Why people believe joseph was monogamist

[Allison]

What about Abraham lying about his Sarah being his sister?

No, absolutely not. It's in Genesis. He and Sarah have the same father but different mothers. We have talked about this in another thread.

[Allison]

I disagree.
1.) I believe that we'll find that plural marriage is quite common in exaltation, not rare. Monogamy is the norm in mortality, not God-sanctioned plural marriage, because we are wicked and don't live by righteous principles consistently. If we did live by righteous principles, I believe we would probably have God-sanctioned plural marriage today. This is why God forbids it, not because it is inherently wrong.
2.) "The order of the [exaltation] is not mutually exclusive of monogamy or polygamy." This may be true. I don't find reason to argue against it.
3.) Joseph Smith DID have plural wives; however, the conversation surrounding his practice of it is wildly out of context and misunderstood, and I feel certain that were he here to defend himself we would all have a much better understanding of what was going on.

Addition:
Note two contemporary plural marriage practitioners: President Nelson and President Oaks, both of which have two wives sealed to them. How many men have been sealed to plural wives since the manifesto? MANY. Therefore, plural marriage is STILL in practice today. If we say it isn't, we are saying we don't believe in the efficacy of the sealing, aren't we? I believe this is so obvious as to require willful blindness to deny it.

I am grateful that you feel comfortable enough to express your opinion and you raise some valid points in the addition. For Brigham Young, et. al., I hope and suspect that Heavenly Father will accept their . . . situations. I, further suspect that it will remain the exception, rather than the rule.

I don't accept the notion of a righteous man practicing deception in the case of Joseph Smith.

Now, you have stated something very noteworthy in that Addition. I have a pony in the race on this one. It would please my soul if my father were to be sealed to both my Temple mom and my Birth mom. I would love having two Mothers. However, it is not my decision or place to impose my will upon them. There is this little matter called "agency," at play, here. I have a great deal of respect for Elder Richard G. Scott and his devotion to his one true love. I know that of which you speak and I do concur that such things are in the hands of a Heavenly Father who controls the circumstances surrounding life's duration and social engineering. It is in Him that we have to trust in terms of our callings. If I am willfully blind, it has to do with the acceptance of those who "lied" in preserving polygamy's practice post manifesto.

Now that all our children are grown and married, it becomes manifestly clear that in the next life, we'll all be couples and it won't matter so much if someone is identified as your mother or not, because it will (hopefully) be one unbroken chainmail mesh, basically. If some couples are threesomes, that remains to be seen, but seems fine if they want it that way. The mother/father relationships of mortality will be much less relevant, and it stands to reason that we will return to being spirit siblings again, only paired off and quite a bit more advanced than before we came to Earth. And there is no reason we cannot have very close and affectionate relationships with dear friends and loved ones we meet on our journey, regardless of family ties.

[BruceRGilbert]

Now that all our children are grown and married, it becomes manifestly clear that in the next life, we'll all be couples and it won't matter so much if someone is identified as your mother or not, because it will (hopefully) be one unbroken chainmail mesh, basically. If some couples are threesomes, that remains to be seen, but seems fine if they want it that way. The mother/father relationships of mortality will be much less relevant, and it stands to reason that we will return to being spirit siblings again, only paired off and quite a bit more advanced than before we came to Earth. And there is no reason we cannot have very close and affectionate relationships with dear friends and loved ones we meet on our journey, regardless of family ties.

An interesting comment, Allison, that I am still processing. It falls under an Alma 37:11 for me.

[Allison]

Now that all our children are grown and married, it becomes manifestly clear that in the next life, we'll all be couples and it won't matter so much if someone is identified as your mother or not, because it will (hopefully) be one unbroken chainmail mesh, basically. If some couples are threesomes, that remains to be seen, but seems fine if they want it that way. The mother/father relationships of mortality will be much less relevant, and it stands to reason that we will return to being spirit siblings again, only paired off and quite a bit more advanced than before we came to Earth. And there is no reason we cannot have very close and affectionate relationships with dear friends and loved ones we meet on our journey, regardless of family ties.

