Plural Marriage Mormonism
Plural marriage is the name given by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to practice a type of polygamy (the polygyny ) among Latter-day Saints until 1889. Courtesy of the President of the Church, plural marriages were celebrated only in the first temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Only female members of the Church and only men who hold the Melchizedek priesthood could access the temple marriage.
According to Mormon doctrine, plural marriage restored the biblical practice of multiple wives, and was willed by God, in a given time, to increase its people.
The percentage of polygamous Mormons varied places and times. After the institutionalization of the practice by Brigham Young to his suspension, between 20 and 40% of men entered in such plural marriages, while the percentage of polygynous women was 10 to 15% higher (sometimes exceeding the number that monogamous women in Utah ) Mormon Belief The Mormons believe that, just as the practice of plural marriage was the result of a revelation to Joseph Smith , was also abandoned its application of a divine revelation given to the President of the Church of the time, Wilford Woodruff. Wilford Woodruff declared himself: "I left all the temples to escape us, I myself would have gone to jail and would have left all the other men go, if the God of heaven had not commanded to do this I did, and when the time came where I was commissioned to do this, it was quite clear to me. I went before the Lord, and I wrote what the Lord told me to write. " For Mormons , the law of plural marriage was a testing of their faith. The Book of Mormon teaches that God's law is monogamy, unless God decides otherwise: - Jacob 2:27-30 (emphasis added) This concept was confirmed by Joseph Smith October 5, 1843: "I have repeatedly said that no one will have more than one woman at a time, unless the Lord decides otherwise." In 1831 , Joseph Smith , founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , claimed he had a revelation on plural marriage and spoke to a few close associates. She was however not in writing at the time, neither practiced nor even a general public announcement. In 1840 , the doctrine of plural marriage was taught to a few church leaders who, with Joseph Smith secretly married other women the following year. This secrecy could not be kept long, however, the doctrine was not discussed openly. This situation was particularly responsible for the persecution that befell the Church until the repeal of this practice in 1890. July 12, 1843 , Joseph Smith was put in writing and read to the grand council of Nauvoo "revelation on the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant, and the plurality of wives" ( Doctrine and alliances , heading to Section 132). No doctrine, no doubt, the young church did not cause so much dissension within and outside the organization. For years after the revelation of this doctrine, Joseph could not bring himself to practice or teach others to do so. The Anglo-Saxon society as a whole was opposed to plural marriage, though it had never been banned, whether from the state or the federal Constitution. Even after moving to Nauvoo, where the prophet said to have received the Lord 's command to the law of plural marriage in force, he hesitated to do so. Night after night, he paces along the banks of the Mississippi , sometimes accompanied by his brother Hyrum, struggling with the problem. He was convinced that the practice of this doctrine would bring about the Church of violent persecution and lead eventually to die. Historical reports show that neither Joseph Smith nor Brigham Young , nor any of the Church leaders would not welcome with joy the doctrine of plural marriage. Brigham Young later said: - Speech July 14, 1855 in Provo, see Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, vol. 2, p. 102 John Taylor , who became the third president of the Church, added: - Roberts, The Life of John Taylor, P. 100 For Heber C. Kimball and his wife, Vilate, command of the prophet Heber take another wife was an extremely difficult ordeal. This command was hidden for some time the wife of Heber. Vilate noticed he was extremely worried. She said that in response to his prayer on what was causing so much trouble for her husband, she received a vision of the eternal world. Nobody knows what she saw, but later she became convinced partisan of the doctrine of plural marriage. If the doctrine of plural marriage caused a crisis among the strongest men of the Church, it is not surprising that many of the men refused. Only the secrecy that surrounded his practice prevented a general apostasy in the Church in 1844. When the doctrine was publicly proclaimed in the mission fields, opposition to the Church grew considerably and was often resorted to violence. The secrecy surrounding the introduction of the practice of produced crude lies and accusations of adultery. It was an extremely important factor that helped make both Mormon and non Mormon hostile to Joseph Smith. None of the teachings of the Church was faced with a direct way to the social order of the day nor aroused such violent hostility. In the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , more and more women than men have become members of the Church. This was the case of the Nauvoo period and this remained the case for a number of years after the arrival of the Saints in Utah. This discrepancy persisted as the converts formed the bulk of church members. The Latter-day Saints were a people so isolated as if they were on an island in the middle of the ocean. Marriages outside the Church were discouraged. There were not enough men. Many women had to live and die unmarried, deprived of marital life, motherhood and family. Plural marriage was never at any time a general law for the whole Church, and was never played at any time by over two per cent of the male population. The President of the Church held the key to the practice of this marriage, and only those who were supposed to be able to live in justice law had permission to enter. Thus women Surplus Church were absorbed in family life. However, a small number of those who lived the law of this law and abused the trust given to them and fed slander and mockery against the Church. Despite social reasons advanced to justify the plural marriage, it was directly opposed to both traditions in the Church and outside it. The same secrecy attached to it prevented any explanation was given to the public, creating a breeding ground for rumors richer. Joseph Smith knew that he was considering the social order would create a violent opposition in Illinois. The experiences of the Church in Ohio and Missouri had clearly shown. The presence of the Mormons in large numbers in any part of the American colonization of the time would have produced a similar result. And this not because it was difficult to agree with the Mormons , or because their neighbors would have been bad people, but because the teachings of the Church and the existing social order were directly opposed. Was to prepare for the inevitable opposition and perhaps to some extent to avoid that Joseph Smith had written the charter of Nauvoo and had assured the passage. Is to prepare against the illegal arrests that kept adamant that there was an independent municipal court in Nauvoo. This was to protect his people from the inevitable violence of popular opposition that he organized and formed the Nauvoo Legion. He did not in fact that even these precautions would protect his people long. It provided overwhelming opposition inevitable. In 1842 he began to seek non-colonized part of America where his people could realize its " Zion "without conflict. His attention necessarily turned to the West, and that year he delivered a prophecy to a group of Latter-day Saints in Montrose (Iowa). On 6 August he wrote in his diary: "I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer many afflictions and would be hunted in the Rocky Mountains, many apostate, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives as a result of exposure to weather or illness, and some of you will have the opportunity to go help set up settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. " At a conference held on 28 and 29 August 1852 in Salt Lake City, the doctrine of plural marriage was announced for the first time in public. The revelation was read, and Orson Pratt made a speech from the perspective of the Bible. The limits and restrictions set by law were explained modern revelation. A number of leaders were already applying this doctrine. After the conference, others were given to Brigham Young , who held the keys of this kind of marriage, the authorization to practice. In some cases, the President of the Church exhorted the leaders of the church to marry and open their homes to deserving women of the community who did not find a husband. At the end of the first year of migration to Utah, the number of females exceeded the number of men. This excess of female population persisted for half a century. In the Mormon practice of plural marriage, these women were absorbed in family life in diverse communities. The practice was necessarily limited, two percent of men eligible for marriage only with more than one wife. The law was not applicable to the general population of the territory or even the general membership of the Church. Only men who obtained the authorization of the president who saw the dignity and personality of the individual, could marry a second wife, and then only with the consent of the first. A census made in 1858 relates to 3617 the number of polygamous husbands in Utah. This figure breaks down as follows: The practice of plural marriage produced a lot of turmoil in the press and was opposed by opponents of polygamy. As Utah was a territory of the United States and the laws of the territories are determined by Congress, the issue of plural marriage was brought to this institution and became the main argument against the admission of Utah as a state. Attacks against this practice became so important that Congress, under the influence of political and media, passed in 1862 a "law against bigamy," whose goal was to put an end to the "polygamy" in Mormons. On July 8, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the act and made the fact of getting