marriage patterns, the Prophet was at first understandably reluctant to engage in this new practice [of plural marriage]. Due to a lack of historical documentation, we do not know what his early attempts were to comply with the commandment in Ohio. His first recorded plural marriage in Nauvoo was to Louisa Beaman; it was performed by Bishop Joseph B. Noble on 5 April 1841. During the next three years Joseph took additional plural wives in accordance with the Lord’s commands.
[256]↩︎
This can be seen, for example, in the first volume of the Saints series, published by the Church.
- Saints vol. 1 includes details of Joseph's and others practicing plural marriage in the early history of the Church.

Name of Wife	Date of Marriage to Joseph Smith	Age at Time of Marriage (Years)	Evidence for Sexuality[73]
Fanny Alger[BIO]	ca. 1833–1836[74]	ca. 17–19[75]	Moderate[76]
Louisa Beaman[BIO]	April 5, 1841[77]	26.2	Strong[78]
Zina Diantha Huntington†[BIO]	October 27, 1841[79]	20.9	None
Presendia Lathrop Huntington†[BIO]	December 11, 1841[80]	31.3	None
Agnes Coolbrith[BIO]	January 6, 1842[81]	29.6	None
Mary Elizabeth Rollins†[BIO]	February 1842[82]	23.10	None
Patty Bartlett†[BIO]	March 9, 1842[83]	47.1	None
Eliza R. Snow[BIO]	June 29, 1842[84]	38.5	Weak[85]
Delcena Johnson[BIO]	ca. pre-July 1842[86]	35.8	None
Sarah Ann Whitney[BIO]	July 27, 1842[87]	17.4	Weak[88]
Martha McBride[BIO]	August 1842[89]	37.5	None
Sylvia Sessions†[BIO]	ca. November 1842–May 1843[90]	ca. 24.4–24.10	Weak[91]
Ruth Vose†[BIO]	February 1843[92]	35	None
Flora Ann Woodworth[BIO]	Spring 1843[93]	ca. 17–18	None
Emily Partridge[BIO]	March 4, 1843[94]	19.1	Strong[95]
Eliza Partridge[BIO]	March 8, 1843[96]	22.11	Moderate[97]
Almera Johnson[BIO]	April 1843[98]	30.6	Strong[99]
Lucy Walker[BIO]	May 1, 1843[100]	17	Moderate[101]
Marinda Nancy Johnson†[BIO]	May 1843[102]	24.11	None
Maria Lawrence[BIO]	ca. May 1843[103]	19.5	Moderate[104]
Sarah Lawrence[BIO]	ca. May 1843[105]	17	Moderate[106]
Helen Mar Kimball[BIO]	ca. May 1843[107]	14.9	None
Hannah Ells[BIO]	ca. Summer 1843[108]	ca. 35.5	Weak[109]
Olive G. Frost[BIO]	ca. Summer 1843[110]	ca. 27	Weak[111]
Elvira Cowles†[BIO]	June 1, 1843[112]	29.7	None
Rhoda Richards[BIO]	June 12, 1843[113]	58.10	None
Desdemona Fullmer[BIO]	July 1843[114]	33.9	None
Malissa Lott[BIO]	September 20, 1843[115]	19.9	Strong[116]
Fanny Young[BIO]	November 2, 1843[117]	56	None
Elizabeth Davis†[BIO]	Unknown[118]	ca. 51–52 (?)[119]	None
Sarah Kingsley†[BIO]	Unknown[120]	ca. 54–55 (?)[121]	None
Lucinda Pendleton†[BIO]	Unknown[122]	ca. 31–37 (?)[123]	None
Nancy Maria Winchester[BIO]	Unknown[124]	ca. 14–15 (?)[125]	None
Esther Dutcher†[BIO]	Unknown[126]	ca. 38–39 (?)[127]	None
Mary Heron†[BIO]	Unknown[128]	ca. 38–39 (?)[129]	Weak[130]
† Legally married to another husband at the time of sealing to Joseph Smith. See the chart below for further details.

