Editing James Strang (section)

==From monogamist to polygamist==
{{Overly detailed|section|details=|date=April 2025}}
About 12,000 Latter Day Saints ultimately accepted Strang's claims.<ref>"[http://www.strangite.org/History.htm History and Succession] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121228100134/http://www.strangite.org/History.htm |date=2012-12-28 }}". ''Strangite.org''. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.</ref> A second "Stake of Zion" was established on [[Beaver Island (Lake Michigan)|Beaver Island]] in [[Lake Michigan]], where Strang moved his church headquarters in 1848. Strang's church had a high turnover rate, with many of his initial adherents, including all of those listed above (with the exception of George Miller, who remained loyal to Strang until death), leaving the church before his demise. John E. Page departed in July 1849, accusing Strang of dictatorial tendencies and concurring with Bennett's furtive "Illuminati" order.<ref>Sillito, Chapter 2.</ref> Martin Harris had broken with Strang by January 1847,<ref>[http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MHarris.html Sketch of the Life of Martin Harris] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070720214641/http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/MHarris.html |date=2007-07-20 }} BOAP.org. Retrieved on 2007-11-02.</ref> after a failed mission to England. Hiram Page and the Whitmers also left around this time.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

Many defections, however, were due to Strang's seemingly abrupt "about-face" on the turbulent subject of [[polygamy]]. Vehemently opposed to the practice at first,<ref>(August 12, 1847). ''Voree Herald'' as quoted in Fitzpatrick, pp. 74–75.  See also Apostle John E. Page at this same source, on his conversations with Strang on the subject.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]), per Klaus J. Hansen's review in the 1971 volume of the journal ''Dialogue'' (DOI:10.2307/45227513) which says, "the book is so bad that my first reaction was that any kind of review, even a critical one, would give it a dignity that it didn't deserve".|date=February 2024}} Strang reversed course in 1849 and became one of its strongest advocates, marrying five wives (including his original spouse, Mary) and fathering fourteen children. Since many of his early disciples viewed him as a monogamous counterweight to Brigham Young's polygamous version of Mormonism, Strang's decision to embrace plural marriage proved costly both to him and his organization. Strang defended his new tenet by claiming that, far from enslaving or demeaning women, polygamy would ''liberate'' and "elevate" them by allowing them to choose the best possible mate based upon any factors which were deemed important by them. Rather than being forced to wed "corrupt and degraded sires" due to the scarcity of more suitable men, a woman could marry the man who she believed was most compatible to her, the best candidate to father her children and give her the finest possible life, even if he had multiple wives.<ref>Strang 1856, pp. 318–28.</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=February 2024|reason=This is citing Strang's own personal writing.}}

At the time of his death, all four of Strang's current wives were pregnant, and he had four posthumous children.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Strang's wives and children<ref>{{cite book |last=Speek |first=Vickie Cleverley |date=2006 |title=God Has Made Us a Kingdom |location=Salt Lake City |publisher=Signature Books |pages=375–377 |isbn=9781560851929}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" width="25%" | Wife
! rowspan="2" | Marriage
! colspan="2" | Age
! rowspan="2" | Children together
|-
! Bride
! Groom
|-
| Mary Abigail Content Perce<br><small>1818–1880</small>
| {{abbr|m.|married}} Nov 20, 1836<br>{{abbr|sep.|separated}} May 1851
| {{age|Apr 10, 1818|Nov 20, 1836}}
| {{age|Mar 21, 1813|Nov 20, 1836}}
| {{plain list|
* Mary Elizabeth <small>1838–1843</small>
* Myraette Mabel <small>1840–1925</small>
* William J. <small>1844–1907</small>
* Harriet "Hattie" Anne <small>1848–1868</small>
}}
|-
| Elvira Eliza Field<br><small>1830–1910</small>
| {{abbr|m.|married}} July 13, 1849
| {{age|July 8, 1830|July 13, 1849}}
| {{age|March 21, 1813|July 13, 1849}}
| {{plain list|
* Evaline <small>1853–1926</small>
* Charles James <small>1851–1916</small>
* Clement J. <small>1854–1944</small>
* James Jesse Jr. <small>1857–1934</small>
}}
|-
| Elizabeth "Betsy" McNutt<br><small>{{lifespan|birth=1820|death=1897}}</small>
| {{abbr|m.|married}} January 19, 1852
| {{age|August 17, 1820|January 19, 1852}}
| {{age|March 21, 1813|January 19, 1852}}
| {{plain list|
* Evangeline <small>1853–1915</small>
* David James <small>1854–1854</small>
* Gabriel <small>1855–1935</small>
* Abigail Utopa <small>1857–1921</small>
}}
|-
| Sarah Adelia "Delia" Wright<br><small>1837–1923</small>
| {{abbr|m.|married}} July 15, 1855
| {{age|Nov 25, 1837|July 15, 1855}}
| {{age|March 21, 1813|July 15, 1855}}
| James Phineas Strang <small>1856–1937</small>
|-
| Phoebe Wright<br><small>1836–1914</small>
| {{abbr|m.|married}} October 27, 1855
| {{age|July 25, 1836|October 27, 1855}}
| {{age|March 21, 1813|October 27, 1855}}
| Eugenia Jesse <small>1856–1936</small>
|}

