Posted on 04/25/2006 11:31:45 AM PDT by Utah Girl
It was "revealed" to JS in 1831. He didn't practice it until 1843, but some sources say 1833.
All depends if you're talking about time [LDS say "no" here"], once upon a time [obviously yes, from the original leaders on down], or eternity [another "yes"--something LDS common folk don't want non-LDS common folk to understand].
In other words, LDS believe in past-tense polygamy, future-tense spiritual polygamy. They just frown on present-tense polygamy.
Me too! It's fascinating to watch the interplay between the husband and three wives, which strikes me as realistic. The wives never have enough of his time or attention; he's struggling to earn enough to support three households and to satisfy each wife.
When I first saw the title of this thread, I thought it might be driven by the LDS' strong objections to the show. According to my lapsed-LDS neighbor, the church prophets (if that's the right word) have put out a call to all Mormons to write to HBO protesting the show.
Mr. Cat and I are addicted to this show. I believe it about the call to arms to write HBO. I had an email from an LDS friend of mine all about it. I don't have the heart to tell her that we like it!
HBO won't care about protests but they DO care about ratings. Don't ya love the symbolism at the opening when they are all sitting at the table on a "planet"?
btw, I love the "affair" with his first wife! The whole show makes my head spin!
Recently saw a documentary on one of the polygamous groups that live on a compound....I believe the show is modeled after this group. Anyway, they interviewed many of the women and men and it comes VERY close to "Big Love".
"Do they bug ya?"
Only when they're marching down the street in leather chaps with a sparkler sticking out of their butt shouting "I'm normal, respect me"!
Pray tell. Please answer: Contrary to what Jesus said ("At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven"--Matthew 22:30), do not LDS believe that since "families are forever"--in other words, intact forever, that LDS folks are "still practicing" polygamy in eternity right now? Yes or no?
Since eternity knows no time boundaries, how can polygamy be a past doctrine, a future-tense doctrine, and a present-tense spiritual doctrine [since polygamous folks live in eternity co-adjacent to us in another dimension] and still it is somehow almost "anathema" on the present-tense physical/social level?
How many thousands of women have been sealed to LDS men "for eternity?" And, does this sealing still go on even among those inside the LDS church?
I'm glad I'm not the only one! I can't wait to find out how Bill's going to deal with Roman. Can't post any more right now, though--gotta go to work (sigh).
Most excellent question, Colofornian.
LDS know the only reason polygamy isn't practiced now. It wasn't any "revelation" either!
I've heard Utah is 70% LDS. So, Mr. McCoy was not elected without the help of LDS voters. It'd be interesting to find what his level of support was among LDS.
Plural marriage has been outlawed in the church for over 100 years and is an excommunicable offense today. Bring yourself up to date and please let wisdom and knowledge replace your shallow and illfounded attempt at religious humor.
But, if you're an LDS in eternity taking to yourself additional wives who were "sealed" to you for eternity, it's not only something that will not get you excommunicated from your degree of glory, it's actually something prominently practiced in that spiritual dimension by LDS men-turned-gods [like Joseph, Brigham, and all the rest of the now-deceased polygamous general authorities], right?
The founder of your religion, and writer of your canon books was an ardent polygamist. And that's less than 170 years ago...hardly a blink in religious history.
135 years without polygamy isn't a very long time at all.
Small "o" orthodox Christians however have for 2,000 years frowned on polygamy...forbidding it expressly for Church leadership in the Bible (I Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6) and historically forbidding it even for lay persons from the 4th Century onwards....meaning Smith could not have held any leadership post in any Church--nor even membership there for the last 1600 years or so. How can one breaking the New Testament command on polygamy--and firmly teaching others do do so too--be considered a true prophet?
It's actually less than 120 years since the edict came down. Also, remember that polygamous families weren't banned from the church; just the official act itself. So LDS polygamous families were still widely intact well into the 1900s--less than a century ago. I mean there's an awful lot of baby boomers whose grandparents were born within polygamous families...so that's not so long ago.
Many others have written about "less official" LDS polygamous marriage rites that were conducted on a case by case basis, though not publicly condoned, in the 1890s and on into the 20th century.
Thanks for the comments. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have worked hard to pass initiatives across America to preserve marriage to be between a man and a woman. We have worked in conjunction with our friends and neighbors and with other faiths who have the goal: to preserve traditional marriage.
There are places in Utah where it is still practiced. There are Mormon sects that still do it (although not officially.)
...did I EVER say anything was wrong with polygamy? I was making a joke.
Now get over yourself.
OOOO! Wow! I didn't know that. Thank you so much for that information.
Is there any other laws of left wing political correctness I should be observing now?
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