Mormon Church Acknowledges Joseph Smith’s Polygamy Practices | msnbc 

The LDS faith denied so many facts of its past; how can anyone believe its founder was any less a scoundrel?

I grew up in the Mormon church, went to seminary and served a mission for the church. In my experience, the church NEVER publicly acknowledged or even allowed discussion of the details regarding Joseph Smith's practice of polygamy, such as the number of wives he had, the fact that he married other men's wives without their husband's knowledge, the fact that he lied publicly to conceal his plural marriages, the fact that his first and only legal wife, Emma, was never informed of many of his marriages, or the fact that he married 14 yr old girls. This is the first time that the church has publicly acknowledged the damaging details which are not flattering to the church.

The only people who dont know that Smith had 40 wives are Mormons themselves LOL

At least TWO were 14. Nancy Winchester was also 14, in addition to Helen Kimball.

All I gotta say really is that I'm glad I wrote a letter to leave this rediculouse institution.

they're running out of time to indoctrinate.

Stuff like this will either galvanize your faith, or if you've already got one foot out the door will give you your perfect excuse.

JS was made out to be a persecuted, martyred, prophet. He claimed to restore the gospel... how is that possible when in the beginning was the word, it always had been, it never needed to be restored and he was not Jesus. You hear very little of how they were run out of towns and that the IL jail was over run and he was killed because the men didn't want him marrying their wives and daughters. I believe there was more than one little girl as well. Also, the whole black clergy thing was only so that they wouldn't lose their tax exemption during the Jimmy Carter term.His letters contradict the bible and it's really just so sad for so many people who trust this. When you teach the truth, you don;t have to lie.

Did you hear that? ”What good is worth keeping here?" That's how they trap you, that's why people do not leave. I thought that for many years before I finally left. Cost me my family but I left.

Smh people at so easily fooled.

Eric Lopez wants you to know that the church has denounced the practice of polygamy, but he and other Mormons would prefer that you not be aware that Mormons still endorse polygamy in their scriptures. No Mormon prophet has ever renounced, revoked, or revised these frequently-studied verses in D&C 132: "61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood-if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else. 62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified. 63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified."

the 7th commandment youshall not commit adultery how dares these mormon follow Jospeh Smith with his many wifes on as young as 14! and not follow the word of jesus christ

40 wives!?! Its already tough being with 1.. lol

We do not deny that Joseph Smith had more than one wife, and what most people don’t understand is that Joseph was asked by the lord to marry more than one woman and he himself questioned it at first because it went against what he previously knew I have read the Book of Mormon myself and truly believe that it is the most correct book on the earth. If you want to learn more about the church you can go to churchofjesuschrist.org

I wasn't aware that the LDS Church had ever NOT acknowledged that Joseph Smith practiced polygamy. When I was taught the doctrine back in 1977, it was no secret. It was just a matter-of-fact thing, and no one ever tried to minimize the fact, or cover it up.

Surprising that McDonnell was as fair here as he usually spits when he discusses Mormons and Mormonism. That's a change.

Nobody seems to care that many Mormon women today have lived their whole lives dreading having to share their husband whether in this life or the next. And suddenly it’s nothing??? That is spiritual abuse and gaslighting. Apparently it’s easy for men to dismiss.

Mormon 👉Islam 😂😂, Smith 👉Mohammed 😂😂

And to know I have let these folks into my home,and I specifically asked if they were compound living polygamist. I really did ask that . Texted them today about my feelings,and they are still trying to convince me,at this moment.

999LDS and Magical 101 did you delete my responses to your comments to me? Or was it MSNBC? My comments were not offensive so why were they deleted?

To learn an honest, accurate historical view of the Mormon(LDS) go to www.mormonthink.com

Sometimes they deny it admit it and say it is in the past, and - then move on and say - what about>>>

Wow. They're photographing their underwear so now they're suddenly honest.

LDS WOMEN if you are sealed to your LDS husbands and you pass away and he gets SEALED to another YOU get to share him with another WIFE for eternity in heaven and you will be a POLYGAMOUS practicing POLYGAMY in heaven. But the LDS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH POLYGAMY, REALY But women you have the hope that HE will pass first and you won't have to SHARE Him for ETERNITY, as a POLYGAMOUS in the afterlife.. GOOD LUCK

Little do many people outside of Utah know, that polygamy in the State of Utah has always been treated with a wink and a nod. Polygamists hide in plain-sight. I had a neighbor who kept two of his polygamist wives in the apartment complex I was living in, near downtown Salt Lake City (Sky Harbor Apartments back in 2002-2003) I saw the only toys their many kids had to play with, was Bubble Blow. Since my son had toys they wanted to play with him. But I could tell the parents were secretly telling their children not to play with the little boy who was a gentile.

