Context of Polygamy in the Book of Mormon

[Arenera]

In 1 Nephi 7 we read:

1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of aprophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that 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.

Now we understand 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.

Husbands, wives = raise up seed. The command to have more than one wife was given to Joseph Smith. The command to go back to one wife was given to Wilford Woodruff.

2nd Samuel

7 ¶ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

Jacob 2

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;

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.

[Jesef]

Yeah, every culture throughout history, even the warlike and barbaric ones, has claimed that God endorsed their lifestyle & behavior, their wars, etc. So polygamy & concubines are of God, huh? David & Nathan are the GOLD spiritual standard? I don't think so. And Jacob and the Book of Mormon people are wrong, too, if that's what that verse really means - and so were Joseph and Brigham - in my opinion. In Heaven, female and male are 1:1, like Yin/Yang. There's NO 1 = 7. And you should really visualize yourself as the 7th wife of some man, or maybe the 33rd, and try to picture that for as long as you can (like simulating eternity) before you really buy into this ridiculous male fantasy. Btw, I am male.

[Arenera]

Yeah, every culture throughout history, even the warlike and barbaric ones, has claimed that God endorsed their lifestyle & behavior, their wars, etc. So polygamy & concubines are of God, huh? David & Nathan are the GOLD spiritual standard? I don't think so. And Jacob and the Book of Mormon people are wrong, too, if that's what that verse really means - and so were Joseph and Brigham - in my opinion. In Heaven, female and male are 1:1, like Yin/Yang. There's 1 = 7. And you should really visualize yourself as the 7th wife of some man, or maybe the 33rd, and try to picture that for as long as you can (like simulating eternity) before you really buy into this ridiculous male fantasy. Btw, I am male.

I have a testimony of the living apostles, and also a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Precedent from the Bible, and the early years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

It's not a fantasy, but the truth. Can't say that I understand it, but it is what it is.

[DesertWonderer2]

Lehi was probably a polygamist also. He had two sons late in life after Nephi was grown. There is no mention of a miraculous conception by Sariah

Also Amulek- he notes that he has “women” in this verse.. Alma 10: 11 “For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words”

[Chip]

It took me a while to come to the realization that Jacob 2:30 does not condone polygamy, despite what the chapter heading and proximate footnotes suggest.

Jacob 2:30 only summarizes what has been said thus far in the section. That is, when god wants a righteous people, he will command the men to have only one wife and no concubines; otherwise, they will justify whoredoms by what was written about King David and Solomon.

What is more important to you, following God or following men? That is the matter here.

[DesertWonderer2]

It took me a while to come to the realization that Jacob 2:30 does not condone polygamy, despite what the chapter heading and proximate footnotes suggest.

Jacob 2:30 only summarizes what has been said thus far in the section. That is, when god wants a righteous people, he will command the men to have only one wife and no concubines; otherwise, they will justify whoredoms by what was written about King David and Solomon.

What is more important to you, following God or following men? That is the matter here.

Sorry, your interpretation is incorrect. The standard understanding of these verses is correct.

[Jesef]

Baloney. And polygamy is baloney - just go ask your wife.

Btw, my previous comment should have read "There's NO 1 = 7" (or 1 = 33)

[Arenera]

It took me a while to come to the realization that Jacob 2:30 does not condone polygamy, despite what the chapter heading and proximate footnotes suggest.

Jacob 2:30 only summarizes what has been said thus far in the section. That is, when god wants a righteous people, he will command the men to have only one wife and no concubines; otherwise, they will justify whoredoms by what was written about King David and Solomon.

What is more important to you, following God or following men? That is the matter here.

1Nephi 7:1 confirms it, that is why I included it.

[TrueIntent]

Lehi was probably a polygamist also. He had two sons late in life after Nephi was grown. There is no mention of a miraculous conception by Sariah

Also Amulek- he notes that he has “women” in this verse.. Alma 10: 11 “For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words”

Lehi was also a serial killer, there’s no mention of it, but Jerusalem gets destroyed so we can only assume.

[DesertWonderer2]

Baloney. And polygamy is baloney - just go ask your wife.

