FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Nauvoo Polygamy/Preface: Difference between revisions
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__NOTOC__ | __NOTOC__ | ||
=Claims made in Preface= | =Claims made in Preface= | ||
====flyleaf==== | ====flyleaf==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*The book claims that Bishop Edwin Woolley married a plural wife without having her first divorce her legal husband. | *The book claims that Bishop Edwin Woolley married a plural wife without having her first divorce her legal husband. | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Polygamy/Remarrying without civil divorce]] | *[[Polygamy/Remarrying without civil divorce]] | ||
*[[../../Presentism]] | *[[../../Presentism]] | ||
*{{GLS-Nauvoo Polygamy-FARMS}} | *{{GLS-Nauvoo Polygamy-FARMS}} | ||
*{{GDS-See also|5|345}} | *{{GDS-See also|5|345}} | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided | *No source provided | ||
}} | |||
<!-- ====ix==== | <!-- ====ix==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Was Joseph inspired by Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries? | *Was Joseph inspired by Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries? | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[../../Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries]] | *[[../../Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Egypt}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Egypt}} | ||
}} --> | |||
====ix==== | ====ix==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Did Joseph propose a "tryst" with his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney? | *Did Joseph propose a "tryst" with his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney? | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Joseph Smith | *[[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter]] | ||
*{{GLS-Nauvoo Polygamy-FARMS}} | *{{GLS-Nauvoo Polygamy-FARMS}} | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*Joseph Smith to "Brother and Sister, [Newel K.] Whitney, and &c. [Sarah Ann,] Nauvoo, Illinois, August 18, 1842, Joseph Smith Collections, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Salt Lake City, Utah | *Joseph Smith to "Brother and Sister, [Newel K.] Whitney, and &c. [Sarah Ann,] Nauvoo, Illinois, August 18, 1842, Joseph Smith Collections, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Salt Lake City, Utah | ||
*Full text of the letter may be viewed at [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letter_from_Joseph_Smith_to_the_Whitneys_(18_August_1842) Letter from Joseph Smith to the Whitneys (18 August 1842)] (Wikisource) | *Full text of the letter may be viewed at [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letter_from_Joseph_Smith_to_the_Whitneys_(18_August_1842) Letter from Joseph Smith to the Whitneys (18 August 1842)] (Wikisource) | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Love_letters_Whitney}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Love_letters_Whitney}} | ||
}} | |||
====ix==== | ====ix==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*The point is made that Joseph was age 36, versus Sarah Ann Whitney at age 17. | *The point is made that Joseph was age 36, versus Sarah Ann Whitney at age 17. | ||
| | |response= | ||
*The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages. | *The author commonly exploits the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentism_(literary_and_historical_analysis) presentist fallacy] in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages. | ||
*[[Polygamy book/Age of wives|Age of wives]] | *[[Polygamy book/Age of wives|Age of wives]] | ||
*[[../../Presentism]] | *[[../../Presentism]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
* No source provided | * No source provided | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Age_wives}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Age_wives}} | ||
}} | |||
====ix==== | ====ix==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*The book presents Joseph's letter to Sarah Whitney as analogous to Napoleon's passionate love letter to Josephine. | *The book presents Joseph's letter to Sarah Whitney as analogous to Napoleon's passionate love letter to Josephine. | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Joseph Smith | *[[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter]] | ||
*{{GLS-Nauvoo Polygamy-FARMS}} | *{{GLS-Nauvoo Polygamy-FARMS}} | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*Author's opinion. | *Author's opinion. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Love_letters_Whitney}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Love_letters_Whitney}} | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Womanizing and romance}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Womanizing and romance}} | ||
}} | |||
====x==== | ====x==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Did Joseph have a "predilection" to "take an interest in more than one woman?" | *Did Joseph have a "predilection" to "take an interest in more than one woman?" | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Joseph Smith | *[[Joseph Smith/Polygamy]] | ||
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
*[[../../Romance]] | *[[../../Romance]] | ||
