Nauvoo Polygamy: "... but we called it celestial marriage" [Hardcover]

George D. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2008

When Joseph and Emma Smith arrived in Ohio in 1831, several families offered them lodging, as did the Whitneys, whose five year-old daughter, Sarah Ann, and her eleven-year-old neighbor, Mary Elizabeth Rollins, would later play a role in Mormon polygamy. The Smiths soon moved in with the Johnsons, where Joseph met fifteen-year-old Marinda Nancy. In 1836, seven-year-old Helen Mar Kimball attended school near the Smith home. Each of these girls, whom Joseph met during the 1830s, would later marry him in the 1840s gathering place of Nauvoo, Illinois, on the east bank of the Mississippi River. In this thoroughly researched and documented work, the author shows how the prophet introduced single and married women to this new form of "celestial marrige"—a granted to the elect men of Nauvoo. Through their journals, letters, and affidavits, the participants tell their stories in intimate detail—before polygamy was forcibly abandoned and nearly forgotten.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, had several other unique accomplishments in his shortened life. Among the most unusual was the institution of plural marriage or polygamy that he began in response to revelations from God. Beginning in the Mormon city of Nauvoo, Illinois, Smith married thirty-eight women and in the process, introduced the theological concept and practice of 'celestial marriage' to his most important followers. By early 1846 some 200 men had adopted a polygamous life style with 717 wives in total. After being expelled from Nauvoo by their non-Mormon neighbors, these men of the church would go on to marry a recorded total of 417 more women giving them an average of six wives each. In their new Utah settlements, this example would be taken up by others and despite the eventual abandonment of the practice by the Mormon Church, the practice continues among Mormon splinter groups to this very day. "Nauvoo Polygamy" is a 705-page work of impressive, meticulous, insightful, detailed, and documented historical scholarship by a noted Mormon historian and publisher making with very highly recommended reading for students of Mormon history in general, and the evolution of the practice of polygamy within the Mormon Church in particular. --Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

George D. Smith is the editor of Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History; An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton; and Religion, Feminism, and Freedom of Conscience: A Mormon / Humanist Dialogue. He is a contributor to American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon and The Word of God: Essays on Mormon Scripture. He has published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Free Inquiry, Journal of Mormon History, John Whitmer Historical Journal, and Sunstone.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 705 pages
• Publisher: Signature Books; First Edition edition (December 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560852011
• ISBN-13: 978-1560852018
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,113 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nauvoo Polygamy ... but we called it celestial marriage, January 30, 2010

By 

Rhoda A. Thompson "curious historian" (West Jordan, Utah, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nauvoo Polygamy: "... but we called it celestial marriage" (Hardcover)

This book is extremely well researched. I grew up on a diet of rumors about polygamy in the early days of the Mormon Church. This is the first time I have been able to locate the original sources of this information! What a treat! The author clarified the accounts that were written only by a second hand recorder

I was brought up in polygamy and am now a member of the Mormon Church. The information in the book has solidified my understanding of these confusing days and why polygamists keep living the life style. When my grandfather was sent to Mexico to marry his second wife in 1904 and then repudiated by the Church, I now understand. Why church leaders wouldn't cooperate with the Federal goverment during the late nineteenth century, why Joseph Smith chose to lie to his own wife and others about polygamy while teaching and living it in secret has helped me realize how deeply imbedded dishonest paradigms are in my own culture.

Emotional ties and an addiction to my tribe makes it difficult at my age to permanently move beyond those whom I love and share common values with. But I am grateful to know the truth.

It is good to realize that all religions have shady histories. Since Mormonism is comparitively new, resources about its early days are easier to find.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A work of impressive, meticulous, insightful, detailed, and documented historical scholarship by a noted Mormon historian, February 7, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nauvoo Polygamy: "... but we called it celestial marriage" (Hardcover)

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, had several other unique accomplishments in his shortened life. Among the most unusual was the institution of plural marriage or polygamy that he began in response to revelations from God. Beginning in the Mormon city of Nauvoo, Illinois, Smith married thirty-eight women and in the process, introduced the theological concept and practice of 'celestial marriage' to his most important followers. By early 1846 some 200 men had adopted a polygamous life style with 717 wives in total. After being expelled from Nauvoo by their non-Mormon neighbors, these men of the church would go on to marry a recorded total of 417 more women giving them an average of six wives each. In their new Utah settlements, this example would be taken up by others and despite the eventual abandonment of the practice by the Mormon Church, the practice continues among Mormon splinter groups to this very day. "Nauvoo Polygamy" is a 705-page work of impressive, meticulous, insightful, detailed, and documented historical scholarship by a noted Mormon historian and publisher making with very highly recommended reading for students of Mormon history in general, and the evolution of the practice of polygamy within the Mormon Church in particular.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Opinion over documentation, June 1, 2011

By 

Brian C. Hales (Salt Lake City, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nauvoo Polygamy: "... but we called it celestial marriage" (Hardcover)

George D. Smith's book is valuable for Appendix B, which is the result of many hours of investigation. All researchers into Nauvoo polygamy are indebted to him for this wonderful resource. However, readers will probably be unaware of the magnitude of available evidences that contradict his interpretations regarding almost every topic he addresses. It seems that George D. Smith did not spend enough time considering reliable manuscripts that provide an alternative view. In addition, the overall absence of footnotes allows opinions to appear in the text as documented history. Of course he has a right to express his interpretations, but without documentation, the storyline may go in whatever direction the writer desires. Credible evidence keeps writers honest in their reconstructions. Despite reviews characterizing NAUVOO POLYGAMY as well researched, from a documentation perspective, it contains perhaps a third as many references as Todd Compton's IN SACRED LONELINESS. This dearth of documentation frees the writer to advance speculation, conjectures, and opinions, which in and of itself is not problematic, except that he seldom informs his readers that what they are reading may not be documentable. See [...]