Btw, my previous comment should have read "There's NO 1 = 7" (or 1 = 33)

Oh she probably wouldn't care. It would just mean that she would have to deal with me less than she does right now.

[TrueIntent]

Side note, it wasn’t Abraham’s taking of Hagar that “opened” Sarah’s womb in her old age. She gave Hagar because she didn’t believe God could do it. That’s why she “laughed”.

[nvr]

Yeah, every culture throughout history, even the warlike and barbaric ones, has claimed that God endorsed their lifestyle & behavior, their wars, etc. So polygamy & concubines are of God, huh? David & Nathan are the GOLD spiritual standard? I don't think so. And Jacob and the Book of Mormon people are wrong, too, if that's what that verse really means - and so were Joseph and Brigham - in my opinion. In Heaven, female and male are 1:1, like Yin/Yang. There's 1 = 7. And you should really visualize yourself as the 7th wife of some man, or maybe the 33rd, and try to picture that for as long as you can (like simulating eternity) before you really buy into this ridiculous male fantasy. Btw, I am male.

I have a testimony of the living apostles, and also a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Precedent from the Bible, and the early years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

It's not a fantasy, but the truth. Can't say that I understand it, but it is what it is.

We cannot discount the fact that many of the historical accounts that are referred to about polygamy in the early church and Joseph's hand in it were formulated during and as a result of the Temple Lot trial. The Church was then seeking to fortify its position as the true successor to the church Joseph had started. As part of this, they needed to link its controversial practice of polygamy as coming from him. Joseph and his family - his wife, Emma , brother, William, son, Joseph - were all consistent in their testimony that he had no part in it and had condemned it through the end.
It's tough to break from what we were taught / counted as fact for so long. We should scrutinize these historical accounts objectively and acknowledge truth, recognize errors, and move forward. If there were errors, this doesn't mean we as a church have lost priesthood succession - remember Alma, the high priest of Noah, still held the priesthood and went on to baptize others and subsequently grow the church after getting called to repentance by Abinadi.

[DesertWonderer2]

Lehi was probably a polygamist also. He had two sons late in life after Nephi was grown. There is no mention of a miraculous conception by Sariah

Also Amulek- he notes that he has “women” in this verse.. Alma 10: 11 “For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words”

Lehi was also a serial killer, there’s no mention of it, but Jerusalem gets destroyed so we can only assume.

Hahahaha

[Jesef]

Good stuff, TI.

1 Nephi 16:7

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.

Doesn't sound like polygamy. But your (Arenera) 1 Nephi 7:1 "raise up seed unto [the Lord]" does match or correlate with Jacob 2:30. But it doesn't reference more than one wife for Lehi or anyone in the company.

[Arenera]

Good stuff, TI.

1 Nephi 16:7

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.

Doesn't sound like polygamy. But your (Arenera) 1 Nephi 7:1 "raise up seed unto [the Lord]" does match or correlate with Jacob 2:30. But it doesn't reference more than one wife for Lehi or anyone in the company.

I didn't say that Lehi practiced it. But 1N7:1 and Jacob 2:30 confirm that "raise up seed unto" means men married to women. Sometime 1, sometimes 7. How many wives did BY have, 54?

[Robin Hood]

Yeah, every culture throughout history, even the warlike and barbaric ones, has claimed that God endorsed their lifestyle & behavior, their wars, etc. So polygamy & concubines are of God, huh? David & Nathan are the GOLD spiritual standard? I don't think so. And Jacob and the Book of Mormon people are wrong, too, if that's what that verse really means - and so were Joseph and Brigham - in my opinion. In Heaven, female and male are 1:1, like Yin/Yang. There's 1 = 7. And you should really visualize yourself as the 7th wife of some man, or maybe the 33rd, and try to picture that for as long as you can (like simulating eternity) before you really buy into this ridiculous male fantasy. Btw, I am male.

I have a testimony of the living apostles, and also a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Precedent from the Bible, and the early years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

It's not a fantasy, but the truth. Can't say that I understand it, but it is what it is.

