When asked whether they felt an issue was immoral, morally acceptable, or “not a moral issue,” here’s a breakdown of how many Mormons declared that certain activities were “morally wrong.”

Drinking alcohol: 54% Having an abortion: 74% Sex between unmarried adults: 79% Practicing polygamy: 86%

It seems that Mormons hate polygamy even more than abortion. Remember that abortion is discussed in the church handbook as a sin that requires serious repentance — and sometimes disciplinary action on the part of the church. Abortion is permissible only in rare circumstances.

I’ve certainly never heard a Mormon say that abortion is an ideal practice that we’re not living now but will someday be living in heaven. The thought is preposterous. And that’s a strange disconnect, because despite contemporary Mormons’ even greater revulsion at polygamy, we do sometimes (less so in the 21st century, but more commonly a couple of generations ago), hear it extolled as the order of heaven, as explained in Doctrine & Covenants 132.

Wonder what % of Mormans are against drinking coffee?

Zero: if it's cold...

THE
DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

SECTION 89

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, February 27, 1833. HC 1: 327–329. As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently he inquired of the Lord concerning it. This revelation, known as the Word of Wisdom, was the result. The first three verses were originally written as an inspired introduction and description by the Prophet.

1–9, Use of wine, strong drinks, tobacco, and hot drinks proscribed; 10–17, Herbs, fruits, flesh, and grain are ordained for the use of man and of animals; 18–21, Obedience to gospel law, including the Word of Wisdom, brings temporal and spiritual blessings.

1 A ^aWord OF Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—

2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the ^aword of wisdom, showing forth the order and ^bwill of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—

3 Given for a principle with ^apromise, adapted to the capacity of the ^bweak and the weakest of all ^csaints, who are or can be called saints.

4 Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of ^aevils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of ^bconspiring men in the last days, I have ^cwarned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—

5 That inasmuch as any man ^adrinketh ^bwine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father, only in assembling yourselves together to offer up your sacraments before him.

6 And, behold, this should be wine, yea, ^apure wine of the grape of the vine, of your own make.

7 And, again, ^astrong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies.

8 And again, tobacco is not for the ^abody, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill.

9 And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.

10 And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome ^aherbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man—

11 Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with ^aprudence and ^bthanksgiving.

12 Yea, ^aflesh also of ^bbeasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used ^csparingly;

13 And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be ^aused, only in times of winter, or of cold, or ^bfamine.

14 All ^agrain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth;

15 And ^athese hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.

16 All grain is good for the ^afood of man; as also the ^bfruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—

17 Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.

18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, ^ashall receive ^bhealth in their navel and marrow to their bones;

19 And shall ^afind ^bwisdom and great ^ctreasures of ^dknowledge, even hidden treasures;

20 And shall ^arun and not be ^bweary, and shall walk and not faint.

21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the ^adestroying angel shall ^bpass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

Here are some, but we REALLY need a MORMON to speak up on these matters...

...these exceptions do not justify abortion automatically.

It “should be considered only after the persons responsible have consulted with their bishops and received divine confirmation through prayer.”

...Is there any hope for the person who has participated in the act of abortion? Is there any hope for those who have so sinned and who now suffer heartbreak? The answer is yes!

( https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/ct/eng/site/pregnant/what-are-my-options/abortion/the-lds-perspective/ )

Oh? But what about:

...abortion is akin to murder... ( http://latterdaycommentary.com/2012/04/21/does-a-fetus-have-a-right-to-life/ )...

...and we KNOW the MORMON postion on Jesus' abilities to forgive the sin of MURDER!

...all things Mormon. So please do me a favor? Post their beliefs on Abortion?

Just posted an entire thread about it...which covers among the latest statements made by the Mormon Church (2011 Deseret News)

For thread, see: The Mormon Church's official statement on abortion [rape+ incest+mom's 'health'+'defect'+prayer-ok]

Previously to 2011 (covered in thread above), Mormon Church leadership has postulated several times on abortion...with official statements coming in 1973 (reaction to Roe vs. Wade) and then again in 1983 -- and, of course, ensuing additional statements but none of which curtailed the 1983 statement, which added incest as a reason for abortion (compared to '73 statement) + the '83 statement dropped the necessity that a pregnancy caused by rape or incest produce "serious emotional trauma in the mother" before an abortion was a-ok:

1973:

"The Church opposes abortion and counsels its members not to submit to or perform an abortion except in the rare cases where, in the opinion of competent medical counsel, the life or good health of the mother is seriously endangered or where the pregnancy was caused by rape and produces serious emotional trauma in the mother. Even then it should be done only after counseling with the local presiding priesthood authority and after receiving divine confirmation through prayer."
Source: Lds.org: Policies and Procedures: Statement on Abortion: Harold B. Lee, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney (Note that Lee was the "prophet" on duty at that time, with Tanner and Marion G. Romney his two counselors forming what they call "The First Presidency")

1983:

"The Church policy statement on abortion explains under what circumstances and with what safeguards an abortion might be considered:...The only exceptions are the rare cases where, in the opinion of competent medical counsel, the life or health of the woman is in jeopardy or the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. Even then, the woman should consider an abortion only after counseling with her husband and bishop or branch president, and receiving divine confirmation through prayer.”
Source: Lds.org: Ensign magazine 30 years ago this very month (Dec 1984), citing the 1983 official Lds Church General Handbook of Instructions, pp. 77-78)

The above was basically regurgitated in a 1991 statement...https://www.lds.org/ensign/1991/03/news-of-the-church/church-issues-statement-on-abortion?lang=eng

In the thread covering the 2011 statement linked in the beginning portion of this post, I broke down ALL of these so-called abortion exceptions.