Plural Wife of Joseph Smith	Legal Husband	Comments
Zina Huntington	Henry B. Jacobs[BIO]	Henry was a member of the Church and a witness to Joseph's sealing to Zina.[163]
Presendia Huntington	Norman Buell	Norman was a disaffected member of the Church at the time of Presendia's sealing to Joseph.[164]
Mary Elizabeth Rollins	Adam Lightner[BIO]	Adam was not a member of the Church at the time of Mary's sealing to Joseph.[165]
Patty Barlett	David Sessions[BIO]	David was a member of the Church at the time of Patty's sealing to Joseph.[166]
Ruth Vose	Edward Sayers[BIO]	Edward was not a member of the Church at the time of Ruth's sealing to Joseph.[167]
Elvira Annie Cowles	Jonathan Holmes[BIO]	Jonathan was a member of the Church at the time of Elvira's sealing to the latter.[168]
Sylvia Sessions	Windsor Lyon	Windsor was out of fellowship with the Church at the time of Sylvia's sealing to Joseph.[169]
Marinda Nancy Johnson	Orson Hyde	Orson was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and the documentary record conflicts as to whether he was on a mission at the time of Marinda's sealing to Joseph.[170]
Elizabeth Davis	Jabez Durfee[BIO]	Jabez was a member of the Church at the time of Elizabeth's sealing to Joseph.[171]
Sarah Kingsley	John Cleveland[BIO]	John was not a member of the Church at the time of Sarah's sealing to Joseph.[172]
Esther Dutcher	Albert Smith[BIO]	Albert was a member of the Church at the time of Esther's sealing to Joseph.[173]
Mary Heron	John Snider[BIO]	John was a member of the Church at the time of Mary's sealing to Joseph.[174]
Lucinda Pendleton	George Harris[BIO]	George was a member of the Church at the time of Lucinda's sealing to Joseph.[175]

Plural Wife	Statement
Eliza R. Snow	"In Nauvoo I first understood that the practice of plurality of wives was to be introduced into the church. The subject was very repugnant to my feelings. . . . But when I reflected that I was living in the Dispensation of the fulness of times, embracing all other Dispensations, surely Plural Marriage must necessarily be included. . . . As I increased in knowledge concerning the principle and design of Plural Marriage, I grew in love with it, and today esteem it a previous, sacred principle. . . . I was sealed to the Prophet, Joseph Smith, for time and eternity, in accordance with the Celestial Law of Marriage which God has revealed—the ceremony being performed by a servant of the Most High—authorized to officiate in sacred ordinances. This, one of the most important circumstances of my life, I have never had cause to regret. From personal knowledge I bear my testimony that Plural Celestial marriage is a pure and holy principle . . ."[234]
Eliza R. Snow	"Plurality of wives is a great trial. If you want to sit in the courts of heaven, honor polygamy. Don't suffer your lips to say ought, even if you do not believe in it. When I entered it, I had no anticipation of ever being acknowledged as a lawful wife. I believed in it because I felt the work was true and I longed to see a Prophet. I feel proud that I ever embraced it. Polygamy did not hurt me, but to be looked upon as a woman of light character, that did hurt me. The very idea of not being a virtuous woman."[235]
Helen Mar Kimball	"I am thankful that He has brought me through the furnace of affliction & that He has condesended to show me that the promises made to me the morning that I was sealed to the Prophet of God will not fail & I would not have the chain broken for I have had a view of the principle of eternal salvation & the perfect union which this sealing power will bring to the human family & with the help of our Heavenly Father I am determined to so live that I can claim those promises . . ."[236]
Helen Mar Kimball	"I have been a spectator and a participator in this order of matrimony for over thirty years, and being a first wife, I have had every opportunity for judging in regard to its merits. . . . I know that this system tends to promote and preserve social purity, and that this alone can remedy the great social evils of the present day. When lived up to as the Lord designed it should be, it will exalt the human family, and those who have entered into it with pure motives and continue to practice it in righteousness can testify to the truth of these statements. There are real and tangible blessings enjoyed under this system which cannot be obtained in any other way."[237]
Helen Mar Kimball	"I never doubted that young Joseph was exemplary, for he always had the reputation of being strictly moral, and I know that he was taught, as were many others, the first principles of the faith, which were all good and necessary for a foundation; but because we believe the precepts taught us in youth it does not excuse us for refusing to accept more revelation when given as the majority of the world have done—rejecting all revealed principles without investigation."[238]
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner	"Joseph the Seer taught me the principle of plural marriage in Nauvoo. . . . After a long time of prayer and supplication to my heavenly Father for a witness of the truth I went forward and was sealed to him for time and all eternity . . . Facts show what is right. . . . Joseph told me that he was afraid when the angel appeared to him and told him to take other wives. He hesitated, and the angel appeared to him the third time with a drawn sword in his hand and threatened his life if he did not fulfill the commandment. He further said that he must seal this testimony with his blood. Hyrum also had other wives. This is my testimony, and it will meet you at the judgment seat of Christ."[239]
