Polygamy in the celestial kingdom?


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Polygamy and Celestial marriage, in my mind, are two different institutions. I think that God has used polygamy here on earth for his "wise purposes". I think the real idea in the heavens will be SEALINGS meaning that all the children of Abraham will be sealed properly together. It is clear from scripture that anyone who engages in polygamy without the lord's consent is engaging in sin.

Now, having said that, there are lots of people who need to be sealed. Lots of soldiers who died, not to mention all the people who never heard the gospel. So, I think there is going to be a great big sorting of all of this that includes many people and details we don't know about.

Frankly, the idea sickens me too. But, I have been comforted by the Spirit on this one and I think God is ok with my objections and I am somehow comforted in my heart that all will be well when we die.

Most important thing is that we are sealed. Something that is an earthly ordinance. I am not sure exactly how the earthly practice of polygamy will be reconciled with all that.

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Here are a couple references, but one can search out the many other quotes by Prophets pertaining to these truths if one is really sincere in wanting to understand these things.

"Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 17, June 28, 1874.

(He talkes about how righteous spouses who make it to the Cel. Kingdom will have the right to do what they want with an unfaithful spouse, (bring them with them in the Cel. K. or not) & that unrighteous spouses will be very glad to get to their spouse in the Cel. Kingdom if they proved themselves unworthy of it themselves.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation 4:160-161

He says that a spouse who abandons or divorces a spouse unjustifiably will be forced to return to their spouse in heaven (if the spouse wants them back) or they will lose the reward of the Cel. Kingdom. (But they will not mind being forced, they will be greatful for the chance to get back to there former spouse after they repent & their heart is changed in Spirit Prison) The sad thing is some spouses in the Celestial Kingdom will not want their errant spouses back & the errant spouse will then have to be single forever in the lower kindgom they truely deserved.

And no, just because a spouse gets to the Cel. Kingdom because of the righteousness of their spouse does not entitle them to all the other blessings that others who really earned Exaltation receive. The unfaithful spouse is only there because God honored & rewarded the righteousness & sacrifice of the faithful spouse to be able to have their errant spouse with them if they want. The unfaithful spouse will be very lucky to just get to be with their righteous spouse for eternity & that's only if their faithful spouse wants them there, otherwise they have to return to the Tel. or Terr. Kingdom that they really merited.

Edited by foreverafter
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I'm at work and don't have time to look up your references. But even if your summary is correct, I simply can't accept that as true doctrine. Both references are not canon and I've never heard a current prophet make such statements. It makes absolutely no sense that if I'm righteous and my spouse isn't that he can be saved based on my righteousness. If he repents, then he is saved based on his merits, not mine.

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I've never heard a current prophet make such statements. It makes absolutely no sense that if I'm righteous and my spouse isn't that he can be saved based on my righteousness. If he repents, then he is saved based on his merits, not mine.

If you had true love for your spouse you would want them with you there, once they repented & could love you the way they should. But no spouse will ever be obligated to be with a spouse in heaven that didn't treat them right here on earth. It will always be your choice or not as Brigham Young said, so you have nothing to worry about.

But here is what Pres. Hinckley said which hints of this concept but without being as clear as past Prophets:

"You won't take five cents to heaven with you, not five cents. But, if you are the kind of man you ought to be, you will take her. Maybe it's the other way around - maybe she'll take you."

Pres. Hinckley, Pittsburgh Penn. Reg. Conference, Priesthood Leadership Session, Apr. 27, 1996.

Prophets talk in puzzle pieces, line upon line, precept upon precept, rarely do they give you the whole picture at one time. We must study lots of talks & scriptures to put all the pieces & quotes together to see the big picture & concept they are trying to teach.

Edited by foreverafter
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I'm at work and don't have time to look up your references. But even if your summary is correct, I simply can't accept that as true doctrine. Both references are not canon and I've never heard a current prophet make such statements. It makes absolutely no sense that if I'm righteous and my spouse isn't that he can be saved based on my righteousness. If he repents, then he is saved based on his merits, not mine.