An interesting comment, Allison, that I am still processing. It falls under an Alma 37:11 for me.

Yes, agreed. I hesitate to predict what the next life will really be like, as per President Oaks' admonition. However, I do think it's safe to say that the primary eternal relationships in terms of how we relate to each other will be as couples reaching and preparing for eventual godhood. It sounds thrilling!

[Thinker]

If these things happened, JS was a fraud. Not a secret lover for the Lord.
Combined with:
-scriptural plagiarism from KJV
-using Adam Clarke Commentary for much of the JST
-BoA "translation"

The case would be a slam dunk.

No, not a slam dunk.
It seems that God calls everyone but few are chosen - mostly because people prioritize praises of men over God - and even those chosen have flaws and sin. Noah was a drunk (even if Noah is a character in a parable), Joseph seemed to be a womanizer... but that’s not all Noah and Joseph were.

It’s so very tempting to engage in bi-polar/polarized/either-or thinking. We’re taught it even in church: “Joseph Smith was either a prophet or a fraud” and “You’re either on the Lord’s side or you’re not.” But it’s NOT all-or nothing. Are you a complete jerk, or a complete saint? No, I’d guess like the rest of us, you have moments of both.

Many members are beginning to see more as more about the church comes to light. I hope and pray everyone takes moments to “wrestle” it out in their minds before throwing the “baby out with the bath water.” The church founded by Joseph Smith, has brought about both good and bad. Take the best, leave the rest.

[Allison]

If these things happened, JS was a fraud. Not a secret lover for the Lord.
Combined with:
-scriptural plagiarism from KJV
-using Adam Clarke Commentary for much of the JST
-BoA "translation"

The case would be a slam dunk.

No, not a slam dunk.
It seems that God calls everyone but few are chosen - mostly because people prioritize praises of men over God - and even those chosen have flaws and sin. Noah was a drunk (even if Noah is a character in a parable), Joseph seemed to be a womanizer... but that’s not all Noah and Joseph were.

It’s so very tempting to engage in bi-polar/polarized/either-or thinking. We’re taught it even in church: “Joseph Smith was either a prophet or a fraud” and “You’re either on the Lord’s side or you’re not.” But it’s NOT all-or nothing. Are you a complete jerk, or a complete saint? No, I’d guess like the rest of us, you have moments of both.

Many members are beginning to see more as more about the church comes to light. I hope and pray everyone takes moments to “wrestle” it out in their minds before throwing the “baby out with the bath water.” The church founded by Joseph Smith, has brought about both good and bad. Take the best, leave the rest.

No, virtue and honor are imperative traits for anyone to receive revelation from God. And Joseph's prodigious download of revelation, perhaps unparalleled in history (with the possible exception of Isaiah), required tremendous purity and virtue. He was no womanizer prophet; perish the thought!

[Thinker]

If these things happened, JS was a fraud. Not a secret lover for the Lord.
Combined with:
-scriptural plagiarism from KJV
-using Adam Clarke Commentary for much of the JST
-BoA "translation"

The case would be a slam dunk.

No, not a slam dunk.
It seems that God calls everyone but few are chosen - mostly because people prioritize praises of men over God - and even those chosen have flaws and sin. Noah was a drunk (even if Noah is a character in a parable), Joseph seemed to be a womanizer... but that’s not all Noah and Joseph were.

It’s so very tempting to engage in bi-polar/polarized/either-or thinking. We’re taught it even in church: “Joseph Smith was either a prophet or a fraud” and “You’re either on the Lord’s side or you’re not.” But it’s NOT all-or nothing. Are you a complete jerk, or a complete saint? No, I’d guess like the rest of us, you have moments of both.

