“What a thing it is for a man to ​be accused of​ committing adultery and having​ seven wives when I can only find one.” — Joseph Smith¹

In Nauvoo, as rumors of polygamy and "spiritual wifery" circulated, Joseph Smith and other church leaders made public denials to address concerns. Joseph emphasized that the Church practiced only monogamy and condemned the practice of adultery, fornication, and unauthorized spiritual relationships. However, privately, Joseph had received a revelation on plural marriage, which he taught selectively to a few trusted individuals.^2,3 This practice, of concealing the truth concerning marital relationships, had scriptural precedent in the stories of both Abraham and Isaac.⁴

In 1842, John C. Bennett, a former Latter-day Saint living in Nauvoo, issued an expose accusing Joseph of adultery due to the practice of plural marriage.⁵ At the time, Hyrum Smith was among several high-ranking Church leaders who didn't know about the practice of plural marriage, leading him to strongly disavow Bennett's claim as false.³ Public statements from Church leaders who knew about the practice were always carefully worded to denounce worldly practices of "spiritual wifery" and "polygamy" while leaving space for the divinely mandated and authorized covenant practice of plural marriage.⁶

1. History, 1838–1856, The Joseph Smith Papers

2. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 36, 432-435

3. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 40, 483-491

4. Abraham 2; Genesis 26

5. John C. Bennett, The Joseph Smith Papers

6. “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” churchofjesuschrist.org