Brian C. Hales
Latter-day Saint Historian • Author • Researcher
Brian C. Hales is an independent researcher and author specializing in Joseph Smith’s practice of plural marriage, early Latter-day Saint history, and the origins of the Book of Mormon. A retired anesthesiologist, he has devoted decades to researching and publishing on some of the most challenging questions in Latter-day Saint history.
Hales is best known for his three-volume work, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: History and Theology (2013), which examines the historical documentation and theological dimensions of plural marriage during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. His earlier book, Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations after the Manifesto (2007), received the John Whitmer Historical Association’s Best Book Award for 2007. He also coauthored Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding (2015) with his late wife, historian and editor Laura Harris Hales.
His research has appeared in the Journal of Mormon History, Mormon Historical Studies, and Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, and he has contributed to The Persistence of Polygamy series. He maintains historical research resources through JosephSmithsPolygamy.org and MormonFundamentalism.com.
More recently, Hales has expanded his research to examine Joseph Smith’s literary abilities and the circumstances surrounding the translation of the Book of Mormon. His book Authoring the Book of Mormon: Investigating Joseph Smith’s 1829 Literary Skills explores these questions through historical and literary analysis.
Hales earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Utah State University and a medical degree from the University of Utah. During his medical career, he served as president of the Utah Medical Association and president of the medical staff at Davis Hospital and Medical Center. He also served as president of the John Whitmer Historical Association.
A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hales served a mission in Venezuela and sang with the Tabernacle Choir from 1999 to 2013. He and his wife, Janis, recently completed a full-time mission in the Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission, working on special projects.
Bio last reviewed:
October 26, 2026
Contributions at FAIR
Statement of Faith
My Introduction to Fundamentalism
Over twenty years ago, I learned that a member of my family had been excommunicated for joining a “Mormon fundamentalist” group. In response I researched their claims and doctrines and published three books on the topic. The most detailed is Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism (Greg Kofford Books, 2006). A shorter version, Setting the Record Straight: Mormon Fundamentalism (Millennial Press, 2008), is also available. Throughout my analysis of their teachings, I remain unconvinced that their efforts are approved of God. Despite their apparent sincerity and traditions, I believe they are grossly misguided and in error.
Throughout my studies, I encountered many questions about the origin of plural marriage. Many authors claimed that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a womanizer who adopted polygamy to expand his sexual license. Eventually I committed myself to discover the bedrock truth concerning Joseph Smith’s polygamy. With the help of several others, I was able to either personally view (and transcribe) or to acquire copies of every known document dealing with the topic. These transcriptions will soon be available in an exhaustive two-volume treatment entitled: Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: History and Theology, to be published by Greg Kofford Books within the next year.
Best Evidence
It appears that the best evidence indicates that Joseph Smith’s pre-Nauvoo reputation did not include gossip of licentiousness and that Fanny Alger was his first plural wife. Manuscript documentation supports plural sealings to perhaps thirty-four women, with many of those being for “eternity” only—that is, for the next life. Sexual relations were present in some of the Prophet’s plural marriages, but probably in much fewer than half and they were not a common occurrence. It appears that only two or perhaps three children were born through those unions.
Evidence indicates Joseph Smith never participated in sexual polyandry (one wife with two husbands) and that he condemned such associations as adultery (Doctrine and Covenants 132:63). No historical data has been found supporting sexual relations with his two fourteen-year-old wives, consistent with Utah policy of waiting until the women matured. A review of the numerous allegations of sexual involvement with non-wives fails to identify any that do not suffer from factual errors, internal inconsistencies, or gross implausibilities.
Polygamy as the Issue
My detailed review of Joseph Smith’s introduction of plural marriage among the Latter-day Saints supports the idea that he resisted for the same reasons that virtually every other Church member was repulsed. After being three times threatened by an angel, he moved forward and embraced the practice as a commandment of God.
I believe that for Latter-day Saints today, the scary part of Joseph Smith’s polygamy is not Joseph Smith, not his choices and behaviors. The scary part of Joseph Smith’s polygamy is simply polygamy, for he established it among his followers and lived it, emulating ancient prophets.
As if to answer the unbelieving critic, a late second-hand account quotes Joseph Smith as saying:
“I am no false Prophet; I am no impostor; I have had no dark revelations; I have had no revelations from the devil; I made no revelations; I have got nothing up of myself. . . . God . . . [has] directed me and strengthened me in this work.”
This is also my testimony of him.
