View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 9

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{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 9
|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 9: Plural Marriage"
|T=The Changing World of Mormonism
|A=Jerald and Sandra Tanner
|<=[[../Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|>=[[../Chapter 10|Chapter 10]]
}}
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{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 9
|H=Response to claims made in The Changing World of Mormonism, "Chapter 9: Plural Marriage"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 205 - The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had a section denouncing polygamy
|L2=Response to claim: 207 - Section 101 was replaced with Section 132 in 1876
|L3=Response to claim: 207 - A revelation on plural marriage given in 1831 was "suppressed" which said that the Indians would become "white and delightsome"
|L4=Response to claim: 208-209 - Spencer Kimball believed that the Indians were becoming a "white and delightsome" people
|L5=Response to claim: 212 - Brigham Young believed that the Indians skin would become white through intermarriage
|L6=Response to claim: 214 - Church leaders did not approve of interracial marriage
|L7=Response to claim: 215 - Oliver Cowdery believed that Joseph had an improper relationship with Fanny Alger
|L8=Response to claim: 219 - Lorenzo Snow said that anyone who had a plural marriage prior to the date of the revelation (July 12, 1843) was living in adultery
|L9=Response to claim: 219 - It is claimed that Mormon leaders say that the 1843 revelation was actually received earlier
|L10=Response to claim: 220 - Brigham Young said that he lived "above the law"
|L11=Response to claim: 220 - Polygamy is forbidden by the Book of Mormon
|L12=Response to claim: 220-221 - Joseph F. Smith and Orson Pratt said that the Book of Mormon forbid polygamy
|L13=Response to claim: 222 - Joseph took wives without his first wife's consent
|L14=Response to claim: 225 - It is claimed that LDS leaders were worried that the missionaries would "take the best women"
|L15=Response to claim: 226 - Heber C. Kimball remarked on the "great sorrow" of plural marriage
|L16=Response to claim: 226 - Brigham Young spoke of the "problems" of plural marriage
|L17=Response to claim: 228 - Brigham Young offered to let any wife go who wanted to
|L18=Response to claim: 230-231 - Joseph and Emma fought about plural marriage
|L19=Response to claim: 231 - Joseph had between 27 to "sixty or more" wives
|L20=Response to claim: 231 - There is a rumor that Emma beat Eliza Snow with a broomstick and caused her to fall down the stairs, preventing her from having Joseph's child
|L21=Response to claim: 232 - Joseph was sealed to a large number of women after his death
|L22=Response to claim: 233 - Brigham Young had "fifty or sixty" wives, and boasted of his ability to obtain more
|L23=Response to claim: 234 - Mormon men believed that they "could have all the wives they wanted." Heber C. Kimball said that in the resurrection, he could have "thousands" of wives
|L24=Response to claim: 236 - Joseph asked for other men's wives, such as the wife of Heber C. Kimball
|L25=Response to claim: 237 - Joseph married Heber C. Kimball's daughter, Helen
|L26=Response to claim: 239 - Joseph married Zina, the wife of Henry Jacobs
|L27=Response to claim: 239 - Brigham Young publicly told Henry Jacobs to find another wife
|L28=Response to claim: 239-240 - Some women who were associated with Joseph claimed that they did not know who the father of their children were
|L29=Response to claim: 243 - Joseph performed a "pretended" marriage for time for Sarah Ann Whitney to Joseph Kingsbury
|L30=Response to claim: 245-246 - The Bible prohibited a man from marrying sisters or mothers and daughters, therefore Mormon polygamy was not Biblical
|L31=Response to claim: 246-247 - Joseph sealed brothers and sisters together
|L32Response to claim: 248 - Brigham said that monogamy was a "fruitful source of prostitution and whoredom"
|L33=Response to claim: 249 - Some Mormons believed that Joseph taught that Adam had two wives
|L34=Response to claim: 249-251 - Early Church leaders taught that Jesus was married to more than one wife
|L35=Response to claim: 258 - Brigham Young said that the "only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
|L36=Response to claim: 258-259 - Polygamy was practiced in secret and denied publicly
|L37=Response to claim: 262-263 - John Taylor stated that he believed in keeping every law except the law against polygamy
|L38=Response to claim: 263 - Brigham Young said the polygamy would never go away
|L39=Response to claim: 270-281 - Polygamy was practiced after the Manifesto was issued
}}
</onlyinclude>		

