Basically, because a lot of the stories are spurious. It makes it really hard to know what was going on. I think that out of all that is said, the one generally agreed upon fact is that he was practicing polygamy. Since information on this subject was not readily divulged, our first-person sources are few, and from what sources we do have available, we find they are often individuals who have a bone to pick with the prophet. From the other end, I think there is a small but significant tendency for some members of the church to try to deny that Joseph practiced polygamy. Most members, however, accept it as a fact. In any case, those are a couple of reasons why there are conflicting accounts.

The answer is that there are some within the LDS who want to play down the role of polygamy in the early days of the Mormons. Wikipedia's article on the subject has this to say: Historians widely agree that Joseph Smith Jr. taught and practiced polygamy.[1] This position is supported by "sealing" records, (in many cases notarized) public marriage licenses, affidavits, letters, journals and diaries.[2] Smith's son, Joseph Smith III, and some members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, now called the Community of Christ) disagreed with the evidence presented and taught that Joseph Smith opposed the practice of polygamy (Whitmer 1887). ======== It seems though, that Smith publicly denied, during his life, that he practised polygamy. Wikipedia continues: Smith stated that he received a revelation in July 12, 1843, that outlined the requirements to live in the highest glory of the celestial heaven. This revelation states that "a new and an everlasting covenant" of plural marriage is given, contains numerous Biblical references to and justifications of polygamy, as well as the demand that Smith's first wife, Emma, accept all of Smith's plural wives, and warns of damnation if the new covenant is not observed.[3] Smith said that plural wives "are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfill the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men."[4] Smith later said: "The same God that has thus far dictated me and directed me and strengthened me in this work, gave me this revelation and commandment on celestial and plural marriage, and the same God commanded me to obey it. He said to me that unless I accepted it, and introduced it, and practiced it, I, together with my people would be damned and cut off from this time henceforth. We have got to observe it. It is an eternal principle and was given by way of commandment and not by way of instruction."[5] The doctrine was hidden during Smith's life, and Smith publicly preached and wrote against it.[6]; however, records indicate that dozens of plural marriages were performed by Smith before his death in 1844.[citation needed] Additionally, Smith was sealed to individuals during his life and after his death (by proxy) (Compton 1997). Latter Day Saint movement denominations disagree as to the impact and meaning of these records. In the latter part of his life, Joseph Smith taught that all humans must be united or sealed to each other. He taught that a marriage that extends after death is also called "sealing" and that the power to perform such ceremonies was initially held only by him; members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that Smith later passed the authority on to others. ============== The gap between the words said by Smith publicly, and the practice which he undoubtedly championed secretly, is another reason for the conflicting stories. Certainly, this is a concern for the members of the LDS.

Because the true stories of him real doing it are hidden from the public.He was a strange man.He was the sheik of the western world with many young wives.

You know, the whole story about JS is conflicting; he was a womanizer, power tripper, mason, treasure seeker. The fact is, JS claimed he heard from God about polygamy, so the mans seed can be spread, back in the biblical days that is the reason for it. But JS married other people’s wives, HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM so there was enough seed, he was just a womanizer and liked to have sex with other women and juststified it by marring them. I wonder if God told the 30 something year old man to have sex with 15 year olds? Sounds like a David Karish move to me :)

Here is my thoughts. First it's very difficult to give complete answer in a post. Basics though. I do not believe he was a polygamists. The reason for all the conflicting stories is because those that made these stories up couldn't get things straight with each other, contradictions. Polygamy wasn't widely known about in the church, not really until Brigham took his group to Utah. There were rumors and these rumors led to a lot of hate against the Church while in Illinois. Joseph Smith was excommunicating people for polygamy and was in the midst of a lawsuit against a lawyer who claimed Joseph Smith was a polygamist, he was sueing for defamation of charactor. Unfortunately the suit never went to trial as Joseph was killed in Carthedge. Joseph Smith never once stated that he had more than one wife. He always preached against polygamy, all revelations in the D&C on marriage prior to his death state that marriage is one man one woman no more.

They (LDS) are trying to hide their cult history. JS was a perverted sexual maniac & false prophet fabricated by the Freemasons to confuse societies with a counterfeit religion. My 2 cents.

