Emma Smith's reaction to Joseph Smith's plural marriages

FAIR Answers—back to home page

V

Articles about Plural marriage

Doctrinal foundation of plural marriage	Purpose of plural marriage Plural marriage as a requirement for exaltation Plural marriage in early Christianity Plural marriage in the Book of Mormon Plural marriage and the Bible
Introduction of plural marriage	Initiation of the practice of plural marriage 1835 Doctrine and Covenants denies polygamy Fanny Alger was Joseph Smith's first plural wife Joseph Smith hid polygamy from the general Church membership Divine manifestations to plural wives and families Plural marriage and the law
Questions about Joseph Smith and plural marriage	Initiation of the practice of plural marriage Fanny Alger was Joseph Smith's first plural wife Joseph Smith hid polygamy from the general Church membership Joseph Smith's marriages to young women Did Joseph Smith coerce women to marry him? Mormon women refusing offers of plural marriage Polyandry Joseph Smith and children through plural marriage Marrying other men's wives? Joseph Smith hiding plural marriages from his first wife, Emma Emma Smith's reaction to Joseph Smith's plural marriages Emma Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 132 Did Joseph have lustful motives for practicing polygamy? Did Joseph Smith send men on missions in order to steal their wives? Did Joseph Smith practice polygamy for the purpose of monetary gain?
John C. Bennett and Nauvoo polygamy	Bennett before Nauvoo Bennett and Prostitution Brothel at Nauvoo Rise and Fall of Bennett Sarah Pratt Nancy Rigdon Sidney Rigdon
Notable plural wives of Joseph Smith	Emma Smith Fanny Alger Prescindia Lathrop Huntington Buell Marinda Nancy Johnson Hyde Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Helen Mar Kimball
Plural marriage in Utah	Difficulties with plural marriage Brigham Young's statements regarding plural marriage John Taylor's statements regarding polygamy Latter-day Saints and divorce in the nineteenth century Prevalence of plural marriage in Utah
End of plural marriage	The First Manifesto Official Declaration Number 1 Plural marriage practiced after the First Manifesto The Church of Jesus Christ and plural marriage today

Emma Smith's reaction to Joseph Smith's plural marriages

Question: How did Emma Hale Smith react to Joseph's practice of plural marriage?

Jump to details:

• Question: How did Emma Hale Smith react to Joseph's practice of plural marriage?
• Emma was aware of Joseph's plural marriage and sometimes gave permission, but did much to try and thwart it
• Emma did teach her children that Joseph had never taught the doctrine of plural marriage, and blamed its introduction on Brigham Young

Emma Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 132

Jump to details:

• Question: Was Emma Smith promised "annihilation" if she didn't accept plural marriage?
• The revelation is not entirely clear on what this means

Question: Was a pregnant Eliza R. Snow pushed down the stairs by a furious Emma, resulting in a miscarriage?

Jump to details:

• Question: Was a pregnant Eliza R. Snow pushed down the stairs by a furious Emma, resulting in a miscarriage?
• The historical and logistical problems with this story make it unlikely to be true
• The statement that Eliza carried Joseph’s unborn child and lost it due to an attack by Emma is brought into question by Eliza’s own journal
• RLDS perspective
• Question: If the story of Emma pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs is true, why did Eliza not make use of it?

Question: Was a pregnant Eliza R. Snow pushed down the stairs by a furious Emma, resulting in a miscarriage?

Jump to details:

• Question: Was a pregnant Eliza R. Snow pushed down the stairs by a furious Emma, resulting in a miscarriage?
• The historical and logistical problems with this story make it unlikely to be true
• The statement that Eliza carried Joseph’s unborn child and lost it due to an attack by Emma is brought into question by Eliza’s own journal
• RLDS perspective
• Question: If the story of Emma pushing Eliza Snow down the stairs is true, why did Eliza not make use of it?

Question: Under what circumstances was Doctrine and Covenants Section 132 committed to writing?

Jump to details:

• Question: Under what circumstances was Doctrine and Covenants Section 132 committed to writing?
• Hyrum Smith asked Joseph to commit the doctrine to writing, because he believed that he could thereby persuade Emma of its truth

Question: Since first wives were generally to grant permission for sealings to subsequent wives, did Joseph's later sealing to Emma mean that Emma no longer held the role of "first wife"?

Jump to details:

• Question: Since first wives were generally to grant permission for sealings to subsequent wives, did Joseph's later sealing to Emma mean that Emma no longer held the role of "first wife"?
• If the wife of the person who holds the keys to plural marriage rejects plural marriage, her husband is to follow the commands of God to him without her permission

Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?

Jump to details:

• Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?
• This claim rests on a single, unreliable hostile source. Other hostile sources (including William Law) deny the tale
• Testimony that contradicts the claim
• William Law and complicating the picture

See also Brian Hales' discussion

Emma's path through plural marriage	Sometime in 1840 Joseph Smith first broached the topic of plural marriage privately to trusted friends. Most of the apostles were in England and thus were unavailable for an introduction to the practice.
Emma and Fanny Alger	Joseph's first foray into plural marriage was deeply painful for Emma, his first wife.
When did Emma learn?	It is impossible to definitively determine when Emma learned of Joseph’s plural marriages. However, many historical clues help to create a possible timeline.
Emma Accepts Plural Marriage and Participates in Four of Joseph’s Plural Sealings	The earliest documentable date for Emma’s awareness of time-and-eternity plural marriage is May of 1843, when she participated in four of her husband’s polygamous sealings.
Emma’s Resistance Prompts recording of D&C 132	Emma’s resistance to plural marriage prompted Hyrum to encourage Joseph to dictate a written revelation on the subject.
Joseph and Emma: Conflict and Agreement	Rather than generating Emma’s active support, the revelation [D&C 132] appears to have brought a smoldering crisis to flame. She and Joseph took serious counsel together with some sort of agreement being negotiated.

⍗

Source(s) of the criticism:

Critical sources

Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson, Mormonism 101. Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2000), Chapter 17. ( Index of claims ) MormonThink.com website (as of 28 April 2012). Page: http://mormonthink.com/joseph-smith-polygamy.htm Richard S. Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy: A History (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1989), Chapter 5.

Notes