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It’s common knowledge at this point that Joseph Smith had multiple wives at the same time. But did some of Joseph’s wives have multiple husbands at the same time? That’s the question David Snell explores in this episode of Faith and Beliefs.
Video transcript: https://saintsunscripted.com/faith-and-beliefs/living-the-gospel/did-some-of-joseph-smiths-wives-practice-polyandry/
— Gospel Topics essay: “Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” via the Church website: https://bit.ly/3AYGVav
— Gospel Topics essay: “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” via the Church’s website: https://bit.ly/2MITdwO
— Gospel Topics essay: “Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah,” via the Church’s website: https://bit.ly/3PxO2eo
— Gospel Topics essay: “The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage,” via the Church’s website: https://bit.ly/3ySG7kT
— “Joseph Smith’s Sexual Polyandry and the Emperor’s New Clothes: On Closer Inspection, What Do We Find?” by Brian Hales (FAIR 2012): https://bit.ly/3RDPy01
— “‘Denying the Undeniable’: Examining Early Mormon Polygamy Renunciations,” via Brian Hales: https://bit.ly/3v3l6TG
— “The Prophet Secretly Teaches Polygamy,” via Brian Hales: https://bit.ly/3PepVBo
— “Did Joseph Smith send Apostle Orson Hyde on a mission so that he could secretly marry his wife Marinda while he was gone?” via FAIR: https://bit.ly/3uRXmln
— 1859 claim that Joseph sent 3 men on missions and married their wives (patently false): https://bit.ly/3z7BdSy Research from FAIR debunking this: https://bit.ly/3Pe9dC7
— “Polyandry: Women married to more than one husband” via FAIR: https://bit.ly/3uUfD1o
— Mary Heron short biography, via Brian Hales: https://bit.ly/3PedCVU
— “Mary Heron: Evidence of Sexuality,” via Brian Hales: https://bit.ly/3PaQrfd
— “Using Science to Answer Questions About Latter-day Saint History: The Case of Josephine Lyon’s Paternity,” by Ugo Perego, BYU Studies: https://bit.ly/3yJz9i5
Notes:
— KINGSBURY: “Years later in 1880, Kingsbury submitted a bill to the Church for his financial support of Sarah Ann. The bill read: ‘Nov 23, 1880, Joseph C. Kingsbury asked John Taylor that an $8000 debt to the church be remitted in consideration of services he had rendered in Nauvoo, and after leaving there, to the Prophet Joseph, in keeping one of his wives, Sarah Whitney, daughter of Bishop N. K. Whitney.’” https://bit.ly/3ogqXkJ
— It’s also worth noting that Joseph Smith was not the only person to enter into these “eternity-only” marriages. His uncle, John Smith, also did.
— From the Church’s essay on plural marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo: “Joseph Smith was sealed to a number of women who were already married. Neither these women nor Joseph explained much about these sealings, though several women said they were for eternity alone. Other women left no records, making it unknown whether their sealings were for time and eternity or were for eternity alone.”
— Many have believed that Josephine Lyon was the daughter of Joseph Smith and Sylvia Sessions. Recent DNA research has concluded that that is not the case (see relevant link above). Josephine’s genetic profile is a much closer match to that of Sylvia’s husband, Windsor Lyon. Very little evidence exists to give us any insight into the marriage between Sylvia and Joseph (and where Sylvia’s husband fits into the equation). My opinion is that there were no sexual relations between Joseph and Sylvia, and that she was another “for eternity only” spouse. Brian Hales’ first volume of “Joseph Smith’s Polygamy” gives a treatment of this marriage (see chapter 13). At that time, Brian assumed that Josephine probably was Joseph’s daughter. The more recent DNA evidence disproving that assumption is a game-changer, rendering some interpretations from that chapter outdated. Brain’s website has an updated perspective: https://bit.ly/3A6zduc
— “Another detail in [John C.] Bennett’s Pittsburgh affidavit is that the Prophet had sent men on missions so he could marry their wives in Nauvoo. This statement is contradicted by historical data. Of the twelve ‘polyandrous’ husbands identified by Todd Compton, ten were not on missions at the time Joseph was sealed to their legal wives. Of the two possible exceptions, only one, Orson Hyde, is documented as on a mission at the time of Marinda Johnson Hyde’s sealing to Joseph Smith. The second possible case involves George Harris, who left on his fourteen-month mission in July 1840. His wife, Lucinda may have been…sealed to Joseph Smith at some point, but the date is unavailable.” Source: Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Vol. 1, 313–314.
— Just an FYI: Windsor Lyon (husband of Sylvia Sessions) is counted as one of the 4 non-members in this episode because the evidence suggests Sylvia was not sealed to Joseph until after Windsor was excommunicated on November 19, 1842.
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