| Show 0 1 S 0 OU IR SE SM nr or ELDER II 11 ay W mum BUM I 1 emia emma jm DELIVERED in the ae tabernacles saie sale sa lake city march 8 1885 REPORTED BY JOHN jolin MY brethren sisters and friends the congregation is large and I 1 hope to be so directed by tile the spirit that all present who so desire may be enabled to hear and understand the sabbath is the day provided expressly for the reception of spiritual rood tood the speakers or those who may be called upon to teach need all the resources that are within their reach in order to satisfy a congregation of hungry souls they need particularly the faith and prayers of the saints the influence and power of the holy ghost the manifestation of the authority of the holy priesthood so that there may be instruction upon the important topics and principles of the gospel not the theoretical ones alone but those that are interwoven with our dally daily life there is a vast amount of experience in the aggregate among the people individual experience forms one of the treasure houses from whence a speaker can draw the supplies that are necessary advantageous and for lc ic audience there is a great deal implied in a congregation like the present one there is much more implied in the aggregation of congregations forming a community from communities to nations from nations to mankind at large the most narrow as well as most dense communities are made up of the family organization there Is found circle within circle or as the prophet had it wheel within wheel and the homes bodies of a community should be the outgrowth not of theories alone but of the faith kno knowledge cledge and understanding of those relationships shiell exist there when these f family amily organizations are based upon knowledge they are likely to be more permanent erma nent neut if it they are only thoughtless 1 ess or theoretical or if they exist without information circumstances pressure opportunities are very likely to 10 disintegrate them to break them up to dissolve them and so through 1 I indifference for each other substitute an anomalous condition of selfishness amongst those members who otherwise should form connected and interwoven circles in christendom the marriage covenant Is the foundation of the home the ideas which men hold concerning it lay at the doun Joun foundation dation of all social order all unity and all government and even ithe ahe welfare of future ages depends upon the theories cherished in regard re ard toi to home and family associations the thoughts held and the practice growing out of these are surely higher than could ba possible in the families of a community where the sexual relations remain undetermined where they are without restraint and without order there will inevitably be chao chaos s disruption and contention and the body politic would and inevitably under loose conditions degenerate and pass puss away but this marriage organization bation nand and aud institution has existed f from born the beginning it has been the binding inan and sealing power of the fa family mily it has perpetuated I 1 those families from the g time e that eve was given to ada adam lil ril to the last marria marriage e that took place in our own immediate neighborhood t the lord sald said it was not good that man should be alone he gave to him as a helpmate one ane of his daughters by the name of eve this relationship was then instituted by the almighty and therefore a man and his wife s should hould really become one their interests their labors should be blended their responsibilities should be mutual and in thus helping and aiding each other they should train the posterity ost erity that god might give them in Ms his fear and in the practice of righteousness so so that his rule and kingdom might exist and prevail upon the earth in all nations from the highest civilized to the lowest tribal relation among the wanderers ers of the earth there is more orless semblance of this organization this family compact this united responsibility garnished in many lands with pomp and ind ceremony and with all the tile appliances and sanctities of religion in in others with less and still less of this until we come to where with but little ceremony ceremony the dusky indian captures the maiden of his choice and takes her to the tent which he has erected for himself the scriptures give an account simply of the tile woman eve declaring that this name was hiven fiven given her of adam because she was the ithe mother of all living but outside of biblical record there has been handed down from time the idea that adam had two wives the narrators go so far or rather so near perfecting the tradition as to give their names lilith being said to be the name of one as eve eye was the name othe of the other and while it may be difficult to harmonize all the and talmudic Talmud lc versions of this matter 1 lit sit is said that joseph smith the prophet taught that adam had two wives without however assuming suming or basins basing anything upon this theory s or upon this tradition which may be mythical in its character it Is nevertheless vel vei very y evident that marriage was ordained of god and when we take into our hands the record of the holy scripture scriptures s that have been handed do down doan wn to us by our fathers that