Mormon leaders have acknowledged for the first time that the churchs founder and prophet, joseph smith, portrayed in church materials as a loyal partner to his loving spouse emma, took as many as 40 wives, some already married and one only 14 years old. The mormon church does not endorse breaking the law, and polygamy was ruled illegal that more than a hundred years ago. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the movement, which mormons used alongside the bible for teaching. Mormon elders who publicly taught that all men were commanded to enter plural marriage were subject to harsh discipline. Nov 11, 2014 the founder of the mormon church, joseph smith, wed as many as 40 wives, including one as young as 14 years old, the church acknowledged. What is mormonism, why can men have multiple wives, what. The income and interpersonal relational resources of one man being distributed across multiple wives with multiple children statistically leads to diminishing standards of living for each subsequent family. Aug 17, 2017 explaining polygamy and its history in the mormon church. Media related to wives of joseph smith at wikimedia commons.
Joseph smith, mormonism and the invention of american polygamy. Some mormons marry and have more than one wife, but this is not accepted by the mormon church, which does not accept polygamy or plural marriage. The lds church and joseph smiths polygamy doug fabrizios interview of assistant lds church historian richard turley and scholars patrick q. Only a few hundred copies had been printed, mostly reserved for the use of. What is the number of wives that a mormon can have. Polygamy called plural marriage by mormons in the 19th century or the principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy was practiced by leaders of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between. It is true that the mainline mormon churchthat is, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, today does not authorize or promote a marriage relationship in which a man has multiple living wives at the same time. In the case of plural marriage, the bible and the book of mormon teach that monogamy is gods standard for marriage unless he declares otherwise official declaration 1 heading, or, in jacobs language, if i will, saith the lord of hosts, raise up seed unto me, i will command my people to practice plural marriage. Doctrine and covenants, section 101 removed in 1876. And by lds people, im referring to the organization headquartered in salt lake city, utah and is currently presided over by russel nelson. It is a common misconception to think of the practice of polygamy as starting with brigham young and the mormon s trip west.
Polygamy was made illegal in the state of illinois during the 183944 nauvoo era when several top mormon leaders, including smith, brigham young and heber c. Mar 10, 2020 the second chapter of the book of jacob in the book of mormon contains the only explicit teaching about polygamy in the nephite record. Can you imagine, somebody telling you, women are inferior to men, and are meant only serve the men. Book of mormon, 1830, page 127 the joseph smith papers. Where the family livedwhether in salt lake city, with its multiple social and cultural. As early as the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, latter day saint doctrine maintained that. For example, the book of mormon teaches that men should have only one wife see. Why did mormons have multiple wives mormon polygamy. What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when i can only.
Abraham and other old testament patriarchs had multiple wives, and smith. From 1830 to 1876, lds scripture was consistent in prohibited polygamy. In 1862, the united states congress passed the morrill antibigamy act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories. Abraham was not subject to a license to get married, but rather made vows before god, seeing as how god is the only one that matters anyways. They call us sister wives, which is supposed to symbolize how tight the relationship between plural wives should be. Noah was the son of zeniff, and the father of limhi, who lived in the land of nephi. God declares that the keeping of more than one wife is abominable and commands, there shall not be any man among you have save it be one wife. Outsiders sometimes ask mormons often in jest, occasionally in concern whether they practice polygamy. Polygamy in the book of mormon the book of mormon is more specific about polygamy than the bible and i want to touch on these teachings. Unlike brown, lds leaders have gone on record saying jesus was not only married, but that he was a polygamist as well. Polygamy bookinitiation of the practice fairmormon. Everything you need to know about the religious followers that often knock on peoples. Jan 21, 2015 5 things i learned as a mormon polygamist wife. What is mormonism, why can men have multiple wives, what are.
Mormon elders who publicly taught that all men were commanded to enter plural marriage were subject to. Plural marriage was first introduced into mormonism by joseph smith in the 1830s see topical index. 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 wives and concubines, and also solomon, his son. Unfortunately, later book of mormon peoples saw the rise of wicked kings such as noah, the son of zeniff, who did not keep. Mormons wont tell you that the state of utah, which is predominately mormon, has a higher than the national average of wife. These are the words of michael crawley, a mormon living in centennial park, arizona, with his three wives he and. The practice of plural marriage, or polygamy, in mormonism goes back to joseph smith, who in 1843 said he received an eternally binding commandment from god that men should take multiple wives.
