The Accusations of Infidelity: Joseph’s Earliest Scandal

 The Accusations of Infidelity: Joseph’s Earliest Scandal

Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS Church, has long been revered as a prophet and seer, but beneath the surface of his religious facade lay a string of inappropriate and immoral behaviors that many faithful members either remain unaware of or choose to ignore. Among the most troubling allegations are those involving Joseph’s inappropriate advances toward young girls and women, which began as early as the 1820s. One of the earliest and most damning accounts comes from Levi Lewis, a relative of Emma Hale, whose affidavit provides insight into Joseph’s predatory behavior and blatant disregard for moral boundaries.

The Eliza Winters Incident

One of the most unsettling accusations leveled against Joseph Smith during the early years of his marriage to Emma involved a young woman named Eliza Winters. According to Levi Lewis’s affidavit, Joseph attempted to seduce Winters, a girl who was well known to Emma. This incident occurred while the Smiths were living in Harmony, Pennsylvania, in the late 1820s. At the time, Joseph was still constructing his religious movement and had yet to cement his reputation as a prophet. Despite his burgeoning religious career, Joseph’s inappropriate conduct behind the scenes paints a starkly different picture.

Levi Lewis, Emma’s cousin and a prominent resident of Harmony, claimed that Joseph’s inappropriate behavior toward Winters was not only known to Emma but also to others in the community. Lewis’s affidavit, given in 1834, stated, “Joseph Smith Jr. made an attempt to seduce Eliza Winters” (Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834).

 The fact that Joseph would make advances toward a young woman known to his wife speaks volumes about his lack of respect for Emma and his flagrant disregard for the moral decency.

The Culture of Adultery

Levi Lewis’s affidavit goes further, offering insight into the dangerous and deceptive culture that Joseph and his close associates fostered. According to Lewis, Joseph and his financial backer Martin Harris both openly expressed that “adultery was no crime.” In his affidavit, Lewis claimed, “Harris said he did not blame Smith for his attempt to seduce Eliza Winters” (Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834). 

This shocking statement not only implicates Joseph in inappropriate behavior but also reveals that those close to him were complicit in excusing or even encouraging such actions.

The assertion that Joseph and Harris both considered adultery to be acceptable behavior strikes at the very core of Joseph’s character. While the LDS Church has often tried to defend Joseph’s later polygamous marriages by claiming they were divinely sanctioned, these early allegations of sexual misconduct show that his improper conduct predated any supposed revelations regarding plural marriage. This was not a man acting under divine inspiration; it was a man who felt entitled to indulge in immoral behavior and, worse, who justified his actions to those around him.

Levi Lewis’s Damning Testimony

Levi Lewis’s testimony provides one of the earliest and most direct accounts of Joseph Smith’s immoral behavior. As someone close to the Smith family, Lewis had the opportunity to witness Joseph’s actions firsthand and was in a position to observe how these actions affected Emma and others in their community. In his affidavit, Lewis also mentioned hearing both Joseph and Martin Harris make disturbing statements about adultery, further solidifying the notion that Joseph’s behavior was not an isolated incident but part of a larger pattern of unethical conduct.

Lewis stated, “I have heard them both say [that] adultery was no crime” (Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834). 

Such a statement coming from a man who was supposed to be restoring God’s one true church is not only hypocritical but deeply troubling. It reveals the lengths to which Joseph was willing to go to justify his behavior and the toxic influence he had on those around him.

The Broader Implications of Early Infidelity

The accusations of infidelity and inappropriate behavior against Joseph Smith in the 1820s are not just isolated incidents; they are part of a much larger pattern that continued throughout his life. His early actions in Harmony, Pennsylvania, set the stage for the more extensive scandals that would follow, including his secretive polygamous marriages, many of which involved young girls and the wives of other men. These early behaviors reveal a disturbing trend of manipulation, deceit, and entitlement that would come to define much of Joseph’s later life.

By the time Joseph introduced the practice of polygamy in the 1840s, he had already established a pattern of using his position of authority to exploit vulnerable women. The LDS Church has long attempted to frame Joseph’s polygamous marriages as a misunderstood religious commandment, but Levi Lewis’s testimony, along with numerous other early accounts, proves otherwise. This was a man who, from the beginning, viewed women as objects to be used and discarded at his will, with little regard for their dignity or consent.

The LDS Church has worked tirelessly to preserve the image of Joseph Smith as a righteous prophet, but the historical record tells a very different story. The early accusations of infidelity, particularly those involving Eliza Winters and other young women, expose Joseph as a manipulative and immoral figure who used his position to exploit those around him. Levi Lewis’s affidavit offers a rare and damning glimpse into Joseph’s true character, revealing a man far removed from the divine prophet the Church portrays him to be. His behavior toward Eliza Winters, and his callous justification of adultery, shows that even in the earliest days of his ministry, Joseph Smith was more interested in satisfying his personal desires than in leading a moral and upright life.

The LDS Church may try to erase or diminish these early scandals, but the testimonies of those who lived through them, like Levi Lewis, cannot be so easily dismissed. Joseph Smith’s legacy is one built not on divine inspiration but on deceit, exploitation, and betrayal—particularly toward the women who trusted him.

Sources:

Levi Lewis, Affidavit, Susquehanna Register, May 1, 1834.

Hiel Lewis, “That Mormon History – Reply to Elder Cadwell,” Amboy Journal, August 5, 1879.

Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents, Vol. 4, Signature Books, 1996.