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Joseph Smith's Polygamy, Volume 3: Theology
Americans of Joseph Smith’s day, steeped in the stories and prophecies of the King James Bible, certainly knew about plural marriage; but it was a curiosity relegated to the misty past of patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, who never gave reasons for their polygamy. It was long abandoned, Christians understood, by the time Jesus set forth the dominating law of the New Testament. But how did Joseph Smith understand it? Where did it fit in the “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21) predicted in the New Testament? What part did it play in the global ideology declared by this modern prophet who produced new scripture, new revelation, and new theology?
During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, polygamy was taught and practiced in intense secrecy, with the result that he never fully explained its doctrinal underpinnings or systematized its practice. As a result, reconstructing Joseph Smith’s theology of plurality is a task that has seldom been undertaken. Most theological examinations have either focused on its development during Brigham Young’s Utah period, with its need to resist increasing federal legislative and judicial pressures, or the efforts of twentieth-century and contemporary “fundamentalists” who continue to marry a plurality of wives.
Volume 3 of this three-volume work builds on the carefully reconstructed history of the development of Mormon polygamy during Joseph Smith’s lifetime, then assembles the doctrinal principles from his recorded addresses, the diary entries of those closely associated with him, and his broader teachings on the related topics of obedience to God’s will, marriage and family relations, and the mechanics of eternal progression, salvation, and exaltation. The revelation he dictated in July 1843 that authorized the practice of eternal and plural marriage receives unprecedented examination and careful interpretation that illuminate this significant document and its underlying doctrines.
Attempts to explain the history of Joseph Smith’s polygamy without comprehending the theological principles undergirding its practice will always be incomplete and skewed. This volume, which takes those principles and evidences with the utmost seriousness, has produced the most important explanation of “why” this ancient practice reemerged among the Latter-day Saints on the shores of the Mississippi in the early 1840s.
During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, polygamy was taught and practiced in intense secrecy, with the result that he never fully explained its doctrinal underpinnings or systematized its practice. As a result, reconstructing Joseph Smith’s theology of plurality is a task that has seldom been undertaken. Most theological examinations have either focused on its development during Brigham Young’s Utah period, with its need to resist increasing federal legislative and judicial pressures, or the efforts of twentieth-century and contemporary “fundamentalists” who continue to marry a plurality of wives.
Volume 3 of this three-volume work builds on the carefully reconstructed history of the development of Mormon polygamy during Joseph Smith’s lifetime, then assembles the doctrinal principles from his recorded addresses, the diary entries of those closely associated with him, and his broader teachings on the related topics of obedience to God’s will, marriage and family relations, and the mechanics of eternal progression, salvation, and exaltation. The revelation he dictated in July 1843 that authorized the practice of eternal and plural marriage receives unprecedented examination and careful interpretation that illuminate this significant document and its underlying doctrines.
Attempts to explain the history of Joseph Smith’s polygamy without comprehending the theological principles undergirding its practice will always be incomplete and skewed. This volume, which takes those principles and evidences with the utmost seriousness, has produced the most important explanation of “why” this ancient practice reemerged among the Latter-day Saints on the shores of the Mississippi in the early 1840s.
332 pages, Hardcover
First published February 18, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 14, 2013
Yes, Joseph Smith practiced polygamy and was responsible for its introduction among the Saints. Many members may balk at that assertion and may be surprised to find that it is true thanks to the simplified history that prevails today. Brian Hales has set out the what and the why of the practice of polygamy during the time of Joseph Smith in greater detail than anyone else. While I do not agree with all of his conclusions (like that Joseph Smith considered former marriages annulled by celestial marriages) his history is essential reading on Mormon polygamy and it will be a long time before anyone is able to top it.
March 2, 2025
(Remarks from a well-read yet amateur lover and seeker of truth).
I appreciate the author's method, the questions he poses (their inclusion period and their specific, careful formulation), his seeming thoroughness, his inclusion of sources damning and otherwise, his descriptive style, and his style in observing how well (or not) the available evidence supports (or doesn't) various plausible theories as to why Joseph did what he did with respect to polygamy.
With respect to the latter (why Joseph did what he did), and attempting to peer through an unbiased lens, it seems any effort to explain Jospeh's actions which does not also allow for the possibility that he acted out of a sincere faith in God and communication with Him (whether or not one personally subscribes to any faith in such a being), is a logically incomplete effort. One may logically conclude that the evidence best supports other plausible theories but to exclude a possible theory is incomplete history just as it would be incomplete science.
This author allows for it. Ye, he also does not exclude any (it seems to me) plausible antagonistic or agnostic explanations. The effort seems assiduously complete and even enormously generous in its inclusion of potential explanatory source material, friendly to Joseph or otherwise.
Other reviewers have noted repetition within and between volumes of this 4-volume set, including and perhaps especially noting repeated use of the same historical document(s). This is accurate and understandable as such documents elucidate multiple aspects of a person, circumstance, relationship, thought, action, and so forth.
I am pleased to have read this work; and have recommended it to others who share a passion for truth.