Many members are beginning to see more as more about the church comes to light. I hope and pray everyone takes moments to “wrestle” it out in their minds before throwing the “baby out with the bath water.” The church founded by Joseph Smith, has brought about both good and bad. Take the best, leave the rest.

No, virtue and honor are imperative traits for anyone to receive revelation from God. And Joseph's prodigious download of revelation, perhaps unparalleled in history (with the possible exception of Isaiah), required tremendous purity and virtue. He was no womanizer prophet; perish the thought!

As mentioned, there are serious problems if he was given revelation in D&C but didn’t follow it... or if Brigham Young apostatized in going against spiritual marital laws. Whatever angle you choose or look at this, “Houston we have a problem.”

Yet, does His-story really affect me now? Many of us likely come from polygamy lines - I do, though my gggrandma was his 1st wife - it doesn’t really matter - many owe their existence to polygamy being practiced. So, I suppose some gratitude for the good, as well as acknowledgement of the evil - are called for.

Why do you think the mob was so angry with Joseph? It wasn’t just because he said some strange religious things. It seems - and there’s evidence to suggest - he upset people by his actions sexually and financially... so much so that even after he called out the Freemasonry plea, he was still killed. That was wrong of the mob, but often his-story is mistold by the victors. It takes 2 to tango - both did wrong.

• “Some wonder if sexual relations were included in Joseph Smith’s plural marriages. The answer is yes or no, depending upon the type of plural marriage. Those marriages, often called “sealings,” were of two types. Some were for this life and the next (called “time-and-eternity”) and could include sexuality on earth. Others were limited to the next life (called “eternity-only”) and did not allow intimacy in mortality. Overall, evidence indicates that less than half of Joseph Smith’s polygamous unions were consummated and sexual relations in the others occurred infrequently.”

https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common ... es-sexual/
JS’s arrest charges:
https://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon430.htm

Even after all that - and more - that many have justified in saying Joseph Smith was a fraud, I still acknowledge him as a prophet. He did have visions and led people in better ways, despite his imperfections.

[Silas]

What about Abraham lying about his Sarah being his sister?

No, absolutely not. It's in Genesis. He and Sarah have the same father but different mothers. We have talked about this in another thread.

Given that the intent is clearly deception I don’t find this a relevant detail. Because the same argument can be made with Joseph’s denials. Technically he did have only one “legal” wife. But obviously deception is the purpose of both Abraham and Joseph.

Sometimes deception is acceptable. It’s still a violation of the commandments. But starting in Eden human beings have found themselves with moral duties that conflict and force us to choose one over the other.

[Contemplator]

If these things happened, JS was a fraud. Not a secret lover for the Lord.
Combined with:
-scriptural plagiarism from KJV
-using Adam Clarke Commentary for much of the JST
-BoA "translation"

The case would be a slam dunk.

No, not a slam dunk.
It seems that God calls everyone but few are chosen - mostly because people prioritize praises of men over God - and even those chosen have flaws and sin. Noah was a drunk (even if Noah is a character in a parable), Joseph seemed to be a womanizer... but that’s not all Noah and Joseph were.

It’s so very tempting to engage in bi-polar/polarized/either-or thinking. We’re taught it even in church: “Joseph Smith was either a prophet or a fraud” and “You’re either on the Lord’s side or you’re not.” But it’s NOT all-or nothing. Are you a complete jerk, or a complete saint? No, I’d guess like the rest of us, you have moments of both.

Many members are beginning to see more as more about the church comes to light. I hope and pray everyone takes moments to “wrestle” it out in their minds before throwing the “baby out with the bath water.” The church founded by Joseph Smith, has brought about both good and bad. Take the best, leave the rest.

I agree that reality is more subtle than a simple saint or sinner dichotomy. Take David, for example. The Psalms are attributed to David and they are the most quoted OT scriptures in the New Testament. Jesus quoted the Psalms. Yet, David murdered to cover his adultery. It seems that one consistent message from the stories of prophets is that they can be both a conduit for inspired messages from God and they can be very mortal in their weakness. I find that hopeful.

