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Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 9: Difference between revisions
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{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
{{FAIRAnalysisHeader
|title=[[../../]]
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|author=Jerald and Sandra Tanner
|author=Jerald and Sandra Tanner
|noauthor=
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===Claims made in Chapter 9: Plural Marriage===
===Claims made in Chapter 9: Plural Marriage===
{{BeginClaimsTable}}
 
|
====205====
====205====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had a section denouncing polygamy.
*The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had a section denouncing polygamy.
||
|response=
*[[1835 Doctrine and Covenants denies polygamy]]  
*[[Polygamy/1835 Doctrine and Covenants denies polygamy]]  
||
|authorsources=
*Doctrine and Covenants (1835), Section 101
*Doctrine and Covenants (1835), Section 101
|-
}}
|
====207====
====207====
||Section 101 was replaced with Section 132 in 1876
{{IndexClaim
||
|claim=
*Section 101 was replaced with Section 132 in 1876
|response=
* {{Fundamentalism}}
* {{Fundamentalism}}
* The Saints believe in on-going revelation—Church policy may change from time to time.
* The Saints believe in on-going revelation—Church policy may change from time to time.
||
|authorsources=
* {{attn}}
* {{attn}}
|-
}}
|
 
====207====
====207====
||A revelation on plural marriage given in 1831 was "suppressed" which said that the Indians would become "white and delightsome" though intermarriage with the Mormons.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*A revelation on plural marriage given in 1831 was "suppressed" which said that the Indians would become "white and delightsome" though intermarriage with the Mormons.
|response=
*[[Native Americans to become "white and delightsome" through polygamous marriage?|White and delightsome?]]
*[[Native Americans to become "white and delightsome" through polygamous marriage?|White and delightsome?]]
* {{Prejudicial}}
* {{Prejudicial}}
* [[Polygamy_book/Initiation_of_the_practice|First teaching about plural marriage]]
* [[Polygamy_book/Initiation_of_the_practice|First teaching about plural marriage]]
||
|authorsources=
*Letter from W. W. Phelps to Brigham Young. August 12, 1861
*Letter from W. W. Phelps to Brigham Young. August 12, 1861
|-
}}
|
 
====208====
====208====
||It was taught that the skin color of the Indians would change if they joined the Church.
{{IndexClaim
||
|claim=
* Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had [[Book_of_Mormon_textual_changes/%22white%22_changed_to_%22pure%22|edited a Book of Mormon verse]] in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
*It was taught that the skin color of the Indians would change if they joined the Church.
* {{Fundamentalism}}: The Saints do not believe in [[Fallibility_of_prophets|prophetic infallibility]].
|response=
||
* Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had [[Book_of_Mormon/Textual_changes/%22white%22_changed_to_%22pure%22|edited a Book of Mormon verse]] in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
* {{Fundamentalism}}: The Saints do not believe in [[Church doctrine/Statements by Church leaders|prophetic infallibility]].
|authorsources=
* {{attn}}
* {{attn}}
|-
}}
|
 
====209====
====209====
||Spencer Kimball believed that the Indians were becoming a "white and delightsome" people.||
{{IndexClaim
* Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had [[Book_of_Mormon_textual_changes/%22white%22_changed_to_%22pure%22|edited a Book of Mormon verse]] in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
|claim=
* {{Fundamentalism}}: The Saints do not believe in [[Fallibility_of_prophets|prophetic infallibility]].
*Spencer Kimball believed that the Indians were becoming a "white and delightsome" people.
||
|response=
* Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had [[Book_of_Mormon/Textual_changes/%22white%22_changed_to_%22pure%22|edited a Book of Mormon verse]] in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
* {{Fundamentalism}}: The Saints do not believe in [[Church doctrine/Statements by Church leaders|prophetic infallibility]].
|authorsources=
*''Improvement Era'', December 1960, pp.922-23
*''Improvement Era'', December 1960, pp.922-23
|-
}}
|
====212====
====212====
||Brigham Young believed that the Indians skin would become white through intermarriage.||
{{IndexClaim
* Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had [[Book_of_Mormon_textual_changes/%22white%22_changed_to_%22pure%22|edited a Book of Mormon verse]] in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
|claim=
*Brigham Young believed that the Indians skin would become white through intermarriage.
|response=
* Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had [[Book_of_Mormon/Textual_changes/%22white%22_changed_to_%22pure%22|edited a Book of Mormon verse]] in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
* {{Fundamentalism}}: The Saints do not believe in [[Fallibility_of_prophets|prophetic infallibility]].
* {{Fundamentalism}}: The Saints do not believe in [[Fallibility_of_prophets|prophetic infallibility]].
* {{Prejudicial}}: A nineteenth century anti-Mormon work ("''Abominations of Mormonism''") is the only source
* {{Prejudicial}}: A nineteenth century anti-Mormon work ("''Abominations of Mormonism''") is the only source
||
|authorsources=
*''The Abominations of Mormonism Exposed'', Cincinnati, 1852, pp.58-59
*''The Abominations of Mormonism Exposed'', Cincinnati, 1852, pp.58-59
|-
}}
|
 
====214====
====214====
||Church leaders did not approve of interracial marriage.
{{IndexClaim
||
|claim=
*Church leaders did not approve of interracial marriage.
|response=
* Church leaders have discouraged any marriage in which the social or cultural differences will prove serious obstacles to a successful marriage.  Unfortunately, that was often the case with inter-racial marriages in the United States until quite recently.
* Church leaders have discouraged any marriage in which the social or cultural differences will prove serious obstacles to a successful marriage.  Unfortunately, that was often the case with inter-racial marriages in the United States until quite recently.
* [[Blacks_and_the_priesthood/Repudiated_ideas#Is_interracial_marriage_condemned.3F|Interracial marriage condemned?]]
* [[Blacks_and_the_priesthood/Repudiated_ideas#Is_interracial_marriage_condemned.3F|Interracial marriage condemned?]]
||
|authorsources=
* {{attn}}
* {{attn}}
|-
}}
|
<!-- I don't think anyone debates this (or was debating prior to the Tanners'--see Bachman's thesis in 1975, for example - I would probably just omit, unless there's something I'm missing - Greg ====214====
||The 1831 revelation was confirmed by Arrington and Bitton.|| ||
*The Mormon Experience, page 195
|-
|-->
 
