Part 4. William Marks, former stake president of Nauvoo, served as Smith III’s counselor in the reorganized First Presidency. The paper condemned the doctrine of plural wives which it called “abominations and whoredoms” (Nauvoo Expositor, June 7, 1844). She reportedly arrived in the Valley one day before Lott. Three months after the Church was organized, in July 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation for his wife Emma, instructing her to make a selection of sacred hymns for the Church of Christ. She was life-long (and pre-Mormon conversion) friend to Canadian John Taylor (second “prophet” to righam, and Number Four Man in the Secret Chamber.] Their second child, Martha, was born in Illinois.[2]:100–101. Joseph F. Smith, son of President Hyrum Smith, nephew of Joseph Smith and sixth President of the Church, “The great and glorious principle of plural marriage was first revealed to Joseph Smith in 1831, but being forbidden to make it public, or to teach it as a doctrine of the Gospel at that time, he confided the facts to only a very few of his intimate associates.” (Deseret News, May 20, 1886, Andrew Jenson, The Historical Record 6 [Salt Lake City, Utah, May 1887]: 219), Helen Mar Kimball, plural wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, “The Lord revealed it [plural marriage] to His prophet, Joseph Smith, as early as the year 1831.” (Whitney, Helen Mar Kimball Smith. “When the prophet “went to his dinner,” [Joseph Lee] Robinson wrote, “as it might be expected several of the first women of the church collected at the Prophet’s house with his wife [and] said thus to the prophet Joseph O mister Smith you have done it now it will never do it is all but Blassphemy you must take back what you have said to day is it is outrageous it would ruin us as a people.” So in the afternoon session Smith again took the stand, according to Robinson, and said “Brethren and Sisters I take back what we said this morning and leave it as though there had been nothing said ” ( Richard S. Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy: A History (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1986),48; citing Robinson, Journal, 23–24). I thought it held up too until I did a thorough study of the practice. But she didn’t know that her acquaintance with the Smith family would quickly become even more intimate after Hyrum Smith’s wife, Jerusha, passed away in October 1837, leaving behind five small children. Emma’s continuing public denial of the practice seemed to lend strength to their cause, and opposition to polygamy became a tenet of the RLDS Church. to labor for gathering, D&C 115:1, 5–6. The conflict is between them and our God, who has never forsaken His people; but He does not expect us to sit quietly down and fold our hands in idleness, while our enemies are publishing their outrageous falsehoods to blind the eyes of week and credulous to the most glorious truths of heaven and to throw ignominy and dishonor upon our people, more especially the women and the innocent children, who are as much farther advanced in the ways of God and the order of Heaven, as our slanderers are on the road to perdition, but to use every honorable means to defend ourselves against their vile attacks” …there are too many of the Prophet’s wives still living in Utah-as well as hundreds of other witnesses- who can testify to the hypocrisy of those men, who like William Marks, apostasized… and afterwards volunteered their services to help Emma Smith, she having, according to her own acknowledgment, founded the Josephite church to help avenge herself upon Brigham Young” (Women’s Exponent, 1 November 1881). (D&C 132:37). Keeping the revelation and practice of plural marriage secret and out of public view was a matter of life or death for the Saints. Emma and others encouraged Joseph to return and stand trial. I do positively know, and bear testimony to the fact” (Clayton, William. You can read more inspiring stories about Joseph Smith and the introduction and practice of Plural marriage here. Wikipedia Biography. . “Anyone who will read carefully the denials, as they are termed… will see clearly that they denounce adultery, fornication, brutal lust, and the teachings of plurality of wives by those who were not commanded to do so” (George A Smith to Joseph Smith III, October 9, 1869, Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Archives). [3]:261, On September 21, 1852, Smith died in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, at the home of her second husband, Heber C. Kimball, apparently of pneumonia. Richard and Pamele Price began their study of Polygamy and the Mormon church in 1950. Letter Salt Lake City to Madison M. Scott 1871 Nov. 11, Church Archives). 