The Polygamy Porter T-shirts are our best seller, the owner explained. It is not part of my testimony of the Church.49 Another respondent referred to the idea that plural marriage would extend into the eternities as nothing more than folk belief, which is very distressing, especially to women of faith, and many individuals of LDS background have left the Church over this and similar issues.50, In July 2011, Mormon author and blogger Jana Riess wrote about an e-mail she had received from a former Latter-day Saint woman who had eventually left the Church over several issues, including the persistence of polygamous theology among Mormons. Riess went on to explain, As for individual belief, Ive occasionally heard it taught from the pulpit (and Relief Societys lace-draped table) that heaven will be polygamous. And modern Bible translations NIV, ESV, and CSB do not translate Malachi 2:16 as God saying I hate divorce. What percent of marriages end in divorce? Questions & Answers: My parents were married in the temple, but now theyre divorced. This holds true whether they were married civilly or in a temple. In contrast, Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith use both history and a statistical review of Mormon and non-Mormon marriage practices in Illinois and neighboring Iowa to demonstrate that marriage to teenage women was not uncommon for the place and time in which Joseph Smith lived, nor was it considered pedophilia: The Age of Joseph Smiths Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context, in The Persistence of Polygamy, 15283. The Church of Jesus Christ itself has been described as a Church very much against polygamy that will continue to distance itself as far away from polygamy as possible.24 As [Page 55]previously explained, the Church has, since at least the late 1920s, repeatedly tried to distance itself from fundamentalist Mormonism and modern plural marriage. would have helped., [It] would be nice if [others] had some idea of how devastating divorce is and could have helped me get through the grieving process. . I believe there is a strong case that he once was, and my conclusion comes from Pauls words in 1 Corinthians 7:8-9. Converts reactions varied, and for some the concept was difficult to accept. For example, one survey respondent wrote, The Church has done much to cover up that part of its history, and little to bring the truth into the light. Dianne Chryst Ormond, It Started with Science, MormonThink.com, 2006, accessed October 15, 2011, http://mormonthink.com/itstartedwithscience.htm. 37. the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Your Feelings About Mormon Polygamy., 50. Another example of anti-Mormon accusations of adulterous polyandry can be found at LDSFreedom.org, Polyandry & Joseph Smith, accessed October 12, 2011, http://www.ldsfreedom.org/node/7. In 1998, the late LDS president Gordon B. Hinckley proclaimed, I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. You'll also like: How to Talk to Children About Temple Covenants After a Divorce. With his father serving as asoldier in the war, President Uchtdorf's mother was left alone to transport her four children via a refugee train heading west to Germany during the winter. BoydK. Packer, The Shield of Faith, Ensign, May 1995, 8. Divorced male members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are now required to obtain permission from the First Presidency before being sealed to a second wife. There was not, unfortunately, a good representation of race and ethnicity: almost all of the respondents were Caucasian, with just a few identifying themselves as Hispanic or Asian/Pacific Islander.33 Respondents lived all over the United States as well as in Canada and several other countries. They call it The Principle. Participants were asked to rank from 1 to 7 the support they felt from various Church-related groups (1 being not at all supportive and 7 being very supportive). "We always talk about fathers blessing their children and performing the ordinances, and those are wonderful experiences. WebIn their examination of the divorce rate within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, using both civil and temple marriages combined, McClendon and Chadwick Recent Events Highlight Confusion of Polygamy. For the actual presentation, see http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2011-fair-conference/2011-a-reconciliation-of-polygamy. E-mail correspondence between [anonymous] and Craig L. Foster, August 7, 2012. Copy in authors possession. They just wanted to help., Member friends primarily provided support around the spiritual connection that could not be found with non-members. Find a support network. Joseph Walker, Recent Events Highlight Confusion of Polygamy, Deseret News, August 6, 2011, accessed August 7, 2011, https://www.deseret.com/2011/8/6/20208124/recent-events-highlight-confusion-of-polygamy. For more information on the Van Dusens, see Craig L. Foster, From Temple Mormon to Anti-Mormon: The Ambivalent Odyssey of Increase Van Dusen Dialogue 27/3 (1994): 27586. Some members of the LDS Church have expressed shock and puzzlement that early Church leaders such as Joseph Smith and Brigham Young would lie about plural marriages before the public announcement of the doctrine and practice. Growing up, Elder Richard G. Scott's mother was a less-active member and his father did not belong to the Church. While 57% of respondents said their feelings were neutral toward polygamy when they first became aware of it, over a quarter of the respondents reactions were unfavorable to very unfavorable. Church Participation. What applepansy said. Fortunately, most former spouses learn to cooperate for the benefit of their children. For example, several years ago the priesthood/Relief Society manual on the teachings of Brigham Young included a timeline of significant dates in his life, including his first marriage and his second monogamist marriage after the death of his first wife. And, later, the priesthood/Relief Society lesson about Doctrine and Covenants section 132 discussed celestial marriage but did not mention plural marriage. An outspoken skeptic of the plurality of wives as an eternal principle is former BYU professor Valerie Hudson. Sister Wives follows the large family of Kody Brown and his four wives. 