Sarah Marinda Bates Pratt: Difference between revisions
One of the founders of the Anti-Polygamy society |
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comments = When Pratt refused [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Smith]]'s demands and threatened to tell her husband, Smith said, "If you should tell, I will ruin your reputation, ''remember that''," <ref>{{Harvnb|Van Wagoner|1986|pp=72}}</ref> and publicly proclaimed "Mrs. Pratt, the wife of Mr. O. Pratt, had been a [whore] from her mother's breast."<ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|1971|pp=81–83}}</ref> |
comments = When Pratt refused [[Joseph Smith, Jr.|Smith]]'s demands and threatened to tell her husband, Smith said, "If you should tell, I will ruin your reputation, ''remember that''," <ref>{{Harvnb|Van Wagoner|1986|pp=72}}</ref> and publicly proclaimed "Mrs. Pratt, the wife of Mr. O. Pratt, had been a [whore] from her mother's breast."<ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|1971|pp=81–83}}</ref> |
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'''Sarah Marinda Bates Pratt''' ([[February 2]], [[1817]] – [[December 25]], [[1888]]) was declared by [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] to be his [[plural marriage|plural wife]], though she refused his demands; first wife of [[Quorum of Twelve Apostles|Mormon Apostle]] and [[polygamy|polygamist]] [[Orson Pratt]]; [[Ex-Mormon|Mormon apostate]] and outspoken critic of [[plural marriage|Mormon polygamy]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Newell|1994}}</ref> She was born in [[Henderson, New York|Henderson, Jefferson]], [[New York]], the first daughter daughter and third child of Cyrus Bates and Lydia Harrington Bates. |
'''Sarah Marinda Bates Pratt''' ([[February 2]], [[1817]] – [[December 25]], [[1888]]) was declared by [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] to be his [[plural marriage|plural wife]], though she refused his demands; first wife of [[Quorum of Twelve Apostles|Mormon Apostle]] and [[polygamy|polygamist]] [[Orson Pratt]]; [[Ex-Mormon|Mormon apostate]] and outspoken critic of [[plural marriage|Mormon polygamy]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Newell|1994}}</ref> She was born in [[Henderson, New York|Henderson, Jefferson]], [[New York]], the first daughter daughter and third child of Cyrus Bates and Lydia Harrington Bates. She was a founder of the [[Anti-Polygamy Society]] in [[Salt Lake City]]. |
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== Plural marriage proposal of Joseph Smith == |
== Plural marriage proposal of Joseph Smith == |
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== Opposition to plural marriage and apostasy == |
== Opposition to plural marriage and apostasy == |
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Sarah Pratt ended her marriage to husband Orson Pratt in 1868 because his "obsession with marrying younger women" (at age 57, [[Orson Pratt]] married a sixteen year old girl, his tenth wife<ref>{{Harvnb|Van Wagoner|1986}}</ref>) and condemned polygamy because: {{cquote|[polygamy] completely demoralizes good men and makes bad men correspondingly worse. As for the women—well, God help them! First wives it renders desperate, or else heart-broken, mean-spirited creatures.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eskridge|2002|pp=291}}</ref> }} |
Sarah Pratt ended her marriage to husband Orson Pratt in 1868 because his "obsession with marrying younger women" (at age 57, [[Orson Pratt]] married a sixteen year old girl, his tenth wife<ref>{{Harvnb|Van Wagoner|1986}}</ref>) and condemned polygamy because: {{cquote|[polygamy] completely demoralizes good men and makes bad men correspondingly worse. As for the women—well, God help them! First wives it renders desperate, or else heart-broken, mean-spirited creatures.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eskridge|2002|pp=291}}</ref> }} Pratt was one of the founders of the [[Anti-Polygamy Society]] in [[Salt Lake City]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Iverson|1991}}</ref> |
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Pratt declared in 1875 that, {{cquote|I am the wife of Orson Pratt … I was formerly a member of the Mormon church … I have not been a believer in the Mormon doctrines for thirty years, and am now considered an apostate, I believe.<ref>{{Harvnb|Van Wagoner|1986}}</ref> }} |
