Just a Few of the Endless Questions
Reading Section 132 and the Gospel Topics essays about plural marriage on ChurchofJesusChrist.org (Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo; Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah; The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage) leaves me baffled. Here are a few questions I may not have asked elsewhere on this site:
The preface to the Lectures on Faith, which were the doctrine portion of the 1835 Doctrine & Covenants, indicate how trusted this doctrine was. From these Lectures we learn that we cannot have true faith in God without a correct idea of His character, perfection and attributes. Doesn’t it interfere with a correct idea to teach that God has multiple wives?
In 2 Nephi 9:41, Jacob says, “…the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there…” Our Savior is the gatekeeper and He employs no servant, but isn’t this contradicted in Section 132? By sharing their husbands, don’t women become the gatekeepers allowing other women access to the Lord?
Section 132 became scripture in 1876 when it was placed in the Doctrine and Covenants and the Article on Marriage (Section 101, 1835 edition, condemning polygamy) was removed. The LDS church has fought to prove Joseph introduced and lived plural marriage, implying he was living polygamy with an elite few while leaving the anti-polygamy 101 as part of the cannon. Considering that obvious inconsistency, the rewrite of church history following his death (here’s just one example of revisions to an October 5, 1843 entry), the lack of first-hand statements supporting polygamy from Joseph or Emma, and the lack of children outside of his marriage to Emma, are we certain Joseph introduced and practiced polygamy?
In D&C 88:35 we are warned that “that which breaketh a law…and seeketh to become a law unto itself…cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still.” Does this scripture apply to the plural marriage practice by breaking the 7th commandment regarding adultery, and replacing it with Section 132, a law commanding more than one wife, which seems a lot like adultery?
By marrying multiple women in the early Church, men were less likely to stray outside of their multiple marriages, but did this teach them to control the “natural man” spoken of in Mosiah 3:19, or did it merely allow them to avoid the self-discipline of being faithful?
As we liken the scriptures unto ourselves (1 Nephi 19:23), should a woman reading Section 132 consider that God might command her husband to take other wives? Should she imagine that she would face destruction if she didn’t agree to this?
On ChurchofJesusChrist.org, Topics: Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo it says, “But Emma likely did not know about all of Joseph’s sealings.” Besides having sexual encounters without his wife’s knowledge, we learn Joseph had wives as young as 14 and some already married. Is this a healthy example for impressionable youth?
Joseph said, "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.” Statements from Joseph coupled polygamy with adultery, so did women living polygamously feel they were tolerating adultery?
Whether or not Joseph was acting under God’s command, Emma suffered repeatedly the same torment as having an unfaithful husband. She was the victim. That said, in the revelation Joseph received in D&C 132, the Lord’s tone is kind with Joseph and harsh with Emma. Why?
Does God care less for Emma than Joseph, or generally less for His daughters than His sons? This, of course, cannot be true, but why does it feel true when this principle is described in D&C 132 and in the essays on ChurchofJesusChrist.org?
A common refrain used to justify this evil lifestyle is that remarkable, righteous people descended from plural marriage. First, are Mormons are more remarkable than other people or other religious groups? If so, are the marriage arrangements of ancestors a determining factor? Our Savior, the most remarkable of all, descended from some lifestyles He would likely not endorse such as dressing like a prostitute to seduce a father-in-law (Tamar) or murdering to acquire a new wife (David).