If you take the extreme views of Joseph as a polygamist, then Joseph was either a philanderer under cover of religion or a dishonest cover-up artist doing plural marriage in secret. Neither seems appealing yet neither would invalidate the Book of Mormon, the first vision, or other inspired work that Joseph did. Or, maybe we, and his contemporaries, misunderstood what he was doing with sealing. Maybe he was creating a sealed family of Christ and others confused it and turned it to plural marriage and kingdom building for men. There just is not enough evidence to know for sure. Whatever it was that he was doing, I am grateful to have the Book of Mormon and Joseph’s teachings and invitation to personal revelation of Jesus Christ.

[Benaishtart]

What about Abraham lying about his Sarah being his sister?

No, absolutely not. It's in Genesis. He and Sarah have the same father but different mothers. We have talked about this in another thread.

Well kinda. I think the evidence points to her being his half niece or cousin or something. Either way it was not the complete truth. Joseph wasn’t legally married to these women so he wasn’t technically lying when he said he only had one wife. But he also started plural marriage.

[BruceRGilbert]

But it’s NOT all-or nothing. Are you a complete jerk, or a complete saint? No, I’d guess like the rest of us, you have moments of both.

This is my "comment of the day." Too funny not to share. I, personally, can vouch for myself that I vacillate between the two extremes in too rapidly a succession. I guess its a "frequency" thing.

[Believing Joseph]

I find it really interesting how some people can believe something when it’s been PROVED blatantly false.... My point is is that saying joseph [sic] is a monogamist is like saying the earth is flat.

Basically, you're looking at the fact that a lot of people said Joseph was a polygamist. Their stories of how and when he introduced it to the church are in many cases contradictory or blatantly false, and the affidavits didn't hold up in a court of law. (In the Temple Lot suit between the LDS and non-LDS churches, the non-Mormon judge John Phillips found all the testimony that Joseph was a polygamist to be incredulous).

Proof would mean either a genetic link with one of the many children that Joseph's alleged wives allegedly bore him (so far they've all turned up false) or a document in Joseph's own hand supporting polygamy. And that proof has never been found.

So why do I believe that Joseph was a monogamist? Because there's a lot of evidence for it. I have a whole blog post titled The Best Evidence for Joseph's Monogamy, and if you want even more reasons, just consider the following:

Joseph Smith Denied It

Not only did the Prophet claim all throughout his life that he had no wives but Emma, he specifically instructed the women of Nauvoo not to believe anyone who claimed that Joseph practiced polygamy, or who claimed to have authority from Joseph to practice polygamy, even if "they are Prophets, Seers, or Revelators, Patriarchs, Twelve Apostles, Elders, Priests, Mayors, Generals, City Council, Alderman, Marshall, Police, Lord Mayor or the Devil."

And this wasn't just something that Joseph said prior to receiving Section 132. He kept denying polygamy clear up to his death; for instance, in this sermon of May 1844, when he said "What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers."

The canard that Joseph Smith was teaching polygamy in private but withholding the doctrine from the public until a future time holds no weight, as he specifically warned his people not to believe even a prophet or apostle who claimed to have authority to seal polygamous marriages. If the intention had been for the Saints to accept polygamy after Brigham went public with it, then Joseph would not have instructed them otherwise.

Genetic Evidence Clears Joseph

Several of the women who claimed to be Joseph's wives bore children during the time they were supposedly married to him. Over the last decade or so, Dr. Ugo Perego, has located descendants of some of these children and tested their DNA to determine of they were Joseph's offspring. Without an exception, the children were proven not to be Joseph's.
Obviously, not all of the alleged plural marriages left offspring, but when every testable claim against the Prophet turns out to be false (leaving only the untestable claims) that should surely count for something.

