Polygamy justification?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Because of this thread, I've looked at quite a few things online dealing with Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and their polygamous marriages.

I think the Zina Jacobs/Young (I won't go to the trouble of stating her full name) matter is interesting/disturbing. Poor Henry Jacobs! That Zina must have been an exceptionally attractive woman.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Because of this thread, I've looked at quite a few things online dealing with Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and their polygamous marriages.

I think the Zina Jacobs/Young (I won't go to the trouble of stating her full name) matter is interesting/disturbing. Poor Henry Jacobs! That Zina must have been an exceptionally attractive woman.

Henry took one for the team. No doubt about that.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Henry took one for the team. No doubt about that.

Henry couldn't win the tussle against the reigning silverback. Getting sent off on a mission was a nice touch.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Henry couldn't win the tussle against the reigning silverback. Getting sent off on a mission was a nice touch.

God reeeaaally wanted him on that mission. Thankfully Henry didn't get sent off to die like Uriah.

[SeattleUte]

I can't think of a book I have read that is free from bias and I believe this to be the case whether or not that bias is explicitly recognized by the author. Brian C. Hales is active LDS and is intelligent enough to recognize that his own beliefs may affect his work. Fortunately, Lavina Fielding Anderson (of the September Six) has been helping edit the book this year. As one of the original trustees of the Mormon Alliance and 17 years as editor of the Journal of Mormon History, she has the background to keep Hales honest. With both of these people on board, my guess is that the book would be valuable for anyone from Seattle to Indy... but there are probably others here who would enjoy it more. I personally expect it to be cutting edge . If I'm still posting here next year, I'd be one for reopening this discussion with anyone who takes the time to read the book.

RB, some of the September Six have been tortured and brainwashed into giving false recantations and confessions. Is she one of them?

[il Padrino Ute]

some of the September Six have been tortured and brainwashed into giving false recantations and confessions.

I know you'll ignore me or make a snide comment, but I have to do it -

link?

[Rosebud]

RB, some of the September Six have been tortured and brainwashed into giving false recantations and confessions. Is she one of them?

LOL.... I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on the September Six. I just try to do my research before I post . I'd love to hear what you can dig up on the topic however...

I've never met Lavina and don't know much more about her than I've read on Wikipedia. I think it's interesting that she still goes to church. Maybe we need a new acronym for excommunicated active members... hmmm.....

[wuapinmon]

God reeeaaally wanted him on that mission. Thankfully Henry didn't get sent off to die like Uriah.

Can you please keep your apostate jadedness out of this thread, dude? Angels with swords threatened his life; what would you have done?

[Indy Coug]

Can you please keep your apostate jadedness out of this thread, dude? Angels with swords threatened his life; what would you have done?

You can take that question at least a couple of directions

1. It was a convenient cover story to leave him free to do whatever he wanted

2. God cared enough get an angel to threaten joseph's life, but then didn't care enough to follow up to make sure Joseph was implementing it correctly

[UtahDan]

You can take that question at least a couple of directions

1. It was a convenient cover story to leave him free to do whatever he wanted

2. God cared enough get an angel to threaten joseph's life, but then didn't care enough to follow up to make sure Joseph was implementing it correctly

This is the box that I think polygamy, and especially polyandry, always put you in. On the one hand it is very hard, I would think impossible, to believe that Joseph made up a cover story in order to bed his associates wives and still think he is a prophet.

On the other hand it is not easy to believe that God wanted Joseph doing this and in fact commanded him to on pain of death.

For me the only possible way out of the box is to not accept that premise that I know the whole story or that I know what exactly God intended. This leaves open the possibility that the conflict is only apparent and is occasioned by ignorance of the truth. I know that is a double tuck back salto off the beam, but I don't know any other way out. My own ignorance an inability to understand God are good outs for me on almost any question I can't resolve.

I know your post was a bit of a troll, but how do you resolve that apparent conflict Indy?

[wuapinmon]

This is the box that I think polygamy, and especially polyandry, always put you in. On the one hand it is very hard, I would think impossible, to believe that Joseph made up a cover story in order to bed his associates wives and still think he is a prophet.

On the other hand it is not easy to believe that God wanted Joseph doing this and in fact commanded him to on pain of death.

For me the only possible way out of the box is to not accept that premise that I know the whole story or that I know what exactly God intended. This leaves open the possibility that the conflict is only apparent and is occasioned by ignorance of the truth. I know that is a double tuck back salto off the beam, but I don't know any other way out. My own ignorance an inability to understand God are good outs for me on almost any question I can't resolve.

I know your post was a bit of a troll, but how do you resolve that apparent conflict Indy?

This is how I approach almost every religious doubt I have that stems from someone's unexplained behavior. I think Joseph was a prophet; I think he was lousy at explanations sometimes.

[Indy Coug]

This is the box that I think polygamy, and especially polyandry, always put you in. On the one hand it is very hard, I would think impossible, to believe that Joseph made up a cover story in order to bed his associates wives and still think he is a prophet.

On the other hand it is not easy to believe that God wanted Joseph doing this and in fact commanded him to on pain of death.

For me the only possible way out of the box is to not accept that premise that I know the whole story or that I know what exactly God intended. This leaves open the possibility that the conflict is only apparent and is occasioned by ignorance of the truth. I know that is a double tuck back salto off the beam, but I don't know any other way out. My own ignorance an inability to understand God are good outs for me on almost any question I can't resolve.

I know your post was a bit of a troll, but how do you resolve that apparent conflict Indy?

I belive that God's "morality" is not in lockstep with Western morality. And I would include the Nephi/Laban story, impregnation of Mary and modern-day polygamy as just a few examples of that. I believe that some attempt to dictate to God what his moral calculus should be and we simply don't have sufficient perspective or intelligence to make it fly.

[Indy Coug]

This is how I approach almost every religious doubt I have that stems from someone's unexplained behavior. I think Joseph was a prophet; I think he was lousy at explanations sometimes.

I'm a computer programmer. I often have a lot of different projects on my plate. In order to implement all of that stuff on time, I often neglect to fully document the process leading up to the design and development of the code.

As such, I can understand where Joseph is coming from in this regard. His concern was restoring the Gospel of Jesus Christ and moving the Kingdom forward in the short time he had to do so, rather than worrying about articulating and documenting an airtight defense of himself.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm a computer programmer. I often have a lot of different projects on my plate. In order to implement all of that stuff on time, I often neglect to fully document the process leading up to the design and development of the code.

Jerk.

[Jarid in Cedar]

You can take that question at least a couple of directions

1. It was a convenient cover story to leave him free to do whatever he wanted

2. God cared enough get an angel to threaten joseph's life, but then didn't care enough to follow up to make sure Joseph was implementing it correctly

I like option #2