====215====
====215====
||Oliver Cowdery believed that Joseph had an improper relationship with Fanny Alger.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Oliver Cowdery believed that Joseph had an improper relationship with Fanny Alger.
|response=
* [[Polygamy_book/Introduction_of_the_eternal_marriage|Fanny Alger&mdash;affair or marriage?]]
* [[Polygamy_book/Introduction_of_the_eternal_marriage|Fanny Alger&mdash;affair or marriage?]]
||
|authorsources=
*Letter written by Oliver Cowdery and recorded by his brother Warren Cowdery;
*Letter written by Oliver Cowdery and recorded by his brother Warren Cowdery;
* ''This source is vague and not much help to the reader.  The actual source is'': Oliver Cowdery to Warren A. Cowdery, "Dear Br. Warren," Far West, Missouri (21 Jan 1838); reproduced in "Letters of Oliver Cowdery." In ''New Mormon Studies CD-ROM'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1998).
* ''This source is vague and not much help to the reader.  The actual source is'': Oliver Cowdery to Warren A. Cowdery, "Dear Br. Warren," Far West, Missouri (21 Jan 1838); reproduced in "Letters of Oliver Cowdery." In ''New Mormon Studies CD-ROM'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1998).
|-
}}
|
<!-- This is probably true.====218-219====
||Emma burned the 1843 revelation on plural marriage.|| ||
*''Journal of Discourses'' 17:159
|-
|-->
====219====
====219====
||Lorenzo Snow said that anyone who had a plural marriage prior to the date of the revelation (July 12, 1843) was living in adultery.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Lorenzo Snow said that anyone who had a plural marriage prior to the date of the revelation (July 12, 1843) was living in adultery.
|response=
*{{FalseStatement}}
*{{FalseStatement}}
*{{SourceDistortion}}
*{{SourceDistortion}}
* [[Joseph Smith and polygamy/Adultery before 12 July 1843|Lorenzo Snow: plural marriage was adultery before 12 July 1843?]]
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Adultery before 12 July 1843|Lorenzo Snow: plural marriage was adultery before 12 July 1843?]]
||
|authorsources=
*Temple Lot Case, p.320
*Temple Lot Case, p.320
|-
}}
|
 
====219====
====219====
||It is claimed that Mormon leaders say that the 1843 revelation was actually received earlier, but History of the Church says that this was the date the revelation was received.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*It is claimed that Mormon leaders say that the 1843 revelation was actually received earlier, but History of the Church says that this was the date the revelation was received.
|response=
* The revelation was ''recorded'' on this date, but it is clear that Joseph knew and was teaching it earlier.
* The revelation was ''recorded'' on this date, but it is clear that Joseph knew and was teaching it earlier.
* [[Polygamy_book/Initiation_of_the_practice|First teaching about plural marriage]]
* [[Polygamy_book/Initiation_of_the_practice|First teaching about plural marriage]]
* Danel W. Bachman, "A Study of the Mormon Practice of Polygamy before the Death of Joseph Smith" (Purdue University, 1975).
* Danel W. Bachman, "A Study of the Mormon Practice of Polygamy before the Death of Joseph Smith" (Purdue University, 1975).
* Danel W. Bachman, "New Light on an Old Hypothesis: The Ohio Origins of the Revelation on Eternal Marriage," ''Journal of Mormon History'' 5 (1978): 19–32.
* Danel W. Bachman, "New Light on an Old Hypothesis: The Ohio Origins of the Revelation on Eternal Marriage," ''Journal of Mormon History'' 5 (1978): 19–32.
||
|authorsources=
*''History of the Church'' 5:500-501
*''History of the Church'' 5:500-501
|-
}}
|
====220====
====220====
||Brigham Young said that he lived "above the law." ||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Brigham Young said that he lived "above the law."
|response=
* {{SourceDistortion}}: Brigham claims he is ''obeying'' the law, while others seek to take away their rights.  He nowhere says he is "above the law."
* {{SourceDistortion}}: Brigham claims he is ''obeying'' the law, while others seek to take away their rights.  He nowhere says he is "above the law."
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|1:361}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|1:361}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=1|start=361|disc=52}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=1|start=361|disc=52}}
|-
}}
|
 
====220====
====220====
||Polygamy is forbidden by the Book of Mormon||
{{IndexClaim
* {{SourceDistortion}}: [[Book of Mormon condemns polygamy]]
|claim=
||
*Polygamy is forbidden by the Book of Mormon
|response=
* {{SourceDistortion}}: [[Polygamy/Book of Mormon condemns the practice]]
|authorsources=
* {{attn}}
* {{attn}}
|-
}}
|
 
====220-221====
====220-221====
||Joseph F. Smith said that the Book of Mormon forbid polygamy.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Book of Mormon condemns polygamy]]
|claim=
*Joseph F. Smith said that the Book of Mormon forbid polygamy.
|response=
* [[Polygamy/Book of Mormon condemns the practice]]
* {{SourceDistortion}}: The authors neglect to provide the answer which their source provides ''on the very next page'': [[Book_of_Mormon_condemns_polygamy#The_Smoot_hearings|Smoot hearings answer]].
* {{SourceDistortion}}: The authors neglect to provide the answer which their source provides ''on the very next page'': [[Book_of_Mormon_condemns_polygamy#The_Smoot_hearings|Smoot hearings answer]].
||
|authorsources=
*Reed Smoot Case, vol. 1, p.480
*Reed Smoot Case, vol. 1, p.480
|-
}}
|
 
====221====
====221====
||Orson Pratt said that the Book of Mormon condemned polygamy.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Book of Mormon condemns polygamy]]
|claim=
||
*Orson Pratt said that the Book of Mormon condemned polygamy.
|response=
* [[Polygamy/Book of Mormon condemns the practice]]
|authorsources=
*{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|6:351}}
*{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|6:351}}
|-
}}
|
====222====
====222====
||Joseph took wives without his first wife's consent.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Joseph Smith and polygamy]]
|claim=
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Emma_Smith|Emma Smith and plural marriage]]
*Joseph took wives without his first wife's consent.
||
|response=
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy]]
* [[Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Emma_Smith|Emma Smith and plural marriage]]
|authorsources=
* {{attn}}
* {{attn}}
 
