Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
A Native American proverb states that we 'should never judge a man until we have walked in their moccasins.' Plural Marriage is a topic where we can see where past saint's moccasins have walked, but very difficult to walk with them. In this video, I share a few of the experiences of saints who walked this path and the experiences that led them to follow it.
Scott Esplin's list of Plural Marriage Issues:
"Never judge another man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins." – Native American Proverb (Note: the orgin of this quote is often attributed to various Native American tribes. It may originate with Mary T. Lathrap's poem "Judge Softly" written in 1895)
Revealing that Marriage can Be Eternal
Parley P. Pratt: “It was Joseph Smith who taught me how to prize the endearing relationships of father and mother, husband and wife; of brother and sister, son and daughter. It was from him that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love. It was from him that I learned that we might cultivate these affections, and grow and increase in the same to all eternity; while the result of our endless union would be an offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, or the sands of the sea shore. … I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this grovelling sphere and expand it as the ocean. … In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also.” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. 259-260)
Expanding the understanding of Eternity
Joseph Smith: “[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, that is, that they will not have any children after the resurrection; but those who are married by the power and authority of the Priesthood in this life, and continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory.” (History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843]," p. 1551, The Joseph Smith Papers)
Historical Background – May 1843
Benjamin Johnson: “In the evening he called me and my wife to come and sit down, for he wished to marry us according to the Law of the Lord. I thought it a joke, and said I should not marry my wife again, unless she courted me, for I did it all the first time. He chided my levity, told me he was in earnest, and so it proved, for we stood up and were sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.” (My Life’s Review, p. 96)
Richard Bushman: “Joseph did not marry women to form a warm, human companionship, but to create a network of related wives, children, and kinsmen that would endure into the eternities. The revelation on marriage promised Joseph an ‘hundred fold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds’ (Doctrine and Covenants 132:55). Like Abraham of old, Joseph yearned for familial plentitude. He did not lust for women so much as he lusted for kin.” (Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, p. 440)
Revealing the Principle
Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney: “It was during the time we lived at the Brick Store that Joseph received the revelation pertaining to Celestial Marriage; also, concerning the ordinances of the House of the Lord. He had been strictly charged by the angel who committed them these precious things into his keeping that he should only reveal them to such persons as were pure, full of integrity to the truth, and worthy to be entrusted with divine messages; that to spread them abroad would only be like casting pearls before swine, and that the most profound secrecy must be maintained, until the Lord saw fit to make it known publicly through his servants.
“. . . My husband revealed these things to me; we had always been united, and had the utmost faith and confidence in each other. We pondered upon them continually, and our prayers were unceasing that the Lord would grant us some special manifestation concerning this new and strange doctrine. The Lord was merciful to us; He revealed unto us His power and glory. We were seemly wrapped in a heavenly vision, a halo of light encircled us, and we were convinced in our own minds that God heard and approved our prayers and intercedings before Him. Our hearts were comforted. . .” (Women and the Story of Nauvoo, 201-2)
Benjamin F. Johnson: “I took his arm and he led the way into . . . the woods . . . . and here, we sat down upon a log he began to tell me that the Lord had revealed to him that plural or patriarchal marriage was according to his law; and that the Lord had not only revealed it to him but had commanded him to obey it; that he was required to take other wives; that he wanted my Sister Almira for one of them, and wished me to talk to her upon the subject. If a thunderbolt had fallen at my feet I could hardly have been more shocked or amazed. He saw the struggle in my mind and went on to explain. But the shock was too great for me [to] comprehend anything, and in almost an agony of feeling I looked him square in the eye, and said, while my heart gushed up before him,
“‘Brother Joseph, this is all new to me; it may be true,—you know, but I do not, to my education it is all wrong; but I am going, with the help of the Lord to do just what you say, with this promise to you—That if ever I know you do this to degrade my sister I will kill you, as the Lord lives.’ He looked at me, oh, so calmly, and said, ‘Br. Benjamin, you will never see that day, but you shall see the day you will know it is true.” Joseph’s prophesy was fulfilled as Benjamin acted. He engaged his sister in a private conversation. Trembling, hardly knowing what to say, “I opened my mouth and my heart opened to the light of the Lord, my tongue was loosened and I was filled with the Holy Ghost. I preached a sermon that forever converted me and her also.” (My Life’s Review: The Autobiography of Benjamin F. Johnson, eds. Lyndon W. Cook and Kevin V. Harker (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book, 1997), 83–84.)
Lucy Walker Kimball: Joseph proposed a plural marriage to Lucy Walker in 1842 with the words, “I have a message for you. I have been commanded of God to take another wife, and you are the woman.” She wrote, “my astonishment knew no bounds. This announcement was indeed a thunderbolt to me. He asked me if I believed him to be a Prophet of God. ‘Most assuredly I do’ I replied. He fully explained to me the principle of plural . . . marriage. Said this principle was again to be restored for the benefit of the human family. That it would prove an everlasting blessing to my father’s house, and form a chain that could never be broken, worlds without end. ‘What have you to say?’ he said. ‘If you will pray sincerely for light and understanding in relation thereto, you shall receive a testimony of the correctness of these principles.’” Lucy wrote of her great struggle with the predicament. “I thought I prayed sincerely but was so unwilling to consider the matter favorably that I fear I did not pray in faith for light.” She went through excruciating bouts of what she called “darkness,” praying, like Christ, “Oh let this bitter cup pass. And thus I prayed in the agony of my soul.
