Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith – Tom M. Compton – 3 Stars

Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith – Tom M. Compton – 3 Stars

Title: Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith

Author: Tom M. Compton

Publisher: Signature Books

Year: Hardcover 1997

Rating:  3 Stars

Price and Purchasing Options: This is best found on Amazon.  You are not prone to find this at any Deseret Book, or Deseret Industries – and you may find it second hand on Ebay.

Review: This is an interesting book, that takes an interesting approach.

The concept of this book is brief, but well written, biographical summaries on the various wives of Joseph Smith.  They way it is executed is actually what I love about the book, but also what makes me question its value in the LDS Community.  So although I appreciated it, only a small niche in the community would appreciate it.

The irony is as much as the unifying theme between these women is plural marriage, the content itself doesn’t address it outside of it being a part (to some a small part, and to others a life long endeavor) of their lives.  Each “chapter” really covers in earnest one woman, and who she was before, during, and after their engagement in plural marriage to Joseph Smith. 

I appreciate how the author gives each woman her own space, making this much more about the person rather than the principle.  As you can imagine, this is not a “faithful” text, but nor is it either a “faithless” text – but allows the female experience of each of them address the topic itself – and focuses more on who the woman was, rather than on the principle itself; because these women were not defined by this principle, although that is what they primarily will be remembered by.

So were faithful to the succession leadership of the church, and some were not – some stayed, and some left; some found peace in the principle, and some found chaos in it.  But it is aptly titled, as all found a sense of loneliness in the principle. 

I feel like Compton treated each individually fairly in this biographical sketch, and covered more than just their life as it would apply to their involvement in the church.  It was well researched, and a worthy work to be printed – and it also covers both those wives which were sealed during his life, and those which were sealed after his death (which were not chosen by Smith, but by the women themselves, and performed by his successors post mortem).

I personally applaud the text, and think it is the best book on these women for those who are curious – but it will not add much context to the discussion regarding plural marriage, but it will help you appreciate the diversity in experiences of how this particular group of women experienced it.

Suggestions:  Pick it up if you are curious and enjoy biographical sketches.

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Review #55

Tags: 3 Stars, Ryan Daley, Tom M Compton, Sacred Loneliness, Church History, Joseph Smith, Polygamy