Polygamy's Social and Doctrinal Stakes

Welcome back to Part 34 of our series with Dr. John G. Turner! Today we are covering most of Chapter 27 in John Turner’s new book Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet. The chapter is called “Deep Water” and covers the year 1843.

The main topic for today is polygamy.

Join us as we discuss several of Joseph Smith’s wives such as Flora Woodworth, Eliza R. Snow, Sarah Ann Whitney, Lucy Walker, etc. John Dehlin challenges Dr. John Turner on specific aspects such as whether Emma Smith really did push Eliza R. Snow down the stairs and whether or not Porter Rockwell did actually attempt to assassinate Lilburn Boggs. We also discuss the validity of the William Clayton journals and postulate on why the church has yet to publish them.

Throughout 1843, Joseph Smith promised men and women salvation based on their willingness to enter into polygamy. He spent church funds on gifts for his wives, as well as buying some of them plots of land, and even travel expenses for some of the women (from England to Nauvoo). Joseph Smith used language that could be seen as coercive, for example, telling Lucy Walker that polygamy was a command of God and that he would give her “until tomorrow to decide this matter [of polygamy] and that “If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you.”

In this episode we tackle hard questions such as: Can people who do bad things also be good? Does good behavior negate seemingly abusive actions? Are people all bad and all good? Can Joseph Smith’s actions be seen as human trafficking?

This chapter in Mormonism is deeply problematic and disturbing, but Dr. John Turner handles it amazingly.

Let us know your thoughts on a Brigham Young series (comprising ten episodes) covering John Turner’s book Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet.

If you’d like to help keep this project going, please consider donating to support this series here. Your support makes long-form, in-depth historical discussion like this possible!

Purchase John Turner’s book here.

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Show Notes

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