Their position now seems to be that Joseph never practiced polygamy, and isn't that what the reorganized church always said?Concerning Marriage and Sealings:
Marriage is to be between one man and one woman, as originally established by God be-
tween Adam and Eve. The children of Adam and Eve likewise were married as two, a man and
a woman. Taking multiple wives was introduced by the descendants of the first murderer, and
is not considered a reflection of the image of God, as originally revealed to Adam. The image
of God was in the couple, Adam and Eve, which were one man and one woman. Likewise, the
apostle confirmed that neither the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man
is approved of the Lord. The ceremony for contracting marriage should be as directed by the
Spirit. It is anticipated that when a temple is commanded to be built and its rites are available,
marriage will be included in the ceremonies there.
Could they be right?
There doesn't seem to be any evidence that Joseph ever fathered any children with anyone but Emma, and she never admitted he had any other wives, did she?
And the women who later signed affidavits that they had been sealed to Joseph, or married to him, or sealed to him as plural wives (when the Utah church was engaged in a court battle over property with the Temple Lot church) could have been coerced into lying, couldn't they?
And aren't most of them a little vague about whether they had sexual relations with Joseph during this life?
So is there any real first hand evidence that Joseph practiced polygamy?
The only thing I can think of that might be first hand evidence are some entries in William Clayton's journal, but couldn't they have been forged?