When Joseph gave Lucy a date by which she had to make a decision, she responded, “although you are a Prophet of God, you could not induce me to take a step of so great importance unless I knew that God approved my course.” Joseph “walked across the room, returned and stood before me with the most beautiful expression of countenance and said ‘God Almighty bless you. You shall have a manifestation of the will of God concerning you; a testimony that you can never deny. I will tell you what it shall be. It shall be that peace and joy that you never knew.’” Lucy “prayed for these words to be fulfilled. It was near dawn after another sleepless night. While on my knees in fervent supplication, my room became filled with a holy influence. To me it was a comparison like the brilliant sunshine bursting through the darkest cloud. The words of the Prophet were indeed fulfilled. My soul was filled with a calm sweet peace that I never knew. Supreme happiness took possession of my whole being and I received a powerful and irresistible testimony.” (Autobiographical Sketch, Church History Library, Salt Lake City)
Hannah Tapfield King learned of plural marriage the same way many Saints in southern England did: at a regional conference with Apostle Orson Spencer in December 1852. A week after the meeting, she wrote the following in a letter to fellow convert and close friend Elijah Larkin: “Well now a few words on the events of Sunday last – it was a day never to be forgotten by me! – The meeting was held in the splendid Freemason’s Hall which was a perfect cram to overflowing[.] Georgey and I were favored with chairs on the platform[.] In the afternoon the revelation was read which will I expect set the world in a blaze – Oh! Brother I shall never forget my feelings! it had an extraordinary effect upon me! for tho’ I had Known for a year that such a principle existed in the Church, when I heard it read, and some things in it which I did not know, I confess to you I became Sceptical, and my heart questioned with Tears of agony, did this come from God? – I could not speak or shed a tear at first, I felt overpowered stunned as it were! (cont.)
“We had a Cab home Mr Spencer, Claudius, Georgey, and I in it -Claudius seing my state of mind, got up as he sat opposite to me and Kissed me affectionately, and asked me how I felt[.] That was sufficient – the floodgates of my heart were burst open & I wept like a child – he soothed me – and but for the Kiss & the Kindess God Knows how long the Evil One would have held my spirit in bondage – my Eyes seemed to rain tears – when we got out of the Cab – I asked Mr Spencer Senr if I might speak to him – he Kindly walked up and down the square with me while I asked him if he Knew that the revelation was from God! he was very Kind – and said every thing to Comfort and Console me, and build up my trembling faith, till I became calmer – I then went to my Lodging close by…and there I wept unrestrainedly till the agony of my feelings subsided.” (Hannah Tapfield King, “Autobiography,” Church History Library)
Eliza R. Snow recorded a conversation between her brother, Lorenzo, and the Prophet Joseph Smith, who “unbosomed his heart, and described the trying mental ordeal he experienced in overcoming the repugnance of his feelings, the natural result of the force of education and social custom, relative to the introduction of plural marriage. He knew the voice of God — he knew the commandment of the Almighty to him was to go forward — to set the example, and establish Celestial plural marriage. He knew that he had not only his own prejudices and prepossessions to combat and to overcome, but those of the whole Christian world stared him in the face; but God, who is above all, had given the commandment, and He must be obeyed. Yet the Prophet hesitated and deferred from time to time until an angel of God stood by him with a drawn sword, and told him that, unless he moved forward and established plural marriage, his Priesthood would be taken from him and he would be destroyed! This testimony he not only bore to my brother, but also to others — a testimony that cannot be gainsayed.” Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, p. 69-70
Resource: Encouraging Joseph Smith to Practice Plural Marriage: The Accounts of the Angel with a Drawn Sword by Brian C. Hales. https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Encouraging-Joseph-Smith-to-Practice-Plural-Marriage-The-Accounts-of-the-Angel-with-a-Drawn-Sword.pdf
“Emma struggled deeply with the principle of plural marriage. Joseph introduced the practice carefully and incrementally, marrying many additional wives, each of whom vowed to keep their participation confidential. Little is known about Emma’s knowledge and feelings about these marriages, some of which entailed commitments in this life while others involved commitments for the next life only. Nevertheless, it is apparent that Joseph withheld knowledge of some of these relationships from Emma. When he did share limited information with her, she struggled, shifting her perspective and support over time. In early 1843, Emma appears to have accepted plural marriage and personally consented to and witnessed Joseph’s marriages to four women. But by July, her attitude toward the practice had shifted again, and she burned a manuscript copy of the revelation on plural marriage now found in Doctrine and Covenants 132. There is no record Joseph entered into any additional marriages after the fall of 1843." (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/emma-hale-smith?lang=eng)
William Clayton: :On the morning of the 12th of July, 1843; Joseph and Hyrum Smith came into the office in the upper story of the brick store, on the bank of
the Mississippi river. They were talking on the subject of plural marriage.
"Hyrum said to Joseph, 'If you will write the revelation on celestial marriage, I will take it and read it to Emma, and I believe I can convince her of its truth, and you will hereafter have peace.' Joseph smiled and remarked, 'You do not know Emma as well as I do.'
"Hyrum repeated his opinion, and further remarked, 'The doctrine is so plain, I can convince any reasonable man or woman of its truth, purity and heavenly origin,' or words to that effect.
