Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo - Church Of Jesus.
This is a ver batem, yet annotated version of the article Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo at lds.org. Spin notes are derived largely from Mormonism 101, with edits and adaptations by the current author.To display the annotation which illustrate the “positive spin” of the Church Essay, click on the note numbers at the end of a paragraph (Spin Note 1, Spin Note 2, etc.).
Furthermore, as the Manifesto essay (next) will cover in more detail, this essay, on “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” admits that Mormon leaders practiced what is now called “Lying for the Lord,” giving a public image that is the opposite of what is being practiced. By issuing “carefully worded denials,” they attempted to cover-up early Mormon polygamy and polyandry.
Nauvoo Polygamy is chock full of interesting charts and analysis about how polygamy worked during the first decade of Mormonism's history. All in all, I recommend Nauvoo Polygamy as a worthwhile read, especially for the Latter-day Saint who has never done serious research in this very important matter.
Mormon Essays publishes links to the recent essays written by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon Church. Many of the essays address controversial issues from the church's history. The essays seek to explain the events in an easy to understand format for both members of the church and other individuals that may be interested in Mormon History.
Similarly, William Law, who was a polygamy insider in Nauvoo, apostatized and went to Carthage on May 23, 1844, to charge Joseph Smith with adultery with one of his previously unmarried plural wives, Maria Lawrence. Law undoubtedly knew of Joseph’s sealings to legally married women, but he ignored the chance to accuse him of practicing polyandry.
The public announcement of the Mormon practice of polygamy in 1852, after the body of the Church had relocated to Utah, marks the end of the secret practice of polygamy as initiated in Nauvoo and the start of fifty years of conflict with the federal government and its appointed officials over the public practice of polygamy. The three fateful decisions that brought the Church to that point.
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. 24 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. When convicted, they paid fines and submitted to jail time.