Mormon Polygamy

Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?

Mormons practiced polygamy from the 1840s to the year 1890, when a revelation from the God commanded them to stop.  This is one of the most controversial practices in Mormon history and continues to trouble people nearly 120 years later.  President Gordon B. Hinckley, late prophet, seer, and revelator to the Mormon Church said:

I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter.

If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law’ [Articles of Faith 1:12]. One cannot obey the law and disobey the law at the same time.

There is no such thing as a ‘Mormon Fundamentalist.’ It is a contradiction to use the two words together.”

Despite this, many people equate Mormons and Polygamy.  Mormons believe that those who now practice polygamy are violating God’s law and federal law, since God has now commanded that Mormons no longer practice it.

Critics claim that polygamy is condemned by Christian values or the Bible, or that it oppresses women, and some even claim that the Book of Mormon condemns polygamy outright and hence Mormons must be hypocrites.  No biblical or Book of Mormon passage speaks against polygamy.  In fact, several prominent Biblical prophets including Abraham, Jacob, and David had multiple wives.  In the case of David, the prophet Nathan said to him:

Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things (2 Samuel 12:7-8).

Here, Nathan, a prophet, is speaking and quoting a revelation from God about David in which God declares that He gave David these wives.  David later committed a serious sin when he had an affair with Bathsheba, but that does not mean that his earlier marriages, here approved by God, were not condoned.

The Book of Mormon clearly explains that sometimes God commands people to practice polygamy, and other times He forbids it, since only very righteous people can it practice it properly and righteously.  A Book of Mormon prophet named Jacob teaches:

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; for I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.  Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.  For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things (Jacob 2:27-30).

According to Jacob, only when God commands it can people practice polygamy and He will do so in order to raise more children.  The Mormons practiced polygamy as commanded by God and did so for a limited time until God commanded the Prophet to end the practice.