Hey, yeah, i didn't think any human could save another human. I thought we all had one and the same Savior.

BTW, here's the Brigham Young one i was able to find:

I have said a number of times, and I will say again, to you ladies who want to get a bill of divorce from your husbands, because they do not treat you right, or because you do not exactly like their ways, there is a principle upon which a woman can leave a man, but if the man honors his Priesthood, it will be pretty hard work for you to get away from him. If he is just and right, serves God and is full of justice, love, mercy and truth, he will have the power that is sealed upon him, and will do what he pleases with you. When you want to get a bill of divorce, you had better wait and find out whether the Lord is willing to give you one or not, and not come to me. I tell the brethren and sisters, when they come to me and want a bill of divorce, that I am ready to seal people and administer in the ordinances, and they are welcome to my services, but when they undertake to break the commandments and tear to pieces the doings of the Lord, I make them give me something. I tell a man he has to give me ten dollars if he wants a divorce. For what? My services? No, for his foolishness. If you want a bill of divorce give me ten dollars, so that I can put it down in the book that such a man and such a woman have dissolved partnership. Do you think you have obtained a bill of divorce? No, nor ever can if you are faithful to the covenants you have made. It takes a higher power than a bill of divorce to take a woman from a man who is a good man and honors his Priesthood - it must be a man who possesses a higher power in the Priesthood, or else the woman is bound to her husband, and will be forever and ever. You might as well ask me for a piece of blank paper for a divorce, as to have a little writing on it, saying - "We mutually agree to dissolve partnership and keep ourselves apart from each other," &c. It is all nonsense and folly; there is no such thing in the ordinances of the house of God; you cannot find any such law. It is true Jesus told the people that a man could put away his wife for fornication, but for nothing short of this. There is a law for you to be obedient, and humble and faithful.

JD 17:120 - p.121, Brigham Young, June 28, 1874

link provided: Volume 17 | Journal of Discourses

It's my understanding that the Journal of Discourses is not a source of canon for the church.

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If you had true love for your spouse you would want them with you there, once they repented & could love you the way they should. But no spouse will ever be obligated to be with a spouse in heaven that didn't treat them right here on earth. It will always be your choice or not as Brigham Young said, so you have nothing to worry about.

But here is what Pres. Hinckley said which hints of this concept but without being as clear as past Prophets:

"You won't take five cents to heaven with you, not five cents. But, if you are the kind of man you ought to be, you will take her. Maybe it's the other way around - maybe she'll take you."

Pres. Hinckley, Pittsburgh Penn. Reg. Conference, Priesthood Leadership Session, Apr. 27, 1996.

Prophets talk in puzzle pieces, line upon line, precept upon precept, rarely do they give you the whole picture at one time. We must study lots of talks & scriptures to put all the pieces & quotes together to see the big picture & concept they are trying to teach.

So I don't need to worry about marrying in the temple. As long as I'm righteous enough, my husband who may reject the Gospel can just hang on to my skirt and off we go.

Nope, don't accept it. Pres. Hinckley was known for his love of women and his praise of women's goodness. I think he meant that if a man is good enough, they both will be there--not dragging her like a caveman or something.

Also, if this were the case, then where does the Atonement have a place? If all I have to do is find me a good enough man, I don't need to repent or exercise the Atonement in my life. I can just let him do all the work and I can just slip my way into a world where God cannot look on the least sin, but I'll be ok because my husband's goodness will cover me.

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If you had true love for your spouse you would want them with you there, once they repented & could love you the way they should. But no spouse will ever be obligated to be with a spouse in heaven that didn't treat them right here on earth. It will always be your choice or not as Brigham Young said, so you have nothing to worry about.

But here is what Pres. Hinckley said which hints of this concept but without being as clear as past Prophets:

"You won't take five cents to heaven with you, not five cents. But, if you are the kind of man you ought to be, you will take her. Maybe it's the other way around - maybe she'll take you."

Pres. Hinckley, Pittsburgh Penn. Reg. Conference, Priesthood Leadership Session, Apr. 27, 1996.

