Nauvoo Polygamy: “…However We Referred to as It Celestial Marriage”

“Nauvoo Polygamy is s an intensive investigation of sexual politics within the Metropolis of the Saints, the 1840s Mormon headquarters within the U.S. State of Illinois. Written with precision, readability, and ease, it’s a main contribution to Mormon historical past, groundbreaking in figuring out the opposite polygamists who adopted the lead of their prophet, Joseph Smith, in taking a number of companions.” —Klaus J. Hansen, Professor Emeritus of Historical past, Queen’s College, Ontario

“If for no different purpose, the inclusion of chapter 6 makes this ebook value its value. The chapter quotes liberally from these like Elizabeth Ann Whitney and Bathsheba Smith who accepted polygamy reasonably simply, these like Jane Richards who accepted it solely reluctantly, and people like Patty Periods who discovered plural marriage virtually insufferable. A bonus is chapter 9 which gives a concise historic overview of polygamous societies in Reformation Europe, touches on related societies in America, and affords an prolonged dialogue of Orson Pratt’s 1852 protection of plural marriage.” —Thomas G. Alexander, Professor Emeritus of Historical past, Brigham Younger College

“George Smith exhibits how lots of the prophet’s followers embraced plural marriage throughout a interval when the LDS Church was emphatically denying the follow … [and he tells this in] a lucid writing model.” —Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize profitable writer of What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848.

“An especially necessary contribution to the historical past of polygamy … that enables us to see how Joseph Smith’s marriages match into the context of his day by day life.” —Todd M. Compton, writer of In Sacred loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith