The practice of polygamy, amongst early Latter-day Saints, is a complicated subject that takes a lot of time and effort to fully understand.
Some folks more easily accept it is a true doctrine, and some need more time and/or information.
If the practice of polygamy has bothered you, don't despair. You are in really good company. Here is a list of people who struggled with polygamy, you'll probably recognize some names:
Joseph Smith
Emma Smith
Brigham Young
Hyrum Smith
Oliver Cowdery
David Whitmer
The list goes on. Great people, struggling with a difficult subject. So if it bothers you some, don't panic, further understanding through accurate information can help.
Joseph Smith said “the practice of this principle would be the hardest trial the Saints would ever have to test their faith.” That prophecy has proven to be true.
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There is a lot of bad information about polygamy out there. Inaccurate information, misinformation, twisted narratives, assumptions, and out right lies. It can be hard to sort it all out.
Below are several sources of good information, some from the church and some not, that can help you better understand the history, practice, and doctrine of plural marriage.
It is hard to find a subject that requires for the A.S.K. principle than this one does. - so keep that in mind.
Just a few quick notes:
The Bible:
It is helpful to know that polygamy was also practiced in the Old Testament times. Abraham, Moses, Jacob, David, and Solomon all had multiple wives. And though some of these men ended up sinning against God, that does not mean that their plural marriages were themselves sinful. 2 Samuel 12:8 specifically says that the Lord "gave" David his wives. This is important context for understanding plural marriage in modern times.
Details are important:
Plural marriage was not a free-for-all. It was slowly introduced, there were policies regarding it, and procedures in place. A couple of examples were: men had to be approved by the prophet to be in a plural marriage, the women did not. The man was expected to get his first wife's approval. If any of the wives were not happy in the plural marriage, it was easy for them to divorce (it was not so easy for the men to do so).
The experiences with plural marriage are as wide in their variety as monogamous marriages. Just like in monogamous marriages there were some plural marriages that didn't work out, there were some where abuse or coercion took place, there we some that were extremely successful, and there we plenty of happy and health plural marriages and families. It is important to keep this in mind. What didn't work for one person, worked very well for another person - just like any other kind of marriage we see today.
Information From Other Sources
THE preeminent source for a deep dive into polygamy: Joseph Smith's Polygamy
Faithful scholarship on plural marriage: FAIR LDS Plural Marriage - (click "EXPAND" on the page to see all of the resources, there are also videos)
A whole bunch of information and data: Mormonr-Polygamy
A Bunch of Recent Videos:
(many of these also have podcasts of the same episodes)