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Plural wives of Joseph Smith
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The plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Important introductory material on plural marriage available here
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Contents
- 1 The plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
- 2 Plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
- 3 Plural wives of Joseph Smith
- 3.1 Children of Joseph Smith ruled out by DNA Evidence: Oliver Buell
- 3.2 John Hyrum Buell, an unlikely child
- 3.3 Did Prescindia Buell not know who was the father of her son?
- 3.4 Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "Joseph Smith’s Pre-Nauvoo Reputation--Presendia Huntington Buell", by Brian C. Hales
- 3.5 Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "Were There Other Polygamous Marriages Prior to Nauvoo?—Presendia Huntington Buell", by Brian C. Hales
- 3.6 Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "After Louisa Beaman, Joseph Smith Seeks Almost Exclusively “Eternity Only” Sealings", by Brian C. Hales
- 3.6.1 Sarah Kingsley Howe Cleveland
- 3.6.2 Agnes Moulton Coolbrith
- 3.6.3 Elizabeth Davis Goldsmith Brackenbury Durfee
- 3.6.4 Esther Dutcher
- 3.6.5 Hannah S. Ells
- 3.6.6 Olive Grey Frost
- 3.6.7 Desdemona Catlin Wadsworth Fulmmer
- 3.6.8 Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris
- 3.6.9 Elvira Annie Cowles Holmes
- 3.6.10 Sarah Maryetta Kingsley Howe
- 3.6.11 Zina and polyandry
- 3.6.12 Zina and polyandry
- 3.6.13 Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case
- 3.6.14 Child by Joseph ruled out by DNA testing
- 3.6.15 Divine manifestations to Zina Huntington
- 4 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?
- 5 Did Joseph Smith and Brigham Young steal Henry Jacobs' family?
- 5.1 Zina had refused Joseph's suit three times and chosen to marry Henry, but then decided to be sealed to Joseph
- 5.2 Zina stated that God had prepared her mind for Joseph's teachings even before she had heard them
- 5.3 Henry Jacobs stood as proxy for Zina's post-martyrdom sealing to Joseph, and her marriage for time to Brigham Young
- 6 What did the husband of Zina D. Huntington know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
- 7 Did Brigham Young tell Henry Jacobs in front of hundreds of people that he needed to find another wife?
- 7.1 The immediate problem with such a statement is that there is no contemporary corroboration for it from among the "hundreds" who supposedly observed it
- 7.2 Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "Zina Huntington", by Brian C. Hales
- 7.3 Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "After Louisa Beaman, Joseph Smith Seeks Almost Exclusively “Eternity Only” Sealings", by Brian C. Hales
- 7.3.1 Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde
- 7.3.2 Almera Johnson
- 7.3.3 Helen Mar Kimball
- 7.3.4 Helen Mar Kimball
- 7.3.5 Maria Lawrence
- 7.3.6 Sarah Lawrence
- 7.3.7 Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
- 7.3.8 Malissa Lott
- 7.3.9 Sylvia Sessions Lyon
- 7.3.10 Martha McBride
- 7.3.11 Emily Partridge
- 7.3.12 Emily Partridge
- 7.3.13 Rhonda Richards
- 7.3.14 Ruth Vose Sayers
- 7.3.15 Patty Bartlett Sessions
- 7.3.16 Delcena Diadamia Johnson Sherman
- 7.3.17 Mary Heron Snider
- 7.3.18 Eliza R. Snow
- 7.3.19 Eliza R. Snow
- 7.3.20 Lucy Walker
- 7.3.21 Sarah Ann Whitney
- 7.3.22 Sarah Ann Whitney
- 7.3.23 Nancy Maria Winchester
- 7.3.24 Flora Ann Woodworth
- 7.3.25 Fanny Young
Plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Topics
Plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Summary: List of Joseph's plural wives, with links to critical claims related to specific plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members
Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God.Did Joseph send men on missions to steal their wives?
