It relies on the (gross and errant) assumption of Joe SMith being a legit prophet for justification. That is a lot steeper assumption / belief incline than starting out asking people to believe in modern prophets for the sake of continuing revelation
or that the Book Of MORmON is valid.

That's not just a problem with the polygamy essay, that's a problem with the religion. if joseph is not a prophet the whole thing collapses.
You have to ask yourself what is more likely.

a) a supernatural being who is completely undetectable by nearly everyone who has ever lived speaks to select individuals.

or

b) Select individuals are liars.

not sure what the exact probability is but I would guess

a) 0.000001 %

b) 100 %

Just saying.

I think that's a false dichotomy. There are other possibilities.

c) those claiming that God has given them a message for humanity are simply imagining, and sufferiing from schizophrenia.

The danger in that false dichotomy is that all it takes is a religious person to insist that their particular prophet was an honest man and wouldn't lie. (Therefore, he's a genuine prophet!)

That same argument is used by Christian apologists all the time: the authors of the gospels were honest men, followers of Jesus, who condemned liars. Therefore they wouldn't lie, and we can believe word-for-word what they wrote.

I don't think it is a false dichotomy.
They can say what they like, to take a moment of madness to the extent of developing it into a religion takes a 100 % bloody liar. i wouldn't be so gullible to believe otherwise.

You have to admire joseph for having the brass neck to balls it out for so long. No wonder he got out of control in the last two years and thought he could do what he liked. he must have been thinking jesus christ this morons believe anything I say.

you are correct, that issue is going to come up eventually, sooner or later, for any one who is paying attention, ( which is why I am no longer a member) LDS inc is hoping that members do not have that long of attention span, ie study the gospel, BUT NOT LIKE THAT !!!

I still go with the problem where D&C 132 says "For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory."

However, even if JS WAS a prophet, as were his successors (supposedly), there is STILL NO REVELATION *ending* polygamy, only the 1890 Manifesto, which rejects it. But wait...that's against the very first sentence of D&C 132!! Woodruff says: "There is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in those of my associates, during the time specified, which can be reasonably construed to inculcate or encourage polygamy; and when any Elder of the Church has used language which appeared to convey such teaching, he has been promptly reproved." That sounds like rejection to me, it has nothing to do with the weasel words "during the time specified". No glory for Willy Woodruff and his buddies, unless this a classic "lying for the Lord", but then that brings up the question: if the members knew that he was doing the wink-wink and was lying for the lord to get the feds off their back, then the entire Utah church should have gone all FLDS and kept multi-marrying!

Also, unfortunately, the ratio of female/male in the entire world is almost exactly 1:1, so how would that work anyway?

My head hurts....

Chicken N. Backpacks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------


> Also, unfortunately, the ratio of female/male
> in the entire world is almost exactly 1:1, so how
> would that work anyway?

This is one of the greatest definitive proofs that MORmONISM was NOT a divinely guided restoration. IF polygamy is ONLY justified for breeding purposes - which is what MORmONISM says to justify its implementation in the early MORmON church, and God supposedly ordered it, then the female to male birth differential would instantly have to start favoring females to make the plan functional for breeding purposes, BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN ! If it had, it would have been endlessly blabbered about by MORmONS. Fact is that MORmON Jesus could not get on board with his own plan !!!!