"Joseph then said, 'Well, I will write the revelation and we will see.' He then requested me to get paper and prepare to write. (History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 5 p xxxiii)
Brigham Young: "William Clayton was the man who wrote it from the mouth of the prophet… He wished the privilege to copy it, which brother Joseph granted. Sister Emma burnt the original. The reason why I mention this, is because that the people who did know of the Revelation, suppose it was not now in existence." (https://journalofdiscourses.com/6/52)
For source notes for the Revelation, 12 July 1843 (section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants along with a Historical Introduction - https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-12-july-1843-dc-132/1
Joseph F. Smith: “When the revelation was written, in 1843, it was for a special purpose, by the request of the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, and was not then designed to go forth to the church or to the world. It is most probable that had it been then written with a view to its going out as a doctrine of the church, it would have been presented in a somewhat different form. There are personalities contained in a part of it which are not relevant to the principle itself, but rather to the circumstances which necessitated its being written at that time” (“Discourse,” Deseret News, Sept. 11, 1878, 498)
3 Possible reasons for plural marriage:
Joseph Smith: “The dispensation of the fulness of times will bring to light the things that have been revealed in all former dispensations, also other things that have not been before revealed.” ("Discourse,” 3 October 1841, Times and Seasons, p. 578)
Brigham Young: “This is the reason why the doctrine of plurality of wives was revealed, that the noble spirits which are waiting for tabernacles might be brought forth.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 197)
John Taylor: “Where did this commandment come from in relation to polygamy? It also came from God. It was a revelation given unto Joseph Smith from God, and was made binding upon His servants. When this system was first introduced among this people, it was one of the greatest crosses that ever was taken up by any set of men since the world stood. Joseph Smith told others; he told me, and I can bear witness of it, ‘that if this principle was not introduced, this Church and kingdom could not proceed.’ When this commandment was given, it was so far religious, and so far binding upon the Elders of this Church, that it was told them if they were not prepared to enter into it, and to stem the torrent of opposition that would come in consequence of it, the keys of the kingdom would be taken from them.” (Journal of Discourses, 11:221)
Orson F. Whitney (grandson to Heber and Vilate Kimball: "Before he [Joseph Smith] would trust even Heber with the full secret however, he put him to a test which few men would have been able to bear.
"It was not less than a requirement for him to surrender his wife, his beloved Vilate, and give her to Joseph in marriage!
"Three days he fasted and wept and prayed. Then, with a broken and a bleeding heart, but with soul self-mastered for the sacrifice, he led his darling wife to the Prophet’s house and presented her to Joseph.
"The astounding revelation well-nigh paralyzed him [Heber C. Kimball]. He could hardly believe he had heard aright. Yet Joseph was solemnly in earnest. His next impulse was to spurn the proposition, and perhaps at that terrible moment a vague suspicion of the Prophet’s motive and the divinity of the revelation, shot like a poisoned arrow through his soul. …
"The astounding revelation well-nigh paralyzed him [Heber C. Kimball]. He could hardly believe he had heard aright. Yet Joseph was solemnly in earnest. His next impulse was to spurn the proposition, and perhaps at that terrible moment a vague suspicion of the Prophet’s motive and the divinity of the revelation, shot like a poisoned arrow through his soul. …
"The Prophet joined the hands of the heroic and devoted pair, and then and there, by virtue of the sealing power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, Heber and Vilate Kimball were made husband and wife for all eternity." (Life of Heber C. Kimball (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1945), 323–24.)
Helen Mar Kimball: "I remember how I felt, but which would be a difficult matter to describe — the various thoughts, fears and temptations that flashed through my mind when the principle was first introduced to me by my father [Heber C. Kimball], who one morning in the summer of 1843, without any preliminaries, asked me if I would believe him if he told me that it was right for married men to take other wives, can be better imagined than told. But suffice it to say the first impulse was anger, for I thought he had only said it to test my virtue. … My sensibilities were painfully touched. I felt such a sense of personal injury and displeasure for to mention such a thing to me I thought altogether unworthy of my father, and as quick as he spoke, I replied to him, short and emphatically, “No, I wouldn’t!” I had always been taught to believe it a heinous crime, improper and unnatural, and I indignantly resented it.
"This was the first time that I ever openly manifested anger towards him, but I was somewhat surprised at his countenance, as he seemed rather pleased than otherwise. Then he commenced talking seriously, and reasoned and explained the principle, and why it was again to be established upon the earth, etc., but did not tell me then that anyone had yet practiced it, but left me to reflect upon it for the next twenty-four hours, during which time I was filled with various and conflicting ideas. I was skeptical — his only daughter, and I knew that he would not cast her off, and this was the only convincing proof that I had of its being right. I knew that he loved me too well to teach me anything that was not strictly pure, virtuous and exalting in its tendencies; and no one else could have influenced me at that time or brought me to accept of a doctrine so utterly repugnant and so contrary to all of our former ideas and traditions. This was just previous to his starting upon his last mission but one to the eastern states. Fearing that I might hear it from a wrong source, knowing, as he did, that there were those who would run before they were sent, and some would not hesitate to deceive and betray him and the brethren, he thought it best that I should hear it from his own lips.
"The next day the Prophet called at our house, and I sat with my father and mother and heard him teach the principle and explain it more fully, and I believed it, but I had no proofs, only his and my father’s testimony. I thought that sufficient, and did not deem it necessary to seek for any further." (Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, “Scenes in Nauvoo,” Woman’s Exponent 11, no. 5 (August 1, 1882): 39.)
Helen Mar Kimball spoke of her sealing to Joseph as being “for eternity alone,” suggesting that the relationship did not involve sexual relations. After Joseph’s death, Helen remarried and became an articulate defender of him and of plural marriage. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng)
Effects of Plural Marriage in Utah
Extent of the Practice
Anti-Polygamy Legislation
Church Response to Anti-Polygamy legislation
Wilford Woodruff: “Thus ends the year 1889 and the word of the Prophet Joseph Smith is beginning to be fulfilled that the whole nation would turn against Zion and make war upon the Saints. The nation has never been filled so full of lies against the Saints as today.” (Wilford Woodruff Journal, Dec. 31, 1889 (spelling, punctuation, and capitalization standardized)
Wilford Woodruff: “I want to say to all Israel that the step which I have taken in issuing this manifesto has not been done without earnest prayer before the Lord. I am about to go into the spirit world, like other men of my age. I expect to meet the face of my heavenly Father—the Father of my spirit; I expect to meet the face of Joseph Smith, of Brigham Young, of John Taylor, and of the apostles, and for me to have taken a stand in anything which is not pleasing in the sight of God, or before the heavens, I would rather have gone out and been shot. My life is no better than other men's. I am not ignorant of the feelings that have been engendered through the course I have pursued. But I have done my duty, and the nation of which we form a part must be responsible for that which has been done in relation to this principle.” (Millennial Star, 24 Nov. 1890, p. 739)
The First Manifesto and Official Declaration 1 - located after section 138 in the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Second Manifesto
Ending the Practice
Lorena Eugenia Washburn Larsen: “I could not believe that the Authorities of the Church had given up plural marriage, as it had been called the crowning principal [sic] of the Gospel, and it has been such a sacrifice on the part of many young women to go into that order of marriage…my husband went out and talked with them about the Manifesto. They told him that it was a fact that the principal was dropped by the Church. They said that the first Presidency and the Apostles were all united on it, and it should be practiced no more. My husband came to our tent and told me about it, and my feelings were passed description. I had given into that order of marriage solely for the purpose above mentioned, and because I believed God had commanded his people to do so, and it had been such a sacrifice to enter it and live it as I thought God wanted me to. So I thought about it.
