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This episode takes a deep dive into the 1852 special conference where polygamy and 132 were revealed. We’ll discuss what was asked of the Saints and consider their actual experiences, and we’ll compare the contrasting prophecies surrounding plural marriage as a means to discover truth.

Links

Polygamy denials

Joseph Smith, “I am bold to declare I have taught all the strong doctrines publicly, and always teach stronger doctrines in public than in private.”

August, 1852, Special Conference where 132 was revealed

Summary

In this episode, Michelle Stone examines the emergence of Doctrine & Covenants 132, exploring how and when polygamy was publicly acknowledged by the LDS Church. She questions whether Joseph Smith truly taught polygamy and critically analyzes Brigham Young’s 1852 announcement, the historical contradictions, and prophecies surrounding the practice. The episode provides a deep dive into firsthand records, exposing gaps in historical narratives and challenging modern LDS perspectives on polygamy’s origins.

Key Themes:

  1. The Confusion Surrounding Doctrine & Covenants 132
    • Stone reflects on the contradictions between LDS teachings, history, and scripture, stating that polygamy causes widespread confusion within the church.
    • Verse 8 of D&C 132 states that God’s house is a house of order, not confusion, yet polygamy remains one of the most unclear aspects of LDS doctrine.
    • She critiques modern LDS leaders who avoid explaining polygamy, instead telling members to trust that God will work it out in the afterlife.
  2. Did Joseph Smith Actually Teach Polygamy?
    • Stone highlights the lack of contemporary evidence proving that Joseph Smith publicly taught polygamy before his death in 1844.
    • Every recorded public statement from Joseph and Hyrum Smith explicitly denied polygamy.
    • She contrasts secondhand testimonies claiming Joseph practiced polygamy with official church declarations at the time, which denounced the practice.
  3. Brigham Young’s 1852 Public Announcement of Polygamy
    • In August 1852, Brigham Young formally announced polygamy to the church, eight years after Joseph Smith’s death.
    • This announcement contradicted previous public church positions, which had denied the practice for nearly two decades.
    • The Deseret News recorded Young’s speech, in which he claimed that polygamy was essential for exaltation and prophesied that it would be accepted by the world—a prophecy that never came true.
  4. Brigham Young’s Prophecies on Polygamy and Their Failure
    • Young prophesied that polygamy would “sail over and ride triumphantly” over opposition, and that the world would come to accept it as “one of the best doctrines ever proclaimed.”
    • However, within two years, the Republican Party (under Abraham Lincoln) officially declared war on polygamy, listing it alongside slavery as a “twin relic of barbarism.”
    • Stone argues that Young’s prophecies directly contradict reality, as polygamy was universally rejected and led to extreme legal and social persecution of LDS leaders.
  5. The Harsh Expectations of Early Mormon Women
    • The 1852 conference also included sermons instructing women to fully support their polygamous husbands and accept their absence.
    • Men were called to serve missions lasting 3 to 7 years, leaving their wives alone to provide for themselves and their children in a harsh desert environment.
    • Brigham Young instructed missionaries to emotionally detach from their families, telling them to forget their wives and children completely while on their missions.
    • Women were shamed for expressing sadness, as longing for their husbands was viewed as a sign of weakness.
  6. Contradictions Between Brigham Young and the Book of Mormon
    • Stone highlights Jacob 2:27-33, where the Lord warns that polygamy would bring destruction unless explicitly commanded.
    • She contrasts Brigham Young’s failed prophecy that polygamy would lead to growth and acceptance with the Book of Mormon prophecy that it would lead to destruction—which she argues was fulfilled.
    • Ultimately, polygamy nearly led to the destruction of the LDS Church, as government opposition forced leaders to abandon the practice in 1890 under Wilford Woodruff’s Manifesto.
  7. Final Reflections: Learning from the Past
    • Stone urges LDS members to critically evaluate church history rather than blindly accepting traditional narratives.
    • She emphasizes that understanding past mistakes can prevent future deception, citing Mormon 9:31, where Moroni encourages people to learn from historical errors rather than dismiss them.
    • She expresses admiration for the faith and sacrifice of early LDS members, but argues that polygamy was not a divine commandment—it was a human mistake.