355–56). “Emma deceived her children and denied to everyone that the Prophet had ever received a revelation on celestial marriage, or had ever practiced it” (Women’s Exponent, vol. . . I believe my father was a good man, and a good man never could have promulgated such doctrines” (“Mormon” 1860, 103). Only revelation from God can convince them. Hyrum held many roles including Elder, Witness, Patriarch, Brevet Major General in the Nauvoo Legion and Assistant Prophet. Joseph Smith III worked unceasingly to dissociate his father  from the practice of celestial plural marriage, a principle for which the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were slain for advocating. He married Jerusha Barden in November 1826. Hyrum and his first wife, Jerusha, had four daughters and two sons. . That which Joseph and Hyrum denounced… was altogether different to the order of celestial marriage including a plurality of wives… Joseph and Hyrum were consistent in their action against the false doctrines of polygamy and spiritual wifeism, instigated by the devil and advocated by men who did not comprehend sound doctrine nor the purity of the celestial marriage which God revealed for the holiest of purposes” ( William Clayton affidavit in “Joseph Smith and Celestial Marriage,” Deseret News, May 20, 1886, 2). On January 8, 1844, Joseph Smith removed Law from the First Presidency. My investigation into the motivates of Richard and Pamela Price led me to a Review of their book and research. As hostility increased, William law and other dissenters plotted to expose the secret of plural marriage in Nauvoo to the law and to public opinion. Why We Practice Plural Marriage. . Historic LDS connections . In November 1843, Hyrum introduced the revelation on Celestial marriage to William Law, second counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith, but Law was reluctant to accept it. On Saturday, June 8, and the following Monday, June 10, the Nauvoo City Council convened to determine a course of action. John Smith (September 22, 1832 – November 6, 1911), was the fifth Presiding Patriarch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Brother Joseph gave us to understand that it was our duty to follow the Twelve.‘” (Autobiography of Mosiah Hancock). Emma stated. She was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery. The Book of Mormon clearly speaks against the practice (including the misinterpreted Jacob 2:30 verse) multiple times. Although she was widely known and respected during her lifetime, her son, Joseph F. Smith, further enhanced her reputation after her death as he presented her as a role model of courage and faithfulness in public addresses, sermons and articles. Many have criticized or been concerned by the secrecy with which the Prophet  Joseph Smith instituted plural marriage without appreciating the realities of the dangers involved. In October 1837, Joseph called him to serve a mission in the eastern states. He said to me that unless I accept it and introduce it and practise it, I together with my people should be damned and cut off from this time henceforth. Evidence indicates that Joseph Smith did not necessarily have to die when he did. was the shout. Emma Smith humbly received this important principle and gave to Joseph Smith three young women to wife, who had been living with her and her family, until she lost the Spirit and her heart became hardened (Eliza R Snow, Women’s Exponent). The Hyrum Smith Family Association connects the descendants of Hyrum to their ancestors and to each other. Joseph Bates Noble performed the first plural marriage of Joseph Smith on April 5, 1841, to Louisa Beaman. Download Essay. These individuals waited for young Joseph to take up the mantle of the RLDS Church. I have never believed it and never can believe it. . “Yea, the song of the righteous is a … “When assailed by their enemies and accused of practicing things which were really not countenanced in the Church, they were justified in denying those imputations and at the same time avoiding the avowal of such doctrine as were not yet intended for the world… Polygamy in the ordinary and Asiatic sense of the term, never was and is not now a tenet of the Latter-day Saints. How many will be able to abide a celestial law, and go through and receive their exaltation, I am unable to say, as many are called, but few are chosen”. Over the years, many RLDS Church historians have  continued to state that the practice originated with Brigham Young. [2]:98, In March 1838, Hyrum was among the church leaders taken to prison by the Missouri militia. Mary Fielding, .however, was not true to Hyrum. Beginning in 1880, Helen Mar Kimball Smith, plural wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith,  took to pen and paper to defend the Prophet Joseph from the antipolygamy crusade of Joseph Smith III and the RLDS Church. Now I say to you as I am ready to testify to all the world and on which testimony I am most willing to meet all the Latter Day Saints and all apostates in time and through all eternity. Fearing further resistance and harmful backlash from the general Church membership,  Joseph Smith began to teach the revelation on Plural marriage exclusively to his closest and most trusted friends and associates. Hyrum informed the Saints in Nauvoo  of the revelation to Joseph, saying: “The Lord has warned him to flee to the Rocky Mountains to save his life.”