Description

First Paper: Clair Barrus

Title: From Moravian Bridal Mysticism to Mormon Plural Marriage:

Tracing Marital Experimentation in American Religious Thought

Abstract:

The earliest well-documented Euro-American departures from conventional monogamy emerged in the 1740s, with the Moravian “Jesus is Female” current that eroticized bridal mysticism and the Cumberland Perfectionists’ experiments in spiritual marriage. Radicalized perfectionism subsequently drove further innovation in which self-proclaimed messiahs and prophets asserted authority over marital bonds, including nineteenth-century Cochranite “spiritual wifery,” the Oneida Perfectionists’ “complex marriage,” and Latter-day Saint plural marriage. This paper traces the emergence and transmission of spiritualized marriage ideologies from the 1740s to the 1840s, examining cross-movement influences, the transfer of ideas, and their evolution through the First and Second Great Awakenings.

Second Paper: Stephen Fleming

Title: Plato’s Shared Marriage, Jane Lead, and Mormon Polygamy

Abstract:

I argue that Mormon polygamy had its roots in Plato’s “shared marriage” or both men and women being allowed to have multiple spouses. One need to achieve but needed to have spiritual enlightenment first before engaging in such an act, and early modern religious radicals, including those in colonial New England, promoted such ideas. English visionary Jane Lead influenced such groups and likely had a big influence on Mormonism as well. Lead told of an encounter with her deceased husband that used the similar language, and lots of Lead’s ideas spread in New England during the Great Awakening among a group called the Separates. Lucy’s family, the Macks, had ties to such groups.

Third Paper: H. Michael Marquardt

Title: Polygamy in Early Mormon History

Abstract:

Plural marriage was taught and practiced in Nauvoo, Illinois by Joseph Smith. It was a way to enter the celestial kingdom of heaven. This priesthood ordinance was secret when revealed. Brief mention of women sealed to Joseph Smith is examined. Plural marriages were performed after the 1890 Manifesto was issued. Over time what was regarded as an important teaching and practice was modified and discontinued. The principle of secrecy was given on a need-to-know basis.