The Book of Mormon is more specific about polygamy than the Bible and I want to touch on these teachings. I will share the way I interpret them, but I invite the reader to prayerfully read these verses and come to their own conclusions. Jacob’s sermon is perhaps the most specific, and I’ll get to it, but I want to start with two other examples in the Book of Mormon first.
Riplakish
We’ll start with an example in Ether chapter 10. We don’t know a lot about Riplakish save what is told in three verses:
5 And it came to pass that Riplakish did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have many wives and concubines, and did lay that upon men’s shoulders which was grievous to be borne; yea, he did tax them with heavy taxes; and with the taxes he did build many spacious buildings.6 And he did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne; and he did build many prisons, and whoso would not be subject unto taxes he did cast into prison; and whoso was not able to pay taxes he did cast into prison; and he did cause that they should labor continually for their support; and whoso refused to labor he did cause to be put to death.
7 Wherefore he did obtain all his fine work, yea, even his fine gold he did cause to be refined in prison; and all manner of fine workmanship he did cause to be wrought in prison. And it came to pass that he did afflict the people with his whoredoms and abominations.
From this example we learn that:
- Having many wives and concubines is not right in the sight of the Lord.
- Heavy taxes, especially for the purpose of building beautiful large buildings and finery is not right in the sight of the Lord.
- The heavy tax burdens, including prison labor camps, were an affliction to the people.
- The whoredoms (aka, wives and concubines) were also an affliction to the people.
Fortunately there’s a happy ending to the story, in a manner of speaking. After 42 years of oppression, the people rose up, killed him, and presumably restored peace.
My takeaway? God doesn’t approve of polygamy.
King Noah
The story of King Noah can be found in Mosiah chapters 11-17. King Noah was very similar to Riplakish in that he did “walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines.” He had many fine buildings built, a beautiful throne, and comfortable seats where his priests could judge the people. He spent his time in riotous living.
King No
ah’s wickedness goes a step further than Riplakish, however. Riplakish was a tyrant, but at least the people saw his actions for what they were. King Noah on the other hand was more clever. Not only was Noah wicked, but he caused his people to be wicked too. Noah replaced the leaders his father had chosen with wicked men who would support his iniquity. Noah AND his priests had many wives and concubines, and together they changed the affairs of the kingdom.
How did they do it? In verse seven Alma tells us:
Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.
As the story continues, the Lord sends a prophet named Abinidi to prophecy to the people and tell them to repent or the Lord will destroy them. The people turn Abinidi in to King Noah. The priests bring him to trial, thinking to trick Abinidi into saying something that they could condemn him with, but he withstood all their words boldy. He taught them the ten commandments. He asks the Priests, why they spent their strength with harlots and caused the people to commit sin? He says that if they believe in the Law of Moses, why do they not teach and practice what it says? The story goes much deeper, but in the end, Abinidi is burned to death, valiant to his testimony. The people are captured by their enemies and live in slavery for a time before being delivered. However, one priest named Alma is converted and he and the people who were converted to the Lord escaped.
My takeaway? Not only is polygamy a whoredom, but teaching the practice and causing others to participate is even worse.
Early Nephites
In Jacob chapter two we have the most poignant example in all of scripture concerning polygamy, the grief and pain it causes, and how abominable it is in the sight of God. This is Jacob’s sermon to the Nephites. In the first part of the chapter he expresses his concern for how they are beginning to love riches and are neglecting the poor, but if that was all they were guilty of doing, it wouldn’t be so bad. Isn’t it interesting that in every example of polygamy in the Book of Mormon, those practicing it had also set their hearts on riches? Regardless of whether there is a correlation, these are the words of Jacob to the Nephites:
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.
24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
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.
29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
My takeaway? Polygamy is synonymous with whoredoms, which is an abomination in the sight of God. Furthermore, the Nephites were wicked in their attempts to justify their sins based on accounts in their records equivalent to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament it is alluded to that God gave David his many wives, but here in the Book of Mormon we learn that not only did God not approve of David and Solomon’s wives, but that it was an abomination in his sight. We learn that God delights in the chastity of women, that monogamy helps preserve their chastity, and that men who engage in this practice violate women. He tells that the Lord of Hosts commands them not to engage in the practice.