“It seemed impossible that the Lord would go back on a principal which had caused so much sacrifice, heartache and trial before one could conquer ones [sic] carnel [sic] self, and live on that higher plane and love ones [sic] neighbor as ones [sic] self. My husband walked out without saying a word, and as he walked away I thought, oh yes, it is easy for you, you can go home to your other family and be happy with her, and then while I must be like Hager [sic] sent away. My anguish was inexpressible, and a dense darkness took hold of my mind. I thought that if the Lord and the Church Authorities had gone back on the principal, there was nothing to any part of the Gospel. I fancied I would see myself and my children, and many other splendid women and their children turned adrift, and our only purpose in entering it, had been more fully to serve the Lord.
“I sank down on our bedding and wished in my anguish that the earth would open and take me and my children in. The darkness seemed impenetrable. All at once I heard a voice and felt a most powerful presence. The voice said, “Why, this is no more unreasonable than the requirement the Lord made of Abrham [sic] when he commanded him to offer up his son Isaac, and when the Lord sees that you are willing to obey in all things the trial shall be removed. There was a brightness by light which cannot be described which filled my soul and I was so filled with joy and peace, and happiness that I felt that no matter whatever should come to me in all my future life, I could never feel sad again. If the people of the whole world had been gathered together trying with all their power to comfort me they could not compare with the powerful unseen presence which came to me on that occasion.
“As soon as my husband came back I told him what a glorious presence had been there, and what I had heard. He said, ‘knew I couldn’t say a word to comfort you, so I went to a patch of willows and asked the Lord to send a comforter.’ In the trying years which followed, often a glimmer of that same light came to me again.” (Lorena Eugenia Washburn Larsen, BYU Special Collections)
Helen Mar Whitney: “Those who have not the knowledge and assurance that the course which they are pursuing is according to the will of God, cannot endure all these afflictions and persecutions, taking joyfully the spoiling of their goods and even if necessary to suffer death, by the hands of their foes. They will grow weary and faint and fall by the way unless they have unshaken confidence and a perfect knowledge for themselves.
"They cannot make a sacrifice of their character and reputation; and give up their houses, their lands, brothers, sisters, wives and children; counting all things as dross, when compared with the eternal life and exaltation, which our Savior has promised to the obedient; and this knowledge is not obtained without a struggle nor the glory without a sacrifice of all earthly things.
"In the last days (we read) the Lord is to gather together his Saints who have made covenant with Him by sacrifice and each one must know that their sacrifice is accepted as did righteous, Abel and Abraham the father of the faithful. Every Latter-day Saint knows this to be true, and that according to our faith so are our blessings and privileges. (Helen Mar Whitney, A Woman’s View: Helen Mar Whitney’s Reminiscences of Early Church History (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1999), 187.)
Is plural marriage essential for exaltation?
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “Plural marriage is not essential to salvation or exaltation. Nephi and his people were denied the power to have more than one wife and yet they could gain every blessing in eternity that the Lord ever offered to any people. In our day, the Lord summarized by revelation the whole doctrine of exaltation and predicated it upon the marriage of one man to one woman. (D. & C. 132:1–28.) Thereafter he added the principles relative to plurality of wives with the express stipulation that any such marriages would be valid only if authorized by the President of the Church. (D&C 132:7, 29–66.)
“All who pretend or assume to engage in plural marriage in this day, when the one holding the keys has withdrawn the power by which they are performed, are guilty of gross wickedness.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 578-579 (italics in original))
Scott Esplin's list of Plural Marriage Issues:
- Origins
- Sealings to married women (polyandry)
- Ages of participants
- Nature of the relationships
- Emma’s reaction
- Plural marriage denials
- Rate of participation
- Ending the practice
- Future expectations
"Never judge another man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins." – Native American Proverb (Note: the orgin of this quote is often attributed to various Native American tribes. It may originate with Mary T. Lathrap's poem "Judge Softly" written in 1895)
Revealing that Marriage can Be Eternal
Parley P. Pratt: “It was Joseph Smith who taught me how to prize the endearing relationships of father and mother, husband and wife; of brother and sister, son and daughter. It was from him that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love. It was from him that I learned that we might cultivate these affections, and grow and increase in the same to all eternity; while the result of our endless union would be an offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, or the sands of the sea shore. … I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this grovelling sphere and expand it as the ocean. … In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also.” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. 259-260)
Expanding the understanding of Eternity
Joseph Smith: “[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, that is, that they will not have any children after the resurrection; but those who are married by the power and authority of the Priesthood in this life, and continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory.” (History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843]," p. 1551, The Joseph Smith Papers)
Historical Background – May 1843
Benjamin Johnson: “In the evening he called me and my wife to come and sit down, for he wished to marry us according to the Law of the Lord. I thought it a joke, and said I should not marry my wife again, unless she courted me, for I did it all the first time. He chided my levity, told me he was in earnest, and so it proved, for we stood up and were sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.” (My Life’s Review, p. 96)
Richard Bushman: “Joseph did not marry women to form a warm, human companionship, but to create a network of related wives, children, and kinsmen that would endure into the eternities. The revelation on marriage promised Joseph an ‘hundred fold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds’ (Doctrine and Covenants 132:55). Like Abraham of old, Joseph yearned for familial plentitude. He did not lust for women so much as he lusted for kin.” (Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, p. 440)
Revealing the Principle
Elizabeth Ann Smith Whitney: “It was during the time we lived at the Brick Store that Joseph received the revelation pertaining to Celestial Marriage; also, concerning the ordinances of the House of the Lord. He had been strictly charged by the angel who committed them these precious things into his keeping that he should only reveal them to such persons as were pure, full of integrity to the truth, and worthy to be entrusted with divine messages; that to spread them abroad would only be like casting pearls before swine, and that the most profound secrecy must be maintained, until the Lord saw fit to make it known publicly through his servants.