Prophets talk in puzzle pieces, line upon line, precept upon precept, rarely do they give you the whole picture at one time. We must study lots of talks & scriptures to put all the pieces & quotes together to see the big picture & concept they are trying to teach.

From Elder Bruce R McConkie:

There is no such thing as a second chance to gain salvation. This life is the time and the day of our probation. After this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. For those who do not have an opportunity to believe and obey the holy word in this life, the first chance to gain salvation will come in the spirit world. If those who hear the word for the first time in the realms ahead are the kind of people who would have accepted the gospel here, had the opportunity been afforded them, they will accept it there. Salvation for the dead is for those whose first chance to gain salvation is in the spirit world. in the revelation recently added to our canon of holy writ these words are found:

Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts. [D&C 137:7-9]

There is no other promise of salvation than the one recited in that revelation. Those who reject the gospel in this life and then receive it in the spirit world go not to the celestial, but to the terrestrial kingdom.

Heresy five: There are those who say that there is progression from one kingdom to another in the eternal worlds or that lower kingdoms eventually progress to where higher kingdoms once were.

This belief lulls men into a state of carnal security. It causes them to say,

"God is so merciful; surely he will save us all eventually; if we do not gain the celestial kingdom now, eventually we will; so why worry?"

It lets people live a life of sin here and now with the hope that they will be saved eventually.

The true doctrine is that all men will be resurrected, but they will come forth in the resurrection with different kinds of bodies-some celestial, others terrestrial, others telestial, and some with bodies incapable of standing any degree of glory. The body we receive in the resurrection determines the glory we receive in the kingdoms that are prepared.

Of those in the telestial world it is written:

"And they shall be servants of the Most High, but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end" (D&C 76:112).

Of those who had the opportunity to enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage in this life and who did not do it the revelation says:

Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven; which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.

For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all etemity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever. [D&C 132:16-17]

They neither progress from one kingdom to another, nor does a lower kingdom ever get where a higher kingdom once was. Whatever eternal progression there is, it is within a sphere.

.

Edited by bytor2112
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Everything we have that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young & the many early Prophets taught is from & in old books, but they were none the less the Presidents of the Church teaching doctrine.

Teachings by Presidents of the Church must always take precidence over Apostles, because only Presidents of the Church can't lead us astray, IF we have the Spirit.

"He is testing you to see if you will be misled. Let me give you a crucial key to help you avoid being deceived. It is this - learn to keep your eye on the Prophet. HE is the Lord's mouthpiece and the ONLY man who can speak for the Lord. Let his inspired words be a basis for evaluating the counsel of all lesser authorities. Then live close to the Spirit so you may know the truth of all things."

E.T. Benson, An Enemy Hath Done This, p. 317

"It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they read & write. I don't care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard works, unless that one be THE PROPHET, please note that ONE EXCEPTION, you may immediately say, "Well, that is his own idea," ... you may know by that same token that it is false, regardless of the position of the man who says it." Harold B. Lee, To Seminary & Institute of Religion Faculty, July 1964, DCSM:144.

I do not disagree with what you posted from Elder McConkie, he was stating the general rule. One we must all assume & go by & not count on anyone else saving us, for even if a rare spouse might save someone, they still lose out on most of Exaltation's blessings, not to mention the years of unspeakable pain & anguish while paying for their own sins in Spirit Prison if they didn't repent & take advantage of the Atonement while living. God is mighty to save & the Sealing power is more powerful than we know. But very few spouses will probably be saved in the manner which I quoted from Prophets. How many people do you know who would suffer for & save & endure to the end with their wicked & hurtful spouse instead of leaving them in this life?

Edited by foreverafter
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Foreverafter you continually bring up this concept that Eternal Marriage is, in effect, a Bear Trap. Once your in, you can't get out of it no matter what. You've stated many variatons on the same doctrines. The trouble is that you have NOT done enough to prove that your theory was ever actually taught by the Prophets of God. Because you have been completely unwilling to actually include the text of your sources, you haven't even demonstrated the ability to support your crazy theory by taking the words of the Prophets of God way out of context. No, you simply say what you think they meant and completely neglect to actually include the text you are basing your opinion upon.

