Joseph Smith had 33 wives! Early in the history of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Smith declared that God had
given him—and only him—the right, even the obligation, to take many wives.
Before long this word from God was modified so that other leaders of the church
and eventually ordinary church members could take multiple wives. Polygamy was
only stopped by the Church under great pressure from the United States
government. It is still practiced by some Mormon groups, only not as openly as
in Smith’s day
Does the Bible speak specifically and directly to
the issue of polygamy? What are we to conclude from the polygamy practiced by
even some godly people in the Old Testament—such as King David and King Solomon?
God expected the leaders of Israel in Old Testament
times to be examples of godliness in every area of their lives, including in
their domestic lives. There was a clear commandment in Deuteronomy 17:17: “Neither shall (the king)
multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away.” We have the names of eight of David’s wives and it appears he had more
than that. Solomon may have been the most married man in human history with 700
wives (plus 300 concubines). How many wives could the king have without “multiplying”
them? Only one.
Perhaps the passage from Acts 17:30
applies here, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now
commandeth all men every where to repent” (although Paul was at the time
addressing polytheistic heathen worship). Regardless of the ignorance these men
may have had they were living in contravention to the command of God clearly
spelled out in the Law.
In the New Testament, the leaders
of the church were to model godly living in their lives. Paul wrote of bishops
in I Timothy, “A bishop then must be
blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given
to hospitality, apt to teach.” (3:2).
Further on in the chapter he wrote of deacons, “Let the deacons be the husbands of one
wife, ruling their children and their own houses well” (3:12). The
leaders were to set the example—one man, one wife.
This is in keeping with Jesus’
words in Mark 10:6-8: “But from the beginning of creation,
‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave
his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.”
King David and King Solomon were sinning when they
had more than one wife. Men in St. Paul’s day who had more than one wife were
sinning. God’s plan has always been one man and one woman united in marriage
for life.
Joseph Smith was grievously sinning when he took 33
women as wives. Besides being a moral evil it was also illegal. This evil was
compounded by his marrying 11 women who were at the same time married to other
men. He also exploited some children as young as 14 to be his wives. These are not
the actions of a man of God.
JOSEPH
SMITH’S MARRIAGES
Wife
|
Date
|
Age
|
Husband*
|
Emma Hale
Fanny Alger Lucinda Morgan Harris Louisa Beaman Zina Huntington Jacobs Presendia Huntington Buell Agnes Coolbrith Sylvia Sessions Lyon Mary Rollins Lightner Patty Bartlett Sessions Marinda Johnson Hyde Elizabeth Davis Durfee Sarah Kingsley Cleveland Delcena Johnson Eliza R. Snow Sarah Ann Whitney Martha McBride Knight Ruth Vose Sayers Flora Ann Woodworth Emily Dow Partridge Eliza Maria Partridge Almera Johnson Lucy Walker Sarah Lawrence Maria Lawrence Helen Mar Kimball Hanna Ells Elvira Cowles Holmes Rhoda Richards Desdemona Fullmer Olive Frost Melissa Lott Nancy Winchester Fanny Young |
Jan 1827
1833 1838 Apr 1841 Oct 1841 Dec 1841 Jan 1842 Feb 1842 Feb 1842 Mar 1842 Apr 1842 Jun 1842 Jun 1842 Jul 1842 Jun 1842 Jul 1842 Aug 1842 Feb 1843 Spring 1843 Mar 1843 Mar 1843 Apr 1843 May 1843 May 1843 May 1843 May 1843 Mid 1843 Jun 1843 Jun 1843 Jul 1843 Mid 1843 Sep 1843 1843 Nov 1843 |
22
16 37 26 20 31 33 23 23 47 27 50 53 37 38 17 37 33 16 19 22 30 17 17 19 14 29 29 58 32 27 19 14 56 |
NONE
NONE George W. Harris NONE Henry Jacobs Norman Buell NONE Windsor Lyon Adam Lightner David Sessions Orson Hyde Jabez Durfee John Cleveland NONE NONE NONE NONE Edward Sayers NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE Jonathan Holmes NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE NONE |
* Living Husband at
the time of
Marriage to Joseph Smith |
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