Did the Mormon religon change its stance on polygamy, when marrying multiple wives became illegal in the United States?
Or the idea that people of color have no soul,did this change during the Civil rights movement?
I’m sorry this is so long but I think we need to explain another concept;
First some doctrine as Mormons see it.
There are higher principles and lower principles, the Lord gives us these principles according to our ability to live them.
*With the priesthood there is the Higher Melchisedec Priesthood open to all men with blessing for their families. Then there is the lower Levitical Priesthood which was only for Levites and then no priesthood at all which was true for most of the world.
*With the principle of giving there is having “all things in common” which we call the United Order and the Law of Consecration, where we consecrate all that we have to the Lord.
And there is the lower principle of tithing where you give only a tenth of your increase.
*With marriage there is the higher principle of eternal celestial marriage, sealed on earth that which is sealed in heaven. This principle also includes plural marriage if it is sanction by God. Then there are marriages of “this world” (see Luke 20), they are recognize and sanctioned by God but they are not eternal and do not include plural marriage.
We believe all of the higher principles were all taught and lived at the time of Adam. I’ll use the priesthood as my example.
We understand that Able and Cain were Melchisedec Priesthood holders however as time progressed and people began to sin and they lost the higher so the lower priesthood was put in place. The Priesthood became a birthright going to the oldest or most worthy son only rather than all men. Later the lower priesthood was given to the Levites only. When Christ came who is the High Priest of the order of Melchisedec he restored the higher priesthood and ordained all men to it. But then men sin and the priesthood was totally taken from the earth, Daniel calls this “the overspreading of abominations” when the “sacrifice and the oblation to cease”. See Dan 9
Then came the “restitution of all things”
Acts 3 Peter said;
19 ¶Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
We believe this is a prophecy about Joseph Smith and the restored Church. The second coming of Christ would not happen until there was this restitution.
In Act 1 there is another prophecy;
9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
This happened in the spring of 1820 when Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith.
“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
……When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” Joseph Smith
With this vision “the restitutions of all things” began. On the 15th of May 1829 John the Baptist returned to the earth as an Elias or messenger and restored the lower priesthood. Shortly after that Peter, James and John, the last three men who held priesthood and since their priesthood never ends still retain it, appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and ordained them to the Melchisedec Priesthood. With this restitution it was restored to all men of every nation as it was in the days of Adam. Joseph ordained 3 black men to the priesthood.
Now some actual history; One of the main reasons Joseph was killed was because he was anti slavery.
Contrary to what you have heard Mormons have always believed that black men had souls. Joseph was asked about the black situation and what he would do about slavery. I’m paraphrasing here, he said ‘Educated a black man and he will rise above the masters whose boots he now polishes’.
In a revelation found in 101 the Lord told Joseph
77 According to the laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles;
78 That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.
79 Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.
80 And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.
This country was under condemnation for the bondage of black men and women. However Joseph was against abolitionist because it would release the blacks from slavery with no structure, no education and no skills. It would also destroy the South’s economy and leave everyone in poverty. (which it did)
He had a plan of his own, he would have the government sell the lands out west and use the money to pay the slave owners as they released their slaves, he would also use it to educated the blacks. He thought if they could do this gradually the United State could avoid the impending war which he had seen in vision. This plan was in his platform as he ran for president of the US, (I don’t believe it was a serious campaign but more like trying to get his message out.) He was seen as a threat to the Southern way of life and this is the real reason the State of Missouri wanted him destroyed.
Now Joseph did ordain several black men to the priesthood, it was Brigham Young who placed a “temporary ban” (sorry I couldn’t help that). He never said why, there is no documentation as why he felt that he should do this or if the Lord told him to. He did not go through the 12 apostles as he should have, he was suppose to present a major change like this to the Twelve and get a unanimous vote. He did say that the blacks would receive the priesthood in the future and all of the blessings which came with it.
And, for the last century we have seen through a glass darkly. Different church members including some leaders have guessed building whole theories passing them off as doctrine. Then in the seventy’s the black people of our nation finally secured the right to vote. A short time later the temporary ban was lifted by the Lord and they received the priesthood once again.
My personal belief is that it had to do with that D&C 101
“ That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.”
As long as the black race was in bondage they were not free to act according to their own moral agency. It’s not a commendation of the back race but of the white race.
We could go into this more if you wish.
This same concept applies to the principles of the United Order, it’s tuff to live and only the righteous can make it work. Oliver Cowerdy even though he had seen so many visions was unwilling to live by this principle. Many early Mormon members did try to live with all things in common but after a generation their effort failed. Debt is what holds members back now, can’t consecrate your car debt to the Lord. We now live the lesser principle of tithing but we assume that one day in the future we will again live the United Order.
Same too with plural marriage.
I've wondered about this because these plural marriages were never registered legal marriages, today we would just call the second wife his mistress. So why the federal government had a say in it I'm not sure. I do feel that after coming to Utah some of the men started to misuse it, it was never meant collect as many wives as possible and they were suppose to get the ok from the prophet first. It was because of this misuse that this higher principle was taken away or had a “temporary ban”
The federal government came into Utah and began throwing men in jail, Pre. John Taylor our third prophet spent a great deal of time in hiding. Then they began confiscating Church property even the Salt Lake Temple which was under construction. The whole thing would be considered illegal today. Here's the churches official statement;
"The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that monogamy is God’s standard for marriage unless He declares otherwise (see 2 Samuel 12:7–8 and Jacob 2:27, 30). Following a revelation to Joseph Smith, the practice of plural marriage was instituted among Church members in the early 1840s (see section 132). From the 1860s to the 1880s, the United States government passed laws to make this religious practice illegal. These laws were eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. After receiving revelation, President Wilford Woodruff issued the following Manifesto, which was accepted by the Church as authoritative and binding on October 6, 1890. This led to the end of the practice of plural marriage in the Church."
Many members were ready to pack up and move to Mexico or Canada and that option was considered. There were several groups that did. President Woodruff had a dream where he saw how the Church would fall apart, the men would all go to jail and they would lose their temples. The Lord told him that for now the lesser principle would be put back in place but we understand that at some point we will once again live the higher principle.
