The Issue of Polygamy in the Mormon Church - Latter Day Saints
This is based on the age-old concept of going back many years ago when it was believed that the Mormons which are now the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints practiced polygamy.
This is no longer something that takes place within the Mormon religion.
Often what happens though is that there are break off groups from the Mormons that have started their own cults and they do still engage in this type of practice and it originally was known as what the Mormons would call eternal marriage.
Unfortunately many people don't realize that these are groups that have split of and class them as being Mormons.
There are still some however that believed that the doctrine of the Mormons particularly in section 132 still support the practice and in fact will tell those that do not believe in plural marriages or officially polygamy that they will not get the highest degree when it comes time to the afterlife.
It does go on later though in the declarations of the Mormons that a prophet that took the position of leadership did order the church to stop the practice of polygamy.
There will often be reference made back to the first chapter of the book where the very first prophet of the Mormons told his wife to either accept polygamy or be destroyed There has been some speculation that Russell Nelson of the Mormons supported the defense of marriage.
The search of records was supposedly to have been revealed that he was sealed to more than one wife.
Sealed in the Mormons religion means marriage however marriage is considered by them as eternal and not just something that is for while on this earth.
There is a lot of controversy over this when it comes to the death of a first wife and whether Nelson actually did break the law in any way.
In speculation it seems no he did not.
When a Mormon goes through the process of ceiling as their belief goes it binds them for eternity.
If the wife dies then the male member can still go on to marry another woman within legal rights.
Now it's different though when the woman is the survivor she has a choice she can either marry for what is classed as for time which is while she is here on earth or she can petition to dissolve the first marriage It must be remembered that the ultimate goal of a male Mormon is to become a God the role of the Mormon woman is to bear spirit children to populate the worlds which of course are going to be run by the husbands.
Women in the 90s have been warned not to pray to the spiritual mother of their church.
The concept behind this is that the heavenly Father doesn't want his wife's name being taken in vain.
Polygamy is still suspected in Salt Lake where charges will actually be laid if this is found to be.
So some Mormons believe that the declaration of 1890 was what brought the state into apostasy and it took the teachings of Joseph Smith brought them back into the world