Tag Archives: polygamy

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Marriage to multiple spouses. Practiced by Joseph Smith and early church leaders; officially ended in 1890 (publicly) and 1904 (secretly).

“The revelation is clear in its purpose... President Taylor’s God declares, when “my everlasting covenants cannot be abrogated nor done away with.” All who wish to enter into God’s highest glory “must and shall obey my law.” ... it raises thorny issues for Latter-day Saints. Was Taylor’s revelation true, and were the prophets who followed him traitors? And what does it mean for Latter-day Saint authority if revelations — and revelators — are fallible?” - Benjamin Park, Teacher, Author, President of the Mormon History Association | wasmormon.org
“The revelation is clear in its purpose... President Taylor’s God declares, when “my everlasting covenants cannot be abrogated nor done away with.” All who wish to enter into God’s highest glory “must and shall obey my law.” ... it raises thorny issues for Latter-day Saints. Was Taylor’s revelation true, and were the prophets who followed him traitors? And what does it mean for Latter-day Saint authority if revelations — and revelators — are fallible?” - Benjamin Park, Teacher, Author, President of the Mormon History Association
“Press dispatches... allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized ... also that in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy—I, therefore, as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our Temples or in any other place in the Territory.” - Wilford Woodruff, 1890 Manifesto - D&C Official Declaration 1 | wasmormon.org
“Press dispatches... allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized ... also that in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy—I, therefore, as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our Temples or in any other place in the Territory.” - Wilford Woodruff, 1890 Manifesto - D&C Official Declaration 1
“Between 1848 and 1851, Smith's household, including his slaves, settled in Utah in the Salt Lake Basin. The Mormons were generally outspoken in their belief in the inferiority of Blacks and women. Biddy and Hannah were not recognized as independent family heads, but remained with Smith's household as slaves. Given the Mormon practice of polygamy, Black women's status as slaves or indentured servants of a Southern master not only remained low, but there was also a religious justification for any sexual exploitation a master wished to enforce.” - Dolores Hayden, Biddy Mason’s Los Angeles 1856-1891. California History, Fall 1989 | wasmormon.org
“Between 1848 and 1851, Smith's household, including his slaves, settled in Utah in the Salt Lake Basin. The Mormons were generally outspoken in their belief in the inferiority of Blacks and women. Biddy and Hannah were not recognized as independent family heads, but remained with Smith's household as slaves. Given the Mormon practice of polygamy, Black women's status as slaves or indentured servants of a Southern master not only remained low, but there was also a religious justification for any sexual exploitation a master wished to enforce.” - Dolores Hayden, Biddy Mason’s Los Angeles 1856-1891. California History, Fall 1989

Bishop Warren S. Snow’s Teenage Brides and The Castration of Thomas Lewis

In 1857, just as tensions with the U.S. government were escalating toward the Utah War, a dark and largely forgotten episode of Mormon frontier justice played out in Manti, Utah. It involved a young man named Thomas Lewis, potentially an unnamed teenage girl, and Warren S. Snow, a high-ranking Mormon bishop and militia leader. What …

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Leadership Suppress Dissenfecting Light – The Nauvoo Expositor

On June 7, 1844, a bold and short-lived newspaper called the Nauvoo Expositor published its first—and only—issue in Nauvoo, Illinois. It was created by former Mormon insiders who could no longer remain silent. They leveled charges against Joseph Smith, including abuse of power, political tyranny, and most explosively, his secret polygamy. The Nauvoo Expositor printed …