. A man asked me whether the commandment was given that a man may have seven wives; and now the new prophet has charged me with adultery. Richard and Pamela Price and the  Reorganized Church. Mary Fielding Smith Kimball (July 21, 1801 – September 21, 1852) was an early member of the Latter Day Saint movement, the second wife of Latter Day Saint leader Hyrum Smith, and the mother of Joseph F. Smith, who became president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Hyrum Smith. On August 12, 1843, Hyrum read the revelation concerning plural marriage to the Nauvoo High Council. In 1983 he co-founded the Franklin Quest Company to produce the planner and train individuals and organizations in the time management principles on which the planner was based. The Tares must grow with the wheat until the harvest. Quoted in Andrew Jenson, “Plural Marriage,” Historical Record 6 (July 1887): 232–33.). Hyrum Smith never had any wives except the one that died [Jerusha Harden Smith] and my sister [Mary Fielding Smith] and myself. On Friday, June 7, 1844, dissenters from the Church published the one and only issue of the Nauvoo Expositor. Mary Fielding was born in Honeydon (Honidon), Bedfordshire, England, on July 21, 1801. During the months of  February and March 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith was engaged in translating the book of Genesis. I had been fearing and doubting about the principle and so had he, but he now knew it was true. Finally, at a conference on April 6, 1860, in Amboy Illinois , Joseph Smith III formally accepted the leadership of what was then known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Elder Clayton wrote: “. . During the 1970s and 1980s, however, numerous historians, among them Reorganized Church historian Richard P. Howard, probed deeper into the origins of plural marriage, demonstrating beyond reasonable doubt Joseph Smith’s central role in developing the doctrine during the Nauvoo experience and offering frameworks for understanding it. not to get in debt any more for building the Lord’s house, D&C 115:13. During this time, Mary came to know Joseph and Hyrum Smith and greatly loved and respected them both. Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne. …What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one”  (History of the Church Volume 6, 410-411). The Book of Mormon foretells of apostasy in the Latter Days. Your email address will not be published. However, the Prophet received a revelation directing him in the course he should take to preserve his life. I wish you to be obedient to these true men as you have promised. ), Lucy Walker, plural wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Plural marriage “was revealed to the prophet in ‘31, but he did not teach it then … he received a revelation on polygamy in 1831.” (Kimball, Lucy Walker Smith. The fact that they took the trip with wives is strange as it would have required a long rough ride in a buggy. On Friday, June 7, 1844, dissenters from the Church published the one and only issue of the Nauvoo Expositor. This spiritual wifeism! “No such thing as polygamy, or spiritual wifery, was taught, publicly or privately, before my husband’s death, that I have now, or ever had any knowledge of …. He later wrote in his diary: “…polygamy was of the Devil and [Smith] should put it down”. Er wurde zusammen mit seinem Bruder ermordet, als sie beide auf eine Gerichtsverhandlung warteten. The Prophet's brother Hyrum Smith stubbornly resisted the very possibility until circumstances forced him to go to the Lord for understanding. Excellent article. Enter your email address to subscribe to the Mormon Chronicle and receive notifications of new posts by email. [2]:93[3]:17, The three Fielding siblings were introduced to the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1836 by their good friend. On July 12 at Hyrum Smith’s invitation, the Prophet dictated a revelation (now D&C 132), which Hyrum presented to Emma in the hope that she would again accept Joseph’s practice of polygamy. Unfortunately, in my experience those who are hardened against Celestial Plural Marriage don’t care about the facts. For the British botanist, see, Painting of Mary Fielding Smith by Sutcliffe Maudsley. Reflecting back on  the events  in Nauvoo Apostle Orson Hyde related: “What would it have done for us, if they had