A Rational Response to Mormons Practicing Polygamy

"BREAKING NEWS" ON MORMON POLYGAMY

The LDS Church recently published two essays on polygamy (or plural marriage) which have received national media attention over that past few weeks—most of it disrespectful. Three weeks ago, Peggy Fletcher Stack of the Salt Lake Tribute wrote a controversial piece, which portrayed the LDS church's latest two essays on polygamy in a scandalous light.  Last week, @lauriegnyt of the New York Times, and other national media, joined the media frenzy, feigning newsworthiness that Mormons have finally aired their dirty laundry. While the tabloid-esque reporting of the Mormon essays were technically accurate, the emphasis and tone were often inappropriately sensationalized. I'd like to add my small, but earnest, voice of reason to the national discussion.

Inappropriate sensationalism from the NYTimes referenced above

These lurid articles employed headlines like “shocking revelation,” "teenage bride," and “the church has finally admitted,” to increase circulation. However, I find these essays neither "shocking" nor "revelatory."  The thought of plural marriage being a new concept for Christians, Muslims, or Jews makes me chuckle. Have we forgotten that—just as God commanded a few LDS church leaders to practice plural marriage in these latter days (despite neither fully understanding it, nor desiring it)—Jehovah also commanded many of our favorite Old Testament prophets to practice polygamy? Abraham, the Father of All Nations, Moses the Prince of Egypt, Solomon The Wise, and King David The Psalmist all had many wives. While the LDS church has never hidden their involvement with this ancient practice, they are now taking steps to make their history even more accessible.

THE ESSAYS IN QUESTION

One of the most popular accusations made against the LDS Church regarding this matter is, why? Why has the church "waited" 120 years to come out with this official statement on their early practice of plural marriage? I'll let the LDS Church speak for itself:

For many years the Church has had a reference section on its main website for various “gospel topics,” listed in alphabetical order. Beginning in November of 2013 the Church began supplementing the material there by publishing in-depth essays on topics of special public interest, including accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, the Book of Mormon translation process, and many more (see complete list below). The Gospel Topics page on LDS.org was then *redesigned to better serve as a personal study resource for Church members. Three weeks ago, the Church completed a series on the topic of plural marriage (polygamy), which has recently been the subject of a large number of media stories…
*Hyperlink added

*…We live in a world where there is so much information available on every topic. And particularly in the age of the Internet, there are both good and bad sources of information. As a Church, it's important for us to research and provide official, reputable, historically accurate information about our history and doctrine.
*Highlighting added

I encourage you to read the following collection of source documents published by the Church, specifically the most-recent two on polygamy:

1. Are Mormons Christian? November 20, 2013
2. First Vision Accounts November 20, 2013
3. Race and the Priesthood December 6, 2013
4. Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah December 16, 2013
5. Book of Mormon Translation December 30, 2013
6. Book of Mormon and DNA Studies January 31, 2014
7. Becoming Like God February 24, 2014
8. Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints May 13, 2014
9. Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham July 8, 2014
10. Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo October 22, 2014
11. The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage October 22, 2014

A RATIONAL RESPONSE

Members of the Church should not be surprised by this affront. The battle to discredit Joseph Smith has been ongoing for the past 120 years. In his youth, Smith was given a prophecy by the angel Moroni that people would both praise and despise him forevermore:

 "…[Joseph Smith's] name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people."  — Joseph Smith History 1:33  

As the prophecy implies, enemies of the LDS church will attempt to use these essays on polygamy and Mormonism to justify their deep-seeded biases, just as friends of the Church will view these resources as a doctrinal support and as missionary tools. Fellow Pro-LDS bloggers,  Greg Trimble and @Jmaxwilson, for example, wrote blog posts defending Joseph Smith. However, even positive editorials like theirs are still only opinions.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, the Second Counselor in the LDS First Presidency, posed (and answered) the following questions in his October 2014 General Conference address, Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth:

It seems to be a trait of humanity to assume that we are right even when we are wrong. And if that is the case, what hope is there for any of us? Are we destined to drift aimlessly on an ocean of conflicting information, stranded on a raft we have poorly pieced together from our own biases? 