The Temple Lot Case

In this lawsuit involving the claims of rival branches of Mormonism to ownership of the Temple Lot in Missouri, both the LDS church under Wilford Woodruff and the RLDS church under Joseph Smith III claimed to be the rightful successors to the church that Joseph Smith had established. The case rested on the question of polygamy: if Joseph had taught and practiced polygamy, then the Utah church was the rightful successor, otherwise it was the Reorganized Church.
After hearing the arguments from both sides (including the affidavits and sworn testimonies of the alleged plural wives which the OP mentioned) the presiding Judge, John F. Philipps, concluded in his opinion that the testimony was unreliable, that Joseph Smith was a monogamist, and that Joseph Smith III was his father's rightful successor.

Contradictory Alibis

Brigham Young and his companions provided numerous and contradictory accounts of the circumstances under which polygamy had been introduced to the church. At one point, they stated that it all began with Section 132 in July of 1843, and that prior to that date, there had been no plural marriages practiced in the church. At another time, Brigham claimed that Joseph had taught him the Principle as early as 1841 (apparently this was necessary because Brigham married his first plural wife in 1842). Later in life, Brigham would say that he had learned the doctrine of polygamy in a personal vision which he received while in England, and only after he returned to America did he find out that Joseph had been given the same doctrine.

If Brigham's fundamental claim was true - namely, that he had been taught the Principle by Joseph - then, once he made the decision to go public, he would only have needed to tell one story about when and where this happened. The contradictory alibis show that they aren't telling the truth.

No Ex-Mormons Among Joseph's Wives

If Joseph had actually had as many wives as his enemies claim, then it is reasonable to believe that at least some of these women, after being seduced and exploited by the Prophet, would have become bitter toward him and the Church and turned into enemies of Mormonism. That is certainly what happened with many of Brigham Young's wives, such as Ann Eliza Webb, who became a minor celebrity with her caustic memoir Wife No. 19.

If Joseph had been doing what Brigham ended up doing, he would almost certainly have gotten the same result. And yet the only women who ever claimed to have been Joseph's wives were, by the time they made those claims, the wives of prominent polygamists in Utah: women like Eliza R. Snow, Brigham Young's favorite wife, who had a vested interest in defending the plural wife system.

Granted, there were plenty of non-Brighamites who accused Joseph of polygamy, but it's one thing to spue calumnies against someone you hate, and quite another thing to denounce an embarrassing relationship of which you were once a part. There were women who did the latter for Brigham, but not for Joseph, and this seems, in my mind, to be one of the strongest evidences for Joseph's monogamy.

[marc]

Buy it. Read it. Decide for yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Exoneration-Emma ... B07728CX7N

[investigator]

Even better than that one is this one...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RRJS75Y?p ... asin_image

[WikiUp]

Because Joseph said so, and others said he wasn't.

[Mindfields]

Joseph died because of polygamy. Not because he practiced polygamy but because he was adamantly against it. He was betrayed by those who should of been his defenders and protectors. He didn't die at the hands of a mob but at the hands of men he thought were his friends.

[LDS Watchman]

Joseph died because of polygamy. Not because he practiced polygamy but because he was adamantly against it. He was betrayed by those who should of been his defenders and protectors. He didn't die at the hands of a mob but at the hands of men he thought were his friends.

Please provide sources and/or evidence for this claim.

I don't believe this is true at all.

[LDS Watchman]

I find it really interesting how some people can believe something when it’s been PROVED blatantly false.... My point is is that saying joseph [sic] is a monogamist is like saying the earth is flat.

Basically, you're looking at the fact that a lot of people said Joseph was a polygamist. Their stories of how and when he introduced it to the church are in many cases contradictory or blatantly false, and the affidavits didn't hold up in a court of law. (In the Temple Lot suit between the LDS and non-LDS churches, the non-Mormon judge John Phillips found all the testimony that Joseph was a polygamist to be incredulous).

Proof would mean either a genetic link with one of the many children that Joseph's alleged wives allegedly bore him (so far they've all turned up false) or a document in Joseph's own hand supporting polygamy. And that proof has never been found.