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner	"Much has come and gone from me through the powers and vicissitudes of this Church. I have been in almost every mob. I have been driven about and told I would be shot and had a gun pointed at me, but I stayed with the Church until it was driven from Nauvoo. The words of the Prophet that had been revealed to him always have been with me from the beginning to the end of the Gospel. Every principle that has been given in the Church by the Prophet is true. I know whereon I stand, I know what I believe, I know what I know and I know what I testify to you is the living truth. As I expect to meet it at the bar of the eternal Jehovah it is true. And when you stand before the bar you will know. He preached polygamy and he not only preached it but he practised it. I am a living witness to it. It was given to him before he gave it to the Church."[240]
Zina Diantha Huntington	"When I heard that God had revealed the law of celestial marriage—that we would have the privilige of associating in family relationship in the worlds to come—I searched the scriptures, and by humble prayer to my Heavenly Father I obtained a testimony for [my]self that God had required that order to be established in his church. I made a greater sacrifice than to give my life, for I never anticipated to again to be looked upon as an honerable woman by those I dearly loved. [But] I how could I compromise conscience [and] lay aside the sure testimony of the spirit of God? . . . I heard the words of the Prophet of God saying, at King Follett's funeral, 'All you Saints that will not oppose the doctrine that God reveals through me, I will see that you enter celestial glory.' His teachings were in every respct to benefit the human family."[241]
Zina Diantha Huntington	"I received a testimony for myself from the Lord of this work, and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God before I ever saw him, while I resided in the state of New York, given in answer to prayer. I knew him in his lifetime, and know him to have been a great, true man, and a servant of God. . . . I wish to bear my testimony to the principle of celestial marriage, that it is true. When I think of the man that took his life in his hands and went from place to place where God told him to go, and in the midst of persecutions, trials and vexations of every kind, made covenant with the women of God that have stood true to him—most of them—when I think of his integrity, and of his obedience, I think what a lesson it should be to us, that we know that he did not do this of his own accord. . . . I know it is the work of God, and that Joseph Smith was His prophet. . . . I became his wife at this time in Nauvoo, and I never in my life had a rebellious thought against that principle, for which I thank the Lord."[242]
Presendia Huntington	"In 1841, I entered into the new and everlasting covenant [and] was sealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Seer; and to the best of my ability I have honored plural marriage, never speaking one word against the principle."[243]
Emily Dow Partridge	"Did Joseph Smith the Prophet claim to have a revelation on polygamy, or plural marriage? . . . It is a positive fact that he did so claim and so teach and also practice. I am a living witness of the same; with me it is neither guesswork or hearsay. I had it from his own mouth; to me it was the word of the Lord. I accepted the pure and sacred principle, and was married or sealed to him as his wife for time and all eternity."[244]
Emily Dow Partridge	". . . I feel it my duty to bear my testimony to the truth of Joseph Smith teaching and practicing plural marriage some years before his death. . . . I have never repented the act that made me a plural wife. It has been to me like an anchor cast within the veil. It gave me a hope that was like a rod of iron to cling to while wading through heavy mists of hatred and persecution. . . . I have often looked back with joy and thanksgiving that I listened to the 'still, small voice that whispered to my soul.' The door is open–enter! It may look dark, dreary and desolate, but peace, joy and exaltation lie beyond. The longer I live, and the more knowledge and understanding I get pertaining to the principles of the eternal worlds, the more I rejoice in the one act of my life that made me the wife of Joseph Smith, and bound me to him for time and all eternity. I feel perfectly secure under his guardianship. I know he was a prophet of God, and I know that he received the revelation on celestial marriage years before it was written. . . . I rejoice in my religion, and I appreciate the blessings that I enjoy as a Latter-day Saint.”[245]
Eliza Partridge	"While [living with Joseph Smith] he taught to us the plan of Celestial marriage and asked us to enter into that order with him. This was truly a great trial for me, but I had the most implicit confidence in him as a Prophet of the Lord and not but believe his words, and as a matter of course accept of the privilege of being sealed to him as a wife for time and all eternity. . . . Times were not then as they are now in 1877, but a woman living in polygamy dare not let it be known, and nothing but a firm desire to keep the commandments of the Lord could have induced a girl to marry in that way. I thought my trials were very severe in this line, and I am often led to wonder how it was that a person of my temperament could get along with it and not rebel. But I know it was the Lord who kept me from opposing his plans, although in my heart I felt I could not submit to them. But I did, and I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for the care he had over me in those troublous times."[246]