==Response to claim: 205 - The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had a section denouncing polygamy==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had a section denouncing polygamy.
|authorsources=<br>
#Doctrine and Covenants (1835), Section 101
}}
{{information|This is correct. The section was removed when Section 132 was added.
}}
{{:Question: Why did the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants include a statement of marriage that denied the practice of polygamy at a time when some were actually practicing it?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware that some in the Church were practicing polygamy in 1835 at the time he authored the "Article on Marriage"?}}
{{:Question: Was the practice of polygamy general knowledge among Latter-day Saints in 1835 when the "Article on Marriage" was published?}}

==Response to claim: 207 - Section 101 was replaced with Section 132 in 1876==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Section 101 was replaced with Section 132 in 1876
}}
{{information|The Saints believe in on-going revelation&mdash;Church policy may change from time to time.		
}}

==Response to claim: 207 - A revelation on plural marriage given in 1831 was "suppressed" which said that the Indians would become "white and delightsome" though intermarriage with the Mormons==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
A revelation on plural marriage given in 1831 was "suppressed" which said that the Indians would become "white and delightsome" though intermarriage with the Mormons.
|authorsources=<br>
#Letter from W. W. Phelps to Brigham Young. August 12, 1861
}}
{{misinformation|The revelation is based upon a late recollection from W.W. Phelps, and there is no evidence that it was suppressed, as the Tanners assert.
}}
{{:Question: Did the Church suppress a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1831 which encouraged the implementation of polygamy by intermarriage with the Indians in order to make them a “white and delightsome” people?}}

==Response to claim: 208-209 - Spencer Kimball believed that the Indians were becoming a "white and delightsome" people==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
*It was taught that the skin color of the Indians would change if they joined the Church. For example, Spencer Kimball believed that the Indians were becoming a "white and delightsome" people.
}}
{{information|Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had [[Book_of_Mormon/Textual_changes/%22white%22_changed_to_%22pure%22|edited a Book of Mormon verse]] in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
}}
{{information|The Saints do not believe in [[Church doctrine/Statements by Church leaders|prophetic infallibility]].
|authorsources=<br>
#''Improvement Era'', December 1960, pp.922-23
}}

==Response to claim: 212 - Brigham Young believed that the Indians skin would become white through intermarriage==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young believed that the Indians skin would become white through intermarriage.
}}
{{propaganda|A nineteenth century anti-Mormon work ("''Abominations of Mormonism''") is the only source
|authorsources=<br>
#''The Abominations of Mormonism Exposed'', Cincinnati, 1852, pp.58-59
}}

==Response to claim: 214 - Church leaders did not approve of interracial marriage==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Church leaders did not approve of interracial marriage.		
}}
{{:Question: Is interracial marriage prohibited or condemned within the Church?}}

==Response to claim: 215 - Oliver Cowdery believed that Joseph had an improper relationship with Fanny Alger==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=
|claim=The Changing World of Mormonism
Oliver Cowdery believed that Joseph had an improper relationship with Fanny Alger.
|authorsources=<br>
*Letter written by Oliver Cowdery and recorded by his brother Warren Cowdery;
* ''This source is vague and not much help to the reader.  The actual source is'': Oliver Cowdery to Warren A. Cowdery, "Dear Br. Warren," Far West, Missouri (21 Jan 1838); reproduced in "Letters of Oliver Cowdery." In ''New Mormon Studies CD-ROM'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1998).
}}
{{information|This is correct. Oliver did not accept that idea of plural marriage.
}}
{{:Question: Did some of Joseph Smith's associates believe that Joseph Smith had an affair with Fanny Alger?}}

==Response to claim: 219 - Lorenzo Snow said that anyone who had a plural marriage prior to the date of the revelation (July 12, 1843) was living in adultery==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Lorenzo Snow said that anyone who had a plural marriage prior to the date of the revelation (July 12, 1843) was living in adultery.
|authorsources=<br>
#Temple Lot Case, p.320
}}
{{misinformation|This is a misrepresentation of the source.
}}
{{:Question: What is Lorenzo Snow claimed to have said about plural marriages being adultery prior to 1843?}}
{{:Question: Did Lorenzo Snow state that polygamy was actually adultery prior to 1843?}}
{{:Question: Are the original Temple Lot Case transcripts available online?}}
{{:Question: I've seen Temple Lot court transcripts online. Are these not accurate?}}