}}
|-
|
====225====
====225====
||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*It is claimed that LDS leaders were worried that the missionaries would "take the best women."
*It is claimed that LDS leaders were worried that the missionaries would "take the best women."
||
|response=
* {{SourceDistortion}}
* {{SourceDistortion}}
* [[Polygamy/Leaders worried missionaries take best plural wives|Leaders worried missionaries "take the best women"?]]
* [[Polygamy/Leaders worried missionaries take best plural wives|Leaders worried missionaries "take the best women"?]]
Line 170: Line 175:


: I wish more of our young men would take to themselves wives of the daughters of Zion, and not wait for us old men to take them all; go-ahead upon the right principle, young gentlemen, and God bless you for ever and ever and make you fruitful, that we may fill the mountains and then the earth with righteous inhabitants.  That is my prayer, and that is my blessing upon all the saints and upon your posterity after you, for ever: Amen."{{ref|hck.1}}
: I wish more of our young men would take to themselves wives of the daughters of Zion, and not wait for us old men to take them all; go-ahead upon the right principle, young gentlemen, and God bless you for ever and ever and make you fruitful, that we may fill the mountains and then the earth with righteous inhabitants.  That is my prayer, and that is my blessing upon all the saints and upon your posterity after you, for ever: Amen."{{ref|hck.1}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=6|start=256|disc=45}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=6|start=256|disc=45}}
|-
}}
|


====226====
====226====
||Heber C. Kimball remarked on the "great sorrow" of plural marriage.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Did early Church leaders speak of plural marriage difficulties?]]
|claim=
*Heber C. Kimball remarked on the "great sorrow" of plural marriage.
|response=
* [[Polygamy/Did early Church leaders speak of plural marriage difficulties]]
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|4:178}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|4:178}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|disc=35|vol=4|start=178}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|disc=35|vol=4|start=178}}
|-
}}
|


====226====
====226====
||Brigham Young spoke of the "problems" of plural marriage.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Did early Church leaders speak of plural marriage difficulties?]]
|claim=
*Brigham Young spoke of the "problems" of plural marriage.
|response=
* [[Polygamy/Did early Church leaders speak of plural marriage difficulties]]
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|9:195}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|9:195}}
||
|authorsources=
**{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=37|vol=9|start=195}}
**{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=37|vol=9|start=195}}
|-
}}
|


====228====
====228====
||Brigham Young offered to let any wife go who wanted to.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Brigham Young offered to let any wife go who wanted to.
|response=
* Brigham would not require ''any'' woman to remain in ''any'' marriage against her will.  Utah had some of the most liberal divorce laws in the Union.  Many polygamous women who divorced a husband entered into polygamy again.{{ref|divorce.1}}
* Brigham would not require ''any'' woman to remain in ''any'' marriage against her will.  Utah had some of the most liberal divorce laws in the Union.  Many polygamous women who divorced a husband entered into polygamy again.{{ref|divorce.1}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|vol=4|start=55|end=57|author=Brigham Young|disc=10}}  
*{{JDfairwiki|vol=4|start=55|end=57|author=Brigham Young|disc=10}}  
*''Deseret News'', vol. 6, pp.235-36
*''Deseret News'', vol. 6, pp.235-36
|-
}}
|


====230-231====
====230-231====
||Joseph and Emma fought about plural marriage.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Joseph Smith and polygamy]]
|claim=
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Emma_Smith|Emma Smith and plural marriage]]
*Joseph and Emma fought about plural marriage.
||
|response=
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy]]
* [[Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Emma_Smith|Emma Smith and plural marriage]]
|authorsources=
*Journal and autobiography, Joseph Lee Robinson
*Journal and autobiography, Joseph Lee Robinson
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=57-58}}
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=57-58}}
|-
}}
|
 
====231====
====231====
||Joseph had between 27 to "sixty or more" wives.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Joseph had between 27 to "sixty or more" wives.
|response=
* The higher number is exaggerated.  Many women were sealed to Joseph after his death, but he was probably married to around 33 wives in life.
* The higher number is exaggerated.  Many women were sealed to Joseph after his death, but he was probably married to around 33 wives in life.
* [[Joseph Smith and polygamy]]
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy]]
* Relying on Brodie's figures is foolish; her standard of evidence was low, and she has been shown to be wrong in many cases.
* Relying on Brodie's figures is foolish; her standard of evidence was low, and she has been shown to be wrong in many cases.
||
|authorsources=
*Andrew Jenson, ''Historical Record'', pp.233, 234
*Andrew Jenson, ''Historical Record'', pp.233, 234
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=434-65}}
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=434-65}}
*''Western Humanities Review'', vol. 10, pp.232-33
*''Western Humanities Review'', vol. 10, pp.232-33
|-
}}
|
====231====
====231====
||There is a rumor that Emma beat Eliza Snow with a broomstick and caused her to fall down the stairs, preventing her from having Joseph's child.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*There is a rumor that Emma beat Eliza Snow with a broomstick and caused her to fall down the stairs, preventing her from having Joseph's child.
|response=
* The story is implausible, and most historians have judged it to be false.
* The story is implausible, and most historians have judged it to be false.
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Emma_Smith/Eliza_R._Snow_and_the_stairs|Eliza and Emma and the stairs?]]
* [[Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Emma_Smith/Eliza_R._Snow_and_the_stairs|Eliza and Emma and the stairs?]]
* [[Joseph Smith and polygamy/Children of polygamous marriages#Snow|Joseph Smith and polygamy&mdash;Children of polygamous marriages&mdash;Snow]]
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Children of polygamous marriages#Snow|Joseph Smith and polygamy&mdash;Children of polygamous marriages&mdash;Snow]]
* {{BYUS1|author=Maureen Ursenbach Beecher et al.|article=Emma and Eliza and the Stairs|vol=22|num=1|date=Fall 1982|start=86|end=96}}.
* {{BYUS1|author=Maureen Ursenbach Beecher et al.|article=Emma and Eliza and the Stairs|vol=22|num=1|date=Fall 1982|start=86|end=96}}.
||
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=57-58}}
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=57-58}}
*''Intimate Disciple, a Portrait of Willard Richards'', 1957, p.407
*''Intimate Disciple, a Portrait of Willard Richards'', 1957, p.407
|-
}}
|