On her apostasy from the [[Mormon church]], Pratt declared in 1875 that, {{cquote|I am the wife of Orson Pratt … I was formerly a member of the Mormon church … I have not been a believer in the Mormon doctrines for thirty years, and am now considered an apostate, I believe.<ref>{{Harvnb|Van Wagoner|1986}}</ref> }} |
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== Children == |
== Children == |
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* England, Breck (1985). ''The Life and Thought of Orson Pratt''. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 0-87480-249-0 |
* England, Breck (1985). ''The Life and Thought of Orson Pratt''. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 0-87480-249-0 |
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*{{Citation |
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| last = Iverson |
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| first = Joan Smyth |
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| title = A Debate on the American Home: The Antipolygamy Controversy, 1880–1890 |
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| journal = [[Journal of the History of Sexuality]] |
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| volume = 1 |
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| number = 4 |
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| pages = 585–602 |
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| year = 1991 |
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| url = http://www.jstor.org/sici?sici=1043-4070(199104)1%3A4%3C585%3AADOTAH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V }}. |
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* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book | |
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author = Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor | |
author = Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor | |
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Revision as of 21:07, 9 July 2008
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Template:LDSPluralwifeinfo Sarah Marinda Bates Pratt (February 2, 1817 – December 25, 1888) was declared by Joseph Smith, Jr. to be his plural wife, though she refused his demands; first wife of Mormon Apostle and polygamist Orson Pratt; Mormon apostate and outspoken critic of Mormon polygamy.[1] She was born in Henderson, Jefferson, New York, the first daughter daughter and third child of Cyrus Bates and Lydia Harrington Bates. She was a founder of the Anti-Polygamy Society in Salt Lake City.
Plural marriage proposal of Joseph Smith
While in Nauvoo, Illinois, Joseph Smith, Jr. was attracted to Sarah Pratt and intended to make her "one of his spiritual wives."[2] While Pratt's husband Orson was in England on missionary service, Smith proposed to Pratt by saying,
'Sister Pratt, the Lord has given you to me as one of my spiritual wives. I have the blessings of Jacob granted me, as he granted holy men of old, and I have long looked upon you with favor, and hope you will not repulse or deny me,'
to which Pratt replied: "Am I called upon to break the marriage covenant … to my lawful husband! I never will. I care not for the blessings of Jacob, and I believe in NO SUCH revelations, neither will I consent under any circumstances. I have one good husband, and that is enough for me."[3] According to Smith's second-in-command John C. Bennett, Smith made three additional attempts on Pratt's virtue.[4] Pratt issued an ultimatum to Smith: "Joseph, if you ever attempt any thing of the kind with me again, I will tell Mr. Pratt on his return home. Depend upon it, I will certainly do it," [5] a warning that elicited the threat from Smith, "Sister Pratt, I hope you will not expose me; if I am to suffer, all suffer; so do not expose me." After her husband Orson returned from England, another incident between Pratt and Smith at her home occurred, and "Sarah ordered the Prophet out of the house, and the Prophet used obscene language to her [declaring that he had found Bennett in bed with her]," according to Sarah Pratt's neighbor, Mary Ettie V. Smith.[6] Sarah told her husband about the incident; Orson took Sarah's side and confronted Smith, who denied Sarah's allegation and responded that she was Bennett's lover,[7] causing estrangement between Smith and Orson Pratt, and ultimately resulting in Orson Pratt's discipline and excommunication on August 20, 1842.
