Conclusion
This large book of biographies of thirty-three women leaves a gap in meaning and interpretation, with about twenty-three pages of introductory explanation and six hundred pages of information and speculation about these individuals. Readers should be forewarned that
In Sacred Loneliness avoids a detailed discussion of the deeply religious and moral principles undergirding the implementation of Mormon plural marriage. Compton's presentation offers little that could be considered faithful or sympathetic understanding of the doctrinal foundations of the practice. The book's negativism might be balanced by reading the scholarly article "Plural Marriage" in the
Encyclopedia of Mormonism. The major flaw in Todd Compton's work is the unjustified theorizing on what he calls "polyandry," in practice using it in the traditional definition of a woman with full relations with multiple husbands. As the table and discussion above show, Joseph was sealed to twenty-one women who were unmarried or widowed. Nearly all indications of sexual relations pertain to these marriages. The table and discussion also show that Joseph was sealed to eight women with an existing marriage. In one marriage, that of Sylvia Sessions Lyon, there was a pregnancy, which, according to family tradition, Sylvia related to the time when her husband "was out of fellowship with the Church" (p. 183). As stated in the above discussion on polyandry, even this is not shown to be a concurrent sexual relationship with two husbands. For the remaining seven sealings of Joseph to married women, there is no reliable evidence that these involved sexual relationships. With one known exception, we know only that the ceremony gave these married women the right to be joined to Joseph Smith in the next world. Sources simply do not show a "marital triangulation" in these cases.
In Sacred Loneliness is inconsistent in the standards of judgment applied to polyandry. For woman after woman in this book, the following statement or its equivalent is made: "Absolutely nothing is known of this marriage after the ceremony" (p. 465, regarding Lucy Walker). Good history is characterized by careful interpretation of reliable documents, together with disclosing what cannot be determined. But Compton reverses these responsible methods in discussing sexuality, particularly in regard to the eight sealings to women with living husbands. He begins by probing the relatively small number of statements on physical relations in all marriages. These add up to first-, second-, and thirdhand statements about some eight women, about a fourth of the Prophet's polygamous wives (see pp. 1213). This uneven mixture is then characterized as "a great deal of evidence that Joseph Smith had sexual relations with his wives" (p. 13). That judgment is next intensified without further information: "In conclusion, though it is possible that Joseph had some marriages in which there were no sexual relations, there is no explicit or convincing evidence for this (except, perhaps, in the cases of the older wives, judging from later Mormon polygamy)" (p. 15). Stripped of verbiage, this deduction moves in three steps: (1) About 28 percent of Joseph's marriages had full physical dimensions; (2) Evidence for the part may be taken for the whole; (3) Therefore, sexual relations characterized most of his marriages. However, the middle span of this bridge badly sags.
In Sacred Loneliness does not have a factual basis for its conclusions regarding polyandry.
An undercurrent swirls through Compton's study: dissatisfaction with Joseph Smith's plural marriage revelation. Church leaders and plural wives were "given an impossible task" that they could not avoid because both groups "accepted him as an infallible prophet" (p. 456; compare pp. 2223, 296). Since this overstated theology permeates the book, it is useful to glance at both sides of the coin as explained by the Prophet in a near-final discourse: "I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught."
34 Joseph bluntly told converts arriving at Nauvoo that he "was but a man," and they could not expect perfection from him.
35 This lack of public intimidation suggests private coercion was not the Prophet's style, though Compton often sees this otherwise. Since Joseph told Emily Partridge the Lord had given her to him, "it was sacrilegious to doubt. It was the woman's duty to comply with the fact that she was already Joseph's possession" (p. 407). But this comment illustrates how sources can be overshadowed by the historical interpreter, who acknowledges that the Prophet was patient while Emily learned and adjusted. She is quoted: "[In] those few months I received a testimony of the words that Joseph would have said to me and their nature before they were told me, and being convinced I received them readily" (quoted on p. 407). Indeed, Compton observes that Emily was "like many of Joseph's wives" in receiving "a conversion to the principle" (p. 407). It was not the Prophet's supposed infallibility, but personal revelation through promptings and visions that induced the men and women around the Prophet to accept plural marriage. Many of their spiritual verifications are quoted by the author, whose industry and honesty are admirable in liberally presenting the words of these early Saints.