====232====
====232====
||Joseph was sealed to a large number of women after his death.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Joseph was sealed to a large number of women after his death.
|response=
* This is certainly true, and may explain some of the underlying theology of plural marriage&mdash;sealing the faithful into one extended family.  The Widtsoe reference explains this, but the authors do not mention it:
* This is certainly true, and may explain some of the underlying theology of plural marriage&mdash;sealing the faithful into one extended family.  The Widtsoe reference explains this, but the authors do not mention it:
::Women no longer living, whether in Joseph's day or later have also been sealed to the Prophet for eternity. The request for such unions has usually come from relatives or friends who would have their loved one share eternity with the Prophet, rather than with anyone else. Unscrupulous and unreliable writers have even added such marriages to the list of Joseph's wives.
::Women no longer living, whether in Joseph's day or later have also been sealed to the Prophet for eternity. The request for such unions has usually come from relatives or friends who would have their loved one share eternity with the Prophet, rather than with anyone else. Unscrupulous and unreliable writers have even added such marriages to the list of Joseph's wives.
* [[Joseph Smith and polygamy]]
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy]]
||
|authorsources=
*''Joseph Smith and Polygamy'', p.47
*''Joseph Smith and Polygamy'', p.47
*Widtsoe, ''Evidences and Reconciliations'', Single Volume Edition, 1960, pp.342-43
*Widtsoe, ''Evidences and Reconciliations'', Single Volume Edition, 1960, pp.342-43
|-
}}
|
 
====233====
====233====
||Brigham Young had "fifty or sixty" wives, and boasted of his ability to obtain more.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Brigham Young and polygamy/Boasted could have more wives|Brigham&mdash;boasted could have more wives?]]
|claim=
*Brigham Young had "fifty or sixty" wives, and boasted of his ability to obtain more.
|response=
* [[Brigham Young/Polygamy/Boasted could have more wives|Brigham&mdash;boasted could have more wives?]]
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|5:210}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|5:210}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|8:178}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|8:178}}
||
|authorsources=
*''Journal of Discourses'' 6:180-81 {{attn}} - is this in error? not a brigham speech
*''Journal of Discourses'' 6:180-81 {{attn}} - is this in error? not a brigham speech
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=8|start=178|disc=46}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=8|start=178|disc=46}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=34|vol=5|start=210}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=34|vol=5|start=210}}
|-
}}
|


====234====
====234====
||Mormon men believed that they "could have all the wives they wanted." Heber C. Kimball said that in the resurrection, he could have "thousands" of wives.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Mormon men believed that they "could have all the wives they wanted." Heber C. Kimball said that in the resurrection, he could have "thousands" of wives.
|response=
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|4:209}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|4:209}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=4|pages=361|disc=40|start=209}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Heber C. Kimball|vol=4|pages=361|disc=40|start=209}}
|-
}}
|
 
====236====
====236====
||Joseph asked for other men's wives, such as the wife of Heber C. Kimball||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Joseph asked for other men's wives, such as the wife of Heber C. Kimball
|response=
* The request was a test to Heber and Vilate.
* The request was a test to Heber and Vilate.
* [[Divine_manifestations_to_plural_wives_and_families#Heber_and_Vilate_Kimball|Heber and his wife had a miraculous conversion to plural marriage]]
* [[Polygamy/Divine manifestations to plural wives and families#Heber_and_Vilate_Kimball|Heber and his wife had a miraculous conversion to plural marriage]]
* [[Polygamy_book/Polyandry|Polyandry&mdash;sealing to married women?]]
* [[Polygamy_book/Polyandry|Polyandry&mdash;sealing to married women?]]
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Jedediah M. Grant|vol=2|start=13|end=14|disc=2}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Jedediah M. Grant|vol=2|start=13|end=14|disc=2}}
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=70-72}}
*{{CriticalWork:Wyl:Mormon Portraits Volume First|pages=70-72}}
*''Life of Heber C. Kimball'', pp.333-35
*''Life of Heber C. Kimball'', pp.333-35
|-
}}
|
 
====237====
====237====
||Joseph married Heber C. Kimball's daughter, Helen.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Helen_Mar_Kimball|Marriage to Helen Mar Kimball]]
|claim=
||
*Joseph married Heber C. Kimball's daughter, Helen.
|response=
* [[Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Helen_Mar_Kimball|Marriage to Helen Mar Kimball]]
|authorsources=
*''Life of Heber C. Kimball'', pp.339
*''Life of Heber C. Kimball'', pp.339
|-
}}
|
====239====
====239====
||Joseph married Zina, the wife of Henry Jacobs.
{{IndexClaim
||
|claim=
*Joseph married Zina, the wife of Henry Jacobs.
|response=
* Henry seems to have given his blessing to the arrangement.
* Henry seems to have given his blessing to the arrangement.
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Zina_and_Henry_Jacobs |Zina and Henry Jacobs]]
* [[Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Zina_and_Henry_Jacobs |Zina and Henry Jacobs]]
* [[Polygamy_book/Polyandry|Polyandry&mdash;sealing to married women?]]
* [[Polygamy_book/Polyandry|Polyandry&mdash;sealing to married women?]]
||
|authorsources=
* {{attn}}
* {{attn}}
|-
}}
|


====239====
====239====
||Brigham Young publicly told Henry Jacobs to find another wife?||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Brigham Young publicly told Henry Jacobs to find another wife?
|response=
* {{FalseStatement}}: historical evidence does not support this claim.
* {{FalseStatement}}: historical evidence does not support this claim.
* [[Joseph_Smith_and_polygamy/Zina_and_Henry_Jacobs |Zina and Henry Jacobs]]
* [[Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Zina_and_Henry_Jacobs |Zina and Henry Jacobs]]
* Allen Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," FAIR presentation transcript, 2006. {{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2006_Zina_and_Her_Men.html}}
* Allen Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," FAIR presentation transcript, 2006. {{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2006_Zina_and_Her_Men.html}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=443}}
*{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=443}}
|-
}}
 
|
====239-240====
====239-240====
||Some women who were associated with Joseph claimed that they did not know who the father of their children were.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Some women who were associated with Joseph claimed that they did not know who the father of their children were.
|response=
* {{FalseStatement}}: The source for this is only Ann Eliza Young, who was two years old in Nauvoo at Joseph's death!
* {{FalseStatement}}: The source for this is only Ann Eliza Young, who was two years old in Nauvoo at Joseph's death!
*[[Joseph Smith and polygamy/Children of polygamous marriages|Children by Joseph in plural marriage]]
*[[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Children of polygamous marriages|Children by Joseph in plural marriage]]
||
|authorsources=
*{{CriticalWork:Young:Wife No. 19|pages=70-71}}
*{{CriticalWork:Young:Wife No. 19|pages=70-71}}
|-
}}
|
 