“. . . My husband revealed these things to me; we had always been united, and had the utmost faith and confidence in each other. We pondered upon them continually, and our prayers were unceasing that the Lord would grant us some special manifestation concerning this new and strange doctrine. The Lord was merciful to us; He revealed unto us His power and glory. We were seemly wrapped in a heavenly vision, a halo of light encircled us, and we were convinced in our own minds that God heard and approved our prayers and intercedings before Him. Our hearts were comforted. . .” (Women and the Story of Nauvoo, 201-2)
Benjamin F. Johnson: “I took his arm and he led the way into . . . the woods . . . . and here, we sat down upon a log he began to tell me that the Lord had revealed to him that plural or patriarchal marriage was according to his law; and that the Lord had not only revealed it to him but had commanded him to obey it; that he was required to take other wives; that he wanted my Sister Almira for one of them, and wished me to talk to her upon the subject. If a thunderbolt had fallen at my feet I could hardly have been more shocked or amazed. He saw the struggle in my mind and went on to explain. But the shock was too great for me [to] comprehend anything, and in almost an agony of feeling I looked him square in the eye, and said, while my heart gushed up before him,
“‘Brother Joseph, this is all new to me; it may be true,—you know, but I do not, to my education it is all wrong; but I am going, with the help of the Lord to do just what you say, with this promise to you—That if ever I know you do this to degrade my sister I will kill you, as the Lord lives.’ He looked at me, oh, so calmly, and said, ‘Br. Benjamin, you will never see that day, but you shall see the day you will know it is true.” Joseph’s prophesy was fulfilled as Benjamin acted. He engaged his sister in a private conversation. Trembling, hardly knowing what to say, “I opened my mouth and my heart opened to the light of the Lord, my tongue was loosened and I was filled with the Holy Ghost. I preached a sermon that forever converted me and her also.” (My Life’s Review: The Autobiography of Benjamin F. Johnson, eds. Lyndon W. Cook and Kevin V. Harker (Provo, Utah: Grandin Book, 1997), 83–84.)
Lucy Walker Kimball: Joseph proposed a plural marriage to Lucy Walker in 1842 with the words, “I have a message for you. I have been commanded of God to take another wife, and you are the woman.” She wrote, “my astonishment knew no bounds. This announcement was indeed a thunderbolt to me. He asked me if I believed him to be a Prophet of God. ‘Most assuredly I do’ I replied. He fully explained to me the principle of plural . . . marriage. Said this principle was again to be restored for the benefit of the human family. That it would prove an everlasting blessing to my father’s house, and form a chain that could never be broken, worlds without end. ‘What have you to say?’ he said. ‘If you will pray sincerely for light and understanding in relation thereto, you shall receive a testimony of the correctness of these principles.’” Lucy wrote of her great struggle with the predicament. “I thought I prayed sincerely but was so unwilling to consider the matter favorably that I fear I did not pray in faith for light.” She went through excruciating bouts of what she called “darkness,” praying, like Christ, “Oh let this bitter cup pass. And thus I prayed in the agony of my soul.
When Joseph gave Lucy a date by which she had to make a decision, she responded, “although you are a Prophet of God, you could not induce me to take a step of so great importance unless I knew that God approved my course.” Joseph “walked across the room, returned and stood before me with the most beautiful expression of countenance and said ‘God Almighty bless you. You shall have a manifestation of the will of God concerning you; a testimony that you can never deny. I will tell you what it shall be. It shall be that peace and joy that you never knew.’” Lucy “prayed for these words to be fulfilled. It was near dawn after another sleepless night. While on my knees in fervent supplication, my room became filled with a holy influence. To me it was a comparison like the brilliant sunshine bursting through the darkest cloud. The words of the Prophet were indeed fulfilled. My soul was filled with a calm sweet peace that I never knew. Supreme happiness took possession of my whole being and I received a powerful and irresistible testimony.” (Autobiographical Sketch, Church History Library, Salt Lake City)
Hannah Tapfield King learned of plural marriage the same way many Saints in southern England did: at a regional conference with Apostle Orson Spencer in December 1852. A week after the meeting, she wrote the following in a letter to fellow convert and close friend Elijah Larkin: “Well now a few words on the events of Sunday last – it was a day never to be forgotten by me! – The meeting was held in the splendid Freemason’s Hall which was a perfect cram to overflowing[.] Georgey and I were favored with chairs on the platform[.] In the afternoon the revelation was read which will I expect set the world in a blaze – Oh! Brother I shall never forget my feelings! it had an extraordinary effect upon me! for tho’ I had Known for a year that such a principle existed in the Church, when I heard it read, and some things in it which I did not know, I confess to you I became Sceptical, and my heart questioned with Tears of agony, did this come from God? – I could not speak or shed a tear at first, I felt overpowered stunned as it were! (cont.)