==Response to claim: 219 - It is claimed that Mormon leaders say that the 1843 revelation was actually received earlier==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
It is claimed that Mormon leaders say that the 1843 revelation was actually received earlier, but History of the Church says that this was the date the revelation was received.
}}
{{misinformation|The revelation was ''recorded'' on this date, but it is clear that Joseph knew and was teaching it earlier.
|authorsources=<br>
#''History of the Church'' 5:500-501
}}
* Danel W. Bachman, "A Study of the Mormon Practice of Polygamy before the Death of Joseph Smith" (Purdue University, 1975).
* Danel W. Bachman, "New Light on an Old Hypothesis: The Ohio Origins of the Revelation on Eternal Marriage," ''Journal of Mormon History'' 5 (1978): 19–32.
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: 220 - Brigham Young said that he lived "above the law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young said that he lived "above the law."
}}
{{misinformation|Brigham claims he is ''obeying'' the law, while others seek to take away their rights.  He nowhere says he is "above the law."
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=1|start=361|disc=52}}
}}
*{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|1:361}}
{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=1|start=361|disc=52}},
<blockquote>
I am at the defiance of the rulers of the greatest nation on the earth, with the United States all put together, to produce a more loyal people than the Latter-day Saints. Have they, as a people, broken any law? No, they have not. Have the United States? Yes! they have trampled the Constitution under their feet with impunity, and ridden recklessly over all law, to persecute and drive this people. Admit, for argument's sake, that the "Mormon" Elders have more wives than one, yet our enemies never have proved it. If I had forty wives in the United States, they did not know it, and could not substantiate it, neither did I ask any lawyer, judge, or magistrate for them. I live above the law, and so do this people. Do the laws of the United States require us to crouch and bow down to the miserable wretches who violate them? No. The broad law of the whole earth is that every person has the right to enjoy every mortal blessing, so far as he does not infringe upon the rights and privileges of others. It is also according to the acts of every legislative body throughout the Union, to enjoy all that you are capable of enjoying; but you are forbidden to infringe upon the rights, property, wife, or anything in the possession of your neighbor. I defy all the world to prove that we have infringed upon that law. You may circumscribe the whole earth, and pass through every Christian nation, so called, and what do you find? If you tell them a "Mormon" has two wives, they are shocked, and call it dreadful blasphemy; if you whisper such a thing into the ears of a Gentile who takes a fresh woman every night, he is thunderstruck with the enormity of the crime. The vile practice of violating female virtue with impunity is customary among the professed Christian nations of the world; this is therefore no marvel to them, but they are struck with amazement when they are told a man may have more lawful wives than one! What do you think of a woman having more husbands than one? This is not; known to the law, yet it is done in the night, and considered by the majority of mankind to be all right. There are certain governments in the world, that give women license to open their doors and windows to carry on this abominable practice, under the cover of night. Five years ago the census of New York gave 15,000 prostitutes in that city. Is that law? Is that good order? Look at your Constitution, look at the Federal law, look at every wholesome principle, and they tell you that death is at your doors, corruption in your streets, and hell is all open, and gaping wide to inclose you in its fiery vortex. To talk about law and good order while such things exist, makes me righteously angry, Talk not to me about law.<ref>{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=1|start=361|disc=52}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Response to claim: 220 - Polygamy is forbidden by the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Polygamy is forbidden by the Book of Mormon
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{misinformation|The authors ignore the verse which states the conditions under which plural marriage is allowed.}}
{{:Question: Does the Book of Mormon condemn polygamy?}}

==Response to claim: 220-221 - Joseph F. Smith and Orson Pratt said that the Book of Mormon forbid polygamy==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph F. Smith and Orson Pratt said that the Book of Mormon forbid polygamy.
}}
{{misinformation|The authors neglect to provide the answer which their source provides ''on the very next page'': [[Book_of_Mormon_condemns_polygamy#The_Smoot_hearings|Smoot hearings answer]].
|authorsources=<br>
*Journal of Discourses 6:351
*Reed Smoot Case, vol. 1, p.480
}}
{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|6:351}}
{{:Question: Did early Church leaders state that the Book of Mormon condemns polygamy?}}

==Response to claim: 222 - Joseph took wives without his first wife's consent==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph took wives without his first wife's consent.
}}
{{misinformation|Emma was aware of some of these marriages.
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph hide his plural marriages from Emma, his first wife?}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}
{{:Question: What possible modern lessons can we learn from Emma and Joseph's struggle with plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: 225 - It is claimed that LDS leaders were worried that the missionaries would "take the best women"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
It is claimed that LDS leaders were worried that the missionaries would "take the best women."
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=6|start=256|disc=45}}
}}
{{misinformation|Internal contradiction with p. 263: [[#263|The authors]] quote Heber C. Kimball in the ''Deseret News'', and attribute his remarks to Brigham Young.  They don't tell the reader about the ''very next sentence'', which calls their interpretation of Heber's remarks above into question: "I wish more of our young men would take to themselves wives of the daughters of Zion, and not wait for us old men to take them all; go-ahead upon the right principle, young gentlemen, and God bless you for ever and ever and make you fruitful, that we may fill the mountains and then the earth with righteous inhabitants.  That is my prayer, and that is my blessing upon all the saints and upon your posterity after you, for ever: Amen."<ref>{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=6|start=256|disc=45}}</ref>
}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|6:256}}
{{:Question: Was Heber C. Kimball concerned that missionaries would "take all the best" convert women as plural wives before they returned to Salt Lake City?}}

