POLYGAMY AT FIRST SECRET. 163
the church miglit thereby be broken up. If it must needs be, then let discretion be used. Let the mat- ter be broken to the church as it is able to receive it; let the system be introduced gradually, and practised secretly; by the chief men at first, and later by all/^^ It was indeed a heavy load that the .saints thus took upon themselves, wilhngly or unwillingly, in the ser- vice of God or in the service of Satan. Up to this
'^'^ It is denied by some that polygamy was practised by the Mormons at this date. In the Di'seret News of Oct. 22, 1879, are several statements under oath to the effect that between 1840 and 1843 Joseph taught the doctrine of celestial or plural marriage, that several women were sealed to him according to this doctrine, and this with the consent of Joseph's wife, Emma Smith. On the other hand, it is stated in the Salt Lake GUi) Tribune, Oct. 3, 1879, that Emma denied that her husband was ever married to another, or that, so far as she knew, he ever had improper relations with any woman. Elder Pratt reported at Piano, 111., in the summer of 1878, several instances of Joseph's having had wives sealed to him, one at least as early as April 5, 1841. 'Smith introduced (at Naiivoo) the system of spiritual wifeism, and had largely in- crease. 1 his household by celestial ensealment. This was the preliminary step of polygamy, or its practical adoption, though it had not yet been revealed as a tenet iu the Mormon creed.' Tucker'.i Mormonism, 170. The revelation was written after he had taken other wives. Stenhouse's Expos6 of Polnfiamij, 70. Jos. Smith adopts it and is sealed to Eliza Snow. TuUidge's Life of Yonu'j, Suppl. 22. In a letter to the Deseret News, Oct. 22, 1879, Eliza II. Snov/ signs her name as 'a wife of Joseph Smith the prophet.' 'Brigham Young delivered over to Jo Smith all his wives except one, and soon after Smith had a revelation that Young should be his successor as head of the church.' Slater's Mormonism, 84. John D. Lee says: 'I understood that Brig. Young's wife was sealed to Joseph. After his death Brig. Young told me that Joseph's time on earth was short, and that the Lord allowed him privileges that we could not have.' Mormonisjn, 147. Jos. Smith had taken some more wives, but the revelation required that he should do it without publicity (for fear of the mob). Richards Reminiscences, MS., 18. 'Joseph Smith lost his life entirely through attempting to persuade a Mrs Dr Foster, at Nauvoo, that it was the will of God she should become his spiritual wife; not to the exclusion of her husband, Dr Foster, but only to become his in time for eternity. This nefarious offer she confessed to her husband. Some others of a siuular nature were discovered, and Dr Foster, William Law, and others began to expose Smith. Their i)aper was burned, type and press de- molished, for which Smith was arrested, and afterward shot by Missourians, at Carthage, 111.' Hyde's Mormonism, 85.
' Smith and Noble repaired by night to the banks of the Mississippi, where Noble's sister was sealed to Smith by Noble, and the latter to another woman by Smith. These were the first plural marriages, and a son born to Noble the first child born in polygamy.' Young's Wife No. 19, 72-3. 'That polyg- amy existed at Nauvoo, and is now a matter scarcely attempted to be con- cealed among the Mormons, is certain.' Gunnison's Mormons, 120. On the other side, in Times and Seasons, iv. 143 (March 15, 1843), we read, 'The charge of advocating a plurality of wives is as false as the many other ridicu- lous charges brought against us.' In Id., v. 474 (March 15, 1844), Hyium Smith declares that no such doctrine is taught or pi-actised; and on p. 715 it is declared that 'the law of the land and the rules of the church do not allow one man to have more than one wife alive at once.' For additional denials by Parley Pratt, John Taylor, and others, see S. L. Tribune, Nov. 11, 1879.
