How Did Polygamy Begin in the LDS Church? Origins and History

LDS Perspective

The practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began by divine revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the early 1840s. According to official Church history, the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to institute this practice among Church members as part of the restoration of ancient principles in the "dispensation of the fulness of times." This commandment came through a revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 132, which emerged partly from Joseph Smith’s study of the Old Testament in 1831. Contemporary accounts indicate that Joseph initially hesitated to obey this commandment, with multiple witnesses later recalling that he related being visited by an angel with a drawn sword who commanded him to proceed with the practice. Joseph reportedly even pleaded

Historical Perspective

The practice of polygamy in the LDS Church originated with founder Joseph Smith in the early 1830s, establishing a pattern of covert implementation that predated the Mormon exodus to Utah by more than a decade. Contrary to earlier church narratives that attributed plural marriage to Brigham Young, official LDS sources and scholarly research now acknowledge Smith as the architect of the practice. Contemporary documentation indicates Smith began contracting plural marriages secretly around 1831-1835, engaging in extramarital relationships while publicly maintaining monogamous positions. This institutional duplicity was codified when Smith directed the inclusion of a statement in