Secondary Questions / Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith’s plural marriages, including marriages to younger women and women already married to other men.
What the question is
Joseph Smith taught and practiced plural marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo, beginning in the 1830s. Some of these marriages were sealings to women already married to other men. The historical records vary in detail, and the Church has acknowledged the practice openly and at length.
Where to read what the Church has published
- Gospel Topics Essay — Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo
- Gospel Topics Essay — Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
How this often lands
This is, for many people, the heaviest of the secondary questions. The pain of it is not a sign of weak faith — it’s a sign of a working conscience. The primary questions are what carry us through it, and the carrying is sometimes slow.
A small reminder, before you scroll on
This is one of the harder questions, and it’s a real one. It isn’t, on its own, the foundation. If it’s been a while since you sat with the primary questions — or if you haven’t yet — that’s usually the most helpful place to return.