Evidence That Joseph Only Had One Wife?

[canard78]

On the thread that was recently locked Alan made the following comment:

Johnny Cake,

I'm joining this thread late and haven't had time (yet) to read all of the contributions. However, you said in the OP that Joseph smith had a number of wives. Having studied this issue for many years I believe this is wrong. It is very to me clear when we look at the evidence, and particuarly the provenance of that evidence, that Joseph Smith never practiced polygamy. He was right when he stated he had only one wife.

So I believe you have misled this African brother.

I've read statements such as this on other forums too. I'm not sure if Alan is online at the moment, but I'd be interested see the evidence that leads to the conclusion that he never practiced polygamy.

Zina was the third RS President of the church and said herself that she was one of the wives. (See: Affidavit of Zina D.H. Young, Affidavits on Celestial Marriage, May 1, 1869, Vol. 1:5 and 4:5, LDS Church Archives (MS 3423).

She was also sealed for eternity to Joseph after his death:

After the 1844 death of Joseph Smith, the Saints in Nauvoo redoubled their efforts to complete the temple. Early on the morning of January 3, 1846, Henry and Zina received their washings, anointings, and endowments, being among the first company through the temple that day. A month later they were back in the temple, on February 2, 1846. On this day Zina received her second anointing from Parley P. Pratt, but there is no record of such being done for Henry. The records, however, do indicate that sealings were performed that day that involved Zina:

Joseph Smith (martyred) Dec 23, 1805 Sharon, Windsor Co. Vermont

Zina Diantha Huntington Jan 31 – 1821 Watertown, Jefferson Co. N.Y. were sealed husband & wife for time & all eternity (Prest. Brigham Young acting proxy for the deceased).

Brigham Young & Zina Diantha Smith were then sealed husband & wife for time by H.C. Kimball in presence of William D. Huntington, & Henry B. Jacobs & J.D.L. Young, Henry B. Jacobs expressed his willingness that it should be so in the presence of these witnesses done at 15 m. to 6.

Franklin D. Richards Clk.

Shortly before 6:00 PM, Zina was sealed for time to Brigham Young, as “husband & wife.” This was done in the presence of Zina’s father and husband, as well as John D. Lee. This ceremony occurred only one week before leaving Nauvoo, and Zina was heavy with child at the time–her second child, fathered by Henry Jacobs, would be born on the banks of the Chariton River less than seven weeks later.

The wording of these temple records is interesting. Note that in the first proxy sealing Zina is referred to as “Zina Diantha Huntington,” and in the second as “Zina Diantha Smith.” What makes this interesting, of course, is that Zina had been married to Henry Jacobs for almost five years by this time. Even though Henry Jacobs is in the room, witnessing his wife being sealed to other men, recognition of Zina’s marriage to him is not granted in the record and, presumably, not in the verbalization of the ordinances performed that day.

http://www.fairlds.o...obs-smith-young

So I'm curious to know what the evidence is that points to her (and the 30+ others) not actually being Joseph's wives. If Alan has studied it for years there must be some?

But the implications of that are that his marriages are a fabrication perpetuated by both Brigham Young and other church leaders.

Edited June 22, 2013 by canard78

[Johnnie Cake]

Joseph Smith was a monogamist and only married to one woman, Emma Smith, in his lifetime...Wow....that syncs perfectly with correlated church history...must be true...

[Glenn101]

Civil mariages, one. Sealings for time and eternity, or eternity only, there are quite a few.

Glenn

[Calm]

So I'm curious to know what the evidence is that points to her (and the 30+ others) not actually being Joseph's wives. If Alan has studied it for years there must be some?

Alan can correct me, but IIRC he follows the line of reasoning that Richard Price has promoted:

http://restorationbo.../jsfp-index.htm

(I think this post--- http://www.mormondia...entry1209246349 ----confirms it, see also this thread: http://www.mormondia...miths-polygamy/ )

His view on BY: http://www.mormondia...entry1209234645

PS: I posted this stuff because I though Alan had said in the past he was tired of discussing his POV, but now I am thinking that was BookofMormonLuvr who is a Restorationist, not LDS.

Edited June 22, 2013 by calmoriah

[Alan]

I used to follow the party line on this, but have changed my mind. It is, of course, difficult to prove a negative. But enough doubt can be cast on the party line and the so-called evidence of plural marriage to bring it into serious question.

I have read Richard Price's work. I don't agree with everything he says, especially about Brigham Young et al, but he is right in stating there is no contemporary evidence from the Nauvoo period implicating Joseph in the practice. However, there is compemporary evidence that he did not practice plural marriage, including his own public statements and actions.

