Why Not Adam And Eves?

[Thinking]

The list of justifications for plural marriage is long and rooted in scripture, tradition, pseudo doctrine, etc.

 

So...

 

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

[Buckeye]

Well, in the Jewish tradition there is another woman - Lilith. But that's not really a candidate for polygamy.

 

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith

[HappyJackWagon]

The list of justifications for plural marriage is long and rooted in scripture, tradition, pseudo doctrine, etc.

 

So...

 

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

Right. Like Brigham taught, Adam brought one of his wives from another world so why not two or ten or twenty-three? It would have added more branches to the incestual tree

[bluebell]

In LDS doctrine today, monogamy is the rule except when the Lord commands otherwise for specific reasons.

[JAHS]

The list of justifications for plural marriage is long and rooted in scripture, tradition, pseudo doctrine, etc.

 

So...

 

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

 

He could only spare one rib. 

[Thinking]

Well, in the Jewish tradition there is another woman - Lilith. But that's not really a candidate for polygamy.

 

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith

 

After reading the Wikipedia article I realized that the demon Lilith is the same Lilith from the TV show Frasier. It's no wonder that Adam embraced monogamy after being married to her for a short time.

[Ginger Snaps]

In LDS doctrine today, monogamy is the rule except when the Lord commands otherwise for specific reasons.

This, except I would say that's been true since, well, Adam and Eve.

[The Nehor]

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

Are you under the impression that we have a direct conduit to the rationale for God's decisions?

[The Nehor]

Well, in the Jewish tradition there is another woman - Lilith. But that's not really a candidate for polygamy.

 

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith

In some versions there was another unnamed woman who was wiped out right away.

In any case: It is Adam and Eve; not Lilith and Steve.

[Thinking]

Are you under the impression that we have a direct conduit to the rationale for God's decisions?

 

I am under the impression that many of the posters on this board think they know the rationale for God's decisions.

[bluebell]

This, except I would say that's been true since, well, Adam and Eve.

 

There have been times in the church's history where it was taught that plural marriage was necessary for exaltation, which is why i made the distinction about it being our current doctrine.  

[The Nehor]

I am under the impression that many of the posters on this board think they know the rationale for God's decisions.

Cool, I will wait for them to show up.

[Ginger Snaps]

There have been times in the church's history where it was taught that plural marriage was necessary for exaltation, which is why i made the distinction about it being our current doctrine.  

Oh I see. But even in those times, only a percentage of the church (2-40% depending on who you believe) actually practiced plural marriage, so I always took those statements to mean that they had to at least be willing to live it if called to do so, which is true of any commandment God might give us (though I will fully admit that I'm glad plural marriage is no longer required ).

[carbon dioxide]

The list of justifications for plural marriage is long and rooted in scripture, tradition, pseudo doctrine, etc.

 

So...

 

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

If we accept the idea that Adam lived for 930 years and if we read what little is said about the life of Adam after he leaves the garden, we know virtually nothing about the life of Adam.  Who can say that Adam did not have multiple lives in his 400th year of life?  We don't even know how long Eve lived.  Perhaps she died after 300 years.  Should be believe Adam was single for 600 years?  The lack of information either way does not allow any side to prove their case.  There is just as much chance that Adam practiced polygamy as there is that he did not.

Edited September 30, 2015 by carbon dioxide

[Ginger Snaps]

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

Jacob 2 makes it clear that the standard is one man, one woman unless God commands an exception.

I think Adam and Eve were set forth as the standard. Abraham/Sarah/Hagar et. al. demonstrated the exception.

[CV75]

The list of justifications for plural marriage is long and rooted in scripture, tradition, pseudo doctrine, etc.

 

So...

 

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

Not enough room at the tree of knowledge:

Edited September 30, 2015 by CV75

[Coop]

The list of justifications for plural marriage is long and rooted in scripture, tradition, pseudo doctrine, etc.

 

So...

 

If the practice of plural marriage was so important (as the 19th century LDS Church believed), why didn't God give Adam multiple wives instead of just one?

 

 

 

According my scriptures Adam had multiple wives.

 

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many." Moses 4:26

 

Note the last word.  This verse says that there were many Eves.

 

Then there is this scripture in the D&C.