Fanny Alger
Summary: What do we know about Joseph Smith's first plural wife, Fanny Alger? Joseph met her in early 1833 when she stayed at the Smith home as a house-assistant of sorts to Emma (such work was common for young women at the time). There are no first-hand accounts of their relationship (from Joseph or Fanny), nor are there second-hand accounts (from Emma or Fanny's family). All that we do have is third hand accounts, most of them recorded many years after the events.
The age of Joseph Smith's wives.
Summary: How old were Joseph Smith's plural wives?Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "An Overview of Joseph’s Plural Marriage to Fanny Alger", by Brian C. Hales
Summary: Researching the relationship between Joseph Smith and Fanny is difficult because of limitations in available documentation. Only nineteen manuscripts have been identified in the historical record discussing the occurrence either firsthand or secondhand. Unfortunately they contain contradictory and ambiguous statements.
Louisa Beaman
- Louisa Beaman
Life and Character |
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Youth |
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Revelations and the Church |
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Prophetic Statements |
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Society |
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Plural marriage (polygamy) |
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Death |
Plural wives of Joseph Smith
Prescindia Lathrop Huntington Buell and her husband Norman joined the Church in 1836. By 1839, Norman had left the Church, and Prescindia noted that "the Lord gave me strength to Stand alone & keep the faith amid heavy persecution.” “[I]n 1841 I entered into the New Everlasting Covenant," said Prescindia, "[I] was sealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet and Seer, and to the best of my ability I have honored plural marriage, never speaking one word against the principle… Never in my life, in this kingdom, which is 44 years, have I doubted the truth of this great work.”
Children of Joseph Smith ruled out by DNA Evidence: Oliver Buell
Summary: Prescindia Lathrop Huntington Buell and her husband Norman joined the Church in 1836. By 1839, Norman had left the Church, and Prescindia noted that "the Lord gave me strength to Stand alone & keep the faith amid heavy persecution.
John Hyrum Buell, an unlikely child
Summary: The case of Oliver Buell is an interesting one, since author Fawn Brodie was insistent that he was Joseph's son. She based part of this argument on a photograph of Buell, which revealed a face which she claimed was "overwhelmingly on the side of Joseph's paternity." Oliver's potential relationship to Joseph, however, has been ruled out by DNA evidence.
Did Prescindia Buell not know who was the father of her son?
Summary: The case of Oliver Buell is an interesting one, since author Fawn Brodie was insistent that he was Joseph's son. She based part of this argument on a photograph of Buell, which revealed a face which she claimed was "overwhelmingly on the side of Joseph's paternity." Oliver's potential relationship to Joseph, however, has been ruled out by DNA evidence.
Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "Joseph Smith’s Pre-Nauvoo Reputation--Presendia Huntington Buell", by Brian C. Hales
Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "Were There Other Polygamous Marriages Prior to Nauvoo?—Presendia Huntington Buell", by Brian C. Hales
Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "After Louisa Beaman, Joseph Smith Seeks Almost Exclusively “Eternity Only” Sealings", by Brian C. Hales
(Click here for full article) </onlyinclude>
Sarah Kingsley Howe Cleveland
- Sarah Kingsley Howe Cleveland
Agnes Moulton Coolbrith
- Agnes Moulton Coolbrith
Elizabeth Davis Goldsmith Brackenbury Durfee
- Elizabeth Davis Goldsmith Brackenbury Durfee
Esther Dutcher
- Esther Dutcher
Hannah S. Ells
- Hannah S. Ells
Olive Grey Frost
- Olive Grey Frost
Desdemona Catlin Wadsworth Fulmmer
- Desdemona Catlin Wadsworth Fulmmer
Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris
- Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris
Elvira Annie Cowles Holmes
- Elvira Annie Cowles Holmes
Sarah Maryetta Kingsley Howe
- Sarah Maryetta Kingsley Howe
Zina and polyandry
Summary: In 1839, at age 18, Zina arrived with her parents in Nauvoo after being driven out of Missouri. Faithful LDS missionary Henry Jacobs courted her during 1840–41. At the same time, Joseph Smith had taught Zina the doctrine of plural marriage, and thrice asked her to marry him. She declined each time, and she and Henry were wed 7 March 1841.- Analysis of Zina and Henry Jacobs—Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young by Allen Wyatt (Link)
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Zina and polyandry
Summary: Zina was a woman who was sealed to Joseph while she had a living husband.Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case
Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages.Child by Joseph ruled out by DNA testing
Summary: DNA research in 2005 confirmed Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs's son Zebulon was the son of Henry Bailey Jacobs.Divine manifestations to Zina Huntington
Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God.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?
