Plural Marriage

Over the years I have rarely talked about polygamy (or, as the LDS Church calls it, plural marriage) either on this blog or in conversations with LDS members.  There are a couple of reasons why I have often refrained from mentioning it.  The first is that I often talk about what is being currently taught in the LDS Church and plural marriage is rarely mentioned in that context.  More importantly, however, I haven’t talked about it much because I strive to stick to the most important subjects such as our worthiness in Christ and how, because of him, we can be assured that we will live forever with Heavenly Father.

But I have decided to talk about it today because an upcoming lesson in the LDS Church is about family relationships.  Chapter 9 of the Teachings of Lorenzo Snow is entitled “Sacred Family Relationships”.  What I found interesting is that it begins with a description of a reunion of his large family that he initiated in 1884.  But no mention is made of the fact that he had more than one wife.  This omission is especially striking since he would be imprisoned for practicing plural marriage less than two years after that event.  But neither in that description nor in the whole chapter is there even a whiff of the fact that he was a polygamist.  (To be fair, the book does mention that fact very briefly in the introductory history that precedes the chapters.  But it has also been my experience, since no lessons are based on that history, very few church members read it.)

This avoidance of the subject of plural marriage is common. A striking example of such avoidance involved a couple of friends who toured the Beehive House in Salt Lake City last summer.  The Beehive House is a large house where numerous of Brigham Young’s wives lived.  But that was not mentioned by the tour guides. My friends repeatedly tried to politely raise that issue but each time the tour guides changed the subject.  This coincides with how it is described on lds.org. “The Beehive House was built between 1853 and 1855 and served as home to Brigham Young when he was President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and governor of the Utah Territory

This avoidance of the subject of plural marriage helps explain why some LDS members aren’t even aware that it is part of their history or doctrine.  (The doctrine of plural marriage is enshrined in LDS Scripture in D&C 132.)  Many non-Mormons are astonished by such ignorance and often conclude that their LDS friend is just not being honest.  I’m sure that is sometimes the case, but I also know LDS members who truly did not know about this facet of their religion.  Don’t automatically assume your LDS friends are being disingenuous if they express ignorance about polygamy.

I would also like to hear, from my LDS readers, your thoughts on plural marriage.  Do you believe that men will be able to have more than one wife in eternity?  Is that part of what you think of when you think of having an eternal family?  What about those men who were sealed to multiple women? Let me know your thoughts.

Advertisement

What will be your defense on Judgment Day?

The sub-title for Chapter 8 of the Teachings of President Lorenzo Snow is “Righteous Latter-day Saints strive to ‘establish a character before God that could be relied upon in the hour of trial.”  This sums up well the chapter’s thrust of encouraging people to develop a good character to win God’s approval.  For example, a title of one of the sections is “If we have established a proper character, we can confidently invite God to search our hearts.”  That section then continues with this quote from President Snow.

“I am under the strongest impression, that the most valuable consideration, and that which will be of the most service when we return to the spirit world, will be that of having established a proper and well defined character as faithful and consistent Latter-day Saints in this state of probation.” (p. 119)

This emphasis on the importance of a person’s character is summed up in the last paragraph of the chapter.  “Our character, as Latter-day Saints, should be preserved inviolate, at whatever cost or sacrifice.  Character, approved of God is worth securing, even at the expense of a life-time of constant self-denial.  While thus living we may look forward. . .with full assurance that. . .we shall be crowned with the sons and daughters of God, and possess the wealth and glory of a Celestial kingdom.” (The quote contains the omissions indicated with the . . .)

Much of this chapter is based on David’s prayer in Psalm 139: 23-24:  “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” I find this reference to David’s prayer interesting for a couple of reasons.  First, David is not held up as a model of virtue in the LDS Church.  The LDS Old Testament manual says of David:  “David is still paying for his sins.” (p. 291) And again, by having Uriah killed, “David thus moved from a serious but forgivable sin to an unpardonable one.”  It further states that David will spend eternity in the lowest kingdom of heaven taught in Mormonism, the telestial kingdom.  Therefore it is striking that President Snow holds David up as a model to follow.

But this use of David is also striking because the Bible points to him as a model – not of a man who trusted in his own righteousness – but one who trusted in God’s forgiveness!  “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Romans 4:6-8)

It’s in that light that we need to read his prayer in Psalm 139.  As one man commented on these verses: “David closes not with pride, but with humility.  He recognizes that without forgiveness he too would fall under the wrath of a holy God.  David circles back to the beginning of the psalm and asks that the Lord would use his knowledge of David to cleanse him from every evil way which would lead him away from God.”  David never thought he would be blessed because of his own righteousness.  He knew that he would be blessed only through the forgiveness won for him by the greatest Son of David, Jesus Christ.

