Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Commanded to Have "One Wife"

[ayani]

According to Paul, it's not absolutley necessary to marry in this life, but according to LDS doctrine, if we have the chance, we are required to be sealed (married) in an LDS temple for time and all eternity, to a spouse of our choice.

it's not only Paul who has opinions on the matter:

look at Matthew 19:3-12. Jesus says here that there are some who will not marry- either because they do not find a partner / are socially unfit for marriage, or because they choose not to marry. Jesus doesn't condemn the choice to not marry, nor does He command believers to marry- He leaves the case neutral, while emphasizing the sacredness and seriousness of marriage between a man and his wife.

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

B.B.Y.

i'd look at Jesus' words concerning "the two shall become one flesh". the two are now one-husband and wife. for another wife to be added, she would have to join the two, and the three would be made one flesh. Jesus mentions one man and one woman uniting in marriage (refering to Genesis), and He is quiet after the fact.

polygamy is mentioned and practiced in the Bible. allowances for polygamy are made in the Torah, as the Hebrews had taken up the practice, and God needed to say something on the issue(Exodus 21:10). in other places, God gives numerous women into men's hands when He causes them to come into power politically (2 Samuel 12:8). but no where do i see God commanding a man to marry more than one woman, or clearly giving the green light for the practice.

Lamech is the first man to practice polygamy (Genesis 4:19). the Bible notes the fact, but no where does God command, praise, bless Lamech's plural marriage. in many cases the Bible notes that certain men had more than one wife,and God acts in the lives of these men, and their wives- but where, Biblically, is polygamy commanded / encouraged by God?

a,

Yahshua, or the malach that resided (possessed) in him at the time, spoke the words of Adam. These words were not first spoken by Yahshua.........

Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Any who, A man can only be in one covenant at a time. He cannot make a covenant with multiple persons at the same time but rather individually. Yes a contract can be drawn up that encompasses many persons but the contract is with each individual. If one breaks such contract it does not nullify the other peoples claim to same said contract. If two people have their names on a deed to buy a house and one fails to pay guess what? The other of the two will be getting a letter. Each wife would hold a separate covenant with said man individually and each would become one with him but they, the wives, would not become one with each other. Kinda like the covenant that Yah made with all the sons of Yisrael that were present at Sinai. It was made with what? Over a million people? Anyways, If one person was not to obey the terms of said contract/covenant it did not mean that the rest of the people were out of the contract/covenant. Yah made a contract/covenant with many individuals that were personally responsible for there own adherence to the terms of said contract/covenant. Yah is a El of contracts/covenants. Just read all over scripture and you will soon see that this is true. Man may have many contracts/covenants with many different women to be his wife or maybe he doesn’t want one to be a wife but just wants her for some other purpose temporarily. This woman may just enter into a contract/covenant for purpose with the man and be only considered a concubine. This purpose could be for anything from sex and childbearing to cleaning house. Again, though remember, his is speaking of a contract/covenant. Both parties must be willing to attach themselves to the terms and conditions of said contract/covenant. This is not sexist or slavery. It is a contract/covenant. It is made between persons for a reason of agreement. The man wants something she has and the woman wants something the man has. No matter what this something is whether it be the same thing or different. As long as they both agree before Yah it is then binding for the full term of said contract/covenant.

 

[ayani]

B.Y.B. ~

logically and outside of the given question / context, what you are saying makes sense.

but where, Biblically, from Genesis-Revelation, does God clearly command / encourage polygamous marriages? which book, chapter, and verse?

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

B.Y.B. ~

logically and outside of the given question, what you are saying makes sense.

but where, Biblically, from Genesis-Revelation, does God clearly command / encourage polygamous marriages? which book, chapter, and verse?

a,

He doesn't.

But at the same time he doesn't make a law against POLYGYNY, not polygamy, either. Actually Torah states ...........

Exo 21:10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

speaking on the first wife. Also it even gives a command for polygyny which is.........

Deu 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.

That I am aware this is the only command of a polygynist situation and the rest was left up to man as to what his wishes would be. As long as the man upheld the Torah. Again this is without reason as to the wishes of the woman as well cause it does take two. Even though the man may choose many. Once that contract/covenant is made though, remember, man is the head.

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

ayani,

Lets please try and remember that this is FFH's thread and this is not a thread based on my beliefs and Sinaiticism. It is a thread based on "polygamy and the LDS".

