Plural marriage/Polygamy in the 19th Century

1. REDIRECTTemplate:Test3

Polygamy in the 19th Century

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• 19th century statements from Church leaders regarding the practice of plural marriage
• Divorce among Mormons in the 19th century
• Reports that the Lamanites were to become "white and delightsome" through polygamous marriage
• Polygamy practiced after the Manifesto
• The purpose of plural marriage
• Did Lorenzo Snow's statements about polygamy during the Temple Lot case

19th century statements from Church leaders regarding the practice of plural marriage

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• Question: Did some Church leaders teach that plural marriage was a practice that would persist forever?
• Question: Was Heber C. Kimball concerned that missionaries would "take all the best" convert women as plural wives before they returned to Salt Lake City?

1. REDIRECTLatter-day Saints and divorce in the nineteenth century

Early Church leaders' comments about the difficulties of plural marriage

Summary: It is claimed that early Church leaders "admitted" that there were many difficulties with plural marriage that caused "problems" and "great sorrow."

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• Gospel Topics: "It is therefore difficult to accurately generalize about the experience of all plural marriages"
• Question: Did early Church leaders "admit" that there were many difficulties with plural marriage that caused "problems" and "great sorrow"?

Divine manifestations to plural wives, their families, and other members

Summary: Did those who entered into plural marriage do so simply because Joseph Smith (or another Church leader) "told them to"? Is this an example of "blind obedience"? No, they bore witness that only powerful revelatory experiences convinced them that the command was from God.

Reports that the Lamanites were to become "white and delightsome" through polygamous marriage

Jump to details:

• Question: Did the Church suppress a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1831 which encouraged the implementation of polygamy by intermarriage with the Indians in order to make them a “white and delightsome” people?
• Question: Was Ezra Booth commanded to take a wife from among the Indians?

1. REDIRECT Plural marriage practiced after the First Manifesto

Prevalence of in Utah

Summary: What was the prevalence of polygamy in Utah? How many wives did most polygamist males have?

1. REDIRECT Purpose of plural marriage

1. REDIRECT Plural marriage as a requirement for exaltation

The Law of Adoption: The sealing of men and women as children to prominent Latter-day Saint leaders

Summary: Critics point to the early practice of sealing men and women as children to prominent LDS leaders as an example of changes in LDS belief.

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• Question: What is the "Law of Adoption" practiced among 19-century Mormons and why has it changed?
• Question: What is the history behind the Mormon practice called the "Law of Adoption"?
• Question: Why were men sealed to other men during the early days of the Church?
• Question: Did Joseph Smith perform marriages between brothers and sisters?

Parley P. Pratt's marriage and murder

Summary: It is claimed that Parley P. Pratt's practice of polygamy was responsible for his murder, partly because he married a woman who hadn't been divorced from her first husband.

Jump to details:

• Question: Was Parley P. Pratt murdered because he stole another man's wife?
• Question: Was it normal not to obtain a formal civil divorce in 19th century America?

1. REDIRECT Mormonism and polygamy/Lorenzo Snow's statements about polygamy during the Temple Lot case