I’ve been putting off this post for some time, but some recent events have brought to me the feeling that now is the time. I believe the Lord wants me to now add my voice to those of many others. So, here goes …

Yesterday was my wife’s and my 31st wedding anniversary. There is no doubt in my mind that there is no better woman I could have at my side and I’m so glad that all those years ago I asked her to marry me, and that she said ‘Yes’.

I can’t say that those intervening years have been anything other than ‘bloody hard’ at many times. But it’s simply not possible to put into words just how much love I have for my wife. To say that I love her with all my heart is a huge understatement. She is part of my heart. She is part of my mind. She is part of my very soul. There is no part of me in which she isn’t a huge part. I truly feel that we are one.

Here’s the problem. On the one hand, the church I belong to (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes known as Mormons), has no teachings more glorious than the ‘eternal sealing’ of husband and wife. I love that concept – that we have been married ‘in view of the eternities’, as the prophet Joseph Smith said, and that we will be together forever. However, at the same time, the church I belong to also believes in polygamy¹.

Why is this a problem? Because if I were to have a second wife, I couldn’t be so connected to my first. There is simply no way I could have so much unity with my wife in so many ways and on so many different levels, if there were a second woman I was also giving part of me to. It would be, literally, impossible.

Maybe I’m unique or unusual in that regard, but I don’t think so. I just don’t see how you can be ‘one’ as God commanded, if you are sharing yourself with another. It makes no sense, and the God I worship is a God of reason, as He states repeatedly throughout the scriptures. I can only assume that those who promote or believe in the doctrine of many wives don’t have the same connection with their wife that I have with mine and therefore simply don’t understand this.

I also don’t believe the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, ever taught or practiced polygamy. This post isn’t going to be a so-called deep dive into why I believe this way, but I’ve placed a number of resources at the end of the post for anyone who wants to investigate further – and I encourage you to do so.

Unfortunately, this is a dangerous position to take in the church today. Many people have recently been excommunicated from the church simply for believing Joseph never taught or practiced polygamy. Given there were people who were excommunicated in the 1970’s for teaching he did, this is … odd.

But the church seems to have doubled down on this over recent months. The children’s reader for the Doctrine and Covenants this year for the first time included a section on polygamy. The church recently published the so-called revelation John Taylor received on polygamy in 1876 – something they had denied even existed for over 100 years. President Oaks recently referred to ‘Heaven Mother or Mothers’ in a talk. The Gospel Topics essays on the church website have recently been updated to state categorically that the practice started with Joseph Smith. And, as I say, many people are being excommunicated for disagreeing.

This seems a really odd position to take, because given the sheer volume of denials Joseph Smith made, and the strength of his denunciations (see the list at the end of this post), if he did indeed have several wives he was a liar of the greatest order (not just to the church but also to his wife, Emma), an adulterer, the greatest of hypocrites (he was actively seeking out polygamists and excommunicating them), and a paedophile (using our modern terminology). Surely no church established by such a man could be from God.

Now, don’t get me wrong, currently a living man isn’t permitted to have more than one living wife and remain a member of the church. But a great many men in the church are ‘sealed’ to more than one wife and believe that in the next life they will have both/all of them. Two members of the presidency of the church fall into this category. And President Nelson has spoken of a day when we will be expected to live ‘higher, holier’ laws in this life, a phrase that harkens back to the polygamy teachings of the 19th century. Will polygamy make a come-back in the church then? It seems most of the current converts to the church are in Africa, where in places up to 10% of the christian population live polygamy, so there could be a ‘justification’ to restore the practice, at least in a limited way. I hope not. I desperately hope I’m wrong.

Scripturally, the church is confused on the issue of polygamy. The clearest and most condemnatory language pertaining to polygamy appears in the Book of Mormon, often described as the ‘keystone of our religion’. In contrast, the Doctrine and Covenants contains a supposed revelation commanding it – section 132. For the remainder of this post, I want to briefly touch on these two opposing scriptures.

For me, the evidence that section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants isn’t a genuine revelation is incontrovertible from the very first verse:

‘Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines …’

The issue here is that neither Isaac nor Moses² practiced polygamy, and far from justifying them, the Lord explicitly condemns David and Solomon for their many wives and concubines in both the Book of Mormon and the Joseph Smith translation of the Old Testament. Now, Joseph knew the scriptures really well. He was always quoting passages from the bible in his sermons and of course he translated the Book of Mormon himself, so was very familiar with it. So to suggest that he had asked the Lord why all these men were ‘justified’ is ignorant. He wouldn’t have because he knew better. But even more so, to say that the Lord himself repeats that they are justified in the practice in His reply is just nonsensical. I mean, do you really believe God doesn’t know His own scriptures? Whoever wrote the first verse of this section, it wasn’t Joseph, and it didn’t come from the Lord³. It logically couldn’t have.

