Mormon question?

Question

Well as you know Joseph smith was the beginner of the mormon religion, and he was also the first one to begin piligomy, but any LDS church these days say that they are no way associated with the poligimists? But yet in there testimonies and such some end with " i believe joseph smith is the true prophet of this church" etc. Any help im confussed...

Answer 1

The mormon church was totally in support of polygamy. This changed when a revelation was given to one of their "prophets". This revelation coincided with the federal government threatening to put them in prison for breaking the law. Quite a timely revelation.

Answer 2

Joseph Smith restored the gospel in these latter days. He did not start the church. It existed in previous dispensations that are recorded in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

As for Polygamy…
If you study history you will find that such practice was not that uncommon at the time throughout the United States. It was a much different world then. An unmarried woman had virtually no rights. She couldn't vote, own land or hold any real job. An unmarried woman was a social outcast, and if she didn't have someone to support her she would be extremely destitute. Woman in such circumstances would often prefer to be a 2nd or 3rd wife than have no husband at all. You also have to consider that men had a higher mortality rate than women. If the husband died and there was no one available to marry it put the widow in a very difficult position. Many plural marriages were completely nonsexual. In the 1800's when polygamy was practiced marriage wasn't about love or sex like it tends to be today. It was more of a business arrangement and was a social necessity. Plural marriage wasn't about lust, it was about compassion. When society and conditions changed in the US, polygamy was no longer necessary and was done away with by law and by revelation from God.

The polygamy you hear about today is nothing like what happened in the 1800’s and has nothing to do with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). When the leader of the LDS Church put an end to the polygamy, some members of the church were not willing to accept it. These members split off and formed their own church called The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). They believe in polygamy and practice it illegally to this day.

Answer 3

Polygamy had a purpose that has passed its time. When the LDS Church was first organized back in 1830 and for the next several decades, women were joining the Church at a faster rate than men. These women, then, had little potential for marriage. Joseph Smith pondered the matter, and received revelation from God that just like in days of the old testament, polygamy would be re-instituted back on the earth. This doctrine lasted until 1890 when the practice was discontinued. Polygamy had its purpose. Now it is no longer required.

Answer 4

By your reasoning you would have to conclude that the prophets of the Old Testment, to name a few, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were also false prophets since they practiced plural marriage as well. Why was it OK for them to practice polygamy? By your logic, polygamy is an inheritantly evil practice. But it cannot be denied those prophets also practiced polygamy.

Polygamy was practice under commandment from God and it served a righteous purpose (hint: not to satisfy lusts of horny men). The same goes for the early Mormon pioneers who trekked across the plains to escape persecution. Many of them died, women were left husbandless and children fatherless, women couldn't own property in those days, etc, etc. For those early saints polygamy served its purpose. And only a very small percentage of men actually practiced it (around 3%). If a man was deemed not capable of taking on the responsibility of caring for multple wives and children, he was not allowed into the practice.

Once polygamy served its purpose, God commanded it to be stopped. Mormons also believe in obeying the laws of the land. They were going to face prosecution if it did not end.

The important thing is if you can accept the the Old Testament prophets were able, at some point, to practice polygamy then you must conclude that is not a totally evil practice. (It is an evil practice when God does not permit it. Same thing with fornication vs. sex within marriage.) You then can believe that is it possible that God would command one of His Prophets to practice plural marriage at a time when it was surely needed.

Whether you believe Joseph Smith was a prophet of God is a whole matter altogether, but the belief and testimony of he being a prophet is absolutely possible.

Answer 5

Yes, Joseph Smith did have the revelation that began the practice of poligamy. Poligamy was discontinued by the church for a number of reasons. (I won't get into that because honestly I don't know much about the subject other than a few broad strokes.) Todays church excommunicates anyone who practices. This has caused some groups to splinter and continue the practice.

Answer 6

Just because God told Joseph Smith something, does not mean that God can't tell a later prophet to change it, stop it, start it, whatever. While it's true that GOD Himself never changes, He can change the way we worship Him, if that's what He wants, or what we need.

In the case of plural marriage, the government was using it to destroy the church, so God excused us from the practice of plural marriage. And someday, He may re-institute it.

Answer 7

Sometimes the Lord gives commandments to his people which are designed to be temporarily in force. The practice of plural marriage was one such commandment. Consider the following counsel taken from the Book of Mormon:

"For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none... For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things." (Jacob 2:27, 30)

Today, the practice of plural marriage is no longer commanded, and anyone found to be participating in this type of union is excommunicated from the Church.

We also know that a number of ancient prophets in the Bible had multiple wives and/or concubines. Apparently the Lord gave his stamp of approval on their actions; it is likely that they, too, were commanded to do these things at that time.

Answer 8

Ok...it's polygamist(sorry)....

Anyway, Joseph Smith received a revelation from God that Mormon men needed to take up multiple wives. Why? Because Mormons were being persecuted and chased from New York all the way to Utah..."The Mormon War" claimed tons of Mormon men...

So because the numbers were low and there were lots of women, God told Jesus that we needed to keep the population up. In 1890, when God felt that there were enough Mormons He told the prophet W.W.(can NEVER remember his name) that it was no longer acceptable to take multiple wives.

Those who rejected the revelation formed the fLDS church and they are the ones who practice polygamy.

Answer 9

Oregon flower-

You have NO idea what your talking about. I AM an endowed member and I never have made a covenant to live a polygamist marriage. Seeing THAT YOU AREN'T LDS stop acting like your an authority, when you don't know what your talking about.

Answer 10

Joseph smith did not start the religion Jesus Christ started It, Joesph smith restored the religion on back on the earth. we follow the prophet and the modern day prophet as said no more polygamy. any other question?