Mormons answer please ?

Question

On January 4th, 1880 the President,Prophet,Seer and Revelator of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, John Taylor spoke these words,

"We believe in honesty, morality and purity ; but when they enact tyrannical laws, forbidding us the free excercise of our religion, we cannot submit. God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven and against the government.... Polygamy is a divine institution. It has been handed down direct from god. The United States cannot abolish it. No nation on earth can prevent it, nor all the nations of the earth combined,...... I defy the United States; I will obey god.

Do you practice this belief ?

Answer 1

Simply put, God commanded that polygamy be practiced, and he was also the one to end the practice. Before the early Saints practiced polygamy, there was no law against it hence the statement "but when they enact tyrannical laws". So basically we believe that we are to follow all laws that do not directly counter the word of God. Also, we do not practice polygamy, but do believe that it was a commandment of God, given only to a very small portion of the early Saints. Anyone who has entered into polygamy since then are not members of the True Church of Jesus Christ.

Please do not just take my word for it, go to the church's website, which will give MUCH better answers than any message board or blog since the information of the Church sites are published with the oversight of the General Authorities. the websites are:
www.lds.org and
www.mormon.org (geared towards those investigating the church)

And please realize that any information gathered from those who are antagonistic towards the church would be like asking an avid Chicago Bear's fan about the Green Bay Packers (you get answers such as "they suck" or equally articulate).

Answer 2

We do not practice polygamy anymore (that was banned 100 years ago) but we do practice our belief in God. John Taylor was stating that what God states, is his demand. At that time, the United States clearly wasn't on our side, we practiced something prohibited by law, and the majority of some states were murdering woman, children, and men. (as you also probably know, missouri passed a law making it legal to kill any Mormon). John Taylor is stating his obedience, like Jesus saying "Not My Will, But Thine Be Done." God is greater than the US or ANY Government.
What he means by the US cannot abolish it, no nation on earth can prevent it, nor all the nations of the earth combined. He is saying Truth will live on, and God said "A man can stop the Truth from spreading as much as he can hold his hand out and stop the Mississippi river from flowing." (Scriptual reference in the D&C). If Polygamy was ordered by God, it's Truth at the time and was a demand from God.

But since then, it has been banned by the Church and the Mormon church has been complying with the United States Government. But we do practice that God, is superior than all, and that no matter what, we will follow him.

Not My Will...But Thine Be Done

*EDIT* Side note, the Pilgrims came to America to practice freedom of religion? Am I not right? Why couldn't Mormons just have freedom of religion just 200 years after America was founded? There were plenty of other religions out there, why was it MORMONISM that was the one that caused thousands to hunt Mormons? Why was it MORMONISM considered OUTRAGEOUS when you hear five preachers in a corner preaching against each other but contradicting every thing they're saying when the LDS Church held the "truth"? Why???...Satan, Satan fights honesty, truth, love, and bonding. In the last days it was said Satan would fight harder than ever to abolish the Truth off the world and turn the hearts of many? Is it not the last days? Just take some time to ponder that.

Answer 3

You left out parts, but I'll answer about this one. God is greater then any government. What He says is commandment. We should follow what God wants, even if it goes against the government. That is what he meant by this statement. BUT!! We believe in honoring and sustaining the law, and in obeying the laws of the land. So this goes against what God wanted at the time. That is why this subject was given great contemplation and prayer. The leaders of the church needed to know what God would have us do. They were torn between following God and following the law. God told them to follow the law of the land, and so polygamy was stopped.

The government at the time was very against the LDS faith. They passed every law they could think of that would hurt us, or show that we were a false, evil church. One of those laws was an extermination order given by Governor Boggs. It was signed by all the lawmakers of the time in his area, and all Mormons could be killed on sight. That is what made all the LDS people leave the area. They were followed, killed, raped, and taken as slaves. It didn't matter that we were people too, and that we weren't bothering anyone. All that mattered is that we didn't believe the way that others did.

It was the same with polygamy. Unless you understand the reasons behind the commandment, you can's understand why it was practiced. You have picked the topic, and decided to take a few things out of context to show that you know more about my religion then I do.

If it was asked of me to obey God over my country, I would. It would be hard, but I would do what God asked of me. I can't imagine how hard it would be to be in the position these families were in. They wanted to obey the law, but God was saying something else.

Do you think God is more knowledgeable then man? Don't you think He could ask something of someone that isn't understood by others, and have a real reason for it? Don't you think that God's word should be taken over that of man? Those are questions for you to answer.

Answer 4

we do to a degree. we agree that god is above man, but this is our stand on polygamy.Polygamy – the marriage of more than one woman to the same man – was an important part of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for half a century in the 1800s.
Its origin in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be traced to 1831, when Church founder Joseph Smith made a prayerful inquiry about the ancient Old Testament practice of plural marriage. This resulted in the divine instruction to reinstitute the practice as a religious principle. It began in the 1830s.
The Church honors and respects the sacrifices of those who chose to live this principle during the formative years of the Church.
In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the Church, received a revelation to withdraw the command. Today, polygamy is strictly prohibited in the Church.
Some people left the Church to continue the practice of polygamy, or were excommunicated because they refused to give up the practice. Some of their descendants are found in polygamous communities today in various parts of the United States and Canada, but especially in the West. They are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church 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 … 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.”

Answer 5

I'm not sure I understand what you're referring to....

Polygamy-
If my husband and I were asked to practice polygamy, I'd do it. I'm sure we'd both struggle, but we'd do it.

Laws of God vs Laws of government-
If I were put in a position like Daniel, the Old Testament Prophet... given a choice where no matter what I did, I'd either be breaking God's law or the laws of the governemnt of the US, I'll pick breaking US law...


In the case of polygamy in the US, Wilford Woodruff took this very question to God. God responded by directing Wilford Woodruff to end the practice. Maybe God felt it was in our best interest to obey the laws of the nation, that more good would be done if we were "law abiding" than if we got ourselves all killed off.

Answer 6

Yeah we do. I'm not saying we practice polygamy, but we DO believe that God is above a MAN-made government. People are subject to human error, and so a government can become flawed and quite possibly evil (german workers party). That's also not to say we don't obey the laws though. People who DO practice polygamy, like Warren Jeffs are NOT members of our church.

Answer 7

Yes we practice being honest, moral, and pure. But We don't have to practice defying the government because everything we do is legal! We don't do polygamy and from what I can remember, i thnk it's legal to be polite and a good person and kind to others, even if it's not popular!

But yes, we will always do what the lord has told us to do, even if it means defying the government.

Answer 8

No - one mother-in-law like mine is quite enough!

Seriously, the instruction was only in force for a short time, and was retracted after the need no longer manifested itself.

Polygamy was instituted purely to aid those women whose husbands had perished on the trek westwards to the Great Salt Lake. In order to get Utah recognised as a state, this practice had to stop.

There are fundamentalists who have nothing to do with the church, yet hijack its name and still practice polygamy, but they are nothing to do with us!

Answer 9

The government did not end plural marriage. The Prophet did. Since I follow the Prophet, I do practice the whole statement.

Answer 10

When he said it it was gospel, but 10 years later Wilford Woodruff got a revelation it was time to stop it. God said the test was over.