I'm a Baptist, and am more than satisfied with one wife (actually the second as my first has preceeded me to heaven).
That said, I recall an awful lot of people in the Old Testament having multiple wives. I believe that it was encouraged by God - "Be fruitful and multiply". I also recall the passage directing a man whose brother dies to take his wife onto himself. All the children of this union would be considered his brother's.
If the rules were changed, I'd like to know chapter and verse - and not some convoluted reasoning that doesn't reference the Bible.
Mormons have every right to practice their 'religion', but the main problem that any Christian has of mormons is that mormons claim to be Christian, when they are the furthest thing from the truth of Christianity. Mormons are not Christians. It all begins with basic Christine Doctrine; you know, the Doctrine that mormons don't follow.
Well, thank you for your comment.
#1 It's a myth to think that polygamy automatically results in additional children. Brigham Young, for example, lived a long life -- had 27 wives & 57 children -- but had no children with 17 of those wives -- and only 2 or 3 of them because of age reasons. That means that 14 of those wives lost out on 3 or more kids -- and several wives didn't likewise reach the demographic average of the 19th century. Therefore, 50 less kids were probably born because of Brigham's hoarding of women.
#2 The "be fruitful and multiply" comes from Gen. 1:28 -- and we also need to look at Gen. 2:24 to review God's intention from the very beginning re: the institution of marriage: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Now I didn't see plural people mentioned either in Gen. 2 (or Matthew 19 where Jesus talks about this same subject). Do you? And if marriage is becoming "one flesh" -- are you telling us that 2 wives and one man all become "one single flesh" in God's eyes? (Two "sister wives" become part of the same flesh?) Really?
If the rules were changed, I'd like to know chapter and verse - and not some convoluted reasoning that doesn't reference the Bible.
Good request. Even before Solomon took many wives, these verses existed:
He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. (Deut 17:17)
Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living. (Lev. 18:18) [BTW, going against this injunction frequently happend with 19th century & early 20th century Mormons -- men often married the sisters of their wives]
So, despite the injunction of Dt. 17:17 & Lev. 18:18, we see what happened with Solomon:
He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. (1 Kings 11:3)
We see EXACTLY what God warned about in Dt. 17:17 happened to Solomon!
Besides, if we're going to start using OT figures as "marriage models" I doubt you'd be OK with 700 wives & 300 concubines
And I think, you'd also NOT be OK with how Jacob came to pick up a second wife, right? Otherwise, when your daughter gets married, just slip in a substitute sister first -- so that the groom doesn't know it til he's into his honeymoon. Then if he stills want your other daughter, make him work for you for years on end if he wants the other one. IOW, deception was the basis for Jacob's polygamy -- and that's not grounds for a Christian marriage, is it?
As for Abram, it wasn't his idea and it wasn't God's idea to "encourage" Abram sleeping with a servant girl that everybody (except his wife) still referenced as nothing other than a servant girl after he slept with her -- including an angel. In fact, what became of this arrangement? (The person who became the clan leader of the entire people group which embraced Islam)
I recall an awful lot of people in the Old Testament having multiple wives. I believe that it was encouraged by God - “Be fruitful and multiply”.
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Got scripture for that amazing comment ???
Well, never you mind little Grasshopper...Nana has...
Who was God speaking to ???
Well let’s read the Bible, shall we ???
Yes, we shall...
Gen 1:26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:26-28
OK so God made male and female...and told them to “be fruitful and multiply”..
But how many of each was he talking to ???
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen 2:8 ¶ And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:7, 8
OK that was ONE man...
Gen 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Gennesis 2:20-23
And that was ONE woman..
ONE man and ONE woman that God told to be fruitful and multiply...
ONE man and ONE woman... the set number in a marriage...
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his WIFE: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24
And He never told anyone to take more than one wife and then “Be fruitful and multiply”....
However He did say “Thou shalt not commit adaultry” Exodus 20:14
OK that was Bible 101...
Now for Biology 101....
To be fruitful and multiply takes one man and one woman...Every time...
If a man has 2 or more wives he will not multiply any faster than if those women all had their own husbands...
One man, ten “wives” = 10 babies (OK 11, one set of twins)
Ten men ten wives (one each) = ten babies (11, one set of twins..
Only a mormon would attempt to say more children will be produced by one old senile man hogging all the young girls while nine young fertile men go without...