Transcript

[00:00:02] Welcome to 132 Problems revisiting Mormon Polygamy, where we explore the scriptural and theological case for plural marriage. Thank you for being here. Please remember to listen to these episodes starting at the beginning and continuing on in order. They’re meant to build on top of each other. My name is Michelle Stone, and this is episode 7, the Emergence of 132. Thank you for joining us as we take a deep dive into the murky waters of Mormon polygamy. On my journey to try to understand polygamy after learning so many confounding ideas, several of which we’ve covered, but many more we still have yet to cover in future episodes, I was still very confused. On the one hand, everything I was learning, studying, researching in the scriptures and history seemed to point very strongly in one direction, that polygamy was not of God, that it was all a misunderstanding. And yet there was section 132 which pointed glaringly in the opposite direction, claiming very much that polygamy was of God. So I didn’t know what to make of that or what to do with it. It was so confusing. I, and you know, it just felt even more ironic cause 132 itself in verse 8 again says, behold, my house is a house of order, sayeth the Lord God and not a house of confusion. And it just felt to me and still does feel to me like polygamy causes so much confusion. I don’t, I don’t know that there’s a more confusing part of our church. Even our church leaders now don’t really understand it. They’ve given some talks on it, which we’ll we’ll go over in another episode, but You know, they basically give us the message now of, yeah, we know that this is a concern for some, we know that this is a problem, but don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about the details. God’s going to work it all out because God loves us, so we don’t need to understand it, which is really understanding because we preach it as if it’s, you know, a clear doctrine that we do understand, but we don’t, we don’t seem to really understand it and I certainly didn’t. And so, um, so I was in this space for quite a while trying to understand and make sense of it. I, from previous things I had studied in the scriptures for years, I had come to understand a principle that I’ve heard, I’ve heard more recently talked about as the law of contraries, and it’s that there seem to be two opposing principles or narratives or perspectives that seem to conflict. But, um, somehow when you really take them to the Lord with an open heart, the Lord can Kind of create a synthesis, uh, a whole that is greater than either of the two parts that brings them together in a in a in a beautiful and profound way. So I was, I was really expecting that to be the answer with polygamy. I, you know, I was so confused about it, but I thought, OK, God, show me how these two conflicting things go together. Like, open my mind and, and I really prayed that for quite a long time and pondered and sought trying to understand how. There could be a synthesis between what I was learning in the scriptures and the history and what 132 said. And so, um. I’d been in that space for quite a while as I kept studying and kept learning, and I want to share what was my, I guess, answer in that place.

[00:03:25] As I, as I kept studying in that place, I learned this piece that we’re going to go over now that really felt like this just like big missing piece of the puzzle that just fit in. And made things so much more clear and gave me just a lot of peace and a lot less confusion. So I’m not claiming that that’s what it has to do for everyone, but that’s what it did for me. So I want to share it. OK. So what we are going to talk about is the emergence of Section 132, and I want to clarify that I’m not talking about the origination of 132. Those are different things. So 132, how it came to be, how it came into existence is what we’re not really going to cover. I, because I think most of the story of that is messy and problematic. It’s mostly second and thirdhand accounts, often with some contradictions and all given decades later. So, um. So you know, I know that a lot of people think it’s very clear what happened, but people think that on each side of the issue, and it seems to me that it’s because they’re prioritizing one body of evidence over the other. So for me, the jury’s still out a little bit. I just, and and in any case, I don’t feel like I can convince anybody else of what happened because everyone can look at the evidence and decide for themselves. That’s all we can do so. So I do like there is enough evidence to say that there was a revelation given about marriage and maybe about plural marriage. I don’t, I can’t say for sure that, but definitely we can say that there was a revelation given about marriage, but I don’t, I don’t think there’s enough factual evidence to say for sure what it was, and I think people disagree on on what it was, so. So I don’t again we’re not going to focus on that because it’s really hard to find truth there so instead what I want to focus on is the information that we have that is not at all questionable or controversial um so information that is from that is from firsthand contemporary accounts that means and that means it was someone who actually. Is recording what actually was said right when it was said. It doesn’t rely at all on well so and so told me there are no secondhand accounts that I want to focus on, and I want it to be things that were said publicly and reported publicly in the open for everyone to see and hear and read, not so, so we don’t have to rely on anybody’s word. We don’t have to, we don’t have to take anything on faith or allow for any controversy. So it’s just. Going to be what we know for sure and that we can all agree on. So an example of that is how Doctrine and Covenants, the 1835, the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants came into being. It was that that was a public document, Doctrine and Covenants, the 1835 version. It was um sustained unanimously by the church in a public meeting that was recorded right then. Section 101 was read aloud. They all voted on it, right? So, so there’s no controversy on that. So that’s, that’s what I’m talking about. I want to just look at those kinds of sources and see what we can learn from them. So, um, just to set the stage a little, things that we do know for sure that I don’t think there’s controversy about, we know that there absolutely were rumors and accusations of polygamy or spiritual spiritual wifery among the church at least as early as 1835 and possibly earlier, the Section 101 and the Doctrine of the Coven. states because there are rumors, right? So,