Slander in the Mormon Press
After Joseph Smith broke with his second-in-command Dr. John C. Bennett over the scandal that arose when Bennett's conduct of Smith's (then secret) practice of "spiritual wifery" became known, Sarah Pratt was accused of having had an adulterous relationship with Bennett, and numerous affidavits printed in the pro-Mormon Nauvoo press (e.g., the Nauvoo Wasp), as well as by Jacob B. Backenstos, a relative of the sheriff of Hancock County, testified to these allegations. Pratt had stayed with Stephen H. Goddard and his wife, Zeruiah, while Orson Pratt was away on missionary work in England. The Goddards stated under oath that from the first night, Bennett "was there as sure as the night came," and that "he remained later, sometimes till after midnight." During this time Bennett and Pratt "sat close together, he leaning on her lap, whispering continually or talking very low." Zeruiah Goddard reported that on another occasion she "came suddenly into the room where Mrs. Pratt and the Dr. were; she was lying on the bed and the Dr. was taking his hands out of her bosom; he was in the habit of sitting on the bed where Mrs. Pratt was lying, and lying down over her." The Goddards said they visited Pratt in a home furnished to her by Dr. Robert Foster there several times late in the evening and found Bennett and Sarah Pratt together, "as if they were man, and wife."[8] When Stephen and Zeruiah Goddard's testimonial was published, 'Sarah Pratt purportedly went straight to their home. Stephen ran out the back door, but Sarah confronted Zeruiah,' who sobbed
It is not my fault; Hyrum Smith [Joseph's brother] came to our house, with the affidavits all written out, and forced us to sign them. 'Joseph and the Church must be saved,' said he. We saw that resistance was useless, they would have ruined us; so we signed the papers.[9]
The Mormon author Richard A. Van Wagoner concludes that the adultery charges against Sarah Pratt are "highly improbable" and that J. B. Backenstos's affidavit stating that Bennett continued the adulterous relationship with Sarah Pratt after Orson returned from England could "be dismissed as slander."[10]
Abortion allegations of Smith's polygamous children
In an 1886 interview, Sarah Pratt alleges that Joseph Smith allowed his second-in-command John C. Bennett, a medical doctor, to perform abortions on Smith's polygamous wives who were officially single.[11][12] In a public charge “that was likely true” as put by author Andrew Smith, Bennett was accused of performing abortions by many,[13] including Hyrum Smith;[14] Zeruiah Goddard claimed Bennett told Sarah Pratt “that he could cause abortion with perfect safety to the mother at any stage of pregnancy, and that he had frequently destroyed and removed infants before their time to prevent exposure of the parties, and that he had instruments for that purpose.”[15] Sarah Pratt herself recounted an incident in which
[Bennett was en route to do] “a little job for Joseph [because] one of his women was in trouble.” Saying this, he took [out] a pretty long instrument of a kind I had never seen before. It seemed to be of steel and was crooked at one end. I heard afterwards that the operation had been performed; that the woman was very sick, and that Joseph was very much afraid that she might die, but she recovered.[16]
Pratt also related her observations of Bennett's work for Joseph Smith to Smith's son Joseph Smith III,
I saw that he was not inclined to believe the truth about his father, so I said to him: 'You pretend to have revelations from the Lord. Why don't you ask the Lord to tell you what kind of a man your father really was?' He answered: 'If my father had so many connections with women, where is the progeny?' I said to him: 'Your father had mostly intercourse with married women, and as to single ones, Dr. Bennett was always on hand, when anything happened.'[17]
If the women refused, Bennett stated that he came with Joseph's approval.[18]
Opposition to plural marriage and apostasy
Sarah Pratt ended her marriage to husband Orson Pratt in 1868 because his "obsession with marrying younger women" (at age 57, Orson Pratt married a sixteen year old girl, his tenth wife[19]) and condemned polygamy because:
[polygamy] completely demoralizes good men and makes bad men correspondingly worse. As for the women—well, God help them! First wives it renders desperate, or else heart-broken, mean-spirited creatures.[20]
Pratt was one of the founders of the Anti-Polygamy Society in Salt Lake City.[21] On her apostasy from the Mormon church, Pratt declared in 1875 that,
I am the wife of Orson Pratt … I was formerly a member of the Mormon church … I have not been a believer in the Mormon doctrines for thirty years, and am now considered an apostate, I believe.[22]
Children
Pratt had twelve children by husband Orson Pratt:
- Orson Pratt Jr.
