https://askgramps.org/is-there-an-official-church-stance-on-william-law/ Moral answers to everyday concerns, curiosities, and uncertainties. Gramps considers all questions on all topics from all sources. Wed, 29 Sep 2021 03:29:36 +0000 hourly 1 https://askgramps.org/is-there-an-official-church-stance-on-william-law/#comment-35744 Sun, 21 May 2017 15:59:00 +0000 http://en.elds.org/askgramps-org/?p=12614#comment-35744 According to lds.org’s “Gospel Topics Polygamy Essay” Joseph Smith married 30 to 40 women of which many were concurrently married to other men: polyandry. The essay also states that Joseph had sex with at least some of his polygamous wives and that it is unknown if he had sex with his polyandrous wives (implying that there is a possibility that he did as there is evidence that he did). BYU Maxwell Institute Apologists state he had 12 polyandrous wives and there is good evidence that he had sex with one of this polyandrous wives, Sylvia Sessions. William and Jane Law and at least three other women at the “vow to kill Joseph” meeting claimed that Joseph tried to seduce them and make them a polyandrous or polygamous wife. William also claimed that Joseph had sent Porter Rockwell and Joseph Jackson to assassinate Governor Boggs. Joseph was the Mayor of Nauvoo and self-titled General of the Nauvoo Legion. Joseph lied about his polygamy numerous times and specifically called William Law the liar in rebuttal to William’s polygamy accusations. After the meeting, Joseph was also head of the council that decided to destroy the Nauvoo Expositor that only tried to expose Joseph of his lies.
William saw 1) Joseph steal a dozen other’s wives and try to convince his wife to marry him and attribute it to God’s command; 2) Joseph attempting murder; 3) Joseph’s authoritarian control of his city with a militia and the Danites; and 4) Joseph’s true character intimately due to being his second councilor. The two spies at the meeting stated that the conspirators stated that they wanted to talk and reason with Joseph. The Nauvoo Expositor also said William tried to talk to Joseph first, but was met with distain and denial. William also went to first councilor, Sidney Rigdon, to reason with him about their lies, which they said they would not stop.
William was a good and God fearing man. 40 years later, he said that his greatest shame was being involved in Mormonism. I applaud William’s courage in trying to stop Joseph with the means that he had.

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