interesting, thank you. I will read this material more completely when i have time. I just read Doctrin and Covenants section 132, it appears that Joseph’s first wife Emma did not take kindly to the new principle of plural wives. in verse 54 the lord appaers to be threatening her with destruction unless she abide. very interesting.
i read somwhere that Joseph had around 30 wives. are there any stories of lust associated with any of these? that you know of?
It didn’t go over kindly with many members at that time. And some leaders of the lds church, I believe, did walk away. There are of course a couple first impressions and second hand accounts that speak unkindly of JS and the practice.
I posted the post to demonstrate that polygamy was not a clear cut ‘lust’ undertaking as some critics contend. I have always maintained that JS could have gotten sex without charading the polygamy revelation in some other county. Polygamy eventually caused hardship for the lds at that time (one reason that he wished to keep the practice secret) and was one of the reasons for JS’s murder.
In terms of ‘destruction’ I believe that this word is used in the bible. However, the interpretation of destruction is up for grabs.
Here is a link to Emma and Polygamy:
en.fairmormon.org/Emma_Smith_and_polygamy
Criticism
Critics contend that Emma Hale Smith either did not approve of the Prophet Joseph Smith having plural wives or know of the revelation concerning celestial marriage(s).
Source(s) of the Criticism
[needs work]
Response
Critics often neglect to provide citations from eye-witnesses who reported Emma’s attitude toward plural marriage at other times:
Allen J. Stout, who served as a bodyguard for Joseph, recounted a conversation he overheard in the Mansion House between Joseph and his tormented wife. A summary of his account states that “from moments of passionate denunciation [Emma] would subside into tearful repentance and acknowledge that her violent opposition to that principle was instigated by the power of darkness; that Satan was doing his utmost to destroy her, etc. And solemnly came the Prophet’s inspired warning: ‘Yes, and he will accomplish your overthrow, if you do not heed my counsel.’”[1]
Emma’s inner conflict was also dramatized in another report:
Maria Jane Johnston, who lived with Emma as a servant girl, recalled the Prophet’s wife looking very downcast one day and telling her that the principle of plural marriage was right and came from Heavenly Father. “What I said I have got [to] repent of,” lamented Emma. “The principle is right but I am jealous hearted. Now never tell anybody that you heard me find fault with that [principle;] we have got to humble ourselves and repent of it.” [2]
Emma asked Joseph for a blessing not long before he went to Carthage. Joseph told her to write the best blessing she could, and he would sign it upon his return. Wrote Emma:
I desire with all my heart to honor and respect my husband as my head, ever to live in his confidence and by acting in unison with him retain the place which God has given me by his side…I desire the spirit of God to know and understand myself, I desire a fruitful, active mind, that I may be able to comprehend the designs of God, when revealed through his servants without doubting.[3]
Conclusion
Emma was aware of plural marriage; it is not clear at exactly what point she was made aware, partly due to there being relatively few early sources on the matter. Emma was generally opposed to the practice of plural marriage, and did much to try and thwart it. There were times, however, when Emma gave permission for Joseph’s plural marriages, though she soon changed her mind. Emma was troubled by plural marriage, but her difficulties arose partly from her conviction that Joseph was a prophet:
Zina Huntington remembered a conversation between Elizabeth [Davis] and Emma [Smith] in which Elizabeth asked the prophet’s wife if she felt that Joseph was a prophet. Yes, Emma answered, but I wish to God I did not know it.[4]
Emma never denied Joseph’s prophetic calling; she did, however, teach her children that Joseph had never taught the doctrine of plural marriage, and blamed its introduction on Brigham Young. Torn between two certitudes—her conviction of Joseph’s prophetic calling, and her hatred of plural marriage—Emma had difficult choices to make for which we ought not to judge her.
But, the critics ought to let all of Emma speak for herself—she had a great trial, but also had great knowledge. That she continued to support Joseph’s calling and remain with him, despite her feelings about plural marriage, speaks much of her convictions. As she told Parley P. Pratt years later:
I believe he [Joseph] was everything he professed to be.[5]