The book of mormon, therefore, is the only record professing to be divine which condemns the plurality of wives as being a practice exceedingly abominable before god. Explaining polygamy and its history in the mormon church. Book of mormon genealogy chart lehi a descendant of joseph through manasseh laban sariah ishmael a descendant of ephriam laman wife of ishmael eve devil lucifer, satan lemuel sam nephi zedekiah king of judah lamb of god jesus christ zoram servant of laban daughter of ishmael daughter of ishmael daughter of ishmael daughter of ishmael jacob. Several mormon leaders insisted that jesus was married, but like brown, none of them offered any more than pure conjecture to support such a claim. The second chapter of the book of jacob in the book of mormon contains the only explicit teaching about polygamy in the nephite record. The book of mormon states very clearly that you must be like abraham having many wives. The mormon polygamists who believe missouri is the promised.
In todays church, however, people who practice plural marriage are excommunicated. The critics use this quote to state that orson pratt admitted that the book of mormon condemns plural marriage by extracting only the portion of his quote that mentions it. Jan 26, 2017 how the women of the mormon church came to embrace polygamy. Because god commanded mormons to stop practicing polygamy in 1890, mormons believe that modernday polygamists are acting contrary to gods will. Members of the lds church or mormons have not practiced polygamy for over 100 years. Before this act by congress, polygamy was legal in the united states. The biblical imagery of god as husband and his people as wife is continued in the book of mormon, mostly from the writings of isaiah.
In 1862, the united states congress passed the morrill anti bigamy act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories. The lost 116 pages were the original manuscript pages of what joseph smith, founder of the latter day saint movement, said was the translation of the book of lehi, the first portion of the golden plates revealed to him by an angel in 1827. The book of mormon videos youtube channel is a collection of videos based on accounts from the book of mormon. These pages, which had not been copied, were lost by smiths scribe, martin harris, during the summer of 1828 and are presumed to have been destroyed. It is clear from the bible that multiple prominent biblical figuresincluding. Why did the early mormons believe in plural marriage. Deny it as some mormons may, the writings of their founders are irrefutable evidence of this woeful evil.
Abraham and other old testament patriarchs had multiple wives, and. Mormon wives reveal how they cope sharing a husband daily. The book of mormon unequivocally condemns the practice of polygamy. Behold, david and solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the lord jacob 2. A place to share odd mormon things, doctrines, experiences. His sudden insight that god wanted men to take multiple wives coincided. There were a few guys in book of mormon times that were trying to take multiple wives using david and solomon as justification for their actions. I will share the way i interpret them, but i invite the reader to prayerfully read these verses and come to their own conclusions. But to say that mormons dont practice polygamy isnt entirely true. Going where no reality show cameras had gone before, tlc this fall aired sister wives, a television series that invited voyeurs into the lives of a fundamentalist mormon family that practices polygamy. This verse clearly says that it was abominable to god that david had many wives and concubines.
In a general conference message on october 6, 1854, mormon apostle orson hyde. Mar 23, 2017 others divorced or separated, but continued to financially support formerly polygamous wives and children. They have multiple wives the main lds church spends a lot of energy to hide them. The ruling was cheered by kody brown and his four wives, who star in. The bible and the book of mormon teach that the marriage of one man to one woman is gods standard, except at specific periods when he has declared otherwise. The book of mormon records the visit of jesus christ to people in the americas following his resurrection. The book of mormon, therefore, is the only record professing to be divine which condemns plurality of wives as being a practice exceedingly abominable before god. The book of mormon by joseph smith, paperback barnes. Women in the book of mormon encyclopedia of mormonism. A twohundredyear era of peace followed that visit of christ.
In many of these verses, it is used more than once. Marriage to multiple wives may seem strange, but at least it intrudes on our historical awareness, while many remain unaware of polyandrys existence in lds history. As well, many modern readers dont quite know what to do with a book that is more than 500 pages long but has only six named women sariah, abish and isabel in the book of mormon s own. The first publication of a list of women alleged to be smiths plural wives was in 1887, by andrew jenson, an assistant church historian of the lds church. A deceased woman may also be sealed to multiple men, but only through vicarious sealing if they are also deceased. Moroni, the last of the nephite prophethistorians, sealed up the abridged records of these people and hid them in about a. Polygamy was practiced by leaders of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds. What is mormonism, why can men have multiple wives, what are their beliefs and what is the book of mormon.
