Plural Marriage And Exaltation

[baddonkey]

Looking at Brother Brigham's comments to the Saints drew me to the conclusion that if God commands us to do something it is a requirement for our exaltation. The specifics of those requirements may differ from person to person and time to time (for example when Brigham said God would condemn those not practicing the principle he was addressing specific people under the conditions of its practice).

The broader issue is not that polygamy is required or not required, it is that a commandment of God must be followed to receive the blessings attached to obedience to said commandment.

The Saints today are not practicing polygamy, commanded not to practice it, therefore it is not a requirement for our exaltation (at least not the practice of it in this life).

Yes, circumstances change constantly and his laws change along with them. I disagree about there being blessings attached to living polygamy though. If that were so, then monogamous couples could be said to be missing out on some blessings, and that's NOT so.

[cinepro]

Yes, circumstances change constantly and his laws change along with them. I disagree about there being blessings attached to living polygamy though. If that were so, then monogamous couples could be said to be missing out on some blessings, and that's NOT so.

Joseph F. Smith reasoned along those lines to a different conclusion:

Some people have supposed that the doctrine of plural marriage was a sort of superfluity, or non-essential, to the salvation or exaltation of mankind. In other words, some of the Saints have said, and believe, that a man with one wife, sealed to him by the authority of the Priesthood for time and eternity, will receive an exaltation as great and glorious, if he is faithful, as he possibly could with more than one.

I want here to enter my solemn protest against this idea, for I know it is false.

There is no blessing promised except upon conditions, and no blessing can be obtained by mankind except by faithful compliance with the conditions, or law, upon which the same is promised. The marriage of one woman to a man for time and eternity by the sealing power, according to the will of God, is a fulfillment of the celestial law of marriage in part - and is good so far as it goes - and so far as a man abides these conditions of the law, he will receive his reward therefor, and this reward, or blessing, he could not obtain on any other grounds or conditions. But this is only the beginning of the law, not the whole of it. Therefore, whoever has imagined that he could obtain the fullness of the blessings pertaining to this celestial law, by complying with only a portion of its conditions, has deceived himself. He cannot do it.

Journal of Discourses 20:29, Joseph F. Smith, July 7, 1878

Edited August 15, 2011 by cinepro

[KevinG]

Joseph F. Smith reasoned along those lines to a different conclusion:

Are those blessings given on the condition of multiple wives or the condition of obedience to the practices that God outlines for His people.

Again - I don't see an entire generation of Saints denied exaltation becauase we are not required to fully consecrate or live plural marriage at this time. I do see us losing faith and blessings by denegrating or criticizing those who were required to do so.

[baddonkey]

Joseph F. Smith reasoned along those lines to a different conclusion:

He seems to be saying there that celestial marriage can be monogamy, but that it is only so temporarily. I think that is implied by the way he suggests that polygamy is then necessary to live celestial marriage completely.

This CAN'T be true though. Think about it - if this notion were true, the Prophet could not be assured of his exaltation because he is a monogamist. He therefore could not assure others of the blessings of exaltation, and in essence nobody in the Church could have their exaltation assured and sealed upon them by the Holy Spirit of Promise, because no members of the Church are polygamists.

[cinepro]

This CAN'T be true though. Think about it - if this notion were true, the Prophet could not be assured of his exaltation because he is a monogamist. He therefore could not assure others of the blessings of exaltation, and in essence nobody in the Church could have their exaltation assured and sealed upon them by the Holy Spirit of Promise, because no members of the Church are polygamists.

It is possible to be sealed in marriage to multiple women and be a member of the Church as long more than one of them aren't living at the same time you are married to them.

As far as I can tell, polygamy can't be required because that would require at least 2x as many women in the Celestial Kingdom as men, and I think it takes some gumption to insist that that will be the case.

As it is, with any polygamy we are already committing ourselves to there being more women than men, but requiring polygamy is another matter entirely.

[LeSellers]

As far as I can tell, polygamy can't be required because that would require at least 2x as many women in the Celestial Kingdom as men, and I think it takes some gumption to insist that that will be the case.

I'm gumptious, even extremely so.

Lehi