Did he do it for the sex?

[_Ray A]

If Joseph Smith were alive today, I feel quite certain he would be locked away or seriously medicated.

In all fairness, TD, I think the same could be said of Jesus Christ. Do you agree? Remember, it was C.S.Lewis who wrote that Jesus was either who he really claimed to be - or a madman. Lewis went with the former.

[_Polygamy Porter]

If Joseph Smith were alive today, I feel quite certain he would be locked away or seriously medicated.

In all fairness, TD, I think the same could be said of Jesus Christ. Do you agree? Remember, it was C.S.Lewis who wrote that Jesus was either who he really claimed to be - or a madman. Lewis went with the former.

Hey RAY, we are talking about the deviant Joseph Smith, K?

We have no evidence that Jesus even existed so shut up about him already.

We do have evidence that this Smith charlatan existed.

Focus on real issues with real people.

[_Ray A]

We have no evidence that Jesus even existed so shut up about him already.

True. And we have no concrete evidence that Book of Mormon peoples existed either. Hmmmmmmm.

I guess Christianity is just a 2,000 year old fraud, yet it shaped Western civilisation. Strange how these things happen. Wonder what made the gospels and the New Testament so appealing to some of the most brilliant minds in history.

[_Gadianton]

If there is one thing cult leaders do, it's get laid. That doesn't mean they all start out that way. Quite the opposite. At first, they're just a bunch of misfits up to no good. Probably even getting into all the weird stuff they do as an alternative to dealing with dating or rejection and all that. A few of these lucky critters strike gold, they hit on to something that makes them successful. The groupies start flowing in, and THEN, whoah! The realization hits, hey, surely there's got to be some way to fit all that repressed horniness into prophethood?

[_CaliforniaKid]

It has oft been pointed out that Joseph Smith did not have sex with all the women he married, so how can that have been his motivation?

Whenever I hear that assertion, I always think, "How do we know that he didn't have sex with all the women he married?"

People point out that he married some women in late middle-age. Well, just because most men Joseph's age wouldn't normally find themselves sexually attracted to women with such an age disparity, doesn't mean Joseph didn't.

We all know Joseph was hypersexual. So, again I ask:

Where is the evidence that Joseph didn't have sex with all the women he married?

I meant for the emphasis to be on "all". He didn't have sex with all of them, at least according to most scholars who have studied the issue, but Compton at least thinks he had sex with some of them.

Not that I'd expect a whole lot of evidence of such intercourse to remain. After all, sex is a pretty private thing. I suppose it's conceivable that Joseph Smith did have sex with all of them.

[_Yoda]

We have no evidence that Jesus even existed so shut up about him already.

I disagree. There is evidence that Jesus, son of Joseph and Mary, did exist. What is in dispute is his status of divinity, which comes down to a question of one's faith.

In any case, there is no evidence that Jesus married, or had sex with, multiple women, some married, some very young. Although Brigham Young did a lot of projection in saying that Jesus had to be a polygamist in the JoD, there is just his wild notion that this is the case.

As far as answering the OP, I think that the polygamy move was more about power than sex. I have a meeting to go to, but will expand on my thoughts on this one in a bit.

[_Dr. Shades]

The groupies start flowing in, and THEN, whoah! The realization hits, hey, surely there's got to be some way to fit all that repressed horniness into prophethood?

I agree. Joseph Smith, Jim Jones, David Koresh--Funny how cult leaders sooner or later all get around to the polygamy thing, isn't it?

I meant for the emphasis to be on "all". He didn't have sex with all of them, at least according to most scholars who have studied the issue, but Compton at least thinks he had sex with some of them.

Not that I'd expect a whole lot of evidence of such intercourse to remain. After all, sex is a pretty private thing. I suppose it's conceivable that Joseph Smith did have sex with all of them.

I think the best evidence that he had sex with all of them is that he married all of them. You don't get married to someone you aren't intending to have sex with.

[_truth dancer]

I think the best evidence that he had sex with all of them is that he married all of them. You don't get married to someone you aren't intending to have sex with.

Exactly! (In this life or the next... there is certainly an intention).

Same as all cult/religious leaders who believed they were entitled to multiple women.


~dancer~

[_Mercury]

If Joseph Smith were alive today, I feel quite certain he would be locked away or seriously medicated.

In all fairness, TD, I think the same could be said of Jesus Christ. Do you agree? Remember, it was C.S.Lewis who wrote that Jesus was either who he really claimed to be - or a madman. Lewis went with the former.

The law at the time gave both con men what they deserved.

[_barrelomonkeys]

If Joseph Smith were alive today, I feel quite certain he would be locked away or seriously medicated.

In all fairness, TD, I think the same could be said of Jesus Christ. Do you agree? Remember, it was C.S.Lewis who wrote that Jesus was either who he really claimed to be - or a madman. Lewis went with the former.

The law at the time gave both con men what they deserved.

Ouch.