“If I will raise up seed, I will command my people.”
Ah yes, then there’s Jacob chapter 2, verse 30. If you were to ask the typical member of the LDS church what the Book of Mormon says about polygamy, you would probably get the response that it says that we shouldn’t do polygamy unless the Lord commands it. The source for this philosophy comes from a possible interpretation of this verse. In short, verse 30 is often used as a kind of loophole for polygamy. Let’s look at the verse first:
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.”
The common interpretation of this verse is that when the Lord wants to raise up righteous seed, he will command them to practice polygamy, but otherwise, they should hearken to the rest of Jacob’s sermon and practice monogamy.
Assuming this interpretation was true, it still leaves a lot of confusion over the way polygamy was practiced in the Utah LDS church, and leaves me with a few questions, namely:
- If the purpose of God commanding Joseph Smith to enter into polygamy was to raise up righteous seed through polygamy, why didn’t Joseph Smith’s plural wives produce any offspring?
- If monogamy is the standard rule, why were the early saints taught that the only way to enter into the Celestial Kingdom was through the practice of plural wives?
Also, If God’s way of quickly populating a land with righteous people, the key times in history when this would have been necessary would be at the creation (Adam and Eve), after the flood (Noah and his three sons each had one wife), or in the case of the Book of Mormon, when Lehi first came to the Americas. Yet Lehi and his sons each had one wife too. So I don’t think God is talking about quickly populating a people through polygamy. That interpretation doesn’t add up for me.
A closer examination of this verse within the context of the chapter leaves me with a different interpretation of verse 30. To reach my conclusion, I simply asked- “What does it mean to raise up righteous seed?”, and, “What is God commanding?” Let’s back up a little and re-read Jacob 2:25-26:
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.
As far as I can tell, in this chapter God is saying- look, these people in Jerusalem do polygamy, and it’s an abomination. I need righteous seed who will not practice polygamy, and I have commanded your family and these people (the Nephites) NOT to practice it. Why? Because I have separated you and I command you not to sin as the people of old did.
In other words, it’s the people God hopes will be righteous seed that are especially COMMANDED not to practice polygamy. Otherwise, even if not specifically commanded to only practice monogamy, stay away from these “things”, aka, abominations.
Isn’t it sad, and ironic that we have in verse 23:
“…they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written…”
…and yet, today we use another verse by the same author in the very same chapter to excuse polygamy in our day. During the polygamy years in Utah, the preface to this chapter stated that the Nephites were commanded not to do polygamy “because they were wicked”. I don’t see it that way. Their wicked deed was nothing less than polygamy!
Is God referring to multiplying and replenishing the earth (aka, having lots of kids), or is it referring to raising children to be righteous? I know I want to raise up righteous seed! Do I have to enter into polygamy to teach my children the ways of the Lord? Lehi was commanded to have his sons each find one wife in Ishmael’s family for the purpose of raising righteous seed in 1 Nephi 7:1:
1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying 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.
Further insight on raising righteous seed can be found in 1 Nephi 15:14
14 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.
Edit: Yet another interpretation of verse 30 pointed out to me may be the best one, one that again can be drawn by asking “What is God commanding?”, given the context of the chapter. “If I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people (to only have one wife), otherwise they will hearken to these (philosophies of men).”
I was unaware of a similar post on Book of Mormon polygamy until it was pointed out to me here. I find the “thing 1 and thing 2” analogy to be very insightful- so check out his post for further reading.
