103: ALL Over the Map with Rock Waterman: Difference between revisions

  | tags = Church History, Israel, Joseph Smith, Palestine

  | categories = 132 Problems Episodes, Interview

  | scriptures = * Why I'm abandoning polygamy: like all good Latter day saints of my generation, I've always been a committed polygamist to be clear, I've never been a practicing polygamist. You could say I'm a polygamist in the same sense that I'm a nutritionist. I know nutrition is out there; I'm told it's good for me, and I always figured that one day I would probably get around to practicing good nutrition. That's kind of how I thought about polygamy most of my life. It was out there in the future somewhere, but not necessarily all that relevant to me at the moment. Those of you new to the church in the last couple of decades may be surprised to learn that when we old timers were growing up, we were taught that someday they'll bring back polygamy. And at that day, the faithful among us would finally jump back into the pool. Plural marriage is after all an eternal principle, the suspension of which we were frequently told was only temporary. I can attest to that. That is true. That is what many of us grew up believing when I was a young single man. My attitude toward polygamy was somewhat ambivalent. What did I care whether I ended up with one wife or 70? Just as long as I got to do it with somebody, just give me that first wedding night and we could discuss numbers later." I love Rock. I mean, this is brilliant. "So while growing up, whenever someone spoke up in Sunday school or seminary, with a reminder that someday we would all be required to practice the principal, I was ok with it. Sure, fine, whatever. Then one day I met my soulmate, sorry girls. He's married. Few men actually have the good fortune to meet and marry their actual soulmate. The first time out, some guys find her eventually, but it often takes a second marriage or a third most. Never do. I hit pa or the first time out I knew Connie was the one. The moment I saw her, I recognized her from my dreams I've known from the beginning that after finding her, there was no possibility of my ever wanting to take on any additional wives. Just not gonna happen ever. Connie is my one and only, my kindred spirit. We're one couple indivisible and we ain't sharing our bed with nobody else. Luckily, for us, we'll never have to because I'm happy to announce that while I'm firmly devoted to most of the tenets of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I no longer believe in the doctrine of plural marriage." I just love this again. It was 2010. A lot of us weren't even thinking that much about this topic at that point.  "I'll bet you don't really believe in it either. Not enough to start living it right now. If you were, if you were told to, as for me, I've had a real paradigm shift in my thinking and it came to me after reading the [https://restorationbookstore.org/pages/joseph-smith-fought-polygamy-online book by Richard and Pamela Price entitled "Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy".]

* How men nearest the prophet attached polygamy to his name in order to justify their own polygamous crimes. Yeah, I know. Stay with me here. The first time. I was made aware of this book, I did what every good Mormon boy would do. I ignored it after all. Everyone knows that the doctrine of plural marriage came to us through Joseph Smith. Right. Spoiler. Alert. No, it didn't. I own Todd Compton's book, "In Sacred loneliness. The plural wives of Joseph Smith", wherein he traces the lives of the estimated 33 women who are believed to have been secretly married to Joseph Smith at Nauvoo. There may have been some disagreement among scholars about the exact number of wives the prophet had. But surely no one doubts the basic story. We all know Joseph kept the practice secret, so as not to give his enemies cause and to mollify his jealous wife, Emma. But to suggest that Joseph Smith may have actually fought against the doctrine of plural marriage was to me an absurd supposition. It was not even worth thinking about", something many of us have been told, right? And many of us have heard that. "But I had an experience a couple of years ago that convinced me to take a second look at this hypothesis. I was reading Richard Van Wagner's biography of Sidney Rigdon and send on page 292. Jumped out at me. The author was discussing how often and adamantly the prophet Joseph Smith attacked polygamy and those who promoted it. The this is quoting from Richard Van Wagner's book. 'The prophet warned against iniquitous characters who say they have authority from Joseph for the first presidency and advising them not to believe anything is coming from us contrary to the established morals and virtues and scriptural laws. The sisters were urged to denounce any man who made polygamous proposals and to shun them as the flying serpents, whether they are prophets, seers, revelators, patriarchs, 12 apostles, elders, priests, majors generals, city councilors, aldermen, marshals, police, lord mayors or the devil. They are alike culpable and shall be made and shall be damned for such evil, evil practices.' That's page 292 of Richard Van Wagner's book. Those are some pretty strong words coming from a guy who is supposedly getting a little on the side. They leave no room for equivocation. Joseph Smith was unmistakably condemning to hell any man who advocated polygamy even if that man was the prophet himself. So who's putting words in Joseph Smith's mouth? The author of Sydney Rigdon's biography is also the author of 'Mormon Polygamy, a history', which was the first major overview of the practice and he knows the subject. Well, Van Wagener does not question the widely held belief that Joseph Smith practiced plural marriage, but like many who write about him, he finds Joseph's apparent schizophrenia baffling. further down the page. We read this: 'The prophet's most pointed denial of plural marriage occurred on October 5th 1843 in instructions pronounced publicly on the streets of Nauvoo, Willard Richards wrote in Smith's diary that Joseph, quote, gave instructions to try those who were preaching, teaching or practicing the doctrine of plurality of wives. Joseph forbids it and the practice thereof. No man shall have but one wife'. What really popped out at me was what was Van Wagner's footnote to the above quote on page 303 quote when incorporating Smith's Journal into the history of the church. Church leaders under Brigham Young's direction deleted 10 keywords from this significant passage and added 49 others so that it now reads, quote, gave instructions to try those persons who are preaching, teaching or practicing the doctrine of plurality of wives. This is the addition for according to the law, I hold the keys of this power in the last days. For there is never but one on earth at a time on whom the power and its keys are conferred. And I have constantly said no man shall have but one wife at a time unless the Lord directs otherwise. it is commonly known that the seven volume History of the Church which purports to have been written by Joseph Smith himself was substantially added to and edited after the prophet's death. After all, Joseph Smith did leave great gaps in the narrative. And if his history was to be complete, the account required additional input from subsequent church historians, additions of the massive work were still being tweaked by BH Roberts as late as 1912. Still, it struck me that the passage above had been substantially doctored. So as to completely change its meaning, it put words into the prophet's mouth that he simply had not spoken. words, that in fact contradicted what he had said, the added words I've highlighted in bold italics above could incline the reader to conclude that Joseph equivocated on the subject. But it's clear from his original words that he did not; missing entirely from Joseph's statement in the official history is the primary primary imperative. Joseph forbids it and the practice thereof. This is not editing for clarification. This is prevarication, a lie, a calculated attempt to change church history. I felt it was high time. I found out for myself what Joseph Smith had actually said about plural marriage in his own words. So I ordered a copy of [https://restorationbookstore.org/pages/joseph-smith-fought-polygamy-online Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy]