The people
Emma
A revelation, from her husband, threatening her with destruction if she refused.
Start here, not with the accusations
The historical arguments bounce off. Emma does not. She is the human being in the story, and everything below is the Church's own account.
What the Church admits
- "Emma likely did not know about all of Joseph's sealings." Gospel Topics essay
- His first plural wife was Fanny Alger, a teenage house servant. Church page
- The formal charge against Oliver Cowdery, April 1838: "For seeking to destroy the character of President Joseph Smith jr, by falsly insinuating that he was guilty of adultry." Read the actual minute book page Cowdery was tried for saying it.
The revelation that threatens her by name
"And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord, for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law."
D&C 132:54, still canonized scripture. Read the section
Verses 51 through 56 name Emma four times and address her directly. This is not a general discourse on marriage. It is a revelation, from her husband, threatening her with destruction if she does not accept his other wives.
How it ended for her
The Church's own page traces it: initial opposition, then conditional acceptance of four wives in early 1843, then renewed opposition in July 1843 when she burned the manuscript of D&C 132. After Joseph's death she broke with Brigham Young, stayed in Nauvoo, remarried a non member, and joined the RLDS Church under her son. Late in life she denied Joseph had ever practiced polygamy at all. Church page
From the same page: she never lost faith in the Book of Mormon. "My belief is that the Book of Mormon is of divine authenticity. I have not the slightest doubt of it." She was not bitter about the religion. She was destroyed by the marriage.