Keywords
Joseph Smith, polygamy, Gary Bergera
Abstract
At an author-meets-critic Sunstone Symposium on August 2, 2013, Gary Bergera devoted over 90% of his fifteenminute review to criticize my 1500+ page, three-volume, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: History and Theology. This article responds to several of the disagreements outlined by Bergera that on closer inspection appear as straw men. Also addressed are the tired arguments buoyed by carefully selected documentation he advanced supporting that (1) John C. Bennett learned of polygamy from Joseph Smith, (2) the Fanny Alger-Joseph Smith relationship was adultery, and (3) the Prophet practiced sexual polyandry. This article attempts to provide greater balance by including new evidences published for the first time in the three volumes but ignored by Bergera. These new documents and observations empower readers to expand their understanding beyond the timeworn reconstructions referenced in Bergera’s critical review.
Recommended Citation
Hales, Brian C.
(2013)
"Stretching to Find the Negative: Gary Bergera’s Review of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: History and Theology,"
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: Vol. 6, Article 12.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/interpreter/vol6/iss1/12