There are a lot of conflicting stories because there are a lot of people with conflicting and sometimes mutually exclusive agenda. The historical record is pretty solid based on objective analysis that he did practice plural marriage. Even the Community of Christ admits that now, when for years they dismissed it as a "Brighamite" invention. A lot of stories are pushed by his detractors, spinning things with the most negative interpretation possible and often with poor attention to detail and historical accuracy. Other stories are pushed by believers in Smith and originate from family traditions that seek to establish a more personal connection between the family and the prophet of the restoration. Some can be supported by historical evidence, some cannot. Remember also that Joseph was sealed after his death to many women with whom he had no relationship in this life.

You can get a copy here http://www.restorationbookstore.org/ I left the church in the late 80's. I actually attended a baptist church most of the time anyway since I live in Idaho and there was more people my age there. When the name change took place there were those that wanted to continue the name but they couldn't because the now CofC owned the named. They threatened to sue if the name was found on any churches. It was pretty ugly so the Reorganized church gave up (from what I understand). Those that are in high place in the CofC have turned there backs on the original teachings of the church and basically have started a new church.

It is widely accepted that Joseph was sealed to multiple women. What is unclear is just how many, and if he had sexual relations with any of them. All known descendants of Joseph Smith come through Emma. Joseph taught that everyone had to be sealed to someone to create a link back to Father Adam and Mother Eve in order to obtain the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom. It was common practice in the early days of the Church to get sealed to the Prophet, an Apostle, or someone else in authority. It would not have been a sin for Joseph to have sexual relations with any plural wife that was not legally married to another man at the time.

You hear conflicting stories because it used to be acceptable and they admitted he did it. When it became unacceptable, revisionists tried to distance this founding member of the church from a part of history that the mainstream church no longer endorses.

Because historians extern to the movement don't always tell the same story as the members of the movement's various groups (who don't always agree with one another either, for dogmatic reasons). "Historically, one of the defining characteristics of much of the Latter Day Saint movement was the doctrine and practice of polygamy or later referred to as plural marriage, a type of polygyny. According to a consensus of historians, the practice was taught by Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and introduced formally to the public in 1852 by Brigham Young, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The practice became famous during the 19th century when it was opposed and outlawed by the United States government, resulting in an intense legal conflict, culminating in LDS Church president Wilford Woodruff announcing the church's official abandonment of the practice on September 25, 1890. Nevertheless, plural marriage continues amongst several groups of Mormon fundamentalists in the western United States, Canada, and Mexico. Mainstream Latter-day Saints who are found practicing polygamy or associating with sympathetic groups are excommunicated. According to a majority of historians, the doctrine of plural marriage was developed by Joseph Smith over several years, perhaps beginning in the early 1830s, even though Smith publicly opposed the practice and denied his involvement during his lifetime. Under the Mormon doctrine of plural marriage, first published in Utah in 1852, the first wife's consent should be sought before a man married another wife, but also declares that Jesus Christ will "destroy" the first wife if she does not consent to the plural marriage. Smith's wife Emma Smith was opposed to plural marriage and lived until the age of 74." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygamy_and_the_Latter_Day_Saint_movement Further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_wives_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_Latter_Day_Saint_polygamy

Well, when you do something un biblical and illegal then get caught... You kinda have to try and backtrack. Joey got caught, some people new the truth and professed it, others new the truth and suppressed it. Still others only thought they new and massaged it.

One RLDS historian suggested that Joseph might have practiced polygamy. This does not represent the feelings of the entire membership. I, for one, do not think he practiced polygamy. I think the sealing that was practiced by him was strictly between a husband and his one wife. He never intended for it to go beyond that. In my own research, there are many major incongruities between the claims of supposed polygamous wives and the historical record. Some involved claims by people who were seeking revenge against Joseph Smith — lying about his relationships was one way to do it. Some were named as one of his plural wives after they had passed away and unavailable to deny it. I believe some claimed to be Joseph's plural wife in order to elevate their status in the Utah Mormon society. About half of them were plural wives of Brigham Young or Heber Kimball. This put them in the midst of a society where right was determined by doing your duty / do as your told. Bottom line — it doesn't matter if Joseph Smith practiced polygamy. That did not make it right. If he did, then he violated the very laws of God that had come from his own lips. The Book of Mormon condemns polygamy. Jacob [RLDS 1:15 ; LDS 1:15] Jacob [RLDS 2:32-36; LDS 2:23-28] Mosiah [RLDS 7:2-5; LDS 11:2] Ether [RLDS 4:48; LDS 10:5] The D&C condemns polygamy: CofC D&C 38:7; LDS DC 38:31-32 “I give unto you my law [in Ohio” CofC D&C 42:7d; LDS DC 42:22-23 “love thy wife … and none else” CofC D&C 58:5b; LDS DC 58:21-22 “Let no man break the laws of the land” If Joseph Smith practiced polygamy in Nauvoo, he not only broke the laws of the land but also the law of God. There was an additional section in the LDS D&C until 1876 that firmly declared a strict belief in monogamy.

Joseph Smith received a Revelation for Plural Marriage in 1831. He didn't record it because he didn't want to practice this principle at all, let alone teach it to the Church. Finally in 1834 an Angel appeared to him with his sword drawn demanding he commit to practicing plural marriage or he would be killed on the spot. Joseph then agreed to began it's practice immediately, which he did. But because of his fear of the mobs, he kept it quiet. And even denied practicing such. Then in 1843 he received the Revelation on the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, which included plural marriage, which was recorded. And because of the secrecy surrounding plural marriage, not much information was recorded during that time. So enemy's of the Church just made up their own stories, knowing most members of the Church would not be able to refute them. However, the bottom line is, because This Church is a Restored Church and because the Lord promised that ALL THINGS would be restored from the days of Adam through the New Testament, Polygamy was one of the things that needed to be restored. It is part of the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, and cannot be done away. An Everlasting Covenant is everlasting, it will never end. And in order to restore this principle it had to be practiced for a time. By 1890, Wilford Woodruff was told by the Lord it was no longer necessaty to live this principle and the Church was released from this part of the Covenant. But it is still part of the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, and always will be Forever. whew4

A: Because Joseph Smith practiced Polygamy in secret and lied about it in public. http://www.concernedchristians.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=42&func=view&id=78818&catid=522 In addition, Emma Smith, his first and only non-polygamous, legal wife, also misrepresented the truth. Her reasons for doing so are hotly debated but it appears that the main motivation was an attempt to save the family reputation. In fact, it's my understanding that there are members of the Smith family who to this day deny Joseph Smith, Jr's polygamous marriages. . (sources Linda King Newell, author of "Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith", Fawn Brodie, "No Man Knows My History, 2nd Edition", Richard & Joan Ostling, "Mormon America", Richard S Van Wagoner "Mormon Polygamy") http://books.google.com/books?id=UjHEhhqVu1UC http://books.google.com/books?id=iNQ1AAAAIAAJ&pgis=1 http://books.google.com/books?id=m14mHQAACAAJ http://books.google.com/books?id=ngBkAgAACAAJ As a result we're left to second hand testimony. However that second hand testimony is overwhelming and always has been for example, in 1905 affidavits were published by the LDS Church in a book entitled, "Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage" in an attempt to discredit the RLDS Church's claim that Joseph Smith was never polygamous and that it was all Brigham Young's doing. Some of these affidavits date back to 1843 - a year before Joseph Smith's assassination. . You will find the GoogleBooks version of this book here http://books.google.com/books?id=kMHECcPZU3wC . The affidavits start on page 67 and are just the tip of the iceberg. . Ironically now it's the LDS Church that attempts to downplay, spin doctor and/or deny this aspect of Joseph Smith's personal history. However, I must give them credit for honestly posting Smith's marriage records on the LDS Church owned FamilySearch.org website demonstrates: http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/AF/individual_record.asp?recid=7762167&lds=0%AEion=-1%AEionfriendly=&frompage=99 . Even the RLDS Church now INFORMALLY acknowledges Smith's polygamous marriages. . Finally here's a link to a web link that provides great information on Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages: http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/