Joseph Smith, Mormon church founder and prophet, took as many as 40 wives, at least one as young as 14, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have acknowledged in a series of essays posted as guideposts for the faithful.
The church had not previously acknowledged that Smith engaged in plural marriages, though the practice was one of the public attributes of its early days. The church formally abandoned polygamy in 1890, but the practice continues to be a cultural identifier in film, television and theater.
The acknowledgment is significant because it signals an openness on the part of the religion, which has been wrapped in secrecy and whose practices involving women and minorities have raised questions among some of its own adherents. In that sense, Mormons are following in the footsteps of other Christian religions seeking to explore once-taboo issues, such as sexuality or same-sex marriage. The hope among religions is that greater transparency will make the churches more acceptable to modern audiences.
Born in upstate New York in the 1820s, nurtured in its early combative days in the Midwest, the Mormon religion followed the dream West. Adherents settled Utah, still the spiritual center of the religion.
In an essay posted on the church’s website, Mormons seek to explain the origin of polygamy in its early days in Ohio and Illinois. Polygamy is difficult to understand, says the essay, titled “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo.”
“Many details about the early practice of plural marriage are unknown. Plural marriage was introduced among the early Saints incrementally, and participants were asked to keep their actions confidential. They did not discuss their experiences publicly or in writing until after the Latter-day Saints had moved to Utah and church leaders had publicly acknowledged the practice,” according to the essay.
The roots of the practice date to Smith’s study of the Old Testament in 1831. Major biblical figures — including Abraham, David and Solomon — had more than one wife and were acting on God’s wishes.
“The same revelation that taught of plural marriage was part of a larger revelation given to Joseph Smith,” the essay notes. “Marriage could last beyond death and that eternal marriage was essential to inheriting the fullness that God desires for his children.”
Smith had 30 to 40 wives, according to the essay. The women ranged in age from 14 to 56, though most were between 20 and 40. Some were wives of Smith’s friends.
The prophet probably did not have sexual relations with all of the women because some were “sealed” to him just for the expected afterlife in heaven. The essay does note, however that polygamy was “an excruciating ordeal” for Smith’s first wife, Emma.
The official news of Smith’s marriage didn’t surprise many Mormons.