Joseph asked Zina three times to marry him before she married Henry
In 1839, at age 18, Zina arrived with her parents in Nauvoo after being driven out of Missouri. Faithful LDS missionary Henry Jacobs courted her during 1840–41. At the same time, Joseph Smith had taught Zina the doctrine of plural marriage, and thrice asked her to marry him. She declined each time, and she and Henry were wed 7 March 1841.[1] Zina and Henry were married by John C. Bennett, then mayor of Nauvoo. They had invited Joseph to perform the ceremony, but Bennett stepped in when Joseph did not arrive:
…Zina asked the Prophet to perform the marriage. They went to the Clerk’s office and the Prophet did not arrive, so they were married by John C. Bennett. When they saw Joseph they asked him why he didn’t come, and he told them the Lord had made it known to him that she was to be his Celestial wife.[2]
Zina and Henry were aware of Joseph's plural marriage teachings and his proposal to Zina
Family tradition holds, then, that Zina and Henry were aware of Joseph's plural marriage teachings and his proposal to Zina. While this perspective is late and after-the-fact, it is consistent with the Jacobs' behaviour thereafter. Zina's family also wrote that Henry believed that "whatever the Prophet did was right, without making the wisdom of God's authorities bend to the reasoning of any man." [3]
On 27 October 1841, Zina was sealed to Joseph Smith by her brother, Dimick Huntington. She was six months pregnant by Henry, and continued to live with him.
Did Joseph Smith and Brigham Young steal Henry Jacobs' family?
Zina had refused Joseph's suit three times and chosen to marry Henry, but then decided to be sealed to Joseph
Joseph Smith and Brigham Young's "mistreatment" of Henry and their "theft" of his family have received a great deal of publicity, thanks to late 19th century anti-Mormon sources, and Fawn Brodie increased their cachet for a 20th century audience.[4] For present purposes, we will focus on Zina. She had refused Joseph's suit three times, and chosen to marry Henry. Why did she decide to be sealed to Joseph?
Zina stated that God had prepared her mind for Joseph's teachings even before she had heard them
When interrogated by a member of the RLDS Church, Zina refused to be drawn into specifics. She made her motivations clear, and explained that God had prepared her mind for Joseph's teachings even before she had heard them:
- Q. "Can you give us the date of that marriage with Joseph Smith?"
- A. "No, sir, I could not."
- Q. "Not even the year?"
- A. "No, I do not remember. It was something too sacred to be talked about; it was more to me than life or death. I never breathed it for years. I will tell you the facts. I had dreams—I am no dreamer but I had dreams that I could not account for. I know this is the work of the Lord; it was revealed to me, even when young. Things were presented to my mind that I could not account for. When Joseph Smith revealed this order [Celestial marriage] I knew what it meant; the Lord was preparing my mind to receive it." [5]
Henry Jacobs stood as proxy for Zina's post-martyrdom sealing to Joseph, and her marriage for time to Brigham Young
Henry was to stand as proxy for Zina's post-martyrdom sealing to Joseph, and her marriage for time to Brigham Young. He and Zina separated soon thereafter, and Henry was soon gone on one of his many missions for the Church.[6]
Zina herself clearly explains the basis for her choice:
…when I heard that God had revealed the law of Celestial marriage that we would have the privilege of associating in family relationships in the worlds to come, I searched the scriptures and by humble prayer to my Heavenly Father I obtained a testimony for myself that God had required that order to be established in his Church.[7] Faced with questions from her RLDS interviewer that she felt exceeded propriety, Zina became evasive. She finally terminated the interview by saying, "Mr. Wight, you are speaking on the most sacred experiences of my life…."[8]
What did the husband of Zina D. Huntington know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?
