A Question About The New And Everlasting Covenant

[wiley]

So, my wife and I have a question about eternal marriage. This has to do with the new and everlasting covenant as described in D&C 132. The question is simple. Do we have to live in a polygamous relationship in the Celestial Kingdom in order to receive exaltation? Polygamous is an earthly term, but the concept is the same. Another way to ask the question. Is it possible to just be sealed to your wife and still have the promise of exaltation?

[CrimsonKairos]

Of course.

I believe D&C 132 is saying, "Once you've been taught the principle of polygamy, and once God has asked you to live it personally, if you decline to do so, you are not in harmony with the Lord and cannot inherit a fulness of His glory."

Interestingly, there is some support in this section for the belief that the parable of the ten virgins involved the virgins being married to the bridegroom, and not being merely guests at the wedding. Verses 61 and 62 follow:

61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.

62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.

[sharrard_family]

You know Wiley as far as I was told.. All through child hood and after is that its you and your spouse who can have exaltation.. Pending the fact that you both are striving for that. But don't quote me on that until I study up on it a bit more.

-Kortney

[sharrard_family]

Wiley,

Section 132 is kind of a confusing section so to speak. like in versus 28-29 it is talking about the promises of eternal increase and exaltation made to prophets and saints in all ages. But you have to remember in history polygamy was a common practice. I will use Abraham for example he had all of his wives to produce is seed across the nation. The Lord granted him that because obviously one wife couldn't handle that. Other people in that time took polygamy up because prophets were. In our time polygamy is not something the Lord welcomes. For example if the Lord wanted us to practice polygamy for exhaltation then wouldn't the whole world as is be "screwed" ?? Our current prophets have had revelations that polygamy is bad and that we need to stop doing that. So we as later saints don't its One man and One wife and that is it.

If you and your wife are still concerned I would recommend going to LDS.org and looking up in ensign articles on what the prophets have to say and honestly and earnestly praying about it. Just remember in section 132 they are talking about several different topics and you can't get confused.

Hope I helped some.. BTW most of this is quoting my friend and her husband along with my own and any other respected family member I could get involved on the subject.

-Kortney

[mrsfocus]

So, my wife and I have a question about eternal marriage. This has to do with the new and everlasting covenant as described in D&C 132. The question is simple. Do we have to live in a polygamous relationship in the Celestial Kingdom in order to receive exaltation? Polygamous is an earthly term, but the concept is the same. Another way to ask the question. Is it possible to just be sealed to your wife and still have the promise of exaltation?

NO. Section 132 is often misunderstood. Verses 1-33 refer to celestial marriage,verses 34-66 cover plural marriage. Throughout the chapter different types of marriages are discussed (vs 15-16 temporal marriage, or how most of the world marries; vs 18 someone who says they have a eternal marriage but did not have it performed by the proper authority - actually I see this increasing as more people want family relations for ever but don't want 'Mormonism', also this would cover all those 'polygamy groups' out there; vs 19 temple marriage) and different peoples' marriages are discussed for clarification (although its sometimes more confusing).

You might want to get copies of the D&C and Church History Seminary teachers manual and the student study guide. Just a couple of quotes from them.

President Spencer W. Kimball:

“Now, all Latter-day Saints are not going to be exalted. All people who have been through the holy temple are not going to be exalted. The Lord says, ‘Few there be that find it.’ For there are the two elements: (1) the sealing of a marriage in the holy temple, and (2) righteous living through one’s life thereafter to make that sealing permanent. Only through proper marriage . . . can one find that strait way, the narrow path” (“Marriage is Honorable,” in Speeches of the Year: BYU Devotional and Ten-Stake Fireside Addresses, 1973 [1974], 265–66).

