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The Mormon Cult is, once again, lying through its telestial teeth over its bedrock, doctrinal "divinely-revealed" belief in polygamy. In its CUlt-reviewed and -approved LDS.org essay entitled, “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” the conveniently anonymous author(s) disingenuously claim that “Latter-day Saints believe that monogamy--the marriage of one man and one woman--is the Lord’s standing law of marriage.”
(“Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” at: https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng; see also, "New Essay on Post-Manifesto Polygamy," by "pickle," on "Recovery from Mormonism" discussion board, 22 October 2014, at: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1411301,1411301#msg-1411301; and "New Essay on Joseph Smith's Plural Marriages Now on lds.org," by "Stumbling," on "RfM discussion board, 22 October 2014, at:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1411251,1411251#msg-1411251)
Bull pucky. It's fact-check time (and we're talking the here and now, not just pre-Manifesto days). What follows is the actual historical reality on the Mormon Cult's belief in, and practice of, polygamous sealings (combined, for the benefit of TBM lurkers here, with a bit of temple ritual-like repetition to make that point in behalf of clarity and emphasis).
The truth is simple: Contrary to what the Mormon Cult would have people believe, Mormon men are today being secretly and polygamously married/"sealed" in LDS temples to their unholy harems. Despite its efforts to mislead the general public and press, the so-called “mainstream” Mormon "Church" continues to permit faithful LDS men to be multi-married in heaven-sanctioned, clandestine temple-sanctified rituals to other women, in the event of the death of the man’s previous wife or in the case of divorce.
Let's break it down:
*Official Mormon Cult Doctrine Position of Present-day, Temple-Blessed Marriage/Sealings
Mormon Apostle Charles W. Penrose explained this practice over a century ago--one which is still being officially followed by the Mormon Cult today:
“In the case of a man marrying a wife [in the Mormon temple] in the everlasting covenant who dies while he continues in the flesh and marries another by the same divine law, each wife will come forth in her order and enter with him into his glory.”
(Charles W. Penrose, "’Mormon’ Doctrine Plain and Simple, or Leaves from the Tree of Life,” p. 66).
_____
*Examples of High-and-Mighty Mormon Men Being Polygamously Sealed to Additional Wives as Their First Ones Die Off
Sandra Tanner lists examples of modern-day polygamous marriages that have been present-day sanctioned and performed in Mormonism’s temples:
“This doctrine [of polygamous marriage] was reaffirmed in October of 2007 at the funeral for the second wife of President Howard W. Hunter, the 14th President of the LDS Church. The ]'Deseret News' reported:
“’President Hinckley affirmed the eternal nature of the marriage between Sister [Inis] Hunter and the former Church president [Howard W. Hunter], whose first wife, Claire Jeffs, died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease and is now buried beside him in the Salt Lake Cemetery. Inis Hunter "will now be laid to rest on the other side," he said. "They were sealed under the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood for time and for all eternity," he said, recalling the marriage ceremony he performed for them in the Salt Lake Temple in April 1990.’ ('Sister Hunter's Humor and Cheerfulness remembered as She is Laid to Rest,' in "Deseret News," Oct. 22, 2007).
“Another example of plural sealings is Apostle Russell M. Nelson's marriage in 2006 to a BYU professor. The 'BYU NewsNet' for April 7, 2006, announced the temple marriage of Apostle Nelson, age 81, to Wendy Watson. . . . His first wife died in February of 2005 and this was the first marriage for his new wife. This would mean, according to LDS beliefs, that Nelson has two wives sealed to him for eternity.
“Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th president of the LDS Church, remarried twice after the death of his first wife, and in his book, ‘Doctrines of Salvation,’ Vol. 2, p. 67, he remarked, ‘ . . . [M]y wives will be mine in eternity.’
