Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
1. Latter-day Saints believe that the
marriage of one man and one woman is the Lord’s standing law of marriage. In
biblical times, the Lord commanded some to practice plural marriage—the marriage
of one man and more than one woman. By
revelation, the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to institute the practice of plural
marriage among Church members in the early 1840s. For more than half a century,
plural marriage was practiced by some Latter-day Saints under the direction of
the Church President.
2. Latter-day Saints do not understand all
of God’s purposes in instituting, through His prophets, the practice of plural
marriage. The Book of Mormon identifies one reason for God to command it: to increase
the number of children born in the gospel covenant in order to “raise up seed
unto [the Lord].”
3. Plural marriage did result in the birth
of large numbers of children within faithful Latter-day Saint homes &
shaped 19th-century Mormon society in many ways: marriage became available to
virtually all who desired it; per-capita inequality of wealth was diminished as
economically disadvantaged women married into more financially stable
households; & ethnic intermarriages were increased, which helped to unite a
diverse immigrant population. Plural marriage also helped create and strengthen
a sense of cohesion & group identification among Latter-day Saints. Church
members came to see themselves as a “peculiar people,” covenant-bound to carry
out the commands of God despite outside opposition.
4. The revelation on plural marriage,
recorded in D&C 132,
emerged partly from Joseph Smith’s study of the Old Testament in 1831.
Latter-day Saints understood that they were living in the latter days, in what
the revelations called the “dispensation of the fulness of times.” Ancient principles—such as prophets,
priesthood, and temples—would be restored to the earth. Plural marriage,
practiced by ancient patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, was one
of those ancient principles.
5. The same revelation that taught of
plural marriage was embedded within a revelation about eternal marriage—the
teaching that marriage could last beyond death. Monogamous and plural marriages
performed by priesthood power could seal loved ones to each other for eternity,
on condition of righteousness.
6. The revelation on marriage stated
general principles; it did not explain how to implement plural marriage in all
its particulars. In Nauvoo, Joseph Smith married additional wives and
authorized other Latter-day Saints to practice plural marriage. The practice
was introduced carefully and incrementally, and participants vowed to keep
their participation confidential, anticipating a time when husbands and wives
could acknowledge one another publicly.
7. Between 1852 and 1890, Latter-day Saints
openly practiced plural marriage. Most plural families lived in Utah. Women and
men who lived within plural marriage attested to challenges and difficulties
but also to the love and joy they found within their families. They believed it
was a commandment of God at that time and that obedience would bring great
blessings to them and their posterity. Church leaders taught that participants
in plural marriages should seek to develop a generous spirit of unselfishness
and the pure love of Christ for everyone involved.
8. Although some leaders had large
polygamous families, two-thirds of polygamist men had only two wives at a time.
Church leaders recognized that plural marriages could be particularly difficult
for women. Divorce was therefore available to women who were unhappy in their
marriages; remarriage was also readily available. Women sometimes married at
young ages in the first decade of Utah settlement, which was typical of women
living in frontier areas at the time.
9. At its peak in 1857, perhaps one half of
all Utah Latter-day Saints experienced plural marriage as a husband, wife, or
child. The percentage of those involved in plural marriage steadily declined
over the next three decades.
10. During the years that plural marriage
was publicly taught, not all Latter-day Saints were expected to live the
principle, though all were expected to accept it as a revelation from God.
Indeed, this system of marriage could not have been universal due to the ratio
of men to women. Women were free to choose their spouses, whether to enter into
a polygamous or a monogamous union, or whether to marry at all. Some men
entered plural marriage because they were asked to do so by Church leaders,
while others initiated the process themselves; all were required to obtain the
approval of Church leaders before entering a plural marriage.
11. Beginning
in 1862, the U.S. government passed laws against the practice of plural
marriage. After the U.S. Supreme Court found the anti-polygamy laws to be
constitutional in 1879, federal officials began prosecuting polygamous husbands
and wives during the 1880s. Believing these laws to be unjust, Latter-day
Saints engaged in civil disobedience by continuing to practice plural marriage
and by attempting to avoid arrest by moving to the homes of friends or family
or by hiding under assumed names. When convicted, they paid fines and submitted
to jail time.
12. One of the anti-polygamy laws permitted
the U.S. government to seize Church property. Federal officers soon threatened
to take Latter-day Saint temples. The work of salvation for both the living and
the dead was now in jeopardy.
13. In September 1890, Church President
Wilford Woodruff felt inspired to issue the Manifesto. “Inasmuch as laws have
been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages,” President Woodruff
explained, “I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use
my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them
do likewise.”
14. The full implications of the document
were not apparent at first. The Lord’s way is to speak “line upon line; here a
little, there a little.” Like the
beginning of plural marriage in the Church, the end of the practice was gradual
and incremental, a process filled with difficulties and uncertainties.
15. The Manifesto declared President
Woodruff’s intention to submit to the laws of the United States, and new plural
marriages within that jurisdiction largely came to an end. But a small number
of plural marriages continued to be performed in Mexico and Canada, under the
sanction of some Church leaders. As a rule, these marriages were not promoted
by Church leaders and were difficult to get approved. Either one or both of the
spouses who entered into these unions typically had to agree to remain in
Canada or Mexico. On an exceptional basis, a smaller number of plural
marriages were performed within the United States between the years 1890 and
1904.
16. The Church’s role in these marriages
became a subject of intense public debate after Reed Smoot, an Apostle, was
elected to the U.S. Senate in 1903. At the April 1904 general conference,
Church President Joseph F. Smith issued a forceful statement, known as the
Second Manifesto, making new plural marriages punishable by
excommunication.
17. Since President Smith’s day, Church
Presidents have repeatedly emphasized that the Church and its members are no
longer authorized to enter into plural marriage and have underscored the
sincerity of their words by urging local leaders to bring noncompliant members
before Church disciplinary councils.
18. Conclusion - Plural marriage was among
the most challenging aspects of the Restoration. For many who practiced it,
plural marriage was a trial of faith. It violated both cultural and legal
norms, leading to persecution and revilement. Despite these hardships, plural
marriage benefited the Church in innumerable ways. Through the lineage of these
19th-century Saints have come many Latter-day Saints who have been faithful to
their gospel covenants as righteous mothers and fathers; loyal disciples of
Jesus Christ; devoted Church members, leaders, and missionaries; and good
citizens and prominent public officials. Modern Latter-day Saints honor and
respect these faithful pioneers who gave so much for their faith, families, and
community.