As shown in the verse summary for Doctrine and Covenants 132, verses 58–66 concern “laws governing the plurality of wives.” Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord commanded the practice of plural marriage in the early days of the Church; in 1890, through President Wilford Woodruff, He ended that practice (see Official Declaration 1). Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained:

“Plural marriage is not essential to salvation or exaltation. Nephi and his people were denied the power to have more than one wife and yet they could gain every blessing in eternity that the Lord ever offered to any people. In our day, the Lord summarized by revelation the whole doctrine of exaltation and predicated it upon the marriage of one man to one woman. (D. & C. 132:1–28.) Thereafter he added the principles relative to plurality of wives with the express stipulation that any such marriages would be valid only if authorized by the President of the Church. (D. & C. 132:7, 29–66.)

[john doe]

And the answer to the question is:....... yes.

[miztrniceguy]

oops

[CrimsonKairos]

Our current prophets have had revelations that polygamy is bad and that we need to stop doing that.

No, not really. Polygamy isn't bad. If we had continued to practice polygamy at a point in the past, the Church would have ceased to exist legally and lost all property, had its leadership imprisoned, etc...

It wasn't that polygamy is "bad." It was simply a matter of it being a "bad time" to practice it.

I think we ought to be careful that we don't point to the withdrawal of polygamy as proof that polygamy is somehow an evil practice. It is a celestial principle, whether we are asked to live it or not.

[Dr T]

Interesting question Mr. Coyote (sorry, I held back for a long time on that one). I guess we should define "adultery."

[Snow]

The standard interpretation of the Brethren was that the New and Everlasting Covenant and hence the Celestial Kingdom meant polygamy.

It wasn't until after the turn of the centry, 1900, that it came to be understood as Temple marriage/sealing in general. Talmage was instrumental in spearheading the new understanding.

[LukeAir2006]

[Snow]

Wiley's question was "Do we have to live in a polygamous relationship in the Celestial Kingdom in order to receive exaltation?" And the correct answer is (as answered by CK) - Yes, of course. The Celestial Law of Marriage is the Law of Plural Wives.

Wiley wasn't asking whether he and his wife had to live the law of plural marriage now. All statements on plural marriage made by Presidents of the church since the manifesto relate to whether or not our inability to enter into this order in the here and now will affect our prospects for exaltation. And of course it wont affect it.

The choice facing President Woodruff was: do we still openly practice plural marriage, or do we save the church from annihalation? It was a no brainer. He had seen in vision what the US government would have done to the church if we continued to practice plural marriage. They had already started! Some of the Brethren were in prison, some were in hiding. Church property was being confiscated. The church would have been destroyed.

Whenever a law or doctrine is suspended or withdrawn, it is done for the greater good of the church. Lucifer would have used plural marriage and other practices and teachings of the church to bring horrific persecution and eventual destruction upon the church. Zion will be established in the Lords due time, but it can only be established on celestial principles. "And Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles of the law of the celestial kingdom; otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself" (D&C 105:5)

Plural marriage will be restored. And every other law, ordinance, teaching or principle that we have been unable to maintain. Until that time I wouldn't worry about it. Today it doesn't affect you. That might not always be the case. B)

That's a nice tenet faith - wholly unprovable, but nice.

I wonder if any of the Brethren have made offical statements that support your faith over the past 10-20 years. I doubt it.

[LukeAir2006]

[CrimsonKairos]

Wiley's question was "Do we have to live in a polygamous relationship in the Celestial Kingdom in order to receive exaltation?" And the correct answer is (as answered by CK) - Yes, of course.

Only that's not what I said. My answer "yes" was to the last question in the original post about whether he could be married to just his current wife and be exalted. And of course, monogamists can and will be exalted along with polygamists.

Polygamy wasn't like baptism in the sense of being a universally required and practiced ordinance. Only a select few in the LDS Church ever practiced it, and it was never taught that the rank and file of the church who weren't polygamists were not getting into the Celestial Kingdom.

[LukeAir2006]

B)

[CrimsonKairos]

Who squeaked? What are you talking about?

As for Brigham Young's quote, it is precisely what I said: Those who were commanded to live polygamy and who refused, would be damned...prevented from progressing.

There is no authentic or credible quote I have ever read in the form of revelation from God to any of His prophets that says: "Every member of God's kingdom must be a polygamist or forfeit exaltation."

It's easy to take a quote from Brigham Young and strip it of context. Who was Pres. Young speaking to? Why was he speaking to them? When was he speaking to them? In what capacity was he speaking to them?