“Harold B. Lee, the 11th president of the Church, also remarried after his wife’s death and was sealed to another woman and was looking forward to a polygamous relationship in heaven. He, in fact, wrote a poem in which he reflected that his second wife, Joan, would join his first wife, Fern, as his eternal wives: ’My lovely Joan was sent to me: So Joan joins Fern That three might be, more fitted for eternity. "O Heavenly Father, my thanks to thee.’ ('Deseret News 1974 Church Almanac,' p. 17)"
And this confirming addition on Mormon polygamous additions from Mormon space cadet, Jake Garn, who--while waiting for his ultimate ride to Kolob--tagged along on a NASA Shuttle mission:
"Even former Utah Senator Jake Garn was counseled by former Mormon president Spencer Kimball to embrace the idea of polygamy." ('Uniting Blended Families,' by Mormon General Authority Robert E. Wells, "Ensign," August 1997, p. 24).
As Wells explains the puzzle:
“'Former Utah senator Jake Garn was reluctant to remarry following the death of his first wife, Hazel, in 1976, but he soon realized that he could not be both a father and a mother to his children. When he began dating Kathleen Brewerton, who would become his second wife, questions soon arose about how his first wife would feel should he become sealed to a second wife. The couple took their questions to President Spencer W. Kimball.
"'He said he did not know exactly how these relationships will be worked out, but he did know that through faithfulness all will be well and we will have much joy. Brother Garn later recalled. Kathleen told him that she was afraid of offending Hazel. President Kimball's demeanor seemed to change. From being somewhat hesitant in his earlier answers, he now became sure and spoke with firmness. He looked right at Kathleen and with a tear forming in his eye, he said, 'I do know this: you have nothing to worry about. Not only will she accept you, she will put her arms around you and thank you for raising her children' (Jake Garn, 'Why I Believe[ [1992], p. 13).'"
("Mormons Are Still Polygamists," posted by "shaman channel," 19 July 2007)
_____
*Mormon Cult Attempts by Its Ranking Leaders to Deny What's Really Going on in Their Own Temples
Here's a sample of slick sophistry spun by cagily-chattering Mormon apostle ,Quentin L. Cook, as quoted by the in-cahoots LDS Cult-owned news station KSL:
"Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often called Mormons, do not practice polygamy, and they have not practiced polygamy for over a century."
(That can't be true, since the practice of Mormon polygamy begins on earth in its temples, where a living Mormon man is "sealed" (the Mormon word for marriage) to additional wives, who joined the man's dead wives in a growing brood of brides).
When it comes to the media alert that the Mormon Cult is no longer believing in, or practicing polygamous rites, Quinn's fellow apostle, Dallin H. Oaks, apparently didn't get the memo. By his own admission and practice, eternally marriage-magnified, multi-wifed Oaks expressly contradicts his cagey Cook, claiming exactly the opposite. Here is Oaks' personal acknowledgment of what faithful Mormons currently are up to behind the secrecy-cloaked walls of their present-day temples:
"When I was 66, my wife June died of cancer. Two years later--a year and a half ago--I married [in the LDS temple] Kristen McMain, the eternal companion who now stands at my side."
(Dallin Oaks, "Timing," speech delivered at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 29 January 2002)
_____
*Back to the Doctrinal Basics of Ongoing Mormon Cult Polygamy Worship
Here, then, is the fundamental point of Mormon belief and practice--a real stickler that the Mormon Cult wants you to please forgive and forget:
"Mormons believe that God is a polygamist, that polygamy is and will continue to be practiced in heaven and the Millennium, and is being practiced right now in temples, as Mormon men are sealed to more than one woman. This is why Mr. [Gordon B.] Hinckley’s comment of 'condemning it' and expressly stating 'I think it is not doctrinal' were so surprisingly shocking.
"Would Mr. Hinckley knowingly condemn God and his lifestyle and the order of heaven??? Declare something to not be doctrinal that his very own apostles have participated in—the sealing to more than one woman???"
("Mormons Are Still Polygamists," posted by "shaman channel," 19 July 2007)
_____
*The Mormon CUlt Tries to the Explain Latter-day Lineages That Mushroom from Present-Day Polygamous Temple "Sealings"
To understand the ongoing commitment of the LDS Cult to multiple marriages requires wending oneself through the messy maze of multiple Mormon matrimony as it is confirmed on earth and as Mormon teach it will be practiced in the hereafter.
According to the official LDS Church "Handbook of Instructions" (p. 72), the following living, loyal Latter-day Saints can be polygamously and eternally sealed--i.e., married--in Mormon temples:
“Living Women — A living woman may be sealed to only one husband. . . .
