| Show jre leb POLYGAMY A SERIOUS SUBJECT BEFORE THE CHURCH 0 OS F ENGLAND of late years the 11 mormon ormon press and pulpit have been almost entirely silent on the subject of patriarchal inar marriages rii oey mel or poleg imy we vye do not now propose to bistu b that silence from any necessity the institution is an eatable setd fact immovable and no human buman eil J r t c a im ake it oth other er than it id that tha t sa sacred cred aad and hoy hos y rela reia relationship of dif life ilfe e ordained of the great creator for the sons an ani I 1 daughters of adam in carrying out those purposes and plans matured giom riom before the foundation of this world in seeking the highest attainment of salvation salvati oi and the perpetuity of eternal lives with all this ye ve are so BO and care not to odfer offer again an argument menton on the tha subject we only refer to it now more as an item of the worlds bews news than other wise and as such interesting no doubt to 41 many of gur our readers and anait 1 it might be not dot without instruction to some of oe our con coo congressmen ress who according to telegraphic reports are some somewhat hat exercised at the present time over that vexed question questions 2 that is if the Jent gent gentlemen lemen to whom we refer have soul enough I 1 ft an fn in them to receive light and instruction from any quarter of that however we inov nothing and care les ies fessand less sand and let iet ing th thit it adice B idice for introductory we come to polygamy conil conald dered ered tred by a bishop dishop of the cli cil arch of england a As asan an institution te uhe church of england lias has been preeminently pre ell eli eminently ineptly industrious in the missionary business at ti in its lis zealy zeal forcibly recalling to chuse who have not shared its faith that remarkable kable stricture of an ancient missionary misso mission nary ary society that would tra verse sea a d land to make maks one proselyte and afterwards make him hlin tenfold more etc etc of that ehat class clasi i 0 the church 0 englund has unquestionably had a ery lar lare iare e number who have llave with the aid of presents arid arld annuities been very successful etheopia to the lon lort 12 and accomplishing great things on indias andias In dias coral co ral rai st randil strands but freed from tte tre general trammels of expected pre ferments some few fel in tb the e missionary ranks have dared to look loo at facts and have published s me very unpalatable truths to the church at t home A mr to a few year years ago a very readable volume of hs travels traves in the east in which he related with interest ingui anut ness the difficulty he and his f fellow ea low towia la laborers borers had experienced experienc edin in teaching a mo rc faith from the bible however little bittle the missionaries might have studied the ISi isk sacred cred crea volume at home while haeng in feic cr course our se and ana christian relationship with their own kin and countrymen witti with buom whom nham I 1 churchgoing church going 12 was fashionable and rituals I 1 and homilius homilies ho milies went unchallenged their position was ivas so somewhat changed in confronting in men of another cout country itry and ana faith it rp requires quires an honesty and y of soul which all men meli do not seem to possess to flatly avow that they had bad learned biblical lis bla i orical facts in heath nom but there las been the school allen alien acknowledged it for I 1 crof course cour Behe he has been soundly snubbed another candidate for martyrdom appears aphea rs in no less a personage than the R rev J W colenso DD bashop B shop of na al a gentleman enjoying cloying a reputation an I 1 position in the church hurch to eti til entitle title him to a very ery patient hear hearl g on en tue tiie grievances grievance i of oe missionaries in dealing 0 with that same Bame sexed vexed vlon vion the twin relic tile the BI bichop hop hor ike missionary allen alien has no isea tilea of 0 f taking rank with ancient patriarchs it w boull oui 1 be expecting 0 too much of him he therefore alt hll self balf with a I 1 letter to lils uis his grace the of canterbury 0 pon the question of the proper treatment of found already existing ceases es of polygamy as in converts from heul heui he then ther ism in which there a aril arif i e nany many very ery serious adm for whid says a reviewer of tile the letter the mormon hirron church will be very much obliged to him whatever may nas be thought of his bis labors by our 0 orji convocation the reviewer though 1 prore professedly seedy freed from any alarm himself is not quite so certain that the devotees of the th anglican 0 church will re belve with the dame came calm the bishops defence 4 of polygamy on the ground of rs ligion and aad id humanity J la in fact the effort made to dulse auise alarm exhibits that a a storm is brew brewing b l around thie ihie miti ed be d dot or the dishop of I 1 estal bit bif bi in irp va vaut gaut vt ilao ot of trial were weare we are re 44 U J U ai ebbs ebes cr ac s willmot will let att 1 IM siiri enol ea fd ax positions by the mere cry of danger to moral allty danger to the household affection nd the like 2 he is 13 further adds the reviewer pr prepared pared we dare say to hear it said that he