All of the so-called evidence for his involvement is after the fact, and frequently a very long time after the fact. It is mostly from people deeply involved in plural marriage in Utah and in whose interest it is to implicate Joseph (perhaps well-meaning), and who interpret Joseph's behaviour through a Utah lens. It is interesting to note that all of the children he was supposed to have fathered with his various wives (these wives swore the kids were his) have been proved, through DNA evidence, not to be his.

I believe Joseph was a truthful man. That means I believe what he says. He states catagorically just weeks before his death that he has only one wife and that he is not a polygamist.

"I had not been married scarcely five minutes, and made one proclamation if the gospeI, before it was reported that I had seven wives........ I am innocent of all these charges....... What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers." I believe him.

Joseph was never afraid to state the truth, and did it boldly all of his lfe. To charge him with deceit in this regard does him a great disservice.

Do I believe he was sealed to a number of people? Yes I do. But these were not marriages. When I was young I went to the temple to be sealed to my parents, but no one has ever suggested I married them!

Starting in early Utah and continuing to our day, "sealing" and "marriage" have come to mean the same thing, but in Nauvoo this was not the case. Marriage was one thing, sealing was something else entirely. That is why married women could be sealed to someone other than their husbands. There was no polyandary.

I believe that when Joseph said he saw the Lord in a pillar of light, he was telling the truth. I believe that when he says he translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, he was telling the truth. And I believe that when he said he was not a polygamist, he was telling the truth.

Edited June 22, 2013 by Alan

[bluebell]

Joseph Smith was a monogamist and only married to one woman, Emma Smith, in his lifetime...Wow....that syncs perfectly with correlated church history...must be true...

I believe that view actually goes against the church's perspective on the subject (which Alan acknowledges when he states that he no longer follows the party line on this subject).

[Tacenda]

Stumbled across this just now and checked fairlds to see if it's legit. I didn't see anything on it, anyone here know if it's true? I did bold where JS treats plural wives as a marriage not only a sealing.

C/P from this website:

http://our-genealogy.com/Susan-Ellice-Hancock-Ancestry/ancestry-johnson/b-f-johnson-auto-biography/letter-to-george-s-gibbs.html

Meanwhile, the Prophet, with Louisa Beeman and my sister Delcena, had it agreeable arranged with Sister Almera, and after a little instruction she stood by the Prophet's side and was sealed to him as a wife, by Brother Clayton; after which the Prophet asked me to take my sister to occupy number "10" in his Mansion home during her stay in the city. But as I could not long be absent from my home and business, we soon returned to Ramus, where on the 15th of May, some three weeks later, the Prophet again came and at my house occupied the same room and bed with my sister, that the month previous he had occupied with the daughter of the late Bishop Partridge, as his wife.

And at this time he sealed to me my first wife for eternity, and gave to me my first plural wife, Mary Ann Hale, an orphan girl raised by my mother then living with us, who is still with me, and is probably the only wife still living with the man to whom she was given by the Prophet.

At the marriage of Sister Almera to the Prophet, there was still our youngest sister, for whom he manifest partiality, and would gladly have married, also, but she being young and partially promised to my first wife's brother, although reluctantly, the matter by him was dropped.

On learning from the Prophet that even in Kirtland "the Lord had required him to take plural wives, and that he had then thought to ask for some of my sister,s" the past with its conditions and influences began more fully to unfold to my mind, the causes that must, at least in part, have led to the great apostasy and disruption in Kirtland. Without a doubt in my mind, Fanny Alger was, at Kirtland, the Prophet's first plural wife, in which, by right of his calling, he was justified of the Lord (see D&C 132:59-60); while Oliver Cowdery, J. Carter, W. Parish, or others were not justified of the Lord either in their criticisms upon the doings of the Prophet, or in their becoming a "law unto themselves," through which they lost the light of their calling and were left in darkness.

Fanny A., when asked by her brother and others, even after the Prophet's death, regarding her relations to him, replied: "That is all a matter of our own, and I have nothing to communicate." Her parents died in Utah, true to the church. And to my knowledge, was by President Kimball in the temple at St. George introduced as "Brother of the Prophet Joseph's first plural wife."

The marriage of my eldest sister to the Prophet was before my return to Nauvoo, and it being tacitly admitted, I asked no questions.