“Living Men--If a husband and wife have been sealed and the wife dies, the man may have another woman sealed to him if she is not already sealed.”
Despite the mind-bending doctrinal headache of trying to figure out who’s on first, second or third base in Mormonism’s polygamous marriage ballgame, the LDS Cult continues to advocate, then carry out, temple sealings to multiple spouses. Again, from "Oh-well" GA Wells:
“Family members need not worry about the sealing situation of blended families as it might be in the next life. Our concern is to live the gospel now and to love others, especially those in our family. If we live the gospel to the best of our ability, the Lord in His love and mercy will bless us in the next life and all things will be right."
(Wells, "Uniting Blended Families," "Ensign," August 1997, p. 24)
Sandra Tanner also points out the problems presented by polygamous temple sealings (again, for all you faithful-flock folks, a practice secretly engaged in by the present-day Mormon Cult). Try following along to the ultimate, head-scratchin' dead end:
“Temple sealings are all-important to the LDS people and designate who will be joined to whom in the hereafter.
“These blended families raise a number of problems for the LDS concept of the eternal union of the family unit. In the case of children born to a mother in a second marriage, but where the mother was sealed to the first husband, would the children be considered part of the first temple marriage? Wouldn't this leave the second husband, the actual father, out of the picture?
“Assuming the second husband has gone through the temple, but not sealed to this wife, would the children stay with the second husband? Would they then be deprived of their mother, who is sealed to the first husband? The LDS Church has no answer.”
_____
*Review: One More Toast to the Temple Guy with the Most
RfM poster, Richard Packham, in answer to the question, “Current LDS Apostles sealed to more than one wife?!,” made note of the following in a post on the RfM board, 27 October 2011 (repeated once more for lurking Mormon apostates in embryo):
“Mormon Apostle Dallin Oaks, speaking at a BYU devotional, January 29, 2002:
“'When I was 66, my wife June died of cancer. Two years later--a year and a half ago--I married Kristen McMain, the eternal companion whonow stands at my side. Now, single sisters, I have an expert witness to invite to the standat this time. It is my wife, Kristen, who, as an adult, was single for about 35 years before we married.'
“In April 2006, Church Apostle Russell M. Nelson married for a second time. His first wife had passed away the previous year. Both his first and second marriage were “solemnized” in an LDS temple ceremony.
“The Church 'Handbook of Instructions' states that a man may be sealed for eternity to more than one woman, if the first wife dies or there is a divorce. He needs permission from the First Presidency to do so. A woman, however, if widowed or divorced from the man she was sealed to, cannot be sealed to a different man unless she obtains a "cancellation of sealing" from the First Presidency; i.e., she cannot be sealed to more than one man.
“Other examples of recent polygamous 'sealings' of high Mormon officials:
“Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th president of the Church (1970-1972) married Louise E. Shurtleff in 1898. She died in 1908. In 1908 he married Ethel G. Reynolds, who died in 1937. In 1938 he married Jessie Evans, who died in 1971. He was sealed "for eternity" to each of those women. Now, paraphrasing what the Pharisees asked Jesus: Which woman will be Smith's wife in the celestial kingdom? According to Mormon doctrine, ALL THREE will be his wives. Smith confirmed " . . . my wives will be mine in eternity.” ('Doctrines of Salvation,' vol. 2, p. 67)
“Harold B. Lee, the 11th president of the Church, also remarried after his wife's death and anticipated his reunion with both women in poetry:
"'My lovely Joan was sent to me:
So Joan joins Fern
That three might be, more fitted for eternity.
'O Heavenly Father, my thanks to thee' "
('Deseret News 1974 Church Almanac,' p. 17)
“Howard W. Hunter, the 14th Church president, who married Clara May Jeffs in 1931. She died in 1983. He then married Inis Bernice Egan in 1990. Both were sealed to him for time and eternity. Hunter died in 1995, having stated that he was looking forward to being reunited with his two wives in heaven."
As Packham puts it succinctly:
“That sounds to me like polygamy."
He should know. As he adds:
“. . . [I]n my own family, I have two close relatives, both temple-worthy, who are each sealed to two women. One is divorced from his first wife, who, having not yet remarried, is still sealed to him, along with his second wife. The other is a widower who was sealed to a single woman after his first wife's death. He acknowledged to me that he is a 'polygamist'!”