So when you stand before God what will you point to in your defense?  Will you point to your righteous character or Christ’s righteousness?  When it comes to being worthy and acceptable to God, the only righteousness that stands is Christ’s righteousness.  “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.“ (Romans 3:20-24)

What will be your defense?  I pray that the only evidence you will present will be Jesus’ righteousness.  Everything else, especially pointing to your character, will ruin your defense and result not in praise but condemnation.  David placed all his hope in the coming Savior.  Because of that, in spite of all his sins, he now is living and will live for all eternity in Heavenly Father’s glorious presence.  Place all your hopes in Jesus and you too will spend eternity with God.

We were created to extinguish suns?

More than once I have talked about Mormonism’s teaching that people can become Gods.  I have done that because quite a few LDS members have told me that is not what it teaches.  Instead many say they won’t become a god, but they will become like God.  Others have said that only Heavenly Father is a capital G God.

Therefore whenever I run across a statement in LDS literature that states that they can become Gods I sit up and take notice.  That happened again last week as I was reading the LDS Church’s currently used manual on the Pearl of Great Price.  On page 38 it contains the following quote from Brigham Young.

“It is brought together, organized, and capacitated to receive knowledge and intelligence, to be enthroned in glory, to be made angels, Gods – beings who will hold control over the elements, and have power by their word to command the creation and redemption of worlds, or to extinguish suns by their breath, and disorganize worlds, hurling them back into their chaotic state. This is what you and I are created for.”

I don’t know about you, but I find that extremely striking. It is obvious from quotes like this that Mormonism teaches that people can become Gods.

I also find this extremely dishonoring to God.  Look at how Brigham Young puts people on the same level as the one true God.  Just like him, they can by the power of their word, create, redeem, and destroy worlds.

The God of the Bible, the one true God, is not just God of planet earth.  He is the God of the universe.  He and he alone created everything in the universe.  He and he alone has the power to extinguish suns and destroy the universe. Most importantly of all, he alone redeems people.  And he did that, not by giving people the plan and power to attain his favor, but by sending Jesus to do it all for us.  His plan of salvation is glorious – because it is worked completely by him.

The God of the Bible is so much more glorious than the god(s) of Mormonism.  May many Mormons come to see that and glorify him for that.

EASTER AND GOD’S COURTROOM

A Bible verse that contains a great deal of comfort but one that is not that well-known is Romans 4:25.  Talking about Jesus it says, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised to life again for our justification.”  It consists of two parallel parts which could be formatted like this:

“Who was delivered for our offences,

and was raised to life again for our justification.”

Most people quickly understand the first half.  Jesus was delivered to death, not because of anything he had done, but because of what we had done.  He was delivered for our offences, our sins.  As John wrote, “He is the propitiation for sins; not only for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”  (1 John 2:2)

But it has been my experience that people don’t as quickly see the point of the second half of this verse.  Just as Jesus was delivered because of our sins, so also he was raised for, or because, of our justification.  Just as our sins were the cause of his death, so our justification was the cause of his resurrection.  That statement gives us tremendous comfort – that statement sheds a wonderful new light on Easter.

This is so comforting because justification is nothing other than a verdict of acquittal.  Paul borrowed this term from the courtroom.  It was the term used whenever a judge formally pronounced a “not guilty” verdict.  By pronouncing that verdict, the judge was justifying the defendant.  He was not making him just, he was declaring him just.  Justification refers to God declaring us “not guilty”.

The exciting thing this verse brings out is how God’s verdict of us is tied to Easter. Note the cause and effect.  It’s not that because Jesus rose from the dead, we are justified.  No, it is the other way around.  Because God justified us acquitted us, Jesus could rise from the dead.  Therefore Easter is God’s wonderful proof that we have already been justified, acquitted, in Christ.  Our justification is a past event, not a future one.

This shows just how completely Jesus took responsibility for our sins.  He became so identified with our sins that Paul could write, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.”  (2 Corinthians 5:21)  But this also shows how completely his payment for our sins becomes our payment for our sins.  God looked on it so thoroughly as our payment that, on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice, God justified us, acquitted us way back then – a point he dramatically makes by raising Jesus from the dead.

Thus Easter reassures us that nothing is left for us to do in order to be justified by God.  Jesus has done it all!  May you always treasure the fact that he “was raised to life again for our justification.”