Where is the essay on Joseph Smith's polygamy?

[_sunstoned]

One thing that is almost always interesting to ask individuals is what issue really made you doubt. I think we can safely guess which issue bothers the brethren the most. Joseph Smith's practice of plural marriage. Which isn't surprising, it is one of the most frequently discussed and referenced issues people have.
The problem I am assuming is because to even make a baseline factual argument, certain concessions are needed, certain confessions have to be made. I don't think they are comfortable openly discussing those facts, and they shouldn't be comfortable.

The lack of an essay on this subject, the silence, tells us quite a lot about how the Brethren view the polygamy of Joseph Smith.

This essay, should it ever appear will generate more questions than can be answered in a faith promoting way. Most of the TBMs know nothing about Joseph Smith Polandry and bringing it to light will pandora's box of problems.

[_just me]

I sent a letter in April 2013 to everybody in the Q15 outlining my disaffection. I didn't really expect a response, I just thought it would be therapeutic to send it.

I received a response in June 2013 from Steven Snow stating that essays would come out "soon" to deal with my issues. Obviously, "soon" doesn't mean the same thing for everybody.

I blogged all of my issues with Joseph Smith's polygamy recently and it really only took a few weeks to lay it out so it is hard to imagine why this is so difficult for them to write this. I don't think the writing of the essay is really the issue.

I think that it is likely that there is a lot of disagreement in the Q15 as to how to deal with polyandry and a lot of other aspects of Nauvoo polygamy. I'm sure it isn't easy to write an essay that pleases all 15 of them at the same time. In my mind this is the last big historical thing they haven't yet attempted to deal with and I think there is a reason that it is taking so long.

Welcome to the board! Thanks for linking to your blog so I didn't have to ask.

[Guest]

deleted

[_Sammy Jankins]

For what it is worth, the original polygamy essay which covers polygamy in Utah does not appear to be avialable through the alphabetical list anymore. It is still available by searching and if you already have a link.

Topics page, letter P

Perhaps a simple mistake. But If it's not up again in a couple days I'd say they really do have a problem with polygamy.

[Guest]

For what it is worth, the original polygamy essay which covers polygamy in Utah does not appear to be avialable through the alphabetical list anymore. It is still available by searching and if you already have a link.

Topics page, letter P

Perhaps a simple mistake. But If it's not up again in a couple days I'd say they really do have a problem with polygamy.

I don't see it. Here's what I get at that link:

Paradise
Parenting
Patriarch
Patriarchal Blessings
Peace
Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints
Pearl of Great Price
Peer Pressure
Personal Revelation
Physical Death
Plan of Salvation
Pornography
Prayer
Pre-earth Life
Premortal Existence
Priest
Priesthood
Priesthood and Race
Priesthood Blessing
Primary
Profanity
Prophecy
Prophets
Proxy Baptism

ETA: If, on the other hand you use an upper-case P in the link URL:

Topics page, letter P

up pops, in correct alpha order, Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah

However, at the same time, Proxy Baptism disappears.

Either a strange error, or someone deliberately set it up so that the original link (which most people will just click) fails to find the topic, but it can be claimed that a search for topics that start with "P" succeeds.

I just checked a couple of other letters (4 or 5, not all 26), and 'P" is the only one in which the upper-case letter gets a different set of results from the lower-case one.

You can decide for yourself if it is purely fortuitous.

[_Bazooka]

If I type "Plural Marriage" into the main home page search function it brings up the essay "Plural marriage and Families in Early Utah".
If I type "Plural Marriage" into the search function of the Gospel Topics page, I don't. Instead I get the "Peace and Violence...." essay.
If I type "Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah" into the search function of the Gospel Topics page, it doesn't bring up in the results the essay "Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah".
https://www.lds.org/search?lang=eng&dom ... early+utah