I appreciate the author's method, the questions he poses (their inclusion period and their specific, careful formulation), his seeming thoroughness, his inclusion of sources damning and otherwise, his descriptive style, and his style in observing how well (or not) the available evidence supports (or doesn't) various plausible theories as to why Joseph did what he did with respect to polygamy.
With respect to the latter (why Joseph did what he did), and attempting to peer through an unbiased lens, it seems any effort to explain Jospeh's actions which does not also allow for the possibility that he acted out of a sincere faith in God and communication with Him (whether or not one personally subscribes to any faith in such a being), is a logically incomplete effort. One may logically conclude that the evidence best supports other plausible theories but to exclude a possible theory is incomplete history just as it would be incomplete science.
This author allows for it. Ye, he also does not exclude any (it seems to me) plausible antagonistic or agnostic explanations. The effort seems assiduously complete and even enormously generous in its inclusion of potential explanatory source material, friendly to Joseph or otherwise.
Other reviewers have noted repetition within and between volumes of this 4-volume set, including and perhaps especially noting repeated use of the same historical document(s). This is accurate and understandable as such documents elucidate multiple aspects of a person, circumstance, relationship, thought, action, and so forth.
I am pleased to have read this work; and have recommended it to others who share a passion for truth.
April 18, 2014
This book tries to understand and look at Joseph Smith's polygamy through Joseph's theology on the subject, whether taught from Joseph directly (D&C 132) and second hand accounts. Brian Hales provides a fantastic view that is much needed in an arena where there are soo many voices that cry that Joseph was only seeking more wives due to libido, seeking power, being deceitful, and creating an elite group of rulers and the ruled, Brian Hales shows the sources and brings to bear the argument that Joseph was a Prophet. I really found this book hard to put down. Heavily researched, a subject the author cares much about and has sought to bring a faithful voice to the table.
There are sections that deal with a wide variety of theology regarding the sealing ordinances and these sections are full of beautiful information on how Heavenly Father reveals doctrines to His Church, concepts that we don't hear much about these days (Law of Adoption, Horizontal Sealings) and a fascinating look at the importance of being sealed in the Temple to spouse, children and parents.
My favorite parts of the book are definitely the quotes from Joseph Smith's wives and close confidants from Nauvoo. This is where I found the greatest information in the book. Highly recommended to anyone that wants to read about Joseph Smith's theology of polygamy. Granted, not everything in this book is "pretty", there are some difficult things, but I came out truly appreciating the Prophet Joseph Smith and having greater faith in his calling and awed at the difficulty that that brought to him in his life.
There are sections that deal with a wide variety of theology regarding the sealing ordinances and these sections are full of beautiful information on how Heavenly Father reveals doctrines to His Church, concepts that we don't hear much about these days (Law of Adoption, Horizontal Sealings) and a fascinating look at the importance of being sealed in the Temple to spouse, children and parents.
My favorite parts of the book are definitely the quotes from Joseph Smith's wives and close confidants from Nauvoo. This is where I found the greatest information in the book. Highly recommended to anyone that wants to read about Joseph Smith's theology of polygamy. Granted, not everything in this book is "pretty", there are some difficult things, but I came out truly appreciating the Prophet Joseph Smith and having greater faith in his calling and awed at the difficulty that that brought to him in his life.
July 9, 2014
While Volumes 1 and 2 of Brian Hales' series cover the historical aspects of Joseph Smith's polygamy, Volume 3 is solely dedicated to the theology behind it. Many critics of the prophet think this volume would be, by definition, unnecessary, since it's patently obvious that Joseph was just a libido-driven libertine seeking to expand his sexual conquests.
Except that, when you actually look at the data, it's not patently obvious at all. This volume does a great job of going through some of the various theological implications of each proffered explanation. While I'm not quite with Hales that the obvious answer for polygamy is "to provide husbands for an excess of righteous women," like with the history, he has herein shown that the explanations are complicated, the situations are varied, and the reasons are unclear. Joseph Smith's polygamy simply defies simple explanations, and in this book he once again proves that.
My review of Volume 1.
My review of Volume 2.
Except that, when you actually look at the data, it's not patently obvious at all. This volume does a great job of going through some of the various theological implications of each proffered explanation. While I'm not quite with Hales that the obvious answer for polygamy is "to provide husbands for an excess of righteous women," like with the history, he has herein shown that the explanations are complicated, the situations are varied, and the reasons are unclear. Joseph Smith's polygamy simply defies simple explanations, and in this book he once again proves that.
My review of Volume 1.
My review of Volume 2.
February 23, 2014
Repeated a lot of the information from the first two books, but not only delved into the polygyny theology directly, but also all of the supporting theologies surrounding it, such as deification, early adoption rituals, posthumous creation and reproduction, eternal family networks, early LDS attitudes towards family size, etc. So it's a rich resource for the historical development of many different aspects of early LDS theology as well as polygamy.
February 25, 2016
This was the finest thing I have read on the very difficult topic. Hales' research was outstanding and was documented extremely well. This is not a fun, light, quick read, and still leaves many questions, but that is more of a statement about Polygamy than it is about his book. I appreciate and accept his deductions. I would change the name of the book, inasmuch as it truly was not, Joseph Smith's Polygamy.
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January 11, 2018Lots of research. His bias is blinding and it comes through.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews