General Conference mention of the gospel of Abraham

[Calm]

45 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

Like the Queen from "Aliens":

We are likely to be in as good of a mood to if that is our eternal duty and only eternal duty….

[telnetd]

On 4/10/2024 at 2:29 PM, CV75 said:

Please provide again your source for the term "much seed".

“Elias brings back ‘the gospel of Abraham,’ the great Abrahamic covenant whereby the 
faithful receive promises of eternal increase, promises that through celestial marriage 
their eternal posterity shall be as numerous as the sands upon the seashore or as the 
stars in heaven for multitude. Elias gives the promise—received of old by Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob—that in modern men and in their seed all generations shall be blessed. 
And we are now offering the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to all who will 
receive them” (“The Keys of the Kingdom,” Ensign, May 1983, 22).

[CV75]

4 hours ago, telnetd said:

“Elias brings back ‘the gospel of Abraham,’ the great Abrahamic covenant whereby the 
faithful receive promises of eternal increase, promises that through celestial marriage 
their eternal posterity shall be as numerous as the sands upon the seashore or as the 
stars in heaven for multitude. Elias gives the promise—received of old by Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob—that in modern men and in their seed all generations shall be blessed. 
And we are now offering the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to all who will 
receive them” (“The Keys of the Kingdom,” Ensign, May 1983, 22).

So, we don't have the term "much seed" as the only reason for plural marriage in this world, but we do have promises of "eternal increase", "eternal posterity" and innumerable posterity -- in the long run -- for those who enter and abide celestial marriage of any kind, plural or otherwise, whether in this life or by temple proxy ordinance in the next.

The dispensation of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (who were given the same gospel as previous dispensations such as Adam, Enoch and Melchizedek) are represented in Elias, and the dispensation of Moses is represented in himself during Jesus' Transfiguration event, showing how the law, covenant and promises to the prophets and the people of God are fulfilled in Christ, whether there was a fully organized priesthood or just a "schoolmaster" in place under them.

 

[telnetd]

On 4/12/2024 at 2:01 PM, CV75 said:

So, we don't have the term "much seed" as the only reason for plural marriage in this world, but we do have promises of "eternal increase", "eternal posterity" and innumerable posterity -- in the long run -- for those who enter and abide celestial marriage of any kind, plural or otherwise, whether in this life or by temple proxy ordinance in the next.

The dispensation of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (who were given the same gospel as previous dispensations such as Adam, Enoch and Melchizedek) are represented in Elias, and the dispensation of Moses is represented in himself during Jesus' Transfiguration event, showing how the law, covenant and promises to the prophets and the people of God are fulfilled in Christ, whether there was a fully organized priesthood or just a "schoolmaster" in place under them.

 

I would regard "much seed" as being equivalent to "innumerable posterity".

What additional reasons can you identify for practicing plural marriage aside from greater eternal
increase?

[CV75]

5 hours ago, telnetd said:

I would regard "much seed" as being equivalent to "innumerable posterity".

What additional reasons can you identify for practicing plural marriage aside from greater eternal
increase?

I do not regard them as equivalent. The first is not bothering to count and the second is conditional upon the attempt to count.

30 ^aAbraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose ^bloins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the ^cstars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.

There is no greater or lesser eternal increase once you have entered exaltation. Yet exaltation is the only way to have an increase and perpetuate God's eternal round.

Ultimately, exaltation is the purpose of marriage which the Lord instituted with Adam and Eve with the command to multiply and replenish the earth. They obeyed directly and through their posterity, with them and each couple having varying numbers of children, and innumerable children on the whole. Plural marriage is a subset of marriage, with the circumstances for using or permitting it varying from time to time. But the reason is the same: to prepare a people for exaltation and the attendant blessings, a continuation of the eternal round.

Marriage prepares couples, families and generations for exaltation, which has individual and collective qualitative and quantitative aspects that we can only begin to describe but cannot obtain in any other way.

 

[telnetd]

On 4/14/2024 at 3:55 PM, CV75 said:

There is no greater or lesser eternal increase once you have entered exaltation.

I figured Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob having many wives and concubines, like D&C says,
would enable them to have greater eternal increase than someone with only one wife.

[Calm]

20 minutes ago, telnetd said:

I figured Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob having many wives and concubines, like D&C says,
would enable them to have greater eternal increase than someone with only one wife.

My mom was blessed to have increase like Sarah.  Be patient for a few generations and one wife works as well as many.  It is more if your kids have kids and they have kids than how many you have.  
 

And with eternity, it is an infinite time, so increase can be infinite as well, so what’s the issue with waiting a thousand years or so to get up to speed?

Edited April 16, 2024 by Calm

[CV75]

19 minutes ago, telnetd said:

I figured Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob having many wives and concubines, like D&C says,
would enable them to have greater eternal increase than someone with only one wife.

I don't take it that way. Either type of marriage has eternal increase in the hereafter. Both serve the Lord's purposes for building a Zion society and getting people there while in mortality. Sometimes that building may have a quantitative aspect, and sometimes a qualitative aspect, and the emphasis might differ between dispensations: in some cases, more children can and are to be be had, and in other cases a more refined couple(s) is to be had, and in other cases both can be had. Materially, it depends on the resources that are available and gathered. Spiritually, it depends on the commitment to the covenants that is available and gathered.

[Calm]

2 minutes ago, CV75 said:

more refined couple(

Don’t understand this part?  What is meant?

[CV75]

3 hours ago, Calm said:

Don’t understand this part?  What is meant?

I was thinking about the children of God becoming better fitted for exaltation through marriage in concert with the effects of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, which in a full form would be the Holy Spirit of Promise and the calling and election made sure.

Funny – as I searched for “refine” in the D&C I got D&C 131, which happens to bring these several subjects together into one section is celestial marriage. But the word “refine’ does not appear except in a related form in verse 7. But this section still explains it well in my opinion.

[telnetd]

On 4/16/2024 at 4:16 PM, Calm said:

And with eternity, it is an infinite time, so increase can be infinite as well, so what’s the issue with waiting a thousand years or so to get up to speed?

And with a man who has many wives and many concubines, his increase will be infinitely more.