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Excerpt from “Shadow Influences of Plural Marriage on Sexuality Within The Contemporary
Mormon Experience,” by William M. Gardiner
From its inception Joseph Smith's plural marriage was formulated and instituted in a haze
of secrecy, concealment, and public lies.[3] Indeed, the practice of plural marriage was not
publicly acknowledged until 1852, perhaps some 21 years after it was first advocated by Smith.
Determining the facts about the practice of plural marriage is therefore especially difficult in
early Mormon history. Public denial and private practice among a select few seemed to be the
unwritten policy of early plural marriages as instituted by Joseph Smith.[4] A rather brutal
example of the secrecy surrounding plural marriage in its early practice by Smith is found in the
apparent case of his secretly marrying his wife's (Emma's) counselor and her secretary in the
Nauvoo Relief Society of which Emma was president.[5] This was apparently done without
Emma's knowledge or consent. Joseph was therefore secretly married to nearly all of Emma's
Relief Society Presidency without her awareness! Perhaps the contradictory and self-nullifying
rule revealed as the "Law of Sarah" was used as justification for the seemingly audacious
behavior of Smith. As revealed in section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Law of Sarah
decreed that the first wife was to give her consent for subsequent wives, unless the first wife was
unbelieving or unwilling. In that case the male was exempt from the Law of Sarah, and the first
wife was found in contempt, labeled a transgressor, and even threatened with destruction![6] I
am only grateful that such "laws" are not efficacious in my behalf!
In my teaching experience in various settings in the church I've discovered many
contemporary members of the church are surprised to learn that Joseph Smith was married to
anyone other than Emma! I believe this demonstrates the obscuring of history that has occurred
within the church. Obviously it is a big shock when lifelong members, after graduating from
seminary and sitting through hundreds of hours of church instruction, discover that not only did
Joseph take other wives, but many of them were married when he took them! Further, many of
Smith's wives were considerably younger than himself--with at least one as young as fourteen![7]
Some members, at this point, feel anger or disillusionment towards the church institution that
chose to keep such information veiled in secrecy. However, in view of the apparent realities
concerning plural marriage it becomes somewhat evident why there may be motive to keep such
information safely in the church institution's secret closet!
Many members of the Mormon church are familiar with an oft quoted statement made by
Joseph Smith that begins: "Happiness is the object and design of our existence: and will be the
end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it..."[8] Many church members might be surprised
to discover that this statement has been extracted from a letter Joseph Smith had written Nancy
Rigdon (First Presidency counselor Sydney Rigdon's daughter) attempting to entice her into
marrying him.[9] The statement that appears in all official church references (including
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith) has been sterilized of all context relating to the married
prophet attempting to secretly entice a young woman into a polygamous relationship with him.
Plural marriage, the secrecy of its early practice, and the ensuing social and political
circumstances that emerged from its practice are probably the greatest factors leading to the
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murders of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum, and the subsequent upheaval of this era of
Mormon history.[10] Indeed, a careful analysis of the later Nauvoo era of the Mormon Church
presents itself as a perfect example of the workings of the shadow within a culture or institution.
The church attempted to present a pristine public appearance, but was having considerable
conflict with the underworld of secrecy and private behaviors.[11] Most likely empowered by the
energy inherent in the sexual drive, the underworld of Nauvoo was a veritable shadow land of
wonder! Accusations, denials, conspiracies, secret societies and practices, conflicts, and violent
behaviors danced their way out of the shadow lands of the Mormon institution, colliding and
conflicting with the Victorian outward appearance of the pristine church and its people.
Division within the highest ranking quorum of the church (First Presidency) would
produce the circumstances that would ultimately allow the powderkeg to explode. When First
Presidency counselor William Law could no longer condone the secret practices and peculiar
doctrines Smith was advocating, he publicly split with the prophet and along with others
determined to expose the truth. In an aptly titled publication, The Nauvoo Expositor, Law and his
group produced a paper that brought some of Nauvoo's secret practices into public awareness and
promised to reveal more of the truth in subsequent editions. However, before further editions
could be produced, Smith and the city council had the press destroyed. This clearly
unconstitutional action provided the legal justification that would eventuate in Smith's
incarceration. With Smith and others secure in jail, the explosive political climate erupted in mob
violence and he and his brother were murdered. To many, Smith was hailed as a martyr. Others
knew him as an obvious fraud and scoundrel exploiting his position of power to gain control over
others and the sexual favor of many.
