In class, we started talking about polygamy because of some readings we did in Jacob 2, when the law of marriage was revealed by the Lord (I believe it was through Jacob?). In verse 27, He says "For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none". So, just reading this, you might say, 'Joseph Smith got the wrong revelation! Who does he think he is?' However, in verse 30, it says "raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things." This means that the Lord explained the law of marriage as He would have it, but if something needed to be changed, He would command His people. And Joseph Smith was commanded!
The thing is though, polygamy was commanded to Joseph Smith, and he didn't want to reveal it. He knew how frowned upon it was. He knew that there would be some to pervert the nature of it. In fact, Joseph Smith even withheld the revelation for a while because of his fear. But an angel came to him after it had been revealed to Smith and basically told him that if he didn't reveal the revelation he had received about polygamy, he would be replaced. So he revealed it. It's even said that Brigham Young - a notorious polygamist - dreaded the commandment of practicing polygamy, according to Mormon Newsroom (also, this article super rocks, I recommend it if you're curious about polygamy).
The biggest attack about Mormons and polygamy that I have heard involved Joseph Smith being sealed to a 14 year old girl. Let's get a couple of things straight - it's true, Joseph Smith married Helen Kimball at the very young age of 14. Also, let's make it clear that Joseph Smith did not have a sexual relationship with this young girl. Smith was sealed to Helen Kimball at the consent of her father, Heber C. Kimball. Why would they do this? Well, back in the early days of the church when the sealing power was first introduced, members weren't quite sure how it worked yet. It's clear that the prophet will make it to the Celestial Kingdom (think of it as LDS Heaven, though there's much more to it than that), so many people thought that if they got sealed to the prophet, they would also be assured a place in the Celestial Kingdom. By Heber Kimball asking Joseph Smith to get sealed to his daughter, Kimball thought he had assured his family a place in the Celestial Kingdom to be with Heavenly Father again. You gotta love them for their strong desire to do what the Lord wants for them, even if they don't know the details! I can't imagine Heavenly Father looking down, saying something like, "You fools! Obviously that isn't how you use my power." Rather, I like to think he looked down, laughed and said something like, "Well, you gotta love the enthusiasm! Let's show them how my keys are supposed to be used."
Anyway, in 1890, while Wilford Woodruff was the prophet and president of the LDS Church, the United States government threatened Woodruff - if his church members didn't stop practicing polygamy, the LDS temples would be taken from them. So Woodruff was stuck and needed to make a decision - would he give up temples, or polygamy? He prayed, and it was revealed to him that the LDS members would stop practicing polygamy and would keep their temples instead. Interestingly enough, in the next year (and a bit), children began to be sealed to their parents - the sealing keys began to be used more vertically, and less horizontally.
Why does this matter to you? If you're a member of the church, it explains polygamy so you can be less ashamed of the history of the church. If you aren't a member, maybe this helps you understand how Mormons view polygamy now, and why we practiced it in the first place. I know it was really nice for me to know. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Don't take any of that anti-mormon stuff for more than a grain of salt. A primary source is always more accurate than a secondary.
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