Plural Marriage in Early Latter-day Saint History

Plural marriage—the practice of one man having multiple wives—was introduced by Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), in the 1830s. Smith claimed to have received a divine revelation authorizing the practice, and it became a core religious principle for the church's leadership and select members, though it remained officially secret and denied publicly for decades. The practice persisted in the American West until the 1890s, when federal pressure forced the church to renounce it.

Origins and Religious Justification

Joseph Smith first introduced plural marriage to a small circle of trusted followers around 1831–1835, claiming it was a restoration of biblical patriarchal practice. He framed it as a divine principle, not a personal preference. The theological argument centered on ideas about eternal families, exaltation in the afterlife, and the restoration of Old Testament practices that Smith believed had been lost from Christianity. Smith himself took multiple wives, though the exact number remains disputed by historians—estimates range from 30 to 40. Most of these marriages were kept secret, and some involved women already married to other men, a practice called "polyandry" that deepened the secrecy and controversy.

Secrecy and Institutional Practice

For roughly a decade after Smith's death in 1844, the church leadership—particularly Brigham Young—continued to practice and gradually expand plural marriage, but kept it hidden from the broader membership and the public. Young himself took dozens of wives and fathered over 50 children. The practice remained officially denied in public statements and in the church's published doctrine. This double life created internal tension: some members discovered the secret and left the church in disgust; others accepted it as a divine principle once it was revealed to them. The secrecy was partly tactical—church leaders knew it would provoke violent opposition—and partly theological, rooted in the idea that sacred practices should be protected from public scrutiny and mockery.

When the church migrated to Utah Territory in the late 1840s and established itself as a quasi-independent community, plural marriage became more openly practiced, though still officially unacknowledged to outsiders. By the 1850s, church leaders began to publicly acknowledge and defend the practice, framing it as a moral and religious necessity. The church organized marriages, provided support for plural families, and integrated polygamy into its social and economic structures. Women in plural marriages were sometimes called "wives of the covenant" and occupied distinct social roles. Economic arrangements varied: some wives lived in separate households; others shared one home with a husband and sister-wives.

Legal Opposition and Federal Pressure

Plural marriage became a flashpoint for federal authority over the territories. The Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862 made polygamy a federal crime and revoked the church's corporate charter in Utah. However, enforcement was weak and inconsistent until the 1880s, when federal officials intensified prosecutions and seized church property. The church fought back legally and politically, but the tide turned decisively against them. Public opinion in the United States was overwhelmingly opposed; mainstream Protestant denominations condemned it as immoral; and the federal government made statehood contingent on the abandonment of polygamy.

The End of the Practice

In 1890, church president Wilford Woodruff issued the "Manifesto," officially ending the practice of plural marriage. The decision came after years of legal losses, property seizures, imprisonment of church leaders, and the realization that Utah could not achieve statehood without it. The Manifesto was presented as a divine revelation, just as the original authorization had been. Not all church members accepted it immediately—some fundamentalist factions continued practicing polygamy in secret, leading to schisms that persist today. The mainstream LDS Church formally excommunicates members who practice polygamy, though the historical practice remains a significant and complex part of its identity and theology.

Why It Matters

Plural marriage in early LDS history reveals tensions between religious authority, federal law, and social convention in the American West. It demonstrates how a minority religious community can sustain practices that directly challenge the legal and moral frameworks of the broader society, and how sustained federal pressure can force institutional change. The practice also shaped gender roles, family structures, and property law in Utah Territory, leaving lasting legal and social legacies. For the LDS Church itself, it remains a theologically and historically contentious issue—officially repudiated but doctrinally justified in past teachings, creating ongoing theological questions about revelation, authority, and change.

Sources

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo" (official historical essay, 2014).
• Compton, Todd, "In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith" (Signature Books, 1997)—scholarly examination of Smith's marriages.
• Firmage, Edwin B., and Mangrum, Richard C., "Zion in the Courts" (University of Illinois Press, 1988)—legal history of LDS-federal conflicts.