Evidence. If the source of a tale claimed first-hand knowledge, the term “reportedly” is used, so long as there is a credible provenance for the report. The term “allegedly” will be used to denote times when someone is describing events about which they either lack first-hand knowledge, their description is not credible, or the provenance of the tale is suspicious.
Joseph’s revelations are often expressed as the words of Jesus Christ, the Lord. There is no indication he believed himself to be a fraud, nor do his followers believe he was a fraud. Though non-believers would cast these revelations as being not credible, I will report his words as he wrote them, without inserting qualifiers such as “allegedly.”
Women’s Names. There are many individuals involved in this history. Many of the women were married to multiple men over the course of their life. The typical convention is to refer to a woman as First (Maiden) Married. However nicknames are also sometimes put in parentheses. In this book women are identified by their maiden names, following standard genealogical practice. For married women, surnames of husbands are in brackets. For example, Joseph’s wife, Emma, is called Emma Hale [Smith].
Quotes. Quotations will contain the original spelling present in the source of the quotation. Elisions are used for brevity.
Polygamy Terminology. Eternal marriage, where a man and his wife or wives would be together in heaven, was variously called Celestial Marriage, plurality of wives, plural marriage, and sealing. Only after the Nauvoo era would eternal marriages involving more than one wife be referred to as polygamy.
Sexual intercourse without benefit of marriage was termed spiritual wifery, illicit intercourse, adultery, and polygamy.
During the Nauvoo era, Joseph Smith, Emma Hale [Smith], and others understood polygamy to be illicit and promiscuous sex. Emma Hale [Smith] allegedly said spiritual wifery came straight from hell. Yet she also reportedly participated in ceremonies uniting her husband to other women in Celestial marriage. Joseph, Emma, and others likely did not see themselves as practicing polygamy. Rather they were sealing themselves and others together in Celestial marriages.