Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 Volume 10 Number 2 Article 7 1998 The Prophet Joseph Smith and His Plural Wives Richard Lloyd Anderson Scott H. Faulring Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Anderson, Richard Lloyd and Faulring, Scott H. (1998) "The Prophet Joseph Smith and His Plural Wives," Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011: Vol. 10 : No. 2 , Article 7. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr/vol10/iss2/7 This Mormon Studies is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Title The Prophet Joseph Smith and His Plural Wives Author(s) Richard Lloyd Anderson and Scott H. Faulring Reference FARMS Review of Books 10/2 (1998): 67–104. ISSN 1099-9450 (print), 2168-3123 (online) Abstract Review of In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith (1997), by Todd Compton. 11113/98 Todd Compton. III Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith . Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1997. xv + 788 pp., with notes and index. $39.95. Reviewed by Ri chard Lloyd Anderson and Scott H. Faulring The Prophet Joseph Smith and His Plural Wives This is a landmark recent publication, an ambitious first book by Todd M. Compton. 1 This informative work of over eight hun­ dred pages compiles indi vidual biographies of the polygamous wives of Joseph Smith, the fo unding prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the first time, readers in­ trigued with the personalities involved in this unique sociorelig­ ious practice have an in-depth examinat ion of the women who were sealed to the Prophet, many of whom were the first Latter­ day Sai nt plural wives. The sensiti ve issue of the introduction of plural marriage by Joseph Smith is best addressed by honest in­ qui ry, as far as we have data. Gathering reliable material is actually fifty percent of the problem, since everyone who writes must re­ mark on how little is known behind the scenes. In most cases, the Prophet's marriage sealing dates are known; in many instances the comments of Joseph Smith 's wives describe how they accepted this marriage system and what their feelings were at that time and later. Todd Compton eamed a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young Univer­ sity and a Ph.D. in classics from the University of California. Los Angeles (UCLA). Along with Stephen D. Ricks. he coedited the fou rth vol ume in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley series. entitled Mormoni5m and &rly Chris· tianity (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. and FARMS. 1987). Compton has also published several informative anicles in ancient studies. and in the present study applies his training to earliest Mormonism. 68 FARMS REVIEW OF BOOKS Ion (1998) Co mpton received a research fe llowship in 1992 from the prestigious Henry E. Hun tington Library in San Marino, Califor· oia (see p. IX), which gave him the opportunity to study the l i~ brary's collection of the personal writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, Joseph Smit h's best known plu ral wife. This research stimulated his interest in the Prophet's other plu ral wives. Because of a lack of accessible information, Complon expanded his research over the next fo ur and a half years, with a goal of compiling detailed biographies on th irty-three women who he believes married Joseph . The introduction of polygamy in Ohio and Il linois has been controversial and liule understood, both in the Prophet'S genera­ tion and the current one, even among many of the Mormon fai th. A few select LaUer-day Saints participated in plural marriage pri or to the 1846 exodus from Nauvoo, Illi nois, out of reli gious devo­ tion and open-mi nded obedience. Compton recogn izes that deep spiritual conviction was at the base of reestabli shi ng the ma rri age system of the anc ient patriarchs: "Accepting po lygamy was a matter of integrity for both Latter-day Saint men and women, given the restorationist underpinni ngs of their fa ith and their ac­ ceptance of Smith as a direct conduit of revelation" (p.312). As Compton discovered wh ile researchi ng fo r his book, seri­ ous study of Mormon plural marriage has special challenges in the pe ri od before its 1852 public announcement. The introduc­ tion of lauer-day polygamy is obscured by the confidentiality fi rst stressed by the Prophet in teachi ng polygamy to his most devoted fo llowers. Defensive public statements, in which participants ho n­ estly denied that the chu rc h believed or practiced an immoral system of