66. Was the Apostle Paul married? Raised on Essentials in Church History and similar volumes and never hearing of Joseph Smiths own plural relationships in general conferences or in other official publications, the new public memory began to take root.22. This non-Mormon perception of Latter-day Saints is more prevalent than many members of the Church realize. There was not, however, any mention of Brigham Youngs plural marriages. On a positive note, the LDS Church has recently taken a more active approach to interpreting and defining its polygamous past. Brigham Young might have done that, but Joseph Smith never would. I let the subject drop. Feelings About Plural Marriage. There was one who chose Native American as an identifier while there were no African-Americans represented. For Latter-day Saint children of divorce, questions like this can add to the sadness and uncertainty that divorce brings. Jeffs, in a way, is practicing what Joseph practiced. 55. Together, they made the harrowing journey past Russian guards patrolling the border to West Germany until they were safely reunited with the rest of President Uchtdorf's family. Claire, e-mail correspondence, October 4, 2011. Most definitely not true. After all, both the LDS Church and Fundamentalist Mormons share common roots and attributes. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available here. Nate Oman on Jeffs and Modern Mormonism, e-mail correspondence, August 25, 2011. . 60. I did know one who was released when he and his wife were separated. It is within this milieu of multifarious information and misinformation that modern members of the Church are placed. Death, war, financial insecurity, divorce, Church inactivity, there are many circumstances that can shake a family to its core and try each family member's testimony. There is much to appreciate about the honesty and vulnerability of the responses that were shared. These are truly touching and delicate experiences that members of the Church endured as they divorced. You'll also like: How to Talk to Children About Temple Covenants After a Divorce I can't imagine a Seventy giving instruction that was inconsistent with Church policy. 2. When he was 15 years old, Elder Baxter says he looked back on the challenges his family faced in his younger yearsalcoholism, divorce, povertyall of the things he couldn't change in his past and decided, "I will change the futurefor myself and for the children I will someday have. Divorced male members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are now required to obtain permission from the First Presidency before being sealed to a I should have clarified exactly what my husband meant prior to posting. 22. For examples of accusations of Joseph Smith and pedophilia, see Smith, Nauvoo Polygamy; Mark Webster, Hes a Dangerous Man: God Talk and Sexual Abuse, Beyond Opinion.com: Christian Apologetics Ministry, December 13, 2010, accessed October 14, 2011, http://beyondopinion.com/tag/joseph-smith/; and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith as a Sexual Predator, Mormon Coffee: Its Forbidden But its Good, June 21, 2009, accessed October 12, 2011, http://blog.mrm.org/2009/06/joseph-smith-as-a-sexual-predator/. This may make many more supportive of divorce when it happens outside the Church.. For examples of Mormon polygamy defining western polygamy, see Jessica Ravitz, Sister Wives explained: A fundamentalist Mormon polygamy primer, CNN Belief Blog, October 25, 2010, (accessed February 22, 2014); http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/25/sister-wives-explained-a-fundamentalist-mormon-polygamy-primer/; Michael E. Price, Are People Naturally Polygamous? Psychology Today, August 18, 2011, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/darwin-eternity/201108/are-people-naturally-polygamous-0 (accessed February 22, 2014); and W.W., Polygamy Now! The Economist, June 28, 2013, (accessed February 22, 2014), http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/06/slippery-slopes. However, Elder Oaks says, through "the blessings of the Lord, she did recover and she was stronger than ever"(Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "LDS Leaders and Mental Illness," Mormon Channel). This brings up another matter that needs to be addressed: missionaries at Church historical sites must be taught how to discuss the topic of Mormon polygamy because it is inevitable it will be brought up by curious visitors. Can Mormons Divorce if They Were Married in a Temple? - Learn They are in violation of the civil law. In a 2012 e-mail discussion between fellow Latter-day Saints about Joseph Smith and polyandry, one member wrote, There really is a chance that these married women might have been just as interested in the prurient side of this as Joseph Smith.61 [Page 68]Another later agreed that polyandry, no matter how you try to present it, is weird. Is that true? I thought he was joking. During their journey, President Uchtdorf also described the kindness of others who donated food and hot drinks to President Uchtdorf's family until they made it safely to Germany. "When she tried to find the train, the train was gone with her four children in there.". This is sad because what someone going through a divorce needs the most is support from those around them. Another shared a similar experience: They stopped inviting me to every activity, shopping trip, dinners, everything. Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. . Their surprise at divorce can lead to a feeling of instability. "This letter is an internal document. .I apologize. The new apostles could come from general authorities of the church, or from the church membership at large. The survey on plural marriage was titled Your Feelings About Plural Marriage and was conducted at SurveyMonkey, located at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GQZSTGR between September 16 and October 20, 2011. In like manner, we hide or diminish those things that embarrass us. One of those things is Joseph Smiths practice of polygamy because it seems that his polygamy is only in the picture when were called upon to defend him.23 Such an approach is not confined solely to individuals. Would a menace make a good Bishop? If someone believe[s] differently is it really worth getting upset over and offended? As the two started dating, Jeanene told Elder Scott, When I marry, it will be in the temple to a returned missionary.. 29. For more on this topic, check outFinding Wholeness and Happiness after Divorce. This essay looks at examples of members expression of discomfort over a polygamous heritage and concludes with suggestions of possible pathways to a more comfortable reconciliation. This and other facts about plural marriage need to be understood by Latter-day Saints, so information and specific detail regarding the theology and practice of plural marriage need to be provided at the appropriate time and place. Faithful historians and scholars can and should continue to study the Churchs polygamous past in order to help members better understand and appreciate the complex history of Mormon polygamy. This is, in Approximately 20 percent of the Catholic men and 23 percent of the women have been divorced. All Rights Reserved, NEW POLICY ANNOUNCED FOR DIVORCED LDS MEN. DallinH. Oaks, Divorce, Ensign, May 2007, 70. We know that some look back on their divorces with regret at their own partial or predominant fault in the breakup. If my parents were sealed in the temple and then got LDS apostles The top reason for a change in calling was relocation. 36. These details (in part) caused me to lose my testimony.40. 69. I know of no specific policy that forbids a divorced and remarried man from serving in any leadership capacity. There were also several who identified themselves as fundamentalist Mormons of former LDS membership. For example, the Public Affairs Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has, over the years, issued a number of press releases explaining that the Church does not practice or allow plural marriage and has differentiated between the LDS Church and fundamentalist Mormons.25 There have also been comments by Church leaders. When there are problems in different places around the world over difficult subjects like plural marriage, such as the recent apostasy problems in Sweden, leadership could then place even more emphasis on the education of its members in those specific places. WebElder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, There are many good Church members who have been divorced and reiterated that unless a divorced John C. Bennett, The History of the Saints; or, an Expos of Joe Smith and Mormonism (Boston: Leland & Whiting, 1842). Brian C. Hales, on the other hand, in an excellent essay, Joseph Smith and the Puzzlement of Polyandry, in The Persistence of Polygamy, 99151, offers a compelling argument for the proposition that Joseph Smiths polyandrous marriages were non-sexual and were eternity only sealings. In many ways, Fundamentalist Mormons are like Latter-day Saints former relativesex-uncles or crazy former cousins who cause embarrassment and discomfort, for they remind us of a married past we would rather forget. Now, in a world-wide Church such as the LDS Church, not all members will have the same need for or interest in information about the Churchs polygamous past. Perhaps no single issue provokes power struggles more than child custody. Since the time of the Manifesto, there has been suspicion that Latter-day Saints still practice plural marriage.15 Rumors and stereotyping of secret Mormon polygamous marriages have continued to the present, as news commentators and political pundits alike misconstrue and misrepresent LDS history and doctrine. The Salt Lake Tribune reviewed the party affiliation of all 15 apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including the three-member First Rebecca Musser and M. Bridget Cook, The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice (New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2013). Our Father in Heaven loves His children. An acquaintance of mine, married in the temple 25 years ago, four children and an active member in the LDS church was recently divorced for having an 45. A couple of years ago, I was talking with one of my daughters 16-year-old friends, a descendant of LDS polygamists, and mentioned Joseph Smiths plural wives. I would think not.60, Not surprisingly, the ambivalence among even active, faithful Latter-day Saints regarding plural marriage continues. Most definitely not true. Divorce disqualifies a Priesthood holder from even being a Bishop, let alone a General Authority. applepansy . At the age of 11, President Uchtdorf watched as his family split up, each taking separate routes to Frankfurt until only he and his mother remained. After leaving the museum, they tentatively, almost apologetically, asked me about how plural marriage started and what it was like. 3. "He responded lovingly but firmly each time I pestered him: 'David, I am not going to join the Church for your mother, for you, or for anyone else. In this collection, a variety of mental health professionals and others present their Latter-day Saint perspectives on divorce and related issues. By the 1950s Mormons had become thoroughly Americanized and tended to display a split opinion about polygamy. 