*[[../../Mind reading]] | *[[../../Mind reading]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*Author's opinion. | *Author's opinion. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Womanizing and romance}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Womanizing and romance}} | ||
}} | |||
====x==== | ====x==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*The author posits that Napoleon's Egyptian findings "lit a fire in Smith that inspired even the language of his religious prose." | *The author posits that Napoleon's Egyptian findings "lit a fire in Smith that inspired even the language of his religious prose." | ||
| | |response= | ||
*The author provides no evidence for this claim, aside from the Book of Mormon's use of the term "Reformed Egyptian." | *The author provides no evidence for this claim, aside from the Book of Mormon's use of the term "Reformed Egyptian." | ||
<!-- * [[../../Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries]] --> | <!-- * [[../../Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries]] --> | ||
* [[../../Mind reading]] | * [[../../Mind reading]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Egypt}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Egypt}} | ||
}} | |||
====xi==== | ====xi==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*{{AuthorQuote|"Little did Napoleon dream that by unearthing the Egyptian past, he would provide the mystery language of a new religion."}} | *{{AuthorQuote|"Little did Napoleon dream that by unearthing the Egyptian past, he would provide the mystery language of a new religion."}} | ||
| | |response= | ||
*This is simply the author's opinion. | *This is simply the author's opinion. | ||
<!-- *[[../../Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries]] --> | <!-- *[[../../Napoleon's Egyptian discoveries]] --> | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*Author's opinion. | *Author's opinion. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Egypt}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Egypt}} | ||
}} | |||
<!--====xi==== | <!--====xi==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
| | |claim= | ||
*"Using Old Testament polygamy as a model" | |||
|response= | |||
*NOTE | *NOTE | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
}}--> | |||
====xii==== | ====xii==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*{{AuthorQuote|"Beyond [Joseph's] quest for female companionship...."}} | *{{AuthorQuote|"Beyond [Joseph's] quest for female companionship...."}} | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[../../Mind reading]] | *[[../../Mind reading]] | ||
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*Author's opinion. | *Author's opinion. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Womanizing and romance}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Womanizing and romance}} | ||
}} | |||
====xii==== | ====xii==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*{{AuthorQuote|"...Smith utilized plural marriage to create a byzantine structure of relationships intended for successive worlds."}} | *{{AuthorQuote|"...Smith utilized plural marriage to create a byzantine structure of relationships intended for successive worlds."}} | ||
| | |response= | ||
* There is no evidence that Joseph intended the relationship structure to be "byzantine." He ''did'' however, want all believers connected into one family. | * There is no evidence that Joseph intended the relationship structure to be "byzantine." He ''did'' however, want all believers connected into one family. | ||
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
}} | |||
====xii==== | ====xii==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*After the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' was destroyed, was Joseph arrested for "destroying a local press?" | *After the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' was destroyed, was Joseph arrested for "destroying a local press?" | ||
| | |response= | ||
*{{HistoricalError}} The destruction of the press was a decision ordered by Joseph as mayor with the approval of the Nauvoo city council. Joseph was charged with riot because of the press' destruction, released on bail, and offered to pay a fine if necessary. He was rearrested on a capital charge of treason. | *{{HistoricalError}} The destruction of the press was a decision ordered by Joseph as mayor with the approval of the Nauvoo city council. Joseph was charged with riot because of the press' destruction, released on bail, and offered to pay a fine if necessary. He was rearrested on a capital charge of treason. | ||
* [[Nauvoo Expositor]] | * [[Nauvoo Expositor]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Expositor}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Expositor}} | ||
}} | |||
====xii==== | ====xii==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*The book claims that it is not known whether or not Joseph's wife Emma ''consented'' to plural marriages, and that this "remains a mystery," although she is known to have "sent away" at least five of Joseph's plural wives. | *The book claims that it is not known whether or not Joseph's wife Emma ''consented'' to plural marriages, and that this "remains a mystery," although she is known to have "sent away" at least five of Joseph's plural wives. | ||
