Polygamy, Kind of… That’s Part of It
Overview of the 1861 Phelps Letter
In August 1861, W. W. Phelps wrote to Brigham Young claiming that Joseph Smith had received a revelation on July 17, 1831, near the western border of Missouri, in proximity to Indian Territory. Phelps stated that seven elders—Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Phelps, Martin Harris, Joseph Coe, Ziba Peterson, and Joshua Lewis—prayed to know who should preach to the Native Americans that day. No pen or paper was available, yet Phelps claimed that Joseph said the Lord could preserve the revelation.
Phelps then supplied a seven-verse text he asserted represented “the substance” of the revelation.
Themes in the Alleged Revelation
The reconstructed text includes several key themes attributed to Joseph Smith:
Missionary Assignments to Native Americans
Phelps claimed Joseph assigned:
- Oliver Cowdery to pray
- W. W. Phelps to preach
- Joseph Coe and Ziba Peterson to testify
The revelation presented the work as foundational for a “great work” among the “Lamanites and Nephites.”
Instruction to Marry Native American Women
Phelps’ 1861 text asserts that elders were to:
“take unto you wives of the Lamanites and Nephites, that their posterity may become white and delightsome…”
This line is the primary reason some researchers and fundamentalists cite the document as early evidence of Joseph Smith teaching plural marriage.
Prophecies of National Judgment and War
The text references:
- national destruction
- Babylon falling
- a Civil War-like conflict
These themes mirror the 1861 political climate after the outbreak of the American Civil War.
Phelps’ Later Comment Regarding Polygamy
Phelps added that three years after the supposed revelation, he asked Joseph Smith how married elders could take additional wives.
Phelps claimed Joseph answered using examples of Abraham and Keturah “by revelation.”
Why Historians Reject This as a Joseph Smith Revelation
The Joseph Smith Papers Project does not classify this as a Joseph Smith revelation. Historians identify multiple reasons:
No Contemporary Record
Phelps explicitly:
- admitted that no writing existed from 1831,
- claimed the document is only “the substance,”
- reconstructed it 30 years later.
Only Phelps Reported It
No other elder present (Cowdery, Harris, Coe, Peterson) ever mentioned such a revelation.
Written in 1861, Not 1831
The vocabulary and concerns in the letter:
- match 1850s–60s Latter-day Saint language,
- reflect the active Civil War,
- do not resemble the linguistic style of Joseph Smith’s early Missouri revelations.
Doctrinal and Textual Anachronisms
Elements such as:
- “white and delightsome” phrasing,
- Civil War descriptions,
- fully developed polygamy theology,
appear in later LDS discourse—not in 1831.
Issues With Interpreting the Letter as Early Polygamy
Historians highlight several problems with using this document to date polygamy to 1831.
No Evidence Anyone Raised the Question in 1831
Phelps claimed they waited “three years” to ask how married elders could take extra wives—a historically implausible detail.
Plural Marriage Does Not Appear in Any 1831 Sources
No missionary journals, no Missouri revelations, and no contemporary letters connect:
- the 1831 Lamanite mission
- with
- plural marriage.
Reliable Evidence of Plural Marriage Begins Later
Historical documentation indicates:
- possible hints in the 1830s,
- clear emergence in Nauvoo by 1841–42,
- the written revelation in 1843 (now D&C 132).
Civil War Prophecy Concerns
Phelps’ letter includes national-destruction predictions resembling:
- Doctrine and Covenants 87 (received 1832), and
- Civil War events unfolding in 1861.
Because he wrote the letter after Fort Sumter, historians view this as evidence of retroactive memory shaped by current events.
Summary: Can This Revelation Be Attributed to Joseph Smith?
The best historical conclusion is No.
Reasons:
- No original document from 1831 exists.
- Phelps admits he reconstructed the text decades later.
- Vocabulary matches 1850s–60s LDS discourse, not 1831 revelations.
- No corroboration from any of the six other men present.
- Civil-War language reveals retrospective influence.
- Phelps often overstated his early involvement and was corrected for it.
- The Joseph Smith Papers excludes it due to lack of historical validity.
The most historically defensible interpretation:
Joseph Smith may have given a general instruction or prophecy in 1831, but the content as recorded by Phelps in 1861, especially regarding plural marriage, does not reflect authentic 1831 doctrine.
Background of the 1861 Letter and Early Lamanite Missions
The 1861 letter by W. W. Phelps has influenced later debates over when Joseph Smith first taught plural marriage. Phelps claimed Joseph commanded elders in 1831 to marry among Native Americans. The accurate historical record, however, shows earlier—and more reliable—sources describe a narrower instruction specifically involving Martin Harris.
Joseph Smith’s First Missouri Visit (July 1831)
Joseph Smith arrived in Missouri for the first time in July 1831.
Three days after Phelps’ claimed revelation date, Joseph identified the location in Independence for the future Temple and the center of Zion.
The Claim Phelps Makes
Phelps wrote that:
- seven elders prayed near the Indian Territory border,
- Joseph dictated a revelation,
- Phelps reconstructed it from memory 30 years later,
- it included instructions to marry Native women,
- it predicted national destruction and war,
- Joseph later referenced Abrahamic polygamy.
Each element serves to strengthen the later doctrinal interpretation, not the historical 1831 context.
Why Historians View the 1861 Letter With Suspicion
Several key reasons:
- It is a non-contemporary, memory-based document.
- Phelps acknowledges no writing existed at the time.
- Phelps’ memory noticeably expanded over time.
- He reported simpler versions earlier (1845), only expanding them with polygamy language in 1861.
- The document contains mid-19th-century concepts, not 1831 theology.
- Phelps had a pattern of embellishment in later years.
- Joseph Smith Papers rejects it for failing basic documentary criteria.
Earlier Sources That Support Part of Phelps’ Memory
While the 1861 version includes late additions, earlier sources confirm part of the story.
Ezra Booth’s 1831 Letters
Booth, an antagonist, wrote that:
- Martin Harris was told he could marry among Native Americans,
- to facilitate missionary access,
- not as plural marriage.
Council of Fifty Minutes (1845)
Phelps reported that:
- the revelation involved only Martin Harris,
- no plural marriage instruction existed,
- no additional elders were commanded to marry.
Both sources show a consistent early memory involving Martin Harris and Native marriage—but nothing about plural marriage.
How This Fits Into Plural Marriage History
The earliest credible evidence for Joseph Smith teaching plural marriage dates to:
- ambiguous references in the mid-1830s,
- clear evidence in 1841–1842,
- a written revelation in 1843.
Nothing from 1831 exists in authentic contemporary documents.
Most Likely Historical Reconstruction
Based on all reliable evidence:
Likely Accurate
- Some revelation occurred in 1831 involving Martin Harris and Native marriage.
- It related to missionary access or residency among tribes.
- Phelps preached that day.
Uncertain
- The exact wording or content.
Historically Unsupported
- That Joseph introduced plural marriage in 1831.
- That elders were commanded to take multiple Native wives.
- The full 1861 text as written by Phelps.
- The “Abrahamic polygamy” explanation occurring in 1831.
Conclusion
The 1861 Phelps document is valuable as a window into what Phelps believed in 1861, but not as a record of Joseph Smith’s revelation in 1831.
The strongest historical position is:
A genuine instruction involving Martin Harris existed in 1831, but plural marriage was not introduced at that time.
The 1861 Phelps version reflects:
- decades-later memory,
- doctrinal developments from Nauvoo,
- the Civil War context,
- not Joseph Smith’s early Missouri teachings.
The Definitive Sources on Early Latter-day Saint Plural Marriage