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Plural wives of Joseph Smith: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 04:27, 3 March 2014
The plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Important introductory material on plural marriage available here
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Plural wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
General articles
Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members
Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God.Specific wives
Fanny Alger
Fanny Alger
Summary: What do we know about Joseph Smith's first plural wife, Fanny Alger, whom he came to know in early 1833 when she stayed at the Smith home as a house-assistant of sorts to Emma (such work was common for young women at the time).- Discovered in a barn—
Brief Summary: How did Emma learn about Joseph's marriage to Fanny Alger? I've heard they were discovered together in the barn. Was Fanny pregnant? (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Fanny Alger: Marriage or affair?—
Brief Summary: Critics charge that Joseph Smith's early plural marriage(s) cannot have been "real" marriages, since the doctrine of "eternal marriage" (i.e., marriages which last beyond the grave) was not introduced until 1841. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Claimed miscarriage of child by Joseph—
Brief Summary: Two women are claimed to have had miscarriages of a child by Joseph Smith. There are serious problems with accepting either account as probable. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Discovered in a barn—
Louisa Beaman
- Louisa Beaman
Prescindia Lathrop Huntington Buell
- Prescindia Lathrop Huntington Buell
- Polyandrous wife (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Claimed child(ren) fathered by Joseph ruled out by DNA evidence (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Did Prescindia Buell not know who was the father of her son?—
Brief Summary: A notoriously inaccurate anti-Mormon work claimed that Buell confessed to not knowing her son's paternity. The account contains multiple of others, is implausible, requires proponents to overcome severe historical timeline and geographic problems, and has been refuted by DNA evidence. It is not convincing. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Polyandrous wife (Click here for full article)
Sarah Kingsley Howe Cleveland
- Sarah Kingsley Howe Cleveland
Agnes Moulton Coolbrith
- Agnes Moulton Coolbrith
Elizabeth Davis Goldsmith Brackenbury Durfee
- Elizabeth Davis Goldsmith Brackenbury Durfee
Esther Dutcher
- Esther Dutcher
Hannah S. Ells
- Hannah S. Ells
Olive Grey Frost
- Olive Grey Frost
Desdemona Catlin Wadsworth Fulmmer
- Desdemona Catlin Wadsworth Fulmmer
Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris
- Lucinda Pendleton Morgan Harris
Elvira Annie Cowles Holmes
- Elvira Annie Cowles Holmes
Sarah Maryetta Kingsley Howe
- Sarah Maryetta Kingsley Howe
Zina Huntington
Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs
- Analysis of Zina and Henry Jacobs—Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young by Allen Wyatt (Link)
- Divine manifestation to Zina. (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Zina and polyandry (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Claimed child(ren) fathered by Joseph ruled out by DNA evidence (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Emma Smith remark to Zina—
Brief Summary: 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. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Did Joseph send men on missions to steal their wives? (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde
- Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde
- Polyandrous wife (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Very unlikely to have had child(ren) fathered by Joseph—
Brief Summary: One child's death certificate rules Joseph out as the father; the other has chronology problems which suggest that Joseph is not the father. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Did Mrs. Hyde not know whether Orson or Joseph fathered her child? (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Did Joseph send men on missions to steal their wives? (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Polyandrous wife (Click here for full article)
Almera Johnson
- Almera Johnson
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Helen Mar Kimball
Helen Mar Kimball
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Brief Summary: Critics argue that Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women are evidence that he was immoral, perhaps even a pedophile. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Was Helen's marriage consummated?—
Brief Summary: Helen was the youngest plural wife of Joseph Smith, Jr. It is claimed by some that the marriage was consummated, despite a complete lack of supporting evidence. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. Helen was not called, and thus likely did not have a consummated relationship with the prophet. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members—
Brief Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Maria Lawrence
- Maria Lawrence
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Brief Summary: Joseph Smith was appointed the guardian of two daughters, Maria and Sarah Lawrence, and their inheritance. He later married them in plural marriage. The evidence shows that Joseph Smith faithfully discharged his legal duties, despite the claims made by some nineteeth-century and modern critics. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Sarah Lawrence
- Sarah Lawrence
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Brief Summary: Joseph Smith was appointed the guardian of two daughters, Maria and Sarah Lawrence, and their inheritance. He later married them in plural marriage. The evidence shows that Joseph Smith faithfully discharged his legal duties, despite the claims made by some nineteeth-century and modern critics. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Claimed mismanagement of the Lawrence estate—
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
- Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner
Malissa Lott
- Malissa Lott
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Sylvia Sessions Lyon
- Sylvia Sessions Lyon
Martha McBride
- Martha McBride
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Emily Partridge
- Emily Partridge
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Emily Partridge
- Eliza Partridge
Rhonda Richards
- Rhonda Richards
Ruth Vose Sayers
- Ruth Vose Sayers
Patty Bartlett Sessions
- Patty Bartlett Sessions
Delcena Diadamia Johnson Sherman
- Delcena Diadamia Johnson Sherman
Mary Heron Snider
- Mary Heron Snider
Eliza R. Snow
Eliza R. Snow
- Emma pushing Eliza down the stairs—
Brief Summary: Some charge that Eliza R. Snow, one of Joseph's plural wives, was pregnant by Joseph. According to the claim, a furious Emma pushed Eliza down the stairs, resulting in a miscarriage. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Claimed miscarriage of child by Joseph—
Brief Summary: TWo women are claimed to have had miscarriages of a child by Joseph Smith. There are serious problems with accepting either account as probable. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Emma pushing Eliza down the stairs—
Lucy Walker
- Lucy Walker
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Sarah Ann Whitney
Sarah Ann Whitney
- Did Joseph write secret "love letters" to any of his polygamous wives?—
Brief Summary: It is claimed that on 18 August 1842 Joseph Smith wrote a “love letter” to Sarah Ann Whitney requesting a secret rendezvous or "tryst." Joseph had been sealed to Sarah Ann three weeks prior to this time. What does this letter actually say? (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Did Joseph write secret "love letters" to any of his polygamous wives?—
Nancy Maria Winchester
- Nancy Maria Winchester
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Brief Summary: Critics argue that Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women are evidence that he was immoral, perhaps even a pedophile. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Availability for testimony in 1892 Temple Lot case—
Brief Summary: Nine plural wives were living in 1892. Whether they were called as witnesses seems to have depended upon whether they could testify to conjugality in the plural marriages. Nancy was not called, and thus likely did not have a consummated relationship with the prophet. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Little known—
Brief Summary: We know little about this marriage, other than the fact that it occurred. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Why was Joseph sealed to young women?—
Flora Ann Woodworth
- Flora Ann Woodworth
Fanny Young
- Fanny Young