You have repeatedly cited souces that you personally believe establish this "Can't escape no matter what" theory of Eternal Marriage. Well, none of those sources have been demonstrated to mean what you say they mean unless you're willing to read a lot more into the text than what is really there. What's behind this obsession Foreverafter? The Brigham Young quote that you cited seems to say a lot more about taking your marital covenants more seriously than anything else. Brigham Young was willing to break sealings, but he insisted upon making it difficult by charging them $10. He didn't care about the money, he wanted people to stop getting divorced for any silly little thing. "If he is just and right, serves God and is full of justice, love, mercy and truth, he will have the power that is sealed upon him, and will do what he pleases with you. When you want to get a bill of divorce, you had better wait and find out whether the Lord is willing to give you one or not, and not come to me" This is not specifically stating what you claim it is saying. "He will have the power that is seald upon him, and will do what he pleases with you" is not elaborated upon any further here. Brigham Young does not proceed to say that you cannot get away from him no matter what you do. He says to not be an idiot when asking for a divorce from him.

I really don't know how your doctrine has anything to do with this thread. Why not open a new one and we can all discuss it and let Anna have a non-hijacked thread for her worries about polygamy?

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the principle and eternal purposes of polygamy

Anyone know what these purposes are? I can't even begin to imagine what "benefits" there could be. I'm not trying to be argumentative, it just doesn't make sense. :confused: In the CK, surely there won't be any shortage of (or need for) temporal things like money and food and shelter, so where's the need for a man to provide for multiple wives?

What do you think about Isaiah 4:1 - "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach."

Do you think this could be what polygamy is like in the CK? Because I don't care if my husband marries another woman "in name" and has nothing else to do with her - I just loathe the idea of her living with us and being intimate with him.

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What do you think about Isaiah 4:1 - "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach."

Do you think this could be what polygamy is like in the CK? Because I don't care if my husband marries another woman "in name" and has nothing else to do with her - I just loathe the idea of her living with us and being intimate with him.

Here is what the Old Testament Student Manual from the Church Education System says about that scripture:

Verse 1 of chapter four seems to continue the thought of chapter three rather than to begin a new thought. This phrase suggests that the condition mentioned in verse 1 is caused by the scarcity of men, a result of the devastation of war mentioned in Isaiah 3:25–26. The conditions under which these women would accept this marriage (“eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel”) are contrary to the Lord’s order of marriage (see Exodus 21:10; D&C 132:58–61). To be unmarried and childless in ancient Israel was a disgrace (see Genesis 30:23; Luke 1:25). So terrible would conditions in those times be that women would offer to share a husband with others and expect no material support from him, if they could claim they were married to him.

link provided: Old Testament Student Manual 1 Kings–Malachi

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Anyone know what these purposes are? I can't even begin to imagine what "benefits" there could be. I'm not trying to be argumentative, it just doesn't make sense. :confused: In the CK, surely there won't be any shortage of (or need for) temporal things like money and food and shelter, so where's the need for a man to provide for multiple wives?

Currently, the state of things is such that you do not need to worry about it. Polygamy in this world was largely intended "to raise up seed unto God" -- in other words to make more babies and have a broad, strong foundational group of Church members. A solid foundation upon which worldwide growth could happen with a minimum of false doctrine and apostasy. That purpose has already been accomplished.

The earthly law of polygamy is better understood than the Celestial Law, because we don't have any 100% certain information about how it will work in the Celestial Kingdom.

But as for the Celestial Kingdom, the benefits are simple: A woman who has lived worthily in every other possible way, but lacks a worthy Eternal Companion is in an impossible circumstance. She cannot proceed to receive her Exaltation without a husband. Now imagine yourself as a perfected and infinite person. Jealousy and selfishness is completely gone from every aspect of your person. Can you imagine yourself in such a state telling that woman, that you are unwilling to help her?

The important thing is, you don't know if that will ever happen. Just accept that it might happen and that it pretty much isn't going to happen until you are in a far better state to accept it.