{{Horizontal timeline
|from=1836
|to=1856.52
|inc=2
|axis-nudge=-0.75em

|styleDefault-height=1.5em
|styleDefault-1-border=none;

|styleMarriage-boxcolour=#F7C000
|styleMarriage-border=none;border:2px solid #D0A200

|row1=timeline
|row1-style=styleDefault
|row1-1-to=1836.89 <!-- November 20, 1836 = 325/366 -->
|row1-2-to=1851.42 <!-- May 1851 = 5/12 -->
|row1-2-style=styleMarriage
|row1-2-text=Mary

|row2=timeline
|row2-style=styleDefault
|row2-1-to=1849.53 <!-- July 13, 1849 = 194/365 -->
|row2-2-to=1856.52 <!-- July 9, 1856 = 191/366 -->
|row2-2-style=styleMarriage
|row2-2-text=Elvira

|row3=timeline
|row3-style=styleDefault
|row3-1-to=1852.05 <!-- January 19, 1852 = 19/366 -->
|row3-2-to=1856.52 <!-- July 9, 1856 = 191/366 -->
|row3-2-style=styleMarriage
|row3-2-text=Betsy

|row4=timeline
|row4-style=styleDefault
|row4-1-to=1855.54 <!-- July 15, 1855 = 196/365 -->
|row4-2-to=1856.52 <!-- July 9, 1856 = 191/366 -->
|row4-2-style=styleMarriage
|row4-2-text=Sarah

|row5=timeline
|row5-style=styleDefault
|row5-1-to=1855.82 <!-- October 27, 1855 = 300/365 -->
|row5-2-to=1856.52 <!-- July 9, 1856 = 191/366 -->
|row5-2-style=styleMarriage
|row5-2-text=Phoebe

|row6=scale
|caption=James Strang's marriages
}}

Strang and his first wife Mary Perce separated in May 1851, though they remained legally married until Strang's death.<ref name=Fitz-82>Fitzpatrick, p. 82.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]), per Klaus J. Hansen's review in the 1971 volume of the journal ''Dialogue'' (DOI:10.2307/45227513) which says, "the book is so bad that my first reaction was that any kind of review, even a critical one, would give it a dignity that it didn't deserve".|date=February 2024}} His second wife, Elvira Eliza Field disguised herself at first as "Charlie J. Douglas," Strang's purported nephew, before revealing her true identity in 1850. Ironically, decades after Strang's death, Strang's fourth wife, Sarah Adelia Wright, divorced her second husband, Dr. Wing, due to Wing's interest in polygamy.<ref>Fitzpatrick, p. 127.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]), per Klaus J. Hansen's review in the 1971 volume of the journal ''Dialogue'' (DOI:10.2307/45227513) which says, "the book is so bad that my first reaction was that any kind of review, even a critical one, would give it a dignity that it didn't deserve".|date=February 2024}} Strang's last wife was Phoebe Wright, cousin to Sarah.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Sarah Wright described Strang as "a very mild-spoken, kind man to his family, although his word was law." She wrote that while each wife had her own bedroom, they shared meals and devotional time together with Strang and life in their household was "as pleasant as possible."<ref name=Weeks/><ref name=Fitz-82/>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]), per Klaus J. Hansen's review in the 1971 volume of the journal ''Dialogue'' (DOI:10.2307/45227513) which says, "the book is so bad that my first reaction was that any kind of review, even a critical one, would give it a dignity that it didn't deserve".|date=February 2024}} On the other hand, Strang and Phoebe Wright's daughter, Eugenia, wrote in 1936 that after only eight months of marriage, her mother had "begun to feel dissatisfied with polygamy, though she loved him [Strang] devotedly all her life."<ref>Fitzpatrick, p. 84.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]), per Klaus J. Hansen's review in the 1971 volume of the journal ''Dialogue'' (DOI:10.2307/45227513) which says, "the book is so bad that my first reaction was that any kind of review, even a critical one, would give it a dignity that it didn't deserve".|date=February 2024}}