Polygamy

• D&C 132

The Lord's law of marriage.

• Official Declaration 1

Manifesto issued by Wilford Woodruff changing the church's policy on poligamy.

• Jacob 2:23-30

The Lord found the poligamous practices of David and Solomon to be abominable.

Desired that the Nephites should be purified from this evil.

Polygamy should not be practiced among Nephites unless commanded.

It is worth noting that in the cases of David and Solomon, the Lord did, himself, give them multiple wives, but they clearly went to excess and took not only more than was given, but also that which was expressly forbidden. (For example, David took Bathsheba, and Solomon had many foreign wives.)

• Genesis 4:19-24

The first recorded polygamy; Lamech.

• 1 Kings 11:1-3

1) But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;

2) Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

3) And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

• Isaiah 3:16-26

Conditions that will precede a revival of polygamy.

Women are haughty.

War and pestilence kill off many of the men and leave the women destitute.

The women are left to mourn.

• Isaiah 4:1

And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

• 1 Timothy 3:2,12

2) A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

12) Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

• Gordon B. Hinckley, "What Are People Asking about Us?", Ensign, Nov. 1998

(Question 4)

Good succinct explanation of church's stance on polygamy.

• Josephus, Wars, 1.24.2

Herod's polygamy and the traditions of the Jews.

• The Dead Sea Scrolls, 11Q19, Col. 57

Sectarian work defining an ideal law of Jerusalem.

The king is to have only one wife at a time.

• "List of the wives of Joseph Smith, Jr.", Wikipedia

• Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith, "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith", p. 120

(May 8, 1838) Joseph Smith states that "we" do not believe in having multiple wives at once.

• Keller, "'Go west young man' and sex ratios", FAIR Blog, October 12th, 2010

Some interesting statistical analysis of gender ratios in frontier Utah.

• “Official Statement,” Apr. 6, 1904, in James R. Clark, ed., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (1965–1975), 4:84–85.

I dont have easy access to this resource, but it is cited in the Church's website, in the topics section, as documentation of the Church's outright ban on polygamy, despite legality.

• Brian C. and Laura Harris Hales, "DNA Evidence and Joseph Smith’s Plural Marriages", LDS.net, 18 Jun 2016

• Robert D. Martin Ph.D., "Do Men Have the Balls for Promiscuity?", Psychology Today, 23 May 2018

Analysis of testes and sperm size indicates that humans are not adapted to be polyandrous, or simply polygamous (by which I mean, in this case, promiscuous as the author uses the term). Polygyny seems most consistent. (It is unclear, based on this article, how the evidence might relate to the possibility that the species is adapted for monogamy.)

• Nigel Barber Ph.D., "The Three Reasons for Polygamy", Psychology Today, 23 Oct. 2012

• David J. Ley PhD., "Why Men Gave Up Polygamy", Psychology Today, 8 Feb 2012

• "Jacob on Polygamy in Historical Context", Studio et Quoque Fide, 9 Mar 2020

Some excellent context for Jacob 2.

Explains some of the issues Jacob was likely trying to address in the context of the mosaic law and scriptural stories of abuse of kingly power.

Changing Attitudes

It's my hypothesis that modern changing attitudes towards polygamy are primarily driven by competition between women; either competing for the best men, or desiring to capitalize on the adoration of multiple leftover men. Women are both getting more picky, as they become more powerful, and the quality (and fertility) of men has been decreasing since at least the 80s. The male sex drive has pushed for polygamy for a long time, with no success, but only recently have polygamous families found an adoring audience among women. I identify this trend as being related to Isaiah 3, though I expect that in rather literal fulfillment of Isaiah 3, there will be a catastrophic war which destroys a huge portion of the male population.

• Andrew Dugan, "Moral Acceptance of Polygamy at Record High -- But Why?", Gallup, 28 July 2017

• Frank Newport, "Understanding the Increase in Moral Acceptability of Polygamy", Gallup, 26 June 2020

• Alexander Grace, "The Future Is Polygamous (The New Feminism)", YouTube, 14 Dec 2020

• Linley Sanders, "How many Americans prefer non-monogamy in relationships?", YouGovAmerica, February 2023

Cross-References

• Family
• Fornication
• Marriage
• Polyandry