a plural marriage is punishable by a fine of 500 or five years imprisonment or both. Overall, the president and members of Congress were not hostile to Mormons , but were opposed to the practice of polygamy. The political program for which Lincoln was elected, contained a paragraph condemning the practice of polygamy. Friendship for the Mormons , whom he had met in Illinois, President Lincoln neglected to appoint officers to enforce the application of the law against bigamy. Opponents of polygamy were not content to drop the issue. The law contained a provision prohibiting a religious group in a territory to hold land whose value exceeds 50,000. This was to direct the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. An attempt by Governor Harding of Utah in 1863 to punish Brigham Young under the law failed, the constitutionality of the whole law is questionable. Agitation against polygamy increased over the years, but it was not until 1874 that the constitutionality of the "law against polygamy was put to the test and we tried to apply it. The Mormons were certain that the law was unconstitutional and that if a trial was brought before the higher courts, it would be declared unconstitutional and it would clarify the matter. Accordingly, George Reynolds, private secretary to Brigham Young , volunteered to bring law to the test. The officers of federal territory seemed equally eager to clarify the matter by a friendly trial. Accordingly, Reynolds was indicted. He appeared voluntarily before the court and provides evidence of the facts which he had broken the law. It was found guilty sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 500. Call was made to the Supreme Court of the territory where it was rejected on the grounds that the House of indictments had charged that Reynolds was illegal. The constitutionality of the law had still not decided, a second trial took place in 1875 to Alexander White, chief justice of Utah. The friendly nature of the previous trial was entirely absent, the charge becomes violent vis--vis the accused and the accused in turn refused to provide evidence to prove that there had been a violation law. However, a conviction was obtained, and Reynolds received the condemnation of 500 dollar fine and two years of hard labor in the penitentiary. Utah Supreme Court upheld the order and appeal was made to the Supreme Court of the United States, which, to the surprise of the Church and many legal experts constitution, upheld the constitutionality of the law. It was a terrible blow to the Church. The decision does, however, fell 6 January 1879. Meanwhile, Brigham Young had died, and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles becomes the presiding authority of the Church. An attempt to reopen the trial of George Reynolds and a petition for a pardon was granted failed. He was jailed June 16, 1879. In October 1880 the First Presidency was again organized with John Taylor as president of the Church. Under his administration, the campaign against "bigamy" intensified. After the death of Brigham Young and especially after the Supreme Court decision in Reynolds case, opponents of this practice labored to obtain the end of polygamy. Their action had resulted in the passage of new legislation designed to eliminate practices polygamy. In March 1882, Congress passed the "Edmunds' Bill" which amended the "law against bigamy" in 1862. This measure added to the offense punishable plural marriages or "polygamous life, what is defined as" unlawful cohabitation. " The law denied the right to vote or hold public office all those living in polygamy. In addition, the opportunity to be part of the jurors was not only refused to polygamists, but only to a person who professed to believe in the doctrine of plural marriage. Moreover, this law declared all positions vacant land and provided key federal officials in their place. Edmunds Law Utah Virtual Private rights of self-government that had become a factor characteristic of the territorial government. The law was made retroactive from the perspective of civil rights, so that anyone who had lived the law of plural marriage was denied the right to vote, even if the longer lived. A campaign began legal proceedings against the polygamous Mormons. This campaign lasted throughout the administration of John Taylor. Hundreds of homes were violated, husbands and fathers sent to the penitentiary. Because they refused to testify against their husbands, women were sent to prison for "insulting the court". After the severe condemnation against Rudger Clawson in October 1884, developed the "discriminatory legislation." This decision allowed courts to impose separate sentences against a man for each day we found him guilty of living with a plural wife. This court decision had resulted in the exile of leaders of the Church because it was tantamount to proclaiming that a man who practiced polygamy, or even trying to provide for his various wives, could, by an accumulation of convictions separated, sent to prison for life. This "discriminatory policy" was condemned by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Lorenzo Snow , who appeared before her in