Remarks by President BRIGHAM YOUNG, in the Bowery,
in G.S.L. City, August 19th, 1866.
Every virtuous woman desires a husband to whom she can look for guidance and protection through this world. God has placed this desire in woman's nature. It should be respected by the stronger sex. Any man who takes advantage of this, and humbles a daughter of Eve to rob her of her virtue, and cast her off dishonored and defiled, is her destroyer, and is responsible to God for the deed. If the refined Christian society of the nineteenth century will tolerate such a crime, God will not; but he will call the perpetrator to an account. He will be damned; in hell he will lift up his eyes, being in torment, until he has paid the uttermost farthing, and made a full atonement for his sins. It is this very class of men, though not all of them, who have set up such a howl against the doctrine of polygamy, which is so much despised and which was believed in and practiced by the ancients-by the very men who are held up to us as patterns of all the piety that was ever exhibited through man upon the face of the earth.
This matter was a little changed in the case of the Savior of the world, the Son of the living God. The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not, that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband. On this account infidels have called the Savior a bastard. This is merely a human opinion upon one of the inscrutable doings of the Almighty. That very babe that was cradled in the manger, was begotten, not by Joseph, the husband of Mary, but by another Being. Do you inquire by whom? He was begotten by God our heavenly Father. This answer may suffice you-you need never inquire more upon that point. Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father, and he is the Savior of the world, and full of grace and truth. It is not polygamy that men fight against when they persecute this people; but, still, if we continue to be faithful to our God, he will defend us in doing what is right. If it is wrong for a man to have more than one wife at a time, the Lord will reveal it by and by, and he will put it away that it will not be known in the Church. I did not ask Him for the revelation upon this subject. When that revelation was first read to me by Joseph Smith, I plainly saw the great trials and the abuse of it that would be made by many of the Elders, and the trouble and the persecution that it would bring upon this whole people. But the Lord revealed it, and it was my business to accept it.
Now, we as Christians desire to be saved in the kingdom of God. We desire to attain to the possession of all the blessings there are for the most faithful man or people that ever lived upon the face of the earth, even him who is said to be the father of the faithful, Abraham of old. We wish to obtain all that father Abraham obtained. I wish here to say to the Elders of Israel, and to all the members of this Church and kingdom, that it is in the hearts of many of them to wish that the doctrine of polygamy was not taught and practiced by us. It may be hard for many, and especially for the ladies, yet it is no harder for them than it is for the gentlemen. It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at least in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained. This is as true as that God lives. You who wish that there were no such thing in existence, if you have in your hearts to say: "We will pass along in the Church without obeying or submitting to it in our faith or believing this order, because, for aught that we know, this community may be broken up yet, and we may have lucrative offices offered to us; we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character and office, etc,"-the man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessing offered unto them, and they refused to accept them.
The Lord gave a revelation through Joseph Smith, His servant; and we have believed and practiced it. Now, then, it is said that this must be done away before we are permitted to receive our place as a State in the Union. It may be, or it may not be. One of the twin relics-slavery-they say, is abolished. I do not, however, wish to speak about this; but if slavery and oppression and iron-handed cruelty are not more felt by the blacks to-day than before, I am glad of it. My heart is pained for that unfortunate race of men. One twin relic having been strangled, the other, they say, must next be destroyed. It is they and God for it, and you will all find that out. It is not Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells and the Elders of Israel they are fighting against; but it is the Lord Almighty. What is the Lord going to do? He is going to do just as he pleases, and the world cannot help themselves.
I heard the revelation on polygamy, and I believed it with all my heart, and I know it is from God-I know that he revealed it from heaven; I know that it is true, and understand the bearings of it and why it is. "Do you think that we shall ever be admitted as a State into the Union without denying the principle of polygamy?" If we are not admitted until then, we shall never be admitted. These things will be just as the Lord will. Let us live to take just what he sends to us, and when our enemies rise up against us, we will meet them as we can, and exercise faith and pray for wisdom and power more than they have, and contend continually for the right. Go along, my children, saith the Lord, do all you can, and remember that your blessings come through your faith. Be faithful and cut the corners of your enemies where you can-get the advantage of them by faith and good works, take care of yourselves, and they will destroy themselves. Be what you should be, live as you should, and all will be well.
***My Thoughts***
I know that many will say, "well, polygamy has been done away with". Has it really? Is it not true that a man can be sealed to his unbelieving ex-wife and to his new wife simultaneously? Is it not also true that a woman cannot be sealed to another man unless the first is dissolved by order of the First Presidency? When did they EVER stop sealing men to more than one wife? True, the co-habitation of multiple wives has become an offense worthy of excommunication. But there are men upon the earth who ARE sealed to more than one spouse, sometimes in the case of a widower re-marrying ( Russell M. Nelson). So, ha-ha, America. Mormons STILL practice polygamy!! Just not out in the open, or for the purpose of begetting children...
Just thought I'd mention here that it really didn't make sense for the church to proclaim that polygamy was necessary to procreate children and get bodies ready for the spirits to inhabit them. Why couldn't a woman do that by marrying a man who didn't already have a wife? As far as I can tell, women can only be pregnant every nine months right? I mean it's not possible to have a baby once a month, so the fastest she could go is about one pregnancy every year. Why would it matter who the father is? would that make procreation happen more often?
Polygamy was an excuse to collect wives, and have children under your control and authority. Women didn't NEED to be collected by men who already had multiple wives, they were denied the right to be married of their own choosing because of the hierarchy of the church. Women were 'given to' WORTHY men, often 30 years their senior. Men their own age often had to wait to become fathers until after they reached a certain 'station of priesthood rank' before they too could enter into the polygamy practice.
Tell me how polygamy could possibly have made things easier on the women. Tell me how God's plan could be fulfilled by becoming wife 25 and having virtually no personal relationship with the father of your children. How is this different than the world we live in today, where more than half of the children in the U.S. are being raised by women alone? Is THAT God's plan?
Do you still believed Brigham Young was a prophet? Tune in tomorrow, and I'll tell you some of his 'prophecies' that never came to pass, and a few that completely backfired on 'God's mouthpiece."
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