What do you think about Isaiah 4:1 - "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach."

Often this is used to refer to polygamy, but I think a different interpretation fits better. The one man is Christ. The seven women are the seven primary cities of the Kingdom of Judah. In this sense, it is a prophecy of some future event where the Jews will seek Jesus Christ and covenant themselves to him. Marriage is frequently used to denote covenants in Old Testament imagery.

Do you think this could be what polygamy is like in the CK? Because I don't care if my husband marries another woman "in name" and has nothing else to do with her - I just loathe the idea of her living with us and being intimate with him.

We already know that there will be polygamy in the Celestial Kingdom. We have revelation stating as much. What we don't know is if every marriage will be polygamous.

Polygamy is not practiced in the Church currently, but you still have to confront it. It's not an easy one. It took me a long time to come to terms with it myself, and I'm a guy. (In theory, guys are supposed to be all excited about the idea apparently.) My suggestion would be to take the matter to God. Nobody can possibly explain it to you in such a way that you will be able to accept it.

When Brigham Young was taught about polygamy, he didn't take it very well. He dropped everything and spent 2 or 3 days praying about it. He got his answer that it was of God but it still bothered him for a very long time thereafter. It's an extreme counter-culture to what we are accumstomed to, how we are raised and the expecations we have in our current society. Joseph Smith procrastinated teaching the principal for about a decade from the time he learned about it. Prophets of God struggled with the doctrine, so I think it's fair to say that it's not an easy one. I do hope you receive your answer from God on the matter.

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It takes a higher power than a bill of divorce to take a woman from a man who is a good man and honors his Priesthood - it must be a man who possesses a higher power in the Priesthood, or else the woman is bound to her husband, and will be forever and ever.

JD 17:120 - p.121, Brigham Young, June 28, 1874

Has that part in bold ever been ratified by the Church? Would such an idea fit under the general heading of Priestcraft?

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Anyone know what these purposes are? I can't even begin to imagine what "benefits" there could be. I'm not trying to be argumentative, it just doesn't make sense. :confused: In the CK, surely there won't be any shortage of (or need for) temporal things like money and food and shelter, so where's the need for a man to provide for multiple wives?

The purpose is to have eternal increase....to create.

Do you think this could be what polygamy is like in the CK? Because I don't care if my husband marries another woman "in name" and has nothing else to do with her - I just loathe the idea of her living with us and being intimate with him.

Try not to imagine your husband lounging on comfy pillows while a harem of hot babes feed him grapes. Your awfully young.....give it time. You might not care so much, when the man of your dreams becomes that fat guy on the couch with the remote in his hand.:D

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From Elder Bruce R McConkie:

Heresy five: There are those who say that there is progression from one kingdom to another in the eternal worlds or that lower kingdoms eventually progress to where higher kingdoms once were.

No offense, unless one really knows as Joseph Smith did, we maybe in a rude awakening on what he said was in fact, may not be a truism.

I will need to further look into the infinite atonement and progression since last night, I had one of those moments of 'YOUR WRONG' and need of further instruction. Yes! When we feel we have the correct answer for this, is usually not what the Godhead stated. As I suspect, even Joseph has a few changes or expanded doctrine in this area that he did not dare to talk about.

Elder McConkie was not always right on a few subjects but I do love this man courage and commitment.

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Try not to imagine your husband lounging on comfy pillows while a harem of hot babes feed him grapes. Your awfully young.....give it time. You might not care so much, when the man of your dreams becomes that fat guy on the couch with the remote in his hand.:D

I don't think it's fair to say that if you're older, you simply "won't care" if your husband is with other women. My mother is almost fifty and I know the idea of polygamy bothers her a great deal.

Back to polygamy. What will the standing be of the wives? How can a man love them all? Is there precedence given to the first wife? Do you think the love he has for his additional wives will equal that of the love for his first wife, rival it, be less than it, etc?

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I don't think it's fair to say that if you're older, you simply "won't care" if your husband is with other women. My mother is almost fifty and I know the idea of polygamy bothers her a great deal.

