Joseph Smith’s Polygamy vs. The New Testament

Because of Joseph Smith’s claim to have restored God’s true church to the earth, Joseph is the hinge on which the LDS Church’s claims swing. Let me explain what I mean – If Joseph Smith was a false prophet, then the LDS Church and its teachings are also necessarily false.

This fact makes the life, teachings, and character of Joseph Smith all incredibly significant to consider. Smith’s practice of polygamy is understandably at the forefront of this discussion. 

While many have pointed to Joseph’s polygamy as a serious problem for his credibility, Latter-day Saints often explain that Joseph’s polygamy can be understood if one considers the numerous factors involved, such as the need for the LDS Church to quickly grow, or the number of women in the early church who needed to be cared for.

But despite these arguments, Christians continue to believe that this polygamy completely disqualifies Joseph Smith from leadership in Christ’s Church. Here’s why:

Joseph Smith fails to meet the Biblical qualifications for church leadership

The New Testament gives us a list of qualifications that prospective church leaders must meet. In 1 Timothy, The Apostle Paul writes

“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,” (1 Timothy 3:2).

Paul goes on to repeat a similar list for deacons a couple verses later, which also includes the qualification of being the “husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:12). The Apostle says almost the exact same thing in Titus: appointed church leaders must be “above reproach, the husband of one wife”—literally meaning a “one woman man” (Titus 1:5-7).

Joseph Smith does not, in any way, meet this qualification of being a “one woman man”. By New Testament standards, he is not permitted to be a leader in Christ’s Church.

Now, Latter-day Saints commonly object to this line of reasoning, appealing to the Old Testament patriarchs who themselves had many wives. God clearly didn’t have an issue with it then, therefore—since we accept those patriarchs as valid, why should Joseph be flat out rejected for polygamy (especially if he really was used by God)?

Consider for a moment that the New Testament raises the standards for all the moral commandments of the Old Testament. Jesus taught that the commandment “Thou shalt not murder” was broken simply by hating someone in your heart (Matthew 5:21-22). Similarly, merely looking at a woman with lust was like committing adultery (Matthew 5:27-28)!

Just because polygamy was permitted in the Old Testament doesn’t mean that it is permitted in the New! It’s important to note—God never once commanded polygamy in the Old Testament! God showed in Creation what His ideal for marriage was: a single man and a single woman (Genesis 2:21-25, Matthew 19:5-6, 1 Corinthians 7:2)

In other words – Old Testament patriarchs couldn’t have been leaders in the New Testament Church! And by the standards given in the New Testament—Joseph Smith is also disqualified!

Additionally, Paul teaches that church leaders must be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6-7). But when we consider how Joseph Smith handled plural marriage, we find that he was not above reproach in his actions. Here are a couple examples:

Joseph Smith seemingly lied about his polygamy

Joseph’s earliest plural marriage took place in 1833 (www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo). Two years after getting married, Smith published the 1835 version of the D&C.

Section 101 if this 1835 version says,

“Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.” (D&C 101:4 [1835 version]).

In the early life of the LDS Church, people were accusing Latter-day Saints of practicing polygamy. Joseph explicitly denies this, while affirming an orthodox view of marriage.

The problem here is that Smith was already practicing plural marriage when he explicitly denied the practice of it in this D&C passage.

Joseph supposedly received a revelation that polygamy was prohibited by God, wrote it in this D&C 101 passage, all the while continuing the practice. These are NOT the actions of a man who is “above reproach.”

(It’s worth noting that this section in the D&C would later be changed to reflect the adoption of polygamy as a formal practice of the LDS church.)

Joseph Smith defied his own standards for plural marriage

The LDS church admits that 12-14 of Joseph Smith’s wives were ALREADY married to living husbands (www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo). This practice (called polyandry) is decidedly forbidden in D&C 132, which reads:

“…if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.” (D&C 132:61).

This section of the D&C (written by Joseph) states that polygamy was only permitted if the woman was a virgin, unmarried, and vowed to no other man. Yet Joseph Smith blatantly broke this command by taking already married women as additional wives.

In summary — God has given us a standard by which to evaluate and examine the qualities and attributes of church leaders. If we are to be obedient to God then we must reject Joseph Smith as an unqualified leader.

God doesn’t break His Word, and thus He would not call an unqualified man to be the head of the final dispensation, the chief leader of the restoration of His Church. Joseph Smith was not an authorized prophet of God, he was a false prophet.

The True Prophet, the True Head of this “final dispensation” is Jesus, who has perfectly kept every single commandment of God. Jesus alone is our Savior, Redeemer, Prophet, Priest, and King