[00:06:50] so we know that that was the case. We also know that up until Joseph Smith Smith’s death, Joseph and Hyrum’s deaths in 1844, both of them repeatedly, consistently, with no exception, denied and rejected polygamy. There is no admission, teaching, or claim of polygamy from any church leader from that time period, only denials. So That’s an another interesting piece of evidence. So um I’ll attach a compilation of some of those denials that you can read through. There are more though. um, so, so, but yeah, while there was nothing publicly said or written that could in any way approve or excuse polygamy, there are many claims of things that were said or taught in private. And so, um, so that’s why the controversy continues to exist, right? Um, on the, on the one hand, well, I, I want to just say I think this is an important quote. This was the last quote that I have found in Joseph’s life. Maybe someone else has another one, but this was given in a speech before a congregation of 160 people 11 days before his death. He said, I am bold to declare I have taught all the strong doctrines in public and always teach stronger doctrines in public than in private. So Joseph himself also denied that that things were taught in private, and yet we have a lot of sources of people saying that things were taught in private. So, so it’s just that’s why it’s just a mess. I, you know, we can’t convince anybody else based on the historical record. It’s not clear enough. It all just depends on who, whose testimony you prioritize, who you think was telling the truth and who you think wasn’t. So. Anyway, OK, I want to clarify one thing. I said in a previous episode, an episode about Doctrine of Covenants when I was reading the revelations in regard to Emma, um, I said that I really believe that Joseph Smith loved his wife, Emma, and I do, I really believe that there was just, you know, a real unity and a and a bond between them. I don’t want to be misinterpreted, however, to think that that means that I’m solidly in the Joseph Fot polygamy camp, um. I’m not. For me, the jury is out. I think there’s evidence on both sides. For me, the question isn’t what did Joseph or what didn’t Joseph Smith do or teach for me. The question is, what does God teach? What does God want us to do? And You know, however, Joseph may or may not have gotten mixed up in it, whatever the case may be. I know that for some people, Joseph Smith is, you know, a pedophile womanizing demon. I can’t go there at all, but for other people, Joseph fought polygamy consistently every single step of the way, never got it all entangled in it, and I don’t know that I can go there either, so. So that’s, that’s where I am at some point. I’ve,

[00:09:39] I’ve kind of settled into my perspective of what feels the most accurate and reasonable and true to me, and I’ll share that at some point, but all that is is my perspective and everybody needs to form their own perspective because it’s messy. So, um. OK, so we’re going to go on to our topic today, which is how, so when I said it’s not the um the existence of one, not the origin origination. Why can’t I think of the word of section 132. It’s the emergence of section 132. It’s when 132 came into public knowledge when the church acknowledged that they had been participating in polygamy and where they’ve revealed Section 132. That’s what we’re going to focus on because again we have really good firsthand clear accounts without any controversy. So In August, it was in August of 1852, so to give you some, well, so Joseph Smith was killed in 1844. The Saints started to come to Utah in 1847, and so this was over eight years after Joseph and Hyrum’s death. Over 5 years after the saints began coming across the plains and after possibly up to 20 years, at least 17 years, but up to 20 years of denials of polygamy, a special conference was held in Utah, and I will again attach the archive. The entire thing was recorded in the Deseret News immediately and and um given around so we have really good records of this meeting. And so. I just want to talk about this special conference that was held and share the details of it. I, I took the time to read through the entire thing. I don’t know that I can remember the entire thing because it is long, but I did read through it and I have to admit it was, uh, it was emotionally challenging to read through this. Um, man, the incredible faith and sacrifice of the early members of the church, it is just overwhelming, but, um. That’s on the one hand, but on the other hand, the, the pain that they must have endured and sort of harshness that they could that existed that they could be treated with was just like, uh, it just hurts your heart to read it. So if anybody wants to read it, it is long, but you know, it, it gives us really a good taste of sort of the history of our religion and for some of us, our ancestors, where we came from, it’s just It’s, it’s really something. So anyway, I’m going to go over the conference. I hope it’s OK if I spend some time on it because um I just think it’s important for us to understand. Um, but the really important parts I want to make about 132 come to the end. So, so please, please, even if you get bored and don’t want to listen, skip to the end. It’s not gonna take too long, but I really want you to hear that part. I just want to go over the whole conference, so. It was a two day conference and it was held early. It was in August instead of what it was supposed to be scheduled because they really urgently wanted to get this out, I guess. So the first day of the conference was actually used to call men on missions. This was,