We cannot discount the fact that many of the historical accounts that are referred to about polygamy in the early church and Joseph's hand in it were formulated during and as a result of the Temple Lot trial. The Church was then seeking to fortify its position as the true successor to the church Joseph had started. As part of this, they needed to link its controversial practice of polygamy as coming from him. Joseph and his family - his wife, Emma , brother, William, son, Joseph - were all consistent in their testimony that he had no part in it and had condemned it through the end.
It's tough to break from what we were taught / counted as fact for so long. We should scrutinize these historical accounts objectively and acknowledge truth, recognize errors, and move forward. If there were errors, this doesn't mean we as a church have lost priesthood succession - remember Alma, the high priest of Noah, still held the priesthood and went on to baptize others and subsequently grow the church after getting called to repentance by Abinadi.

The LDS church was not one of the parties in the Temple Lot trial. It was between the RLDS and the Church of Christ (Temple Lot). Ultimately the RLDS were unsuccessful.

[Chip]

It took me a while to come to the realization that Jacob 2:30 does not condone polygamy, despite what the chapter heading and proximate footnotes suggest.

Jacob 2:30 only summarizes what has been said thus far in the section. That is, when god wants a righteous people, he will command the men to have only one wife and no concubines; otherwise, they will justify whoredoms by what was written about King David and Solomon.

What is more important to you, following God or following men? That is the matter here.

Sorry, your interpretation is incorrect. The standard understanding of these cerses is correct.

My own reading = incorrect interpretation
Men's twisting of scripture to justify whoredoms = standard understanding

If you ever want to venture from the false safety of infallibility and read the actual text with fresh eyes, you would probably agree with me. You would certainly have to acknowledge that no allowance for polygamy was made. Such would constitute a schizophrenic left turn within the context of the lesson. Scripture doesn't work like that, in all my reading.

The one disturbing thing I've learned through church is what effect the desire to belong, coupled with very subtle, but powerful, threats of rejection by leaders in authority, can have on sealing people's minds in fear. It hints at what crazy things are possible on this earth and lends understanding to things like communism in North Korea/Russia/DDR, with their adherents and dissidents. It also expands my appreciation of Jesus as our savior and the shear incomparability of him to men.

[Jesef]

It does not appear to have happened in the first & second generations of Lehi's family (Lehi & sons, including Zoram), in spite of the "raise up seed" statement - unless they started marrying their nieces - which is disgusting (yeah, I know Abraham did that). There is legitimately another interpretation or way of looking at it, if you think about it. Raise up seed could just mean having children, generically, as it meant for Lehi & his sons & Zoram and their one-wife each. See what I mean? Also, if they were, as a people, being commanded to "raise up seed" via polygamy, why would Jacob (same generation) condemn his people for keeping the commandment in 1 Nephi 7:1 - that is flat-out contradictory, if it means what you say it means.

Also, Brigham and his 55 wives just seems abominable to me. I don't care that he was president of the church. I don't think the Lord approved of that, or all the land he took, that was really Church land, or any other abuse of power he may have committed. Might (authority/calling/position) does not make right. The Lord seems to have moved, through the U.S. government and other men, to correct the abomination. And here we are today, no polygamy (marrying more than one living woman) - the sealing to multiple subsequent spouses after the previous die, doesn't count - because it could very well be invalid on the other side.

[Chip]

It took me a while to come to the realization that Jacob 2:30 does not condone polygamy, despite what the chapter heading and proximate footnotes suggest.

Jacob 2:30 only summarizes what has been said thus far in the section. That is, when god wants a righteous people, he will command the men to have only one wife and no concubines; otherwise, they will justify whoredoms by what was written about King David and Solomon.

What is more important to you, following God or following men? That is the matter here.

1Nephi 7:1 confirms it, that is why I included it.

"...but that his sons should take daughters to wife..."

Like, Lehi's four sons should marry four daughters.

"Daughters" doesn't indicate multiple wives for each son. It means one wife per son. You can know this, for sure, because later in Jacob 2, it is stated that Lehi had been instructed in this one-wife/no-concubine business:

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; and ye have come unto great condemnation; for ye have done these things which ye ought not to have done.