And so it goes.

[wiley]

Some say yes, some say no. I was hoping some have figured this out and it wasn't just me.

Let me clarify a few things though. My question has nothing to do with polygamy here on Earth, in the past or if ever the future. I do not believe that polygamy is never an evil practice when command by the Lord such as the case with Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Solomon, David (except of course his big blunder), and even JS. It is an evil practice when the Lord does not command it such as with the Nephites and today. On that note, I believe that men like Enoch, Noah, and Job were monogomous, showing that not all men were commanded to live in a polygamous relationship during the OT era. I could be wrong on these accounts, but the point is still the same. To me, Jacob 2: 30 explains all why the Lord commands polygamy at one time or another. The purpose is to bring about children. In the case of polygamy during our history, I wonder if anyone has ever tried to figure out how many children were born and what affect that had on the church. What would the church be like today if polygamy never took place? It wouldn't surprise me if the LDS church would not have been as significant today in that "alternate universe".

SO, I'm content with the knowledge that I only need to be sealed here to my wife. Even if, though unlikely, the Lord ever reinstates polygamy before I die, I don't think I will be required to do so. I expect to fall in to that large group of Mormons that did not practice polygamy, and still be eligable for exaltation.

BUT, my question is....when my wife and I have died and moved on , and we have been the "perfect" followers of Christ, which I can say because this is my fantistical future prediction, and thus we are completely forgiven of our sins and have inherited eternal life, will we be escorted into a heavenly office and asked to seal more women to our family? And if we are not comfortable with that, will the "office manager" say, "Oh, well sorry, we can't offer exaltation, but here is another very nice place in the Celestial palace for you and your wife to inherit. Oh, by the way, you will not be able to procreate. But I think you will be happy there."?

I look forward to your responses. Some may have felt they have already answered this question, but maybe I didn't follow you, so if you could please clarify. Thanks

[a-train]

Let us imagine for a moment that the LORD does ask us to engage a new wife into our family after our exaltation. Will it be so difficult? Will I shrink when He asks me to take another wife? I intend to answer that question when the LORD places it upon me. I say now that I intend to do whatever He asks. Will He ask that? I can't say for sure, but if He does I intend to do whatever he asks.

-a-train

[JcDean78]

The obsession of Polygamy on these forums makes me sick.

It is an out dated practice that the Church is against. Anybody who participates will be excommunicated. The Church is global and not limited to the USA. If any member lives in a place that would allow Polygamy, they would STILL be excommunicated!

[CrimsonKairos]

Is it the obsession with polygamy that makes you sick, or is it polygamy that makes you sick?

By the by, I don't see an obsession with polygamy. It is one of the enduring hot-button topics of the LDS legacy and many LDS members don't fully understand the issue (if anyone really does, lol). I see nothing wrong with feeling out the doctrine and its place in LDS history.

[LukeAir2006]

,

[Dr T]

What if really, that idea is implanted in human lustfulness and actually not from God but only attributed to him by those that support it?

[CrimsonKairos]

So Dr. T, you wonder what if polygamy was introduced to whet the natural appetites of Joseph Smith and other prominent LDS leaders, and was not in fact revealed by God?

If that is the case, then the LDS Church is false, and Joseph Smith and several LDS prophets were carnal frauds.

It's a good thing the above hypothetical is just that: hypothetical. It's also a good thing God did reveal the principle of polygamy, and it's also a very good thing that He still guides His children through living prophets. :)

[Snow]

The obsession of Polygamy on these forums makes me sick.

Gee - that's a little over the top, don't you think? After all, you're the one reading this thread. The fact that certain opinions or conversations exist couldn't possibly affect your well-being. You specifically sought them out, read them and participated in them. To then complain that they make you sick is silly.

Hi Snow,

Can you expand on that statement? I look forward to it.

Actually, I was challenging you to support your contention that plural marriage was required for exaltation. Can you find a modern General Authority who has agreed with you recently?

I don't think so - moreover, I think you are wrong.

[LukeAir2006]