I was raised Mormon. And we were basically taught it is a big No No. My question, for current Mormons is this... Why do you shy away from it now when it is SUCH a part of the churches history AND not to mention you believe in polygamy in Heaven. so..... why the act?
2007-06-14 10:19:49 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I have never known anyone in the church who has shied away from the subject. As a matter of fact it's always been a non subject except with non members, who seem to be under the misguided impression that we still secretly practice it. We acknowledge that it did take place for a short time, and at the time it was felt it was necessary. But that was then and this is now and it has been long forbidden. There are some who call themselves "Mormons" who do still cling to that old doctrine but they are in fact not part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are breakaway sects.
As for the ignorant people who think we are not Christians..... maybe you should look up Christian in the dictionary....it is one who believes in Christ .... Does our name not make it clear that we believe in him and his teachings?
2007-06-16 17:08:54 · answer #1 · answered by Sniggle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a member of 50 years,I have never cared for polygamy. Since it has been outlawed & not practiced by any member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ( you call them Mormons) since 1852. Why after 155 years do people still want to punish 13 million people for a less than 15 year practice by far less than a couple thousand people?
I believe mean people will pay for attacks on other churches too, but they act like they have a right to be mean - they do not. I do not have to act - the truth is I do not understand why polygamy was practiced but I trust the Lord, I do know women are more spiritual that men so more will be in heaven. A need for family life will require a solution & polygamy seems the only choice in heaven. My family is a 6th generation Mormon family & we have never had polygamy in our family. Most members have not, so maybe we "shy away" because we have nothing to say about a 15 yr practice that has no effects on our lives.
Pray, live a good life, be kind to others, read the scriptures, accept Jesus Christ & try to worry less about other people's choices. This advice will take everyone far in life.
2007-06-14 18:01:55 · answer #2 · answered by Wolfpacker 6 · 6⤊ 2⤋
It should have never been an issue in the first place, but the Pants of Joseph Smith needed a heavenly justification for it's rapid rising and falling.
Then Brigham really 'got into it' when he arrived in Utah - a part of Mexico then, and the rest is (suppressed) history.
Polygamy wasn't a fleeting little thing, it was encourage and practiced for over 60 years, from the 1840's to well into the 1900's - despite the 'manifesto'. A Manifest is not the same as a "RE-Revelation", so it remains in D&C Section 132 and oh, so many speeches..
So, lets all be nice and try to forget about it. okay?
2007-06-15 11:10:08 · answer #3 · answered by Dances with Poultry 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Part of what we believe about certain things is that sometimes a commandment is forever (i.e. "Thou shalt not kill"), and sometimes a commandment is only for a season (as stated in the first part of the 3rd chapter of Ecclesiastes, and made famous back in the '60s by the Byrds). Polygamy is one of those things that was really only for a season, and is only to exist in mortality at certain points and times.
Now, why do we not make a big deal of it right here and now, since (as you pointed out) it's a part of our history and something we believe will exist in the hereafter?
Yeah, it happened in the past, it may come up again in the future (i.e. during the Millenium), and we believe that it exists in the Celestial Kingdom. And yes, we shouldn't forget it, but I also don't think we should obsess over it either. Obsessing over it or regularly consentrating on it isn't going to accomplish anything.
Maybe remembering to follow the present commandments from God and not worrying about what was or what might be may seem like we're shying away from certain subjects - I can certainly understand how you can come to that conclusion. But I hope you understand that remembering and acknowledging something doesn't always mean that you make it the highlight of your beliefs at the expense of everything else.
2007-06-15 05:32:34 · answer #4 · answered by Rynok 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Mormons tend to shy from why it was practice. If Mormons don't believe in polgamy take out section 132 of D&C.
Mormons believe it will be practice in the next life. Read Mormon Doctrine by Bruce Mcconkie.
2007-06-17 02:27:57 · answer #5 · answered by Tinkerbelle2007 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My family has been LDS since the beginning, and no one in my family practiced polygamy, we have records that far back, so it's not part of my personal history. The people who practice polygamy today in those groups that seclude themselves are marrying 13 year old girls off to older men, and that's disgusting. I wouldn't care if they were consenting adults and choosing to do so, but whey they do is rape in my book. I go to church 1x a week and polygamy is never brought up ever, because it has nothing to do with us today or how we live our lives.
2007-06-14 18:36:23 · answer #6 · answered by Melissa 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Because "Mormons" don't practice polygamy. Too many people still believe that Mormons have numerous wives.
Sure it's part of the history of the church but it isn't part of the present. That's what is important.
2007-06-14 18:20:30 · answer #7 · answered by JessicaRabbit 6 · 6⤊ 1⤋
I tend not to dissociated with polygamy. It is difficult to explain to people the subtlety, so I typically focus on curing people of the erroneous belief that it is an active thing.
2007-06-15 13:56:09 · answer #8 · answered by je_apostrophe 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many people believe we practice it... and since we obey the law of the land, we don't want people to think we are diliberately breaking it.
Mormons have not practiced polygamy for over one hundred years.
Polygamy was part of the Bible too... why do so many other Christian sects condemn it and shy away as you put it?
2007-06-14 17:28:15 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 10⤊ 0⤋
They don't deny it, they just emphasize how it is no longer practiced, and claim that when it was practiced in the past that it was for "good reasons". So they don't shy away from it, they admit it and justify it.
However, if they do shy away from it than it is because they either know about the controversial aspects of it, or recognize that while it's "not bad" it sure looks bad to non members.
2007-06-14 17:30:18 · answer #10 · answered by . 3 · 8⤊ 0⤋