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Joseph Smith/Polygamy: Difference between revisions
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{{SummaryItem|link=Polygamy book/Initiation of the practice|subject=Initiation of the practice}} | {{SummaryItem|link=Polygamy book/Initiation of the practice|subject=Initiation of the practice}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Not Biblical|subject=Polygamy not Biblical|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.}} | {{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Not Biblical|subject=Polygamy not Biblical|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.}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=Early Christians on plural marriage|subject=Early Christians on plural marriage|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.{{ref|newmanpratt1}}}} | {{SummaryItem|link=Early Christians on plural marriage|subject=Early Christians on plural marriage|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.{{ref|newmanpratt1}}}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Hiding the truth|subject=Hiding the truth about polygamy|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.}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Hiding the truth|subject=Hiding the truth about polygamy|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.}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Illegal|subject=Illegal to practice polygamy?|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.}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Illegal|subject=Illegal to practice polygamy?|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.}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Lustful motives|subject=Did Joseph have "lustful motives" for practicing polygamy?|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. }} | {{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Lustful motives|subject=Did Joseph have "lustful motives" for practicing polygamy?|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. }} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Marriages to young women|subject=Why was Joseph sealed to young women?}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Marriages to young women|subject=Why was Joseph sealed to young women?}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Fanny Alger and William McLellin|subject=Fanny Alger and William McLellin}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Fanny Alger and William McLellin|subject=Fanny Alger and William McLellin}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Women locked in a room|subject=Women locked in a room|summary=Were women locked in a room while Joseph attempted to persuade them?}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Women locked in a room|subject=Women locked in a room|summary=Were women locked in a room while Joseph attempted to persuade them?}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Did women turn Joseph down|subject=Did women turn Joseph down?}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Did women turn Joseph down|subject=Did women turn Joseph down?}} | ||
{{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.}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith and polyandry|subject=Joseph Smith and polyandry}} | {{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith and polyandry|subject=Joseph Smith and polyandry}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Zina and Henry Jacobs|subject=Zina and Henry Jacobs}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Zina and Henry Jacobs|subject=Zina and Henry Jacobs}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Emma Smith|subject=What was Emma's reaction to Joseph's practice of polygamy?}} | |||
{{SummaryItem|link=Joseph Smith/Polygamy/"Love letters"|subject=Did Joseph write "love letters" to any of his polygamous wives?}} | |||
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{{SummaryItem|link=/Works of Abraham|subject=Works of Abraham|summary=D&C 132 tells Joseph and others to "do the works of Abraham." What are the "works of Abraham?"}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Works of Abraham|subject=Works of Abraham|summary=D&C 132 tells Joseph and others to "do the works of Abraham." What are the "works of Abraham?"}} | ||
{{SummaryItem|link=/Polygamists are to go beyond normal "bounds"|subject=Polygamists are to go beyond normal "bounds"|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.}} | {{SummaryItem|link=/Polygamists are to go beyond normal "bounds"|subject=Polygamists are to go beyond normal "bounds"|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.}} | ||
Revision as of 05:56, 4 January 2011
Important introductory material on plural marriage available here
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Questions
== 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.
Initiation of the practice
Polygamy not Biblical
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.Early Christians on plural marriage
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]Hiding the truth about polygamy
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.Illegal to practice polygamy?
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.Did Joseph have "lustful motives" for practicing polygamy?
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.Why was Joseph sealed to young women?
Fanny Alger and William McLellin
Women locked in a room
Summary: Were women locked in a room while Joseph attempted to persuade them?Did women turn Joseph down?
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.Joseph Smith and polyandry
Zina and Henry Jacobs
What was Emma's reaction to Joseph's practice of polygamy?
Did Joseph write "love letters" to any of his polygamous wives?
Works of Abraham
Summary: D&C 132 tells Joseph and others to "do the works of Abraham." What are the "works of Abraham?"Polygamists are to go beyond normal "bounds"
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.Sealing brother and sister together
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.Youthful struggle with unchastity
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. ==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 ==
- [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.