The first publication of a list of women alleged to be smiths plural wives was in 1887, by. Nothing in plural marriage mystifiesor troublesmembers of the church more than josephs polyandrous sealings. The first specificallylds encounter with plural marriage was the 1829 book of mormon. Unfortunately, later book of mormon peoples saw the rise of wicked kings such as noah, the son of zeniff, who did not keep the commandments of god by taking many wives andconcubines mosiah 11. This was one factor which didcause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the lord. The mormon response is usually to roll the eyes and recite for the thousandth time that the latterday saints havent practiced polygamy for over a century and that anyone who practices it today is excommunicated, yada yada yada. Greater stability and financial security is tied very closely to families with two fulltime parents living under the same roof.
Can you imagine, somebody telling you, your love for your dearly beloved is a sin. Mar 28, 2016 unfortunately, later book of mormon peoples saw the rise of wicked kings such as noah, the son of zeniff, who did not keep the commandments of god by taking many wives and concubines mosiah 11. Why are mormon men allowed multiple wives, but the wives. The prophet jacob rebuked the nephites for their practice of having many wives and concubines. The following information is in the book of mormon. But even that sacred book makes an exception in substance as followsexcept i the lord command my people. Mormon theology is about many gods, god being a man, men and women potentially becoming gods, but the book of mormon is basically christian in its teachings. How can we explain polygamy when someone asks about it. How the women of the mormon church came to embrace polygamy. Lds leaders still believe there will be polygamy in heaven. The bible and the book of mormon teach that the marriage of one man to one woman is.
Polygamy plural marriage lds church perspective on polygamy. Government and its citizenry took objection to the practice of plural marriages by the mormon church. In 1904, the church strictly prohibited new plural marriages. However many documentaries have been done on them and the biggest proof is that the main lds church owns the land they are on.
A mormon is only allowed to have one wife, according to the book of mormon. Jan 07, 2019 i believe missouri is the promised land, said sean anderson, a 51yearold fundamentalist mormon from mexico who has also lived in arizona and utah. To the inside front cover are affixed four clippings of descriptions of different versions of first edition copies of the book of mormon and of an 1854 edition of the doctrine and covenants, along with a clipping describing the origin of the text of the book of mormon and a bookplate of the shepard book company of salt lake city, utah. Apr 06, 2017 what is mormonism, why can men have multiple wives, what are their beliefs and what is the book of mormon. The book of mormon, along with his revelations, then became fundamental tenets of the mormon church. Can you imagine, somebody telling you, a man can have multiple wives, and yet be deemed civilized. This article was adapted from the lds guide to the scriptures and every person in the book of mormon by lynn f. How saints and jacobs teachings can help contextualize. What every mormon really needs to know about polygamy. This was one factor which did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the lord. Is polygamy mentioned in the book of mormon answers. The founder of the mormon church, joseph smith, wed as many as 40 wives, including one as young as 14 years old, the church acknowledged.
During this time the church publicly taught against polygamy and denied practicing it, while church authorities were privately taking plural wives. Behold, david and solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the lord. His fiction has won a number of awards, including the rosenthal foundation award from the american academy of arts and letters, the ferrogrumley award, and the lambda literary award. You can see a list of verses from the book of mormon which contain the word word by clicking this link. Jun 29, 2016 mormons practiced polygamy, also known as plural marriage, for about 50 years during the nineteenth century. One of these tenets was polygamy, which his contemporaries said came as a result of smith having been commanded by an angel to marry plural wives. Smith, when polygamy was banned even in mexico for the lds. Jacob forbade this practice, and declared monogamy to be the norm unless i willraise up seed unto me. I figure this is a troll question, but just in case it isnt modern lds people do not practice polygamy. Although the mormon church has not practiced polygamy for over a hundred years, when many people think of mormons, they still think of men with multiple wives. Some men continued to cohabit with multiple wives and to father children until the second manifesto in 1904 by joseph f. Polygamy advocate brady williams talks with his five wives during an.
It is a sex cult, that brainwashes its victims into believing that it is proper and right for wives and daughters to give themselves sexually to the leaders on the mormon church. David ebershoff is the author of the novels the 19th wife, pasadena, and the danish girl, and a shortstory collection, the rose city. Official mormon sources have recently admitted that smith had as many as 33 wives, although other researchers say they have found evidence for more. Decadent israel is described as devoid of honorable men, in that they valued women as. Jan 27, 2014 everyone who has been married knows it is work and we have that times three.
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