William Law's Wife, Jane
"William Law, a former counselor in the First Presidency, wrote in his 13 May 1844 diary: "[Joseph] has lately endeavored to seduce my wife, and ha[s] found her a virtuous woman"

The Laws elaborated on this in a public meeting shortly thereafter.

"The Prophet had made dishonorable proposals to my wife . . . under cover of his ***erted 'Revelation,' " Law stated.

He further explained that Joseph came to the Law home in the middle of the night when William was absent and told Jane that "the Lord had commanded that he should take spiritual wives, to add to his glory."

Law then called on his wife to corroborate what he had said. She did so and further explained that Joseph had "asked her to give him half her love; she was at liberty to keep the other half for her husband" Jane refused the Prophet" and according to William Law's 20 January 1887 letter to the Salt Lake Tribune, Smith then considered the couple apostates.

"Jane had been speaking evil of him for a long time . . . slandered him, and lied about him without cause," Law reported Smith as saying.

"My wife would not speak evil of . . . anyone . . . without cause," Law ***erted.
"Joseph is the liar and not she.


That Smith admired and lusted after many men's wives and daughters, is a fact, but they could not help that.
They or most of them considered his admiration an insult, and treated him with scorn. In return for this scorn, he generally managed to blacken their reputations--see the case of . . . Mrs. Pratt, a good, virtuous woman."
("Mormon Polygamy" by Richard S. Van Wagoner, page 44)