So why do I believe that Joseph was a monogamist? Because there's a lot of evidence for it. I have a whole blog post titled The Best Evidence for Joseph's Monogamy, and if you want even more reasons, just consider the following:

Joseph Smith Denied It

Not only did the Prophet claim all throughout his life that he had no wives but Emma, he specifically instructed the women of Nauvoo not to believe anyone who claimed that Joseph practiced polygamy, or who claimed to have authority from Joseph to practice polygamy, even if "they are Prophets, Seers, or Revelators, Patriarchs, Twelve Apostles, Elders, Priests, Mayors, Generals, City Council, Alderman, Marshall, Police, Lord Mayor or the Devil."

And this wasn't just something that Joseph said prior to receiving Section 132. He kept denying polygamy clear up to his death; for instance, in this sermon of May 1844, when he said "What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers."

The canard that Joseph Smith was teaching polygamy in private but withholding the doctrine from the public until a future time holds no weight, as he specifically warned his people not to believe even a prophet or apostle who claimed to have authority to seal polygamous marriages. If the intention had been for the Saints to accept polygamy after Brigham went public with it, then Joseph would not have instructed them otherwise.

Genetic Evidence Clears Joseph

Several of the women who claimed to be Joseph's wives bore children during the time they were supposedly married to him. Over the last decade or so, Dr. Ugo Perego, has located descendants of some of these children and tested their DNA to determine of they were Joseph's offspring. Without an exception, the children were proven not to be Joseph's.
Obviously, not all of the alleged plural marriages left offspring, but when every testable claim against the Prophet turns out to be false (leaving only the untestable claims) that should surely count for something.

The Temple Lot Case

In this lawsuit involving the claims of rival branches of Mormonism to ownership of the Temple Lot in Missouri, both the LDS church under Wilford Woodruff and the RLDS church under Joseph Smith III claimed to be the rightful successors to the church that Joseph Smith had established. The case rested on the question of polygamy: if Joseph had taught and practiced polygamy, then the Utah church was the rightful successor, otherwise it was the Reorganized Church.
After hearing the arguments from both sides (including the affidavits and sworn testimonies of the alleged plural wives which the OP mentioned) the presiding Judge, John F. Philipps, concluded in his opinion that the testimony was unreliable, that Joseph Smith was a monogamist, and that Joseph Smith III was his father's rightful successor.

Contradictory Alibis

Brigham Young and his companions provided numerous and contradictory accounts of the circumstances under which polygamy had been introduced to the church. At one point, they stated that it all began with Section 132 in July of 1843, and that prior to that date, there had been no plural marriages practiced in the church. At another time, Brigham claimed that Joseph had taught him the Principle as early as 1841 (apparently this was necessary because Brigham married his first plural wife in 1842). Later in life, Brigham would say that he had learned the doctrine of polygamy in a personal vision which he received while in England, and only after he returned to America did he find out that Joseph had been given the same doctrine.

If Brigham's fundamental claim was true - namely, that he had been taught the Principle by Joseph - then, once he made the decision to go public, he would only have needed to tell one story about when and where this happened. The contradictory alibis show that they aren't telling the truth.

No Ex-Mormons Among Joseph's Wives

If Joseph had actually had as many wives as his enemies claim, then it is reasonable to believe that at least some of these women, after being seduced and exploited by the Prophet, would have become bitter toward him and the Church and turned into enemies of Mormonism. That is certainly what happened with many of Brigham Young's wives, such as Ann Eliza Webb, who became a minor celebrity with her caustic memoir Wife No. 19.

If Joseph had been doing what Brigham ended up doing, he would almost certainly have gotten the same result. And yet the only women who ever claimed to have been Joseph's wives were, by the time they made those claims, the wives of prominent polygamists in Utah: women like Eliza R. Snow, Brigham Young's favorite wife, who had a vested interest in defending the plural wife system.