====243====
====243====
||Joseph performed a "pretended" marriage for time for Sarah Ann Whitney to Joseph Kingsbury.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Joseph performed a "pretended" marriage for time for Sarah Ann Whitney to Joseph Kingsbury.
|response=
* {{Prejudicial}}: Joseph was sealed to Sarah Ann.  Kingsbury agreed to act as a "surrogate" husband to spare Sarah the difficulty of refusing suitors while plural marriage was still a secret in Nauvoo.
* {{Prejudicial}}: Joseph was sealed to Sarah Ann.  Kingsbury agreed to act as a "surrogate" husband to spare Sarah the difficulty of refusing suitors while plural marriage was still a secret in Nauvoo.
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head08 Plural marriage and secrecy]
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head08 Plural marriage and secrecy]
||
|authorsources=
*''The History of Joseph C. Kingsbury''
*''The History of Joseph C. Kingsbury''
|-
}}
|
 
====245-246====
====245-246====
||The Bible prohibited a man from marrying sisters or mothers and daughters, therefore Mormon polygamy was not Biblical.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*The Bible prohibited a man from marrying sisters or mothers and daughters, therefore Mormon polygamy was not Biblical.
|response=
* Latter-day Saint plural marriage did not rely on biblical authority or interpretation (though they used biblical parallels to explain and understand the command which they believed they had received from God via a modern prophet.)
* Latter-day Saint plural marriage did not rely on biblical authority or interpretation (though they used biblical parallels to explain and understand the command which they believed they had received from God via a modern prophet.)
* Marrying two sisters was quite frequent, possibly because sisters had already learned to get along together, which made for more harmonious plural families.  One researcher noted:
* Marrying two sisters was quite frequent, possibly because sisters had already learned to get along together, which made for more harmonious plural families.  One researcher noted:
:: Marriage to the wife's sister, defined as incest only by Anglican canon law, is the only form of polygamous marriage of the [potentially 'incestuous] categories...that occurs in significant numbers.{{ref|embry.1}}
:: Marriage to the wife's sister, defined as incest only by Anglican canon law, is the only form of polygamous marriage of the [potentially 'incestuous] categories...that occurs in significant numbers.{{ref|embry.1}}
* [[Polygamy_not_Biblical|Polygamy not biblical]]
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Not Biblical|Polygamy not biblical]]
||
|authorsources=
*''Millennial Star'' vol. 19, pp.473-74
*''Millennial Star'' vol. 19, pp.473-74
|-
}}
|


====246-247====
====246-247====
||Joseph sealed brothers and sisters together.
{{IndexClaim
||
|claim=
*Joseph sealed brothers and sisters together.
|response=
*{{HistoricalError}}: The authors do nothing to explain this practice. They want it to appear bizarre or repulsive.
*{{HistoricalError}}: The authors do nothing to explain this practice. They want it to appear bizarre or repulsive.
* {{Presentism}}: Joseph seems to have used marriage in the way that we know use "sealing."  Thus, a "marriage" did not always imply a sexual or marital relationship.
* {{Presentism}}: Joseph seems to have used marriage in the way that we know use "sealing."  Thus, a "marriage" did not always imply a sexual or marital relationship.
* {{SourceDistortion}}: the authors hide the fact that a long list of living ''and deceased'' persons are part of the sealing.  This is not a marriage, but a sealing into eternal family relationships.
* {{SourceDistortion}}: the authors hide the fact that a long list of living ''and deceased'' persons are part of the sealing.  This is not a marriage, but a sealing into eternal family relationships.
* [[Joseph Smith and polygamy/Sealing brother and sister together|Incestuous sealings of brother and sister?]]
* [[Joseph Smith/Polygamy/Sealing brother and sister together|Incestuous sealings of brother and sister?]]
||
|authorsources=
*Joseph Smith's diary, October 26, 1843
*Joseph Smith's diary, October 26, 1843
|-
}}
|
 
====248====
====248====
||Brigham said that monogamy was a "fruitful source of prostitution and whoredom"||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Brigham said that monogamy was a "fruitful source of prostitution and whoredom"
|response=
* Brigham was pointing out that Christian critics of the Church, while attacking the LDS for the practice of polygamy, were tolerating and even indulging in moral wickedness.
* Brigham was pointing out that Christian critics of the Church, while attacking the LDS for the practice of polygamy, were tolerating and even indulging in moral wickedness.
* The authors fail to point out that Brigham was also discussing the evidence that Protestant reformers realized that polygamy was not unbiblical.
* The authors fail to point out that Brigham was also discussing the evidence that Protestant reformers realized that polygamy was not unbiblical.
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|11:128}}
* {{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|11:128}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=11|start=128|disc=19}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|vol=11|start=128|disc=19}}
|-
}}
|
 
