Most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are familiar with the quote of Joseph Smith, Jr. regarding the Book of Mormon. “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”
In Chapter 2 of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Jacob warns his people about the danger of being prideful in their riches, about putting one above another based upon their material possessions. Jacob then goes on to speak to his people about “a grosser crime.” Jacob laments that his people “wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son. Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.” So in the Book of Mormon, Jacob clearly tells us that the fact David and Solomon each had many wives was not only a mistake, or even wrong, but abominable.
To emphasize the point, Jacob adds, “Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none.” Jacob does not say only select men, or prominent men, or rich men can have more than one wife, but “not any man” should have more than one wife.
Jacob, speaking for the Lord, is quite clear why no man should have multiple wives. “For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands. And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.”
Finally, Jacob sets forth the consequences of the actions of those who have broken this commandment. “Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you.”
The admonition given in the Book of Mormon’s Book of Jacob, Chapter 2 seems to be in direct contradiction with Joseph Smith, Jr. stated revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 132:38-39.
“David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me. David’s wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.”
Some have argued that the reintroduction of plural marriage, despite the Book of Mormon’s seemingly clear admonition against the practice in Jacob 2:24-27, is overcome by Jacob 2:30, “For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.” The argument is that the clear admonition against plural marriage was recalled for a season because Our Heavenly Father needed to “raise up seed unto me,” or in other words, have the members of His church have more children.
In reading of this justification for plural marriage practiced by some prominent leaders of the early Saints I’m reminded of two verses from the New Testament, each spoken by the Savior to the Pharisees and Sadducees. From Matthew 3:9, “I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” And from Matthew 19:8, “Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.”
I find it difficult to believe that Our Heavenly Father found it necessary to command plural marriage, even for a season, in order for the faithful to grow in number. If we are to take the Savior for His word, that Our Heavenly Father is able to raise up children from stones, could He not have spared the tender feelings of His daughters and not instituted the abominable practice of plural marriage, to say nothing of concubines? Perhaps it is more accurate to say that Joseph Smith, Jr., as had Moses done with some aspects of divorce, instituted the practice because of the hardness of the hearts of some of His children amongst the early Saints.
If the plural marriage was instituted by Our Heavenly Father through Joseph Smith, Jr. for the purpose of increasing the number of children being born to Smith and other practitioners of plural marriage, it would seem to have been a remarkable failure. Of the nine children generally alleged to be offspring of Joseph Smith, Jr. through someone other than his first wife, Emma, none have been determined to actually be Smith’s progeny. Of the nine, 2 died in infancy, and six have been determined by genetic testing not to have been fathered by Smith. Only one child identified as a possible offspring of Smith, other than through Emma, remains as even a possibility. If that was the intention of plural marriage, Joseph Smith, Jr. was not successful in raising up extra seed unto Our Heavenly Father.
Brigham Young was more successful in having extra children through his plural wives. Young had 56 children by his 55 wives, or slightly over 1 child per wife. Of Young’s 55 wives, 39 bore him no children. Of course it’s impossible to say for certain, but it seems likely that if most, if not all of those 54 extra wives had been married to men other than Brigham Young then the aggregate number of children born to those 55 women would have been greater, perhaps much greater. Whatever the true reasoning behind the practice of plural marriage amongst the early Saints, bearing additional children does not seem to have been the result.
I trust the simple reading of the Book of Mormon that a man having more than one wife is abominable to Our Heavenly Father. I believe the Savior when He says that Our Heavenly Father could raise children in ways other than instituting the practice of plural marriage, a practice otherwise said to be abominable. I also believe the Savior when He says that at times a prophet will allow a practice simply out of the hardness of the hearts of His children at the time.
Whatever the justification for plural marriage, that Moses, David, and Solomon at times did things contrary to the commands of Our Heavenly Father is perfectly clear and acknowledged in the Old Testament. All three suffered the consequences of their actions in not obeying Our Heavenly Father, as we all suffer from turning from His light. Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. David was not allowed to build the Temple. Solomon had his Kingdom dissolve upon his death. None of their shortcomings, though, change the fact that Moses was instrumental in the exodus from Egypt and leading Israel to the Promised Land, David was instrumental in consolidating and establishing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel once in the Promised Land, and Solomon was instrumental in building the first Temple to Our Heavenly Father.
The scriptures are clear and unequivocal. Our Heavenly Father works with very imperfect people, as He must, as we are all imperfect, even the greatest of our leaders. We only lose the confidence of our children by seeking to justify the unjustifiable.