I have asked of the Lord concerning the practice of the Saints, and I have received for answer, that I should take unto myself more wives than one, and that the Saints should do likewise.
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"I am not a sectarian, but a lover of truth."
"I calculated to be one of the instruments of setting up the kingdom of Daniel by the word of the Lord, and I intended to lay a foundation that would revolutionize the whole world."
"I am a friend to the poor, and I have always been so."
"I am a man of honor, and I will uphold the honor of God."
"When all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the Priesthood, an…"
Allegedly said to Brigham Young and other leaders, widely documented in early Latter-day Saint sources, though not a direct transcript from Smith's own writing. Brigham Young, for example, attributed this to Smith.
Date: Circa 1840-1843
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The speaker claims divine authorization to practice plural marriage, meaning taking multiple wives simultaneously. He presents this not as personal choice but as a commandment received directly from God, binding both himself and his followers. It frames polygamy as religious duty rather than preference, demanding communal compliance. The phrase 'asked of the Lord' positions the practice as a response to sincere prayer answered by revelation, making refusal tantamount to rejecting God's will.
Smith founded a new American religion by claiming continuous divine revelation, and plural marriage was his most explosive doctrinal innovation. Recorded in 1843 as Doctrine and Covenants 132, Smith had already secretly married dozens of women, including teenagers and wives of living men. His prophetic authority rested entirely on claimed direct communication with God, so framing polygamy as revelation was structurally identical to how he introduced scripture, baptism for the dead, and temple ceremonies — revelation as the ultimate trump card.
In 1840s America, the Second Great Awakening had normalized claims of personal revelation and new religious movements. Biblical polygamy — Abraham, Jacob, David — was familiar to Protestant audiences, lending Smith's doctrine partial scriptural cover. Nauvoo, Illinois was Smith's theocratic city-state where he wielded political and religious power simultaneously. Plural marriage remained a dangerous secret; its exposure contributed directly to his imprisonment and 1844 assassination. The US government later waged a decade-long legal campaign forcing the LDS church to renounce polygamy by 1890.
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