Show CELESTIAL MARRIAGE defended and by elder john stoddard scripture proof of its the near meetinghouse in the third ward was well filled with an attentive audience last sunday ft to listen to the lecture on polygamy by elder john stoddard speaker said it had been decided to give this lecture in consequence of a question which biad been sprung in buo ouo of the classes in the sunday school a week or two ago one of the gentlemen of the christian churches had also seen fit to lecture upon polygamy or plural marriage andrad and had to show from tho bible chatita practice was incorrect and that it was not sanctioned and approved in the commencement he would say that it is not because the bible tella of men of old in polygamy that the lat meriday saints practice it in tho pies but it is because wo nave had immediate revelation upon alie mattery at the same time we are sanctioned and justified by the conduct and practices of the ancient prophets and patriarchs the question is often asked if plural marriage is approved of god he not when lie created adam and ave give unto adam two three or more wives now we ido not know all about the morning of creation one of our modern prophets pays in speaking of the creation A lloyal planter now descends from yonder world of older date and bearing in his fiands he older seeds of paradise when lo 10 from yonder world is transferred every species of animal life and male and female they come with blessings on their heads and a voice is bieard again be fruitful and multiply these arc llie words of one of our modern prophets who was gifted with the spirit and dpn er of god lid also shows the folly of believing that man was from alie earth like a brick or that woman was manufactured from a rib this bears a jag similarity to the story told to children of infant life springing from a mushroom or the hollow trunk of som tree or from heaps of rubbish atly speaker believed aliat every one who lias ever lived upon this earth ya begotten by the laws of procreation adam and jive may have been an exception but lie did not believe they were he believed that adam had more wives than one in the i world ghenco he came and if the bible biad stated this it would have been far better but as we only have record of adam having ono difo lie was satisfied salis fied mill that explanation alie words of god to adam and eye acro fur them to cultis ply and replenish the earth alio llio same instructions were given to noah some time afterward now then who officiated at the mar ariage ceremony adam and ave were united atio speaker under stood that at alid 1 lime they were im mortal even then god biad commanded multiply and the earth it wa god himself who united adam and eyo as man and wife and this marriage contract was not for time only because e at llma time they would never die but thin marriage contract would extend into eternity after this they fell and came upon them but this marriage cere moba haine been performed provis ous lo 10 alie fall it would have after their transgression there may be a mystery here to some but it is not so with true latter day saint A great many people use this argument and condemn the latter day saints for their practice of polygamy and say eliat adam only biad one viive and intended plural marriage to be practiced ho would in the beginning have arranged for adam to have more wives alian one but we believe he did not belong originally to this p lanct but was brought arom somo other world a celestial and immortal being this may seem strange to some that adam should conic down to this become mortal to break the law but by this means the world was peopled now we find that abram was the father of the faithful and ho waa commanded by the lord toI cave liis native land and go to a strange country to leave his idolatrous parents the land which the lord woul dhow him he promised him belong to abrain and his heirs for ever and ever now after aliis we arai look her egyptian maid and gave her to abram to wife abram being then 00 years old and subsequent to that tune the lord promised him his seed should bo as numerous aa the sand upon the sea shore or as the stars odthe firmament and he also told him liis name should thereafter be abraham and further informed him that his wife sarah should bear a son fahe having been child up to that time this surely is sufficient to prove that god did in thone day a approve justify and command nia faithful servants to enter into plural marriage for god could not promise abraham that in all the nations of the earth should be blessed if lie didiot up leold and sanction abraham in his plural marriage relations the speaker thought the quotations made fully showed that the servants of god were justified in entering alie practice of plural marriage in regard to the grandson of abraham jacob wo find he also was aa fully justified in the practice of poly gamy as was hia forefather jacob went and hired as a servant to his uncle laban and in the course of time he fell in love with one of labans daughters rachel but I aban was not willing to let his daughter go w some remuneration and an agreement was entered into that after seven years service lie should take rachel to wife at alie end of that tune jacob as lie supposed married irachel but he was deceived the sister of irachel leah had been substituted jacob complained of the deception which had been practiced practised upon him and it was explained to him that it was gottlie custom of alie country to give the younger daughter be e i A rf ra 7 tv f 1 i foro the first born so in to obtain kachel ho worked another seven years and at alio enil of eliat time he took rachel to wife thus becoming a polygamist haying married two pis tars there is no such word as con cubino but they were his wives according