Note that on pg. 711, John Taylor, editor of the Times and Seasons, certifies the letter from the Old Man of Israel:

For the communication of an “Old man of Israel,” and the letter of Elder Addison Pratt from the islands of the Pacific Ocean, we bespeak a hearty welcome. They are genuine.

Also note that John Taylor had four wives when he published and endorsed this letter as editor of the Times and Seasons.

November 15, 1844

(emphasis added)

To the Editor of the Times and Seasons:

THE APOSTLES AND APOSTATES

…

The saints of the last days have witnessed the outgoings and incomings of so many apostates that nothing but truth has any effect upon them. In the present instance, after the sham quotations of Sidney and his clique, from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants, to skulk off, under the “dreadful splendor” of “spiritual wifery,” which is brought into the account as graciously as if the law of the land allowed a man a plurality of wives, is fiendish, and like the rest of Sidney’s revelation, just because he wanted “to go to Pittsburg and live.” Wo to the man or men who will thus wilfully lie to injure an innocent people! The law of the land and the rules of the church do not allow one man to have more than one wife alive at once, but if any man’s wife die, he has a right to marry another, and to be sealed to both for eternity; to the living and the dead! there is no law of God or man against it! This is all the spiritual wife system that was ever tolerated in the church, and they know it.

…

AN OLD MAN OF ISRAEL