Joseph Smith Taught that Unauthorized Polygamy is not Celestial Marriage

Joseph Smith taught that through him, God commanded the practice of plural marriage. In all the scriptures, no other people have been so commanded. Joseph Smith dictated that "one" man holds the sealing keys (D&C 132:7) and that all plural marriages must be authorized by him. That is, through "one" man God regulates this practice; plural marriages performed without his approval are "not valid neither of force when they are out of the world":

And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God. (D&C 132:18.)[39]

Accordingly, the Prophet taught that freelance polygamy was not celestial marriage. Too often Mormon fundamentalists and even a few historians forget that in the Prophet’s theology, authorized plural marriage is very different from unauthorized polygamy.[40] Proper authority to perform or even teach about celestial plural marriages was always required.

Without the Prophet’s permission in January 1844, Church member Hiram Brown taught that polygamy was acceptable, for which he was excommunicated.[41] Latter-day Saint John Taylor (not the apostle) recalled another man, named Durfy who, “went out to Layhart [Illinois] and he told the people there he thought the time would come when they would practice polygamy, or the same doctrine in reference to plural wives, that David and Solomon did.”[42] Durfy was severely rebuked.[43]

During Joseph Smith's lifetime, his brother, Associate President and Church Patriarch Hyrum Smith, attempted to seal a marriage without Joseph's approval. In 1845 Brigham Young recalled the event:

Joseph said that the sealing power is always vested in one man, and that there never was, nor never would be but one man on the earth at a time to hold the –sealing power- keys of the sealing power in the church, that all sealings must be performed by the man holding the keys or by his dictation, and that man is the president of the church… Hyrum [Smith] was counseller… but the sealing power was not in Hyrum, legitimately, neither did he act on the sealing principle only as he was dictated by Joseph in every case This was proven, for Hyrum did in one case undertake to seal without counsel, & Joseph told him if he did not stop it he would go to hell and all those he sealed with him.[44]

After Joseph Smith's death, Brigham Young held the sealing keys as the senior apostle upon the earth.[45] Three years later, W.W. Phelps served a mission to the eastern states where he married three wives polygamously, his mission companion, Henry B. Jacobs, performed the marriages without having first obtained permission from President Young. Upon returning to Winter Quarters, Iowa with the three women, Brigham Young heard the story. Hosea Stout, recorded: “President Young decided that Phelps had committed addultery every time that he had laid with one of them & that Jacobs should be silenced for the part he had taken in marrying them.”[46] Phelps was excommunicated on December 6, 1847 and was quickly rebaptized after acknowledging his misunderstanding. Nevertheless, the most important observation is that unauthorized plural marriage relations were considered to be “addultery” by President Young, even though Phelps was apparently very sincere.

Earlier that year President Young complained of men who would enter into plural marriages by virtue of the authority of "some clod head of an elder" who was willing to say the sealing ceremony, rather than being authorized by Brigham to use true "authority of this church":

[A man would] go to some woman that does not understand which is right or wrong and tell her that she cannot be saved without a man and he has almighty power and can exalt and save her and… then go to some clod head of an elder and get him to say their ceremony, all done without the knowledge or counsel of the authority of this church. This is not right and will not be suffered… They would even try to pass right by me and go to Jos[eph Smith]. Thinking to get between mine [sic] and the 12.[47]

At Brigham Young’s death, John Taylor, became the senior apostle thereby holding the sealing keys. Upon his passing, the presiding priesthood authority on earth was Wilford Woodruff. These transitions occurred in an orderly fashion consistent with Joseph Smith’s teachings that God’s house is a house of order (D&C 132:8, 18).[48] Through the 1890 Manifesto, Wilford Woodruff informed the Saints that the commandment to practice plural marriage was removed and the Saints no longer needed to comply.[49] Lorenzo Snow succeeded President Woodruff and then at his death, Joseph F. Smith because the presiding apostle and holder of the sealing keys. In 1904, he refused to authorize any new plural marriages.[50] Latter-day Saints believe that since 1904, the sealing keys have been passed from senior apostle to senior apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being used daily to seal monogamous marriages for the living and sometimes plural marriages by proxy (as when a widower is sealed to a new living wife).

A review of Joseph Smith’s teachings demonstrates that unauthorized plural marriages bring divine condemnation. He taught that if the man holding the keys of sealing were to cease to permit plural matrimonies, irrespective of the reason, the ability to practice authorized polygamy would instantly cease (D&C 132:18). Proper sealing priesthood authority is always required. When sealing authority is withheld, celestial plural marriage cannot be practiced. Nothing including traditions, individual sincerity, or personal revelation can surmount the lack of genuine authority. Unauthorized polygamy would not constitute obedience.