Granted, there were plenty of non-Brighamites who accused Joseph of polygamy, but it's one thing to spue calumnies against someone you hate, and quite another thing to denounce an embarrassing relationship of which you were once a part. There were women who did the latter for Brigham, but not for Joseph, and this seems, in my mind, to be one of the strongest evidences for Joseph's monogamy.

There are number of serious flaws with your arguments

1. A document bearing Joseph's own handwriting or a genetic paternal match are not the only forms of proof to establish the fact that Joseph was a polygamist. Dozens of witnesses, some if whom didn't follow BY, testified that he did it. Thats proof. Remember the scripture which states that by the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

2. The judge's ruling in the temple lot case against the saints has zero impact on whether or not Joseph was a secret polygamist. At the time of the temple lot case the entire US and especially the government was against the saints, largely over polygamy. There's no way the saints of God were going to win that case, with an unjust Babylonian judge deciding the case. Perhaps with an impartial jury, but with a single judge. No way.

3. Under the legitimate practice of Celestial plural marriage, Joseph wives were not used and exploited, so none would have had a reason to denounce him. "Many" of Brigham's wives did not leave him. A couple did. Wife 19 was a bitter apostate. Joseph had people betray and lie about him, too.

4. Joseph's first plural wife, Fanny Alger left the church. I don't know about any others. She declined to talk about her relationship with Joseph when asked about it years later, referring to it as a matter between her and Joseph. She certainly didn't deny it, when she would have had every reason to.

[marc]

Joseph died because of polygamy. Not because he practiced polygamy but because he was adamantly against it. He was betrayed by those who should of been his defenders and protectors. He didn't die at the hands of a mob but at the hands of men he thought were his friends.

Please provide sources and/or evidence for this claim.

I don't believe this is true at all.

Buy it. Read it. Decide for yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Exoneration-Emma ... B07728CX7N

670+ pages of citations from journals, documents, church history, etc.

[LDS Watchman]

Joseph died because of polygamy. Not because he practiced polygamy but because he was adamantly against it. He was betrayed by those who should of been his defenders and protectors. He didn't die at the hands of a mob but at the hands of men he thought were his friends.

Please provide sources and/or evidence for this claim.

I don't believe this is true at all.

Buy it. Read it. Decide for yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Exoneration-Emma ... B07728CX7N

670+ pages of citations from journals, documents, church history, etc.

I've read "Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy" and several other similar works. Can you give some examples of evidences in this book that prove that Joseph was not a secret polygamist and especially that he was murdered by those he thought were his friends?

Church history sources are easy to find online and many journals are, too.

I've heard some chatter, mostly from disciples of Denver Snuffer, accusing Brigham Young and other apostles of being behind Joseph's murder. When I've asked for evidence I get crickets.

Emma marrying a non-Mormon adulterer, in Lewis Bidamon, is very bizarre behavior wouldn't you agree? Could she really not find another husband who was a member of the faith and a righteous priesthood holder to support her and help raise Joseph's kids?

Seems like she was pretty mentally unstable at this point.

[ajax]

Emma marrying a non-Mormon adulterer, in Lewis Bidamon, is very bizarre behavior wouldn't you agree? Could she really not find another husband who was a member of the faith and a righteous priesthood holder to support her and help raise Joseph's kids?

Why would Emma join the polygamist break-off? If JS and Emma denied it, this seems most reasonable.

[SempiternalHarbinger]

Emma marrying a non-Mormon adulterer, in Lewis Bidamon, is very bizarre behavior wouldn't you agree? Could she really not find another husband who was a member of the faith and a righteous priesthood holder to support her and help raise Joseph's kids?

Why would Emma join the polygamist break-off? If JS and Emma denied it, this seems most reasonable.