iq worse than brigham young 51 arid and that his proper place woud be in a mormon pulpit from have before us odthe Bish bishops ps letter we apprehend that the reverend reverend gen clemans tl emans sentiments would never have seen ink and paper but for the tha fact that the mission iry try board of the anglican church has been brought to a stand still in their labors by the obstinacy of the I 1 heathens heathers he athens who though willing enouf enough h at time times S to listen to a missionary recital of gospel injunctions and probably pro baby nothing averse to occasionally joining them in a little psalm singing yet are exi exl ex i cee cautious aboab about modern sinnova j toas t oas this is the bin b block och ock to 0 o the progress of the e church and the obstacle has to be removed by no nothing t hing less than the full admission that polygamy is a plural institution and that the past efforts of 0 the eus mus uns nus fonaries 1 to break up the domestic institutions of their cor coi converts iverts lverts have been as irreligious as they they have been abortive and absurd the dedi dedication of such a letter to the high highest e t personage of the great church of england er land by a mitred kitred brother himself in full fellowship on such a subject calmly avowing the cabi cab ity or of further foran forcing unscriptural monogamy u uon on conerty conr con erts is a great step in the nineteenth century the practical al difficulties of putting away he other wives wires are vry great with ilith piquant curiosity he asket asks which or oe his wives sll sli sha aha allbe alibe be put awa away sh arn ann be keep the fi girst first st wife or the tho pre test wife or the best be oved bif 21 fee in ing the embarrassment of giving instruction to the converts the bishop gives the vailous vadious vai ious lous pans plans adored allo alio pled by missionaries for deciding who aho shall be kept and who ho reject rejected edyl edly evey one about as diverse from the other as christain teaching generally 1 asand and al altogether tether about the most amab ng rea reading d L th that I 1 a t we have had for a long iong 0 time if we could only shake off from froal our minas minds the humilia ing fact that those i noral norai I 1 a aid ald ad ld heatless heartless missionaries assumed the calling of heralds of salvation to a people that knew to io better after wading through the contradictions othis of his is gome at is tc t i to arrive at the bishops own plan pian which is t let tile the convert keep bh his wives and to see that he now row earnestly I 1 wishes to obtain for this practice the general sanction of the english church in claiming the attention of the archbishop and the church to the examination of this very important subject the bishop that he be has been occupied with it for nearly twenty years that he had had bad pon on alered much upon the matter and souI boul sought bought it upon it from various quarters from irom the scriptures and alla aila ancient fathers of the church the conviction condic lon ion dee deepened penea within him more and more that the practices practice of his bis brethren were un A arrayed by the scriptures unsanctioned by apostolic example or authority condemned by c inmon reason and feme eeme of right and altogether 11 unjustifiable fi 0 on the scriptural sanction of polygamy he a ys it 1 I find however that under the OM oid dispensation pen sensation pensa satio tion n polygamy iv a practised practiced by ein ern eminently pious men who while co in that state stale were sing bing darly blessed of the aleigh almi aimi gh y NY w phout a sinie single word of reproof or in of gods god displeasure being V ai dressed to them thein on account of it from this ibis circumstance and the add dional fact tat tsat pas pai passages parses sages in the mosaic law expressly recognizing the existence of polya polygamy eamy ramy and that not a word is found in the law or the prophet denouncing or in any way con condemn derrin in anit it I 1 lam iam am aej lej to co colfle luie iuie lule that tho agh not in accordian accordance accor danee e with the mind and will of the C beator Ce ator iwas ye yet suffered by bim him to end endure ire lre for a deaso season i and 18 is not dot to b regarded reg aided by ui as being in all cases and under all circumstances that Is ia without reference to the knowledge of his will possessed esses essed by tile the persons who 0 ice ce it Q sinful and ds pleasing dg in his bis bight eight I 1 am cor confirmed firmed in this view by fi finding adin that whereas the mosaic law punished a adultery du ery ary with death no punishment of any kind is assigned in it to the polygamist poly samist an and polygamy is only noticed jn in the law to correct c ertain eis conner connet connected ted with it I 1 conclude therefore that polygamy was not c cons ons derea dereal to he be adultery adul teti tiri in the case of the we jews 11 when david received for the first tinb time f the great prom se of the messiah I 1 e too was a anil artl bad had long 11 been so abr two chapters beare the above promise is recorded we are told that david took him m re wives and concubines out of jerusalem jed Jen balem salem ird ind and two chapters gain before tha twe have niven civen the names of six wives whom be