Section note: William King was a church member in Nauvoo who gave another origin story of early Mormon polygamy. He was interviewed by Joseph Smith III and Apostle Joseph Luff on July 26, 1901 in Los Angeles, California:

"About the year '42 there were a great many poor widows living out in the farther part of town—Nauvoo is laid off very large—and there was a good deal of complaining, and they sometimes had to suffer, as the roads were bad and they had no children large enough to send to the bishop.

"And at the conference Joseph Smith proposed that those poor widows that lived out there, and had good faithful brethren living by them, should be adopted into these brethren's families. There was a vote taken on it at the conference, and I voted for it; thought it was a good thing. It carried unanimously. Well they were adopted, there were plenty of brethren that adopted them into their families, and it went on very well for awhile. In place of treating them as one of their families, they went to making what was called spiritual wives of them. And Joseph Smith and [Nauvoo Stake President] William Marks called the Church together, at the Masonic Hall, and there the meeting was carried on for three days and nights, speaking against it, and showing the consequences of what they had done, and Joseph Smith's last speech was this, "Brethren, you that had no hand in it, for God's sake never have, for those that have had a hand in it are damned to all intents and purposes."

Bro. Luff—At about what time was that discussion?
King: Either in the fall of '43 or in the spring of '44.
Pres. Smith—Was it held in the Masonic Hall or in the Seventy's Hall?
King: It was in the Masonic Hall. The Seventy's Hall was not large enough to hold such a throng of people as was gathered there.
Bro. Luff—Was William Marks connected with that denunciation, or associated with Joseph Smith in that work?
King: He was, he was, we had a great deal of confidence in William Marks.
Brother Luff—Did he publicly talk about it?
King: That was what the meeting was for, to put it down. He spoke just the same as Joseph. They spoke time about [took turns speaking]. The meeting continued three days and three nights.
Bro. Luff—Have you any knowledge as to whether any of those men who have been prominent in Utah were present at those meetings?
King: Lots of them were, but I could not now tell who.
Bro. Luff—Do you know any others who were there that you were certain of?
King: Old David Seely, who died up here at San Bernardino, was there. He and I used to go [do Church work] together. I do not recollect of any that are now living, but David Bennett, my father-in-law was one of the members of the Church. He was there. He heard it. Cyrus H. Wheelock was there, and many others.
Bro. Luff—Did Joseph Smith, during those speeches ever make any direct statement to the effect that the conduct of those people was foreign to the general intent of the adoption?
King: That was the effect of his whole remarks, showing them where they had transgressed the law of God, in doing the way they had done.
Bro. Smith—Did you ever hear of polygamy or plural wifery in Nauvoo, before Father's death?
King: No sir, no sir, only that of which I was talking.

(Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy, Vol. 3, Chapter 13)

(Stanley Ivins Collection, Utah State Historical Society Library, Salt Lake City, Utah; also Manuscript Collection, Community of Christ Archives, Independence, Missouri)

56
 

Letter to Emma Smith and the Relief Society, 31 March 1842, p. 2, The Joseph Smith Papers

Times & Seasons, volume 5, page 490

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58
 

Letter to Emma Smith and the Relief Society, 31 March 1842, p. 2, The Joseph Smith Papers

Hyrum Smith, 8 April 1844. Selected Collections from the Archives, BYU Press

59

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/bruce-r-mcconkie/alike-unto-god/

60

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First Presidency Statement, 15 December 1969; printed in The New Era, February 1970

https://archive.org/details/improvementera7302unse/page/70/mode/2up

61

Official Declaration 1, “Excerpts from Three Addresses by President Wilford Woodruff Regarding the Manifesto";  

Sixty-first Semiannual General Conference of the Church, Monday, October 6, 1890, Salt Lake City, Utah. Reported in Deseret Evening News, October 11, 1890, p. 2.)

2 Ne. 28:14

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Bruce R. McConkie, Letter of Correspondence to Eugene England, 19 February 1981; page 7

https://www.mrm.org/bruce-mcconkies-rebuke-of-eugene-england

64

https://josephsmithspolygamy.org/common-questions/sexual-polyandry/

65

https://josephsmithjr.org/little-known-facts-about-emma/

https://faenrandir.github.io/a_careful_examination/joseph-smith-marriage-sealing-dates/

66

D&C 132:7

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Matthew 22:30

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Nauvoo City Council, 10 June 1844;  published in "EXTRA," Nauvoo Neighbor 2:8, published 19 June 1844

67

Joseph Smith office journal, 16 July 1843

D&C 132:7

69

Brown, “Early Mormon Adoption Theology,”

70

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV4dzjQsEps

71

Journal of Discourses, vol. 11, p. 268

Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 115

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