[00:12:45] this was actually the part that just, uh, that just really kind of killed me. It had sermon after sermon before the calls were issued. They said they were going to issue calls and sermon after sermon spent ensuring that nobody would dare refuse the call. So here’s just one sample of something that was taught. The missions we will call for during this conference are generally not to be very long ones. Probably from 3 to 7 years will be as long as any man will be absent from his family. So they’re being called for 3 to 7 years. If any of the elders refuse to go, they may expect that their wives will not live with them, for there is not a Mormon sister who would live with a man a day who would refuse to go on a mission. There is no other way for a man to save his family, so you can see the. The pressure that was put on these people, these men to leave and these women to let their husbands leave these, you know, and so after, after most of those sermons, 107 men were called to everywhere in the world. So, I just, I just want to talk about this because again, I was just overwhelmed. You think about this was Utah in 1852. I think, oh, I should have looked it up. I think the railroad was finished in 1869. Someone couldn’t correct me, but in any case, it didn’t exist yet. So travel in 1852, I can’t even imagine how difficult that would be. And this is where these people were called. So on one hand, the faith and the vision, like sort of the audacity to To do this, and on the other hand, that like, oh my gosh, how, how could they do this? It was, it’s, it’s pretty amazing. So, so some were called to America and Canada. There were also some called to the West Indies and British Guiana in South America. Um, the majority were sent to Europe, to Ireland, England, Wales, France, Germany, Prussia, Norway, Denmark, and Gibraltar. But I mean, and even that, like, holy cow. But many were sent to Asia, to Hindustan, which is another word for India, to Siam, modern Thailand, and to China. So, I mean, 1852, literally the other side of the world. Some were sent to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Many were sent to the Sandwich Islands, the, um, Hawaiian and Pacific Islands, and several were sent to Australia. So, I mean, these would be they would be gone for 7 years, you know, this was a massive undertaking and just knowing that these were married men, and I assume that many, if not most of them had more than one wife.

[00:15:18] They were leaving their wives and their wives in Utah in 1852 in this harsh climate, this desert frontier, like. It’s hard to be a single, a single mother now. I don’t know if any of us can even imagine what that would have meant then. Like they were left to provide for themselves and their children, and it’s just, it’s just really, really amazing that this is what they were asked to do. And again, the faith is overwhelming, however we want want to view this, um. So, so I’m going to share the next part because this was again, it just kept getting like harder and harder. um, so the men were told to leave and they were literally told to leave all care and thought for their families behind, to not worry their heads about whether their families lived or died. Um, the wives were told not to cry or cling, not to worry if their children lived if they and their children lived or died. Not to care if their husbands lived or died, but to only care about the cause of Zion, the cause of Zion, so the thing that’s like. Amazing about that is that that wasn’t. That wasn’t sort of an idle possibility or remote possibility. They had experienced so much death in winter quarters and like crossing the plains. I, I mean, a lot of people died in the history of the church and the struggles they faced, and so You know, leaving your wife and children or your wives and children and going like it is possible that they could that they would die. And you know, in 1852 going to China or wherever it is possible that you would die. So it wasn’t just a God will protect them, they won’t die. It was, uh, if your heart is on Zion, you won’t, you’ll be OK if they die. You’ll know you’ll meet them again. Here I’ll read, I’ll read some of the quotes, um. This was from Brigham Young, who was the last speaker on this. He said, Don’t carry your wives or your children in your hearts or in your affections with you one broad. He goes on to say, You must feel if they live all right, if they die, all right, if I die, all right, if I live all right, for we are the lords and shall soon meet again. Huh, um, this is what he said to the wives about theirs to the wives and children about their husbands and fathers. Don’t cling to them one particle, but let them go as cheerfully as you would give a weary traveler a cup of cold water. If you live, it is all right, but if you fall asleep before they return, that means die, it is all right. But if a wife should yet cling round her husband’s neck and say, Oh, how I love you, dear husband, and keep him in her embraces, that woman is a dead weight to that man and not and help me to him. So he goes on to say that if they long for each other, if the

[00:18:09] missionaries think about or long for their family or if they have a thread of communication between them, that’s a quote, if they have a thread of communication between them, the man cannot be useful in his. Labors. So this is what he tells them. When you leave, understand it. You have neither wife nor children. You have handed them all over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the brethren go and say, I will keep my eyes straight before me and not look behind me to my family. So they’re, um, command told not to worry about their family’s well-being, not to think about them, not to care about them, so. Man, OK, so I know that this can be interpreted in so many different ways. For me, I was just overwhelmed by the faith and sacrifice and perseverance of these amazing people who actually did this and also just like. Overwhelmed by the pain of what was demanded of them. I, um, man, I just, you know, these women, how it, how they were talked to and knowing their situation where. You know, if they, if they did cry or if they did object, if they were like, no, I’m not OK with this, they, they could lose status in their husband’s eyes, right? They could be seen as not one of his faithful wives. Like, you know, they, they were competing for their husband’s affections to, to whatever extent, and so they, their only choice was to You know, not be, not be what, what was it, instead of a help me there uh something around their neck. I can’t remember what he said, but anyway, it is just hard and what makes this even. More painful is knowing that these men were perfectly free. To marry new wives while serving on their missions. So from what I understand, it was not terribly uncommon for a man who had been away for years to come home to his first wife or wives who had struggled alone to keep themselves and their children alive, who had not been allowed to remarry, and for him to come, come back with a new, maybe younger wife, maybe pregnant or with a child riding next to him on the carriage that, um, and I just I’m very thankful to know the power of God to heal all wounds, because there must have been some very deep wounds, especially among these women. So, so that was pretty hard. Now I, I do want to, I think it’s so fascinating that this conference was spent on these two topics on polygamy and on plural marriage, because one of the main reasons that we’re given about plural marriage is so that there could be a lot of children born, right? And we, we covered that in a previous episode, but It’s so interesting that here we are saying it’s so that these children can be born, and yet the men,