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“I have arrived at a point in the History of my life as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where I am under the necessity of acting for the Temporal Salvation of the Church. The United State Government has taken a stand & passed Laws to destroy the Latter day Saints upon the subject of polygamy or Patriarchal order of Marriage. And after praying to the Lord & feeling inspired by his spirit I have issued the following Proclamation...” - Wilford Woodruff, LDS Church President, Journal, September 25, 1890 | wasmormon.org
“I have arrived at a point in the History of my life as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where I am under the necessity of acting for the Temporal Salvation of the Church. The United State Government has taken a stand & passed Laws to destroy the Latter day Saints upon the subject of polygamy or Patriarchal order of Marriage. And after praying to the Lord & feeling inspired by his spirit I have issued the following Proclamation...” - Wilford Woodruff, LDS Church President, Journal, September 25, 1890
Church leaders prayerfully sought guidance from the Lord and struggled to understand what they should do. Both President John Taylor and President Wilford Woodruff felt the Lord directing them to stay the course and not renounce plural marriage. This inspiration came when paths for legal redress were still open. The last of the paths closed in May 1890... President Woodruff saw that the Church’s temples and its ordinances were now at risk. Burdened by this threat, he prayed intensely over the matter. “The Lord showed me by vision and revelation,” he later said, “exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice,” referring to plural marriage. “All the temples [would] go out of our hands.” God “has told me exactly what to do, and what the result would be if we did not do it.” - LDS Church Website > Gospel Topics Essay > The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage | wasmormon.org
Church leaders prayerfully sought guidance from the Lord and struggled to understand what they should do. Both President John Taylor and President Wilford Woodruff felt the Lord directing them to stay the course and not renounce plural marriage. This inspiration came when paths for legal redress were still open. The last of the paths closed in May 1890... President Woodruff saw that the Church’s temples and its ordinances were now at risk. Burdened by this threat, he prayed intensely over the matter. “The Lord showed me by vision and revelation,” he later said, “exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice,” referring to plural marriage. “All the temples [would] go out of our hands.” God “has told me exactly what to do, and what the result would be if we did not do it.” - LDS Church Website > Gospel Topics Essay > The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage
“Latter-day Saints sincerely desired to be loyal citizens of the United States, which they considered a divinely founded nation. But they also accepted plural marriage as a commandment from God and believed the court was unjustly depriving them of their right to follow God’s commands. Confronted with these contradictory allegiances, Church leaders encouraged members to obey God rather than man.” - LDS Church Website > Gospel Topics Essay > The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage | wasmormon.org
“Latter-day Saints sincerely desired to be loyal citizens of the United States, which they considered a divinely founded nation. But they also accepted plural marriage as a commandment from God and believed the court was unjustly depriving them of their right to follow God’s commands. Confronted with these contradictory allegiances, Church leaders encouraged members to obey God rather than man.” - LDS Church Website > Gospel Topics Essay > The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage
“Government opposition strengthened the Saints’ resolve to resist what they deemed to be unjust laws... This antipolygamy campaign created great disruption in Mormon communities. The departure of husbands left wives and children to tend farms and businesses, causing incomes to drop and economic recession to set in... Between 1885 and 1889, most Apostles and stake presidents were in hiding or in prison. After federal agents began seizing Church property in accordance with the Edmunds-Tucker legislation, management of the Church became more difficult.” - LDS Church Website > Gospel Topics Essay > The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage | wasmormon.org
“Government opposition strengthened the Saints’ resolve to resist what they deemed to be unjust laws... This antipolygamy campaign created great disruption in Mormon communities. The departure of husbands left wives and children to tend farms and businesses, causing incomes to drop and economic recession to set in... Between 1885 and 1889, most Apostles and stake presidents were in hiding or in prison. After federal agents began seizing Church property in accordance with the Edmunds-Tucker legislation, management of the Church became more difficult.” - LDS Church Website > Gospel Topics Essay > The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage
“Antipolygamy laws enacted by the United States federal government in the 1870s and 1880s targeted Church-sponsored enterprises and the Church as a corporation and eventually threatened to disenfranchise the Church and confiscate its properties. President Wilford Woodruff worked with lawmakers and court officials to comply with new laws, discontinue the practice of plural marriage, and transition Church- affiliated enterprises into private business entities.” - LDS Church Website > Church History Topics > Church Incorporation | wasmormon.org
“Antipolygamy laws enacted by the United States federal government in the 1870s and 1880s targeted Church-sponsored enterprises and the Church as a corporation and eventually threatened to disenfranchise the Church and confiscate its properties. President Wilford Woodruff worked with lawmakers and court officials to comply with new laws, discontinue the practice of plural marriage, and transition Church- affiliated enterprises into private business entities.” - LDS Church Website > Church History Topics > Church Incorporation

LDS Leadership on Appearances: “Put on a little lipstick,” “Even a barn looks better painted”

Sexism, Patriarchy, and the Lingering Legacy of Polygamy in the LDS Church Two statements made by high-ranking LDS church leaders reveal more than just outdated social attitudes—they expose the deeply entrenched gender roles and patriarchal frameworks that continue to shape the church’s view of women. In a devotional, President David O. McKay once said, “Even …

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Renlund’s Boat Parable – Showcase of Demonizing Doubters and Dismissing Concerns

In 2019, both Dale G. Renlund, LDS Apostle, and his wife, Ruth L. Renlund, gave a talk at a Worldwide devotional from BYU-Hawaii. They shared a colorful parable to marginalize and blame doubters for their struggles with the church’s false truth claims. They claimed to be prompted to share this message and that they’d been …

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Oaks’ Temporary Commandments and The Shifting Sands of “Permanent” Laws

Dallin H. Oaks introduced a new concept during the October 2024 General Conference. He states that while some commandments are permanent, others are temporary. He then provides a few examples of each before moving on in his talk and not returning to the subject to conclude that we must forgo contention, be peacemakers, and avoid …

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Mark Twain on Mormons

Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910), was a prominent American writer, humorist, and social critic best known for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain lived during a transformative period in American history marked by the Civil War, Reconstruction, and rapid industrialization. His sharp wit and keen observations often critiqued …

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Gender in Terrestrial & Telestial Kingdoms or The TK Smoothie

Joseph Fielding Smith taught in his definitive Doctrines of Salvation that only celestial resurrected individuals will be able to procreate. He clarifies that individuals in the Telestial Kingdom would lack male or female genitalia, contrasting with those in the Celestial Kingdom, who would retain their reproductive organs for eternal procreation. This doctrine of salvation led …

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The Drawn Flaming Sword of Polygamy – Spiritual Abuse and Manipulation

Joseph Smith secretly practiced polyandry and polygamy, or what the church later called plural marriage. The church freely admits this today (when forced) whereas previously it was all denied as anti-mormon lies. A strange hill to die on since the church is well known for practicing polygamy for decades in Utah. The church was hesitant …

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