Joseph Smith and Polygamy

09 November

Joseph Smith Polygamy Quotes

We’ve been receiving a few e-mails lately asking for information on polygamy and what Joseph Smith said and taught about it in the public forum.  Here are a few notable things Mr. Smith had to say.

 

 

 

You can read what other Mormon leaders had to say about polygamy on our site here:

http://lifeafterministry.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/polygamy-quotes

Contributor 5:259; “”They accuse me of polygamy, and of being a false Prophet, and many other things which I do not now remember; but I am no false Prophet; I am no impostor; I have had no dark revelations; I have had no revelations from the devil; I made no revelations; I have got nothing up of myself. The same God that has thus far dictated me and directed me and strengthened me in this work, gave me this revelation and commandment on celestial and plural marriage, and the same God commanded me to obey it. He said to me that unless I accepted it and introduced it, and practiced it, I, together with my people, would be damned and cut off from this time henceforth. And they say if I do so, they will kill me! Oh, what shall I do? If I do not practice it, I shall be damned with my people. If I do teach it, and practice it, and urge it, they say they will kill me, and I know they will. But,” said he, “we have got to observe it. It is an eternal principle and was given by way of commandment and not by way of instruction.”

Discourses of Joseph Smith, pg. 270; Do the Mormons believe in having more wives than one?”  No, not at the same time. But they believe that if their companion dies, they have a right to marry again.

At the time Smith made this announcement it was 1838.  He was already practicing polygamy with three wives.  Also see History of the Church 3:28-29.

Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., 1831 revelation, recorded in a letter from W.W. Phelps to Brigham Young, dated August 12, 1861;  “Verily, I say unto you, that the wisdom of man, in his fallen state, knoweth not the purposes and the privileges of my hold priesthood, but ye shall know when ye receive a fullness by reason of the anointing: For it is my will, that in time, ye should take unto you wives of the Lamanites and Nephites, that their posterity may become white, delightsome and just, for even now their females are more virtuous then the gentiles.

History of the Church 5:500-501; “Revelation on the Eternity of the Marriage Covenant, including the Plurality of Wives. Given through Joseph, the Seer, in Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois, July 11th, 1843, Verily thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I the Lord justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David, and Solomon my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines… Therefore prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same; for, behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned…and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God…Abraham received promises concerning his seed and of the fruit of his loins,—from whose loins ye are—viz., my servant Joseph,—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed out of the world, they should continue…Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law, and ye shall be saved…

History of the Church 6:411; Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell, boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on the top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter, nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet… What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one.  I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers.” – 10:00 a.m., Sunday, May 26, 1844, Nauvoo

 

At the time of this announcement made by Smith, he had at least 43 wives.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 332; I * * * spoke to the people, showing them that to get salvation we must not only do some things, but everything which God has commanded. Men may preach and practice everything except those things which God commands us to do, and will be damned at last. We may tithe mint and rue, and all manner of herbs, and still not obey the commandments of God. The object with me is to obey and teach others to obey God in just what He tells us to do. It mattereth not whether the principle is popular or unpopular, I will always maintain a true principle, even if I stand alone in it. (Feb. 21, 1844.)

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