Also, why would Emma follow the man she believed to have conspired to have her husband killed? It would have been even more bizarre behavior if she would have followed Brigham. The same goes for Lucy. I mean, can you imagine Lucy living in Salt Lake City and having President Brigham Young demand that all of the copies of her book be gathered and be burned? Brigham's book burning has almost been erased from history. This is the same book she told the saints in GC (first woman to speak in a GC) that the Lord wanted her to write. The true story of the Smith family. If anyone treated my Mother and wife the same way Brigham treat Joseph's mother and wife... I don't know how I could ever call them my friend. We would definitely be having words in the next life. I am certain that Lucy and Emma made the right decision by not following brigham Young out west.

I find it sad when people follow the Brigham Young route and feel they have to defame Emma's good name to explain their own personal and church paradigms.

[cab]

Joseph died because of polygamy. Not because he practiced polygamy but because he was adamantly against it. He was betrayed by those who should of been his defenders and protectors. He didn't die at the hands of a mob but at the hands of men he thought were his friends.

Please provide sources and/or evidence for this claim.

I don't believe this is true at all.

Buy it. Read it. Decide for yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Exoneration-Emma ... B07728CX7N

670+ pages of citations from journals, documents, church history, etc.

I've read "Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy" and several other similar works. Can you give some examples of evidences in this book that prove that Joseph was not a secret polygamist and especially that he was murdered by those he thought were his friends?

Church history sources are easy to find online and many journals are, too.

I've heard some chatter, mostly from disciples of Denver Snuffer, accusing Brigham Young and other apostles of being behind Joseph's murder. When I've asked for evidence I get crickets.

Emma marrying a non-Mormon adulterer, in Lewis Bidamon, is very bizarre behavior wouldn't you agree? Could she really not find another husband who was a member of the faith and a righteous priesthood holder to support her and help raise Joseph's kids?

Seems like she was pretty mentally unstable at this point.

An interesting piece of evidence (mind you there's no PROOF for either side of the argument) is the ballistic analysis, specifically the bullet hole in John Taylor's pocket watch... It fits the caliber pistol Joseph was known to be carrying... John Taylor and Willard Richards' claims that these were "musket balls" from rifles is likely false, as a musket ball from close range would have anialated the pocket watch (along with John Taylor's leg and hip)...... chirp chirp

[BruceRGilbert]

4. Joseph's first plural wife, Fanny Alger left the church. I don't know about any others. She declined to talk about her relationship with Joseph when asked about it years later, referring to it as a matter between her and Joseph. She certainly didn't deny it, when she would have had every reason to.

Fanny Alger was NOT Joseph's first plural wife. Something else happened between them that was attempted to be leveraged as justification and blackmail because he confided in a supposed "friend." He received forgiveness from the Lord, as well as Emma. (You will not find documentation on this - only if you read between the lines and recognize the "tampering" that was done to Doctrine and Covenants 132 with the Spirit.)

Because of the delicate nature of that, of necessity, I have to state that it is "my opinion, only," and invite those who wish to know, to ponder and pray about what it means to be mortal and how such a thing could be misconstrued to something entirely more than what it was. Much had to do with "self-justification," rather than weakness.

[LDS Watchman]

4. Joseph's first plural wife, Fanny Alger left the church. I don't know about any others. She declined to talk about her relationship with Joseph when asked about it years later, referring to it as a matter between her and Joseph. She certainly didn't deny it, when she would have had every reason to.

Fanny Alger was NOT Joseph's first plural wife. Something else happened between them that was attempted to be leveraged as justification and blackmail because he confided in a supposed "friend." He received forgiveness from the Lord, as well as Emma. (You will not find documentation on this - only if you read between the lines and recognize the "tampering" that was done to Doctrine and Covenants 132 with the Spirit.)

Because of the delicate nature of that, of necessity, I have to state that it is "my opinion, only," and invite those who wish to know, to ponder and pray about what it means to be mortal and how such a thing could be misconstrued to something entirely more than what it was. Much had to do with "self-justification," rather than weakness.

So what are you saying?

Are you saying that Joseph and Fanny had a love affair behind Emma's back?