| Show WHAT GOD COMMANDS IS RIGHT WE notice that antl anti bior Alor mormon monts preachers and writers are arc repeating the charge that those latter day saints who practice plural marriage are violating the instructions of their own sacred books they have reference particularly to a passage in the book of mormon that Is made to do active service for the josephites 11 A sec sed sectarian journal noted for its shocking errors of orthography and composition although edited and published in this city by leading anti antl mormon I 1 professional fess ional educators prefers this charge as follows it is a remarkable fact that the one custom of the mormon people which make th them m a hiss and byword by word among all civilized people is most emphatically and repeatedly commanded in the book of mormon in the tiie book of jacob this subject of polygamy my is treated in several places and the writer cannot sufficiently express his a abhorrence of it the author of the foregoing paragraph states the exact opposite of his meaning but that is not strange in the paper which prints it and calls itself the christian advocate ills intention was to make it appear that the book of mormon condemns polygamy and that the condemnatory passages are to be found in the book of jad jag jacob ab reference to that book discloses that the people to whom the prophet was discoursing were practising practicing whoredom and excusing themselves because of the things written concerning david and solomon who had many wives wires and concubines lie rebuked them for their iniquity declared that those historical personages did some things which were abominable before the lord and gave them this injunction my brethren hear me and hearken unto the word of the lord for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife and concubines he shall have hive none jacob ad chap 27 v to understand the bearing of this injunction correctly it will be necessary ry to inquire into the reason for it A and nd tills this is explained ai ned by the context the keople eo p le it states tes were waxing in in equity and were I excusing excusing themselves in committing whore doms 91 they were pleading leading away captive ve the daughters of gods people and had come under great condemnation Th they eyvere were therefore unfit for tile the sacred relationships of that higher order of marriage into which abranam abraham and otner holy patriarchs were permitted to enter the people to whom jacob was talking had corrupted themselves by whore doms and this commandment was to them and to them alone the book of mormon contains the history of that people and the teachings of inspired men for their special obedience and benefit this law was adapted to their low condition aticy were unfit for higher responsibilities they were too corrupt for that celestial order that is ordained of god for the highest exaltation of ills servants and hand maidens in the law revealed for ills his holy priesthood but not only was this commandment clearly given for the special observance of that people to whom it was lord reserved the right to reverse the law if lie he saw proper or if the people became more righteous a nere liere is the proviso for if I 1 will the lord of hosts raise up seed unto me I 1 will command my people otherwise they shall shail hearken unto these things 11 ibid ibid 30 v what is the plain significance of this verse Is it not that unless the lord commanded otherwise that people were not to deviate from the one wife rule and that the lord would comi mand otherwise if ile he wished to raise up seed unto him nim god foreseeing that the people of that uge age would not be benit bennt fit for the sacred obligations of tile the ha higher her hen law required their ancestors 11 when ell erl they came on this land to observe this rule unless unies lie commanded otherwise and and aad these people had violated the law and had otherwise committed abominations this thia also wais was the abomination of david and solomon they took wives anu and ana and concubines not given to them by the lord solomon wenty went idely widely astray in this matter lie he took women of those nations against which the lord had cautioned israel and thus broke the law of god 1 I kings xi 12 david sinned in the cascoa case of urlah uriah and his liis wife bif fe nathan declared that god gave david tue wives that he had bad received but that the king had bad sinned grievously in taking another mans wife this was aest abst against gods law and therefore boti both david aud and solomon did that which was abominable before the lord davids case clearly exhibits the principle pr u ciple involved while lie he was ll il righteous 11 t c ous and obedient god gave I 1 him wives into his bosom 11 II 11 sant sani xii 8 when he be sinned he took them away as a curse v 11 nothing that david did in his bis marital relations was au an abomination before the lord except the sin he be committed with bathsheba baths Batha heba because david did that which WAS right in the eyes of the lord and turned not aside from anything that he ife commanded him all the days of his life save only in the matter of urlah uriah the hittite 1 I 1 kings xv 5 jacobs reference to david dav DAY id and solomon to together ether must be viewed in that way the individual acts of the two men regarded separately as related in the tile books of samuel and kings show that the abominations they committed were in doin doln r that which tile the lord had not authorized in those relations which they entered into under the sanction of the almighty they were blessed butchen but when they took women in violation of the law they were condemned the tried to excuse their whore doms by b 3 the things written concerning dali dall david and solomon but as jacob jacod told them they understood not the scriptures god never justified adultery but hut lie lle tid did lid justify plural marriage ehen when it toas teas tided under tinder his co commard command the latter day saints maints are not now under the law as given to the Nep hites of jacobs time god desires to raise up seed unto him and has commanded ills his people by revelation through the prophet joseph smith whom he required requited to practise the law and teach it to his bis grethren brethren of the priesthood it is a law to them and not to the world the ordinance can only be administered in holy places and none can receive permission to practice it except under und nud r regulations divinely revealed this is th the thu e doctrine of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints on t this Is tie the point it is not in conf soufflet flet with the book dook book of mormon but is in hari harmony nony with that record and with the B ble it is of god and not of man and every effort to show that it is cutrary nary cary to ills liis wol woi word d onix only helps to prove its consonance with ancient divine revelation |
