Recovery to Mormonism

Mormon Polygamy

One of the most controversial practices in the Mormon Church was that of polygamy. Even though this practice ceased over a century ago, there are still some that believe this practice exists today in the Church. The subject of polygamy in the Mormon Church has never been a skirted issue, although those who wish to distort the facts often claim it has been.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, present day prophet of the Mormon Church, has stated numerous times through the media that, “This Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church…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. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law’. One cannot obey the law and disobey the law at the same time.”[1]

As early as 1831, the Prophet Joseph Smith knew that the Lord would command polygamy to be practiced. When the Prophet “approached the Lord and asked Him why he permitted ancient prophets like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to have multiple wives,”[2] the answer came as revelation, and is now recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 132. The revelation states that only God has the authority to command men to practice polygamy and that He chooses a prophet to be in charge of it when He does. And when He chooses to remove it from the earth, He will do so through the prophet.

The Prophet did not want to teach this principle to others, not even to those whom he closely associated with. Statements recorded by Lorenzo Snow and Brigham Young, who were later to become prophets of the Mormon Church, stated that the Prophet Joseph did not want to submit to the idea at all. Not until 1839, when an angel appeared to him and ordered him to teach it and practice it, did he obey.

When Brigham Young learned about the principle he expressed the following:

“Some of these my brethren know what my feelings were at the time Joseph revealed the doctrine [of polygamy]; I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty, nor of failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral, I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin, knowing the toil and labor that my body would have to undergo; and I have had to examine myself, from that day to this, and watch my faith, and carefully meditate, lest I should be found desiring the grave more than I ought to do.”[3]

Polygamy was not designed to promote sexual promiscuity or lasciviousness; quite the contrary. As stated earlier, it was initiated by God through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Polygamy wasn’t publicly announced to the members until 1846 when the members reached Utah, and two years after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

At that time, Brigham Young asked Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to announce to the members the principle of polygamy or plural marriage. He stated two reasons this principle was to be practiced: number one, and above all, is that God commanded it for that particular time; and number two, so that the members of the Mormon Church could raise righteous children. He then stated that God only allowed His prophets to direct who would practice polygamy, although it’s important to note that prophets did not act as matchmakers.  People were free to organize their own families, and women who found polygamous unions intolerable were granted divorces. 

Contrary to what some may believe, God did not expect all Mormon men to practice this law and it was not the criterion to enter heaven. There was only a small number of members practicing polygamy and only under the direction of the prophet was this practice regulated. Those who were asked to practice the law of polygamy were challenged by this commandment. Needless to say, it was not done without prayer and humility on the part of the individual asked.

President John Taylor, who would later become President of the Mormon Church, and who was asked to live the law of polygamy, expressed the following: “When this system was first introduced among this people, it was one of the greatest crosses that ever was taken up by any set of men since the world stood. Joseph Smith told others; he told me, and I can bear witness of it, ‘that if this principle was not introduced, this Church and kingdom could not proceed.”…[4]

We can see, through the recorded histories of those who practiced and lived in polygamous families, that it brought both blessings and trials. One blessing came when Utah passed the law for women to vote in 1870. Government officials hoped that these “supposedly oppressed” women would vote for anti-Mormon candidates. They did not, stating that they had more freedom to pursue their education and other vocations.

Brigham Young discouraged divorce among polygamous families. He allowed polygamous wives to divorce their husbands if they were being neglected or abused, but he refused to condone men divorcing one of their wives if they felt she was a burden. He encouraged them to work harder at creating a happier home.

Joseph Fielding Smith, who grew up in a polygamous family, stated the following: “[My father Joseph F. Smith] had five wives and 43 children. No father ever at any age of the world, we feel confident in saying, had a greater love for wife or wives and children, and was more earnestly concerned for their welfare than was [my father]. There was and is no monogamist family, which could be more united. To the astonishment of the unbelieving world, the wives loved each other dearly. In times of sickness they tenderly waited upon and nursed each other. When death invaded one of the homes and a child was taken, all wept and mourned together with sincere grief, which was wonderful to see. Two of the wives were skilled and licensed practitioners in obstetrics, and brought many babies into the world. They waited upon each other and upon the other wives, and when babies came all rejoiced equally with the mother. The children recognized each other as brothers and sisters, full-fledged, not as half…they defended each and stood by each other no matter which branch of the family was theirs.”[5]

Joseph Fielding Smith concluded by saying that the reason the outside world was appalled by the practice of polygamy within the Mormon Church, was that they judged [the members] by their own corrupt standards [and] that they failed to understand the true conditions, which prevailed in Mormon homes.[5]

In the late 1880′s, the United States government passed laws that deprived those who practiced Mormon polygamy of the right to vote and serve on juries and limited the amount of property the Church could own. More and more polygamous men had to go into hiding. President Woodruff went to the Lord in prayer asking for guidance. On September 23, 1890, through inspiration, President Woodruff wrote the Manifesto [6], which declared that plural marriages were not being performed within Utah Territory and advised members to obey the law of the land. Through this revelation, President Woodruff was able to see that if polygamy did not end, the United States government would take over the temples, thus ending the work for the living and the dead. President Woodruff stated that, “The Lord showed me by vision and revelation exactly what would take place if we do not stop this practice…I should have let all the temples go out of our hands; I should have gone to prison myself, and let every other man go there, had not the God of heaven commanded me to do what I did do; and when the hour came that I was commanded to do that, it was all clear to me. I went before the Lord, and wrote what the Lord told me to write.”[6] Although the Manifesto marked the end of polygamous marriages in the United States, some marriages were still solemnized outside the US, many of them without the official knowledge or approval of Church Presidents. It was not until 1904, with Joseph F. Smith’s Manifesto, that polygamy, as a doctrine, officially ceased.  In 1904 the punishment of excommunication was added, and that enabled a complete revocation of the law of plural marriage.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated that:”All who pretend or assume to engage in plural marriage in this day, when the one holding the keys has withdrawn the power by which they are performed are guilty of gross wickedness.”[7]

1″What Are People Asking about Us?”; Ensign, Hinckley; November 1998; p.70