_____
Conclusion: Has the So-called "Mainstream" Mormon "Church" Really, Truly, Absolutely Abandoned Polygamy?
Based on the historical record, both past and present, Sandra Tanner gets to the heart of this Mormon marriage matter:
“ . . . [T]he doctrine and practice of plural marriage has not been abandoned, but only delayed until the afterlife. It seems the LDS Church simply wants to keep it out of the public eye for better public relations and fear of being identified with polygamist splinter groups.”
So, folks, does the Mormon Cult truly believe in monogamy, not polygamy? Repeat after me: Hell no, Hell no, Hell no.
Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2014 09:15PM by steve benson.
(“Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” at: https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo?lang=eng; see also, "New Essay on Post-Manifesto Polygamy," by "pickle," on "Recovery from Mormonism" discussion board, 22 October 2014, at: http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1411301,1411301#msg-1411301; and "New Essay on Joseph Smith's Plural Marriages Now on lds.org," by "Stumbling," on "RfM discussion board, 22 October 2014, at:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1411251,1411251#msg-1411251)
Bull pucky. It's fact-check time (and we're talking the here and now, not just pre-Manifesto days). What follows is the actual historical reality on the Mormon Cult's belief in, and practice of, polygamous sealings (combined, for the benefit of TBM lurkers here, with a bit of temple ritual-like repetition to make that point in behalf of clarity and emphasis).
The truth is simple: Contrary to what the Mormon Cult would have people believe, Mormon men are today being secretly and polygamously married/"sealed" in LDS temples to their unholy harems. Despite its efforts to mislead the general public and press, the so-called “mainstream” Mormon "Church" continues to permit faithful LDS men to be multi-married in heaven-sanctioned, clandestine temple-sanctified rituals to other women, in the event of the death of the man’s previous wife or in the case of divorce.
Let's break it down:
*Official Mormon Cult Doctrine Position of Present-day, Temple-Blessed Marriage/Sealings
Mormon Apostle Charles W. Penrose explained this practice over a century ago--one which is still being officially followed by the Mormon Cult today:
“In the case of a man marrying a wife [in the Mormon temple] in the everlasting covenant who dies while he continues in the flesh and marries another by the same divine law, each wife will come forth in her order and enter with him into his glory.”
(Charles W. Penrose, "’Mormon’ Doctrine Plain and Simple, or Leaves from the Tree of Life,” p. 66).
_____
*Examples of High-and-Mighty Mormon Men Being Polygamously Sealed to Additional Wives as Their First Ones Die Off
Sandra Tanner lists examples of modern-day polygamous marriages that have been present-day sanctioned and performed in Mormonism’s temples:
“This doctrine [of polygamous marriage] was reaffirmed in October of 2007 at the funeral for the second wife of President Howard W. Hunter, the 14th President of the LDS Church. The ]'Deseret News' reported:
“’President Hinckley affirmed the eternal nature of the marriage between Sister [Inis] Hunter and the former Church president [Howard W. Hunter], whose first wife, Claire Jeffs, died after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease and is now buried beside him in the Salt Lake Cemetery. Inis Hunter "will now be laid to rest on the other side," he said. "They were sealed under the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood for time and for all eternity," he said, recalling the marriage ceremony he performed for them in the Salt Lake Temple in April 1990.’ ('Sister Hunter's Humor and Cheerfulness remembered as She is Laid to Rest,' in "Deseret News," Oct. 22, 2007).
“Another example of plural sealings is Apostle Russell M. Nelson's marriage in 2006 to a BYU professor. The 'BYU NewsNet' for April 7, 2006, announced the temple marriage of Apostle Nelson, age 81, to Wendy Watson. . . . His first wife died in February of 2005 and this was the first marriage for his new wife. This would mean, according to LDS beliefs, that Nelson has two wives sealed to him for eternity.
“Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th president of the LDS Church, remarried twice after the death of his first wife, and in his book, ‘Doctrines of Salvation,’ Vol. 2, p. 67, he remarked, ‘ . . . [M]y wives will be mine in eternity.’
