Description

Many people have wondered why there are no known children from Joseph Smith and any of his known or suspected wives other than Emma. Clearly Joseph was fertile, having fathered nine children with Emma. We will look at historians’ explanations for this lack of children, including those of Richard Bushman, Todd Compton, George Smith, Brian Hales, and others. We will discuss the broader history of sexuality, including birth control and sexual restraint, using Louisa May Alcott and Ina Coolbrith as examples. We will provide an overview of biological, demographic, and statistical aspects of fecundity (fertility) that need to be taken into account to construct a model of the probability of a child resulting from a marriage. We will discuss the application of these factors across a range of plausible assumptions regarding ovulation and intercourse frequency. This will set the stage for a discussion about the probability of a child across the marriages from Joseph Smith. We will also explore what the apparent lack of children may suggest about the frequency of sexual intercourse or other possible behaviors or interventions to prevent births in these unions.

Speakers

• Rick Bennett (he/him)
• Mark Tensmeyer
• Amanda Hendrix-Komoto
• Joseph Stanford