Church Provides Context for Recent Media Coverage on Gospel Topics Pages

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has provided the following information in response to news media inquiries:

For many years the Church has had a reference section on its main website, LDS.org, for various "gospel topics," listed in alphabetical order. Beginning in November 2013, the Church began supplementing the material there by publishing in-depth essays on topics of special public interest, including accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, the Book of Mormon translation process and many more (see complete list below). The Gospel Topics page on LDS.org was then redesigned to better serve as a personal study resource for Church members.

Three weeks ago, the Church completed a series on the topic of plural marriage (polygamy), which has recently been the subject of a large number of media stories. Below is additional context for those essays.

Much of what you'll find in the essays on polygamy has been published in diverse sources and known among long-term and well-read members, historians and Church leaders for many years. The Church has now gathered this information into a single location as a convenient means of placing these resources in the hands of all members.

The fact that Joseph Smith had plural marriage relationships is not new, of course. Indeed, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly asserted Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy—over a century and a half ago, especially in debate with other faith groups who traced their origin to Joseph Smith and who asserted that he did not practise plural marriage. But although polygamy was practised among early Church leaders and members, the custom was officially discontinued more than 100 years ago.

The Church recognises the wide interest in many of these topics. Recent research like the Joseph Smith Papers Project, has gathered more information than ever before about early Church doctrine and practice. The Gospel Topics pages are meant as a personal resource for members as they study and teach about the history and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We live in a world where there is so much information available on every topic. And particularly in the age of the Internet, there are both good and bad sources of information. As a Church, it's important for us to research and provide official, reputable, historically accurate information about our history and doctrine.

A complete list of the in-depth essays is listed below:

     1.  Are Mormons Christian? November 20, 2013
     2.  First Vision Accounts November 20, 2013
     3.  Race and the Priesthood December 6, 2013
     4.  Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah December 16, 2013
     5.  Book of Mormon Translation December 30, 2013
     6.  Book of Mormon and DNA Studies January 31, 2014
     7.  Becoming Like God February 24, 2014
     8.  Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints May 13, 2014
     9.  Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham July 8, 2014
    10.  Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo October 22, 2014
    11.  The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage October 22, 2014