Polygamy is an interesting topic when it comes to the Church of Latter-day Saints. There’s a clear tension in the air when the topic comes up with Mormons, but do they have a valid reason for adding and then dumping polygamy?
The Beginning of “Celestial Marriage”
To understand the position, it’s important to start at the beginning. Joseph Smith founded the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) while married to one woman, Emma. As I pointed out in this article on Mormonism, the Church of Latter Day Saints is actually based upon two important documents: the Book of Mormon and the Doctrines and Covenants (D&C). The Book of Mormon was finished at the time the Mormon church was founded, however the D&C continued to grow as Joseph Smith and his successors like Brigham Young had additional visions. So initially, the LDS did not promote polygamy.
However on July 12, 1843 this all changed when Joseph Smith penned section 132 of the Doctrines & Covenants. Up until this point, Joseph had been caught several times in adulterous relationships, often with those employed as maids in his home. One of the odd things about this is that Joseph had been taking these women in “celestial marriage” – basically making them additional wives. However, he publicly continued to deny any charges that he was taking additional wives. This always struck me as odd, since if he really believed this was a revelation from God, why would he be scared to announce it?
The official D&C 132 is extremely clear on the matter of polygamy (keep in mind that this is essentially scripture for Mormons):
61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.
62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.
63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be be glorified.
Here is the full text of D&C 132. This is the passage that made polygamy a part of Mormonism. Interestingly, it seems to suggest that the wife must “approve” of polygamy, however Joseph Smith took over 40 wives in his lifetime and his wife never approved of the practice (and fought it). In fact, the argument has been made that the reason Joseph Smith wrote this as D&C 132 was to keep his wife quiet – near the end it expressly forbids Emma from taking additional husbands to retaliate against her husband’s infidelity.
Reinforcing the Teachings of Polygamy
Ultimately, this is the commandment that led to Joseph Smith’s death. Needless to say the non-Mormons around him were stunned by the revelation of polygamy. They arrested Joseph Smith and a mob executed him that very night. But how important was “spiritual wifery” to Smith? Believe it or not, it was very important:
Pologamy was, in fact, one of the most sacred credos of Joseph’s church – a tenet important enough to be canonized for the ages as Section 132 of The Doctrine and Covenants, one of Mormonism’s primary scriptural texts. The revered prophet described plural marriage as part of “the most holy and important doctrine ever revealed to man on earth” and taught that a man needed at least three wives to attain the “fullness of exaltation” in the afterlife. He warned that God had explicitly commanded that “all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same . . . and if ye abide not that covenant, then ye are damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.” - - Jon Kraukhauer Under the Banner of Heaven
Just to restate, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Latter-day Saints and the one that gave them virtually all of their doctrines, felt that polygamy was required in order to “enter into [God’s] glory.”
Those who followed in Joseph’s footsteps as the leaders of the Mormon church felt the same. Brigham Young was the next leader and he also had multiple wives. Brigham Young was the first to openly share the doctrine of polygamy with the Mormon followers and threatened damnation on those who “deny the plurality of wives.”
At this point the federal government began putting substantial pressure on Utah and the Church of Latter-day Saints to stop the practice of polygamy. President Hayes in the late 1800’s saw it as a way to unite the nation against a common evil that wasn’t as divisive as slavery. After Brigham Young died, John Taylor was named the new “president, prophet, seer, and revelator” and he refused to back down. Because of the pressure, he issued this charge from the pulpit:
God is greater than the United States, and when the Government conflicts with heaven we will be ranged under the banner of heaven and against the Government. The United States says we cannot marry more than one wife. God says different . . . Polygamy is a divine institution. It has been handed down direct from God. The United States cannot abolish it. No nation on earth can prevent it . . .