==Response to claim: 226 - Heber C. Kimball remarked on the "great sorrow" of plural marriage==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Heber C. Kimball remarked on the "great sorrow" of plural marriage.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|disc=35|vol=4|start=178}}
}}
{{propaganda|The authors spin Kimball's words to meet their needs.
}}
{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|4:178}}
{{:Question: Did early Church leaders "admit" that there were many difficulties with plural marriage that caused "problems" and "great sorrow"?}}

==Response to claim: 226 - Brigham Young spoke of the "problems" of plural marriage==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young spoke of the "problems" of plural marriage.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=37|vol=9|start=195}}
}}
{{propaganda|Plural marriage, without a doubt, created problems. However, the authors spin Brigham Young's quote to suit their needs.
}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|9:195}}
{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=37|vol=9|start=195}},
<blockquote>
I will now pass to my third text. I can say with confidence, that there is no people on the face of this earth that pay more respect to females than do this people. I know of no community where females enjoy the privileges they do here. If any one of them is old and withered and so dried up that you have to put weights on her skirts to keep her from blowing away, she is so privileged that she is in everybody's dish or platter—her nose is everywhere present—and still she will go home and tell her husband that she is slighted. Here we see the marked effect of the curse that was in the beginning placed upon woman, their desire is to their husbands all the time. It is also written, "and he shall rule over you." Now put the two together. Nobody else must be spoken to, no other body must be danced with, no other lady must sit at the head of the table with her husband.
A few years ago one of my wives, when talking about wives leaving their husbands said, "I wish my husband's wives would leave him, every soul of them except myself." That is the way they all feel, more or less, at times, both old and young. The ladies of seventy, seventy-five, eighty, and eighty-five years of age are greeted here with the same cheerfulness as are the rest. All are greeted with kindness, respect, and gentleness, no matter whether they wear linsey or silks and satin, they are all alike respected and beloved according to their behaviour; at least they are so far as I am concerned.
It may be all well enough if a woman can attain faith to throw off the curse, but there is one thing she cannot away with, at least not so far as I am concerned, and that is, "and he shall rule over thee." I can do that by causing my women to do as they have a mind to; and at the same time they do not know what is going on. When I say rule, I do not mean with an iron hand, but merely to take the lead—to lead them in the path I wish them to walk in. They may be determined not to answer my will, but they are doing it all the time without knowing it. Kindness, love, and affection are the best rod to use upon the refractory. Solomon is said to have been the wisest man that ever lived, and he is said to have...<ref>{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=37|vol=9|start=195}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Response to claim: 228 - Brigham Young offered to let any wife go who wanted to==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young offered to let any wife go who wanted to.
|authorsources=<br>
*{{JDfairwiki|vol=4|start=55|end=57|author=Brigham Young|disc=10}} 
*''Deseret News'', vol. 6, pp.235-36
}}
{{information|This is correct. Brigham would not require ''any'' woman to remain in ''any'' marriage against her will.  Utah had some of the most liberal divorce laws in the Union.  Many polygamous women who divorced a husband entered into polygamy again. <ref>Eugene E. Campbell and Bruce L. Campbell, "Divorce among Mormon Polygamists: Extent and Explanations," ''Utah Historical Quarterly'' 46/1 (Winter 1978): 5; citing Box containing nine folders, numbered 1 to 917, plus several ledgers, Archives Division, Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.</ref>
}}

==Response to claim: 230-231 - Joseph and Emma fought about plural marriage==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph and Emma fought about plural marriage.
|authorsources=<br>
*Journal and autobiography, Joseph Lee Robinson
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=57-58}}
}}
{{information|This is true.
}}
{{:Question How did Emma Hale Smith react to Joseph's practice of plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: 231 - Joseph had between 27 to "sixty or more" wives==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph had between 27 to "sixty or more" wives.
}}
{{propaganda|The higher number is exaggerated.  Many women were sealed to Joseph after his death, but he was probably married to around 33 wives in life. Relying on Brodie's figures is foolish; her standard of evidence was low, and she has been shown to be wrong in many cases.
|authorsources=<br>
*Andrew Jenson, ''Historical Record'', pp.233, 234
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=434-65}}
*''Western Humanities Review'', vol. 10, pp.232-33
}}

