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Topical Studies
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Mormon Polygamy
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| The references at the end of the each quotation from the Book
of Mormon and The Doctrine and Covenants are from the
official documents located on the Official LDS
Scriptures site. - there is no tampering, and they are not from a
biased or anti-Mormon site. According to the Book of Mormon: "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" - Jacob 1:15 Notice,
David and Solomon are said to have indulged in "wicked
practices" by "desiring many wives and concubines" "But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes.
For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people begin to wax in iniquity;
they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves
in commiting whoredoms, because of the things which were written
concerning David, and Solomon his son. Behold, David and Solomon
truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable
before me, saith the Lord. 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 righteous branch from the
fruit of the loins of Joseph. Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer
that his people shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore, my brethren,
hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any
man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have
none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms
are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts...for
they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto them of old, saith
the Lord of Hosts" - Jacob 2:23-28, 33 Notice, David and Solomon having many
wives and concubines was "abominable" before the Lord, and
having many wives and concubines is considered "whoredom(s) [which]
are an abomination" before the Lord "Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of
their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are
more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment
of the Lord, which was given unto our father - that they should have
save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there
should not be whoredoms committed among them" - Jacob
3:5 Notice,
men of God are to have only one wife, and should not have concubines -
to do otherwise is "whoredom(s)" "For behold, he [King Noah] did not keep the commandments of
God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had
many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit
sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord.
Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of
wickedness" - Mosiah 11:2 Notice, King Noah "had many wives and
concubines," and this was considered not keeping the commandments
of God, and again, it is considered "abominable" and "whoredom(s)" According to Doctrine and Covenants, Section 132: 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 thy 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 of my glory; and
he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or
he shall be damned, saith the Lord God. - D&C 132:1-6 Notice,
God Himself is said to be revealing this directly, and this covenant is
to be followed, else the person who does not follow it "shall be
damned" 38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon
and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the
beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin
save in those things which they received not of me. Notice,
D&C 132 says that David and Solomon "received" their many
wives and concubines (from God, as can be discerned from the context),
and this was not sin. It futher goes on to say specifically that God
gave David his wives and concubines, and that David did not sin in this
matter (except in the case of Uriah and Bathsheba) 61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood-if any
man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give
her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and
have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot
commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit
adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else. Notice,
according to this passage, men of God (in this case,
"priests") may have many wives, and it is neither sin nor
adultery, and the priest is "justified" in having many wives So, to summarize, according to the Book of Mormon, having many
wives and/or concubines, is considered abominable, whoredom, and
wickedness. As well, according to the Book of Mormon, David and
Solomon having many wives and concubines was an abomination before the
Lord, and was considered by the Lord to be wickedness. Men of God are to
have only one wife, and to do otherwise is an abominable
whoredom. According to The Doctrine and Covenants, section 132,
David and Solomon received their many wives and concubines from the Lord
and did not sin in having these many wives and concubines (i.e., it was
not abominable nor whoredom). Priests (men of God) may have as many
wives as they like, as long as they are virgins, and as long as he
receives permission from his other wives. This is neither adultery nor
sin (i.e., abominable or whoredom). If anyone does not abide by this
covenant, "he shall be damned". There is nothing open to
interpretation here. Both documents are very clear, and both claim to be
the words of God (the passage from D&C section 132 even starts with
"VERILY, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph" - so
it claims to be direct revelation). Since they contradict one another,
there are really only two possibilities (some may say there are more,
but any others should be classifiable under these two): 1) Joseph Smith
made up one or both of the documents, and they are not really from God,
which condemns Joseph Smith as a false prophet (Jer. 23:25-32, esp.
31,32) 2) The "god" who "revealed" these things to
Joseph Smith is confused (or lying), which makes him no god at all, and
leaves Joseph Smith speaking for a false god, which again condemns
Joseph Smith as a false prophet The evidence is clear. The decision
whether to follow a false prophet is yours to make. In Christ, |