| | |response= | ||
*{{HistoricalError}} This is not a mystery. We know Emma consented to at least four marriages. | *{{HistoricalError}} This is not a mystery. We know Emma consented to at least four marriages. | ||
*[[Joseph Smith | *[[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
}} | |||
====xiii==== | ====xiii==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*None of Joseph's plural wives are mentioned in ''History of the Church''. | *None of Joseph's plural wives are mentioned in ''History of the Church''. | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Necessary_for_salvation}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Necessary_for_salvation}} | ||
}} | |||
====xiii==== | ====xiii==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*{{AuthorQuote|"...today, in official Mormon circles, Smith's granting of favors to chosen followers, allowing them to take extra women into the home, is rarely mentioned."}} | *{{AuthorQuote|"...today, in official Mormon circles, Smith's granting of favors to chosen followers, allowing them to take extra women into the home, is rarely mentioned."}} | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | ||
}} | |||
====xiii-xiv==== | ====xiii-xiv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Has all mention of plural marriage "been expurgated" from Church historical records? | *Has all mention of plural marriage "been expurgated" from Church historical records? | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | ||
}} | |||
====xiv==== | ====xiv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Did it become "difficult to access" Church records regarding polygamy after the 1890 Manifesto was issued? | *Did it become "difficult to access" Church records regarding polygamy after the 1890 Manifesto was issued? | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | ||
}} | |||
====xiv==== | ====xiv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*{{AuthorQuote|"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."}} | *{{AuthorQuote|"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."}} | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | ||
}} | |||
====xiv==== | ====xiv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*{{AuthorQuote|"because the history of polygamy in Nauvoo was never officially rewritten, even during the period of openness, Joseph Smith's initiation of the practice has remained in an historical penumbra to this day."}} | *{{AuthorQuote|"because the history of polygamy in Nauvoo was never officially rewritten, even during the period of openness, Joseph Smith's initiation of the practice has remained in an historical penumbra to this day."}} | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | ||
}} | |||
====xiv==== | ====xiv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Joseph "courted and eloped with his first wife." | *Joseph "courted and eloped with his first wife." | ||
| | |response= | ||
*''Nauvoo Polygamy'' mentions that Joseph and Emma eloped whenever their marriage is mentioned. Perhaps this is intended to demonstrate Joseph's disregard for authority or propriety in all romantic matters. | *''Nauvoo Polygamy'' mentions that Joseph and Emma eloped whenever their marriage is mentioned. Perhaps this is intended to demonstrate Joseph's disregard for authority or propriety in all romantic matters. | ||
*[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | *[[../../Loaded and prejudicial language]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Eloped}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Eloped}} | ||
}} | |||
====xiv==== | ====xiv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*The author claims that the topic of polygamy was already on Joseph's mind as early as the 1820s. | *The author claims that the topic of polygamy was already on Joseph's mind as early as the 1820s. | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Psychobiographical analysis of | *[[Joseph Smith/Psychobiographical analysis of]] | ||
*[[../../Mind reading]] | *[[../../Mind reading]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Early knowledge}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Early knowledge}} | ||
}} | |||
====xv==== | ====xv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*{{AuthorQuote|"...these same polygamists continued marrying to the point that they had acquired an average of nearly six wives per family. This model became the blueprint for forty years of Utah polygamy." | *{{AuthorQuote|"...these same polygamists continued marrying to the point that they had acquired an average of nearly six wives per family. This model became the blueprint for forty years of Utah polygamy." | ||
| | |response= | ||
*{{InternalContradiction|p. 289: "the typical Utah polygamist whose roots in the principle extended back to Nauvoo, had between three and four wives."}}<br>[[Prevalence of polygamy]] | *{{InternalContradiction|p. 289: "the typical Utah polygamist whose roots in the principle extended back to Nauvoo, had between three and four wives."}}<br>[[Prevalence of polygamy]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
