Joseph Smith, Mormon church founder and prophet, took as many as 40 wives, at least one as young as 14, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have acknowledged in a series of essays posted as guideposts for the faithful.

The church had not previously acknowledged that Smith engaged in plural marriages, though the practice was one of the public attributes of its early days. The church formally abandoned polygamy in 1890, but the practice continues to be a cultural identifier in film, television and theater.

The acknowledgment is significant because it signals an openness on the part of the religion, which has been wrapped in secrecy and whose practices involving women and minorities have raised questions among some of its own adherents. In that sense, Mormons are following in the footsteps of other Christian religions seeking to explore once-taboo issues, such as sexuality or same-sex marriage.

The hope among religions is that greater transparency will make the churches more acceptable to modern audiences.

Born in upstate New York in the 1820s, nurtured in its early combative days in the Midwest, the Mormon religion followed the dream West. Adherents settled in Utah, still the spiritual center of the religion.

The roots of the practice date to Smith’s study of the Old Testament in 1831. Major biblical figures — including Abraham, David and Solomon — had more than one wife and were acting on God’s wishes.

Smith had 30 to 40 wives, according to the essay. The women ranged in age from 14 to 56, though most were between 20 and 40. Some were wives of Smith’s friends.