It seems that there is always more to discover and discuss about Joseph Smith’s introduction of plural marriage into the church. Secret Covenants: New Insights on Early Mormon Polygamy, edited by Cheryl L. Bruno is going to be a landmark in those discussions moving forward.
Secret Covenants is a collection of essays about the practice of Latter Day Saint plural marriage during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. My understanding is that the book began with the idea that it would be a collection of articles about plural marriage that already existed (one of my own essays was even considered at one point). Given the wealth of information and research going into the topic these days, however, Bruno felt like it seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up collecting new essays to move discussion forward. And it worked out really well—there are a lot of significant essays that will likely generate discussion for years to come.
Perhaps the most notable example are the two chapters that focus on Fanny Alger—the woman who has been discussed as the earliest polygamous relationship in which Joseph Smith was engaged. In these, Don Bradley and Christopher Smith discuss the likely timetable in which the relationship became amorous in nature and (more notably) the possibility that their relationship began as an adoption sealing, akin to the ones Brigham Young performed after he assumed leadership of the church organization. To me, these chapters were the most interesting in the whole book (which already set a high bar for interest).
Another chapter that stood out as a highlight of the book was Mark Tensmeyer’s piece that addressed polygamy denial. In recent years, there have been increasing efforts by some online personalities to discredit the idea that Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage or had sexual relationships with women other than Emma Smith. While a few chapters address specific aspects of the arguments that have been put forward (e.g., Todd Compton’s chapter on whether eternity only sealings were a thing and John Dinger’s demonstration that polygamy was illegal and Joseph Smith had reason to hide his involvement from the law), Tensmeyer addresses the issue head-on. While I’m sure people will cling to ideas they find helpful with cognitive dissonance (including denial that Joseph Smith was involved in plural marriage), I’ve already started recommending Tensmeyer’s piece as a resource to examine the case for why polygamy denial builds on very shaky foundations.
As a caution, the topic of early plural marriage is fraught and—at times—painful to read about. That remains the case with this book. For example, Clair Barrus shares some indications that there may have been a phase of Joseph Smith’s plural marriage that more closely resembled the “spiritual wifery” associated with John C. Bennett. Not all of the historians (even those included in this anthology) agree with the idea—I asked about this point at a Benchmark Books presentation and all three of the authors present argued different positions on the issue, but it was a deeply disturbing thought to explore, as were a few others thoughts or stories discussed in this book’s pages.
As far as comparisons to other books goes, Secret Covenants is primarily focused on the practice of polygamy during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. The main exception is William V. Smith’s chapter on the revelation that is Section 132 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Doctrine and Covenants goes beyond that, exploring the impact of that document on the Church to this day (essentially a chapter-length summary of Textual Studies of the Doctrine and Covenants: The Plural Marriage Revelation). Thus, the book contrasts with works like those written by B. Carmon Hardy (Doing the Works of Abraham and Solemn Covenant), Kathryn M. Daynes (More Wives than One) or Brittany Chapman Nash (Let’s Talk About Polygamy) that discuss the history of plural marriage in the Church over the course of its existence. Instead, it interacts more closely with works like Todd Compton’s In Sacred Loneliness and Brian C. Hales’ Joseph Smith’s Polygamy (though the authors frequently challenged the latter’s conclusions).
Whether you agree with the conclusions of the authors or not, Secret Covenants is going to be a landmark anthology in the study of Mormon polygamy. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the history of that subject.
Chad, this is terrific. Thanks for this review!
One question. A lot of my knowledge of polygamy, back when I first read about it, came from Brian Hales’ book “Joseph Smith’s Polygamy.” You mentioned, though, that several authors challenge at least some of his conclusions. Could you say what some of those challenges were? It’s been a while since I’ve engaged in the literature but I’m just curious what specifically has been updated from his book, if it’s possible to summarize.
I’ve read a couple books since then, so I may be mixing things up a little (and I actually haven’t dug into Brian Hales’ works in as much depth as I’d like yet), but the two big ones that come to mind were Todd Compton working to demonstrate that there were not “eternity only” sealings performed (supporting the possibility of true polyandry, where Joseph Smith’s plural wives having multiple sexual partners at the same time, something Hales has argued was not the case) and John Dinger’s work to show that polygamy was considered illegal and that practitioners were liable to legal troubles quoted Hales as an opposing position.
What did you think of Compton’s article?
I thought he did a good job demonstrating that the ceremony was most likely never performed as “eternity only.” I don’t think it gave a clear answer about whether polyandry was a thing in the full sense.
Polyandry a thing in the full sense? Does that mean he doesn’t give a clear answer as to whether Joseph Smith had sexual relations with the already-married women he wed?
Whether he had sexual relationships with them during the same time frame as they had sexual relationships with their legal husbands. Hales has tended to argue that they did not.
To me you have to look at all the odd things they did to reach any guess as to what actually was going on. Law of Adoption, sealings for time only, eternity only, both time/eternity, sexual relations, no sexual relations, sealings to church leaders for salvation, etc. I have not done what I call a deep dive into the subject but the little I have read, mingled with the D&C 132 language, makes for a very intense and interesting time in our church history. Whatever happened, clearly JS was doing something different than BY and the rest.
As most of you probably know, David Whitmer was convinced that JS was deceived on this “spiritual wifeism” by an angle of darkness because he did not receive the revelation with the use of the sear stone.
I have Brain and Laura Hales website bookmarked for my deeper dive someday.