Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy Online

"I had not been married scarcely five minutes, and made one proclamation of the Gospel, before it was reported that I had seven wives. . . . I am innocent of all these charges. . . . What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers." —Joseph Smith, Jr., History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6:410–411

"Joseph Smith was the greatest victim of fraud and conspiracy of the last 500 years. Nothing like it in recorded history. He was simply lied about when something had to be done to justify . . . Utah Mormon polygamy." —President Israel A. Smith, grandson of Joseph the Martyr (Letter to Pamela Price, September 17, 1956)

Polygamy in the Mormon Church did not originate with the Prophet Joseph Smith in Nauvoo in the 1840s, but with Jacob Cochran in Saco, Maine in 1818. Later Day Saint missionaries, including Brigham Young, preached among the Cochranites, and later some of these missionaries also became polygamists. Dr. John C. Bennett practiced his own version of spiritual wifery in Nauvoo, which Joseph the Prophet vigorously opposed. Joseph, who had no plural wives, fought to keep polygamy, in any form, from becoming a doctrine of the Church. But soon after his death, some of the highest Church leaders introduced polygamy as a cardinal doctrine—and conspired to cover their own adulterous crimes by claiming that Joseph received a revelation commanding the practice, and that he had many wives. For a general understanding of both the origins of polygamy among the Latter Day Saints and the several conspiracies to falsely implicate Joseph in polygamy, read the article on our Web site, "Joseph Smith: Innocent of Polygamy," by Richard Price.

Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy was written by Richard and Pamela Price to prove that Joseph Smith Jr. was innocent of polygamy. With their forty-five years of careful research and extensive documentation, the three volumes of this book bring startling new evidence that, instead of being a polygamist, Joseph Smith actually fought against the dogma. You can purchase all three volumes online, by telephone, or in person at the Restoration Bookstore in either paper or ebook format. Pamela Price is continuing to write Volume 4, which will also be published available for purchase in the future.

Purchase All or Any of the Three Volumes

In addition, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 are reproduced below in PDF format and are free for all to read. We do this so that everyone who visits this site will have the opportunity to know for themselves that Joseph Smith Jr. was innocent of polygamy. Below are links to the contents for these three volumes.

Volume 1

• Title Page, Copyright Information, and Table of Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1—Cochranism: The Origin of Utah Mormon Polygamy
• Chapter 2—Other Accounts of Cochranism
• Chapter 3—Church Missionaries Converted Cochranites
• Chapter 4—Brigham Young: The Father of Mormon Polygamy
• Chapter 5—The Apostles Brought Polygamy into the Church
• Chapter 6—Early Efforts to Eradicate Polygamy
• Chapter 7—Dr. Bennett Laid the Foundation of Polygamy at Nauvoo
• Chapter 8—Dr. Bennett and Eliza R. Snow
• Chapter 9—Eliza Snow Was Not Pushed down the Mansion House Stairs
• Chapter 10—More Evidence Concerning Eliza R. Snow
• Chapter 11—Bennett and Francis Higbee's Polygamous Activities Discovered in 1841
• Chapter 12—Chauncey L. Higbee Expelled for Polygamous Activities
• Chapter 13—Joseph Sued Chauncey L. Higbee in Court at Carthage
• Chapter 14—Dr. Bennett Expelled from the Church
• Chapter 15—Dr. Bennett Persecuted Joseph and the Church
• Chapter 16—Bennett's Polygamy Charges and the Saints' Responses
• Chapter 17—Isaac Sheen Was Not a Credible Witness Concerning Polygamy
• Chapter 18—The Book of Mormon Condemns Polygamy (A Study of the "Righteous Seed" Theory)
• Chapter 19—Joseph's Sermon against Polygamy
• Appendix—Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy Is to Be Continued
• Bibliography
• Index

Volume 2

• Title Page, Copyright Information, Table of Contents, and Pictures
• Preface
• Chapter 1—The Martha Brotherton Case
• Chapter 2—Bennett's Sixth Letter or the Essay on "Happiness"
• Chapter 3—The Sarah Pratt Case
• Chapter 4—Orson Pratt and the 1831 Revelation Rumor
• Chapter 5—Apostle Pratt's Revolt against the Prophet
• Chapter 6—Joseph's Anti-Bennett Crusade
• Chapter 7—The Polygamy Crisis in the Fall of 1842
• Chapter 8—The Peace Maker—Another Source of LDS Polygamy
• Chapter 9—How The Peace Maker Has Been Wrongly Used to Promote a False Theory
• Chapter 10—The Apostles Adopted Jacob's Polygamous Concepts from The Peace Maker
• Chapter 11—More Evidence that LDS Polygamy Concepts Were Adopted from The Peace Maker
• Chapter 12—Mary Page Eaton Testified that Joseph Was Not a Polygamists
• Chapter 13—The Smith Family Knew that Brigham Practiced Polygamy before Joseph's Death
• Chapter 14— William Smith Provided Further Insights into the Origin of Polygamy
• Chapter 15—Joseph's Struggles to Eradicate Polygamy in 1842
• Chapter 16—LDS Leaders Accused Oliver Cowdery of Polygamy
• Chapter 17—Apostle John Taylor Lied about Polygamy Being Practiced by Church Leaders
• Bibliography
• Index

Volume 3

• Title Page, Copyright Information, and Table of Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1—Joseph Smith Continued to Fight Polygamy through 1843
• Chapter 2—Joseph Charged Harrison Sagers with Seduction and Lying to Get a Plural Wife
• Chapter 3—Joseph Asserted His Innocence of Polygamy in 1843
• Chapter 4—Joseph Continued to Assert His Innocence of Polygamy in 1843
• Chapter 5—Chronology of Joseph Smith’s Opposition to Polygamy in 1843
• Chapter 6—Joseph’s Testimony of Innocence Upheld by His Son Joseph Smith III
• Chapter 7—Joseph Continued Opposing Polygamy in 1844
• Chapter 8—Joseph and Hyrum Planned Charges against Polygamists before the High Council
• Chapter 9—Utah LDS Church Continues to Charge Joseph with Marrying Other Men’s Wives Despite DNA Tests Showing He Did Not Father Their Children
• Chapter 10—Utah LDS Church Published a False Version of How Polygamy Entered the Church
• Chapter 11—William Law Launched the Second Conspiracy against Joseph
• Chapter 12—Militant Nonmembers Launched a Third Conspiracy against Joseph
• Chapter 13—The William Law Conspiracy Moved Aggressively against Joseph
• Chapter 14—Hyrum Smith Was Not Involved with the Polygamy Revelation nor Was He a Polygamist
• Chapter 15—Charges That Hyrum Secretly Taught Polygamy Are False
• Chapter 16—Plot against Joseph Ignited a Firestorm in the Nauvoo City Council
• Chapter 17—Higbee’s “Damages” Trial against Joseph Revealed the Higbees’ Plan to Get Joseph and Hyrum Killed at Carthage
• Chapter 18—Persecutions against Joseph Grew in May 1844 from Those in Law’s New Church
• Chapter 19—Utah LDS Church Still Uses Allegations by Joseph’s Enemies to Claim He Was a Polygamist
• Chapter 20—The Apostles at Nauvoo Purposefully Obstructed Joseph’s Defense during the "Damages” Trial
• Appendix—A Preview of the Next Volume
• Bibliography
• Index