==Response to claim: 231 - There is a rumor that Emma beat Eliza Snow with a broomstick and caused her to fall down the stairs, preventing her from having Joseph's child==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
There is a rumor that Emma beat Eliza Snow with a broomstick and caused her to fall down the stairs, preventing her from having Joseph's child.
}}
{{propaganda|The story is implausible, and most historians have judged it to be false.
|authorsources=<br>
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=57-58}}
*''Intimate Disciple, a Portrait of Willard Richards'', 1957, p.407
}}
{{:Question: Was a pregnant Eliza R. Snow pushed down the stairs by a furious Emma, resulting in a miscarriage?}}
{{:Question: If the story of Emma pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs is true, why did Eliza not make use of it?}}

==Response to claim: 232 - Joseph was sealed to a large number of women after his death==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph was sealed to a large number of women after his death.
}}
{{information|This is certainly true, and may explain some of the underlying theology of plural marriage&mdash;sealing the faithful into one extended family.  The Widtsoe reference explains this, but the authors do not mention it:
::Women no longer living, whether in Joseph's day or later have also been sealed to the Prophet for eternity. The request for such unions has usually come from relatives or friends who would have their loved one share eternity with the Prophet, rather than with anyone else. Unscrupulous and unreliable writers have even added such marriages to the list of Joseph's wives.
|authorsources=<br>
*''Joseph Smith and Polygamy'', p.47
*Widtsoe, ''Evidences and Reconciliations'', Single Volume Edition, 1960, pp.342-43
}}

==Response to claim: 233 - Brigham Young had "fifty or sixty" wives, and boasted of his ability to obtain more==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young had "fifty or sixty" wives, and boasted of his ability to obtain more.
|authorsources=<br>
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=8|start=178|disc=46}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=34|vol=5|start=210}}
}}
{{propaganda|The authors spin Brigham's words to suit their needs.
}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|5:210}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|8:178}}
{{:Question: Did Brigham Young boast about his ability to get more wives even though he was married to 50-60 women?}}

==Response to claim: 234 - Mormon men believed that they "could have all the wives they wanted." Heber C. Kimball said that in the resurrection, he could have "thousands" of wives==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Mormon men believed that they "could have all the wives they wanted." Heber C. Kimball said that in the resurrection, he could have "thousands" of wives.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=4|pages=361|disc=40|start=209}}
}}
{{propaganda|Kimball was illustrating a point, not bragging that he could have all the wives he wanted.
}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|4:209}}
{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=4|pages=361|disc=40|start=209}},
<blockquote>
I have known men from Nauvoo, men who were there worth $150 or $200,000, come here with nothing but a handkerchief, containing a change of shirts, under their arms. They left their property there; and what we did not leave in hell's kitchen we left at Devil's Gate. The devil has a gate where he may catch everything that is not to do us good, but that is calculated to create a craving appetite for that which is not here....
Supposing that I have a wife or a dozen of them, and she should say, "You cannot be exalted without me," and suppose they all should say so, what of that? The never will affect my salvation one particle. Whose salvation will they affect? Their own. They have got to live their religion, serve their God, and do right, as well as myself. Suppose that I lose the whole of them before I go into the spirit world, but that I have been a good, faithful man all the days of my life, and lived my religion, and had favour with God, and was kind to them, do you think I will be destitute there? No, the Lord says there are more there than there are here. They have been increasing there; they increase there a great deal faster than we do here, because there is no obstruction. They do not call upon the doctors to kill their offspring; there are no doctors there, that is, if they are there, their occupation is changed, which proves that they are not there, because they have ceased to be doctors. In this world very many of the doctors are studying to diminish the human family.
In the spirit world there is an increase of males and females, there are millions of them, and if I am faithful all the time, and continue right along with brother Brigham, we will go to brother Joseph and say, "Here we are brother Joseph; we are here ourselves are we not, with none of the property we possessed in our probationary state, not even the rings on our fingers?" He will say to us, "Come along, my boys, we will give you a good suit of clothes. Where are your wives?" "They are back yonder; they would not follow us." "Never mind," says Joseph, "here are thousands, have all you want." Perhaps some do not believe that, but I am just simple enough to believe it.
Help brother Brigham along, help brother Heber, brother Daniel, the Twelve, and every other good person. I am looking for the day, and it is close at hand, when we will have a most heavenly time, one that will be romantic, one with all kinds of ups and downs, which is what I call romantic, for it will occupy in full all the time, so that we may never become idle, nor sleepy, nor cease being active in the things of God, which will prevent dotage.<ref>{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=4|pages=361|disc=40|start=209}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Response to claim: 236 - Joseph asked for other men's wives, such as the wife of Heber C. Kimball==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph asked for other men's wives, such as the wife of Heber C. Kimball
}}
{{misinformation|The request was a test to Heber and Vilate. Joseph did not actually take Heber's wife.
|authorsources=<br>
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Jedediah M. Grant|vol=2|start=13|end=14|disc=2}}
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=70-72}}
*''Life of Heber C. Kimball'', pp.333-35
}}
{{:Question: How did Heber and Vilate Kimball receive a divine manifestation regarding plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: 237 - Joseph married Heber C. Kimball's daughter, Helen==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph married Heber C. Kimball's daughter, Helen.
|authorsources=<br>
#''Life of Heber C. Kimball'', pp.339
}}
{{information|Joseph was sealed to Helen, although she continued to live with her parents and there is no indication that the marriage was ever consummated.
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}
{{:Question: Was Helen Mar Kimball's marriage to Joseph Smith ever consummated?}}
{{:Question: Did Helen Mar Kimball "confess" to having marital relations with Joseph?}}
{{:Question: What were Helen Mar Kimball's views on plural marriage?}}
{{:Source:Helen Mar Kimball:Representative Women of Deseret:I have encouraged and sustained my husband in the celestial order of marriage}}