Polygamy = Captivity of Women
Before I let Jacob finish his sermon concerning polygamy, I will close my own remarks with an observation that polygamy was bringing great sorrow and suffering to the Nephites, especially the women. Many tender hearts were broken because of polygamy. Daughters and wives who had hoped to be comforted by the pleasing word of God were instead told that their family relationship was scorned by God. How many of them continued to suffer after this talk? How long did polygamy continue? And despite the twisting of scripture to justify polygamy, Jacob reminds them that they knew better. Lehi was commanded not to allow his seed to practice polygamy (vs 34). Really any justification of polygamy from Old Testament sources is refuted by the following verses. I end my own thoughts and will let Jacob have the last word.
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, 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.
Goodbye, Polygamy 
February 29, 2016 at 10:39 pm
Your belief that Joseph Smith never practiced polygamy is rooted in apostasy, as you therefore also believe that the Church under Brigham Young was practicing falsehood. Furthermore, your interpretation of Book of Mormon scripture alone, without including the Bible relies on assumptions that do not stand up to Biblical doctrine.
Allow me to show your errors in this. First, there is no scripture in the Bible that in any way condemns plural marriage. Rather, the Bible shows that the Lord allowed and facilitated this, defended this, blessed this, and even commanded this in instances. His choicest prophets also practiced this without reprimand or rebuke. How does this fit in with your chosen interpretation?
You may ask, which chosen prophets of God practiced this? I will focus of three, namely, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses. They are significant because of their place as chosen prophets of God. Abraham is described as God’s friend. His obedience in being willing to sacrifice his “only begotten son”, Isaac, is a Biblical similitude of the sacrifice of God the Father of his Son Jesus Christ for all people. Abraham was blessed in that Christ was to be of his direct offspring, and that through his seed “all nations of the Earth shall be blessed”. This is part of the Abrahamic Covenant, of which all members of the priesthood claim blessings today in God’s church.
Abraham practiced plural marriage. His wife, Sarah, gave her handmaid, Hagar, to him to wife, and he bore a son with her named Ishmael. Abraham was blessed of God, and was never rebuked by God for taking Hagar to wife, although he did later send her away at Sarah and God’s request in order to keep the peace in his household.
Like Abraham, Jacob’s two wives, Leah and Rachel, gave their handmaids to Jacob to wife. Leah who gave her handmaid, Zilpah, was later blessed with more children herself for this unselfish act and exclaimed: “God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband.” — Genesis 30:18 Thus we see God blessing Leah and Jacob through this practice. All of the sons of Israel come from plural marriage.
The scriptures also show God commanding that a widow be given to her departed husband’s brother as a wife, and this is commanded REGARDLESS of whether this brother has his own family: “If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.” — Deuteronomy 25:5-6
You might read in the Bible that Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his sister, the prophetess Miriam, began to upbraid Moses in consequence of a certain Ethiopian wife he had taken as a second wife (See Numbers 12:1). Did God side with them or with Moses in this thing? We clearly see his will on this in that instead of rebuking Moses for this, he smote Miriam with leprosy, and she became as white as snow; and although she was a prophetess, she had to be put out of the camp, and stay out seven days, for speaking against Moses on this matter.
This same Moses was translated into heaven, as was the prophet Elijah, and later appeared with Elijah to the Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples on a Mountain. Does this sound like someone that God objected to and held as an adulterer and sinner? If so, why no rebuke but rather only blessing of him?
You may ask, does the Bible show God specifically commanding these prophets to enter into plural marriage? The answer is no, because this practice did not originate with them. Did God command them to take their first wives? No, for the same reason.
You used the Book of Mormon to show that God looked on the practice of taking “many” wives and concubines of practiced by both David and Solomon as an abominable thing. Why did God single them out then? Both of these man sinned against God grievously. David, in committing adultery with Bathsheba, and murdering Uriah. And Solomon in becoming an Idol worshipper. Both of these seemed related to the practice of keeping many wives and concubines. Still, it is hard to determine if this is specific to plural marriage, as God himself sent his prophet Nathan to give David his wives. Did David go beyond what he was given by God? Absolutely, as is seen in his rebuke by Nathan in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah.