There are a great many reasons to conclude that section 132 is mostly false and was written by Brigham Young and/or those close to him. I have linked some of these at the end of this post, but I honestly don’t need to go beyond the first verse. For me, it proves that God had nothing to do with it.⁴

Interestingly, both editions of the Doctrine and Covenants for which Joseph oversaw the preparation (the 1835 and 1844 editions) do have a section about marriage. In it, we read, ‘that all marriages in this church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, should be solemnized in a public meeting’, and, ‘Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.’⁵

Unsurprisingly, when Brigham Young added our current section 132 to the Doctrine and Covenants, he removed the section that Joseph had included.

Turning our attention to the Book of Mormon, there are three occasions where polygamy is explicitly called out. One is with King Noah, who is reproached by the prophet Abinadi for his many wives and concubines. Another is in the story of the Jaredites. The king, Riplakish, ‘… did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have many wives and concubines … And it came to pass that he did afflict the people with his whoredoms and abominations.’ (Enter 10:5, 7)

The third and final reference is actually chronologically the first, in the book of Jacob. In introducing the topic, Jacob explains that the people, ‘begin to wax in iniquity,’ (Jacob 2:23). The 1828 Webster’s dictionary (the one which best describes the meaning of words in Joseph Smith’s day), describes the meaning of wax as:

‘1. To increase in size; to grow; to become larger; as the waxing and the waning moon.

2. To pass from one state to another; to become; as, to wax strong; to wax warm or cold; to wax feeble; to wax hot; to wax old; to wax worse and worse.’ (taken from Webster’s 1828 online dictionary)

So, Jacob is telling his people that they are an increasingly iniquitous people – just as the moon waxes when it approaches the full moon. Indeed, he says that pursuing this course will lead to their destruction (see Jacob 2:33, Jacob 3:3). Yes, it really is that bad. He says the (monogamous) Lamanites are more righteous because they love their wives and children (see Jacob 3:5, 7). As I explained at the beginning of this post, it’s not possible to truly love your wife in a polygamous relationship. This is what Jacob is teaching.

Indeed, one of the reasons for leading Lehi and his family away from Jerusalem was to get away from the abomination of polygamy.

‘Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord. Wherefore (in other words, because polygamy was practiced by the leaders of Jerusalem), thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph. Wherefore (in other words, because the Lord wants a righteous people), I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore (in other words, because I don’t want you doing like the wicked men of old), my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none …’ (Jacob 2:24-27)

Jacob then likens polygamy to whoredoms and calls it an abomination, and tells the people to keep the commandments or be cursed (Jacob 2:28-29).

The church argues that the Book of Mormon next contains a ‘loophole’ for allowing polygamy, but that is a gross misreading of the scripture. Here is the verse in question: ‘For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.’ (Jacob 2:30)

Note the word ‘command’ here, and note that in the verse immediately preceding this the Lord told them exactly what his ‘commandments’ are – monogamy (verse 29). There is no ambiguity here. He’s also already told them that to be a righteous branch is to be monogamous (see verse 25). When God wants His people to be righteous, He gives them commandments. Because if He doesn’t do that, they end up hearkening ‘unto these things’ – i.e. the abomination of polygamy and whoredoms. That is what verse 30 teaches.

There is literally no instance in which God commands polygamy. It is an abomination – it always has been and it always will be. We have one and only one Heavenly Mother. Preaching anything else is to disrespect our Heavenly parents by suggesting they practice abominations. It is to prove that you don’t understand who they are. Joseph Smith taught that in order to exercise faith in God, one thing we need is to have a correct idea of their character, attributes and perfections (Lectures on Faith 3:4). If you believe He does or might practice polygamy, you are therefore limiting your faith in Him. I can’t see any other way to interpret that and remain true to the word of God.

This is why it is important to study this topic using the scriptures and prayer. Because it is critical that in this world both now and, especially, in the future, we have ever greater faith in Jesus Christ and in God. We can only do that if we have correct ideas about them, and polygamy fundamentally changes their character.

Please note that while I have presented by beliefs here, as always, I don’t want you to just agree with me. What I hope for is that you’ll take this topic seriously and that you’ll go to the Lord in scriptures and prayer for Him to answer you directly. If necessary, pray that the Lord will remove your unbelief, as I’ve previously discussed. If you do that with all sincerity and willingness to act on what He tells you, the Holy Ghost can manifest the truth of it to you (see Moroni 10:3-5).

Marriage between a husband and wife who love each other and are strictly monogamous is glorious. You really can become one with each other – but only if there’s just the two of you.