“Harold B. Lee, the 11th president of the Church, also remarried after his wife’s death and was sealed to another woman and was looking forward to a polygamous relationship in heaven. He, in fact, wrote a poem in which he reflected that his second wife, Joan, would join his first wife, Fern, as his eternal wives: ’My lovely Joan was sent to me: So Joan joins Fern That three might be, more fitted for eternity. "O Heavenly Father, my thanks to thee.’ ('Deseret News 1974 Church Almanac,' p. 17)"
And this confirming addition on Mormon polygamous additions from Mormon space cadet, Jake Garn, who--while waiting for his ultimate ride to Kolob--tagged along on a NASA Shuttle mission:
"Even former Utah Senator Jake Garn was counseled by former Mormon president Spencer Kimball to embrace the idea of polygamy." ('Uniting Blended Families,' by Mormon General Authority Robert E. Wells, "Ensign," August 1997, p. 24).
As Wells explains the puzzle:
“'Former Utah senator Jake Garn was reluctant to remarry following the death of his first wife, Hazel, in 1976, but he soon realized that he could not be both a father and a mother to his children. When he began dating Kathleen Brewerton, who would become his second wife, questions soon arose about how his first wife would feel should he become sealed to a second wife. The couple took their questions to President Spencer W. Kimball.
"'He said he did not know exactly how these relationships will be worked out, but he did know that through faithfulness all will be well and we will have much joy. Brother Garn later recalled. Kathleen told him that she was afraid of offending Hazel. President Kimball's demeanor seemed to change. From being somewhat hesitant in his earlier answers, he now became sure and spoke with firmness. He looked right at Kathleen and with a tear forming in his eye, he said, 'I do know this: you have nothing to worry about. Not only will she accept you, she will put her arms around you and thank you for raising her children' (Jake Garn, 'Why I Believe[ [1992], p. 13).'"
("Mormons Are Still Polygamists," posted by "shaman channel," 19 July 2007)
_____
*Mormon Cult Attempts by Its Ranking Leaders to Deny What's Really Going on in Their Own Temples
Here's a sample of slick sophistry spun by cagily-chattering Mormon apostle ,Quentin L. Cook, as quoted by the in-cahoots LDS Cult-owned news station KSL:
"Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often called Mormons, do not practice polygamy, and they have not practiced polygamy for over a century."
(That can't be true, since the practice of Mormon polygamy begins on earth in its temples, where a living Mormon man is "sealed" (the Mormon word for marriage) to additional wives, who joined the man's dead wives in a growing brood of brides).
When it comes to the media alert that the Mormon Cult is no longer believing in, or practicing polygamous rites, Quinn's fellow apostle, Dallin H. Oaks, apparently didn't get the memo. By his own admission and practice, eternally marriage-magnified, multi-wifed Oaks expressly contradicts his cagey Cook, claiming exactly the opposite. Here is Oaks' personal acknowledgment of what faithful Mormons currently are up to behind the secrecy-cloaked walls of their present-day temples:
"When I was 66, my wife June died of cancer. Two years later--a year and a half ago--I married [in the LDS temple] Kristen McMain, the eternal companion who now stands at my side."
(Dallin Oaks, "Timing," speech delivered at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 29 January 2002)
_____
*Back to the Doctrinal Basics of Ongoing Mormon Cult Polygamy Worship
Here, then, is the fundamental point of Mormon belief and practice--a real stickler that the Mormon Cult wants you to please forgive and forget:
"Mormons believe that God is a polygamist, that polygamy is and will continue to be practiced in heaven and the Millennium, and is being practiced right now in temples, as Mormon men are sealed to more than one woman. This is why Mr. [Gordon B.] Hinckley’s comment of 'condemning it' and expressly stating 'I think it is not doctrinal' were so surprisingly shocking.
"Would Mr. Hinckley knowingly condemn God and his lifestyle and the order of heaven??? Declare something to not be doctrinal that his very own apostles have participated in—the sealing to more than one woman???"
("Mormons Are Still Polygamists," posted by "shaman channel," 19 July 2007)
_____
*The Mormon CUlt Tries to the Explain Latter-day Lineages That Mushroom from Present-Day Polygamous Temple "Sealings"
To understand the ongoing commitment of the LDS Cult to multiple marriages requires wending oneself through the messy maze of multiple Mormon matrimony as it is confirmed on earth and as Mormon teach it will be practiced in the hereafter.