 

[ayani]

exactly. He allows for it based on the context of the situation of polygamy already existing among the formerly enslaved Hebrews, and within that context, in the case of a woman's being widdowed. but it's an allowance for an aready existing situation, not a general blessing for future generations to go and marry more than one wife if they want to, nor a clear command to do so. no where does God say in the Bible, as Allah does in the Quran, that a man may marry a certain number of wives, and that it is ok to do so both presently and in the future.

yes, marriage is a covenant. but it's a special kind of covenant, and the only format God clearly outlines for it in the Bible is monogamous marriage between a man and his wife, ideally until death.

as a Christian, i would point to Jesus' words on the issue- which, yes, harken back to Genesis and point to God's own design for human relationships- before Lamech, before Egypt and the Exodus, before David, etc.

for someone to come along later and declare polygamy to be mandated by God not only contradicts Christ's own words on the issue, but gives the false impression that God did, at one time, clearly mandate / bless / command polygamy. and based upon the Biblical narrative, such an assumption simply doesn't stand.

 

[FFH]

Yoseph obtained a wife in Mitsrayim named Asenath which bore him two son’s by the names of Menasheh and Efrayim.

Sorry, careless error on my part. It was late when I wrote that sentence. I didn't realize what I had done until you pointed it out. I'll have a mod change that to Jacob. Thanks for catching that error for me. I'll have a mod correct that.

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

exactly. He allows for it based on the context of the situation of polygamy already existing among the formerly enslaved Hebrews, and within that context, in the case of a woman's being widdowed. but it's an allowance for an aready existing situation, not a general blessing for future generations to go and marry more than one wife if they want to, nor a clear command to do so. no where does God say in the Bible, as Allah does in the Quran, that a man may marry a certain number of wives, and that it is ok to do so both presently and in the future.

yes, marriage is a covenant. but it's a special kind of covenant, and the only format God clearly outlines for it in the Bible is monogamous marriage between a man and his wife, ideally until death.

as a Christian, i would point to Jesus' words on the issue- which, yes, harken back to Genesis and point to God's own design for human relationships- before Lamech, before Egypt and the Exodus, before David, etc.

for someone to come along later and declare polygamy to be mandated by God not only contradicts Christ's own words on the issue, but gives the false impression that God did, at one time, clearly mandate / bless / command polygamy. and based upon the Biblical narrative, such an assumption simply doesn't stand.

And that’s your opinion. I respect that though I do disagree. Neither Yah or Yahshua ever disallowed polygyny. I also disagree with what you say as it being some how declared/mandated/or commanded other than that of the death of the brother where it pertains to me. The marriage of a brother to the wife of his dead brother is clearly mandated / blessed / commanded by Yah. I never said any of those things that you imply but rather have made it clear that it is not a sin for a man to choose to have more than one wife as long as the woman is agreed to the covenant and the man acts righteously according to the Torah. The word “monogamous” is no where found in scripture either. You can use your own opinion and have it sound and look to be all so much more than it truly is and that is fine for you and those like you, but it just doesn't exist. I am not a christian but it might do you some service to go and research the timeline of your said christians as to the practice of polygyny. I think you will find that it was in practice for many, many years after Yahshua as well by so called church fathers. What you believe and interpret the scriptures, epistles and writings to say to you is by all means of no effect to me. All I ask of you is to do your homework about your own understanding of the past of the so called christians as to do with their own record of what you so vehemently vilify. I have seen so much rubbish of others thoughts and feelings as to what their understandings of scriptures are that it truly sickens me. All through time there has been those that will change what they understood to be true, and practiced openly, to something other than that truth if it meets their current agenda. Just like in the case of the LDS. They only changed the practice of polygamy because of the ongoing threat of loosing their bid for statehood and their land as well as their assets. The so called christian church did the same. And as all the rest that push their evil agendas do so in the name of Yahshua or Saul or whoever they feel deserves the credit so to help spew and spread their disinformation. Just because it isn’t commanded, doesn’t mean that it is a sin. Stop being so self-righteous in your own interpretations. If it were a sin and only meant to be for specific purposes then it would have been entered into the law as such. It is not written therefore it is left up to man. Their were, I believe, at least 40 men that practiced polygyny through out the scripture and at all different times. These were written about so one of any intellect could only fathom the actual amount of men and women that were involved in the practice. If at all, or at any time, there might or would have been a problem with this practice then I am certain, without fear or remorse, that Yah would have made it known by way of the Torah or the many prophets that he sent. And no I am only speaking of those true prophets from Yochanan the revelator and earlier. And I am not muslim either so I do not adhere to no quran.

 

[FFH]

Doesn't that conflict with the purpose of Mormon polygamy that you yourself stated? The purpose you gave was to "raise up more seed" for the Lord. In other words, make lots of babies that you can indoctrinate into the Mormon belief system. If he was taking all these wives, but not having sexual relations with them (which I find rather hard to believe), then he wasn't raising up a whole lot of seed.

