Purpose of plural marriage

Important introductory material on plural marriage available here

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Question

Why would the Lord have commanded the 19th century Saints to implement plural marriage? What purpose(s) did polygamy accomplish?

Note: Some critics provide their own reason—they claim Joseph Smith and the Mormons implemented plural marriage because of lustful motives. That charge is addressed elsewhere. See: Polygamy_because_of_lustful_motives

Response

It is often not the Lord's pattern to give reasons for His commandments. Any "reasons" which we attach, in retrospect, to plural marriage can only be based on supposition and intelligent deduction.

It seems clear, however, in retrospect that plural marriage accomplished several things. Any or all of these things could have been intended by the Lord for the benefit of the Church and the Saints. Other benefits which we do not yet see or understand could also have been intended. We should remember the caution of Elder Dallin H. Oaks:

...It's not the pattern of the Lord to give reasons. We can put reasons to commandments. When we do we're on our own. Some people [have] put reasons to [commandments] and they turned out to be spectacularly wrong.^[1]

Any such list as this is tentative. But, it reminds us plural marriage may have accomplished more than we sometimes appreciate. Some benefits which have been suggested include:

1. It was to try (prove) His people. Polygamy stood as an Abrahamic test for the saints. The willingness to obey a commandment that was inherently distastful to the vast majority of the members of the Church allowed members to draw close to the Lord.
2. It was to "raise up" righteous seed. Specifically it allowed a relatively few righteous men to become very prolific in a time when the West was very wild and there were many unrighteous men. Children were raised in more households with a strong gospel commitment.
3. It served to "set apart" his people as a peculiar people to the world. This social isolation that gave the church space to solidify itself into an identity independent of the many denominations from which the membership was derived. Sociologists have discovered that in order for a religion to successfully grow it has to be demanding and it has to experience a moderate amount of tension with its host society. The RLDS Church rejected plural marriage and coincidently are small in number and now virtually indistinguishable from Protestants.
4. Polygamy was part of the "restoration of all things," and a way for Mormons to feel connected with prophets like Abraham and Jacob. 19th century Mormons gained a greater appreciation for covenants that these forefathers made with God.
5. Numerous family ties that were created, building a network of associations that strengthened the Church.
6. Arguably polygamy affected higher natural growth rates. Ironically plural wives had fewer children than their monogamous Mormon counterparts. ^[2]
7. Polygamy created a system where a higher percentage of women and men got married compared to the national average at the time. ^[3]
8. Plural marriages increased competition in the marriage market, so the "slacker" and "loser" men had to work to improve their standing to compete. They had to clean up, try to get good jobs, and treat the women with respect. It gave the women more options as to whom to marry.
9. Out on the frontier in 19th century life expectancy was low and women were not as economically independent as they are today. Therefore there was a large amount of widows (and orphans coming of age) that needed to be taken care of. Furthermore Brigham instituted the most liberal divorce in the country so women (but not men!) could get out of unhappy marriages. Kathryn Daynes estimated that 30% of plural marriages came from married-before women. ^[4]
10. Church Historian Elder Jensen's observed how Mormon polygamy enabled women more freedom to earn college degrees and join national women's rights organizations at the time. ^[5]
11. Polygamy helped integrate foreign immigrants into Mormon society. With the marriage market operating so efficiently and women highly sought after, Utah men had to sometimes marry outside their perferred cultural boundaries. This provided a great way to redistribute the wealth to the immigrants families coming. ^[6]
12. Plural marriages provided a social support network while the husbands were off on missions.

Endnotes

1. [note] Dallin H. Oaks, Interview with Associated Press, in Daily Herald, Provo, Utah, 5 June 1988.
2. [note] David R. Keller, "And We Multiplied Exceedingly," FAIR Blog (last accessed 9 May 2008) off-site
3. [note] David R. Keller, "Where the Lost Boys Go," FAIR Blog (last accessed 9 May 2008) off-site
4. [note] Kathryn Daynes, "Single Men in a Polygamous Society: Male Marriage Patterns in Manti, Utah," Journal of Mormon History 24/1 (Spring 1998): 110. off-site
5. [note]  Marlin K. Jensen, "Polygamy Then and Now," in LDS Newsroom, 5 May 2008 off-site
6. [note] Kathryn Daynes, "Single Men in a Polygamous Society: Male Marriage Patterns in Manti, Utah," Journal of Mormon History 24/1 (Spring 1998): 97. off-site