According to the official LDS Church "Handbook of Instructions" (p. 72), the following living, loyal Latter-day Saints can be polygamously and eternally sealed--i.e., married--in Mormon temples:
“Living Women — A living woman may be sealed to only one husband. . . .
“Living Men--If a husband and wife have been sealed and the wife dies, the man may have another woman sealed to him if she is not already sealed.”
Despite the mind-bending doctrinal headache of trying to figure out who’s on first, second or third base in Mormonism’s polygamous marriage ballgame, the LDS Cult continues to advocate, then carry out, temple sealings to multiple spouses. Again, from "Oh-well" GA Wells:
“Family members need not worry about the sealing situation of blended families as it might be in the next life. Our concern is to live the gospel now and to love others, especially those in our family. If we live the gospel to the best of our ability, the Lord in His love and mercy will bless us in the next life and all things will be right."
(Wells, "Uniting Blended Families," "Ensign," August 1997, p. 24)
Sandra Tanner also points out the problems presented by polygamous temple sealings (again, for all you faithful-flock folks, a practice secretly engaged in by the present-day Mormon Cult). Try following along to the ultimate, head-scratchin' dead end:
“Temple sealings are all-important to the LDS people and designate who will be joined to whom in the hereafter.
“These blended families raise a number of problems for the LDS concept of the eternal union of the family unit. In the case of children born to a mother in a second marriage, but where the mother was sealed to the first husband, would the children be considered part of the first temple marriage? Wouldn't this leave the second husband, the actual father, out of the picture?
“Assuming the second husband has gone through the temple, but not sealed to this wife, would the children stay with the second husband? Would they then be deprived of their mother, who is sealed to the first husband? The LDS Church has no answer.”
_____
*Review: One More Toast to the Temple Guy with the Most
RfM poster, Richard Packham, in answer to the question, “Current LDS Apostles sealed to more than one wife?!,” made note of the following in a post on the RfM board, 27 October 2011 (repeated once more for lurking Mormon apostates in embryo):
“Mormon Apostle Dallin Oaks, speaking at a BYU devotional, January 29, 2002:
“'When I was 66, my wife June died of cancer. Two years later--a year and a half ago--I married Kristen McMain, the eternal companion whonow stands at my side. Now, single sisters, I have an expert witness to invite to the standat this time. It is my wife, Kristen, who, as an adult, was single for about 35 years before we married.'
“In April 2006, Church Apostle Russell M. Nelson married for a second time. His first wife had passed away the previous year. Both his first and second marriage were “solemnized” in an LDS temple ceremony.
“The Church 'Handbook of Instructions' states that a man may be sealed for eternity to more than one woman, if the first wife dies or there is a divorce. He needs permission from the First Presidency to do so. A woman, however, if widowed or divorced from the man she was sealed to, cannot be sealed to a different man unless she obtains a "cancellation of sealing" from the First Presidency; i.e., she cannot be sealed to more than one man.
“Other examples of recent polygamous 'sealings' of high Mormon officials:
“Joseph Fielding Smith, 10th president of the Church (1970-1972) married Louise E. Shurtleff in 1898. She died in 1908. In 1908 he married Ethel G. Reynolds, who died in 1937. In 1938 he married Jessie Evans, who died in 1971. He was sealed "for eternity" to each of those women. Now, paraphrasing what the Pharisees asked Jesus: Which woman will be Smith's wife in the celestial kingdom? According to Mormon doctrine, ALL THREE will be his wives. Smith confirmed " . . . my wives will be mine in eternity.” ('Doctrines of Salvation,' vol. 2, p. 67)
“Harold B. Lee, the 11th president of the Church, also remarried after his wife's death and anticipated his reunion with both women in poetry:
"'My lovely Joan was sent to me:
So Joan joins Fern
That three might be, more fitted for eternity.
'O Heavenly Father, my thanks to thee' "
('Deseret News 1974 Church Almanac,' p. 17)
“Howard W. Hunter, the 14th Church president, who married Clara May Jeffs in 1931. She died in 1983. He then married Inis Bernice Egan in 1990. Both were sealed to him for time and eternity. Hunter died in 1995, having stated that he was looking forward to being reunited with his two wives in heaven."
