“And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.” — Doctrine and Covenants 132:52¹

The revelation on marriage (Doctrine and Covenants 132) was dictated by Joseph Smith to William Clayton on July 12, 1843, but some of the principles it relates were known by the prophet as early as the mid-1830s. After Joseph Kingsbury made a copy, the original was shown to Emma, who is said to have burned it after she rejected the practice.² While Joseph and Emma discussed the revelation the next day, the conversation became so difficult that Joseph invited William Clayton to help mediate.³

The first section of the revelation (vv. 1-28) addresses the meaning of Christ's reply to the Sadducees (Matthew 22:23–30) and relates that only eternal marriages, sealed by the priesthood and by the Holy Spirit of Promise, can last beyond death. The second part (vv. 29–40), probably sparked when Joseph was translating the first books of the Bible, addressed the question of how the Lord justified Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others to marry more than one wife. Later, the revelation (vv. 51-52) specifically instructs Emma to accept Joseph's plural wives.¹

1. Doctrine and Covenants 132:52

2. “Historical Introduction,” Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132], p. 1, The Joseph Smith Papers

3. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 41, 502-504