have bave been cherished laparta in parts by the ancient people of god and in latter times consolidated consolidate dj passing through various channels under linder peculiar pecullar peZ uliar ullar circumstances cum stances and with an apparent special providence continuing and aud protecting the same we find throughout the pages thereof that marriage everywhere for four thousand years at all events was recognized as of divine origin one of the latest assertions in re regard ard to it as addressed to the early saints by paul was that marriage was honorable in all anaf urther that it vas was typical of that headship he held heid thal by jesus to the church and from this comes an added force to the saviors words who when speaking on this topic said what God hath joined together let no man put asunder the sanc sane sanctity city of the marriage relation had another feature lc in ancient israel that great family of promise were divided into tribal relations and by these their genealogical tables were kept perfect any marital connection or alliance outside of that order was visited with indignation condemnation and punishment punishments those who were guilty of violating the order of marriage were looked upon as guilty of something which destroyed the root and foundations of society they were held to be guilty of introducing things and practices which viti vitiated atea the value vaine of genealogy gene genealogical alog cal cai re record cord and which made the perpetu perpetuity ty of families a comparative immoss impossibility land and had bad it not been for fon tribal carefulness r in this direction fort fortais for ais tais supervision which controlled controller ollea and regulated the people of god yit sit it would have been impossible in the days of the savior for the apostles to have traced ills his genealogy back to the earl eari early prophets and patriarchs that which men now apply only as a rule in regard to stock or to some of the most ancient families of mankind by the people of godias god was looked upon as the one perfect chain aitor to demonstrate hereditary redi tary descent we are told in tracing one of the genealogies from father to son or from son to father in iii a backward direction to adam that finally adam was said to be the son of god and by a close application of the principles ol 01 logic it may be assumed th tact t all the posterity of adam are by direct descent the sons and daughters of the living god it will also be f found in I 1 n the prophecies of isaiah regarding the Savior that ile he should bel called tiie the wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace 9 when we come to his own conversation where ills his apostles Apostle 4 asked him if he would show unto them hem the father hebald he said have I 1 been so long with you ou and yet hast thou thod not known me K he e th that at hath bath seen me hath bath seen the father this statement is reiterated time and again in chebook of mormon and in the sacred writings that we have received jesus christ the son of god the redeemer of the world was not the son only but the toe prophetic declaration cl was f fulfilled ul filled la in him he was verily and indeed the everlasting father so by the same application ot of logic and inferential evidence from holy writ wherever you nind rind a man he is the son of somebody and riis als existence is perpetual and eternal every father becomes br virtue of his lopo position s I 1 an everlasting father ile he in th this ls respect represents the same characteristic as that occupied by the great father of us all and throughout the countless a aes ages es of eternity any mari man who has cvar ever even assumed or occupied tile the position and continues faithful to its res responsibilities p will wili forever remain to h his Is posterity the everlasting fathers I 1 aa As fara we nye carl cari can glean from the sacred records we find that this thia relationship was established for the bringing r upon this sphere of action acion a posterity the powers and functions which had been conferred upon man and woman were exemplified in this direction and when a mans mants wife was barren when any of these daughters of israel in ancient times were childless it was considered to be a reproach to them et in the exercise of falth faith and by iet ket lesing of tae almighty and by obedience to the patriarchal order many of these ancient sisters the progenitors of the Is israel raud of the latter days were delivered livered from dirom barrenness and became the mothers of a vast and ever increasing host of posterity those who are familiar with the sacred scriptures will remember one of the wives of jac jacob ob they hey will remember the case of hannah the mother of samuel the prophet and there are others which are familiar to 0 o our minds which need not be quoted the desire for offspring among the wives of israel was a prevailing pre feeling because it was understood that int frogg froin from that lineage should come theL Messiah of me the latter days and every daughter of israel was anxious that in a air tir direct act line she might be the honored of god in being the medium through which should come the redeemer the promised immanuel it ought also to be remarked in connection with this question that marriage was