If we had the benefit of Joseph Smith's explanation for each of his plural marriages, we would be in a better position to judge the motives and depth of his relationships but, since we do not, wisdom and prudence dictate that we withhold many judgments until we do. Biographers in this area are tempted to create historical fiction, which purports to read minds and furnish all answers, but serious history cannot run ahead of responsible source materials. This collection of biographies is not a definitive study of Joseph Smith and plural marriage, or of the Prophet's relationship with his plural wives. Yet, much to his credit, Todd Compton has done an amazing amount of research, and for that effort he should be commended. But in certain aspects of the author's presentation�especially the speculative interpretation of data�we disagree with his rendition and find reason to caution unsuspecting readers.
In closing the chapter on Emily Partridge, the author writes an early epilogue, which rejects Joseph Smith's "polygamy revelations" (p. 456). Though this marriage system was a noble failure, he reasons, Joseph Smith's generation too blindly believed to be liberated: "If nineteenth-century Mormons had concluded that Smith had been wrong in what he taught was the crowning revelation of his life, they would have been left with a very different Mormonism than the faith they followed" (p. 456). Though Compton interprets Joseph Smith's wives with tender concern, it is ironic that this advocate really believes in the futility, even stupidity, of their dedication to the Prophet's calling. That generation could not face "polygamy's impracticality and tragic consequences" (p. 456). Of course, the nineteenth century regularly gave women an unfair measure of hardships. Moreover, Mormon women at midcentury faced displacement and harsh pioneering, endured with difficulty by monogamous or plural wives. Compton unfortunately overemphasizes the "tragic ambiguity" that he found in the lives of the women sealed to Joseph Smith (p. xiii). But we need to be mindful that almost all of them remained believers in the Prophet's mission, and most died as faithful Latter-day Saints. Several, as did Lucy Walker Kimball, explained their spiritual growth in response to polygamy's challenges: "You learn self-control, self-denial; it brings out the noble traits of our fallen natures . . . and the lessons learned in a few years, are worth the experience of a lifetime" (quoted on p. 468).
We approach the doctrine of plural marriage (and Compton's book) from our personal and professional perspectives as believers in the Prophet's divinely appointed mission and his inspired revelations. We have a comforting assurance in our minds and hearts that Joseph Smith told the truth about the first vision, Moroni's appearances, and the restoration of priesthood through the coming of the apostles of Jesus Christ. Accordingly we find no reason to doubt his revelation on the plurality of worlds and how they are populated. There is breathtaking beauty in the concepts of eternal growth and celestial relationships. The Prophet Joseph Smith said similar things about his vision of the degrees of glory, and we deeply agree.
36 Yet, strangely, that vision (D&C 76), given in early 1832, tried the faith of many early Saints who saw God's justice as eroded by allowing eternal rewards in some measure for almost all. Brigham Young was one who struggled, and he put the doctrine on the shelf until he could understand it better, which he came to do: "I was not prepared to say that I believed it, and I had to wait. What did I do? I handed this over to the Lord in my feelings, and said I, �I will wait until the Spirit of God manifests to me, for or against.' I did not judge the matter, I did not argue against it, not in the least. I never argued the least against anything Joseph proposed, but if I could not see or understand it, I handed it over to the Lord."
37
We have learned from Todd Compton's work but are disturbed by its dissonances. We advise readers of this book to consider all aspects of Joseph Smith's life to determine for themselves whether he was a living prophet or a religious opportunist. Together we count our serious studies of Joseph Smith by many decades. Having examined virtually all extant manuscript sources documenting the life and teachings of Joseph Smith, we believe he was an honest and moral servant of God. His calling as the Prophet of the restoration is bolstered by the scriptural works he produced�the Book of Mormon, the revelatory revision of the Bible, modern revelations, the book of Abraham, as well as his teachings, and his dedicated ministry punctuated by persecution. Like many religious and moral heroes of history, he was targeted and slandered by the forces of evil. Those who knew Joseph best stood by him most firmly. We discern a purity of soul in the power of his discourses, as recorded by the Nauvoo scribes and in Latter-day Saint journals. We see his constant sacrifices for his people, including knowingly giving his life at the end to preserve Nauvoo from attack and plundering. Our minds and hearts testify that Joseph Smith is certainly a prophet sent from God.
....................hmm, no.