“We had a Cab home Mr Spencer, Claudius, Georgey, and I in it -Claudius seing my state of mind, got up as he sat opposite to me and Kissed me affectionately, and asked me how I felt[.] That was sufficient – the floodgates of my heart were burst open & I wept like a child – he soothed me – and but for the Kiss & the Kindess God Knows how long the Evil One would have held my spirit in bondage – my Eyes seemed to rain tears – when we got out of the Cab – I asked Mr Spencer Senr if I might speak to him – he Kindly walked up and down the square with me while I asked him if he Knew that the revelation was from God! he was very Kind – and said every thing to Comfort and Console me, and build up my trembling faith, till I became calmer – I then went to my Lodging close by…and there I wept unrestrainedly till the agony of my feelings subsided.” (Hannah Tapfield King, “Autobiography,” Church History Library)
Eliza R. Snow recorded a conversation between her brother, Lorenzo, and the Prophet Joseph Smith, who “unbosomed his heart, and described the trying mental ordeal he experienced in overcoming the repugnance of his feelings, the natural result of the force of education and social custom, relative to the introduction of plural marriage. He knew the voice of God — he knew the commandment of the Almighty to him was to go forward — to set the example, and establish Celestial plural marriage. He knew that he had not only his own prejudices and prepossessions to combat and to overcome, but those of the whole Christian world stared him in the face; but God, who is above all, had given the commandment, and He must be obeyed. Yet the Prophet hesitated and deferred from time to time until an angel of God stood by him with a drawn sword, and told him that, unless he moved forward and established plural marriage, his Priesthood would be taken from him and he would be destroyed! This testimony he not only bore to my brother, but also to others — a testimony that cannot be gainsayed.” Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, p. 69-70
Resource: Encouraging Joseph Smith to Practice Plural Marriage: The Accounts of the Angel with a Drawn Sword by Brian C. Hales. https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Encouraging-Joseph-Smith-to-Practice-Plural-Marriage-The-Accounts-of-the-Angel-with-a-Drawn-Sword.pdf
“Emma struggled deeply with the principle of plural marriage. Joseph introduced the practice carefully and incrementally, marrying many additional wives, each of whom vowed to keep their participation confidential. Little is known about Emma’s knowledge and feelings about these marriages, some of which entailed commitments in this life while others involved commitments for the next life only. Nevertheless, it is apparent that Joseph withheld knowledge of some of these relationships from Emma. When he did share limited information with her, she struggled, shifting her perspective and support over time. In early 1843, Emma appears to have accepted plural marriage and personally consented to and witnessed Joseph’s marriages to four women. But by July, her attitude toward the practice had shifted again, and she burned a manuscript copy of the revelation on plural marriage now found in Doctrine and Covenants 132. There is no record Joseph entered into any additional marriages after the fall of 1843." (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/emma-hale-smith?lang=eng)
William Clayton: :On the morning of the 12th of July, 1843; Joseph and Hyrum Smith came into the office in the upper story of the brick store, on the bank of
the Mississippi river. They were talking on the subject of plural marriage.
"Hyrum said to Joseph, 'If you will write the revelation on celestial marriage, I will take it and read it to Emma, and I believe I can convince her of its truth, and you will hereafter have peace.' Joseph smiled and remarked, 'You do not know Emma as well as I do.'
"Hyrum repeated his opinion, and further remarked, 'The doctrine is so plain, I can convince any reasonable man or woman of its truth, purity and heavenly origin,' or words to that effect.
"Joseph then said, 'Well, I will write the revelation and we will see.' He then requested me to get paper and prepare to write. (History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 5 p xxxiii)
Brigham Young: "William Clayton was the man who wrote it from the mouth of the prophet… He wished the privilege to copy it, which brother Joseph granted. Sister Emma burnt the original. The reason why I mention this, is because that the people who did know of the Revelation, suppose it was not now in existence." (https://journalofdiscourses.com/6/52)
For source notes for the Revelation, 12 July 1843 (section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants along with a Historical Introduction - https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-12-july-1843-dc-132/1
Joseph F. Smith: “When the revelation was written, in 1843, it was for a special purpose, by the request of the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, and was not then designed to go forth to the church or to the world. It is most probable that had it been then written with a view to its going out as a doctrine of the church, it would have been presented in a somewhat different form. There are personalities contained in a part of it which are not relevant to the principle itself, but rather to the circumstances which necessitated its being written at that time” (“Discourse,” Deseret News, Sept. 11, 1878, 498)
3 Possible reasons for plural marriage:
- Restoration “of all things” (130:41, 45)
- “To prove you…” (130:51)
- To raise up seed (130:63)
Joseph Smith: “The dispensation of the fulness of times will bring to light the things that have been revealed in all former dispensations, also other things that have not been before revealed.” ("Discourse,” 3 October 1841, Times and Seasons, p. 578)
Brigham Young: “This is the reason why the doctrine of plurality of wives was revealed, that the noble spirits which are waiting for tabernacles might be brought forth.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 197)
John Taylor: “Where did this commandment come from in relation to polygamy? It also came from God. It was a revelation given unto Joseph Smith from God, and was made binding upon His servants. When this system was first introduced among this people, it was one of the greatest crosses that ever was taken up by any set of men since the world stood. Joseph Smith told others; he told me, and I can bear witness of it, ‘that if this principle was not introduced, this Church and kingdom could not proceed.’ When this commandment was given, it was so far religious, and so far binding upon the Elders of this Church, that it was told them if they were not prepared to enter into it, and to stem the torrent of opposition that would come in consequence of it, the keys of the kingdom would be taken from them.” (Journal of Discourses, 11:221)
Orson F. Whitney (grandson to Heber and Vilate Kimball: "Before he [Joseph Smith] would trust even Heber with the full secret however, he put him to a test which few men would have been able to bear.