Zina married Henry Jacobs in 1840, and was sealed to Joseph Smith for eternity in 1841
Zina married Henry Jacobs in 1840, and was sealed to Joseph Smith for eternity in 1841,
Be it remembered that on this first day of May A.D. eighteen sixty nine before me Elias Smith Probate Judge for Said County personally appeared, Zina Diantha Huntington ^Young^ who was by me Sworn in due form of law, and upon her oath Saith, that on the twenty-Seventh day of October A.D. 1841, at the City of Nauvoo, County of Hancock, State of Illinois, She was married or Sealed to Joseph Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by Dimick B. Huntington, a High Priest in Said Church, according to the laws of the same; regulating marriage; In the presence of Fanny Maria Huntington.[9]
There are many stories and accusations related to the marriage of Zina and Henry, and her sealing to Joseph. For details regarding each of these allegations, see Brian and Laura Hales, "Zina Diantha Huntington," josephsmithspolygamy.org off-site.
See also: Allen Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," FAIR Conference, 2006.
Did Brigham Young tell Henry Jacobs in front of hundreds of people that he needed to find another wife?
The immediate problem with such a statement is that there is no contemporary corroboration for it from among the "hundreds" who supposedly observed it
Allen Wyatt explains how this story originated,
The Charge by William Hall
Critics of the early Saints have, often with glee, latched onto William Hall’s story and used it as a prime example of ecclesiastical abuse, pitting a powerful Brigham Young against a penniless and ill Henry Jacobs, with Zina as some kind of prize for the winner of their imagined contest. It is easy to understand how one might see things that way; it is certainly the way that William Hall portrayed the episode:
At a place called, by the Mormons, Pisgah, in Iowa, as they were passing through to Council Bluffs, Brigham Young spoke in this wise, in the hearing of hundreds: He said it was time for men who were walking in other men’s shoes to step out of them. "Brother Jacobs," he says, "the woman you claim for a wife does not belong to you. She is the spiritual wife of brother Joseph, sealed up to him. I am his proxy, and she, in this behalf, with her children, are my property. You can go where you please, and get another, but be sure to get one of your own kindred spirit."37
The immediate problem with such a statement is that there is no contemporary corroboration for it. Hall states that Brigham’s statement was made in the hearing of hundreds of people, yet there are no other diaries that indicate such a statement or, indeed, any statement from Brigham to Henry. The statement itself would need to have been made sometime between Henry’s arrival at Mt. Pisgah (May 18) and his departure on his mission (approximately June 1).
For instance, Patty Bartlett Sessions, who was a detailed journal writer, arrived at Mt. Pisgah in the same company as the Jacobs’ and left Mt. Pisgah on June 2, 1846. None of her diary entries for the period refer to any such statement by Brigham Young, and it is safe to assume that she would have been among the "hundreds" referenced by William Hall. In fact, Sessions continues to refer to Zina as either "Zina Jacobs" or "sister Jacobs" as late as June 3, 1847,38 which reference would seem unlikely if she had heard Brigham claim Zina (and her children) as his property and exile Henry.
The diary of William Huntington records only one semi-public and one fully public meeting between May 18 and the first of June. There was a prayer meeting for selected individuals held on May 31,39 and a meeting in the grove near Huntington’s house on June 1 that turned into a "special conference" at which "considerable business" was done.40 There is, however, no record in his diary of any denouncing of his son-in-law by Brigham.[10]
For more information, see Allen Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," FAIR presentation transcript, 2006. FAIR link
Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "Zina Huntington", by Brian C. Hales
Joseph Smith's Polygamy: "After Louisa Beaman, Joseph Smith Seeks Almost Exclusively “Eternity Only” Sealings", by Brian C. Hales
Notes
- ↑ Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 263–264.
- ↑ Allen L. Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," in FAIR Conference (Salt Lake City, Utah: FAIR, 1st draft, 2006).
- ↑ Oa J. Cannon, "History of Henry Bailey Jacobs," (L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University, n.d.), 1; cited by Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," (emphasis added). See also Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy, 44; Van Wagoner, "Mormon Polyandry in Nauvoo," 78; Compton, In Sacred Loneliness, 80.
- ↑ These charges are examined in detail (here).