And as to the number that came into the plural order, before the Prophet's death, I can think of but five, whose names I will not now attempt to recall, but the number soon after his death began to increase. But on the finishing of the Temple, with endowments that followed, the number was greatly augmented. And so there was at least a "few who had accepted" and practiced plural marriage from about 1842 to 1852, when the revelation was published to the world.

[Calm]

Fred Collier published it, so likely legit: http://books.google.com/books?id=wFeWW9jgBXkC&pg=PA19&lpg=PA19&dq=%22+is+probably+the+only+wife+still+living+with+the+man+to+whom+she+was+given+by+the+Prophet%22&source=bl&ots=oloE-bGzUe&sig=NgCJBc2NJ7p0eUjuOo378kPGbGw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pMPFUey_BaKRiQLAjoHgDQ&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22%20is%20probably%20the%20only%20wife%20still%20living%20with%20the%20man%20to%20whom%20she%20was%20given%20by%20the%20Prophet%22&f=true

And also here: http://pre.docdat.com/docs/index-121075.html

http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/BFJohnson.html

If you are asking if it is accurate, I know it has been used by many, critics and apologists and historians but I don't know the overall attitude towards it, whether it needs to be treated with care, claims confirmed or it taken as relatively accurate. My memory says it is seen a generally reliable.

[Teancum]

The evidence JS practiced plural marriage is simply overwhelming. If Alan denies this does he think BY and the Utah Church was in error? Does he think D&C 132 was not from JS? What does Alan think he gains be this position since it is clear that polygamy was at least part of Utah Mormonism?

[ALarson]

I have an account written by one of my ancestors who was personally acquainted with Joseph Smith and actually lived with him at one time. He recorded the sealing of his Mother (who was a widow) to a member becoming his first polygamous wife.

He records the date as it happens, the surrounding circumstances and that it was performed by Joseph Smith himself.

I own the journal of this ancestor and it has been handed down from generation to generation within my family, so there is no way it was altered or added to by Brigham Young (or anyone else). I know those are the claims of those trying to prove that polygamy started with BY.

What it comes down to is that it would have to be one of the largest and most successful conspiracy theories carried out if Joseph did not practice polygamy. There are just so many records, affidavits, journal entries and so on giving information and stating dates of polygamous sealings during the time in Nauvoo that it would be staggering to think that everyone was lying or altering all the records and member's journals.

Edited June 22, 2013 by ALarson

[thesometimesaint]

A Sealing is not a Marriage.

[ALarson]

A Sealing is not a Marriage.

Granted.... I agree.

The record in my ancestors journal makes it clear that this widow lived as the polygamous wife of the member of the church involved. The first wife was still living at the time the sealing took place.

Also, those who are arguing that Joseph Smith did not live polygamy are claiming he was only sealed to Emma while he was alive and that he did not sanction any other polygamous sealings. This just is not the case, as I have record that he performed this sealing for my ancestor (and the man involved was a close relative of Joseph's as well).

Edited June 22, 2013 by ALarson

[rockpond]

When I first heard this theory, I wanted to believe it was true and that Joseph was not a polygamist. It was somewhat comforting to me even though it meant that Brigham Young and the church had gone off the rails in Utah.

It's interesting to consider but, I think that the evidence is just too stacked against the idea of Joseph as a monogamist.

Joseph's statement about just one wife is probably referring to one "civil marriage". Which he could have easily thought made him a monogamist in the eyes of the law.

[Tacenda]

When I first heard this theory, I wanted to believe it was true and that Joseph was not a polygamist. It was somewhat comforting to me even though it meant that Brigham Young and the church had gone off the rails in Utah.

It's interesting to consider but, I think that the evidence is just too stacked against the idea of Joseph as a monogamist.

Joseph's statement about just one wife is probably referring to one "civil marriage". Which he could have easily thought made him a monogamist in the eyes of the law.

Do you know if it's true that he declared all civil marriages null and void in Nauvoo until sealed by Priesthood Authority, thereby making the marriages to other men's wives not considered adultery? Edited June 22, 2013 by Tacenda

[ERayR]

Granted.... I agree.

Also, those who are arguing that Joseph Smith did not live polygamy are claiming he was only sealed to Emma while he was alive and that he did not sanction any other polygamous sealings. This just is not the case, as I have record that he performed this sealing for my ancestor (and the man involved was a close relative of Joseph's as well).

I think they are claiming he was only married to Emma but was sealed to others.

[ALarson]

I think they are claiming he was only married to Emma but was sealed to others.

I guess we need them to clarify their beliefs here.