*{{HistoricalError}} | *{{HistoricalError}} | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Stats}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Stats}} | ||
}} | |||
====xv==== | ====xv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*"suppressed history" | *"suppressed history" | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | ||
}} | |||
====xv==== | ====xv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Nauvoo "a more or less insignificant river town" | *Nauvoo "a more or less insignificant river town" | ||
| | |response= | ||
*{{InternalContradiction|p. 2: Nauvoo was "a bustling Mississippi River town with several thousand inhabitants." And, ultimately only Chicago was a larger city in all of Illinois.{{ref|p2fn1}}}} | *{{InternalContradiction|p. 2: Nauvoo was "a bustling Mississippi River town with several thousand inhabitants." And, ultimately only Chicago was a larger city in all of Illinois.{{ref|p2fn1}}}} | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
*{{HistoricalError}} | *{{HistoricalError}} | ||
}} | |||
====xv==== | ====xv==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*"sources which somehow survived both neglect and contempt so that we are able to know both the facts of the matter and the behind-the-scenes human emotions" | *"sources which somehow survived both neglect and contempt so that we are able to know both the facts of the matter and the behind-the-scenes human emotions" | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[Censorship and revision | *[[Church history/Censorship and revision]] | ||
*[[../../Censorship]] | *[[../../Censorship]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Censorship}} | ||
}} | |||
====xvi==== | ====xvi==== | ||
| | {{IndexClaim | ||
|claim= | |||
*Mormon "grandparents considered [polygamy] requisite for heaven." | *Mormon "grandparents considered [polygamy] requisite for heaven." | ||
| | |response= | ||
*[[The only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy | *[[Polygamy/The only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy]] | ||
*[[Polygamy | *[[Polygamy/Requirement for exaltation|Required for exaltation?]] | ||
| | |authorsources= | ||
*No source provided. | *No source provided. | ||
{{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Necessary_for_salvation}} | {{CriticalWorks:Smith:Nauvoo_Polygamy:See_also:Necessary_for_salvation}} | ||
}} | |||
=Endnotes= | =Endnotes= | ||
Revision as of 02:36, 5 February 2010
A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: George D. Smith
|
Chapter 1 |
Claims made in Preface
flyleaf
Claim
- The book claims that Bishop Edwin Woolley married a plural wife without having her first divorce her legal husband.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided
Response
- Polygamy/Remarrying without civil divorce
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Presentism
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
ix
Claim
- Did Joseph propose a "tryst" with his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney?
Author's source(s)
- Joseph Smith to "Brother and Sister, [Newel K.] Whitney, and &c. [Sarah Ann,] Nauvoo, Illinois, August 18, 1842, Joseph Smith Collections, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Salt Lake City, Utah
- Full text of the letter may be viewed at Letter from Joseph Smith to the Whitneys (18 August 1842) (Wikisource)
Whitney "love letter" (edit)
Response
- Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
ix
Claim
- The point is made that Joseph was age 36, versus Sarah Ann Whitney at age 17.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided
Ages of wives (edit)
Response
- The author commonly exploits the presentist fallacy in the matter of Joseph's wives' ages.
- Age of wives
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Presentism
ix
Claim
- The book presents Joseph's letter to Sarah Whitney as analogous to Napoleon's passionate love letter to Josephine.
Author's source(s)
- Author's opinion.
Whitney "love letter" (edit)
Womanizing & romance (edit)
Response
- Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Whitney letter
- Gregory L. Smith, A review of Nauvoo Polygamy:...but we called it celestial marriage by George D. Smith. FARMS Review, Vol. 20, Issue 2. (Detailed book review)
x
Claim
- Did Joseph have a "predilection" to "take an interest in more than one woman?"
Author's source(s)
- Author's opinion.
Womanizing & romance (edit)
Response
- Joseph Smith/Polygamy
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Romance
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
x
Claim
- The author posits that Napoleon's Egyptian findings "lit a fire in Smith that inspired even the language of his religious prose."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Egyptian influence? (edit)
Response
- The author provides no evidence for this claim, aside from the Book of Mormon's use of the term "Reformed Egyptian."
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
xi
Claim
- Author's quote: "Little did Napoleon dream that by unearthing the Egyptian past, he would provide the mystery language of a new religion."
Author's source(s)
- Author's opinion.
Egyptian influence? (edit)
Response
- This is simply the author's opinion.
xii
Claim
- Author's quote: "Beyond [Joseph's] quest for female companionship...."
Author's source(s)
- Author's opinion.