[00:21:04] the husbands are sent away for in this particular mission 3 to 7 years. Some of them served mission after mission. They were also, you know, sometimes separated far in between their wives. So those women could not have children during those years. So that’s really interesting that that like they combined those two things in this conference and didn’t seem to realize that and Also, it just goes even more to the women’s sacrifice because for, for women who want children, not being able to have them as painful like we talked about and to lose that many of your childbearing years to lose that much time with even the opportunity to have a child, let alone having a husband’s companionship or support to be provided for, it just like. Hard, hard stuff, but um that just seemed kind of like an extra additional irony that these two were combined. So, OK, so that was the first day of the conference and um The 2nd day was spent on polygamy, so that was Saturday. This is Sunday. So Sunday morning, Orson Pratt was the only speaker, and he said he spoke on the topic of the plurality of wives saying, I have not been in the habit of publicly speaking on this subject because it was always denied and never acknowledged. So it was, it’s, it’s been called the worst kept secret, right? So he’s like, I’m not used to talking about this in public. Um, he goes on to say it is well known, however, to the congregation before me that the latter day saints have have embraced the doctrine of plurality of wives as a part of their religious faith. So he, as I said, he’s the only speaker. So he goes on, it’s a very long and complicated to me rather confusing sermon. Kind of laying out, you know, the reasons for polygamy. If I’m understanding him correctly, you know, the main idea or one of the central ideas that seems to me to be to be the idea behind polygamy is that Men are, you know, Mormon, like, like these leaders in particular, um, are going to become gods and populate worlds with infinite spirit children. And so based on the understanding that God promised Abraham more descendants than the sands of the sea, and those promises belong to the latter-day saints, so they need many wives to have all those spirit children. That’s That’s what I got as one of the central ideas behind why they believed polygamy to be an essential doctrine and um. You know, we, we just did our episode on Abraham, so I hope that that we can understand how that’s that’s doesn’t that isn’t an accurate idea you know it’s a misunderstanding or a misapplication of it and so um so he absolutely declares that polygamy is an essential doctrine that must be lived in order to reach exaltation. So basically no one who’s not a polygamist is going to be exalted. Um, he then makes, oh, this was sad. I, he then makes this argument that I’ve encountercountered before with polygamist men, and I’ve always just found it so problematic and lacking and honestly just distasteful, um, and so it was really disappointing to see that this argument. That Orson Pratt made the same argument. I don’t know if it originated with him or if if polygamous men today get

[00:24:23] this idea from him or if everyone just comes up with it on their own, but oh, I wish that this hadn’t been included. So I’m just gonna tell you he makes this argument where he equates monogamy with prostitution, adultery, whoredoms and whoredoms and and says polygamy is the solution. So. So he’s talking about like the Christian men who reject polygamy. He says it matters not to them how corrupt they are in female prostitution. If they are lawfully married, it matters not to them how corrupt they are in female prostitution if they are lawfully married to only one wife, but it would be considered an awful thing to them to raise up a posterity for more than one wife. This would be wrong indeed, but to go into a brothel and there debauch themselves in the lowest taunts of degradation all the days of their lives, they consider only a trifling thing. So that’s it, it, you know, he talks about it for quite a while. That’s one of his quotes. And so I don’t even know if I have to point out the problems with this argument, but I’m gonna try to really fast. There are just so many problems. So, first of all, as if it is the people who oppose polygamy. Who are the people who engage in prostitution, like people who oppose polygamy usually do so on on moral grounds, right? And they are usually people who value morality and fidelity and monogamy and um to to claim that everybody who’s not a polygamist is a debaucher is just so strange and um. He goes on and talks more about um haunts of prostitution, degradation, and misery and says that they can’t be allowed to come into the cities of the mountains. So how is this to be prevented, for we have got a fallen nature to grapple with. It is to be prevented in the way the Lord devised in ancient times, that is, by giving to his faithful servants a plurality of wives. OK. So again, I just, this argument, um, OK, so on the one hand, we are told that polygamy has nothing to do with lust and is only for the very most righteous men. And yet if those men aren’t given multiple wives, they will be debauching with prostitutes. I mean, it just implies that clearly God’s commandment of morality and monogamy and fidelity is, is just unreasonably unreasonable because men have got a fallen nature to grapple with. They can’t possibly expect it to be faithful to only one woman. It. I mean there’s more that you could say, but it is just so incredibly insulting to men. Like, good men exist and And God wants, wants good men who could be faithful to one wife. So this, this argument is just, I just think it was so, it, it just made me sad to see that it was used. It’s so illogical. So just, OK, so we’re just gonna move on from that because yeah, that I guess that argument has been around since the beginning of polygamy and that’s disappointing. So, um, he goes on to give more explanations and justifications for polygamy and then And then you know, and as I said, it is absolutely an essential doctrine nobody who is not a polygamist will reach exaltation