The practice of plural marriage within Mormonism would eventually be flushed from its
seeming security in the closet. And although its practice became publicly acknowledged and
nationally publicized, an obvious air of embarrassment would continue to surround the issue for
many Mormons. Attempts by early and contemporary proponents of the practice to minimize the
sexual aspects of plural marriages indicates to me the ongoing nature of shadow
compartmentalization.[12]
Subsequent litigation and national disenfranchisement would force (or heavily induce) the
church to abandon the practice of plural marriage. Complete abandonment of the practice proved
to be a formidable task.[13] This is most likely due to the fact that plural marriage was initially
presented as essential and foundational in early Mormon theology.[14] An era of purging those
who refused to abandon the once believed essential practice ensued. Again, the emergence of
conflicts, secret societies and practices ventilated the ongoing repressed shadow material in early
20th century Mormonism. Mormon fundamentalism had its birth in this era.[15]
The stage was set for the split that would occur in the 20th century individual and
collective Mormon psyche. The church would eventually adopt a position of public disdain for
the practice of plural marriage, but maintain somewhat of a repressed awareness of its eternal
prominence. Further compounding this psychic split would be the repression of awareness of the
sexual connotations inherent in plural marriage. To access this awareness, one only need bring up
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a serious discussion of plural marriage in a Gospel Doctrine Sunday school class and watch the
repressed material begin to emerge! Contemporary Mormons generally demonstrate an
unwillingness to face or confront the realities of the previous era of secret and eccentric marital
and sexual behaviors. A position of "sweeping under the carpet" seems to be a common way of
dealing with thoughts and feelings relative to the whole business of the earlier practice of plural
marriage. This is true of the church's public and official dealings with the difficult topic as well.
Richard Van Wagoner postulates in his excellent research on plural marriage that Utah Mormons
may be the most anti-polygamous group of all![16] It appears evident that the contemporary
Mormon is socialized to resign much thought and feeling in this area to the shadow lands.
Openly, a pristine attitude concerning marriage and sexuality is embraced. Resigned to the
shadow is a lurking awareness of this strange and eccentric practice previously embraced, and
bound to re-emerge somewhere in the eternities
Notes:
[3] Richard S. Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy: A History (Salt Lake City: Signature Books,
1989), 1-12; Linda King Newell & Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith
Prophet's Wife, "Elect Lady", Polygamy's Foe (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co.,
1984), 95-101, 108-110, 134-135, 147.
[4] See Van Wagoner, 1-40, 50-62; Danel W. Bachman, "A Study of the Mormon Practice of
Plural Marriage Before the Death of Joseph Smith" (M.A. Thesis, Purdue University, 1975),
73-90, 189- 203; Newell & Avery, Mormon Enigma, 95-102; Andrew F. Ehat, "Joseph Smith's
Introduction of Temple Ordinances and the 1844 Succession Question" (M.A. Thesis, Brigham
Young University, 1981), 17-30, 46-75.
[5] Joseph secretly married Sarah Cleveland and Eliza Snow. See Newell & Avery, Mormon
Enigma , 119.
See Doctrine and Covenants 132:61,64-65.
[7] Todd Compton, In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City:
Signature Books, 1997), 1-23.
[8] Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith,
(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1976), 255.
[9] Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy, 31-33.
[10] Ibid., 63-70; Donna Hill, Joseph Smith: The First Mormon (Midvale, Utah: Signature
Books, 1977), 335-418; John E. Hallwas & Roger D. Launius, eds. Cultures In Conflict: A
Documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois (Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press,
1995), 109-237.
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[11] Robert Bruce Flanders, Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi (Urbana: University of Illinois
Press, 1965), 242-277; Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy, 17-40.
[12] See for example Jessie L. Embry, Mormon Polygamous Families: Life in the Principle (Salt
Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1987), 49-52.
[13] See D. Michael Quinn, "LDS Church Authority and New Plural Marriages, 1890-1904,"
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 18 (Spring 1985): 9-105.
[14] William Clayton quoting Joseph Smith clearly validated this doctrine. See Historical Record
6 (July 1887), 226. Quoted from Hill, Joseph Smith: The First Mormon, 345.
[15] Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy, 177-217
[16] Ibid., ix.
(From: http://www.post-mormons.com/shadow.htm)