Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...
(1805–1844), founder of the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by ...
, taught and practiced
polygamy
Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
during his ministry, marrying an estimated 30 to 40 women throughout his lifetime. Smith and some of the leading
quorums of
the church he founded publicly denied he taught or practiced it.
['']Millennial Star
''The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star'' (usually shortened to ''Millennial Star'') was the longest continuously published periodical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was printed in England from 1840 unti ...
'' 4 anuary 1844 144.
In 1852, leaders of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church) acknowledged that Smith had practiced plural marriage and produced a written
revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
of Smith's that authorizes its practice. Smith's lawful widow
Emma Smith
Emma Hale Smith Bidamon (July 10, 1804 – April 30, 1879) was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint movement and a prominent member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church) as well as the first wife of Josep ...
, his son
Joseph Smith III
Joseph Smith III (November 6, 1832 – December 10, 1914) was the eldest surviving son of Joseph Smith (founder of the Latter Day Saint movement) and Emma Hale Smith. Joseph Smith III was the Prophet-President of what became the Reorganized Chu ...
, and most members of the
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Community of Christ, known legally and from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement ...
(RLDS Church) attempted for years to refute the evidence of plural marriages. They pointed to the historical record that Joseph Smith publicly opposed the practice of polygamy;
the suggestion of the RLDS Church was that the practice of polygamy began in Utah under the leadership of
Brigham Young
Brigham Young ( ; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until h ...
.
The first publication of a list of women alleged to be Smith's plural wives was in 1887, by
Andrew Jenson
Andrew Jenson, born Anders Jensen, (December 11, 1850 – November 18, 1941) was a Danish immigrant to the United States who acted as an Assistant Church Historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for much of the ...
, an assistant LDS Church historian. It included 27 women besides Emma Smith. There are currently 49 women on this list. However, historians disagree as to the number and identity of the plural wives Smith had. Various scholars and historians, including
Fawn M. Brodie,
George D. Smith, and
Todd Compton
Todd Merlin Compton (born 1952) is an American historian in the fields of Mormon history and classics. Compton is a respected authority on the plural wives of the LDS Church founder, Joseph Smith.
Biographical background
Compton is a member of ...
, have attempted to identify the women who married Smith.
The discrepancy is created by the lack of documents to support some of the alleged marriages. Apart from his marriage to Emma, Smith's marriages were not solemnized under any civil authority and were therefore solely religious unions.
List of reported wives
Allegations of children born to polygamous wives
Research by
Ugo A. Perego, a geneticist and member of the LDS Church, has shown that a number of children of Smith's alleged
polygamous relationships were not his genetic offspring. The following table lists some of the children born to Smith's alleged polygamous wives as well as those ruled out by
genetic testing
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
:
See also
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Children of Joseph Smith
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List of Latter Day Saint practitioners of plural marriage
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List of Brigham Young's wives
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Online reprint from the Book Of Abraham Project (BYU) at boap.org
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Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith
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External links
* information presented by Brian C. and
Laura Harris Hales
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Wives
Smith, wives
Mormonism and polygamy
Joseph Smith's Wives
Wives of Joseph Smith
Smith, Joseph
19th-century Mormonism
Wives
List
Smith, Joseph wives
Lists of American women
Lists of wives
Child marriage in the United States