==Response to claim: 239 - Joseph married Zina, the wife of Henry Jacobs==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph married Zina, the wife of Henry Jacobs.
|authorsources=<br>
#	
}}
{{misinformation|Joseph was sealed to Zina for eternity in the next life, however, Zina continued to live with her earthly husband Henry.
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph be sealed to the wife of someone who was not only married to someone else, but pregnant with her husband's child?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith and Brigham Young steal Henry Jacobs' family?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Zina D. Huntington know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: 239 - Brigham Young publicly told Henry Jacobs to find another wife==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young publicly told Henry Jacobs to find another wife.
}}
{{propaganda|Historical evidence does not support this claim.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=443}}
}}
{{:Question: Did Brigham Young tell Henry Jacobs in front of hundreds of people that he needed to find another wife?}}

==Response to claim: 239-240 - Some women who were associated with Joseph claimed that they did not know who the father of their children were==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Some women who were associated with Joseph claimed that they did not know who the father of their children were.
}}
{{disinformation|The source for this is only Ann Eliza Young, who was two years old in Nauvoo at Joseph's death! She was never "associated with Joseph" in any capacity.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Young:Wife No. 19|pages=70-71}}
}}

==Response to claim: 243 - Joseph performed a "pretended" marriage for time for Sarah Ann Whitney to Joseph Kingsbury==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph performed a "pretended" marriage for time for Sarah Ann Whitney to Joseph Kingsbury.
|authorsources=<br>
#''The History of Joseph C. Kingsbury''
}}
{{information|Joseph was sealed to Sarah Ann.  Kingsbury agreed to act as a "surrogate" husband to spare Sarah the difficulty of refusing suitors while plural marriage was still a secret in Nauvoo.
}}
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head08 Plural marriage and secrecy]
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sarah Ann Whitney know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: 245-246 - The Bible prohibited a man from marrying sisters or mothers and daughters, therefore Mormon polygamy was not Biblical==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
The Bible prohibited a man from marrying sisters or mothers and daughters, therefore Mormon polygamy was not Biblical.
|authorsources=<br>
#''Millennial Star'' vol. 19, pp.473-74
}}
{{misinformation|Latter-day Saint plural marriage did not rely on biblical authority or interpretation (though they used biblical parallels to explain and understand the command which they believed they had received from God via a modern prophet.) Marrying two sisters was quite frequent, possibly because sisters had already learned to get along together, which made for more harmonious plural families.  One researcher noted:
<blockquote>
Marriage to the wife's sister, defined as incest only by Anglican canon law, is the only form of polygamous marriage of the [potentially 'incestuous] categories...that occurs in significant numbers. <ref>Jessie L. Embry, "Ultimate Taboos: Incest and Mormon Polygamy," ''Journal of Mormon History'' 18/1 (Spring 1992): 93–113.</ref>
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Does the Bible prohibit polygamous marriages involving a mother and daughter?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith being sealed to mothers, daughters and sisters violate a biblical prohibition?}}