© Copyright 2025 Jeffrey Collyer

1. More accurately, the church believes in polygyny because it is only men having multiple wives – not women also having multiple husbands – but for ease I will use the term polygamy throughout.
2. A verse in the Old Testament refers to Moses’ ‘Ethiopian’ wife, but the word used in Hebrew doesn’t refer to someone from the land of Ethiopia, but rather was a term that could easily be applied to someone from Midian (which is where his wife was actually from). The slur was being used against Moses because his wife was from outside of Israel. It didn’t have anything to do with a place in Africa or a second wife.
3. Section 132 also contains the verse that says if the President of the church gives you a special sealing blessing, you can commit any sin you like in this life, with the exception of murdering the innocent, and you’ll still receive the highest possible exaltation in the next life – guaranteed. This is totally opposed to everything Joseph taught, and is contrary to all the other scriptures. If you are the sort of person who doesn’t mind sinning, you have zero chance of making the highest level of salvation in the next life, because that is reserved for those who have become like God and His son, Jesus Christ – not for those who have had some special ‘blessing’ at the hand of a mortal man, allowing them to sin and get away with it. This special sealing blessing is still practiced in the church today and is known as the Second Anointing. It seems Nephi anticipated this, when he included within the Book of Mormon these words: ‘And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.’ (2 Nephi 28:8) He calls this belief ‘foolish’.
4. It’s been suggested that Joseph Smith did receive a revelation on marriage and that parts of that did make it into section 132 here and there, but that overall the section completely contradicts the revelation actually received.
5. https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/259

Resources to study more about polygamy:

To my knowledge, all the resources linked below are by people who are current members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

132problems.org There is a vast library of videos by Michelle Stone here that investigate the history of polygamy within the LDS church and the allegations against Joseph Smith. Michelle began her research firmly believing that polygamy was commanded of God.

https://irejoiceintruth.wordpress.com/ This is a lengthy post that goes into many aspects of polygamy, including referencing academic studies of linguistic analysis that have shown that the most likely author of D&C 132 was Brigham Young.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVAJ5Bru0Qo&t=8804s This is a lengthy video by Jeremy Hoop exploring the origins of D&C 132, showing recent research on it. If you prefer a shorter explanation, Connor Boyack has an excellent one here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-7q2N2HefY 

These next two videos are both lengthy, but they are really excellent as providing a narrative to explain how polygamy started and spread within the church. I can’t recommend them enough. The first is by Gwendolyn Wyne, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYuOTM7YWxU . The second is by Karen Hyatt, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLbLQR95zj8

There are no contemporaneous accounts of Joseph Smith teaching or practicing polygamy, with the exception of William Clayton, who is known to have rewritten his journals after Joseph’s death, and are therefore suspect. William was already a polygamist by the time Joseph died and was close to Brigham Young. He therefore had motive to lie. Statements by Joseph, Hyrum and Emma against polygamy, however, are plentiful and include the following list:

1. JST of the Bible, all of Joseph’s edits strengthen the Biblical condemnation of polygamy
2. The Book of Mormon, including: Jacob 2-3, Mosiah 11, Ether 10
3. The Doctrine and Covenants, including: D&C 42:22, D&C 49:16
4. Aug. 1835 D&C 101 approved by Joseph for publishing, denounces polygamy, proclaims monogamy the Church’s law of marriage
5. May 1837 denunciation of polygamy in the Messenger and Advocate
6. Nov. 1837 denunciation of polygamy in the Kirtland Elder’s Quorum Record (disciplinary action against Elder Freeman Soloman)
7. July 1838 denunciation of polygamy in the Elders’ Journal
8. Dec. 1838 condemnation of a community of wives by Joseph Smith
9. Oct. 1841 denunciation of polygamy in the Times and Seasons
10. Dec. 1841 members warned of the iniquity of polygamy in the Times and Seasons (disciplinary action against Dr. William Campbell, aka Samuel Rogers)
11. Mar. 1842 denunciation of polygamy in the Nauvoo Relief Society Minute Book
12. Apr. 1842 Joseph preached against unvirtuous persons who made use of his name
13. Aug. 1842 “Affidavits and Certificates” attest to Joseph’s virtue and character in response to John C. Bennett’s accusations that Joseph was engaged in polygamy
14. Sep. 1842 Joseph reiterates the doctrine of monogamy taught in section 101 in Times and Seasons
15. Oct. 1842 Joseph publishes “On Marriage” in the Times and Seasons, reiterating again section 101. Signatories included Eliza R. Snow
16. Oct. 1842 The Wasp challenges anyone to cite any instance where Joseph “has violated the laws of his country” in response to John C. Bennett’s spiritual wifery.
17. Mar. 1843 denunciation of polygamy published in the Times and Seasons
18. Oct. 1843 denunciation of spiritual wives
19. Feb. 1844 denunciation of polygamy by Joseph and Hyrum in the Times and Seasons (response to Hiram Brown)
20. Mar. 1844 condemnation of polygamy by Hyrum in the official Church newspaper
21. Mar. 1844 denunciation of polygamy in The Voice of Innocence and unanimously accepted by four sessions of the Relief Society
22. Apr. 1844 condemnation of polygamy by Hyrum in a discourse to the Elders 
23. May 1844 denunciation of spiritual wifeism by Joseph in response to charges by William Law
24. Jun. 1844 denunciation of “a multiplicity of wives” by Hyrum
25. Jun. 1844 refutation of polygamy charges by Joseph in Nauvoo City Council
26. Jun. 1844 approval by Joseph for the original section 101 condemning polygamy to be republished as section 109 in the next edition