As Packham puts it succinctly:
“That sounds to me like polygamy."
He should know. As he adds:
“. . . [I]n my own family, I have two close relatives, both temple-worthy, who are each sealed to two women. One is divorced from his first wife, who, having not yet remarried, is still sealed to him, along with his second wife. The other is a widower who was sealed to a single woman after his first wife's death. He acknowledged to me that he is a 'polygamist'!”
_____
Conclusion: Has the So-called "Mainstream" Mormon "Church" Really, Truly, Absolutely Abandoned Polygamy?
Based on the historical record, both past and present, Sandra Tanner gets to the heart of this Mormon marriage matter:
“ . . . [T]he doctrine and practice of plural marriage has not been abandoned, but only delayed until the afterlife. It seems the LDS Church simply wants to keep it out of the public eye for better public relations and fear of being identified with polygamist splinter groups.”
So, folks, does the Mormon Cult truly believe in monogamy, not polygamy? Repeat after me: Hell no, Hell no, Hell no.
Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2014 09:15PM by steve benson.
Hell no , Hell no , Hell no.
If I believed in Hell I'd wish that the lying liars for the Lard
would burn in hell on a revolving spit.
If I believed in Hell I'd wish that the lying liars for the Lard
would burn in hell on a revolving spit.
Steve you are absolutely correct about the church maintaining it's doctrine of polygamy.It has been my experience that they never just want to admit it,they always want to talk in circles and confuse people by saying the church banned the practice in 1890,although that isn't even true-google Abraham O.Woodruff-nice bit of reference on your part.
Thanks, Steve, for your expose. While reading it, I was led to make the following statement, for the first time ever: "My big sister is a polygamist!"
It sounded so very strange, but it's absolutely true.
She got married for the 1st time when she was 19, to a convert. The convert soon cheated on her and he left the church. Luckily, they never had any kids.
Years later, she wanted to go on a mission, but she had to get a "temple divorce" first, and her ex had to agree to it. And so that was done.
More years later, she fell in love with an older LDS widower who had already been married/sealed to his first wife in an LDS temple. When she died, he began looking around and spotted my sister.
So, as she explained to me, she was temple-divorced and available, to be his 2nd wife.
She was "eternally sealed" to two different men, and her 2nd husband was "eternally sealed" to two different women.
So she's a plyg! It still sounds very strange to say it. Oh well, it'll all be worked out in the next life. :)
And as you so eloquently explain, polygamy is alive and well in the Utah LD$ church!
It sounded so very strange, but it's absolutely true.
She got married for the 1st time when she was 19, to a convert. The convert soon cheated on her and he left the church. Luckily, they never had any kids.
Years later, she wanted to go on a mission, but she had to get a "temple divorce" first, and her ex had to agree to it. And so that was done.
More years later, she fell in love with an older LDS widower who had already been married/sealed to his first wife in an LDS temple. When she died, he began looking around and spotted my sister.
So, as she explained to me, she was temple-divorced and available, to be his 2nd wife.
She was "eternally sealed" to two different men, and her 2nd husband was "eternally sealed" to two different women.
So she's a plyg! It still sounds very strange to say it. Oh well, it'll all be worked out in the next life. :)
And as you so eloquently explain, polygamy is alive and well in the Utah LD$ church!
My sister is a living polygamist. I think being a polyamist with death or divorce is probably easier.
LDS Inc. is all about making their doctrines easier to swallow by coating them with a "legally" acceptable coating.
LDS Inc. is all about making their doctrines easier to swallow by coating them with a "legally" acceptable coating.
My mom married and was sealed to an LDS widower who, of course, is still sealed to his first wife now deceased. It's weird for me. I know he probably still loves his first wife and I get the impression he's prepping for an eternity with both of them.
I don't particularly like my Mom sharing a husband and I believe any good adult child of the nineteenth century could honestly say the same thing given the chance under even more blatantly unfair circumstances than these. How conflicted must many of them have been then if I'm this conflicted about the false fairness of this watered down polygamy for my mom now. Who knows how safe it would have actually felt to say something like this, though.