====249====
====249====
||Some Mormons believed that Joseph taught that Adam had two wives.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Some Mormons believed that Joseph taught that Adam had two wives.
|response=
* [[Fallibility_of_prophets#Standard_of_doctrine_in_the_Church|Official doctrine: what is it?]]
* [[Fallibility_of_prophets#Standard_of_doctrine_in_the_Church|Official doctrine: what is it?]]
||
|authorsources=
*''Journal of Discourses'' 26:115
*{{JDfairwiki|author=H. W. Naisbitt|vol=26|disc=13|start=115}}
|-
}}
|
====249-251====
====249-251====
||Early Church leaders taught that Jesus was married to more than one wife.||
{{IndexClaim
* [[Fallibility_of_prophets#Standard_of_doctrine_in_the_Church|Official doctrine: what is it?]]
|claim=
* [[Was_Jesus_Christ_married/Was_Jesus_a_polygamist|Was Jesus a polygamist?]]
*Early Church leaders taught that Jesus was married to more than one wife.
||
|response=
*Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, pp.345-46
* [[Church doctrine/Statements by Church leaders#Standard_of_doctrine_in_the_Church|Official doctrine: what is it?]]
*Journal of Discourses, vol. 4, pp.259-60
* [[Was Jesus Christ married/Was Jesus a polygamist|Was Jesus a polygamist?]]
*Journal of Discourses, vol. 2, p.210
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Jedediah M. Grant|vol=1|disc=49|start=345|end=346}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Orson Hyde|vol=4|disc=49|start=259|end=260}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Orson Hyde|vol=2|disc=34|start=210}}
*The Seer, p. 172"
*The Seer, p. 172"
|-
}}
|
====258====
====258====
||Brigham Young said that the "only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy."||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Brigham Young said that the "only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy."
|response=
* The authors are repeating themselves&mdash;they've already done this quote mining on [[../Chapter 2#29|p. 29]].
* The authors are repeating themselves&mdash;they've already done this quote mining on [[../Chapter 2#29|p. 29]].
*[[The only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy?]]
*[[Polygamy/The only men who become gods are those that practice polygamy]]
*{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|11:269}}
*{{QuoteMining|Journal of Discourses|11:269}}
||
|authorsources=
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=41|vol=11|start=269}}
*{{JDfairwiki|author=Brigham Young|disc=41|vol=11|start=269}}
|-
}}
|
====258-259====
====258-259====
||Polygamy was practiced in secret and denied publicly.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Polygamy was practiced in secret and denied publicly.
|response=
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head08 Plural marriage and secrecy]
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head08 Plural marriage and secrecy]
||
|authorsources=
*''Times and Seasons'', vol. 3, p.909
*''Times and Seasons'', vol. 3, p.909
*''History of the Church'' 6:354-55
*''History of the Church'' 6:354-55
Line 393: Line 431:
*''Times and Seasons'', March 15, 1844, vol. 5, p.474
*''Times and Seasons'', March 15, 1844, vol. 5, p.474
*''Millennial Star'', vol. 3, p.74"
*''Millennial Star'', vol. 3, p.74"
|-
}}
|
====262-263====
====262-263====
||John Taylor stated that he believed in keeping every law except the law against polygamy.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*John Taylor stated that he believed in keeping every law except the law against polygamy.
|response=
* The Saints regarded polygamy as a religious belief which harmed no one, and which they were thus entitled to practice.
* The Saints regarded polygamy as a religious belief which harmed no one, and which they were thus entitled to practice.
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head02 Civil disobedience and polygamy]
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head02 Civil disobedience and polygamy]
Line 402: Line 442:
** {{BYUS1|author=Edwin B. Firmage|article=The Judicial Campaign against Polygamy and the Enduring Legal Questions|vol=27|num=3|date=Summer 1987|start=91–113}}
** {{BYUS1|author=Edwin B. Firmage|article=The Judicial Campaign against Polygamy and the Enduring Legal Questions|vol=27|num=3|date=Summer 1987|start=91–113}}
** Stephen Eliot Smith, “The ‘Mormon Question’ Revisited: Anti-polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause” (LL.M. thesis, Harvard Law School, 2005).  
** Stephen Eliot Smith, “The ‘Mormon Question’ Revisited: Anti-polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause” (LL.M. thesis, Harvard Law School, 2005).  
||
|authorsources=
*''Journal of Discourses'' 20:317
*{{JDfairwiki|author=John Taylor|vol=20|disc=41|start=317}}
|-
}}
|
====263====
====263====
||Brigham Young said the polygamy would never go away.
{{IndexClaim
||
|claim=
*Brigham Young said the polygamy would never go away.
|response=
* {{CitationError}}: The speaker is probably Heber C. Kimball, not Brigham Young.
* {{CitationError}}: The speaker is probably Heber C. Kimball, not Brigham Young.
* {{SourceDistortion}}
* {{SourceDistortion}}
* [[Polygamy/Deseret News 7 Nov 1855 - Polygamy never go away|''Deseret News'' 7 Nov 1855 - Polygamy never go away?]]
* [[Polygamy/Deseret News 7 Nov 1855 - Polygamy never go away|''Deseret News'' 7 Nov 1855 - Polygamy never go away?]]
||
|authorsources=
*''Deseret News'', November 7, 1855
*''Deseret News'', November 7, 1855
|-
}}
|
 
====270-281====
====270-281====
||
{{IndexClaim
Polygamy was practiced after the Manifesto was issued.
|claim=
||
*Polygamy was practiced after the Manifesto was issued.
* [[Polygamy after the Manifesto]]
|response=
* [[Polygamy/Practiced after the Manifesto]]
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head25 Post-manifesto polygamy] <small>non-wiki</small>
* [http://www.fairlds.org/Misc/Polygamy_Prophets_and_Prevarication.html#head25 Post-manifesto polygamy] <small>non-wiki</small>
||
|authorsources=
* {{attn}}
* {{attn}}
}}
|-
|
 
====289====
====289====
||Modern Church leaders teach that polygamy is not essential for exaltation.||
{{IndexClaim
|claim=
*Modern Church leaders teach that polygamy is not essential for exaltation.
|response=
* {{Fundamentalism}}
* {{Fundamentalism}}
* [[Polygamy_a_requirement_for_exaltation|Polygamy: a requirement for exaltation?]]
* [[Polygamy/Requirement for exaltation|Polygamy: a requirement for exaltation?]]
||
|authorsources=
*''Mormon Doctrine'', 1958, p.523
*''Mormon Doctrine'', 1958, p.523
|}
}}


==Endnotes==
==Endnotes==

Revision as of 05:40, 31 January 2010


Chapter 8
A FAIR Analysis of:
The Changing World of Mormonism
A work by author: Jerald and Sandra Tanner
 Chapter 10

Claims made in Chapter 9: Plural Marriage

205

Claim
  • The 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had a section denouncing polygamy.

Author's source(s)

  • Doctrine and Covenants (1835), Section 101

Response

207

Claim
  • Section 101 was replaced with Section 132 in 1876

Author's source(s)

  •  [ATTENTION!]

Response

  •  Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
  • The Saints believe in on-going revelation—Church policy may change from time to time.

207

Claim
  • A revelation on plural marriage given in 1831 was "suppressed" which said that the Indians would become "white and delightsome" though intermarriage with the Mormons.