The Mormon church has a wonderful social and welfare connection with their members. In the beginning it was basically socialism. But it controls it's members with an iron thumb at times. The Church President is a living Prophet and can alter or change church dogma. This is what happened with polygamy. In order for Utah to be granted Statehood, polygamy had to go so the prophet at the time, Wilford Woodruff ended it. He said that on the night of September 23, 1890, he received a revelation from Jesus Christ that the church should cease the practice of plural marriage. The FLDS do not follow this revelation!

He said he'd be true to his fathers, in other words its a Tradition.

By law, he had 15 wives and they teach Brigham Young and leaders before the change of law allowed it. These things were taught in church.

LMFAO God sure changed his mind alright.

It doesn't surprise me that they would even lie in this exposé because Emma wasn't his first wife, she was the 12th.

Sad truth.

They have always loked at themselves asthe "True church .Lawrence. If you go to Utha it is a Theocracy..I am a Irish Protestant from there.and a regular fan of MSNBC. great work.

Can you offer us an example of which doctrine of the Catholic Church were (very slowly) ironed out over the past two thousand years.

Once I looked up how many wives Joseph smith had and they said at least 3

Haha! Revelations from God... more like revelations from the American Government. 1890: AG: Polygamy is illegal MC: Polygamy no longer tolerated 1960's: AG: Black citizens given their Constitutional Rights MC: Blacks can now be members, about ten years after 2010's: AG: LGBTQIA+ community endorsed MC: LGBT+ individuals no longer made to leave the church Can you see what really drives the Mormon faith? It surely isn't God

Another example of the Mormon God and the Living Prophet having communication problems occurred in 1978 when the RACIST Mormon God and the "Living Prophet" at the time. Spencer Kimball, had a discussion about blacks and the priesthood. It turns out the RACIST Mormon God was not very happy with Spencer for giving blacks the priesthood. During their conversation, the poor hearing Spencer, thought the RACIST Mormon God said: "Give the blacks the priesthood". However what the RACIST Mormon God actually said was "Get the blacks back in their neighborhood".

“He told me... my name should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.” - angel Moroni to Joseph Smith 21 Sept 1823 (JS-H 1:33) Sounds like no matter what side you are on, all of you are participating in a part of revelation given to the man you either admire or hate. I have been LDS my entire life. I condone polygamy. I have had to grapple with the good and bad parts of being a member of organized religion. Today there is no religious organization that exists without controversy. I am a descendent of polygamists. This is not a practice of my Father or His Father or the Father before him and so on, but it is in my history. I have read and studied the histories of my ancestors who joined the church and eventually came to the Salt Lake Valley. I have read “Rough Stone Rolling”. I have had to grapple and wrestle with the ugly truth that I came polygamists ancestors who were following what they believed to be a prophets’s inspiration from God. No matter how much material I have studied both from LDS and non LDS sources I cannot get a full understanding of the decisions by these individuals or the context or the true nature of what they were going through. Even being a descendant of polygamists I have absolutely no tolerance or respect for a marital union that would involve more than two people. I feel great sadness for the LDS fundamentalist groups that still practice polygamy and the negative effects that it has upon those women and children is chilling and heart wrenching. When the focus of Joseph Smith is what he was able to accomplish for the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is joy and an increase of faith. But when the focus is on polygamy, people are so willing to quickly throw out everything he did based on rumors. The 14 yr old woman in question that he was sealed to was a union described as being sealed together for time and all eternity. All of the histories I have read have supported that his union was only a sealing of time and eternity and nothing consummated sexually. The same for many of the other unions. There have been people that have come forward and claimed to be descendants of Jospeh Smith that have since been proven to be completely false. You would think that those who so profusely claim that they only believe in something with proof would want to know they Joseph Smith has descendants from these other marriages for which there is no substance to. Joseph Smith was a man. He was flawed. He was beloved. He was hated. He started a religious movement that has made waves all over the world. But pertaining to the church that I associate myself with has nothing to do with a man but everything to do with my relationship with God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. The religion that I chose to be a member of is the one that I feel brings me closer to my Savior Jesus Christ. He is the only person who has lived perfectly and died and has been resurrected and is the source of all truth and light.

Why read the essays .I know that js profit cause I prayed.and now have people like Mr Grant plamer ***and so on who have been saying for years church is not forthcoming about it's history.I a way I can understand that.anyway if the church is admitting by publishing this material I feel like sick.and greatly depressed about the one and only true church.ps we still won't your donations.

