Polygamy

  

 

Joseph Smith taught conflicting doctrine on Polygamy. He claimed that God told him that polygamy was "abominable before me""For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife;",  and taught that the wicked "indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old " Despite being told that polygamy was a whorish abomination by the Lord through his seer stone, Joseph Smith practiced polygamy in secret. Starting with his sixteen year old house maid Fanny Alger in 1831. (See the header of section 132 in the D&C.)

 

-Joseph taugh that Adam had two wives

“The scriptures give an account simply of the woman Eve; declaring that this name was given her of Adam, because she was "the mother of all living;" but outside of biblical record there has been handed down from time immemorial the idea that Adam had two wives, the narrators go so far, or rather so near perfecting the tradition so as to give their names, Lilith being said to be the name of one as Eve was the name of the other, and while it may be difficult to harmonize all the Rabbinical and Talmudic versions of this matter, it is said that Joseph Smith the Prophet taught that Adam had two wives.” J.D. 26:115; Elder H. W. Naisbitt; Great Salt Lake Tabernacle; Sunday afternoon, March 8, 1885.

 

 

The Doctrine and Covenants

1        Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines ?

2        Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter. 

3        Therefore, prepare they heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same. 

4        For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.

5        For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world. 

6        And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness [sic] of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness [sic] thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.   Joseph Smith, D&C 132:1-6

 

 

 

 

 

Book of Mormon

24 Behold, David and aSolomon truly had many bwives and concubines, which thing was cabominable before me, abominable before me saith the Lord.

25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a arighteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
  26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
  27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any aman among you have save it be bone cwife; and concubines he shall have none;
  28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the achastity of women. And bwhoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
  29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or acursed be the land for their sakes.
  30 For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up aseed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.
  31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and aabominations of their bhusbands.
  32 And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.
  33 For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit awhoredoms, like unto them of old, saith the Lord of Hosts.                             34 And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were given to our afather, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which ye ought not to have done.                                                                                                               35 Behold, ye have done agreater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the bstrictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds." Jacob 2:24-35

 

 -"Polygamy is a wicked practice"


15 "And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign of the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts, and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old desiring many awives and bconcubines, and also Solomon, his son. "Jacob 1:15, Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon

-You can't be a god unless you're a polygamist 

"The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of Gods, are those who enter into polygamy."  Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses 11:269.  

 -"If we do away with polygamy...then we must do away prophets and Apostles"

"If we were to do away with polygamy, it would only be one feather in the bird, one ordinance in the Church and kingdom. Do away with that, then we must do away with prophets and Apostles, with revelation and the gifts and graces of the Gospel, and finally give up our religion altogether and turn sectarians and do as the world does, then all would be right. We just can't do that, for God has commanded us to build up His kingdom and to bear our testimony to the nations of the earth, and we are going to do it, come life or come death. He has told us to do thus, and we shall obey Him in days to come as we have in days past."   Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses 13:165 - p.166, 1869

 

 Then of course, in order to gain statehood the Manifesto was revealed to Wilford Woodruff. That didn't stop polygamy. LDS  continued to practice polygamy; not to would mean "damnation" and disqualify them for Godhood. Some members of the Church went to Mexico, some went to Canada, President Woodruff married people on a boat off the California coast so that he wouldn't be subject to the laws of the "land". He also referred to plural wives married after the Manifesto as "concubines".

 

 

No Polygamy

 

 

 “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” 1 Corinthians 7:2

 

“And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?Wherefore they are no more
twain, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined
together, let not man put asunder.” Mat 19:5-6

 

 "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;” 1Timothy 3:2

 

“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;” Titus 1:5-7