Did Joseph Smith Practice Polygamy?

LDS Perspective

Yes, the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that Joseph Smith did practice plural marriage, also known as polygamy. The Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation concerning the doctrine of eternal marriage and plural marriage as early as the 1830s, which was later recorded in writing in July 1843. This revelation is canonized today as Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants. According to Joseph Smith's own accounts and historical records, he did not seek or desire this practice but entered into it reluctantly and only after being commanded by God through a divine messenger to do so. Historically, Joseph Smith's first plural marriage was likely to Fanny Alger in Kirtland, Ohio, in the mid-1830s, and he began introducing the practice more broadly to

Historical Perspective

Historical consensus among secular, Latter-day Saint, and independent historians confirms that Joseph Smith was a polygamist who initiated and practiced plural marriage. Comprehensive archival research, including the extensive documentation compiled by the Joseph Smith Papers Project, demonstrates that Smith was sealed to between 30 and 40 women during his lifetime. The practice began privately in Kirtland, Ohio, during the mid-18