Back to polygamy. What will the standing be of the wives? How can a man love them all? Is there precedence given to the first wife? Do you think the love he has for his additional wives will equal that of the love for his first wife, rival it, be less than it, etc?

I am an old woman and the idea bothers me. :D

I believe that the first wife does have some extra claim on the husband. Someone else would have to come up with more than that but I am pretty sure I have heard that discussed over the years.

Now.....I don't know what polygamy will look like in the hereafter. But, I doubt it will be like it is here in this Telestial realm. And keep in mind too, that the people who will be practicing it (if indeed they do) will be the cream of the crop. They will be the ones who are the most cleansed and most refined of all the children of men. So, hopefully things like pettiness and jealousy just won't be part of the deal.

And again, I think having multiple wives in the hereafter will be more about making sure everyone is sealed into all the promises of Abraham than it will be about the institution of marriage itself. Remember that the practice is sinful in the sight of God UNLESS he sanctions the use of it for his wise purpose to raise up seed unto the Lord. I can't see those earthly purposes being needed in the celestial realm. I think we will be off doing and being something beyond all this.

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I don't think it's fair to say that if you're older, you simply "won't care" if your husband is with other women. My mother is almost fifty and I know the idea of polygamy bothers her a great deal.

Back to polygamy. What will the standing be of the wives? How can a man love them all? Is there precedence given to the first wife? Do you think the love he has for his additional wives will equal that of the love for his first wife, rival it, be less than it, etc?

I have two kids and love them both equally. They are special to me in ways I can't describe, yet they are different from one another. I would guess loving more than one wife would probably be the same. That being said, I don't think you and your husband will enter into anything that you aren't spiritually prepared for and righteously desires to do so.

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. . . so where's the need for a man to provide for multiple wives?

Simple: fewer dudes in the CK then women. One can not restrict those women from exaltation when they did everything they could and all the dudes in the world turned out to be total punks.

What do you think about Isaiah 4:1 - "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach."

Look if seven women came up to me and tried some of that stuff out of the blue, I would run screaming in the night (either that or I would sleep on the porch and use the house to shower in if I didn't have a rec-center card).

Man, talk about getting the total heebie-jeebies. Women bully men around so bad now, how would one handle it with seven?

Yikes.

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Simple: fewer dudes in the CK then women. One can not restrict those women from exaltation when they did everything they could and all the dudes in the world turned out to be total punks.

Why does everyone keep saying this? I have not seen anything definitive by the doctrine that this is completely true. Consider all the male children that have been killed. Many men have died in wars throughout the centuries.

Again, I say, we don't know for certainty that the Celestial Kingdom will have polygamy. It may or may not--and there are dozens of scriptures to support either idea.

I focus on the basics and keep my faith. God is merciful and loving and omniscient. He will take care of things and I'm sticking my faith in that when it comes to the question of polygamy. I am grounding my faith in Jesus who would help me to embrace it if it came down to it.

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This is an interesting subject, one that will never go away because of the involvement of the church in polygamy early in its history. So I thought I'd add a bit to the conjecture. The following are a few thoughts of my own for all they may be worth, just a mere speculation:

It is indisputable that in the early days of the restoration even prophets and apostles had more than one living wife. I think we can logically conclude from that that polygamous relationships are among the true orders of heaven.

My own thinking is that for those who eventually qualify for exaltation, men who so desire will be allowed to live forever in a family with more than one woman who is willing to share her love for the same man with other women. My guess is that those who get their exaltation (both male and female) who do not want to be a spouse in a family where there is more than one wife, will not be forced to do so.

There is a saying that 'life cannot be contained.' The whole purpose of the universe may be to create and sustain life?? At the human level I suppose one could think of it as eternal "intelligence" wanting to be embodied. If that is correct, the first step is possibly exalted beings creating spirit bodies. Those spirit bodies could I suppose be occupied and animated by "intelligence" similar to spirit bodies occupying and animating physical bodies. If that is correct, then it would be extremely important to as yet unembodied "intelligence" that more and more qualified males and females be exalted, so that they can raise up more and more spirit children who will continue the cycle of life.

