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Plural marriage/Introduction
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Mormonism and polygamy: Introductory remarks
Plural marriage was implemented by Joseph Smith in the mid-1830s. It was introduced to a limited circle in Nauvoo prior to the Prophet's death in 1844. It became public in 1852, and was practiced openly until 1890, when President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto publicly discontinuing the Church's encouragement of the practice. In 1904, President Joseph F. Smith issued the Second Manifesto, which made polygamy a sin liable to excommunication.
Present day Church leaders have been clear that it is not Church doctrine that plural marriage is required for exaltation. Furthermore, we have no revealed knowledge on the extent (if any) of plural marriage in the post mortal state:
Historical evidence demonstrates that the nineteenth century Church members who entered into plural marriages--both men and women--were virtually all reluctant, and did so only on the basis of religious conviction. Many women and their families reported divine manifestations that convinced them that the command to enter plural marriage was of God.