Is it possible to find truth?

Like President Uchtdorf, the purpose of my remarks is to proclaim the joyful message that God Himself—the Lord of Hosts, He who knows all truth—has given His children the promise that they are capable of discovering and knowing truth for themselves.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter which side of an issue you choose to align yourself. Truth is Truth, regardless of our interpretations or persuasive writings for or against it. Regardless of the scientific evidence presented by academic journals or persuasive arguments asserted by media conglomerates, God has always provided mankind with His own method for acquiring a knowledge of spiritual truths—that is, to ask Him in prayer. God has provided us and our families a specific formula for finding out whether the Book of Mormon is true and therefore, if Joseph Smith was indeed His chosen prophet (Moroni 10:3-5):

1. Read these words [Book of Mormon] 
2. Remember how merciful God has been to His children
3. Ask God, in the name of Christ, if these things are true
1. with a sincere heart
2. with real intent
3. having faith in Christ
4. Then the truth of these things will be powerfully revealed unto you by the Holy Ghost

God expects us to do some legwork before he will reward us with a witness of truth. By His nature, the Holy Spirit (The Comforter) cannot confirm anything until we first come to a conclusion ourselves. Through this truth-seeking process, confusion arises when we believe we can out-logic God. When seeking answers of Him, we must always remember to be humble and bear in mind that God's ways are higher than our ways.  (That means that God may command us to do some seemingly weird stuff without us fully understanding why. E.g., kill first-born son, allow yourself to be sold into slavery, walk the Israelites out of Egypt by way of the Red Sea, practice polygamy, etc.) When we pray, we must willingly accept whatever answer God may present to us, no matter how peculiar it may seem at the time.

Many earnest truth-seekers will conduct a thorough internet search, but get so emotionally and mentally invested in their own conclusion, that they then fail to take their beliefs to God in prayer for confirmation. The devil teaches men not to pray (2 Ne 32:8-9). Like Wormwood, paraphrasing from The Screwtape Letters, if the adversary can get us to say, "I don't know about that doctrine; it seems pretty alien to me. I'll do these other ones, but not this one" he will have prevented us from ever spiritually progressing beyond that point.

Please don’t get tangled up by the world's sophistries. Rather, take the time to humbly study out your question, then go to the Source of Truth. [E.g. Read Bryan Glaus' brief conversion story on Quora.]

A MOMENT OF SENTIMENT

Bothered by the free-wheeling editorialization of the LDS church's doctrine and history, my dad felt to email all of his kids a personal message of faith and encouragement. As a priesthood leader who sits in counsel with people who have been influenced by the world's criticisms of our faith, Dad has a poignant perspective on man's pursuit of truth and light. I loved reading his testimony and counsel so much, I wanted others to benefit from it as well.  With his permission, I'll close by sharing a snippet of his email to us:

For me, these essays shine the light of truth and perspective on what detractors of the Church have often pointed an accusing finger at and called “secret,” or “mysteries.” These essays help to counter the amazing amount of misinformation on the internet. Another example of this effort by the Church to take some ground on the internet is the recent release of a video on garments and temple clothing (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/temple-garments). It pushes aside the discussion of secret and replaces it with sacred. It also calls ridicule of the garment what it is—inappropriate, offensive and disrespectful of sacred things. 

Also know that there are many things that we will not understand and thus will have our faith tested. My approach is that when events arise that we struggle with, we need to remember back on those indisputable moments when we felt the Spirit or received answers to our prayers. While having questions is not a problem, allowing our doubts or unresolved questions to fester and eat away at our faith is a problem. I am grateful for the spiritual witnesses I have had, and continue to have, that this Church is led by the Savior, Jesus Christ, and through the righteous exercise of the restored priesthood has the divine power to provide the ordinances of exaltation for all. 

Stay strong. Always remember and reflect my beloved family on the real peace you have felt before. This is the Savior's Church, the vehicle by which a bunch of imperfect people get better and purer though living a pattern of obedience, sacrifice, service and consecration to God's commandments and restored truth. I am thankful to live in this day and time and to have you as loved ones. 

Love you all, Dad