 

"David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many other of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time" D&C 132:38

 

All these servants received many wives and concubines from the beginning of creation.  In other words this has been going on since the time of Adam.

 

I believe this puts to rest the idea that Adam didn't practice some form of polygamy.

 

And then there is some misunderstanding about the practice of polygamy in the Book of Mormon.

 

"And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he having four sons." Ether 6:20

 

It is hard to imagine that the brother of Jared had 22 children from just one wife.

 

Here is another example of a large family in the Book of Mormon.

 

"And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many.  And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons. Ether 7:1-2

 

In this case Orihah had 31 children.  This would have been quite a feat for just one woman.

 

And while we are on the Book of Mormon there is a common parsing error that people make when they read Jacob 2.  Here is the verse in question and what it means.

 

"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;" Jacob 2:27

 

The key to understanding this scripture is the phrase "save it be".  There are 30 other places where this phrase occurs.  In each and every case you can replace the phrase "save it be" with the word "except" or "only" and the meaning of the verse stays the same.  When you do this with verse 27 this is how it reads.

 

"Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have "ONLY" one wife; and concubines he shall have none;"

 

The problem Jacob was addressing was the issue of concubines.  He counseled the people that instead of taking women as concubines they should be wives.

 

One final note and this is from the temple ceremony.  I won't quote it here but the next time you go listen to the wording of some of the covenants that are made between husbands and wives and not between a man and a women.

 

The notion that monogamy is the Lord's standard may be true, but not based on these scriptures.

[HappyJackWagon]

 

According my scriptures Adam had multiple wives.

 

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many." Moses 4:26

Strange interpretation. Eve was the first of all women. There are now many women. I don't see how you interpret that to mean she was the first of many wives.

 

"Women" is not synonymous with "wives".

[JAHS]

According my scriptures Adam had multiple wives.

 

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many." Moses 4:26

 

Note the last word.  This verse says that there were many Eves.

 

Then there is this scripture in the D&C.

 

"David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many other of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time" D&C 132:38

 

All these servants received many wives and concubines from the beginning of creation.  In other words this has been going on since the time of Adam.

 

I believe this puts to rest the idea that Adam didn't practice some form of polygamy.

 

And then there is some misunderstanding about the practice of polygamy in the Book of Mormon.

 

"And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he having four sons." Ether 6:20

 

It is hard to imagine that the brother of Jared had 22 children from just one wife.

 

Here is another example of a large family in the Book of Mormon.

 

"And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many.  And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons. Ether 7:1-2

 

In this case Orihah had 31 children.  This would have been quite a feat for just one woman.

 

And while we are on the Book of Mormon there is a common parsing error that people make when they read Jacob 2.  Here is the verse in question and what it means.

 

"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;" Jacob 2:27

 

The key to understanding this scripture is the phrase "save it be".  There are 30 other places where this phrase occurs.  In each and every case you can replace the phrase "save it be" with the word "except" or "only" and the meaning of the verse stays the same.  When you do this with verse 27 this is how it reads.

 

"Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have "ONLY" one wife; and concubines he shall have none;"

 

The problem Jacob was addressing was the issue of concubines.  He counseled the people that instead of taking women as concubines they should be wives.

 

One final note and this is from the temple ceremony.  I won't quote it here but the next time you go listen to the wording of some of the covenants that are made between husbands and wives and not between a man and a women.

 

The notion that monogamy is the Lord's standard may be true, but not based on these scriptures.

 

I have heard it explained that back in those days a man considered all progeny his sons and daughters, whether they were children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren.

 

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many." Moses 4:26

 

I have always assumed that the word "many" refers back to the words "all women", not to Eve.

[Hillel2]

After reading the Wikipedia article I realized that the demon Lilith is the same Lilith from the TV show Frasier. It's no wonder that Adam embraced monogamy after being married to her for a short time.

[Hillel2]

Hello. Lillith would be what some would call a starter wife. I remember catching an episode of cheers somewhere back when i was younger and bursting into laughter that frazier's jewish wife was called lillith. I think the name was meant as an inside joke among jews ...in ashkenazi folklore lillith plays many of roles that christians associate with satan...so i can't imagine a self respecting member of the faith naming a child as such! :-)

[Ginger Snaps]

According my scriptures Adam had multiple wives.