Womanizing & romance (edit)
Response
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Mind reading
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
xii
Claim
- Author's quote: "...Smith utilized plural marriage to create a byzantine structure of relationships intended for successive worlds."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- There is no evidence that Joseph intended the relationship structure to be "byzantine." He did however, want all believers connected into one family.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
xii
Claim
- After the Nauvoo Expositor was destroyed, was Joseph arrested for "destroying a local press?"
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Nauvoo Expositor (edit)
Response
- History unclear or in error The destruction of the press was a decision ordered by Joseph as mayor with the approval of the Nauvoo city council. Joseph was charged with riot because of the press' destruction, released on bail, and offered to pay a fine if necessary. He was rearrested on a capital charge of treason.
- Nauvoo Expositor
xii
Claim
- The book claims that it is not known whether or not Joseph's wife Emma consented to plural marriages, and that this "remains a mystery," although she is known to have "sent away" at least five of Joseph's plural wives.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Response
- History unclear or in error This is not a mystery. We know Emma consented to at least four marriages.
- Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith
xiii
Claim
- None of Joseph's plural wives are mentioned in History of the Church.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Necessary for salvation? (edit)
Response
xiii
Claim
- Author's quote: "...today, in official Mormon circles, Smith's granting of favors to chosen followers, allowing them to take extra women into the home, is rarely mentioned."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
xiii-xiv
Claim
- Has all mention of plural marriage "been expurgated" from Church historical records?
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
xiv
Claim
- Did it become "difficult to access" Church records regarding polygamy after the 1890 Manifesto was issued?
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
xiv
Claim
- Author's quote: "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."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
xiv
Claim
- Author's quote: "because the history of polygamy in Nauvoo was never officially rewritten, even during the period of openness, Joseph Smith's initiation of the practice has remained in an historical penumbra to this day."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
xiv
Claim
- Joseph "courted and eloped with his first wife."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Emma and Joseph Eloped (edit)
Response
- Nauvoo Polygamy mentions that Joseph and Emma eloped whenever their marriage is mentioned. Perhaps this is intended to demonstrate Joseph's disregard for authority or propriety in all romantic matters.
- Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language
xiv
Claim
- The author claims that the topic of polygamy was already on Joseph's mind as early as the 1820s.
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Early preoccupation with polygamy (edit)
Response
xv
{{IndexClaim |claim=
- Author's quote: "...these same polygamists continued marrying to the point that they had acquired an average of nearly six wives per family. This model became the blueprint for forty years of Utah polygamy."
xv
Claim
- "suppressed history"
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
xv
Claim
- Nauvoo "a more or less insignificant river town"
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
- History unclear or in error
Response
- Internal contradiction: p. 2: Nauvoo was "a bustling Mississippi River town with several thousand inhabitants." And, ultimately only Chicago was a larger city in all of Illinois.[1]
xv
Claim
- "sources which somehow survived both neglect and contempt so that we are able to know both the facts of the matter and the behind-the-scenes human emotions"
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Censorship of Church History (edit)
Response
xvi
Claim
- Mormon "grandparents considered [polygamy] requisite for heaven."
Author's source(s)
- No source provided.