Lucy Walker	"I was a plural wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and was married for time and eternity in Nauvoo . . . When the Prophet Joseph Smith mentioned the principle of plural marriage to me I felt indignant, and so expressed myself to him, because my feelings and education were averse to anything of that nature. But he assured me that this doctrine had been revealed to him of the Lord, and that I was entitled to receive a testimony of its divine origin for myself. He counseled me to pray to the Lord, which I did, and thereupon received from Him a powerful and irresistible testimony of the truthfulness and divinity of plural marriage, which testimony has abided with me ever since."[247]
Lucy Walker	"[Plural marriage] was a command from God to me to receive it, and I would rather have laid down my life than disobeyed it, but it was a grand and glorious principle that was to be established, and when I was called upon I stepped forward and gave myself up as a sacrifice to establish that principle, and I did that in the face of prejudice."[248]
Lucy Walker	"It was near dawn after another sleepless night. While on my knees in fervent suplication, my room became filled with a holy influence. To me <it was> in comparison like the brilliant sunshine bursting through the darkest cloud. The words of the Prophet were indeed fulfilled. My soul was flled with a calm sweet peace that I never knew. Supreme happiness took posession of my whole being. And I received a powerful and iristable testimony of the truth of themariage covenant called 'Celestial or plural mariage'. Which has been like <an> anchor to the soul through all the temptations and trials of life. I felt that I must go out into the morning air and give vent to the Joy and grattitude that filled my soul. As I decended the stairs, Prest. Smith opened the door below, took me by the hand and said: 'Thank God, you have the testimony. I too, have prayed.' he led me to a chair, placed his hands upon my head, and blessed me with every blessing my heart could posibly desire. On the first day of May, 1843, I consented to become the wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith. And was sealed to him for time and all eternity, at his own house by Elder Wn Clayton, on whom he confered that authority."[249]
Rhoda Richards	"I have witnessed the death of many near and dear friends, both old and young. In my young days I buried my first and only love, and true to that affiance, I have passed companionless through life; but am sure of having my proper place and standing in the resurrection, having been sealed to the prophet Joseph, according to the celestial law, by his own request, under the inspiration of divine revelation."[250]
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde	"Here I feel like bearing my testimony that during the whole year that Joseph was an inmate of my father's house I never saw aught in his daily life or conversation to make me doubt his divine mission."[251]
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde	"The Lord gave me to Joseph Smith before I married Orson Hyde. This I did not know until ten years after where Joseph taught me the doctrine of Celestial Marriage. . . . I followed the council of the prophet Joseph as instructed and cherish in my heart the hope of realizing the fulfillment of the promises and blessings."[252]

Plural Wife	Legal Husband	Husband on mission at time of sealing?	Notes
Zina Huntington	Henry B. Jacobs	No	Zina was sealed to Joseph Smith on October 27, 1841.[185] Henry did not leave on his mission until January 1842.[186]
Presendia Huntington	Norman Buell	No	Norman Buell was not an active Latter-day Saint at the time of Presendia's sealing to Joseph Smith (December 11, 1841).[187]
Mary Elizabeth Rollins	Adam Lightner	No	Adam Lightner was never a member of the Church.[188]
Patty Barlett	David Sessions	No	David was in Nauvoo at the time of Patty's sealing to Joseph Smith on March 9, 1842.[189]
Ruth Vose	Edward Sayers	No	Edward Sayers was never a member of the Church.[190]
Elvira Annie Cowles	Jonathan Holmes	No	Elvira was sealed to Joseph Smith on June 1, 1843.[191] Jonathan, a cobbler, was working in Nauvoo at the time.[192]
Sylvia Sessions	Windsor Lyon	No	Windsor Lyon was seperated from Sylvia and out of fellowship with the Church at the time of her sealing to Joseph Smith.[193]
Marinda Nancy Johnson	Orson Hyde	Possible	There are two possible dates for Marinda's sealing to Joseph Smith. One of them would put her sealing at a time when Orson was on a mission; the other shortly after he returned from his mission.[194]
Elizabeth Davis	Jabez Durfee	N/A*	The date of Elizabeth's sealing to Joseph Smith is unknown,[195] and there is currently no evidence that Jabez was on a mission anytime between 1839–1844.
Sarah Kingsley	John Cleveland	No	John was never a member of the Church.[196]
Esther Dutcher	Albert Smith	N/A*	Albert served a mission from September 12, 1842–August 22, 1843,[197] but the sealing date between Joseph and Esther is unknown.[198]
Mary Heron	John Snider	N/A*	John served a mission from March 26, 1842–January 23, 1843,[199] but Mary's sealing date to Joseph Smith is unknown.[200]
Lucinda Pendleton	George Harris	N/A*	George served a mission between July 17, 1840–September 1841,[201] but there is no known date for Joseph's sealing to Lucinda.[202]
*The available data is inconclusive on the woman's sealing date to Joseph Smith and/or if the legal husband was serving a mission at the time of the sealing.