And I'll repost them on the next post here on this thread.

So...let's break down these Mormon "a-okisms" to abortion, shall we? When do the Mormon gods' reps on earth deem violent warfare upon the womb to be fine & dandy, albeit a "serious" fine & dandy?

(1) When the perpetrator engages in incest, so he can thereby re-abuse the minor -- this time by forcing her to cover up his violent/exploitative sexual rapes by way of an abortion.

(2) When the perpetrator is a rapist, meaning the girl's (or woman's) will be violently invaded a second time, this time resulting in the death of another.

(3a) When the "health" of the mother kicks in...whatever that means given that...
...* many doctors are either open to abortion referrals -- or -- who willingly themselves dismember the fetus...
...* and, therefore, wind up flunking any basic obstetrics textbook which treats the baby as a "second patient"...
...* leaving us to consider that these so-called rogue "physicians" define "health" as broadly as Roe vs Wade did! (And for those of you who don't readily recall how broad that definition was, just know that those black-robed rogues included "economic health" as justification for abortion-on-demand!)

(3b) Furthermore, "competent physician" language used by the Mormon church in the 1970s and 1980s became obsolete once full-time abortionists and circuit-riding abortionists became the abortion "transaction" norm. For the past 25 years or so, approximately 90% of all abortions have been committed in free-standing abortion clinics -- NOT by "competent physicians" operating in either hospitals or their own private offices.

(4) Besides "ditto" above re the again-used description of "competent" physicians, why would the Mormon Church entertain the idea that physicians are "prophets" who can successfully predict with 100% certainty that a baby's birth defects WILL result in death? I've personally spoken with numerous women who were told to abort by their so-called "competent" medical personnel due to some perceived "defect" of the fetus (Latin for "young one"), only to deliver a perfectly healthy baby!

(5) Note then how the Mormon Church ushers God into the baby dismemberment business! As if God the Creator-God, after He has fearfully and wonderfully made each little one (see Psalm 139), would give suction aspirators the green light thru "prayer" to dismember His creative little ones whom Jesus warns about harming! (See Luke 17:2, for example -- and please note that the exact same Greek word there for "little ones" ...brephos is the SAME word used for the pre-born John the Baptist, who leapt in the womb upon hearing Aunt Mary's voice (Luke 1:44).

Finally, note the "feel" word used by the Mormon Church as supposedly being able to determine the Mormon gods' edicts to put to death a pre-born baby. Some mere "feeling" of a woman or girl in a perceived "crisis" is enough to put the baby to death?

God forbid!

Having an abortion:74% Practicing polygamy: 86%

So why is polygamy more ingrained within Mormons to be something against than even abortion?

'Tis a complex response...and no one thing addresses it all.

But some clues exist:

(1) You can be ex-communicated for being a polygamist this side of the grave; whereas with an abortion, why, you might even have the Mormon gods giving you the prayer green-light for one! So...there's a pretty good internal motivation for establishing your standards.

(2) Externally, Mormons know that their reputation has been more formed by their polygamous 19th century and first half of the 20th century...
...than, say, their doctrine of pre-mortalism whereby supposedly other-worldly spirits await pregnancies to come down & inhabit bodies...
...hence, they are more likely to "straight-arm" polygamy as a defense of "Well, that's not who we are...anymore..." (as if their church doesn't still teach eternal polygamy for both past polygamists and those who marry more than one wife eternally in their temples)

(3) Finally, Mormonism is more of a dictatorial legalistic religion...with their general authorities & personal bishops operating as mini-dictators. So, Mormon statements have been made saying they have NOT addressed -- either pro or con -- any pro-life legislative proposals...

And, frequently, abortion is sub-sumed by many other issues. One man, one wife, HAS, however, been supported by the Mormon Church (California Proposition that passed, for example)...

So, whereas the Mormon Church hasn't been 100% paper tigers on one-man, one-woman marriage, it HAS been with abortion. Obviously, their members DO tend to notice that, ya know.

Of course, other aspects are at play in all of this...so I don't pretend this covers all Mormons...but I think it plays a part with some -- even sub-consciously

I have a better question. Why are FReepers more upset with polygamy on this thread than abortion?

Lots of reasons. They vary.

For many -- even me -- we've become desensitized to the plight of the pre-born. Just as Jesus said, "the poor will always with you," we think "abortion will always be with us."

We fail to think in terms of each pre-born being our neighbor...to us, THEY constitute an impersonal "issue."

Polygamy, with the advent of same-sex unions, is no longer simply a "historical" "issue"...but will become one of the next legalities our country embraces. So whereas too many of us pro-lifers have essentially given up treating abortion as a "hot-button issue," alternatives to one-man, one-woman marriage has become the NEW hot-button issue.

Now I am not agreeing with the position that we are to be more provoked by polygamy than abortion...merely explaining among the many reasons why.

Another reason that could be in play is that the overwhelming majority of FREEPERs are at least worldview-wise pro-life...that doesn't mean they DO things on behalf of the pre-born...but it does mean they don't see themselves as needing to be convinced to BE pro-life.

To them, many abortion discussions are like, "Why do we need to discuss a matter we all in the choir agree upon?"

On the other hand, I've had literally DOZENS and DOZENS of Freepers since 2007 -- mormons and otherwise -- who have mindset-wise considered polygamy as Biblically sanctionable and argue in favor of it.

So just as in our newspapers & TV news, it's the "hot-button" issues where side A is vs. Side B that gets more attention.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.