Necessary for salvation? (edit)
Response
Endnotes
- [note] Leonard J. Arrington and Davis Bitton, The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-Day Saints, 2nd ed. (New York: Knopf : distributed by Random House/University of Illinois Press, [1979] 1992), 69. ISBN 0252062361. off-site
Further reading
| Template code | Inserts this reference | Click to edit |
|---|---|---|
| {{To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition}} | To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition | edit |
| {{To learn more box:''Under the Banner of Heaven''}} | To learn more about responses to: Under the Banner of Heaven | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Price}} | To learn more about responses to: Robert Price | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon}} | To learn more about responses to: Ankerberg and Weldon | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Ashamed of Joseph}} | To learn more about responses to: Ashamed of Joseph | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Moser}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Moser | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Beckwith and Parrish}} | To learn more about responses to: Beckwith and Parrish | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Benjamin Park}} | To learn more about responses to: Benjamin Park | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith}} | To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Joseph Smith | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon}} | To learn more about responses to: Bible versus Book of Mormon | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: ''Big Love''}} | To learn more about responses to: Big Love | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Brett Metcalfe}} | To learn more about responses to: Brett Metcalfe | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Bill Maher}} | To learn more about responses to: Bill Maher | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Bruce H. Porter}} | To learn more about responses to: Bruce H. Porter | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Carol Wang Shutter}} | To learn more about responses to: Carol Wang Shutter | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: CES Letter}} | To learn more about responses to: CES Letter | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Charles Larson}} | To learn more about responses to: Charles Larson | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Christopher Nemelka}} | To learn more about responses to: Christopher Nemelka | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Colby Townshed}} | To learn more about responses to: Colby Townshed | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Contender Ministries}} | To learn more about responses to: Contender Ministries | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Crane and Crane}} | To learn more about responses to: Crane and Crane | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: D. Michael Quinn}} | To learn more about responses to: D. Michael Quinn | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Dan Vogel}} | To learn more about responses to: Dan Vogel | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: David John Buerger}} | To learn more about responses to: David John Buerger | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: David Persuitte}} | To learn more about responses to: David Persuitte | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Denver Snuffer}} | To learn more about responses to: Denver Snuffer | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Dick Bauer}} | To learn more about responses to: Dick Bauer | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Duwayne R Anderson}} | To learn more about responses to: Duwayne R Anderson | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Earl Wunderli}} | To learn more about responses to: Earl Wunderli | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Ed Decker}} | To learn more about responses to: Ed Decker | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Erikson and Giesler}} | To learn more about responses to: Erikson and Giesler | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Ernest Taves}} | To learn more about responses to: Ernest Taves | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Fawn Brodie}} | To learn more about responses to: Fawn Brodie | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: George D Smith}} | To learn more about responses to: George D Smith | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Grant Palmer}} | To learn more about responses to: Grant Palmer | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Hank Hanegraaff}} | To learn more about responses to: Hank Hanegraaff | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Hurlbut-Howe}} | To learn more about responses to: Hurlbut-Howe | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: James Brooke}} | To learn more about responses to: James Brooke | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: James Spencer}} | To learn more about responses to: James Spencer | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: James White}} | To learn more about responses to: James White | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner}} | To learn more about responses to: Jerald and Sandra Tanner | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD}} | To learn more about responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: John Dehlin}} | To learn more about responses to: John Dehlin | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Jonathan Neville}} | To learn more about responses to: Jonathan Neville | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Kurt Van Gorden}} | To learn more about responses to: Kurt Van Gorden | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery}} | To learn more about responses to: Laura King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne}} | To learn more about responses to: Loftes Tryk aka Lofte Payne | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Luke WIlson}} | To learn more about responses to: Luke WIlson | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Marquardt and Walters}} | To learn more about responses to: Marquardt and Walters | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Martha Beck}} | To learn more about responses to: Martha Beck | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Mcgregor Ministries}} | To learn more about responses to: Mcgregor Ministries | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: McKeever and Johnson}} | To learn more about responses to: McKeever and Johnson | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: New Approaches}} | To learn more about responses to: New Approaches to the Book of Mormon | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Abanes}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard Abanes | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Richard Van Wagoner}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard Van Wagoner | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling}} | To learn more about responses to: Richard and Joan Ostling | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Rick Grunger}} | To learn more about responses to: Rick Grunger | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Robert Ritner}} | To learn more about responses to: Robert Ritner | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Rod Meldrum}} | To learn more about responses to: Rod Meldrum | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Roger I Anderson}} | To learn more about responses to: Roger I Anderson | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Ronald V. Huggins}} | To learn more about responses to: Ronald V. Huggins | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Sally Denton}} | To learn more about responses to: Sally Denton | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Simon Southerton}} | To learn more about responses to: Simon Southerton | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Thomas Murphy}} | To learn more about responses to: Thomas Murphy | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Todd Compton}} | To learn more about responses to: Todd Compton | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Vernal Holley}} | To learn more about responses to: Vernal Holley | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Walter Martin}} | To learn more about responses to: Walter Martin | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Wesley Walters}} | To learn more about responses to: Wesley Walters | edit |
| {{To learn more box:responses to: Will Bagley}} | To learn more about responses to: Will Bagley | edit |