February 1887. In March 1887, Congress passed an even more drastic to eliminate polygamy, the measure called "Edmunds-Tucker Act." This law allowed the dissolution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who taught the doctrine, and the Company Perpetual Emigration Fund. The property of these corporations would return to the federal government and would be used to benefit schools in the area. Alone were exempt from the law cemeteries and buildings and land used exclusively cultural. This act was denounced in Congress by many non-Mormon leaders, but the popular movement against polygamy assured passage. The United States Marshal Dye took charge of property and personnel of the Church. To retain the use of the tithing office and the office of the historian, the church paid the government an annual rent of 2400 dollars. The church paid 450 a month to keep the use of Guardo House and a large sum for the use of Temple Square. During this period the Church was in serious financial difficulties. She could not borrow a dollar. Only the payment of tithes by his followers allowed him to confront this situation. Hiding places, usually called "underground", the First Presidency directed the exiled church affairs. John Taylor died in exile on July 25, 1887 Kaysville, Utah. After the death of John Taylor , the crusade against polygamy continued, but with a greater tolerance on the part of officers. President Grover Cleveland pardoned a number of men who received heavy sentences, including Charles Livingston, and Joseph H. Clawson Rudger Evans. Idaho and Arizona, the opposition against polygamy became intense. In 1885, the legislature of Idaho passed a law that deprived them of their electoral rights of all members of the church that taught such a doctrine, which denied all Mormons the right to vote or hold office, whether polygamous or not. Although questioned the constitutionality of the law was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in a decision issued February 3, 1890. A bill of this kind, called "Stubble Bill" was introduced in Congress for the Territory of Utah. Even prominent non-Mormons in Utah opposed, and he was dismissed. April 7, 1889, in these difficulties, Wilford Woodruff , president of the church, hung the "plural marriage". The laws against polygamy were imposed on members of the Church with a dilemma. They were to disobey or to divine law or the law of the country. The decision was a relief for them. On 25 September 1890, President Woodruff declared his famous "Manifesto" which ended the celebration of plural marriages in the Church and asked the saints to obey the law of the country. At the October general conference, the "Manifesto" was supported and became mandatory for the Church. At this conference, Wilford Woodruff declared: "I want to say to all Israel as far as I took in publishing this manifesto has not been without fervent prayer before the Lord ... I know the feelings that were provoked by what I did ... The Lord does not allow me, nor I, nor any other who fills the post of President of this Church to lead you into error. It is not in the program. This is not the will of God. If I had to try it, the Lord deprive me of my place. " The result of the Manifesto was a noticeable change in attitude vis--vis the Church. On January 4, 1893, President Harrison made a declaration of amnesty to those who had contracted "polygamous marriages" before 1 November 1890. The restrictions against voting were abolished in 1893 and personal property of the church were restored to their owners. Three years later, when Utah received statehood, the land that had been confiscated were returned to the same church. In the years that followed the Manifesto plural marriages were celebrated outside the United States with the agreement of the First Presidency of the Church. The second manifesto of 1904 marked the final abandonment of plural marriages in the world. Some of the movements from Mormonism practiced even today a form of plural marriage. They are often referred to as "fundamentalist Mormons." These movements are however not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who do not recognize them as "Mormons." In 1998, Gordon B. Hinckley said: In 2006 following the arrest of Warren Jeffs (leader of a fundamentalist movement), the Church has published a dispatch stating that the term "Mormon" should not be used to describe these polygamist groups to avoid confusion. In 2006, the television series American " Big Love "tells the story of a polygamist, Bill, fundamentalist Mormon independent. To avoid any confusion of fiction with this classic Mormonism, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued the following: - The First Presidency, February 17, 2006 History
Origin
Revelation on Marriage
Circumstances of the introduction of plural marriage
Actions in anticipation of the crisis
Plural marriage
Awakening of the Opposition
Constitutionality of the laws against bigamy
Edmunds-Tucker Act
End of plural marriage
The Manifesto
Movements practicing polygamy today
Fiction
References
See also
Bibliography
Related articles
External Links
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