to tho scriptures OBO was blessed greater than the other in that leah bore children whilo Kachel waa barren the record states that each gave to him their handmaidens hand maidens bilhah and zilpah as ins wives and jacob then had four wives who were the mothers of the twelve men from the twelve tribes of israel through whom all the earth tobo blessed according to gods promise given to abraham jacob also called his sons together before liis death and alcased according to alic promise re wit ed from god these were all polygamous children even those of ahia first wife and in alie clial af revelations we read of a beautiful city the new jerusalem this cuy ai keen by john tho revelator Bev elator in vision iad twelve gates on each of which were written the name of ono of the founders of tho twelve tribes of israel the names of the twelve apostles wild were called by christ while on the earth were also inscribed in tho see that the names of the founders of twelve tribes who were the oil ephings of polygamous parents jacob and liis four wives occupied a higher position their names were inscribed on the gates names were to be honored and respected down to the end of time if any person can jand anything in tho bible derogatory to the characters of abraham and jacob the speaker admit he is wrong wo have also another great polye adist liis name was gideon lio was alie father of seventy bons eons consequently he mua been tho husband of more than orio wife the lord gave unto gideon many signs and answered his prayers on numerous occasions and surely if the practice of polygamy on the part of eidoen was objectionable in the sig litof bod he would not have given him so many testimonies and he would not have supported him in battle as iio did in the first chapter of the of samuel we read of a man named elkanah and he had two wives hannah and peninnah to hannah was born a son who was named samuel and who was one of alie greatest of prophets having been consecrated alien a boy to alie service of alie lord by his another in fulfillment of lier promise made to the lord eliat if ho would look upon her and her by giving her a man child she would give him unto the lord all tho days of liis life the bible says a better man never libed than this man samuel who was the offspring of relation and not approve of tho madriago mar riago relations of elkanah he never would leayo answered the prayer of hannah after saul through his perverse course had been dethroner dethroned a new king to govern israel was bought out by lie prophet samuel under tho direction of the almighty and david wag chosen for this position he binally took his place on j the throne and had several wives wo do not find eliat bo incurred gods displeasure until hia adultery with tho wife of uriah who lie to bo placed in battle I 1 where betoken betaken by alie enemy david afterward mar 1 ried the wife of uriah there vaa one child of ills adultery j with bath sheba aliis was ten by the lord and it died another eon was born ahto david by babli sheba after their marriage and this son was solomon a great and wise man of all the earth when nathan the prophet of the lord was reproving david for his course with uriah he said 1 I gave thee thy masters house and thy masters wives into thy bosom and if that biad been too little I 1 would moreover have given unto theo such and such thing which shows that david did not sin in haying more wives than one but it was his crime of adultery which tho lord solomon thebon of david had numerous winea and concubines but he committed no sin until be commenced to marry into the idolatrous nations which surrounded him and aliis proved his downfall wo cannot find jesus christ saying a word against plural marriage while heda bounced every other crime in existence in that day these are some of the proofs obtained from the bible eliat god did and sanction plural marriage ulsa passage in the book of mormon which by many people is supposed to condemn the practice of polygamy but a close examination i will provo it otherwise it is true tho lord told that people to whom lie was speaking alie prophet jacob they should have but ono wife but the lord further says for if I 1 will baiao up seed unto me I 1 will command my people book of mormon N K p 12 and also in the ard 3rd clial of abt tim paul says a must be tho husband of ono wife showing that a man in order to bo a must be a married inai to properly perform Die duties of fiig office there is nothing in the passage forbidding a man to take more than one wife the celebrated passage used by mr newman in his discussion apostle orson pratt leviticus chap 18 v 18 was referred to neither thou take a wife to her eis ter to vox glicr besides the other in her life time but it is very evident this only rafera to alie matter there of and has no reference to a man taking as his wife any other woman besides liis cifes sister Ther oare thousands and thousands of women to day who go down to ruin and degradation because of the existing lavva of the nations forbidding polygamy even if tho sexes be even fy divided a large proportion of the malca logo their lives in battle by and from other causes leaving a preponderance of females who are consequently gli alie prevailing system forbidden ii honorable ono rable association with alio opposite aex the saints desire to alvo hon orally and uprightly and deal honestly with their wieoa and aro willine to 1 a a 1 7 stand by them and defend them although menaced with imprisonment and fine under laws framed by alio government in opposition to the spirit of the constitution for it is far better to foster honorable marriage titan to work the ruin and downfall of woman which is done by thousands today to day while they gryto alleged badi nors rals of the mormon people |