![]() ![]() Monogamous and plural marriages performed by priesthood power could seal loved ones to each other for eternity, on condition of righteousness. The same revelation that taught of plural marriage was embedded within a revelation about eternal marriage-the teaching that marriage could last beyond death. Plural marriage, practiced by ancient patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses, was one of those ancient principles. Latter-day Saints understood that they were living in the latter days, in what the revelations called the “dispensation of the fulness of times.” 5 Ancient principles-such as prophets, priesthood, and temples-would be restored to the earth. The revelation on plural marriage, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 132, emerged partly from Joseph Smith’s study of the Old Testament in 1831. In Joseph Smith’s time, monogamy was the only legal form of marriage in the United States. Polygamy had been permitted for millennia in many cultures and religions, but, with few exceptions, it was rejected in Western cultures. 4 The Beginnings of Plural Marriage in the Church Church members came to see themselves as a “peculiar people,” covenant-bound to carry out the commands of God despite outside opposition. Plural marriage also helped create and strengthen a sense of cohesion and group identification among Latter-day Saints. It also shaped 19th-century Mormon society in many ways: marriage became available to virtually all who desired it per-capita inequality of wealth was diminished as economically disadvantaged women married into more financially stable households and ethnic intermarriages were increased, which helped to unite a diverse immigrant population. Plural marriage did result in the birth of large numbers of children within faithful Latter-day Saint homes. The Book of Mormon identifies one reason for God to command it: to increase the number of children born in the gospel covenant in order to “raise up seed unto. Latter-day Saints do not understand all of God’s purposes in instituting, through His prophets, the practice of plural marriage. For more than half a century, plural marriage was practiced by some Latter-day Saints under the direction of the Church President. 1 By revelation, the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to institute the practice of plural marriage among Church members in the early 1840s. In biblical times, the Lord commanded some to practice plural marriage-the marriage of one man and more than one woman. Latter-day Saints believe that the marriage of one man and one woman is the Lord’s standing law of marriage. ![]()
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