As an early-morning seminary teacher, I was taught that the context and content of the scriptures will help us discover gospel truths. Fortunately, the Book of Mormon teaches and clarifies many of the truths that were distorted or removed from the Bible and I believe Jacob 2 is no exception.

In that Book of Mormon chapter, in verses 23 to 35, Jacob tells the brethren the Lord is unhappy because of their sins—the sin of pride and the even grosser sin of having more than one wife. He tells them they are trying to excuse their whoredoms, based on the things written concerning David and Solomon who had many wives and concubines, which was abominable to the Lord. In fact, it was so abominable that in verse 25, the Lord says:

“(He) led this people out of Jerusalem so that he could raise up a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.” The Lord warns these people not to “do like unto them of old . . . for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none.”

Jacob continues to explain that the Lord requires this people to keep His commandments or the land will be cursed and, in verse 30, Jacob reports,

“For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.”

As a woman, I have wrestled with the explanation that “raising up seed unto [the Lord]” refers to His occasionally authorizing plural marriage, which, although seldom stated, will ultimately be eternal plural marriage.  Among the many places we see that interpretation is on the Church’s website in Topics: Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah:

“The Book of Mormon identifies one reason for God to command it: to increase the number of children born in the gospel covenant in order to ‘raise up seed unto [the Lord]’ (Jacob 2:30).”

However, considering the context of Jacob 2:23–35 where Jacob describes the pain this practice has brought to families, the Lord’s condemnation of it in no uncertain terms, and that one wife is His commandment, this interpretation means verse 30 clearly contradicts its surrounding verses.

Could this verse mean the opposite of what has been taught?

To be consistent, how could “raise up a righteous branch” in verse 25 be interpreted as a commandment to refrain from this abominable crime of polygamy that was practiced in Jerusalem, whereas, “raise up seed unto the Lord” in verse 30 is interpreted as a commandment to embrace this abominable crime?

Then, in verses 31 and 32, the Lord says through Jacob:

“For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands. And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.”

How can the Lord say that He has “seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning” of His daughters in Jerusalem because of their husband’s wicked actions and He “will not suffer” their cries against them, and then state that He will occasionally command His people to live what causes the sorrow, mourning, and suffering of His daughters?

Using the context and content of these scriptures, it makes more sense that in the first part of verse 30 the Lord is repeating what He said in the preceding verses: if He is going to “raise up seed . . . [He] will command [His] people” (and in other words, expect husbands to follow what He is commanding through his prophet Jacob) to have one wife only. Then, in the latter part of verse 30, the Lord is next introducing what He will say in subsequent verses: if the people are not His seed, or choose not to be of His seed, the men will “hearken unto these things”—they will hearken to David and Solomon’s ideas or the polygamous ways of old that will lead to their cursing and cause heartache for their wives and children.

Thus, raising up seed unto the Lord (verse 30) and raising up a righteous branch (verse 25) both refer to following God’s command to refrain from committing the whoredom of practicing polygamy—an interpretation which allows verse 30 to validate the context and content of the surrounding verses. So rather than increasing the number of children born in the gospel covenant through the abominable crime of multiple wives (which only increases the numbers born to polygamist men, but decreases the overall children born, according to studies), instead God is telling his people to obey His commandments and His righteous seed will be raised.

An outstanding, in-depth interpretation of Jacob 2:30 can be found at OneClimbs.

This is part of an essay that first appeared on SquareTwo