Thursday, April 24, 2008
Polygamy
This might be a wierd post, but I am curious. I had a neighbor ask me yesterday about Mormon's stand on polygamy. With the recent news frenzy over the cult in Texas, her husband told her to ask me. She said she told him that from what she'd seen and heard in the news, those people lived nothing like I lived or believed nothing like I'd told her I'd believed, but that she would ask me. I then tried the basic, "We don't practice polygamy in our religion". So, she asked me why her husband had that association....so I had to try and explain. From my understanding, when polygamy was practiced in our church, it was more out of necessity than anything else. Women and children were being left fatherless and needed someone to take care of them. It is also practiced anciently (think Abraham). Anyway, does anyone have any ideas on how to address this issue with people who ask?
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5 comments:
Within the last few years I have come to a better understanding of polygamy. I have alway chalked it up to a necessity as well. But now I would relate it more to a test of faith. God does not command us to pay tithing because the church needs the money to build churches and temple. Now the tithing money does fill that need, but that is not the reason we are commanded to do it. I think the same is true of polygamy, it may have filled a need, but that is not the reason for the command.
God said that He would test His people to see if they would do whatsoever thing He commanded. I believe that when God's people submitted to His will, the command to practice polygamy was taken away. However, His people are still being tested through the history of polygamy.
For me it is simply a question of will we do what God commands, no matter what. I would rather be asked to practice polygamy than to sacrifice one of my children like Abraham, or to lose all like Job.
Don't know if this helps, but it is my simple testimony, and it brings me peace on the subject.
This is an interesting subject. It makes sense that men needed to take more wifes to help widows and fatherless. If I remember correctly, there were many men that had been killed, whether in War, Traveling, or by those against the church. It is a hard thing to discuss with non-members. Because we do not practice it now, it is not something that I have tried to understand a lot. I don't know that I have ever really studied it and prayed for understanding. That is were I would start. You might want to ask Dad too, he may know a little more of the background and reasoning why.
I have always struggled with explaining this concept to nonmembers (or even my brother). It seem like throughout Jr. High and High School, when someone found out I was Mormon the first question asked was "How many wives does your dad have?" Usually, I would survive by making a joke and saying "six" then steer the conversation away from the subject (only once did someone believe me and I had them going for quite a while!)
I don't understand the reasons as well as I would like, so it is really nice to hear everyone's insight. What a tricky subject.
I have never really had a problem with the practice of polygamy. In my mind it makes more sense than serial monogmay so prevelant today. I remember Dad explaining it this way, it would be a sin to practice polygamy today so you will have a very negative reaction to it. If you were required to practice it, you could pray and get a good feeling about it. I don;t know. Technically we don;t practice live polygamy today. If a man is widowed and remarries in the temple, he is in the worlds eye monogomous, but eternally? Polygamist.
Of course, when people ask me about polygamy, I don't delve that deep. I explain that that practice eneded a long time ago in our church, but that I am not ashamed of my polygmaist ancestors. I also make it very clear polygamy was NEVER practiced like those fundamentalists, that is disgusting. Women have always been deeply appreciated in our churh. If I remember correctly, Utah had to take away womens rights to vote before they would be admitted to the union (and that was during the practice of polygamy). I expplain the difference (and I get asked a lot so I don't know what is wrong with me) between our churh and the fundamentalists as the same as Catholics and Anglicans or Lutherans. They are offshoots and just as a Baptist recognises some things the same as a Catholic, they are definitely not the same church. That usually explains the questions they have. I must admit I have sometimes pointed out the hypocrasy of thinking polygamy bad if you have had mutiple sex partners yourself (at least they had commitment with those they slept with). But only with people who are close and willing to be open minded.
The church put out a public statement on it you can find. It is given by Elder Cook. I found it interesting and also enjoy everyone else's insight.
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