[This post is part of a series on Joseph Smith’s Polygamy. To read from the beginning or link to previously published posts, go to A Faithful Joseph.]

Emma Hale had been Joseph’s wife since he was a young, poor man. Since the beginning of their courtship in the late 1820s, Emma was aware of the opposition that faced Joseph, including attempts to physically harm Joseph. Joseph had repeatedly been attacked, beaten, imprisoned, held at gunpoint, betrayed into enemy hands, and returned to her variously bleeding, bruised, tarred, and emaciated.

Eventually she would receive Joseph’s lifeless body, riddled with bullets.

Along with Hyrum, Emma likely believed that Joseph’s teachings and actions related to plural marriage would cause his death, as seen from her vehement reaction to his sermon regarding how the Church might handle converts from countries where polygamy was practiced.[ref]Accounts regarding a fall 1841 sermon mentioning polygamy are recorded by Joseph Lee Robinson, George A. Smith, Horace Cummings, and Helen Mar Kimball [Smith Whitney] document Joseph’s sermon and retraction. Robinson and Kimball mention Emma’s reaction, see Brian C. Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Volume I, Chapter 9.[/ref] Yet her silence regarding Joseph’s plural marriages leading up to May 1843 does not mean she was ignorant of Joseph’s activities regarding plural marriage. Continue reading →

The title might sound strange, but that is what some members of the LDS Church are asking to find. Stories are told about lifelong members not hearing until adult age that Joseph Smith, or even Brigham Young, had practiced polygamy. These are not converts that can be expected to not know the basics of Mormon history. How can this happen? Its really hard to imagine, considering how intertwined Mormonism is with polygamy in popular secular thought. Eventually, sooner than later, a Mormon gets asked how many wives they or their husbands or father has. It becomes an exasperating eye roll question rather than shock. Most of the time. Apparently not all the time and for everyone.

My own experience, I believe, is a typical example of the slow learning about polygamy. Like so many Mormons, the subject just wasn’t brought up in church. Primary was too early where even discussions about reproduction would be inappropriate. The two subjects kind of go together. Most of the time the first inkling of both comes from school peers. At the age of around 10, that was the context of my exposure to the idea within Mormon teachings and history. My non-Mormon friend asked an offhand question if Mormons practice polygamy. I was taken by surprise, and assured him that there were all kinds of rumors floating around about Mormonism. I assume even by that remembered point of my life that I must have heard something before then to say it was one of many falsehoods.

A few years later I find out that Mormonism did indeed teach and practice polygamy, but not from a hostile source. By my mid-teen years I had developed a fascination with Joseph Smith and so grabbed the closest biography I could find. No, it wasn’t Fawn Brody’s famous scholar approved expose. The book Joseph Smith: An American Prophet by John Henry Evans was a rough sketch of his life and contained a small notice of Joseph Smith’s polygamy. The 1933 book stated, “ Polygamy or, as the Mormons prefer to call it, ‘plural marriage,’ was first introduced among the Saints in Nauvoo, in 1841 — although the Prophet had had the idea in mind ever since 1831.” (1966 ed., pg. 271). Again, the confirmation of this didn’t come from a source outside Mormon faith, but A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by B.H. Roberts who was himself a practitioner. He devoted an entire chapter in the second volume of his multi-volume history.

Both books might have talked about polygamy, the latter more than the former, but for completely different reasons. B.H. Roberts treatment aimed to argue that Joseph Smith introduced the practice for the intended audience of the now Community of Christ deniers. John Henry Evans reasoning sought to show that polygamy came from religious convictions. Regardless of why the two talked about it, the point is that Deseret Book published these books openly. Arguably it might be considered white washed treatments, but by no means was it hidden. Continue reading →

Having shot themselves in the foot during General Conference, Kate Kelley and her Ordain Women crew have decided to offer up their other appendages in a never ending effort to keep themselves relevant.  However, their new focus portends to be even more dangerous to the foundation of the Church.

