Plural marriage/Polygamy in the 19th Century

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Polygamy in the 19th Century

Polygamy in the 19th Century

Deseret News 7 Nov 1855 - Polygamy never to go away

Summary: It is claimed that some Church leaders taught that plural marriage was a practice that would persist forever. Jerald and Sandra Tanner wrote that "Brigham Young" said that polygamy would never go away in Deseret News of 7 November 1855.

Divorce in the 19th century

Summary: Some members of the Church remarried without obtaining a formal legal divorce. Critics of the Church try to make this seem dishonest and adulterous, when it was in fact the norm for the period, especially on the frontier and among the poor. Critics are not honest about the legal realities faced by nineteenth century Americans.

Did early Church leaders speak of plural marriage difficulties?

Summary: It is claimed that early Church leaders "admitted" that there were many difficulties with plural marriage that caused "problems" and "great sorrow."

Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members

Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God.

Lamanites to become "white and delightsome" through polygamous marriage

Summary: It is claimed that the Church “suppressed” a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1831 which encouraged the implementation of polygamy by intermarriage with the Indians in order to make them a “white and delightsome” people.

Practiced after the Manifesto

Summary: A limited number of plural marriages were solemnized after Wilford Woodruff's Manifesto of 1890 (Official Declaration 1). Some of these marriages were apparently sanctioned by some in positions of Church leadership. It is claimed that this demonstrates that the Manifesto was merely a political tactic, and that the "revelation" of the Manifesto was merely a cynical ploy. They also claim that Post-Manifesto marriages demonstrate the LDS Church's contempt for the civil law of the land.

Prevalence of in Utah

Summary: What was the prevalence of polygamy in Utah? How many wives did most polygamist males have?

Purpose of plural marriage

Summary: Why would the Lord have commanded the 19th century Saints to implement plural marriage? What purpose(s) did polygamy accomplish?

Requirement for exaltation

Summary: Some Church leaders taught that plural marriage was a requirement for those wishing to enter the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. Because the Church does not currently practice plural marriage, some claim this means that either the leaders were wrong, or that current members are not destined for exaltation.

The Law of Adoption

Summary: Critics point to the early practice of sealing men and women as children to prominent LDS leaders as an example of changes in LDS belief.

Brigham Young and polygamy

Remarrying without civil divorce

Summary: Some critics like to emphasize that some LDS members did not receive civil divorces before remarrying—either monogamously or polygamously. They either state or imply that this shows the Saints' cavalier attitude toward the law.

Parley P. Pratt's marriage and murder

Summary: It is claimed that Parley P. Pratt's practice of polygamy was responsible for his murder, partly because he married a woman who hadn't been divorced from her first husband. What can you tell me about this?

Leaders worried missionaries take best plural wives

Summary: It is claimed that nineteenth century Church leaders worried that missionaries would "take all the best" convert women as plural wives before they got to Salt Lake.

Did Lorenzo Snow admit that practicing polygamy prior to 1843 constituted adultery?

Summary: During the Temple Lot Case, critics allege that Lorenzo Snow made the following statement: "Before the giving of that revelation in 1843 if a man married more wives than one who were living at the same time, he would have been cut off from the church. It would have been adultery under the laws of the church and under the laws of the state, too."

John Taylor's statements regarding polygamy.