- Lydia Pratt
- Celestia Larissa Pratt
- Sarah Marinda Pratt
- Vanson Pratt
- Laron Pratt
- Marlon Pratt
- Marintha Althera Pratt
- Harmel Pratt
- Arthur Pratt
- Herma Ethna Pratt
- Liola Menella Pratt
See also
- Apostasy
- Children of Joseph Smith, Jr.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Criticism of Mormonism
- Ex-Mormon
- Former Latter-day Saints
- List of the wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.
- Pratt-Romney family
- Religious disaffiliation
Notes
- ^ Newell 1994
- ^ Smith 1971, Van Wagoner 1986, Bennett 1842
- ^ Smith 1971
- ^ Smith 1971, Van Wagoner 1986, Bennett 1842
- ^ Smith 1971, Van Wagoner 1986, Bennett 1842
- ^ Smith 1971, Van Wagoner 1986, Bennett 1842
- ^ Van Wagoner 1986
- ^ Smith 1971
- ^ Smith 1971, Van Wagoner 1986
- ^ Van Wagoner 1986
- ^ Smith 1971, link
- ^ Wymetal 1886, link
- ^ Newell 1994, pp. 111, link
- ^ Smith 1971
- ^ Smith 1971
- ^ Wymetal 1886, pp. 60–61, link
- ^ Wymetal 1886, pp. 60–61
- ^ Newell 1994, pp. 111, link
- ^ Van Wagoner 1986
- ^ Eskridge 2002, pp. 291
- ^ Iverson 1991
- ^ Van Wagoner 1986
References
- Allen, James B. and Leonard, Glen M. (1976). The Story of the Latter-day Saints. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 0-87747-594-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Bergera, Gary James (1992), "Seniority in the Twelve: The 1875 Realignment of Orson Pratt", Journal of Mormon History, 18 (1): 19–58.
- Bennett, John C. (1842), The History of the Saints; or An Exposé of Joe Smith and Mormonism, Boston: Leland & Whiting.
- Eskridge, William N.; Eskridge, Jr., William N. (2002), Gaylaw: Challenging the Apartheid of the Closet, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, p. 291, ISBN 0674008049
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link). - Bergera, Gary James (2003). Conflict in the Quorum: Orson Pratt, Brigham Young, Joseph Smith. Signature Books, Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 1-56085-164-3.
{{cite book}}: External link in|title= - England, Breck (1985). The Life and Thought of Orson Pratt. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 0-87480-249-0
- Iverson, Joan Smyth (1991), "A Debate on the American Home: The Antipolygamy Controversy, 1880–1890", Journal of the History of Sexuality, 1 (4): 585–602.
- Ludlow, Daniel H., Editor (1992). Church History, Selections From the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Deseret Book Co., Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 0-87579-924-8.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - May, Dean L. Utah: A People's History. Bonneville Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1987. ISBN 0-87480-284-9.
- Newell, Linda King (1994), Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith (2d ed.), University of Illinois Press, pp. 89, 132, ISBN 0252062914
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link). - Smith, Andrew F. (1971), The Saintly Scoundrel: The Life and Times of Dr. John Cook Bennett, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, p. 141.
- Van Wagoner, Richard A. (1986), "Sarah Pratt: The Shaping of an Apostate", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 19 (2): 79.
- Whittaker, David J. (1994). The Essential Orson Pratt. Signature Books, Salt Lake City, UT. ISBN 0-941214-95-8.
{{cite book}}: External link in|title= - Wymetal, Wilhelm Ritter von (1886), Joseph Smith, the Prophet, His Family, and His Friends: A Study Based on Facts and Documents, Salt Lake City, UT: Tribune Printing and Publishing Company, p. 60–61.
External links
