I think the practice of polygamy could have continued had the persecutions and lawmakers left the mormons alone.
I am not sure I understand polygamy or would want to practice it myself. I do know that the Lord does requires sacrifice on the part of true believers. The purpose of this life is to see if we will do all that the Lord requires regardless of our short sightedness or lack of full understanding. That being said, I think the Lord is merciful and will enlighten us if we ask.
Although practitioners of polygamy suffered incalcuably I think the blessings of the practice are rarely brought to light. Orson Pratt outlines many of the blessings in his book the seer, not the least of which is the care and protection of the many widows as a result of wars and persection. I think given the circumstances, polygamy was a blessing to many people.
I think it is plausible to assume that this is a cause/effect scenario. But this simple explanation does not do the facts justice.
46 years of persecution is a strong testament to the fact that the President of the church is acting under the direction of the Lord. I certainly cannot expect a non-believer to see with an eye of faith and reach the same conclusions that I do. I think its very reasonable to conclude that Pres. Woodruff would be prepared to endure another 46 years of persection had the revelation not been given.
To answer your question again...the church stopped polygamy because the Lord required the change...the consequences of continuing against the laws of the land were made known and the Lord saw fit to require the change. Make note that the consquences of the change did not include the statehood of Utah.
You have no idea because your use of the sources does not validate your claim that the church ended polygamy so that Utah could become a state. They could have stopped polygamy in any of the 46 years previous to 1896 in order to achieve this goal but only did so when a revelation was received.
Source 2 indicates that Brigham Young said "...God had told him that his people must abide by U.S. law". This is a simple statement of fact. He didnt say that God told them to stop polygamy so that Utah could become a state. You can find some of the reasons for the change in the information you copiusly copied in your post. Not the least of which is the last paragraph in source 3.
Copying source material is of no value unless it adds credence to your arguments...there is no credence to the claim that polygamy was outlined by the church in order for utah to become a state. This is a leap of logic that has no basis in reality.
Being a mormon I would agree with your statement that mormonism is not christianity. We are distinctly different from the sectarian religions that are founded upon the creeds of christendom. These creeds are neither biblical nor accurate in their description and determination of who we (mormons) worship. In this regard we are decidely not christian. But with respect to our basis of faith upon the gospel of jesus christ we are decidedly followers of jesus christ and his teachings and the foundation of his church upon the rock of revelation.
I take great comfort in the fact that I do not subscribe to the creeds of men and rely wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
The practice was outlawed by the LDS church in order for Utah to achieve statehood... This statement is not true. The revelation to discontinue the practice of polygamy was the only determining factor behind the change. Non-members miss the point that the leaders of the church make no policy or practice change without divine intervention. And while I understand that the "revelation" solution doesnt meet the approbation of the "intellectuals" among us, it nevertheless does not change this fact.
John Taylor, as president of the church, could easily have discontinued the practice of polygamy in order that he and many others might escape the persecution heaped upon them. Pres. Taylor spent many years in seclusion because he would not yield to the pressures of a developing society or religious persecution. His death is a profound witness to the fact that he was not operating as a conman or rogue merely interested in placating the powers that be in order to achieve some self-serving end. He died faithful to the mandate given as president of the church. Wilford Woodruff issued the manifesto discontinuing the practice of polygamy after the death of John Taylor and not before the Lord revealed to him the consequences of continuing the practice.
Unlike the LDS Church, they did not agree with changing religious beliefs just to satisfy the US Government like the LDS Church did when it got rid of polygamy so Utah could become a state and allowed people of color to join so they would not lose their tax exempt status. It pretty obvious you have no idea what you are talking about...I guess you dont have time to do the painful research necessary to validate your claims about the intentions of the church with respect to polygamy and the matter of all worthy males holding the priesthood.
Its more fun to peddle scandal than publish truth isnt it?
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I think the practice of polygamy could have continued had the persecutions and lawmakers left the mormons alone. I am not sure I understand polygamy or would want to practice it myself. I do know that the Lord does requires sacrifice on the part of true believers. The purpose of this life is to see if we will do all that the Lord requires regardless of our short sightedness or lack of full understanding. That being said, I think the Lord is merciful and will enlighten us if we ask.
Although practitioners of polygamy suffered incalcuably I think the blessings of the practice are rarely brought to light. Orson Pratt outlines many of the blessings in his book the seer, not the least of which is the care and protection of the many widows as a result of wars and persection. I think given the circumstances, polygamy was a blessing to many people.
I think it is plausible to assume that this is a cause/effect scenario. But this simple explanation does not do the facts justice.
46 years of persecution is a strong testament to the fact that the President of the church is acting under the direction of the Lord. I certainly cannot expect a non-believer to see with an eye of faith and reach the same conclusions that I do. I think its very reasonable to conclude that Pres. Woodruff would be prepared to endure another 46 years of persection had the revelation not been given.
To answer your question again...the church stopped polygamy because the Lord required the change...the consequences of continuing against the laws of the land were made known and the Lord saw fit to require the change. Make note that the consquences of the change did not include the statehood of Utah.
You have no idea because your use of the sources does not validate your claim that the church ended polygamy so that Utah could become a state. They could have stopped polygamy in any of the 46 years previous to 1896 in order to achieve this goal but only did so when a revelation was received.
Source 2 indicates that Brigham Young said "...God had told him that his people must abide by U.S. law". This is a simple statement of fact. He didnt say that God told them to stop polygamy so that Utah could become a state. You can find some of the reasons for the change in the information you copiusly copied in your post. Not the least of which is the last paragraph in source 3.
Copying source material is of no value unless it adds credence to your arguments...there is no credence to the claim that polygamy was outlined by the church in order for utah to become a state. This is a leap of logic that has no basis in reality.
Being a mormon I would agree with your statement that mormonism is not christianity. We are distinctly different from the sectarian religions that are founded upon the creeds of christendom. These creeds are neither biblical nor accurate in their description and determination of who we (mormons) worship. In this regard we are decidely not christian. But with respect to our basis of faith upon the gospel of jesus christ we are decidedly followers of jesus christ and his teachings and the foundation of his church upon the rock of revelation.
I take great comfort in the fact that I do not subscribe to the creeds of men and rely wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
John Taylor, as president of the church, could easily have discontinued the practice of polygamy in order that he and many others might escape the persecution heaped upon them. Pres. Taylor spent many years in seclusion because he would not yield to the pressures of a developing society or religious persecution. His death is a profound witness to the fact that he was not operating as a conman or rogue merely interested in placating the powers that be in order to achieve some self-serving end. He died faithful to the mandate given as president of the church. Wilford Woodruff issued the manifesto discontinuing the practice of polygamy after the death of John Taylor and not before the Lord revealed to him the consequences of continuing the practice.
Statehood had nothing to with the change...