Furthermore, in verse 30, God is stating that when he wants to raise righteous seed he commands his people in this manner of having only ONE wife - not to start practicing polygamy as the chapter heading and footnotes suggest.

[Robin Hood]

I think when the Nephites got involved in polygamy they probably entered into it for political reasons. They were a small group in a new land where others were already established. The Lamanites hated them and swore bloody vengence on them, and had probably made alliances with like minded tribes. So the Nephites needed friends, or needed to at least neutralise potential enemy recruits by the Lamanites. So, they married additional wives, probably daughters of tribe leaders etc.

This makes sense, to a certain extent, of the comparison with David and Solomon because that is exactly what they did, and what they were condemned for. The Lord was not happy with them taking non-Israelite wives.

So, in my view, I think it may be possible the Nephites were not specifically condemned for having plural wives, but for having the wrong wives and for the wrong reasons.

Just a thought.

[Jesef]

And, again, if 1 Nephi 7:1 was a mandate or command for Lehi & seed to "raise up seed" via polygamy, why would Jacob (in the same overlapping generation) be condemning everyone for doing it, basically saying they have not been authorized or commanded to do so? Makes no sense with that interpretation - very inconsistent & contradictory (i.e. nonsensical, not a fan of nonsense either).

[Arenera]

Raising seed is about having children. 1N7:1 is a command for Lehi’s sons to get a wife and have children.

Jacob 2 is about whether to have more than one wife. Jacob 2:30 shows that sometimes polygamy is in play, sometimes not. Confirmation that is the correct understanding is verified with OD 1.

Straightforward, simple, unless you try to wrest it.

Maybe we will practice it again, and that is a reason saints will be persecuted.

[Jesef]

Arenera, you just said that 1 Nephi 7:1 was the proof of your interpretation of Jacob 2:30. That does not explain the contradiction, in both circumstances: that Lehi & his sons DID NOT practice polygamy, despite the phrase "raise up seed" (which that probably just means "have children" not polygamy) and Jacob condemning his people for practicing also affirms that the Nephites were not supposed to practice it. Why not? Wouldn't the need for multiplying quickly in the New World - starting a new civilization - have been the perfectly appropriate hypothetical circumstance for the "need" to multiply quickly "raise up seed" via polygamy - except they didn't bring enough women to do it in the first place. Are you seeing the nonsense and contradictions in the interpretation here?

[Chip]

I've said here before that I struggled to understand polygamy after my father-in-law joined a polygamous offshoot group.

After much study and requesting help through prayer, I got my footing on the matter when I realized that the Book of Mormon has been misrepresented to support polygamy via a twisting of Jacob 2:30. That was something I could understand with complete context, as I had the Book of Mormon right in front of me and I could grasp what it says. Appealing to the church on the polygamy matter is useless, as you'll be caught in a house of mirrors. So, I've found that Jacob 2:30 has been ongoingly lied about, or maybe the lie came a long time ago and it's never been corrected. Certainly, the church has no desire to deal with this, as it would blow gaping holes in its claims of authority, etc.

My certain conclusion: The church lies about the meaning of Jacob 2:30 to make its history look inspired. There may be no resolve within the leadership to straighten this out, even if it is realized by some. Perhaps, in some wild stretch, God DID command polygamy, but that they felt a need to grossly misrepresent what the Book of Mormon says about it - that it's a whoredom and forbidden - suggests that God DID NOT command polygamy. I mean, come on, how often do men's lusts get the better of them? This is as old as the Earth. Non-Mormons sniff this out immediately and it's been a HUGE, INCALCULABLE detriment to the restoration. People need the gospel, but polygamy gives the church and its claim of restoration a huge black eye.

[Jesef]

Yeah, they should bring it back if they want flat-lined baptism numbers to go NEGATIVE - no more converts and people leaving in droves. My prediction: Polygamy is NEVER coming back & thank Heaven for that. I agree, it's one of THE TWO biggest black-eyes in Church history. There's no way to explain it with a straight face to a new "investigator" (potential recruit/initiate) without sounding like a weird cult.