I agree with Bets. In my case, most of my ancestors on both sides of my family descended from the earliest days of the Church. Many practiced polygamy and I am descended from a few second wives. Like Bets, I grew up in an environment where all of this was common knowledge. I was amazed to discover recently that this is now such a surprise. Due to the rapid growth of the Church where investigators have not been taught that part of Church history? It comes down to this, ultimately, does it not - do you have a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he was the prophet through whom the true Church of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth?
It is my testimony that both are true,
BetsMay 24, 2017
There were many informative moments in this podcast and there were a few ideas I question. Having been converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints in the mid 1960s I can say that there was no attempt to suppress information about the practice of plural wives. It was discussed openly and not just about Brigham Young. We knew Joseph Smith had plural wives and many missionaries came from families were it was practiced prior to the manifesto.
A couple of years later, while working for what is now called the Family History Center, I had the privilege of seeing Joseph Smith's family group sheet. There many women who chose to be sealed to Joseph after his death. In fact, the brethren had to put a stop to the practice for obvious reasons. These women apparently found nothing objectionable in the prospect of practicing plural marriage in the eternities. I do agree that it was never mentioned as a prerequisite of salvation. My husband's family had plural marriages on both his father's and mother's lines, with many stories from that time having been handed down through the family. None of this was ever hidden and those who were not aware of our polygamous heritage were woefully ignorant of church history. The most cursory study of our past reveals the practice and how could we not be aware of what the rest of the world knew so well? Some of our most spiritual leaders, both men and women, descended from these marriages. I think it is high time we stopped feeling as if it is something we need to make excuses for. It was part of our heritage and not a shameful part.
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Nadine AndertonMay 24, 2017
I agree with Bets. In my case, most of my ancestors on both sides of my family descended from the earliest days of the Church. Many practiced polygamy and I am descended from a few second wives. Like Bets, I grew up in an environment where all of this was common knowledge. I was amazed to discover recently that this is now such a surprise. Due to the rapid growth of the Church where investigators have not been taught that part of Church history? It comes down to this, ultimately, does it not - do you have a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he was the prophet through whom the true Church of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth? It is my testimony that both are true,
BetsMay 24, 2017
There were many informative moments in this podcast and there were a few ideas I question. Having been converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints in the mid 1960s I can say that there was no attempt to suppress information about the practice of plural wives. It was discussed openly and not just about Brigham Young. We knew Joseph Smith had plural wives and many missionaries came from families were it was practiced prior to the manifesto. A couple of years later, while working for what is now called the Family History Center, I had the privilege of seeing Joseph Smith's family group sheet. There many women who chose to be sealed to Joseph after his death. In fact, the brethren had to put a stop to the practice for obvious reasons. These women apparently found nothing objectionable in the prospect of practicing plural marriage in the eternities. I do agree that it was never mentioned as a prerequisite of salvation. My husband's family had plural marriages on both his father's and mother's lines, with many stories from that time having been handed down through the family. None of this was ever hidden and those who were not aware of our polygamous heritage were woefully ignorant of church history. The most cursory study of our past reveals the practice and how could we not be aware of what the rest of the world knew so well? Some of our most spiritual leaders, both men and women, descended from these marriages. I think it is high time we stopped feeling as if it is something we need to make excuses for. It was part of our heritage and not a shameful part.
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