 

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many." Moses 4:26

 

Note the last word.  This verse says that there were many Eves.

 

Then there is this scripture in the D&C.

 

"David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many other of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time" D&C 132:38

 

All these servants received many wives and concubines from the beginning of creation.  In other words this has been going on since the time of Adam.

 

I believe this puts to rest the idea that Adam didn't practice some form of polygamy.

 

And then there is some misunderstanding about the practice of polygamy in the Book of Mormon.

 

"And accordingly the people were gathered together. Now the number of the sons and the daughters of the brother of Jared were twenty and two souls; and the number of sons and daughters of Jared were twelve, he having four sons." Ether 6:20

 

It is hard to imagine that the brother of Jared had 22 children from just one wife.

 

Here is another example of a large family in the Book of Mormon.

 

"And it came to pass that Orihah did execute judgment upon the land in righteousness all his days, whose days were exceedingly many.  And he begat sons and daughters; yea, he begat thirty and one, among whom were twenty and three sons. Ether 7:1-2

 

In this case Orihah had 31 children.  This would have been quite a feat for just one woman.

 

And while we are on the Book of Mormon there is a common parsing error that people make when they read Jacob 2.  Here is the verse in question and what it means.

 

"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;" Jacob 2:27

 

The key to understanding this scripture is the phrase "save it be".  There are 30 other places where this phrase occurs.  In each and every case you can replace the phrase "save it be" with the word "except" or "only" and the meaning of the verse stays the same.  When you do this with verse 27 this is how it reads.

 

"Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have "ONLY" one wife; and concubines he shall have none;"

 

The problem Jacob was addressing was the issue of concubines.  He counseled the people that instead of taking women as concubines they should be wives.

 

One final note and this is from the temple ceremony.  I won't quote it here but the next time you go listen to the wording of some of the covenants that are made between husbands and wives and not between a man and a women.

 

The notion that monogamy is the Lord's standard may be true, but not based on these scriptures.

That's a really strange interpretation of Jacob 2, considering that the chapter heading reads "The Lord commands that no man among the Nephites may have more than one wife" and we commonly point to this chapter as a defense of monogamy. Furthermore, a close reading of Jacob 1 and 2 reveals that the crime was in the intent--in the desiring to have many wives and concubines (see 1:15). Jacob 2:4 notes that as yet the people are keeping the commandments, but the warning is against the *desire* to have many wives and concubines.

Additionally your interpretation of the use of "many" meaning many wives doesn't hold up in light of Moses 1:34: "And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many."

D&C 138 details a vision of Joseph F Smith lists Father Adam and Mother Eve (not Mothers Eve!) among an assembly of the great and mighty ones.

Our temple depiction of the creation only displays one woman--Eve--with Adam. The use of the plural "husbands and wives" is arguably due to the address of multiple men and women.

Your argument is that X, Y & Z from the scriptures couldn't have 20+ children, but if we consider that marriages took place earlier and birth control was virtually nil, it's not completely strange to think that a very fertile woman could bear a lot of children. Heck, there is a family featured on TLC that has 19 and the mother has had at least two known pregnancy losses to boot.

[JAHS]

If we accept the idea that Adam lived for 930 years and if we read what little is said about the life of Adam after he leaves the garden, we know virtually nothing about the life of Adam.  Who can say that Adam did not have multiple lives in his 400th year of life?  We don't even know how long Eve lived.  Perhaps she died after 300 years.  Should be believe Adam was single for 600 years?  The lack of information either way does not allow any side to prove their case.  There is just as much chance that Adam practiced polygamy as there is that he did not.

 

Right and even if it was only Eve,  living for several hundred years gives her plenty of time to have lots of children.

[ttribe]

Strange interpretation. Eve was the first of all women. There are now many women. I don't see how you interpret that to mean she was the first of many wives.

 

"Women" is not synonymous with "wives".

 

"Strange" is being kind.

[cinepro]

I suspect one reason that Adam didn't have many "Eves" is that it would have made the Fall much more complicated.

 

That being said, if the evolutionists are right and there were many other mortal, humanoid women wandering around outside the Garden at the time of the Fall, it's entirely possible that Adam chose some of them to be additional wives.