Mormon Dilemma 224

15 April

Polygamy in 1831 to be kept secret 

In Essentials of Church History, pgs. 281-282, you can read how Joseph Smith was commanded by the Lord to keep the “commandment of plural marriage” secret for twelve years.

“This revelation, dated July 12, 1843, also contains the doctrine of plural wives. This doctrine was made known to the Prophet as early as the summer of 1831, and by him was taught to a few others…Secrecy was imposed by the Lord until such time as he saw fit for its introduction. When the Prophet was commanded to practice this principle, he hesitated and deferred taking action for some time…moreover, his own prejudices were in opposition to the doctrine. However, the Lord had commanded and he must act.”

Galatians 5:19-21; “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Let’s see…Smith was involved in adultery,

fornication with having sex outside of marriage,

lasciviousness (inclined to lustfulness),

idolatry in worshiping false gods,

witchcraft in treasure seeking,

variance in changing his prophecies,

emulations (a desire to excel others),

wrath – the Christians are the whores of Babylon,

strife in stirring up trouble in the body of Christ,

seditions in his rebelling against God,

heresies in speaking false prophecies,

revelings which is rioting… 

Aside from 1 or 2 things listed in Galatians I think that about covers it.  How sad this describes their prophet.

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5 Responses to “Mormon Dilemma 224”

  1. shematwater April 15, 2012 at 5:06 am #

    Let’s see…Smith was not involved in adultery, fornication with having sex outside of marriage: He never had relations with a woman he was not married to.

    Not lasciviousness (inclined to lustfulness): He never once displayed any lustful behavior.

    Not idolatry in worshiping false gods: He worshiped only God the Father, in the Name of the Son, and served no other gods.

    Not witchcraft in treasure seeking: He never used magic in anything he did.

    Not variance in changing his prophecies: He never once changed any prophecy he ever spoke.

    Not emulations (a desire to excel others): He never envied anyone their abilities, and never had a desire to be better than anyone but himself.

    Not wrath – the Christians are the whores of Babylon: He loved all men deeply, and served all men in any way he could.

    Not strife in stirring up trouble in the body of Christ: He never had a desire to cause trouble for anyone; it was others who caused strife for him.

    Not seditions in his rebelling against God: He rarely disobeyed God, and always strove to keep his life in line with what God commanded.

    Not heresies in speaking false prophecies: He never once spoke false doctrine or false prophecies.

    Not revelings which is rioting…: Revellings is boistrous entertainment, which he never indulged in.

    So, nothing in Galatians describes Joseph Smith. Aren’t prophets wonderful.

  2. fred April 15, 2012 at 2:17 pm #

    What you leave out with your three little dots is telling.

    “but it was not practiced until the Lord commanded it.”

    “To do so was one of the greatest trials of his life. He knew the doctrine was in conflict with the traditions and teachings of the world and would arouse increased persecution;”

    For those who would like to read the whole section, here it is:

    “Plural Marriage.—This revelation, dated July 12, 1843, also contains the doctrine of plural wives. This doctrine was made known to the Prophet as early as the summer of 1831, and by him was taught to a few others, but it was not practiced until the Lord commanded it. Secrecy was imposed by the Lord until such time as he saw fit for its introduction. When the Prophet was commanded to practice this principle, he hesitated and deferred taking action for some time. To do so was one of the greatest trials of his life. He knew the doctrine was in conflict with the traditions and teachings of the world and would arouse increased persecution; moreover, his own prejudices were in opposition to the doctrine. However, the Lord had commanded and he must act.

    In Nauvoo the doctrine was revealed to many of the leading brethren, and wives were sealed to some of them by President Joseph Smith, and to others, under his direction. However, it was not until 1852, after the Saints had come to Utah that the revelation was published to the world.”

    Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1950], 281 – 282.

    • shematwater April 16, 2012 at 1:46 am #

      Fred

      It is nice to get the entire quote. I do not always have the references on hand myself.

    • fred April 16, 2012 at 5:49 pm #

      If you don’t mind pictures of each page, you can find the book on line.

    • shematwater April 17, 2012 at 3:38 am #

      Fred

      I actually have recently found the entire seven volumes of the History of the Church (1902 edition) online, and also found a copy of the Essentials of Church History tucked away on a bottom shelf in my house, forgotten about (to my regret).

      I am always looking for various books online though, so if we ever come across other posts that I don’t have available, I will ask you if you know where I can find it.

      Thanks

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