This is the fifth in a series. You can read the first here, the second here, the third here, the fourth here.
This claim comes up a lot. Like, every time. If you bring up polygamy with a faithful Mormon, they will tell you it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s over.
But it’s not over. It’s still canonized doctrine.
The only reason they stopped was because they were under threat from the federal government, at a time they were trying to get statehood for Utah.
Wilford Woodruff said in his manifesto,
“Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.”
Notice this is not God talking. The pronoun “I” refers to the writer, Wilford Woodruff. This is not a revelation; this is a policy enactment. The man Wilford Woodruff, discontinued the practice of polygamy.
The God of the Mormons, and His take on the issue, still stands in the “revelation” D&C 132.
So, first off, it matters because it’s a current doctrine of the LDS church. A member should know the doctrines, and then a member needs to decide if he or she believes those doctrines or not.
And that, my friends is exactly why polygamy matters.
The same reason faithful Mormons don’t want to think about it is the same reason I went down the rabbit hole:
Because it leads to other things.
It opens up a whole can of worms.
The next domino to fall is: who “revealed” this garbage “revelation” and was that man a prophet, or wasn’t he?
And then you’re facing a hundred other dominos.
Now, I have a degree in psychology but it doesn’t even take that. People can see that some people are willing and ready to open the can of worms, but most people just aren’t.
As my husband puts it, “am I going to lift up that rock and see what else is under it?”
The answer for most Mormons is no.
They just can’t bring themselves to do it.
You have a testimony because it’s convenient, and for no other reason.
For me, I was open because Covid made it apparent the current leaders were in apostasy. (Little did I know at the time, they really weren’t in apostasy. They had been outright false prophets all along.)
I was then open because I loved Christianity and read more books in 2024 showing me how valid their faith is. I was open because my ward experience was stifling me, both socially and spiritually. I was open because life was very difficult, and I needed God like nothing else.
I didn’t need an institution. I needed God Himself. So I wasn’t scared to go looking for Him.
I didn’t need to protect an institution.
For my husband, he was open because I had already left the church, and his heart was in shambles. His health was in shambles. He had to find God too.
God Himself.
When you’re open, when you’re ready, you’ll see why polygamy matters.
All I Possess 