The Mormon church has admitted that its founder, Joseph Smith, indulged in polygamy and had up to 40 wives.
According to the BBC, in an essay published on its website, the church said "careful estimates" put the number at between 30 and 40, including a 14-year-old and others who were already married.
Polygamy was banned by the Mormon church in 1890. People who still practise polygamy face excommunication from the church.
The church had previously proclaimed that Smith was married to one woman.
However, the essay-entitled Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo- revealed that Smith married many more women and authorised other Latter-day Saints to practise plural marriage, the report said.