Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Clair Barrus on the verbiage of the Sarah Ann Whitney Revelation

  

Smith and Sarah Whitney agree to preserve themselves for each other and from all others forever—a puzzling agreement considering Smith’s complex marital situation. But a caveat is given to his arrangement to accommodate Joseph Smith’s other relationships. The revelation continues, “reserving only those rights which have been given to my servant Joseph by revelation and commandment and by legal Authority in times passed.” It appears that Smith’s reserved rights have to do with his plural wives that were designated by command/revelation, while the “legal Authority” reference refers to his legal marriage to Emma Smith. Joseph is to preserve himself from all others, except for his legal and revelation-designed plural marriages, past and future. (Clair Barrus, “Prologues to Plurality: A Study of Joseph Smith’s Revelations on Marriage,” in Secret Covenants: New Insights on Early Mormon Polygamy, ed. Charyl L. Bruno [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2024], 22)

 

Rights are again mentioned regarding Whitney and Smith’s relationship: “If you both agree to covenant and do this, then I give you S. A. [Sarah Ann] Whitney my Daughter to Joseph Smith to be his wife and observe all the rights betwe[e]n you both that belong to that condition.” Note that Sarah is given to Joseph, but Joseph is not given to Sarah. The same practice continued later in sealings. The revelation invokes ancient priesthood lines, which will “concentrate” through their posterity. (Ibid., 22-23)