Polygamy
How can both be true? The Book of Mormon, Jacob 2:24, it reads: “Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.” However, the D&C 132:38 “David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon … my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.” Did an unchangeable God change his mind?
The Church should have always condemned, and never practiced, polygamy. Had it not treated so lightly the Book of Mormon (Doctrine and Covenants 84:54-7), they would have seen that the Book makes NO exceptions for the practice the Lord calls whoredom and abomination and gross wickedness.
Some have pointed out that this polygamy, which the LORD calls whoredom, might be allowed, citing this verse:
Jacob 2:30 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.
This is a total wresting of that scripture.
Background
Some whore-mongering Nephites were desirous to have multiple wives. They sought to excuse themselves citing the practice of Solomon and David:
Jacob 2:23 But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son.
Not only were they using Solomon and David to excuse themselves, but they excused the practice, claiming that all they wanted to do was to “raise up seed onto the Lord”. If you were to put quote marks in Jacob 2:30, it would read: 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.
The LORD wanted to raise up a righteous branch unto himself. Therefore He did command how to do it already. In fact, in order to raise a righteous branch, He took Lehi's family AWAY from a polygamous culture so that a righteous branch can be developed. No one reads this:
Jacob 2:25. Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I HAVE LED THIS PEOPLE FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF JERUSALEM, by the power of mine arm, THAT I MIGHT RAISE UP UNTO ME A RIGHTEOUS BRANCH from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
26. Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
27. Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
28. For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
That whoreish society was soon destroyed after Lehi left.
Nephi and Brothers
Nephi and brothers were to leave Jerusalem for the very purpose to raise up seed unto the Lord.
1 Nephi 7:1 ....the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.
Think about it for a moment. If the Lord wanted to raise seed unto himself starting with the sons of Lehi, would he not have them find a boatload of fertile women to take along? If He thought polygamy was a great way to raise seed, this would be the time to "command" it. Instead, they found a family with five daughters (not 50). there was one daughter for each of the sons of Lehi and one for Zorom who was encouraged to come along to the promised land.
1 Nephi 16:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.
8. And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him....
They were promised if they would live righteously they would "prosper", that is, multiply:
1 Nephi 2:20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.
One wife with one man was the pattern that Lehi established. furthermore, he commanded monogamy outright.
Jacob 2:34 And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before….
The Lamanites rejected Polygamy. They remembered the commandment given by their fathers that they should have no more than one wife. This made them more righteous than the whore-mongering Nephites.
Jacob 3:5. Behold, the Lamanites your brethren....are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father--that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them.
6. And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people.
7. Behold, their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children....
How well did they multiply despite being monogamous?
Jarom 1:6 And they were scattered upon much of the face of the land, and the Lamanites also. And they were exceedingly more numerous than were they of the Nephites....
How about the monogamous Nephites?
Mosiah 2:2 And there were a great number, even so many that they did not number them; for they had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in the land.
We see that the Lord would not command polygamy because he needed to raise a population. He obviously can raise a righteous seed without resorting to abominable whoredoms.
The Mind of the Lord
Let’s try to get into the mind of God to discover sme of His thoughts and feelings regarding multiple wives.
Jacob 2:28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms [in context polygamy and concubines] are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
Jacob 2:31. 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.
32. 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.
33. For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto them of old [referencing David and Solomon], saith the Lord of Hosts.
34. And now behold, my brethren, ye know that these commandments were given to our father, Lehi; wherefore, ye have known them before; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which ye ought not to have done.
35. Behold, ye have done greater iniquities than the Lamanites, our brethren. Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.
With those strong feelings, would God really command this practice? Serious. Can you see the Lord saying “I want to raise up a righteous seed unto me. So go ahead and commit whoredoms and abominations and break the hearts your tender wives so that their sobs will ascend. It is worth all the tears that I may have a righteous branch”.
And how well did polygamy do in creating a righteous branch? These polygamists would bring their kids unto destruction by their bad examples and they would commit a heap of sins.
Jacob 3:10. Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how that ye have grieved their hearts because of the example that ye have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the last day.
Where would the practice of polygamy lead?
Jacob 3:11. O my brethren, hearken unto my words; arouse the faculties of your souls; shake yourselves that ye may awake from the slumber of death; and loose yourselves from the pains of hell that ye may not become angels to the devil, to be cast into that lake of fire and brimstone which is the second death.
Lets put polygamy in the same category as…
Jacob 3:12. And now I, Jacob, spake many more things unto the people of Nephi, warning them against fornication and lasciviousness, and every kind of sin, telling them the awful consequences of them.
Still Excusing Themselves!
Oddly, despite the above plain and precious teachings, when polygamy was introduced among the LDSaints, David and Solomon were cited!
Doctrine and Covenants 132:1 VERILY, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines--
Doctrine and Covenants 132:38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.
By the way, they still believe in polygamy. They just don’t practice it at the moment. President Nelson could announce today that now is the time to restore the practice and off we would go!
Adam and Eve the type of Jesus and the Church
Everyone knows that Adam had one wife, Eve. Read this carefully:
Genesis 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;
22. And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
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.
24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
God took but one rib. The two would constitute one flesh.
Paul saw the type and shadow in these verses of Christ and the Church. Read the following with care and especially the last verse: [trigger warning to the sisters]
Ephesians 5:22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
One Lord, One Church
Now, let's assume for a moment that the LDSaints are correct that there is only one true church and they are it. If a man would have more than one wife, there would be more than one church, keeping in mind Ephesians 5. But we see that this just isn't true and would be rejected by the LDSaints.
Old Testament Polygamy
Eventually, LDSaints will point out that many Old Testament good guys had many wives. This proves nothing. Think of the Lord's teaching on divorce.
Mark 10.2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
3. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
4. And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
5. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
6. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
7. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
8. And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
9. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Matthew 19 adds some insight.
8. He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
It is easy to see that "they twain shall be one flesh", that is two, man and wife. That is as it was from the beginning.
Conclusion
I spent this little bit of time explaining this because I am jealous of and zealous for the Book of Mormon. When I see folks playing with the words, the plain and precious parts, my heart rises up and I cannot let it rest.