Author's source(s)

  • Letter from W. W. Phelps to Brigham Young. August 12, 1861

Response

208

Claim
  • It was taught that the skin color of the Indians would change if they joined the Church.

Author's source(s)

  •  [ATTENTION!]

Response

209

Claim
  • Spencer Kimball believed that the Indians were becoming a "white and delightsome" people.

Author's source(s)

  • Improvement Era, December 1960, pp.922-23

Response

212

Claim
  • Brigham Young believed that the Indians skin would become white through intermarriage.

Author's source(s)

  • The Abominations of Mormonism Exposed, Cincinnati, 1852, pp.58-59

Response

  • Church leaders did not realize until 1982 that Joseph Smith had edited a Book of Mormon verse in 1836 to avoid giving this impression.
  •  Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints: The Saints do not believe in prophetic infallibility.
  •  Prejudicial or loaded language: A nineteenth century anti-Mormon work ("Abominations of Mormonism") is the only source

214

Claim
  • Church leaders did not approve of interracial marriage.

Author's source(s)

  •  [ATTENTION!]

Response

  • Church leaders have discouraged any marriage in which the social or cultural differences will prove serious obstacles to a successful marriage. Unfortunately, that was often the case with inter-racial marriages in the United States until quite recently.
  • Interracial marriage condemned?

215

Claim
  • Oliver Cowdery believed that Joseph had an improper relationship with Fanny Alger.

Author's source(s)

  • Letter written by Oliver Cowdery and recorded by his brother Warren Cowdery;
  • This source is vague and not much help to the reader. The actual source is: Oliver Cowdery to Warren A. Cowdery, "Dear Br. Warren," Far West, Missouri (21 Jan 1838); reproduced in "Letters of Oliver Cowdery." In New Mormon Studies CD-ROM (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books, 1998).

Response

219

Claim
  • Lorenzo Snow said that anyone who had a plural marriage prior to the date of the revelation (July 12, 1843) was living in adultery.

Author's source(s)

  • Temple Lot Case, p.320

Response

219

Claim
  • It is claimed that Mormon leaders say that the 1843 revelation was actually received earlier, but History of the Church says that this was the date the revelation was received.

Author's source(s)

  • History of the Church 5:500-501

Response

  • The revelation was recorded on this date, but it is clear that Joseph knew and was teaching it earlier.
  • First teaching about plural marriage
  • Danel W. Bachman, "A Study of the Mormon Practice of Polygamy before the Death of Joseph Smith" (Purdue University, 1975).
  • Danel W. Bachman, "New Light on an Old Hypothesis: The Ohio Origins of the Revelation on Eternal Marriage," Journal of Mormon History 5 (1978): 19–32.

220

Claim
  • Brigham Young said that he lived "above the law."

Author's source(s)

Response

  •  Misrepresentation of source: Brigham claims he is obeying the law, while others seek to take away their rights. He nowhere says he is "above the law."
  • See Quote mining—Journal of Discourses 1:361 to see how this quote was mined.

220

Claim
  • Polygamy is forbidden by the Book of Mormon

Author's source(s)

  •  [ATTENTION!]

Response

220-221

Claim
  • Joseph F. Smith said that the Book of Mormon forbid polygamy.

Author's source(s)

  • Reed Smoot Case, vol. 1, p.480

Response

221

Claim
  • Orson Pratt said that the Book of Mormon condemned polygamy.

Author's source(s)

Response

222

Claim
  • Joseph took wives without his first wife's consent.

Author's source(s)

  •  [ATTENTION!]

Response

225

Claim
  • It is claimed that LDS leaders were worried that the missionaries would "take the best women."

Author's source(s)

Response

I wish more of our young men would take to themselves wives of the daughters of Zion, and not wait for us old men to take them all; go-ahead upon the right principle, young gentlemen, and God bless you for ever and ever and make you fruitful, that we may fill the mountains and then the earth with righteous inhabitants. That is my prayer, and that is my blessing upon all the saints and upon your posterity after you, for ever: Amen."[1]

226

Claim
  • Heber C. Kimball remarked on the "great sorrow" of plural marriage.

Author's source(s)

Response

226

Claim
  • Brigham Young spoke of the "problems" of plural marriage.

Author's source(s)

Response

228

Claim
  • Brigham Young offered to let any wife go who wanted to.

Author's source(s)

Response

  • Brigham would not require any woman to remain in any marriage against her will. Utah had some of the most liberal divorce laws in the Union. Many polygamous women who divorced a husband entered into polygamy again.[2]

230-231

Claim
  • Joseph and Emma fought about plural marriage.

Author's source(s)

  • Journal and autobiography, Joseph Lee Robinson
  • Wilhelm Wyl, Mormon Portraits Volume First: Joseph Smith the Prophet, His Family and Friends (Salt Lake City: Tribune Printing and Publishing Co., 1886), 57-58.

Response

231

Claim
  • Joseph had between 27 to "sixty or more" wives.

Author's source(s)

Response

  • The higher number is exaggerated. Many women were sealed to Joseph after his death, but he was probably married to around 33 wives in life.
  • Joseph Smith/Polygamy
  • Relying on Brodie's figures is foolish; her standard of evidence was low, and she has been shown to be wrong in many cases.

231

Claim
  • There is a rumor that Emma beat Eliza Snow with a broomstick and caused her to fall down the stairs, preventing her from having Joseph's child.

Author's source(s)

  • Wilhelm Wyl, Mormon Portraits Volume First: Joseph Smith the Prophet, His Family and Friends (Salt Lake City: Tribune Printing and Publishing Co., 1886), 57-58.
  • Intimate Disciple, a Portrait of Willard Richards, 1957, p.407

Response

232

Claim
  • Joseph was sealed to a large number of women after his death.

Author's source(s)

  • Joseph Smith and Polygamy, p.47
  • Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, Single Volume Edition, 1960, pp.342-43

Response

  • This is certainly true, and may explain some of the underlying theology of plural marriage—sealing the faithful into one extended family. The Widtsoe reference explains this, but the authors do not mention it:
Women no longer living, whether in Joseph's day or later have also been sealed to the Prophet for eternity. The request for such unions has usually come from relatives or friends who would have their loved one share eternity with the Prophet, rather than with anyone else. Unscrupulous and unreliable writers have even added such marriages to the list of Joseph's wives.

