I too believe that the church doesn't mention the plural wives because it's embarrassed by it, and because the muckety mucks believe it would potentially weaken existing testimonies and prevent others from being formed. Since the Prime Directive seems to be to grow the church and maintain those already in it, being honest and forthright about Joseph's rampant polygamy is simply not an option.
And, it seems, DCP seems to somewhat agree. He did come into the thread and answer with his opinion, which is that he'd prefer the church would be more open about this, and that a desire to avoid trouble probably played into why they don't have this kind of information on that site. DCP's response was asked, and he gave it. The purpose of this thread is therefor fulfilled.
***********************************************************
ps: I bristle when people say, or insinuate, that Joseph Smith's plural marriage was not that important in the history of the church and whatnot. It was
massively important, and appears to have played a major, even dominating role, in the disaffection of at least a few of the prominent apostates, including William Law, who seems to have focused strongly on that. Law's publication of the Expositor, and Joseph's reaction to that, lead directly to Joseph Smith's murder at Carthage - and the Expositor seems mainly to have been aimed at criticism of Joseph Smith's practice of "plural marriage", and threatened to expose more information regarding the same. The importance of Smith's practice of polygamy is therefore absolutely crucial to an understanding of the Nauvoo period, and Smith's own death. How important does something need to freaking
be to merit inclusion in a discussion of Joseph Smith?
pps: I know many here have read this already, but for those who haven't,
here's a link to Uncle Dale's site, where the Nauvoo Expositor is reproduced in its entirety. Go ahead and read it. When I was young I believed the Expositor must have been printed by evil men, inspired by Satan himself to fight against the innocent Joseph Smith. When I actually read the freaking Expositor myself, many years later, and after I'd already lost my testimony, I was shocked again and again by the fact that William Law was just telling things that, at least in part, history has borne out the truth of. He was opposed to Joseph Smith's polygamy, and that was really the thing that drove him. I'm opposed to Joseph Smith's practice as well, and find I have to agree with William Law. Joseph Smith really was a cad. He was more than that, actually. He was a damned asshole to Emma, and he used women literally by the dozen. If there's actually a place where some kind of life essence lives on after death, Joseph Smith will certainly have a lot to answer for in eternity.
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen