Sexuality in Joseph Smith’s Plurality In an 1844 publication, Joseph H. Jackson, a non-LDS visitor to Nauvoo, wrote: ‘Joe Smith boasted to me that he … from the commencement of his career had seduced 400 women.’ If this is true, that would mean there would be 400 victims of Smith’s debauchery. Ironically, the historical record fails to identify even one woman who said she was seduced by the Prophet. An in-depth review of available historical documents reveals a total of nineteen claims accusing Joseph Smith of sexual impropriety. In this session, I evaluate these claims for believability, emphasizing the difference between rumor, assumption, and credible evidence. I present extensive research that supports the probable existence of conjugal relations between Joseph Smith and nine of his plural wives, possible existence with another six, and doubtful existence with all non-wives and ‘polyandrous’ wives.

Brian C. Hales