|
DIRECTORY
Home
General LDS Information
Basic LDS Beliefs
LDS Videos
Critics' Questions
Submitted Questions
Scriptures/LDS Literature
Genealogy/Family
LDS Temples
Missionary
Music and Arts
LDS Online Stores
Priesthood, Humor, Miscel.
Site Map
Suggest a Site
Now accepting banner ads!
|
|
GREG - Why did Brigham Young have children with his plural wives and Joseph Smith didn't ? Is there something to be learned from this? Was it to show the world it wasn't about sex or gold
digging at all? Was it to show a spiritual and temporal example for some reason or another? I know all things were created spiritual first. Maybe it's that way with the restored gospel and polygamy? What's your opinion of it?
JOEL - I believe the concept of plural marraige was one that developed in stages, the same way we learn many gospel principles; line upon line and precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:10). Joesph Smith learned and taught the spiritual aspects of it as you said. Most sealings to him were primarily for the eternal aspects of it. These were with either single women or women whose husbands were either disaffected from the church or were non-members. They wanted to be sealed to someone who would be certain to obtain eternal life in the Celestial kingdom. Some were even sealed to him after he died. There were a few he was sealed to whose first husbands were active members, but they did that because they wanted to bind their families together to be linked into eternity. This would be more correctly called polyandrous marriages; marriage without cohabitation.
Aside from this we don't know for sure that Joseph Smith did not have any children with some of these women; there just isn't any verifiable record of any children being born to any of his "spiritual wives".
On the other hand, the plural marriages of Brigham Young and others such as Orson Pratt and Heber C. Kimball did produce offspring(seed); another reason for practicing the principle, as mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Refering to plural marriage the Lord said:
"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." (Jacob 2:30)
|
|
|