"It was not less than a requirement for him to surrender his wife, his beloved Vilate, and give her to Joseph in marriage!
"Three days he fasted and wept and prayed. Then, with a broken and a bleeding heart, but with soul self-mastered for the sacrifice, he led his darling wife to the Prophet’s house and presented her to Joseph.
"The astounding revelation well-nigh paralyzed him [Heber C. Kimball]. He could hardly believe he had heard aright. Yet Joseph was solemnly in earnest. His next impulse was to spurn the proposition, and perhaps at that terrible moment a vague suspicion of the Prophet’s motive and the divinity of the revelation, shot like a poisoned arrow through his soul. …
"The astounding revelation well-nigh paralyzed him [Heber C. Kimball]. He could hardly believe he had heard aright. Yet Joseph was solemnly in earnest. His next impulse was to spurn the proposition, and perhaps at that terrible moment a vague suspicion of the Prophet’s motive and the divinity of the revelation, shot like a poisoned arrow through his soul. …
"The Prophet joined the hands of the heroic and devoted pair, and then and there, by virtue of the sealing power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, Heber and Vilate Kimball were made husband and wife for all eternity." (Life of Heber C. Kimball (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1945), 323–24.)
Helen Mar Kimball: "I remember how I felt, but which would be a difficult matter to describe — the various thoughts, fears and temptations that flashed through my mind when the principle was first introduced to me by my father [Heber C. Kimball], who one morning in the summer of 1843, without any preliminaries, asked me if I would believe him if he told me that it was right for married men to take other wives, can be better imagined than told. But suffice it to say the first impulse was anger, for I thought he had only said it to test my virtue. … My sensibilities were painfully touched. I felt such a sense of personal injury and displeasure for to mention such a thing to me I thought altogether unworthy of my father, and as quick as he spoke, I replied to him, short and emphatically, “No, I wouldn’t!” I had always been taught to believe it a heinous crime, improper and unnatural, and I indignantly resented it.
"This was the first time that I ever openly manifested anger towards him, but I was somewhat surprised at his countenance, as he seemed rather pleased than otherwise. Then he commenced talking seriously, and reasoned and explained the principle, and why it was again to be established upon the earth, etc., but did not tell me then that anyone had yet practiced it, but left me to reflect upon it for the next twenty-four hours, during which time I was filled with various and conflicting ideas. I was skeptical — his only daughter, and I knew that he would not cast her off, and this was the only convincing proof that I had of its being right. I knew that he loved me too well to teach me anything that was not strictly pure, virtuous and exalting in its tendencies; and no one else could have influenced me at that time or brought me to accept of a doctrine so utterly repugnant and so contrary to all of our former ideas and traditions. This was just previous to his starting upon his last mission but one to the eastern states. Fearing that I might hear it from a wrong source, knowing, as he did, that there were those who would run before they were sent, and some would not hesitate to deceive and betray him and the brethren, he thought it best that I should hear it from his own lips.
"The next day the Prophet called at our house, and I sat with my father and mother and heard him teach the principle and explain it more fully, and I believed it, but I had no proofs, only his and my father’s testimony. I thought that sufficient, and did not deem it necessary to seek for any further." (Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, “Scenes in Nauvoo,” Woman’s Exponent 11, no. 5 (August 1, 1882): 39.)
Helen Mar Kimball spoke of her sealing to Joseph as being “for eternity alone,” suggesting that the relationship did not involve sexual relations. After Joseph’s death, Helen remarried and became an articulate defender of him and of plural marriage. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng)
Effects of Plural Marriage in Utah
- At the time of Joseph Smith’s death, 29 men in addition to himself had married plural wives.
- By the time the Saints left Nauvoo in early 1846, between 150 and 200 people were practicing plural marriage.
- Probably half of those living in the Utah Territory in 1857 experienced life in a polygamous family as a husband, wife, or child some time in their lives. •By 1870, only 25 to 30 percent of the population lived in polygamous households. The percentage continued to decrease over the next 20 years. (See Kathryn M. Daynes, More Wives Than One: Transformation of the Mormon Marriage System; “Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah” (Gospel Topics Essay)
Extent of the Practice
- Significant increase in children born in the covenant
- Marriage available to virtually all who desired it
- Increased financial stability for more people
- Ethnic intermarriages increased, united a diverse immigrant population
- Sense of cohesion and group identification
- Difficult to generalize about the experience
- Varied greatly depending on the community
- Correcting myths
- Two-thirds of polygamist men had only two wives at a time
- Divorce and remarriage were readily available
- Women married at young ages during the first decade, older as the society matured (typical of frontier life)
Anti-Polygamy Legislation
- Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act (1862)
- $500 fine and five-year imprisonment
- Poland Law (1874)
- Dismantle Utah’s Judicial System
- 1879 – Supreme Court finds laws constitutional
- Edmunds Act (1882)
- Unlawful cohabitation illegal
- Exclude from jury
- Denied right to vote or hold public office
- Edmunds – Tucker Act (1887)
- Church no longer a corporation
- Not own property, pay rent on own buildings
- Women’s right to vote in Utah removed
- Voting oath to reject plural marriage
- Federal receiver confiscates all Church property over $50,000 not used exclusively for worship
Church Response to Anti-Polygamy legislation
- Leaders go into hiding – 1880s
- Settlements in Canada and Mexico
- Husbands advised to live openly with one wife
- New plural marriages stopped in Utah in 1889
- Supreme Court upholds Edmunds-Tucker Act – May 1890
- Manifesto sustained in General Conference – October 1890
- General amnesty granted by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison – 1893
Wilford Woodruff: “Thus ends the year 1889 and the word of the Prophet Joseph Smith is beginning to be fulfilled that the whole nation would turn against Zion and make war upon the Saints. The nation has never been filled so full of lies against the Saints as today.” (Wilford Woodruff Journal, Dec. 31, 1889 (spelling, punctuation, and capitalization standardized)
Wilford Woodruff: “I want to say to all Israel that the step which I have taken in issuing this manifesto has not been done without earnest prayer before the Lord. I am about to go into the spirit world, like other men of my age. I expect to meet the face of my heavenly Father—the Father of my spirit; I expect to meet the face of Joseph Smith, of Brigham Young, of John Taylor, and of the apostles, and for me to have taken a stand in anything which is not pleasing in the sight of God, or before the heavens, I would rather have gone out and been shot. My life is no better than other men's. I am not ignorant of the feelings that have been engendered through the course I have pursued. But I have done my duty, and the nation of which we form a part must be responsible for that which has been done in relation to this principle.” (Millennial Star, 24 Nov. 1890, p. 739)
The First Manifesto and Official Declaration 1 - located after section 138 in the Doctrine and Covenants.