==Response to claim: 246-247 - Joseph sealed brothers and sisters together==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Joseph sealed brothers and sisters together.
}}
{{misinformation|The authors do nothing to explain this practice. They want it to appear bizarre or repulsive. Joseph seems to have used marriage in the way that we know use "sealing."  Thus, a "marriage" did not always imply a sexual or marital relationship. The authors hide the fact that a long list of living ''and deceased'' persons are part of the sealing.  This is not a marriage, but a sealing into eternal family relationships.
|authorsources=<br>
#Joseph Smith's diary, October 26, 1843
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith perform marriages between brothers and sisters?}}

==Response to claim: 248 - Brigham said that monogamy was a "fruitful source of prostitution and whoredom"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham said that monogamy was a "fruitful source of prostitution and whoredom"
}}
{{misinformation|Brigham was pointing out that Christian critics of the Church, while attacking the LDS for the practice of polygamy, were tolerating and even indulging in moral wickedness. The authors fail to point out that Brigham was also discussing the evidence that Protestant reformers realized that polygamy was not unbiblical.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=11|start=128|disc=19}}
}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|11:128}}
{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=11|start=128|disc=19}},
<blockquote>
We are in the hands of the Almighty as a people, and He is able to take care of us. We entertain no antipathies against any person or community upon this earth; but we would give eternal life to all, if they would receive it at our hands—we would preach the truth to them and administer to them the ordinances of the gospel. But, it is said, you believe in polygamy, and we cannot receive the gospel from your hands. We have been told a great many times that polygamy is not according to Christianity. The Protestant reformers believed the doctrine of polygamy. Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, one of the principal lords and princes of Germany, wrote to the great reformer Martin Luther and his associate reformers, anxiously imploring them to grant unto him the privilege of marrying a second wife, while his first wife, the princess, was yet living. He urged that the practice was in accordance with the Bible, and not prohibited under the Christian dispensation. Upon the reception of this letter, Luther, who had denounced the Romish church for prohibiting the marriage of priests, and who favored polygamy, met in council with the principal Reformers to consult upon the letter which had been received from the Landgrave. They wrote him a lengthy letter in reply, approving of his taking a second wife, saying:—
"There is no need of being much concerned for what men will say, provided all goes right with conscience. So far do we approve it, and in those circumstances only by us specified, for the gospel hath neither recalled nor forbid what was permitted in the law of Moses with respect to the marriage. Jesus Christ has not changed the external economy, but added justice only, and life everlasting for reward. He teaches the true way of obeying God, and endeavours to repair the corruption of nature."
This letter was written at Wittemburg, the Wednesday after the feast of St. Nicholas, 1539, and was signed by Martin Luther, Philip Melancthon, Martin Bucer and five other Reformers, and was written in Melancthon's own handwriting.
The marriage was solemnised on the 4th of March, 1540, by the Rev. Denis Melanther, chaplain to Philip. Philip's first wife was so anxious "that the soul and body of her dearest spouse should run no further risk, and that the glory of God might be increased," that she freely consented to the match.
This letter of the great Reformer's was not a hasty conclusion on their part that polygamy was sanctioned by the gospel, for in the year 1522, seventeen years before they wrote this letter, Martin Luther himself, in a sermon which he delivered at Wittemburg for the reformation of marriage, clearly pronounced in favor of polygamy.
These transactions are published in the work entitled "History of the variations of the Protestant churches."
Ladies and gentlemen, I exhort you to think for yourselves, and read your Bibles for yourselves, get the Holy Spirit for yourselves, and pray for yourselves, that your minds may be divested of false traditions and early impressions that are untrue. Those who are acquainted with the history [128]
of the world are not ignorant that polygamy has always been the general rule and monogamy the exception. Since the founding of the Roman empire monogamy has prevailed more extensively than in times previous to that. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout all Christendom, and which has been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious. Polygamy did not have its origin with Joseph Smith, but it existed from the beginning. So far as I am concerned as an individu[a]l, I did not ask for it; I never desired it; and if I ever had a trial of my faith in the world, it was when Joseph Smith revealed that doctrine to me; and I had to pray incessantly and exercise faith before the Lord until He revealed to me the truth, and I was satisfied. I say this at the present time for the satisfaction of both saint and sinner. Now, here are the commandments of the Lord, and here are the wishes of wicked men, which shall we obey? It is the Lord and them for it.
I pray that the Spirit of Truth may find its way to each heart, that we may all love the truth more than error, and cling to that which is good that we may all be saved in the kingdom of our God. Amen.<ref>{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=11|start=128|disc=19}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Response to claim: 249 - Some Mormons believed that Joseph taught that Adam had two wives==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Some Mormons believed that Joseph taught that Adam had two wives.
}}
{{information|Some Latter-day Saints no doubt believed this. However, in this case Naisbitt was simply explaining that there were traditions that taught the Adam had two wives, and he note that "it is said" that Joseph taught this as well. Naisbitt's point, however, was simply to illustrate the "marriage was ordained of God."
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=H. W. Naisbitt|vol=26|disc=13|start=115}}
}}
{{JDfairwiki|author=H. W. Naisbitt|vol=26|disc=13|start=115}},
<blockquote>
The Scriptures give an account simply of the woman Eve; declaring that this name was given her of Adam, because she was "the mother of all living;" but outside of biblical record there has been handed down from time immemorial the idea that Adam had two wives, the narrators go so far, or rather so near perfecting the tradition so as to give their names, Lilith being said to be the name of one as Eve was the name of the other, and while it may be difficult to harmonize all the Rabbinical and Talmudic versions of this matter, it is said that Joseph Smith the Prophet taught that Adam had two wives. Without however, assuming or basing anything upon this theory, or upon this tradition—which may be mythical in its character—it is nevertheless, very evident that marriage was ordained of God...<ref>{{JDfairwiki|author=H. W. Naisbitt|vol=26|disc=13|start=115}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Response to claim: 249-251 - Early Church leaders taught that Jesus was married to more than one wife==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Early Church leaders taught that Jesus was married to more than one wife.
|authorsources=<br>
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Jedediah M. Grant|vol=1|disc=49|start=345|end=346}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Orson Hyde|vol=4|disc=49|start=259|end=260}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Orson Hyde|vol=2|disc=34|start=210}}
*The Seer, p. 172"
}}
{{misinformation|Very few Church leaders taught this, and it was never official doctrine.
}}
{{:Question: Did early Mormon leaders believe that Jesus Christ was a polygamist?}}
{{:Source:Penrose:Peculiar Questions Briefly Answered:Improvement Era:Sept 1912:We do not know anything about Jesus Christ being married}}

