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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Nauvoo Polygamy/Censorship
< Criticism of Mormonism | Books | Nauvoo Polygamy
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| Mind reading | A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Nauvoo Polygamy A work by author: George D. Smith
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Censorship
When lack of evidence constitutes evidence
The author has a recurring theme of emphasizing information suppression and censorship within Church records. It is assumed that evidence once existed in official histories, but that any "official accounts" of plural marriage have been "redacted." (p. 356)
The author is careful to note that none of Joseph's plural wives are mentioned in the official History of the Church. (p. xiii) Apparently not confident that we understand that point, the author emphasizes that History of the Church says nothing about Nauvoo on the day of Louisa Beaman's marriage to Joseph (p. 57), nor of the sealing to Agnes Smith (p. 88), nor any "hint of a wedding" to Sarah Ann Whitney. (p. 137) Apparently still not certain that the point has been made, the author continues to wearily hammer it home, noting that "[a]s usual, the History of the Church made no mention of Sylvia [Sessions Lyon] on February 8, 1842…" (p. 99) and that it "predictably gives no notice" of various other weddings. (p. 185) Because there is a lack of such information, the author postulates that all mention of plural marriage has "been expurgated" from Church historical records. (p. xiii-xiv)
Suppression versus openness
Moreover, the author assumes that there were alternating cycles of suppression and openess. "The cyclical nature of this suppression of information, first in Illinois and later in Utah, left a brief window in Mormon history from which most of the documentation has been recovered." (p. xiv) He seems privy to the details of these cycles, noting that "[e]fforts to suppress the story of Nauvoo until the 1852 announcement [of polygamy in Utah] restricted the breadth and depth of the records that were kept. (p. 356)