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| {{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith|subject=What was Emma's reaction to Joseph's practice of polygamy?|summary=Critics contend that Emma Hale Smith either did not approve of the Prophet Joseph Smith having plural wives or know of the revelation concerning celestial marriage(s).}} | | {{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith|subject=What was Emma's reaction to Joseph's practice of polygamy?|summary=Critics contend that Emma Hale Smith either did not approve of the Prophet Joseph Smith having plural wives or know of the revelation concerning celestial marriage(s).}} |
| {{SummaryItem2|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith/Eliza R. Snow and the stairs|subject=Eliza R. Snow and the stairs|summary=Some charge that Eliza R. Snow, one of Joseph's plural wives, was pregnant by Joseph. According to the claim, a furious Emma pushed Eliza down the stairs, resulting in a miscarriage.}} | | {{SummaryItem2|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith/Eliza R. Snow and the stairs|subject=Eliza R. Snow and the stairs|summary=Some charge that Eliza R. Snow, one of Joseph's plural wives, was pregnant by Joseph. According to the claim, a furious Emma pushed Eliza down the stairs, resulting in a miscarriage.}} |
− | {{SummaryItem2|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith/Emma to be annihilated|subject=Emma to be annihilated|In the revelation D&C 132 Emma was promised annihilation if she failed to 'abide this commandment.'}} | + | {{SummaryItem2|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith/Emma to be annihilated|subject=Emma to be annihilated|summary=In the revelation D&C 132 Emma was promised annihilation if she failed to 'abide this commandment.'}} |
| {{SummaryItem2|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith/Sealing|subject=Sealing of Emma to Joseph}} | | {{SummaryItem2|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith/Sealing|subject=Sealing of Emma to Joseph}} |
| {{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Children of polygamous marriages|subject=Did Joseph have any children through polygamous marriages?|summary=Critics claim that Joseph Smith fathered children with some of his plural wives, and that he covered up the evidence of pregnancies. They also claim that Joseph Smith had intimate relations with other men’s wives to whom he had been sealed, and that children resulted from these unions. DNA testing has so far proven these allegations to be false.}} | | {{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Children of polygamous marriages|subject=Did Joseph have any children through polygamous marriages?|summary=Critics claim that Joseph Smith fathered children with some of his plural wives, and that he covered up the evidence of pregnancies. They also claim that Joseph Smith had intimate relations with other men’s wives to whom he had been sealed, and that children resulted from these unions. DNA testing has so far proven these allegations to be false.}} |
Revision as of 00:21, 4 January 2011
- REDIRECTTemplate:Test3
Important introductory material on plural marriage available here
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Questions
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Critics attack Joseph Smith for his introduction and practice of polygamy. These attacks usually focus on arguing that:
- Polygamy is unchristian or unbiblical
- Joseph hid the truth about the practice of polygamy
- Polygamy was illegal, and therefore improper
- Polygamy sprung from Joseph's carnal desires
- Joseph desired to marry young women
- Joseph married women who were already married to other men (polyandry).
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here
==
Detailed Analysis
==
Plural marriage is a complex topic; the reader is encouraged to consult the sources under Further Reading for more thorough treatments of these and other issues.
Implementation of plural marriage
Summary: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?
Summary: D&C 132 tells Joseph and others to "do the works of Abraham." What are the "works of Abraham?"
Summary: The criticism that polygamy is irreligious appeals to western sensibilities which favor monogamy, and argues that polygamy is inconsistent with biblical Christianity or (ironically) the Book of Mormon itself.
Summary: There is extensive, unequivocal evidence that polygamous relationships were condoned under various circumstances by biblical prophets, despite how uncomfortable this might make a modern Christian. Elder Orson Pratt was widely viewed as the victor in a three-day debate on this very point with Reverend John P. Newman, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, in 1870.
[1]
Summary: Critics claim that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young admitted that the practice of polygamy meant they were "free to go beyond the normal 'bounds'" and "the normal rules governing social interaction had not applied to" Joseph.
Critics' claimed motivations for Joseph implementing plural marriage
Summary: Neutral observers have long understood that this attack is probably the weakest of them all. One might reasonably hold the opinion that Joseph was wrong, but in the face of the documentary evidence it is laughable to argue that he and his associates were insincere or that they were practicing their religion only for power and to satisfy carnal desires. Those who insist that “sex is the answer” reveal more about their own limited perspective than they do of the minds of the early Saints.
Summary: Some critics charge that Joseph Smith had youthful struggles with immoral actions. They claim that these are what eventually led him to teach the doctrine of plural marriage.
Keeping plural marriage a secret
Summary: It is true that Joseph did not always tell others about plural marriage. He did, however, make some attempt to teach the doctrine to the Saints. It is thus important to realize that the public preaching of polygamy—or announcing it to the general Church membership, thereby informing the public by proxy—was simply not a feasible plan. Critics of Joseph's choice want their audience to ignore the danger to him and the Saints.
Summary: Polygamy was certainly declared illegal during the Utah-era anti-polygamy crusade, and was arguably illegal under the Illinois anti-bigamy statutes. This is hardly new information, and Church members and their critics knew it. Modern members of the Church generally miss the significance of this fact, however: the practice of polygamy was a clear case of civil disobedience.
Summary: Critics claim that in an 18 August 1842 Joseph Smith wrote a “love letter” to Sarah Ann Whitney requesting a secret rendezvous or "tryst." Joseph had been sealed to Sarah Ann three weeks prior to this time. What does this letter actually say?
Entering into plural marriage
Summary: Critics argue that Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women are evidence that he was immoral, perhaps even a pedophile.
Summary: Were women locked in a room while Joseph attempted to persuade them?
Complex plural marriages
Consequences of plural marriage
Summary: Critics contend that Emma Hale Smith either did not approve of the Prophet Joseph Smith having plural wives or know of the revelation concerning celestial marriage(s).
Summary: Critics claim that Joseph Smith fathered children with some of his plural wives, and that he covered up the evidence of pregnancies. They also claim that Joseph Smith had intimate relations with other men’s wives to whom he had been sealed, and that children resulted from these unions. DNA testing has so far proven these allegations to be false.
Other issues
Summary: Critics announce that Joseph "sealed" brothers and sisters together, perhaps hoping that readers will conclude that brothers and sisters were thus married and engaging in incestuous relationships.
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Answer
==
Plural marriage was perhaps the greatest challenge to the early members of the Church. Critics are anxious to avoid putting the choices of early members in context, in an effort to make the early members look like reprobates or dupes. In doing so, they hope to discourage those who hear their version of events from even considering whether these men were true prophets of God.
==
Notes
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- [note] Orson Pratt and John Philip Newman, “Does the Bible Sanction Polygamy?” Deseret News, 12–14 August 1874.
- [note] Bernard Shaw, The Future of Political Science in America; an Address by Mr. Bernard Shaw to the Academy of Political Science, at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, on the 11th. April, 1933 (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1933) as cited in Richard Vetterli, Mormonism Americanism and Politics (Salt Lake City: Ensign Publishing, 1961), 461–462.
- [note] Brigham Young, "Plurality of Wives—The Free Agency of Man," (14 July 1855) Journal of Discourses 3:266-266.
- [note] Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy, 89.
Further reading
FairMormon Answers articles
Template:PolygamyWiki
FairMormon web site
Template:PolygamyFAIR
External links
Template:PolygamyLinks
Printed material
Template:PolygamyPrint