The consequences of polygamy, even in this form, are still very real and they are alive and well in many other ways as well. Who knows if TSCC is still hiding some other parts of this strange story we don't know about to this day, saying nothing for the lord? I'll assume they are, unless I know otherwise, now that I've seen how they operate. It's all about controlling who knows what and when with them in terms of the members. I don't like justifying the manipulation of people "for their own good." This sort of thing is what TSCC's recent behavior suggests to me and despite all suggestions from them to the contrary I think it's largely been about self-interest.
I don't particularly like my Mom sharing a husband and I believe any good adult child of the nineteenth century could honestly say the same thing given the chance under even more blatantly unfair circumstances than these. How conflicted must many of them have been then if I'm this conflicted about the false fairness of this watered down polygamy for my mom now. Who knows how safe it would have actually felt to say something like this, though.
The consequences of polygamy, even in this form, are still very real and they are alive and well in many other ways as well. Who knows if TSCC is still hiding some other parts of this strange story we don't know about to this day, saying nothing for the lord? I'll assume they are, unless I know otherwise, now that I've seen how they operate. It's all about controlling who knows what and when with them in terms of the members. I don't like justifying the manipulation of people "for their own good." This sort of thing is what TSCC's recent behavior suggests to me and despite all suggestions from them to the contrary I think it's largely been about self-interest.
Well done...inescapable.
Every single person who grew up LDS in my time and place knew this was the doctrine. The fact that they are back pedaling now is infuriating. How much personal investment have people had in the concept and now it is inconvenient so let's abandon it without a single prophetic utterance to mark its passing.
Every single person who grew up LDS in my time and place knew this was the doctrine. The fact that they are back pedaling now is infuriating. How much personal investment have people had in the concept and now it is inconvenient so let's abandon it without a single prophetic utterance to mark its passing.
1) Is there a two-tiered system here, whereby an elite group of LDS men participate in this CK polygamy, having the knowledge and practice of this system, whereas a larger number of rank-and-file memembers (men especially) are kept in ignorance and shut out?
2) If so, then is there an eternal advantage gained by this elite? Does it "enhance their spiritual resume" (worthiness) to gain admission to--
a) the Celestial Kingdom?
b) the highest of the three CK levels?
c) exaltation to godhood?
d) all of the above?
e) none of the above?
I don't buy into any of this in the least, but I seriously want to know. The entire cult strikes me as one being based on one-upping the other guys, and the acquisition of additional wives for spiritual advantage fits right in.
If the answer to #2 is "d" (all of the above), then--
3) Wouldn't it be smart to marry unsealed dead women to your dead male ancesters, and give them a few extra wives to enhance their spiritual standing in the CK?
Is this ever done?
2) If so, then is there an eternal advantage gained by this elite? Does it "enhance their spiritual resume" (worthiness) to gain admission to--
a) the Celestial Kingdom?
b) the highest of the three CK levels?
c) exaltation to godhood?
d) all of the above?
e) none of the above?
I don't buy into any of this in the least, but I seriously want to know. The entire cult strikes me as one being based on one-upping the other guys, and the acquisition of additional wives for spiritual advantage fits right in.
If the answer to #2 is "d" (all of the above), then--
3) Wouldn't it be smart to marry unsealed dead women to your dead male ancesters, and give them a few extra wives to enhance their spiritual standing in the CK?
Is this ever done?
The FP gave permission for a woman to be sealed to a man who was dead, to whom she was never married, but with whom she had 3 children.
If the church is true (no chance of course) and this man's legal wife has accepted the gospel, he will have at least 2 wives, one of whom was never legally married to him.
To be fair, I was pleased the FP decided in this manner. Although I used the term 'mistress' above I had nothing but admiration for this woman. She was a wonderful 'wife' and mother. Completely dedicated to her 'husband'.
Just makes their 'doctrines' farcical and ever changing.
If the church is true (no chance of course) and this man's legal wife has accepted the gospel, he will have at least 2 wives, one of whom was never legally married to him.
To be fair, I was pleased the FP decided in this manner. Although I used the term 'mistress' above I had nothing but admiration for this woman. She was a wonderful 'wife' and mother. Completely dedicated to her 'husband'.
Just makes their 'doctrines' farcical and ever changing.