Polygamy - Permission of the First Wife

[_SuperDell]

Joe was married to Emma in a legal marriage. Not in a "celestial" marriage. The first wife of that real marriage, the only one recognized by TheLard - was Fanny Alger.

Emma was way down the list, about #23 or so, right?

For all the extras and all the drama with Emma Joe really only need the permission of Fanny Alger - his real wife in the eyes of TheLard.
After all, Emma was married legally - with the "bill of divorcement" right there in the civil contract - til death do you part. So she was not really the First Wife when it came to say yea or nay to new babes in the group.

So much for "The Elect Lady".

[_Sanctorian]

Great point. We should rewrite all the church history books to praise Fanny Alger. Imagine the gospel topic essay on that.

[_moksha]

'Take a load off Fanny
and put the load right on me."
-- Emma's desperate plea to Joseph, the Smith Barn, 1833

[_grindael]

Actually, Joseph was never "sealed" to Fanny, since he hadn't thought up the concept of sealing couples together in marriage until about 1842. (He first applied the concept to Baptism for the Dead in late 1841 and then applied it to marriages). And the first one that he was sealed to that way was probably Louisa Beaman, in April, 1842. He gave up other men's wives, and began to have single women sealed to himself about mid-1842. At that time he also came up with this:

Nauvoo.

To our well beloved brother, Parley P. Pratt, and to the elders of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England, and scattered abroad throughout all Europe, and to the Saints,Greeting:

Whereas, in times past persons have been permitted to gather with the Saints at Nauvoo, in North America—such as husbands leaving their wives and children behind; also, such as wives leaving their husbands and children behind; and such as women leaving their husbands, and such as husbands leaving their wives who have no children, and some because their companions are unbelievers. All this kind of proceeding we consider to be erroneous and for want of proper information. And the same should be taught to all the Saints, and not suffer families to be broken up on any account whatever if it be possible to avoid it. Suffer no man to leave his wife because she is an unbeliever, nor any woman to leave her husband because he is an unbeliever. These things are an evil and must be forbidden by the authorities of the church, or they will come under condemnation; for the gathering is not in haste nor by flight, but to prepare all things before you, and you know not but the unbeliever may be converted and the Lord heal him; but let the believers exercise faith in God, and the unbelieving husband shall be sanctified by the believing wife; and the unbelieving wife by the believing husband, and families are preserved and saved from a great evil which we have seen verified before our eyes.

Behold this is a wicked generation, full of lyings, and deceit, and craftiness; and the children of the wicked are wiser than the children of light; that is, they are more crafty; and it seems that it has been the case in all ages of the world. And the man who leaves his wife and travels to a foreign nation, has his mind overpowered with darkness, and Satan deceives him and flatters him with the graces of the harlot, and before he is aware he is disgraced forever: and greater is the danger for the woman that leaves her husband, and there are several instances where women have left their husbands, and [pg. 2] come to this place,& in a few weeks, or months, they have found themselves new husbands, and they are living in adultery; and we are obliged to cut them off from the church. I presume There are men also that are quilty of the same crime, as we are credibly informed. We are KNOWING to their having taken wives HERE and are CREDIBLY informed that they have wives in England. [Words in caps were underlined in original]

The evils resulting from such proceedings are of such a nature as to oblige us to cut them off from the church. [Not in original]

There is another evil which exists. There are poor men who come here and leave their families behind in a destitute situation, and beg for assistance to send back after their families. Every man should tarry with his family until providence provides for the whole, for there is no means here to be obtained to send back. Money is scarce and hard to be obtained. The people that gather to this place are generally poor, the gathering being attended with a great sacrifice; and money cannot be obtained by labour, but all kinds of produce is plentiful and can be obtained by labour; therefore the poor man that leaves his family in England, cannot get means, which must be silver and gold, to send for his family; but must remain under the painful sensation, that his family must be cast upon the mercy of the people, and separated and put into the poorhouse.

Therefore, to remedy the evil, we forbid a man to leave his family behind because he has no means to bring them. If the church is not able to bring them, and the parish will not send them, let the man tarry with his family—live with them—and die with them, and not leave them until providence shall open a way for them to come all together. And we also forbid that a woman leave her husband because he is an unbeliever. We also forbid that a man shall leave his wife because she is an unbeliever. If he be a bad man (i. e. the unbeliever) there is a law to remedy that evil. And if she be a bad woman, there is law to remedy that evil. And if the law will divorce them, then they are at liberty; [p. 3] otherwise they are bound as long as they two shall live, and it is not our prerogative to go beyond this; if we do it, it will be at the expense of our reputation.

These things we have written in plainness, and we desire that they should be publicly known, and request this to be published in the Millennial Star.

May the Lord bestow his blessing upon all the Saints richly, and hasten the gathering, and bring about the fulness of the everlasting covenant are the prayers of your brethren. (“Address from the First Presidency”, Millennial Star 3 [November 1842]: 115)

When the Smith's sent this Address to Pratt in England, they told him to publish it, and Pratt left out some of it and added some to it. It was published in the Millennial Star. If you want to do a comparison the original and published versions are here. https://mormonitemusings.com/tag/sylvia ... on/#reffn7

This is a binding Address by the First Presidency of the Church, and notice what it says about civil marriages:

Therefore, to remedy the evil, we forbid a man to leave his family behind because he has no means to bring them. If the church is not able to bring them, and the parish will not send them, let the man tarry with his family—live with them—and die with them, and not leave them until providence shall open a way for them to come all together. And we also forbid that a woman leave her husband because he is an unbeliever. We also forbid that a man shall leave his wife because she is an unbeliever. If he be a bad man (i. e. the unbeliever) there is a law to remedy that evil. And if she be a bad woman, there is law to remedy that evil. And if the law will divorce them, then they are at liberty; [p. 3] otherwise they are bound as long as they two shall live, and it is not our prerogative to go beyond this; if we do it, it will be at the expense of our reputation.

They are bound together as long as the two shall live. So... the marriage between Joseph and Emma was as valid on earth as any sealing, according to this Address. One could not trump the other ON EARTH. So Emma's place was secure ON EARTH. This is the result of the Bennett scandal and what was happening in England with a whole weird version of Jo's Spiritual Wifeism.

According to the Smith's who both signed this Address, the wicked are "crafty". But less than wo years later, here is Jo sermonizing about how to seal lots of men and women to yourself to force God to accept them in his kingdom... and what do you have to be, to be successful?

Again the doctrin or sealing power of Elijah is as follows: If you have power to seal on earth & in heaven then we should be crafty. The first thing you do go & seal on earth your sons & daughters unto yourself & yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory & go ahead and not go back but use a little Craftiness & seal all you can & when you get to heaven tell your father that what you seal on earth should be sealed in heaven. I will walk through the gate of heaven and Claim what I seal & those that follow me & my Council. (Joseph Smith address as recorded in Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, Vol. 2, 1841–1845, p.365, March 10, 1844, added emphasis. This quote was drastically changed when it was put into the History of the Church (without ellipsis or any notification) and is still used today in its edited form.)

[_candygal]

Need a new movie...Joseph and Fannie.