Are those claiming that Joseph Smith never lived polygamy, agreeing that he was sealed to other women (who were living at that time) while he was still alive himself?

[Tacenda]

I think they are claiming he was only married to Emma but was sealed to others.

Has your stance on JS not being married but sealed only, changed since over a year ago? Sorry if I've already asked this recently. Or feel free to ignore my extreme nosiness.

[ERayR]

Has your stance on JS not being married but sealed only, changed since over a year ago? Sorry if I've already asked this recently. Or feel free to ignore my extreme nosiness.

No wonder we have such a hard time on this issue. You have totally not comprehended what I posted on this issue. I am totally comfortable with Joseph Smith having practiced polygamy. What I did say is that from the information I have seen is that the polyandry was sealings and not marriages. I understand that it may seam like a fine line to some but to me it is as broad as a freeway. Children are sealed to parents, parents to children generation after generation in a family chain. I really have no way of knowing for certain and neither do you. The difference is that my ambivalence to polygamy allows me to see the difference and your abhorrence to it causes you to conflate the two.

[Alan]

In my experience those who claim the evidence of Joseph's polygamy is overwhelming have never really looked at the evidence. None of this evidence is contemporary, none of it. There are no journal entries at the time which implicate Joseph. They are all written later, much later.

It is known, for example, that the History of the Church was comprehensively revised after the Prophets death, with many words, and even whole sentences inserted or deleted to make it appear that Joseph approved of or taught plural marriage. The originals did no such thing. This is a provable fact.

As for D&C 132; it's provenance is suspect at best and very little of it speaks of plural marriage anyway. Given the proven behaviour of the church leaders regarding the doctoring of the History of the Church etc, the claim that it came from Joseph in it's perfect form is highly questionable. Where is the original? Apparently burned in the fire by the hand of Emma, the document we have is, apparently, a copy. Horsefeathers! Of all the revelations in the D&C how many had copies made? Only this one, apparently. Making copies was not usually done. in fact, there is no record of it ever being done. Very convenient methinks.

As I said previously, Joseph was sealed to a number of people. There is some evidence I understand, that he was also sealed to some men while he was alive. However, I have yet to see that evidence so I don't rely on it. However, there were certainly men sealed to Joseph after the Prophets death. Brigham Young being one them. Are we to believe that Joseph and Brigham are actually married?

Like i said before, sealing and marriage are not the same thing and just because someone later considered them the same thing and recorded that interpretation in their back-written journal, does not make it so.

Edited June 23, 2013 by Alan

[Thinking]

As for D&C 132; it's provenance is suspect at best and very little of it speaks of plural marriage anyway.

Half of the verses (34-66) are about plural mariage.

[Alan]

Half of the verses (34-66) are about plural mariage.

Not really mentioned in a modern day sense until around verse 52.

[Alan]

I think the Price's are definately on to something concerning the Cochranites, and the way polygamy came into the church. It certainly seems to fit well, and it would be extroardinary if the influx of polygamous Cochranites into the church had no influence at all. I'm not sure their take on Brigham is sound, as they appear to make a number of unfounded assumptions based on very flimsy evidence. In fact, just as flimsy as the evidence that others rely on to assert that Joseph practiced plural marriage.

Anyway, for those on here who believe Joseph was a polygamist, a question: Joseph Smith; a truthful man or not?

Edited June 24, 2013 by Alan

[webbles]

Anyway, for those on here who believe Joseph was a polygamist, a question: Joseph Smith; a truthful man or not?

Joseph Smith was a truthful man and he was a polygamist.

[MichelleD]

I think the Price's are definately on to something concerning the Cochranites, and the way polygamy came into the church. It certainly seems to fit well, and it would be extroardinary if the influx of polygamous Cochranites into the church had no influence at all. I'm not sure their take on Brigham is sound, as they appear to make a number of unfounded assumptions based on very flimsy evidence. In fact, just as flimsy as the evidence that others rely on to assert that Joseph practiced plural marriage.

Anyway, for those on here who believe Joseph was a polygamist, a question: Joseph Smith; a truthful man or not?

I agree with the webbles.

Alan, if you don't believe Joseph Smith lived polygamy, then you must believe Brigham Young and other church leaders who knew Joseph Smith were not truthful. Do you believe the church went astray after Brigham became prophet?

[Alan]

Joseph Smith was a truthful man and he was a polygamist.

Not possible my friend.

Joseph stated publicly that he had only one wife, denied being a polygamist, and further stated that he could prove all those who said otherwise to be liars.

He cannot have been both truthful and a polygamist.