[00:27:45] and then um and then he warns that those who hear this principle and reject it will be damned. He clarifies that, you know, Mormon damnation is different than hellfire and brimstone. It’s, it’s falling short of exaltation and not being married in the next life and um and just the whole thing was really interesting because it’s so. Well, I mean, so many things, but obviously so male centric like the women, it doesn’t even act as if the women are exalted. They’re just kind of the, the means to help these men be exalted. So, um, so it’s just kind of like, whoa, OK, I’m glad that’s not the focus of the church anymore, so. Anyway, that was the morning session, and then Brigham Young spoke in the in the afternoon session during the sacrament actually, which was interesting. So in the afternoon they had the sacrament. Brigham Young spoke and then he had Orson Pratt read the revelation, and that was the end of the conference. So, um, so this is what the main thing I want to focus on the the rest of it was just kind of like for your information. This is where the real crux of the matter is that was really important to me and profound to teach me. So. In his talk, and he also said a lot of things, but I just want to focus on a couple of things. He made some very bold declarations and prophecies in the name of the Lord. So as the president of the church stood up at the pulpit in conference and prophesized, and um. OK, so, so first of all, I’m just gonna read this part. It’s, it’s a little bit long, but I think it’s important to know what it was that, you know, I want you to be able to hear Brigham Young’s words. So, um, he says, sorry, I have to find it. OK. This is Brigham Young. You heard Brother Pratt state this morning that a revelation would be read this afternoon which was given previous to Joseph’s death. It contains a doctrine a small portion of the world is opposed to, but I can deliver a prophecy upon it. Though the doc though that doctrine has not been preached by the elders, this people have believed in it for many years. The original copy of this revelation was burnt up. William Clayton was the man who wrote it from the mouth of the prophet. In the meantime, It was in Bishop Whitney’s possession. He wished the privilege to copy it, which Brother Joseph granted. Sister Emma burnt the original. The reason why I mention this is because that the people who did know of the revelation suppose it was not now in existence. So this was a huge surprise. Like he said, my understanding is that anyone who did know or hear that there was a revelation of marriage knew it had been destroyed. So It it didn’t exist anymore, and all of a sudden he’s ta da. So the revelation will be read to you. The principles spoken upon by Brother Pratt this morning we believe in, and I tell you, for I know it, it will sail over and ride triumphantly above the prejudices and priestcraft of the day. He’s talking about polygamy. It will be fostered and believed in by the more intelligent portions of the world as one of the best doctrines ever proclaimed to any people. Your hearts need not,

[00:30:49] need not beat. You need not think that a mob is coming here to tread upon that sacred, the sacred liberty which the Constitution. Of the of our country guarantees unto us, for it will not be. The world has known long ago, even in Joseph’s days, that we had more wives than 11 of the senators in Congress knew it very well. Did he oppose it? No, but he has been our friend all the day long, especially upon this subject, he said pointedly to his friends, and now he’s telling us what apparently the senator said to his friends because he knows it somehow. He said to his friends, If the United States do not adopt that very method, let them continue as they now are, pursue the precise course they are now pursuing, and it will come to this that their generations will not live until they are 30 years old. They are going to destruction. Disease is spreading so fast among the inhabitants of the United States that they are born rotten with it. And in a few years they are gone, said he. Joseph has introduced the very best plan for restoring and establishing strength and long life among men of any man on the earth, and the Mormons are a very good and virtuous people. So that’s apparently what the senator told his friends, um. Many others are of the same mind. They are not ignorant of what we are doing in our social capacity. They have cried out, proclaim it, but it would not do a few years ago. Even everything must come in its time, as there is a time to all things. I am now ready to proclaim it. This. Relation has been in my possession many years and who has known it? None but those who should know it. I keep a patent lock on my desk and there is not anything leak out that should not. It pleases me a little to think how anxious these people are for a new reve for new revelation, and he goes on from there. So, you know, he, he’s kind of chuckling at himself that he’s had this good joke. And so I, there are, there are so many things about the claims that he makes here that we could go into. I am. I don’t want to focus on those too much, um, because again, it’s, it just gets messy and it would take a whole lot of time that we don’t want to spend right now. So, um. So just a couple of things. Let’s remember that the doctrine covenants they had at the time that they had had for what since 1835 and it’s now 1852, so they’d had for almost 20 years and that they would have for until 1876, so for more than 20 years more included Section 101 which very strongly condemned polygamy. They also had the Book of Mormon, which very strongly condemned polygamy and I’m pretty sure the twisting of Jacob 2:30 and the loophole that we talked about came later. So it’s difficult to understand how the leaders and and members just ignored all of that, um. We also know, so you know, some people might be offended that I’m questioning Brigham Young’s version of this at all or thinking it it could even be called into question because he’s the president of the church, but we all know that polygamy and lying went hand in hand, no matter what version of history you believed in or what matter what you think happened, we all have to acknowledge that. There were people lying. We all we can do is decide who we think might have been telling the truth and who we think might have been lying and when, and that’s the best we can do. So to say that we just have to trust their word and we should take anybody’s word for anything in this topic, I,

