I know very little about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), or Mormons. I have some friends who are Mormons, and they are wonderful people.

Mormons officially stopped practicing polygamy in 1890. Despite the official disavowal of plural marriage from the church, a significant number of Mormons still practiced polygamy.

The show Sister Wives, which debuted in 2010 placed a spotlight on the old practice.  I remember watching a few episodes when it came out. The show revolved around Kody Brown, his three wives, and their children—they had about 10 at the time. I didn’t know the show was still running but I saw a clip and they’re on Season 19! Since I last checked in on the Browns, there have been some changes. Kody married a fourth wife and his first three wives divorced him. As of today, he has one wife, 18 children, and what appears to be a home perm.

Watching these clips made me wonder about the Mormons of old—back when polygamy was more commonplace.

Joseph F. Smith, Sr. was once the president of the LDS church, and he practiced polygamy. Practiced it with a vengeance! Smith married his 16-year-old cousin Levira in 1859 when he was 20. Shortly after the marriage, Levira was left on her own for three years, while Smith was in England on a mission. When Smith returned home he found her “emaciated, enfeebled … a mere shadow of her former self.”

Six months later, Smith went on another mission, this time to Hawaii. Levira stayed with family in California. Smith returned in 1864 but Levira said she was too ill to go to Utah with him. Smith insisted and they left together. As they traveled through Nevada, Levira became too sick to go on. Smith sent his wife to San Francisco to recuperate and continued on to Utah. A doctor told Levira she likely miscarried. She later learned she couldn’t have any children.

Though they were in different states, the Smiths weren’t getting along. Most of their married life had been spent apart and Levira worried that Smith was contemplating taking a second wife. In the summer of 1865, she returned to Utah.

As it turned out, the Smiths got along no better in Utah than they had previously. Levira often stayed with her mother. Her fears of a polygamous marriage were realized in 1866 when Joseph Smith took a second wife, Julina Lambson.

A year later, Levira filed for a separation. Brigham Young intervened and asked her to write down her grievances. Levira obliged. She said Smith was verbally abusive and struck her once with a rope. He stated “she ought to have a hole bored in the top of her head and some manure put into it for brains.” Joseph suspected her inability to have a child meant she would “whore it up.” Once Smith walked into a room where a man had been reading to Levira, and he exploded. “He called me a d_m whore, a little damned illegitimate whore, and a liar. He said if he ever caught a man in my room again there would be bloodshed if he had to swing for it.”

When Brigham Young approached Joseph about this, Smith said his comment about manure was a joke. He had struck Levira with a peach tree branch, but it was only as thick as a pencil. He had to keep his wife in line, he explained, “like a willful and disobedient child.” Smith acknowledged that he lost his temper when he found a man reading to Levira. “I do believe that if I had been armed I would have done violence.”

Levira divorced Smith and moved to California. Joseph Smith moved on as well. Apart from Levira, he had five wives, fathered 43 children, and adopted five more.  His wives are seated on either side of him in this 1901 group portrait. From left to right, they are Mary, Edna, Julina, Joseph, Sarah Ellen, and Alice Ann. (Edna was also Julina’s sister.)

When the government decided to stamp out polygamy, many men in Utah went to prison.

Some group portraits of the prisoners exist. You’ll notice the men in the middle picture are a bit more dapper than the others. They’re wearing striped prisoners’ uniforms but with bowties and one fellow has a pocket watch!