What does your faith have to do with the American ppl???

Thankfully, God in His omniscience saw that there would arise many deceivers and He made the way clear for us to discern between true and false prophets. We must apply the specific Biblical tests to be certain that we are not deceived by a false prophet. For our protection, God generously gave us these tests throughout His word. Tenth LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground.” The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy chapters 13 and 18, provides two tests for anyone claiming to be a prophet and speaking for God. If the person fails either test given by God, then we can know for sure they are a false prophet and we are to reject their teaching. Deuteronomy 13:1- 10 (KJV) - If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. 6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (KJV) - But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. Matthew 24:24 (KJV - For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. II Corinthians 11:3-4 (KJV) - But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have no preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. (emphasis added) Galatians 1:6-9 (KJV) - I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. I Timothy 4:1-2 (KJV) - “…. in the later times some shall depart the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron…” II Peter 2:1 (KJV) - But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. I John 4:1 (KJV) - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. The God of Israel tells His people how they can prevent themselves from being deceived by someone claiming to be a prophet - if even one of the prophet’s prophecies do not come true, he is a false prophet. What was the punishment if a prophet did speak a false prophecy? According to verse 20, the prophet was to die. God takes the area of false prophecy very seriously. John 14:6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” In light of Joseph Fielding Smith's statement (and similarly made statements by other "prophets & apostles), does this not put an end, once and for all, to the question of the validity of Mormonism?

Joseph Smith is not the founder of the present day Mormon church, people, grow a brain 🧠, when you listen to the devil, you’ll be deceived, Brigham Young is the false prophet who started the present day Mormon church, it’s hard for a dead man to defend himself, the truth is harder to find than lies. I’m not a Mormon, never have been, the present day Mormon church is an apostate church. You can’t trust the information from the Mormon church.

Go to Facebook, and search for the hashtag #DiscoveryDoctrineLies .

I don't understand how anyone could be a mormon, and not know about polygamy, or blacks and the priesthood. I was a member since 1976, no one even attempted to make it a secret. Polygamy was one of the first things I was taught before joining. Any members that don't know about church history, just don't want to know.

women do not have the priesthood but they do have the first and last word of what does it have to be done or said

lol church still has not released the William Clayton diary - why?

Extra ecclesiam nulla salus.

It would be kind of hard to deny it.

How many wives King David has ? Anyway, I'm Christian and disagree for polygamy.

i was born and raised in the moron church (forced to attend all gatherings until i was 18). i am 24 years old today and only now discovered this truth. i never identified as moron in my entire life so i never cared to dig into this stuff. i just wrote it off because i never cared about Mormonism, i didnt look back until just today, when i found myself being more curious about this 200 year old religious cult.

God wants godly children through JESUS Christ but JOSEPH Smith made this up that God wants godly children through sin - polygamy and adultery. John 1:12-13Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 12 But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God. 13 They became God’s children, but not in the way babies are usually born. It was not because of any human desire or plan. They were born from God himself. Isaiah 53:10 (TLB) | 10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to bruise him and fill him with grief. However, when his soul has been made an offering for sin, then he shall have a multitude of children, many heirs. He shall live again, and God’s program shall prosper in his hands. Galatians 4:6-7Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 6 Since you are now God’s children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “ Abba,[a] Father.” 7 Now you are not slaves like before. You are God’s children, and you will receive everything he promised his children. Hebrews 2:10Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 10 God-the one who made all things and for whose glory all things exist-wanted many people to be his children and share his glory. So he did what he needed to do. He made perfect the one who leads those people to salvation. He made Jesus a perfect Savior through his suffering. Ephesians 1:4-5Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people-people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it.

A 'history professor' not accepting history...hmmm?

So let me get this straight. Your prophet was polygamous yet you judge the FLDS for polygamy and it’s illegal among the LDS? Insane hypocrisy lol just goes to show it’s not actually about the ideology it’s about whatever works on the marierql level the ideology is a post facto justification

....I heard about all of this in Seminary in 1998. We discussed their ages... you are confusing us with the RLDS... Truman G. Madsen, a well renowned Scholar on Joseph, frequently and casually quoted Many of Joseph’s wives...

SALAMANDER LETTER

The Mormons are good people .. they try ..! They are very sweet and kind ..!!