==Response to claim: 258 - Brigham Young said that the "only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young said that the "only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy."
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=41|vol=11|start=269}}
}}
{{misinformation|The authors do not note that Brigham qualified this statement for those who did not practice plural marriage.
}}
* The authors are repeating themselves&mdash;they've already done this quote mining on [[../Chapter 2#29|p. 29]].
*{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|11:269}}
{{:Question: Did Brigham Young believe that one could not enter the Celestial Kingdom unless they were a polygamist?}}

==Response to claim: 258-259 - Polygamy was practiced in secret and denied publicly==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Polygamy was practiced in secret and denied publicly.
|authorsources=<br>
*''Times and Seasons'', vol. 3, p.909
*''History of the Church'' 6:354-55
*''History of the Church'' 6:411
*''Times and Seasons'', March 15, 1844, vol. 5, p.474
*''Millennial Star'', vol. 3, p.74"
}}
{{information|During the Nauvoo period, this is correct.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith ever publicly attempt to teach the doctrine of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph keep the doctrine of plural marriage private?}}

==Response to claim: 262-263 - John Taylor stated that he believed in keeping every law except the law against polygamy==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
John Taylor stated that he believed in keeping every law except the law against polygamy.
}}
{{information|The Saints regarded polygamy as a religious belief which harmed no one, and which they were thus entitled to practice. Modern legal scholars have recognized that the legal treatment given the Saints was probably improper.
*{{BYUS1|author=Edwin B. Firmage|article=The Judicial Campaign against Polygamy and the Enduring Legal Questions|vol=27|num=3|date=Summer 1987|start=91–113}}
*Stephen Eliot Smith, “The ‘Mormon Question’ Revisited: Anti-polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause” (LL.M. thesis, Harvard Law School, 2005). 
|authorsources=<br>
#{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|vol=20|disc=41|start=317}}
}}

==Response to claim: 263 - Brigham Young said the polygamy would never go away==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Brigham Young said the polygamy would never go away.
|authorsources=<br>
#''Deseret News'', November 7, 1855
}}
{{misinformation|The author's get the source of the quote wrong, and then misinterpret what it means.
}}
{{:Question: Did some Church leaders teach that plural marriage was a practice that would persist forever?}}

==Response to claim: 270-281 - Polygamy was practiced after the Manifesto was issued==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
Polygamy was practiced after the Manifesto was issued.
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{information|This is true.
}}
{{:Source:Gospel Topics:The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage:The Second Manifesto}}

<!-- ====289====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=Modern Church leaders teach that polygamy is not essential for exaltation.
}}
* {{Fundamentalism}}
* [[Polygamy/Requirement for exaltation|Polygamy: a requirement for exaltation?]]
|authorsources=<br>
#''Mormon Doctrine'', 1958, p.523
}} -->

{{endnotes sources}}




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