He was just sealed to them for time and all eternity. The LDS marriage covenant is eternally binding.

Earthly civil marriages are not eternally binding or valid in heaven.

It's not always about this life, it's about being exalted eternally with God. our Father in Heaven.

Without this sacred covenant of marriage in an LDS temple, no man can be exalted with our Heavenly Father, no man.

It's not always about "raising up seed," it's about entering into a sacred covenant, which allows us to life with our Heavenly Father.

Civil marriages are not recognized in the next life.

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

Sorry, careless error on my part. It was late when I wrote that sentence. I didn't realize what I had done until you pointed it out. I'll have a mod change that to Jacob. Thanks for catching that error for me.

Not a prob. I make them all the time. wait a few more years and see how much harder it seems to be just to rememeber things from not just a day ago but a minute ago. LOL

Oh and sorry about me coming in here and "SOMEONE" who will remain nameless trying to turn this into a polygyny thread by attacking my beliefs and not keeping with the OP. I begged them to respect you and keep it civil but hey, what can I say. Maybe I should just ignore them but then again that wouldn't be my nature.

Again I apologize. :sorry1:

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

He was just sealed to them for time and all eternity. The LDS marriage covenant is eternally binding.

Earthly civil marriages are not eternally binding or valid in heaven.

It's not always about this life, it's about being exalted eternally with God. our Father in Heaven.

Without this sacred covenant of marriage in an LDS temple, no man can be exalted with our Heavenly Father, no man.

It's not always about "raising up seed," it's about entering into a sacred covenant, which allows us to life with our Heavenly Father.

Civil marriages are not recognized in the next life.

So what about the so called souls that are bore by these women and how are they to be used when you die and become a god yourself and have control of your own world? How does that work without having many wives?

 

[FFH]

One cannot say that Saul said that it wasn't absolutely necessary to marry. He was only giving his own opinion. He stated himself that this message wasn't for everybody. Some couldn't hear it. He made the choice to be without but that is o.k. Not all of us want to make that choice. It doesn't make one more righteous than the next. Its just easier for him. He might have slept with prostitutes instead. He was a busy man moving all over the place. He could have used the same freedom as Yadah did at the crossroads. Better to marry than to burn? Burn with lust. Not fire as so many misunderstand.

The "New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage," found in the LDS faith, did not exist at that time, of course, so men and women were not obligated to marry, according to the law at that time, that's why the Lord allowed Paul to say what he said concerning marriage.

It was okay to remain unmarried at that time, since there was no law commanding men to take a wife. We, however, as Latter-day Saints, are living under a law, The New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, which requires us to marry for time and for all eternity, otherwise we cannot live with our Heavenly Father, in the next life.

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

The "New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage," found in the LDS faith, did not exist at that time, of course, so men and women were not obligated to marry, according to the law at that time, that's why the Lord allowed Paul to say what he said concerning marriage.

It was okay to remain unmarried at that time, since there was no law commanding men to take a wife. We, however, as Latter-day Saints, are living under a law, The New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, which requires us to marry for time and for all eternity, otherwise we cannot live with our Heavenly Father, in the next life.

Then o.k. if that is what you believe as put forth from the BoM. Just thought it necessary to point out the truth on what Saul said by freewill and not whether Elohim allowed it or not. It wasn't a sin either way and for those of us that believe in the true word of Yah, it still isn't.

 

[FFH]

ayani,

Lets please try and remember that this is FFH's thread and this is not a thread based on my beliefs and Sinaiticism. It is a thread based on "polygamy and the LDS".

No, don't worry about i, you're answering her questions, many that I was not entirely comfortable answering.

 

[FFH]

Then o.k. if that is what you believe as put forth from the BoM. Just thought it necessary to point out the truth on what Saul said by freewill and not whether Elohim allowed it or not. It wasn't a sin either way and for those of us that believe in the true word of Yah, it still isn't.

I completely understand that and respect that.

 

[Berachiah Ben Yisrael]

No, don't worry about i, you're answering her questions, many that I was not entirely comfortable answering.

Cool, I just hate it when a thread is commandeered and taken in a complete other direction other than that which was meant in the OP but hey, I am just as guilty and do try to apologize for my passion for the true word of Yah when I catch myself. I still hate it though. I have seen, though, where you was uncomfortable in answering certain questions because there have been some of mine that you have ignored. I let them go after asking a couple of times finally realizing your plight on the matter.

Don't worry about it.