lle had married mae mai ried R n enviously to thes these iwo two two of themi dul dui duhig g his 0 dnn qun lun l u 1 n irr the wil wll ierne lerne p when he had dwy dry tui tel dl 11 ciago cia ata ain arx rulx 11 rod r adl aud od role oe aa M many kany vany of the sweetest of oc the songs 0 of zion I 1 I 1 again aram we have at least two passages in the mosaic law which expressly reco recognize grize arize polygamy as freely permitted among the people of israel thus we read if he take him an 0 oher ohen hei wife her food her raiment and her i ditty of guarria marriage e shall he not diminish ai aid d I 1 lif bif if a man have iwo two wives one beloved and another hated and they the y have borne hla hira children chi I 1 dren both the beloved and the hated hate dand and if tit girst first born son be hers hera that was hated hen then ben it shail shall be when he mak th his hla sons to inherit that which he hath that he be may not make the son of the beloved first born before the son bon of the h tel which is indeed the fi 11 st born 1 and arld these passages passa es occur side by side w th others which denounce most se 1 v verely rely the sin ain of adultery adul tery iery and punish it with death ie ath ransacking the new testament and pondering over tile tiie early chrisian tian ilan writings the bishop avows equal embarrassment i in n sustaining tal tai ning ring th past course of the miss missionaries fonaries with regard to the teachings of christ he tle says the jews in our ow lorca lords time were in theory at least decided 11 though it may be doubted wh ther many of them were actually living 0 with more wives than one at the same time it is certain then that t ane e p practice rac ti e or of polygamy was recognize recognized d as perfectly per f act ly I 1 right and lawful awful by those to whom our lord addressed his disco and yet if it was very co nuion union it is strange that we have no direct reference to it in any part oath of th new testament exe pt in the contro averted passage of wh watch ch I 1 will speak presently we ki ov that herod the great bad nine wives ives at one time and it can scarcely be doubted hat amon among the richer jews aou woud ad be found some who wha irio lived in ia like manner i with two armore or more wi 63 69 at once altheir as their own i aw w and customs pelt pe bitted mit ted falater day days vl Is 9 vrue true polygamy was st ricly forbidden I 1 and expressly ai a mong the jews by the laws lawa of the roman empire but bub there was nothing I 1 no v to prevent it A nd though doubtless the great body of th sa ti oho who ho a attended I 1 on oa our lords ministry were the poor who 1 were content with one wife from necessity as much as from choice yet he not addressed the wealthier cl uleses ulsses asses tle scribes and Pharis res and sadducees some bome of whom it can scarcely be doubted were then living in the actual tice tica of poleg amyl how hov remarkable it is that we do not ii id a single wo d of censure passed by h him m on oa this practice eil ell ia in the writings of the apostle the bishop tells us there is not a sin single le direct reference made to the practice of polygamy hough hough it was certainly cert tinly allowed amon among the jews and p probably among other orientals Orient als as the arabians with whom the thie ea c ct the church came in contact in those days unless it be 1 tim ill iii 2 and tit i 1 6 where the rule is laid down that a bishop presbyter or deacon mist m be the husband of one wife nor were the fathers more explicit as to the i doctrine or pr practices artices of the early christians tile the bishop adds 1 I have not been able to meet with a singe single passage in the writings ot of the ancient fathers of the throw light uon u upon on this qt question qi estion 11 1 1 had nad we celiaa wad had mote mott space and time we would have extended this notice for there is ig much in the bishops letter that is interesting and some quotations that might be made are very readable we must however take the suggestions ot of enough ot of copy and conclude with a slight allu ion to the philosophy of the reviewer who seems to have studied ancient prophecy but slightly sightly or he cou d have bave said sald more on the question of population iati Jati on ile lle thinks hoa boa however ever eyer that a haf half million more females than males maies in england may way have something bing birg todo to do with that hut singular llian outbreak of the anglo saxon race towards the practice ot of a multiplicity of wives lie ile say says I q nature we see wi I 1 always accomma a e herself lo io actu actuel ia facts A twig will wil rend a rock and a weak comans womans yearning learning will wiil rend tile the most moat solid institutions against all counsels 1 all proprieties we bee see tile the female tide set in t wards towards 0 great silt like uner the new es ii woman oman makes hel bel self seif a new law in the newspapers oi 01 this morning ar ae counts appear of a mormon normon party havin haying having left L landon n do n the other day for liverpool arld alid salt lake C acty ty two thirds of this party are arc said to be women it ii we shou ah 0 ud d say to assert that this y of bri ish women ornen towards the domestic institutions of utah is the result of profligacy |