- ↑ Cannon, "History of Henry Bailey Jacobs," 5; cited in Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy, 44.
- ↑ See here for a more in-depth analysis of attacks on Brigham and Joseph regarding Zina and Henry.
- ↑ Interview of John Wight [RLDS] with Zina D.H. Young, October 1, 1898, "Evidence from Zina D. Huntington-Young," Saints’ Herald, 52 (11 January 1905), 29; cited in Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young".
- ↑ Autobiography of Zina D. Young, no date, part of the Zina Card Brown Family Collection (1806-1972), LDS Church Archives, MS 4780, box 2, folder 17, cited by Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young,"; John Wight with Zina D.H. Young, 1 October 1898, "Evidence from Zina D. Huntington-Young," Saints Herald, 52 (11 January 1905): 28.
- ↑ Joseph F. Smith Affidavit Books, 1:5, CHL.
- ↑ Allen Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," 2006 FAIR Conference.
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde
- Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde
- Polyandrous wife (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Very unlikely to have had child(ren) fathered by Joseph—
Brief Summary: One child's death certificate rules Joseph out as the father; the other has chronology problems which suggest that Joseph is not the father. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Did Mrs. Hyde not know whether Orson or Joseph fathered her child? (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Did Joseph send men on missions to steal their wives? (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Polyandrous wife (Click here for full article)
Almera Johnson
- Almera Johnson
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Helen Mar Kimball
Helen Mar Kimball
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Brief Summary: Critics argue that Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women are evidence that he was immoral, perhaps even a pedophile. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Was Helen's marriage consummated?—
Brief Summary: Helen was the youngest plural wife of Joseph Smith, Jr. It is claimed by some that the marriage was consummated, despite a complete lack of supporting evidence. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. Helen was not called, and thus likely did not have a consummated relationship with the prophet. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Maria Lawrence
- Maria Lawrence
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Brief Summary: Joseph Smith was appointed the guardian of two daughters, Maria and Sarah Lawrence, and their inheritance. He later married them in plural marriage. The evidence shows that Joseph Smith faithfully discharged his legal duties, despite the claims made by some nineteeth-century and modern critics. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Sarah Lawrence
- Sarah Lawrence
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Brief Summary: Joseph Smith was appointed the guardian of two daughters, Maria and Sarah Lawrence, and their inheritance. He later married them in plural marriage. The evidence shows that Joseph Smith faithfully discharged his legal duties, despite the claims made by some nineteeth-century and modern critics. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
Malissa Lott
- Malissa Lott
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Sylvia Sessions Lyon
- Sylvia Sessions Lyon
Martha McBride
- Martha McBride
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Emily Partridge
- Emily Partridge
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Emily Partridge
- Eliza Partridge
Rhonda Richards
- Rhonda Richards
Ruth Vose Sayers
- Ruth Vose Sayers
Patty Bartlett Sessions
- Patty Bartlett Sessions
Delcena Diadamia Johnson Sherman
- Delcena Diadamia Johnson Sherman
Mary Heron Snider
- Mary Heron Snider
Eliza R. Snow
Eliza R. Snow
- Emma pushing Eliza down the stairs—
Brief 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. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Claimed miscarriage of child by Joseph—
Brief Summary: TWo women are claimed to have had miscarriages of a child by Joseph Smith. There are serious problems with accepting either account as probable. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Emma pushing Eliza down the stairs—
Lucy Walker
- Lucy Walker
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Sarah Ann Whitney
Sarah Ann Whitney
- Did Joseph write secret "love letters" to any of his polygamous wives?—
Brief Summary: It is claimed that on 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? (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Did Joseph write secret "love letters" to any of his polygamous wives?—
Nancy Maria Winchester
- Nancy Maria Winchester
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Brief Summary: Critics argue that Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women are evidence that he was immoral, perhaps even a pedophile. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. Nancy was not called, and thus likely did not have a consummated relationship with the prophet. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Little known—
Brief Summary: We know little about this marriage, other than the fact that it occurred. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Flora Ann Woodworth
- Flora Ann Woodworth
Fanny Young
- Fanny Young