Hidden in Plain Sight: A Rediscovered List of Joseph Smith's Wives

Abstract

This paper examines the recently rediscovered Bullock/Kimball 1854-1866 List of 33 Wives of Joseph Smith, a confidential document compiled in the Church Historian’s Office over a decade after Smith’s death. Created by Thomas Bullock, with later additions by Heber C. Kimball under the direction of early Church leaders, this list represents one of the earliest efforts to systematically document Joseph Smith’s plural marriages. Its discovery sheds new light on the ways in which women’s identities were recorded—or obscured—within the evolving institutional memory of Mormon polygamy. 

By analyzing the historical context, purpose, and implications of this list, this paper explores how early Church leaders framed polygamous relationships within the broader narrative of religious authority and historical preservation. The mislabeling of the document exemplifies a recurring pattern in Mormon historiography, in which women’s experiences were subsumed within male-centered narratives of leadership and doctrine. Additionally, the paper considers how this document’s rediscovery contributes to contemporary discussions about the historiography of plural marriage, institutional memory, and the ongoing efforts to recover the voices of the women whose lives were shaped by these historical developments.