spiritual wifery, were made in a serious attempt to avert host ilities generated by misunderstand ings fed by apostates and an ti-Mormons. Certai n Mormon dissidents tu rned into wolves. They altracted others through local and nat ional newspapers and speeches, which distorted the private teac hi ngs of the Prophet as being carnal and unrestrained. Pol itical and religious enemies stalked Joseph Smi th- the shepherd- and hi s dedicated flock li ving in Nauvoo and the surrounding area. Violence in Missouri and the constant threat of its return hugely explain the cnution with which the Prophet first introduced the principle to those he COMPTON, WIVES OF JOSEPH SMrrH (ANDERSON AND FAULRING) 69 trusted. Moreover, the Prophet was legally at risk, since Illinois statutes made bigamy a crime. General Observations about the Book Overall, In Sacred Loneliness is extremely info rmative. T he book feat ures a high level of research, generally good judgment in the use of source materials, and a fairly comprehensive collec­ tion of known data pertainin g to the wives of Joseph Smith, No biographer in Mormon hi story has ever been ambitious enough to write a group biography as extensive as this. Because of the com­ plex ity of the subject and an obvious lac k of detailed primary sources, the job of compi ling fu ll -chapter biographies of Joseph Smith's plural wives could be insurmou nl ab le. In Sacred Loneli­ ness was recentl y honored with the annual best book award from the Mormon History Association. Thi s recognition is deserved because it is the most detailed stu dy of the lifetime experiences of the women sealed to Joseph Smith . There are, of course, li mi tations in such a massive collection. Compton has done everythi ng possibl e to reconstruct lives. but even then the narrative main ly reports outward events, with regular observati ons th at little is known of private lives and in ner fee lings. The ty pical biography in thi s collection moves through a fami ly conversion to Mormonism, gatherin g to Nauvoo, gai ni ng a per­ sonal witness of plural marriage, the sacrifices of the exodus, and then pioneer li fe in Utah. The author stresses deprivation and sor­ row, but the factual reality is the remarkable power of faith most of the wives di splayed. He tell s the stories of a group of impressive women who gave their all to establ ish a latter-day gospel dispen­ sation and expand fam ily kingdoms of the hereafter. In Sacred Loneline,fj sy nthesizes hundreds, possibly thou­ sands, of pri mary and secondary pieces of an enormous ly com­ plex hi storical reconstruction. Unfortunately. many of these documentary pieces do not fit together wel l. Some are gross con­ tradictions whi le others were pu rposely misrepresented by their creators. Compton's biggest challenge, from whic h arose one of the book's greatest weaknesses, was evaluming and selecting the most reliable pieces of biograp hical evidence to use in portrayin g these women accurately. The book employs a confusin g. 70 FARMS REVIEW OF BOOKS Ion (1998) nontraditional method of citing supporting information. The main text of the book is devoid of conventional endnote nu mbers. In­ stead, In Sacred Loneliness furnishes explanatory notes at the back of the book. These references are in troduced by a short contextual phrase identifying the issue. In reading th is important work, we were often frustrated by the inordinate time it look to find a source- and were on occasion unsuccessful. The contex tu al phrases in the reference section take up far more space than con­ secutive nume rals. In OU f opi nion, the traditional numbering sys­ tem wou ld have been more efficient, pinpointing the references immediately. In conlent, the notes mai ntain good scholarly Slan­ dards, avoiding long irrelevancies and generall y meeting th e auth or's stated goal of giving readers the texts of main sources, many of which are in manuscript form and would be time-con­ sumi ng to locate. h is important to know the viewpoint of anyone who interprets the teachings and activities of the Prophet Joseph Smith, especiall y when addressing a chall enging subject like plural marriage. Compton is forthrigh t about his position: " I am a practicing Mormon who considers himself be liev ing but who rejects absolut­ ist clements of the fundamentalist wo rld view, e.g., the view of Joseph Smith as omni sc ient or morally perfect or receiving revela­ tion unmixed with human and cultural limi tations. However, I do accept non-absolutist incursion of the supernatural into human experience" (p.629).