Thus, everything at the level of God the Father and His spirit children would be just a FAMILY affair!

Perhaps, as the literal sons and daughters of God, we already know how to create planets etc., that's not really important. Maybe all we really don't know is how to have "eternal increase," how to create spirit children. Apparently only some of us will ever know that because there are many pre-requisites and no doubt not everyone wants to be married and raise children forever.

Thinking about plural marriage must be very difficult for many women. I think I can understand the strong desire of many women in this western nation to have just one living husband. (And many men to have just one living wife.)

But what is most important I think (if I am on a correct line of reasoning) is to have CHILDREN! That is what keeps the cycle of life going. That, having spirit children, moves more "intelligence" into the probably deeply desired (assigning human characteristics to intelligence) life cycle.

What do you really think you will be doing forever if you are among those who eventually qualify for exaltation? Have you thought about that much?

My guess is that there are many faithful Latter-day Saint men who could think of nothing more joyful than to spend forever being a perfect HUSBAND unto their wife (or wives) and being a perfect FATHER.

I know we can be bound only to what's written in our canon. But as a man I find the following quote from Brigham Young to be thought-provoking, even though in our time it must remain only in the realm of inner thinking. I am not teaching this, it is not doctrine, it is contrary to the current policies of the church, I am merely publishing a quote from Brigham Young that could be of interest to the men who are reading this thread. And it might help women understand faithful LDS men a bit differently?? (Please don't shoot the messenger, what I've written is just a mere speculation, but the following quote is accurate.)

"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 blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them." (Journal of Discourses, Vol.11, p.268 - p.269, Brigham Young, August 19, 1866)

Journal of Discourses : Compound Object Viewer

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My guess is that those who get their exaltation (both male and female) who do not want to be a spouse in a family where there is more than one wife, will not be forced to do so.

I feel the same way. I think that both men and women who cannot accept polygamy and would be perfectly happy to be married to just one spouse will be permitted to do so. However, Heavenly Father may let them live as married with single spouses for now but I believe that a time will eventually come, in their eternal progression, that those same men and women will come to a better understanding of the purposes and the principles of polygamy that we in our finite wisdom do not yet understand.

When their eyes are open and their understanding and wisdom are finally gained (for we learn line by line, precept upon precept) we then may realize what it is they truly are missing. It may just be a fullness of joy that we don't yet comprehend.

I think we need not worry about this but to worry more about whether we are living ALL of the gospel and ALL our covenants or we won't even have one spouse!!! We should focus more on that than anything else. Let us work on perfecting ourselves and that will not be achieved in this life but we will be much closer to it.

Edited by omega0401
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I'm going to admit I did not read every post in this thread. I only read the OP's first post.

But here are my 2 cents:

I think you are looking at Heavenly marriage through earthly eyes.

There's this passage in the scriptures where somebody asked Jesus about marriage. Something about a woman getting married to a man and he dies. So she gets married to another and he dies. Anyway, the question was, whose wife does she belong to in heaven. I'd love to link the scripture passage here but I can't remember off the top of my head what book it is on. I'm sure somebody will come along to do so if it is relevant in this discussion. Or maybe someone already has. In any case, read that scripture and see if it contains answers to your question.

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There's this passage in the scriptures where somebody asked Jesus about marriage. Something about a woman getting married to a man and he dies. So she gets married to another and he dies. Anyway, the question was, whose wife does she belong to in heaven. I'd love to link the scripture passage here but I can't remember off the top of my head what book it is on. I'm sure somebody will come along to do so if it is relevant in this discussion. Or maybe someone already has. In any case, read that scripture and see if it contains answers to your question.

Matthew 22

The woman marries 7 brothers who all die before having any children. They ask who her husband will be in the resurrection.

Christ says that the people do not understand the scriptures.

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Now, for me this just makes it sound like there is no marriage after earth life.

He is speaking to the Sadducee's who did not believe in a resurrection.

Edited by TruthSeekerToo
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