The OW are now moving their focus onto May 15th and the annual celebration of the Aaronic Priesthood restoration. In conjunction with this effort, they offer us 6 upcoming discussions/lessons on female ordination.

Boy, aren’t we the lucky ones?

In a world with so many real problems going on, where there is an acute need for service, caring, and uplifting, where there is hunger and suffering, do we really have to continue listening to wealthy and pampered liberal lawyers and their friends opine about not being able to purchase the priesthood?

I’m all for freedom of speech, but I’m also for maintaining the dignity of the Church. Turning sacred events and concepts into media circuses has been very effective by liberals in other churches to liberalize their doctrine.  Recently, Geoff B asked why the Episcopalian Church is near collapse.  The answer lies in the political machinations of a few very liberal people, such as Bishop John Spong, who moved the focus off of faith in Christ and keeping commandments, to a new liberal theology.

This liberal theology made huge inroads into the Catholic Church, until Pope/Saint John Paul II stood up against the local priests, who were replacing God with communism.  This liberal theology has divided the Episcopalians and caused a loss of over 1 million members. The Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) have seen a flood of people leave their ranks over similar issues.

What Kate Kelley and others like her demand is not a revelation from God approving their personal inspiration, but rather they seek to replace God and prophets with an Episcopalian version of the Restoration.

Even more dangerous than their marches on Temple Square, their new effort includes inviting people to be indoctrinated in 6 easy “discussions”.  Yes, 6 lessons. (Isn’t it a coincidence that the missionaries also teach 6 discussions?).

While the discussions are not yet available, it will be interesting to see how much the discussions tend towards doctrine, versus the “philosophies of (wo)men.”

Other religions are collapsing because of such attempts at steadying the ark.  Yet, OW does not yet see the danger they put forth to the Church.  If every person who disagreed with something in the Church teachings were to create a political movement within the Church itself, we would eventually see the Restoration fall apart.  Righteousness would be replaced with good intentions.  Temples would no longer be sacred and holy sanctuaries, but would be beautiful, but empty cathedrals (as the Episcopalians now have). The work to prepare the world for the 2nd Coming would grind to a halt, as members cease to lose themselves in the work of the Lord, and begin to publicly focus on their own selfish wants instead.

Instead of a Church of selfless servants, Peters and Marys; we would have a  Simon Magus social club.

I am thankful for the Priesthood.  I am very thankful for the Sisters and Brothers in the Church, who quietly serve others within the power and authority of that priesthood.  I am saddened by those who would trade their birthright for a mess of pottage.

Libertarian political thought is booming in the United States with hundreds of new books published on the subject every year. But almost none of those books have been aimed at younger students. According to a blog post by guajardomarks.com, LDS author and political activist Connor Boyack is trying to fill that void with a new book titled “The Tuttle Twins Learn About the Law.”

The book follows the nine-year-old twins as they consult with a wise older man who is their neighbor as part of a school project. The man (named Fred) helps them consider just and unjust behavior and points out that immoral behavior does not become moral if members of the government do it.

Fred encourages the twins (named Ethan and Emily) to voluntarily give to others but points out that a government that steals from some people to give to others is a government that encourages pirate-like plunder.

One of the key exchanges is this:

“True laws protect people and their property from plunder,” Fred explained. “When true laws exist and are respected, people work hard to improve their lives and they work peacefully with others. Everyone prospers together and is happier.”
Ethan wrote down “True laws protect people.”
Fred continued, “When there isn’t any legal plunder, people rely on the kindness and service of others for the things that they need.”

Fred’s teachings are based on the 164-year-old book called “The Law” written by French author Frederic Bastiat. Bastiat was not an anarchist and favored some government but pointed out that government, even well-intentioned, justifies immoral acts in the name of collective action.

The Tuttle Twins book points out that it is moral for people to voluntarily give to others but it is immoral for people to expect the government to take from some people to give to others. It uses the example of Fred voluntarily giving tomatoes to his needy neighbor but says that if the needy neighbor hired the police to take the tomatoes it would obviously be immoral.

So, how did the Tuttle Twins book do with actual young people?

Continue reading →