[00:34:15] I mean regarding polygamy, like polygamy involved lying, period. And so, so it’s, you know, we have, we have to question things and there’s just no substantiation for any of this. So again, It’s all so confusing and God’s house is not a house of confusion. So, um, so those are the claims he made and the thing I really want to focus on though, that I do want to get into. And that should be well it is, it’s crystal clear for everybody to see, so it should be free from all controversy that I think is the most important part of this of the entire story of 132 are the prophecies. So there are a couple of different prophecies we’re going to talk about. So first, we’ll start with Brigham Young’s prophecies. So Brigham Young stood at the podium and declared. That he could deliver a prophecy upon it, meaning upon polygamy and the and the saint’s living polygamy. This was his prophecy about the principle of polygamy. Here it is. I tell you, for I know it, it will sail over and ride triumphantly above all the prejudiced and prejudice and priestcraft of the day. It will be fostered and believed in by the more intelligent portions of the world as one of the best doctrines ever ever proclaimed to any people. OK, so that was his first prophecy. So it is clear to say that prophecy was not fulfilled. In fact, the exact opposite came about. So less than 2 years later, after this prophecy, the Republican Party of the United States was formed, Abraham Lincoln’s party, under the banner of rooting out the twin relics of barbarism, of polygamy and slavery, polygamy came first in the order. So, OK, so there’s like there’s just one example of how opposite what actually happened was to what Brigham Brigham Young prophesized. So he continues his prophecy. He goes on to say, your hearts need not beat. You need not think that a mob is coming here to tread upon the sacred liberty which the Constitution of our country guarantees us for it will not be. OK, well. An entire army came, so my husband and I just took our youngest children to Camp Floyd, um, in, in, I guess it’s Southwest Utah County and learned more about that. It just we just happened to do that, so I was thankful that we did, but we learned it was the largest army in America. It was America’s largest army that had been assembled was sent to Utah, the Camp Floyd where they were housed in their town. and you know, they built permanent buildings. It immediately became the 3rd largest city in Utah. The Utah War, the they shall not come here, the bury all of that. So, so not only did just a mob came, but an entire army came. So he then goes on, and this is, this gets even more interesting because he prophesized destruction upon the United States if they don’t adopt polygamy. Destruction is an interesting word. It’s N132 in some interesting ways, and here. Brigham and then and then it’s in some other places that we’re going to talk about right now. So he prophesized destruction.

[00:37:25] He says if the United States do not adopt that very method, let them continue as they are now, pursue the precise course they are now pursuing, and it will come to this that their generations will not live until they are 30 years old. They are going to destruction. Disease is spreading so fast among the inhabitants of the United States that they are born, born rotten with it, and a few years they are gone, so. OK, so there’s another prophecy, and I will say in fairness, the United States did nearly face destruction not very long after that with the Civil War, but it was not because they did not adopt polygamy, it was because they did not forsake slavery. They had another. Critical moral wrong that God doesn’t want on this land, I believe. And so just as, but just as slavery brought the US to the brink of destruction until they finally gave it up, polygamy brought the church to the brink of destruction until they finally gave it up. So, um. Contrary to what Brigham Young prophesized, the church did not flourish with polygamy. They barely survived. Um, the Sorry, just just lost my place, this silly screen, so, um. That I, I just wanted to get my list that I compiled, but um. Let’s see, they, OK, um, so there were other things that happened, but here’s just a little list that I thought of. So, church leaders were forced into hiding, many of them were imprisoned, many of, many men were imprisoned. Many polygamists were forced to leave the United States, so they did. Again, have to flee their homes. That’s my grandparents that went to Mexico. Um, the church, as this progressed, the church lost complete control of the government. They lost most of their holdings and properties. The church faced complete destruction to the point that in 1891 Wilfred Woodruff delivered sermons at state conferences. I, I read these first the, the actual reports of them, but they are now canonized a ver uh. Um, you know, one of some of his talks are canonized in official official declaration One in the doctrine and covenants. So I just want to read part of this. You can go look it up in official declaration One, the doctrine and Covenants. He asks the saints and says that this was an inspired question that the The Lord told him to ask him, which is the wisest counsel for the latter-day saints to pursue to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of 60 millions of people. So remember what Brigham You prophesized that everybody would see it as the best doctrine ever taught. And at the cost of the confiscation and loss of loss of all the temples and the stopping of all the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead and the imprisonment of the first presidency and 12 and the heads of families in the church and the confiscation and the confiscation of personal property of the people, um, all of which of themselves would stop the practice or after. Doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle to cease the practice and submit to the law and through doing so leave the prophets, apostles, and fathers at home so that they can instruct the people and