The strongest and only real condemnation of polygamy then is found in the Book of Mormon, where God calls this practice abominable to him. So is the practice of killing his children, right? Yet God commanded this of his people under Moses even though one of the 10 commandments he gave to Moses was, “Thou shall not kill”. Still God later over-rode this to them when he commanded: “when thou shalt go to war against it, and when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women and little ones, shalt thou take unto thyself.” — Deuteronomy 20:13-14 Again, when Israel took the Midianites captive, they were commanded to “kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.” — Numbers 31:17-18
Surely this was abominable to God, yet he commanded this for specific purpose, which was to allow the establishment of his people of Israel. Thus we see that God sometimes commands his people to do those things which he generally sees as abominations. In the case of plural marriage, Joseph Smith and all of the early church leaders that were commanded to practice this, saw this as an Abrahamic Challenge. Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and others stated that the introduction of this doctrine and practice made them, “long for the grave”. Yet they were commanded to practice this for the very reason that God mentioned in the Book of Mormon, to raise up seed to himself.
It is a matter of history that the church later prospered under this practice in Utah until their population reached a self-sustaining size. Plural marriage works much the same even today by those apostate groups that practice it. It’s not primarily that it produces many more children, but rather, that it produces children that stay faithful to their groups’ beliefs.
The practice of Israel having plural wives continued right into Christ’s day, yet he never rebuked this practice as it was obviously accepted and blessed of God when practiced righteously. There are other examples of this doctrine in the Bible, but I didn’t to attempt an exhaustive account of them here, but only wanted to show that this practice did not originate with Joseph Smith, and was previously practiced under God’s supervision by his holy prophets. It was given to Joseph to practice by way of Commandment in the D&C, section 132, when Joseph sought understanding of this principle. There is no reason to accuse him or others as being sinners before God by following his commandment to practice this and to hide this from the world who would persecute them for this.
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March 1, 2016 at 4:34 am
Thank you for commenting and joining in on the discussion!
I have shared my perspective on the Old Testament practice of polygamy in depth here, but I can summarize by saying I do not believe it was doctrinal, nor do I believe that God commanded it. Just because they did it doesn’t mean that God was behind it. I have also addressed briefly in the original essays why I do not believe Joseph Smith was involved in polygamy and will continue to cover individual aspects of this messy history every Sunday.
What I really want to address here is the scripture in Numbers you referenced where the Israelites killed everyone except the female virgins, who they took captive and raped. Was that abominable? You bet it was! And I am sick and tired of trying to justify such deplorable, disgusting acts in the name of religion. It’s verses like this that make people abandon religion altogether. I have to think that such dogmatism is inferior to an athiest who lives his life doing good. We will all have our reward. While I have tried to do mental gymnastics to justify other gross deeds, such as plural marriages to young teenagers, I will never, ever do it again. That is, in part, why I have started this blog in the first place- to battle the idea that we even should. At the end of C.S. Lewis’s “The Last Battle”, a young man who believed in Tash was welcomed into Aslan’s land because his heart was good. Likewise, there were those who believed in Aslan but were devoured by Tash because their heart was evil.
The bible isn’t perfect. Wicked men have been doing horrible things in the name of religion throughout the entire history of the world, and they still do it today. People of all religions and nations have done it. History is written by the winners. How on earth could anyone try and justify doing such a horrible deed? They had to have some kind of explanation for their posterity, so they added to their gross crimes by taking the name of the Lord in vain, saying that God had commanded them to do it. But did He really? Which god would do it? Because the Book of Mormon clearly teaches us that attacking our enemies’ homeland is not justified- that when we do take up arms it should be in self-defense.
Part of our test in this life is to see which we will choose- good or evil. We will not be justified when we participate in abominations just because our leaders told us to do it. We are not beasts- we have our agency. While I do believe in a just and good God, and I do look to the scriptures for the many beautiful lessons they teach, I also know that anything that invites us to do evil, that bares evil fruit, comes from the adversary, no matter what the source. Conversely, anything that invites us to do good is something we should be seeking after. Part of waking up is looking around and learning to think for ourselves.
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