This plain teaching from the Prophet indicates that all modern polygamists are condemned, unless their line of authority back to Joseph Smith is valid. In my Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: the Generations after the Manifesto (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2006), I examine the priesthood claims of all major “Mormon fundamentalist” groups, identifying numerous insurmountable problems. My research into Joseph Smith’s polygamy further convinces me that stories that a special priesthood group could exist outside of the Church, ostensibly to keep polygamy alive, is unsupportable and in error.

[39] It might be argued that this single verse was dictated by Joseph Smith in anticipation of the Mormon fundamentalist movement. Many modern polygamists proceed with their plural marriages without documenting a credible line of priesthood authority to access Joseph Smith's sealing keys. This is especially prominent among the "independents" and more recently, the FLDS Church. Warren Jeffs' claims to genuine sealing power are indefensible from a historical and theological perspective, but are perpetuated primarily by tradition and his success in positioning himself as the FLDS's primary leader independent of any reported apostolic ordination or reputable line of priesthood authority.

[40] For example, in his book Solemn Covenant, Carmon Hardy provides remarkable research tabulating 220 plural marriages that were performed between 1890 and 1910. (See B. Carmon Hardy, Solemn Covenant: The Mormon Polygamous Passage. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1992, chart beginning on page 394 with 220 names [no pagination].) Unfortunately, he makes no distinction between those entered into prior to the Second Manifesto in April, 1904 and those occurring afterwards when Church President Joseph F. Smith stopped issuing new authorizations. Clumping them all together implies the same level of legitimacy, which doctrinally is not accurate. Those that were authorized by the Church President and those that were not are theologically very different.

[41] "Notice," Times and Seasons, 5 (February 1, 1844) 3: 423.

[42] John Taylor [not the apostle], deposition, Temple Lot transcript, complainant’s testimony (part 2), page 405, questions 160-65; see also [No title], Times and Seasons, 5 (March 15, 1844) 474.

[43] John Taylor [not the apostle], deposition, Temple Lot transcript, complainant’s testimony (part 2), page 405, questions 160-65; see also [No title], Times and Seasons, 5 (March 15, 1844) 474.

[44] Brigham Young to William Smith, "City of Joseph, Aug 10th 1845," in Brigham Young Collection, CHL, CR 1234/1.

[45] See Brigham Young, Millennial Star 26 (June 4, 1864) 23: 359, reproduced in James R. Clark, ed., Messages of the First Presidency, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-71), 1:233, and Brigham H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 6 vols. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1930, 2:413.

[46] Juanita Brooks, ed., On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844-1861, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1964, 1:289. See also Minutes of Public and Private Meetings [Dec 2-Dec7, 1847]: Meetings of Apostles, Ms, 16 pages, handwritten, in d1234, Misc Minutes, BY Papers, CHL; D. Michael Quinn Papers, Yale University, Special Collections, Uncat. WA MS. 98, 881028, bx6, fd 5.

[47] Charles Kelly, ed., The Journals of John D. Lee 1846-47 and 1859. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1984, 80, February 16, 1847. The majority of Mormon fundamentalists assert that in fact a higher priesthood council, called the "Council of Seven Friends," comprised of "High Priest Apostles," did exist higher than the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. No evidence for these entities has been found prior to Lorin Woolley's descriptions in the 1920s. See Brian C. Hales, Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: the Generations after the Manifesto, Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2006, 193-214.

[48] See John Taylor, October 7, 1877, Journal of Discourses, 19:124.

[49] George Q. Cannon, “Remarks Given at Logan" (Cache Stake Conference, November 1, 1891), Deseret News Weekly, November 17, 1891, 6. See also Deseret Evening News, November 14, 1891; Brian H. Stuy, comp. and ed., Collected Discourses: Delivered by President Wilford Woodruff, His Two Counselors, the Twelve Apostles and Others, 5 vols. (Salt Lake City: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987-92), 2:295.

[50] See James R. Clark, ed., Messages of the First Presidency, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-71), 4:84-85. The 1890 Manifesto was added at the end of the Doctrine and Covenants, though not as a section, in 1908. Robert J. Matthews, “The New Publications of the Standard Works, 1979, 1981,” BYU Studies 22 (Fall 1982) 4: 416. The 1904 Manifesto was dropped from the 1981 edition.