known that many of us had more than one wife when we lived in Illinois? Joseph F. Smith, son of Hyrum Smith and his legitimate second wife Mary Fielding. Smith went to Quincy, Illinois, with the remaining church members and, after Hyrum escaped from jail, they moved to Nauvoo, Illinois (also known as Commerce). The revelation on plural marriage, D&C 132, indicates that this further light and knowledge came after the Prophet inquired regarding the polygamous marriages of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and many other ancient prophets. “The doctrine of Polygamy paralyzes the nerves chills the currents of the heart and drives the brain to almost to madness” ( William Law Diary, June 7, 1844, quoted in Cook, William Law, 55). Joseph Smith turned his steps toward Carthage and martyrdom with the sad comment, “If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of none to myself.”. 6:184). Many of the Latter Day Saints who joined the RLDS Church in Nauvoo Illionois had broken with Brigham Young because of their opposition to polygamy. “… but being forbidden to make it public, or to teach it as a doctrine of the Gospel at that time, he confided the facts to only a very few of his intimate associates”. The situation became so heated that Joseph and Hyrum feared for their lives. Good thing we don’t believe in conspiracies of epic proportion, or in other words secret combinations. After his brother Alvin’s death, Hyrum assumed a major share of the family economy. (The revelation was written down at Hyrum Smith's request, who believed that he could persuade Emma Smith of the doctrine's provenance from God.) But unfortunately, Prices’ book is really just an attempt to rewrite history to fit their own conclusions. On 2 November 1826, in Manchester, New York, he married Jerusha Barden (1805–1837). But the time is coming, if not actually here already, that a choice will have to be made as to who’s side we are on, or, maybe we can stay “lukewarm”, but God states in the scriptures that He will “spew us out of His mouth”, (us lukewarmers). The Prophet dictated the words of the ceremony to Noble, and later cautioned him. I mean to live and proclaim the truth as long as I can. In many respects they are just like those early Saints in Nauvoo who learned about the practice and were troubled by it. Hyrum Smith (* 9. David Hyrum Smith: Full Name: Smith, David Hyrum, 1844-1904: Birth Year: 1844: Death Year: 1904: Youngest son of Joseph Smith, Jr., and his first wife, Emma. Years later Brigham Young spoke to the Saints in Salt Lake City about the Prophet’s decision. “If Brother Joseph Smith had been led by the Spirit he had, he would never /have given himself up and gone to Carthage, explained, “but he would have gone right to these mountains, and would have been alive today to lead this people.” The lesson the Saints should have learned from the Prophet’s death, President Young stressed, was that “the sheep must follow the shepherd, not the shepherd follow the sheep” (Journal of Charles W. Walker, Brigham Young University Library, under date of March 21, 1858.). goes to Salem, Mass., with Joseph Smith, D&C 111: Intro. They can’t keep their timelines straight, their interpretations of scriptural passages are anachronistic and untenable, and the different parts of the theory are not even internally self consistent. “It is clear to my mind what to do. [2]:93–95, Well educated, Mary earned a living through teaching school, tutoring private pupils and acting as a governess. Brigham’s as well of course but Brigham is not held in such high esteem here. [2]:107, English member of the Latter Day Saint movement, "Mary Fielding" redirects here. Part 2, Waking Up To Secret Combinations: An LDS Perspective on Conspiracy, “Follow the living prophet” …and Excommunicate Joseph Smith? Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1884, pg. Mercy and Mary lived as plural wives to Hyrum Smith in his home on the banks of the Mississippi River in Nauvoo. Joseph Smith said that the practice of this principle would be the hardest trial the Saints would ever have to test their faith. I never had any fuss with these men until that Female Relief Society brought out the paper against adulterers and adulteresses. The Prophet Joseph Smith was then instructed by the Lord regarding the matter: “Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter. Your email address will not be published. The revelation recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants gives what the Lord Himself states about His commandment: I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was. https://josephsmithfoundation.org/joseph-smith-polygamy/, ← The Law of the Land and the 12th Article of Faith, What Every Latter-day Saint Should Know About Vaccines →, “Follow the living prophet” …and Excommunicate Joseph Smith?