[00:40:40] attend to the duties of the church and also leave the temples in the hands of the saints so that they can attend to the ordinances of the gospel for both living and the and dead. The Lord showed me by vision and revelation exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice. If we had not stopped it, all ordinances, all ordinances would be stopped throughout the land of Zion. Confusion would reign throughout Israel, and many men would be made. Prisoners, this trouble would have come upon the whole church, and we should have been compelled and we should have been compelled to stop. We should have been compelled to stop the practice. Now the question is whether it should be stopped in this manner or in the way the Lord has manifested to us and leave our prophets and apostles and fathers free men and the temples in the hands of the people so that the dead may be redeemed so. This is so interesting. So again, that word confusion, confusion will reign and um. The Lord Made it clear to Wilfred Woodruff if you know that if the saints did not forsake polygamy, they would be destroyed. So, so Brigham Young’s prophecies were completely the opposite of what actually happened, but the most important part of this to me is the prophecies that did come true. So hopefully you’ll recognize this, for there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife and concubines, he shall have none. Jacob 2:27 could be down to 29. Wherefore this people shall keep my commandments, referring specifically to this commandment to have one wife, sayeth the Lord of hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes, for they shall not lead away. This is verse 33. They shall not lead away captive, the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction. For and then over in chapter 3, verse 3, for except ye repent, the land is cursed for your sakes. So Jacob, clear back in the beginning of the establishment of this land. Prophesized that people who lived polygamy on this land would be destroyed until they repented and for and forsook it, and that is exactly what happened. So if we want to get to the Lord’s truth, to the truth of what happened. We need to, like, I think the prophecies are the best way to get there. We’re told by their fruits ye shall know them, which teachings on polygamy proved to be true. Those given by Brigham Young or those given by the Lord through the prophet Jacob like. It’s pretty clear. Brigham Young prophesized that those who didn’t practice polygamy in the United States would face destruction, but the exact opposite happened. Jacob prophesized that any people of God who did practice polygamy on this land would face destruction unless and until they repented and stopped living it. That is exactly what happened. So that’s the point that I just that really got me where I’m like, OK, where is God? It’s pretty clear to me where the truth of God is in this. And so. Now I know that there are, I know this is challenging, right? So I, I want to clarify something. I don’t want you to hear this episode simply as criticism of Brigham Young. That is not my intent at all. I actually As I was reading through this, there was one sermon in particular that he gave that was so beautiful and touching,

[00:44:17] and um I even shared it online cause it just was like, oh, thank you for letting me see the good side, like this beautiful. It just he talked about the immigrants coming, the new converts coming into the valley after their long and difficult journey, and he asked the members in just such beautiful compassionate terms to put themselves in the shoes of these we travelers and ask them. how they would want to be greeted when they were so impoverished and exhausted and hungry and said and told them, make, make your gardens and your homes open to them. Tell them to help themselves and to share in all of your abundance. And it just, it really touched me. It was such a beautiful expression of, of true religion and of pure religion and true charity. And so, so I loved that and I don’t want in any way to just Be judgmental and condemn or throw Brigham Young and us or Orson Pratt under the bus or claim they were all bad or you know, I, I that we should, should that we should judge them. I just again feel so deeply the truth of Moroni’s plea and Mormon 931. I think that this is so pertinent where he says, condemn me not because of my imperfection, neither my father because of his imperfection. Neither neither of them who have written before him. But rather give thanks unto God that He hath made manifest unto you our our imperfections that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been. If Mormon and Maroni, the compilers and keepers of the Nephite records and the final prophets of God in their dispensation. We’re capable of error. Anybody is capable of error and. Instead of, instead of thinking in black and white terms, like we can’t see error among any any leaders of the church, or if there was error among leaders of the church, then throw it all out. I, I just don’t think that it has to be one of those two extremes. I think we can look at it and think how blessed we are. That we now have the tools and the ability to see more clearly and to see some of those errors. And rather than condemning those who made those errors, we can avoid making those errors ourselves, so. I, I just think it’s important that. We don’t continue to be deceived and we don’t judge harshly, but that we instead just be willing and humble enough to see our false traditions for what they are so that we can be more wise and and avoid deception and confusion for ourselves. That’s that’s my purpose in doing this, and I hope that it is that it is accomplishing that for, for those of you who are taking the time to listen. I again want to thank you for tuning in and sticking with me, um. I think the more people involved in these conversations, the better so if any of you feel inclined to share, please go ahead and do that and um. Join me next time we will be tackling Isaiah 41 and other biblical justifications for polygamy and I think after that we’ll get to the big hairy one I’ve kind of been putting off, so we have some other big important episodes coming, so please, please stick with us again. Thank you for being here. My name is Michelle Stone and this is 132 Problems.