These faithful Mormons are practising their covenants that have been revealed to them by Elohim. Mormon Jesus and Joseph Smith are exceedingly pleased with these faithful saints. They shall inherit the kingdom and receive everlasting life in the highest kingdom known as the celestial kingdom. Elohim shall grant these reverent saints into his celestial granite palace on his planet known as Kolob, which is approximately 1.76395 million light years away from our current home known as earth. They shall receive instruction and guidance from Elohim and start the process of progression and become heavenly god’s of their own planets. Straight and narrow is the way don’t be led astray. Where there is much at stake, much temptation by the adversary and his mighty morphing demons seek to find pleasure in displacing Elohims faithful servants into an eternity of suffering and damnation!

According to Mormons: God lives on a planet near a star called 'Kolob'. One day on Kolob equals a thousand days on earth. That time difference is how God was able to create the earth in 6 days. The prophet Abraham first observed Kolob by peering through magical seer stones which were later used by Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon from 'Reformed Egyptian' into English.

This Is just propaganda

I don’t get it, agree or not, why is there so much hate on the Mormon church. There are so many other religions that’s do not receive any amount of backlash to the same extent as this it’s ridiculous. They have their beliefs so don’t go against them so much when they are not hurting you

Trying to Disable the Cyrillian Алфабит из Русский и Українский?

Mormons have come around... being honest with their past and setting an example of a growing church. Certainly, all churches have skeletons in their past. Good for the Mormons becoming more honest... please checkout their videos on Jesus... wonderful. I'm not Mormon as my grandmother's family were... but my analysis they are growing in Christ and living the faith. Good for them. Dr. Simmons

I look at it this way: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims to be the one true reestablished church of Jesus Christ, the fulfilled Judaic law. It could not claim this unless every ordinance and practice was restored, and that included (however agonizing it was in this day and age) polygamy. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had plural wives along with many others throughout Biblical history.

Women do many things in The Church. Maybe you could call some positions that women fill clergy. They speak and teach. They lead groups. Those are things that are reserved for ordained people in other some churches. Those are some things that clergy do.

Propaganda

"recently the Mormon Church has decided to be more open about the religion founded by Joseph Smith in 1830". In my 40 years as a member, they weren't being "open"?

Been a practicing member my whole life and I've always known about this. A lot of folks simply don't take the time to research their own history.

Just another conman.

if the mormons want multiple wives and the wives are of age who agree upon marriage then more power to them. the same would apply to gay marriage. why should i or anybody else judge them. they are not harming or killing anybody else. but i find that some mormons are hypocritically against gay marriage because of their christian beliefs.

The Mormons would lend a hand to anyone who needed help ... I have witnessed this over and over again throughout my life time ... they are not self fish ... they are loving and good ..!! Most of them ..! Good people in my opinion...!! Leave Joesph out of it .. that’s their buisness ..!!

Repent! The great dreadful day of the Lord is near!

Only One Gospel 6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:7

whoops, it seems that islam is much better than mormon

Im a mormon saint of the church of jesus christ but im not discourage or bother my faith; because of that reason that he has Many wives , because i believe old bible testament as will us new bible testment ,and my faith not shockiingly still i have faith in the church...

Leave them alone ..!!! I love Mormons !!!

No mention of the practice of polyandry that was done at the same time with church members. Video is just one sided.

Why so much hate towards a religion you don't have to join or live? Or a practice that was done in the Bible by prophets of God, that you don't have to live? Abraham was a prophet of God his polygamy was approved by God. Had it not been, the promises made to him would not have been fulfilled. Even through Hagar were these promises fulfilled.

Yes, Joseph Smith had several wives. So did Brigham Young. So did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is beautiful and it give me hope and brings great peace to me in times of sadness or personal struggle. The only way you can know the truth about what Mormons believe is to study the church for yourself, read the Book of Mormon and ponder in your own heart the message contained in it and when you have and if it moves you to believe in God and His son Jesus Christ and if you feel the fruits of the Holy Ghost blossoming in your heart take the matter to God our Father in Heaven in humble and sincere prayer and ask him if the Book of Mormon is a true record; and if you do so truly hoping, wanting an answer from God he will answer you. And you will know for yourself that despite the loud cries of the world the book is a true record and a faithful witness of the divinity and reality of God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. Josoeh Smith might not have been a perfect man, but he was the instument the Lord chose to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth in its fullness for the last time.

I'm a Mormon

Just because Joseph had 40 wives doesn't make the church false.

How I love this Christian faith.

I’m meeting with two Mormons today so I’m just here for information on Mormonism!!! I will teach them the truth gospel from the bible, and destroy their man-made doctrine using only scripture. Jesus is Lord over all.

How do talk about a religion who believes in the Holly ghost by baptisme Hebrew I guess if u say better man pearl jam exists Mormon cartoon banned