Davis County Ex-Mormon meetup Sunday Aug 03, 2025, 10:30 AM

### The Fanny Alger Affair: Adultery Disguised as Marriage

The first documented polygamous relationship of Joseph Smith was not noble or divinely orchestrated; it was secretive and remains ethically indefensible. Around 1833, in Kirtland, Ohio, Smith began a sexual relationship with Fanny Alger, a 16-year-old housekeeper living in his household. One night she [Emma] missed Joseph and Fanny Alger. She went to the barn and saw him and Fanny in the barn together alone. She looked through a crack and saw the transaction!!!
The Alger affair is the blueprint for Smith’s subsequent polygamy: secrecy, exploitation of authority, betrayal of Emma, and post-hoc rationalizations. It highlights how the modern Church, rather than reckon honestly with this history, continues to perpetuate distortions that shield Joseph at the expense of victims, denying Fanny Alger’s exploitation, silencing Emma’s betrayal.
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