233

Claim
  • Brigham Young had "fifty or sixty" wives, and boasted of his ability to obtain more.

Author's source(s)

Response

234

Claim
  • Mormon men believed that they "could have all the wives they wanted." Heber C. Kimball said that in the resurrection, he could have "thousands" of wives.

Author's source(s)

Response

236

Claim
  • Joseph asked for other men's wives, such as the wife of Heber C. Kimball

Author's source(s)

  • Jedediah M. Grant, Journal of Discourses 2:13-14.
  • Wilhelm Wyl, Mormon Portraits Volume First: Joseph Smith the Prophet, His Family and Friends (Salt Lake City: Tribune Printing and Publishing Co., 1886), 70-72.
  • Life of Heber C. Kimball, pp.333-35

Response

237

Claim
  • Joseph married Heber C. Kimball's daughter, Helen.

Author's source(s)

  • Life of Heber C. Kimball, pp.339

Response

239

Claim
  • Joseph married Zina, the wife of Henry Jacobs.

Author's source(s)

  •  [ATTENTION!]

Response

239

Claim
  • Brigham Young publicly told Henry Jacobs to find another wife?

Author's source(s)

Response

  •  The author's claim is false: historical evidence does not support this claim.
  • Zina and Henry Jacobs
  • Allen Wyatt, "Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young," FAIR presentation transcript, 2006. FAIR link

239-240

Claim
  • Some women who were associated with Joseph claimed that they did not know who the father of their children were.

Author's source(s)

  • Ann Eliza Young, Wife No. 19, or the Story of a Life in Bondage...(Hartford, Conn.: Custin, Gilman & Company, 1876), 70-71.

Response

243

Claim
  • Joseph performed a "pretended" marriage for time for Sarah Ann Whitney to Joseph Kingsbury.

Author's source(s)

  • The History of Joseph C. Kingsbury

Response

  •  Prejudicial or loaded language: Joseph was sealed to Sarah Ann. Kingsbury agreed to act as a "surrogate" husband to spare Sarah the difficulty of refusing suitors while plural marriage was still a secret in Nauvoo.
  • Plural marriage and secrecy

245-246

Claim
  • The Bible prohibited a man from marrying sisters or mothers and daughters, therefore Mormon polygamy was not Biblical.

Author's source(s)

  • Millennial Star vol. 19, pp.473-74

Response

  • Latter-day Saint plural marriage did not rely on biblical authority or interpretation (though they used biblical parallels to explain and understand the command which they believed they had received from God via a modern prophet.)
  • Marrying two sisters was quite frequent, possibly because sisters had already learned to get along together, which made for more harmonious plural families. One researcher noted:
Marriage to the wife's sister, defined as incest only by Anglican canon law, is the only form of polygamous marriage of the [potentially 'incestuous] categories...that occurs in significant numbers.[3]

246-247

Claim
  • Joseph sealed brothers and sisters together.

Author's source(s)

  • Joseph Smith's diary, October 26, 1843

Response

  •  History unclear or in error: The authors do nothing to explain this practice. They want it to appear bizarre or repulsive.
  •  Presentism or anachronism: Joseph seems to have used marriage in the way that we know use "sealing." Thus, a "marriage" did not always imply a sexual or marital relationship.
  •  Misrepresentation of source: the authors hide the fact that a long list of living and deceased persons are part of the sealing. This is not a marriage, but a sealing into eternal family relationships.
  • Incestuous sealings of brother and sister?

248

Claim
  • Brigham said that monogamy was a "fruitful source of prostitution and whoredom"

Author's source(s)

Response

  • Brigham was pointing out that Christian critics of the Church, while attacking the LDS for the practice of polygamy, were tolerating and even indulging in moral wickedness.
  • The authors fail to point out that Brigham was also discussing the evidence that Protestant reformers realized that polygamy was not unbiblical.
  • See Quote mining—Journal of Discourses 11:128 to see how this quote was mined.

249

Claim
  • Some Mormons believed that Joseph taught that Adam had two wives.

Author's source(s)

Response

249-251

Claim
  • Early Church leaders taught that Jesus was married to more than one wife.

Author's source(s)

Response

258

Claim
  • Brigham Young said that the "only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy."

Author's source(s)

Response

258-259

Claim
  • Polygamy was practiced in secret and denied publicly.

Author's source(s)

  • Times and Seasons, vol. 3, p.909
  • History of the Church 6:354-55
  • History of the Church 6:411
  • Times and Seasons, March 15, 1844, vol. 5, p.474
  • Millennial Star, vol. 3, p.74"

Response

262-263

Claim
  • John Taylor stated that he believed in keeping every law except the law against polygamy.

Author's source(s)

Response

  • The Saints regarded polygamy as a religious belief which harmed no one, and which they were thus entitled to practice.
  • Civil disobedience and polygamy
  • Modern legal scholars have recognized that the legal treatment given the Saints was probably improper.
    • Edwin B. Firmage, "The Judicial Campaign against Polygamy and the Enduring Legal Questions," Brigham Young University Studies 27 no. 3 (Summer 1987), 91–113.
    • Stephen Eliot Smith, “The ‘Mormon Question’ Revisited: Anti-polygamy Laws and the Free Exercise Clause” (LL.M. thesis, Harvard Law School, 2005).

263

Claim
  • Brigham Young said the polygamy would never go away.

Author's source(s)

  • Deseret News, November 7, 1855

Response

270-281

Claim
  • Polygamy was practiced after the Manifesto was issued.

Author's source(s)

  •  [ATTENTION!]

Response

289

Claim
  • Modern Church leaders teach that polygamy is not essential for exaltation.

Author's source(s)

  • Mormon Doctrine, 1958, p.523

Response

Endnotes

  1. [note]  Eugene E. Campbell and Bruce L. Campbell, "Divorce among Mormon Polygamists: Extent and Explanations," Utah Historical Quarterly 46/1 (Winter 1978): 5; citing Box containing nine folders, numbered 1 to 917, plus several ledgers, Archives Division, Historical Department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.
  2. [note]  Jessie L. Embry, "Ultimate Taboos: Incest and Mormon Polygamy," Journal of Mormon History 18/1 (Spring 1992): 93–113.
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