12 apostles during Old Testament times Polygamy in the Spotlight, e-mail correspondence, July 14, 2011. My unhappy family history will not be passed on" (Elder David S. Baxter, "Finding Hope in a Troubled Family," August 2015 New Era). Teenage wives. That means the majority of adult Latter-day Saints both women and men are unmarried, widowed or divorced. apostle Gerrit Gong said Saturday morning. The LDS Church and its members must confront and accept not only its past but also the fact that the Church will probably forever be associated with polygamy. Divorce was more prevalent in the early Church. Brigham Young had a well publicized divorce. There is much to appreciate about the honesty and vulnerability of the responses that were shared. His mother also remarried and was sealed in the London England Temple. Copy in authors possession. This website noted Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner married Joseph Smith in 1842 when she was seven months pregnant and queried whether the child was Adam Lightners or Joseph Smiths. As several respondents put it: Why do ward members seem to have such a hard time connecting with divorced members? For a discussion of Nauvoo Polygamy, see Craig L. Foster, Review of Nauvoo polygamy: but we call it celestial marriage, Mormon Historical Studies 11/1 (Spring 2010), 15558. I would imagine if a divorced man was called as Bishop that it would have had to be approvied by the First Presidency. The following article originally ran on LDS Living in May 2016. Elder Oaks's mother worked hard for her family and cultivated that same work ethic in her children. Death, war, financial insecurity, divorce, Church inactivity, there are many circumstances that can shake a family to its core and try each family member's We then have a duty to root out these cultural misinterpretations from our midst, lest they cause great spiritual mischief.55, Echoing the thought that belief in plural marriage as an eternal principle should be rooted out among Latter-day Saints were several faithful Latter-day Saints who actively discuss Church doctrine and history. I never expected it, but it happened, and I accept it. While there were a variety of ways people first learned about plural marriage, about 42% of respondents said they learned from their family.35. FinancialSpecial5787 1 yr. ago. Most of them have never been members. 24. But for me, the most important revelation in this long ignored manuscript has to do with a foiled plot on Jesus and Mary the Magdalene's lives, about 13 years before the crucifixion. For examples of numerous press releases and public statements regarding past and modern plural marriage, see The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Newsroom: The Official Resource for News Media, Opinion Leaders and the Public, http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/search-results.xqy?q=polygamy&x=0&y=0. No they can't. By During a conversation regarding Mormon history, I mentioned in passing that Joseph Smith had plural wives. 54. Brigham Young had a well publicized divorce. 57. To help us understand what its like to be divorced in such a family-oriented church, I conducted a survey of 1,062 Latter-day Saints who have experienced divorce. When he was 5 years old, Elder Baxter's mother and father divorced. So if you were born to your parents after they were sealed in the temple (born in the covenant) or were sealed to them in the temple yourself, you are still sealed to themboth of themeven after a divorce. Many are confronted with these issues regarding plural marriage without a firm understanding of the LDS Churchs polygamous past. Lds Have Pasted as rich text. They need the healing power and hope that come from the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Web3 are often quoted as addressed to his wife, but there is no authority for such a reference. By the end of these few decades, a number of members had doctrinally and physically separated themselves from the body of the Church because they continued to teach and practice plural marriage. Heres how a new speaker series can help you find it: Temples are some of the most beautiful places on earth, but the work that takes place inside of them is what makes them sacred. As for the OP. If Church members dont seem to reach out to you, dont be resentful. DieterF. Uchtdorf, The Merciful Obtain Mercy, Ensign, May 2012, 77. Anyway, to answer the OP: I don't believe any of the quorum of the 12 have gone through a divorce, but the only way i can think that you could confirm it would be to go to the official website of the church, lds.org, and do a search for their biographies, one by one. As one historian explained regarding the 20th-century Churchs approach to plural marriage: [Page 54]As time passed, fewer and fewer Mormons came to identify personally with polygamy. . 33. Note: At the time this survey was conducted, the Church had not yet announced the ministering program that replaced home and visiting teaching.
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