Joseph Smith's 1st Year of Polygamy in Nauvoo - John Turner Pt. 27 | Ep. 2102

Welcome to episode 27 of the Joseph Smith Podcast with Dr. John G. Turner!

In this episode, we take a deep dive into Joseph Smith’s early practice of polygamy in Nauvoo, tracing how it began, how it expanded so rapidly, and what it reveals about power, belief, and risk.

We examine the first plural marriages, the people Joseph trusted to introduce the practice, and the recurring patterns that emerge as polygamy spreads among church leadership. Along the way, we ask difficult questions about revelation, consent, secrecy, scripture, and whether Joseph believed his actions were divinely required –or something else entirely.

This discussion also situates polygamy within the broader political and social pressures Joseph faced in the early 1840s, including legal threats, growing opposition, and his increasing confidence and recklessness as Nauvoo flourished. Ultimately, we explore whether Joseph’s polygamy can be understood as sincere belief, institutional experimentation, abuse of authority, or some combination of all three.

If you find this series valuable, consider liking, subscribing, and sharing. More episodes in this series are coming next!

Please purchase the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/97803...

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Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/joseph-...

Timecodes:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:47 Why did Joseph start pursuing polygamy further?
00:11:39 Who Joseph doesn’t tell about the revelation
00:13:50 The “Law of Sarah”
00:16:15 Joseph Bates Noble - First person introduced to Polygamy
00:19:21 Listing the patterns of Joseph's polygamy
00:22:17 Recounting the first sealing with Louisa
00:27:26 Speculating on Joseph's motives
00:33:33 Joseph Bates Noble ends up with a plural wife
00:47:10 Re-baptism of plural wives
00:48:17 Joseph feeling on top of the world - appears in full military costume to address his members
01:00:27 Joseph does not lay low (he obtains habeas corpus)
01:07:10 Anti-Mormon conventions in 1841
01:08:52 Many return missionaries become co-conspirators to polygamy
01:19:57 Discussing the Huntington sisters
01:34:42 Joseph marries his widowed sister-in-law
01:42:52 Why did Joseph engage in Polyandry?
02:05:36 Disproving the theory that polygamy was to “raise up a righteous seed”
02:09:30 What does it say about God if Joseph was threatened by an angel?
02:21:57 Some of the women claim they received revelation that they should be married
02:26:57 Why so many wives so quickly? (Joseph is up to a dozen plural wives)
02:27:41 Why Joseph Smith is becoming reckless
02:45:19 People are all a mixture of good and bad - there are many heroes in history who did terrible things
02:46:40 Conclusion & what’s next
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