Joseph Smith Secretly Began Polygamy in 1831–32.” John Dehlin & John Turner

Bottom Line

There is no documentary evidence that Joseph practiced or revealed polygamy in 1831–32. Later recollections cannot overturn contemporary scripture and records.

Podcast	Mormon Stories Podcast – John Dehlin & John Turner
Episode	Did Joseph Smith Speak in Tongues? (Pt. 12) – Ep. 2053
Title	“Joseph secretly began polygamy in 1831–32.”
Category	Polygamy / Early Doctrine
Quote	“Joseph Smith privately removed ambiguity from the matter about the time Jesse Gaus was converted… Joseph told individuals that he had inquired of the Lord concerning the principle of plurality of wives and received for answer that it was a true principle.” — John Dehlin citing Quinn, 00:23:55–00:29:30
Core Claim	Joseph introduced polygamy as early as 1831–32, decades before Nauvoo.
Conclusion	Unverified → Retroactive Memory Inflation
Logical Questions	Are there contemporary 1830s records confirming this? What does the 1835 Doctrine & Covenants say? Do later reminiscences outweigh primary evidence?

🔍 Core Finding

📖 Doctrinal Context

The Book of Mormon (Jacob 2:27–30) condemns polygamy except if God commands it. No revelation on polygamy was canonized until D&C 132 (1843). In 1835, the official D&C explicitly denied polygamy (D&C 101:4, 1835 edition).

The claim rests on speculation, not evidence. Even D. Michael Quinn admitted ambiguity. The historical record shows Joseph did not introduce formal polygamy until the 1840s.

📊 Factual Verification

No 1831–32 document in the Joseph Smith Papers records a polygamy revelation.
The only “evidence” is William Phelps’ 1861 recollection—30 years later.
Joseph’s first known plural marriage was to Fanny Alger (~1835–36), not 1831.

🤔 Likely Misunderstanding

Critics assume later recollections prove early polygamy. But memory inflation decades after Joseph’s death (esp. amid RLDS vs. Utah debates) is unreliable compared to contemporaneous records.

⚖️ Legal / Media Literacy Note

Presenting speculation as fact risks misleading audiences and mischaracterizing Joseph’s history.