Polygamy Revealed

Polygamy Revealed

 

"Um... I don't think my wife would want me to join your church." the man said nervously.
"How come?" we asked, not knowing why he was acting so strange.
"Well, y'all have more than one wife!"
"No! No! It's just a common misconception. We don't practice polygamy. In fact it's against the law!" we quickly explained. He got a disappointed look on his face.
"Oh you don't? Well than I don't know if I want to join your church now..."

Polygamy. If I got through one day without hearing that word, I would celebrate with a dinner of something other than cereal! If you look up "polygamy" on lds.org, the first paragraph that pops up is this "The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. At certain times and for His specific purposes, God, through His prophets, has directed the practice of plural marriage (sometimes called polygamy), which means one man having more than one living wife at the same time. In obedience to direction from God, Latter-day Saints followed this practice for about 50 years during the 1800s but officially ceased the practice of such marriages after the Manifesto was issued by President Woodruff in 1890. Since that time, plural marriage has not been approved by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and any member adopting this practice is subject to losing his or her membership in the Church."

So let's everyone say together. Ready? "POLYGAMY IS NOT PRACTICED IN THE MORMON CHURCH ANYMORE". Good job! Say it one more time. Ok, awesome. I can understand someone who is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints looking in on the history of the church (that they did indeed practice polygamy at a time) and being weary about it. So let's talk about it shall we?

There are accounts of polygamy being practiced in the Bible. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Wilford Woodruff was given the revelation that the practice of polygamy was to stop. Some members of the church continued to practice it despite what the Lord commanded. Some still practice today, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not claim those sects.
Solomon, David, etc. all had multiple wives at one point or another. The Lord says that polygamy is a sin, unless he commands it to a certain people. In 1842, when it was revealed to Joseph Smith that the Lord was commanding it to be practiced for a certain time, it wasn't received well by some Saints. Many were confused and didn't want to practice it, but did with full faith that the Lord had a reason. It was closely watched by the church and only some families were permitted to practice. The church leaders only had the men practice it that would be able to provide for each child and wife individually. In 1890 (about 50 years later) the violence against the church because of the practice of polygamy got very out of hand. President

President Gordon B. Hinckley stated the following about polygamy in the Church's October 1998 general conference: “I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter.
"If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, 'We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law' (Articles of Faith 1:12).”

I know that polygamy is a scary issue, but the real question is whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. If this book is true, then Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God and any revelation that he gave, was also of God, including polygamy at that time. I know with my whole heart that this book is true. It's changed my life for the better more than I could have ever imagined and I would be lying to God if I denied it. I love it with every fiber of my being and I'm so grateful to be a member today. I know that anyone can change their life for the better today by picking up that Book of Mormon and starting your journey. You will never regret it.

http://mormon.org/faq/plural-marriage

http://www.lds.org/manual/truth-restored/chapter-13-years-of-endurance?lang=eng&query=polygamy