Polygamy
Caveat Lector
This page is designed especially for the serious researcher who wishes to access scholarship from Mormon sources in addition to Biblically sound scholarship from solid Christian scholars. Lion and Lamb Apologetics in no way endorses the veracity and conclusions of these LDS writers. Each Mormon source is marked “Caveat Lector.”
"Let the Reader Beware!"
Plural Marriage
Thomas S. Kerns, PhD
Before 1841, LDS scripture forbade polygamy. Pre-1876 editions of the D&C included stated: “Inasmuch as the Church of Christ has reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy, we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife, and one woman but one husband, except in the case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.”
Joseph Smith’s Polygamy in the Context of Changing American Religion and Culture
Robert M. Bowman, PhD
Perhaps the most distinctively American religious movement is Mormonism, and its best-known historical and cultural feature has been the practice of plural marriage, more commonly called polygamy.
What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Polygamy?
Book of Mormon Central
Caveat Lector!
LDS scholars explain what the Book of Mormon has to say about polygamy.
Plural Wives of Joseph Smith
George D. Smith
Chart from Nauvoo Polygamy by George D. Smith.
Plural Marriage and Joseph Smith: A PR Nightmare in Mormonism
Eric Johnson
While many Latter-day Saints may know that Brigham Young took multiple wives, they may not realize that Joseph Smith, their beloved Founder, was Mormonism’s first polygamist!
Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives After the Martyrdom
Brian C. Hales, MD
Brian Hales is the webmaster of MormonPolygamyDocuments.org and with his wife Laura for JosephSmithsPolygamy.org. He has written numerous books on Mormon polygamy.
Caveat Lector! Be a Berean!
Remembering the Wives of Joseph Smith
Presented here are biographies of 34 wives of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Caveat Lector!
List of Joseph Smith’s Wives
Wikipedia
An interesting chart of these wives. Caveat Lector!
A Trajectory of Plurality: An Overview of Joseph Smith’s Thirty-three Plural Wives
Todd Compton
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Volume 29, Number 2)
Caveat Lector!
What You Should Know About Polygamy in America
Joe Carter
Recently the Utah Senate passed a bill that effectively decriminalizes polygamy. What happens next?
Nauvoo Roots of Mormon Polygamy, 1841-1846: A Preliminary Demographic Report
George D. Smith
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (Volume 34 Number 2). Caveat Lector!
Insights on the Justification of Plural Marriages in Early Utah
Keith L. Brown
Polygamy is defined as “the practice or custom of having more than one wife at the same time.” Caveat Lector!
Why Did God Allow Polygamy? Untangling Old Testament Sexual Ethics
Sam Emadi, PhD
The spiritual and familial devastation on display in Scripture’s accounts of polygamy invites us to see the beauty of monogamous marriage, climaxing in the union of Christ and his bride.
Today's Visits: 0