The Second Manifesto
- Elder B. H. Roberts (Seventy) barred from U.S. House of Representatives (1899)
- Elder Reed Smoot (Apostle) investigated by the U.S. Senate (1903-1907)
- President Joseph F. Smith announces Second Manifesto (April 1904)
- “If any officer or member of the Church shall assume to solemnize or enter into any such marriage he will be deemed in transgression against the Church and will be liable to be dealt with according to the rules and regulations thereof and excommunicated therefrom.”
Ending the Practice
Lorena Eugenia Washburn Larsen: “I could not believe that the Authorities of the Church had given up plural marriage, as it had been called the crowning principal [sic] of the Gospel, and it has been such a sacrifice on the part of many young women to go into that order of marriage…my husband went out and talked with them about the Manifesto. They told him that it was a fact that the principal was dropped by the Church. They said that the first Presidency and the Apostles were all united on it, and it should be practiced no more. My husband came to our tent and told me about it, and my feelings were passed description. I had given into that order of marriage solely for the purpose above mentioned, and because I believed God had commanded his people to do so, and it had been such a sacrifice to enter it and live it as I thought God wanted me to. So I thought about it.
“It seemed impossible that the Lord would go back on a principal which had caused so much sacrifice, heartache and trial before one could conquer ones [sic] carnel [sic] self, and live on that higher plane and love ones [sic] neighbor as ones [sic] self. My husband walked out without saying a word, and as he walked away I thought, oh yes, it is easy for you, you can go home to your other family and be happy with her, and then while I must be like Hager [sic] sent away. My anguish was inexpressible, and a dense darkness took hold of my mind. I thought that if the Lord and the Church Authorities had gone back on the principal, there was nothing to any part of the Gospel. I fancied I would see myself and my children, and many other splendid women and their children turned adrift, and our only purpose in entering it, had been more fully to serve the Lord.
“I sank down on our bedding and wished in my anguish that the earth would open and take me and my children in. The darkness seemed impenetrable. All at once I heard a voice and felt a most powerful presence. The voice said, “Why, this is no more unreasonable than the requirement the Lord made of Abrham [sic] when he commanded him to offer up his son Isaac, and when the Lord sees that you are willing to obey in all things the trial shall be removed. There was a brightness by light which cannot be described which filled my soul and I was so filled with joy and peace, and happiness that I felt that no matter whatever should come to me in all my future life, I could never feel sad again. If the people of the whole world had been gathered together trying with all their power to comfort me they could not compare with the powerful unseen presence which came to me on that occasion.
“As soon as my husband came back I told him what a glorious presence had been there, and what I had heard. He said, ‘knew I couldn’t say a word to comfort you, so I went to a patch of willows and asked the Lord to send a comforter.’ In the trying years which followed, often a glimmer of that same light came to me again.” (Lorena Eugenia Washburn Larsen, BYU Special Collections)
Helen Mar Whitney: “Those who have not the knowledge and assurance that the course which they are pursuing is according to the will of God, cannot endure all these afflictions and persecutions, taking joyfully the spoiling of their goods and even if necessary to suffer death, by the hands of their foes. They will grow weary and faint and fall by the way unless they have unshaken confidence and a perfect knowledge for themselves.
"They cannot make a sacrifice of their character and reputation; and give up their houses, their lands, brothers, sisters, wives and children; counting all things as dross, when compared with the eternal life and exaltation, which our Savior has promised to the obedient; and this knowledge is not obtained without a struggle nor the glory without a sacrifice of all earthly things.
"In the last days (we read) the Lord is to gather together his Saints who have made covenant with Him by sacrifice and each one must know that their sacrifice is accepted as did righteous, Abel and Abraham the father of the faithful. Every Latter-day Saint knows this to be true, and that according to our faith so are our blessings and privileges. (Helen Mar Whitney, A Woman’s View: Helen Mar Whitney’s Reminiscences of Early Church History (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1999), 187.)
Is plural marriage essential for exaltation?
Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “Plural marriage is not essential to salvation or exaltation. Nephi and his people were denied the power to have more than one wife and yet they could gain every blessing in eternity that the Lord ever offered to any people. In our day, the Lord summarized by revelation the whole doctrine of exaltation and predicated it upon the marriage of one man to one woman. (D. & C. 132:1–28.) Thereafter he added the principles relative to plurality of wives with the express stipulation that any such marriages would be valid only if authorized by the President of the Church. (D&C 132:7, 29–66.)
“All who pretend or assume to engage in plural marriage in this day, when the one holding the keys has withdrawn the power by which they are performed, are guilty of gross wickedness.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 578-579 (italics in original))