at times le as well a as mont mono that is right away la in the early history of the world there were men who had more wives ithan ith aa one lamecki was the first who Is mentioned la in scripture and here it might be observed although probably all understand der stand it that the thi bible does not profess to give iye ive lye a perfect history bistor in detail of the habits babits and practices of the ancient people of god f for or these are only secondary to the ever present assertions a sert ions of divine interest in and regulation of the human family there are only revea linss or incidental glimpses here and there in regard to the principles of social and domestic life and hin tings of some which have been kept hid from then to now but that marriage was the heritage of man is certain and that while under many circumstances it was 5 there were also aiso many casesi cases in nw which bich it was of a character I 1 and in both instances it was given by command om mand wand and then thed received tile the approbation of the heavens beavens it was regulated and sustained by the great lawgivers of ancient israel who were inspired to point out in id detail the limits of consanguinity the times and seasons of privilege privileges and what should be the method ot of securing posterity under such and such circumstances until the time came when srael as a nation enjoyed its highest glory and then we fl nud act anat this eie ele polygamy formed one of the lead 11 ag features of the household extension 11 li sion slon in iu the kings of that time david is a noted illustration solomon was another and in tho comments oi of the scriptures regarding these two men notwithstanding their multiplicity of wives belind no condemnation save in the fact that they in to other respects violated the f fundamental 1 law oi of ancient israel david we are told captured the wife cifu ot of another man oy by stratagem strat egem and because be he did this he fell under condemnation the son that was born to him of that connection died a premature death but af afterwards ter when he repented he married and still wil 1 retained that self same hame woman bathsheba Baths heba beba ba the lord blessed and acknowledged davids repentance and her position by giving tier ner tor for a son the great Je dedian jedediah Jed edlan edian or solomon and finally in a direct line through her came camu also the redeemer of israel the scriptures in commenting upon davids practice bay sav that in none of these thin things thins s did he bt violate the adm commandments man mand dment ments s save in the case of tile the wife of uriah 11 ibl ast 1st kings 15 5 we are also aiso told that solomon multiplied wives vives and families unto himself yot his reign formed an era in the national life ot of israel it was during his administration as king and friest priest under the order of god that that wonderful temple was built and dedicated which received the sanction and approbation of the heavens of the resting upon it of the cloud by day so that the priests could not minister at the altar and the descent of fire from heaven which consumed the sacrifice tokens of divine acceptance and recognition tion and we nye have not found fount in reading I 1 11 the history of solomon that his conduct was condemned save in the fact that he took unto himself wives of the outside nations contrary to the law which declared that the marriages of israel should be within their own immediate families deut beut ath 3rd ard and as a re result sult suit the record declares that it was these heathen wives which he took those women that were captured in war or those that he had f from roin choice or were given iven to him liim for conciliatory alliance from irom from surrounding nations who led led away his healt from rom the worship of the god of israel and turned hirn him to the practices of I 1 dol tary W with ith this exception ce llon lion the presumption Is from the evidence that his other marriages were approved and in them was his bis posterity perpetuated it was the direct result of the blessing blessin of the almighty ani an through him as he stood in a representative position we m may ay surely assume what the f feelings of israel were in regard to polygamy or the plurality of wives it is s more than inferential evidence in favor of this principle which grows from the consideration of the practice of solomon and david and abraham and jacob and anti moses and gideon and Jehoida and abdon and Reho boarn and abijah and esau and lamech and jerubbaal and jair though 1 some afi these men were not examples in every act of their lives yet the facts are no more in favor of of monog monogamists as to this than in the day and age in which we live I 1 unfair advantage has his been taken by opponents of this practice e beca because tise of 0 f the adam ic the ra rabbinical tradition already mentioned while not conclusive shows that no repulsion exsted existed in the minds of the honored priesthood of israel and as the rev jr dr newman quoted the words of Lai lat lamecki pech so we may aiso also aiso have our opinion and that is that his bis declaration possessed no reference w hallaver hat lever laver to his bis plurality of wives however in the christian dispensa tion ion it has been beri assumed that this |
