I've noticed many disbelievers refer to the practice of plural marriage as "polygamy," almost as if this is a more disrespectable term.
Speaking for myself, not at all. There are NO words that make this practice even remotely respectable.
"Plural marriage" sounds like some made up term. Does anyone even recognize this as a real description of a form of marriage other than the LDS and FLDS communities? I have never heard anyone ever use such a term outside the Mormon community.
Plural marriage just doesn't make any sense to me as a descriptor of his practice.
But more to the point... do Mormons believe "plural marriage" sounds better than polygamy?
Do folks on the board think so?
~dancer~
"The search for reality is the most dangerous of all undertakings for it destroys the world in which you live." Nisargadatta Maharaj
I've noticed many disbelievers refer to the practice of plural marriage as "polygamy," almost as if this is a more disrespectable term.
Speaking for myself, not at all. There are NO words that make this practice even remotely respectable.
"Plural marriage" sounds like some made up term. Does anyone even recognize this as a real description of a form of marriage other than the LDS and FLDS communities? I have never heard anyone ever use such a term outside the Mormon community.
Plural marriage just doesn't make any sense to me as a descriptor of his practice.
But more to the point... do Mormons believe "plural marriage" sounds better than polygamy?
Do folks on the board think so?
~dancer~
It is a made up term. Just like most terms were at one time. It was an ad-hoc term used by early Church leaders that caught on and is now used to refer specifically to the kind of marriage the LDS created. That was what they called it (though they also used the term Polygamy to a lesser degree, at least in the Journal of Discourses).
"Surely he knows that DCP, The Nehor, Lamanite, and other key apologists..." -Scratch clarifying my status in apologetics "I admit it; I'm a petty, petty man." -Some Schmo
truth dancer wrote:But more to the point... do Mormons believe "plural marriage" sounds better than polygamy?
Do folks on the board think so?
I do think plural marriage sounds better.
They both sound bad to me. What sounds more respectable, gang bang or plural penetration? It's the same thing.
"We of this Church do not rely on any man-made statement concerning the nature of Deity. Our knowledge comes directly from the personal experience of Joseph Smith." - Gordon B. Hinckley
"It's wrong to criticize leaders of the Mormon Church even if the criticism is true." - Dallin H. Oaks
It is a made up term. Just like most terms were at one time. It was an ad-hoc term used by early Church leaders that caught on and is now used to refer specifically to the kind of marriage the LDS created. That was what they called it (though they also used the term Polygamy to a lesser degree, at least in the Journal of Discourses).
I think it only "caught on" in Mormon communities; at least I have never heard it spoken by those outside these communities.
But you speak to my point... seems the term "plural marriage" may bring to mind the FLDS/early LDS type of polygamous lifestyle which doesn't seem to bring a whole lot of good PR at the moment.
~dancer~
"The search for reality is the most dangerous of all undertakings for it destroys the world in which you live." Nisargadatta Maharaj
skippy the dead wrote:So what is the actual source of the quote? When, where and to whom was this said? You have a second hand source of a second hand quote.
Can't get access to the Contributor. It's online but I can't justify paying to ask for it. I found it in my own notes as a quotation and entered it to try to find the source. Judging by where it is I think it came from something I found in my grandmother's house. Unfortunately I did not notate where I got it from.
However, my main point was to show that the early Saints called it plural marriage. In this respect, I invite people to read the Journal of Discourses.
"Surely he knows that DCP, The Nehor, Lamanite, and other key apologists..." -Scratch clarifying my status in apologetics "I admit it; I'm a petty, petty man." -Some Schmo
skippy the dead wrote:So what is the actual source of the quote? When, where and to whom was this said? You have a second hand source of a second hand quote.
Can't get access to the Contributor. It's online but I can't justify paying to ask for it. I found it in my own notes as a quotation and entered it to try to find the source. Judging by where it is I think it came from something I found in my grandmother's house. Unfortunately I did not notate where I got it from.
However, my main point was to show that the early Saints called it plural marriage. In this respect, I invite people to read the Journal of Discourses.
Not once do we find in the Joseph Smiths history where he called it plural marriage, nor are there any authentic quotes where he has stated anything positive about polygamy. By authentic I mean quotes taken from Joseph Smith during his lifetime, not something that was written down several years later. When things are written down after someones death and they are not alive to dispute them they cannot be authenticated. IMHO
"… Do you believe Jesus Christ and the gospel of salvation which he revealed? So do I. Christians should cease wrangling and contending with each other, and cultivate the principles of union and friendship. I am just as ready to die defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist, or a good man of any other denomination." Joseph Smith jr. Sermon, 1843
skippy the dead wrote:So what is the actual source of the quote? When, where and to whom was this said? You have a second hand source of a second hand quote.
Can't get access to the Contributor. It's online but I can't justify paying to ask for it. I found it in my own notes as a quotation and entered it to try to find the source. Judging by where it is I think it came from something I found in my grandmother's house. Unfortunately I did not notate where I got it from.
However, my main point was to show that the early Saints called it plural marriage. In this respect, I invite people to read the Journal of Discourses.
Not once do we find in the Joseph Smiths history where he called it plural marriage, nor are there any authentic quotes where he has stated anything positive about polygamy. By authentic I mean quotes taken from Joseph Smith during his lifetime, not something that was written down several years later. When things are written down after someones death and they are not alive to dispute them they cannot be authenticated. IMHO
I'm sure this had nothing to do with the fact that he was practicing it in secret until his death, right?
If there's one thing I've learned from this board, it's that consensual sex with multiple partners is okay unless God commands it. - Abman
I find this place to be hostile toward all brands of stupidity. That's why I like it. - Some Schmo
skippy the dead wrote:So what is the actual source of the quote? When, where and to whom was this said? You have a second hand source of a second hand quote.
Can't get access to the Contributor. It's online but I can't justify paying to ask for it. I found it in my own notes as a quotation and entered it to try to find the source. Judging by where it is I think it came from something I found in my grandmother's house. Unfortunately I did not notate where I got it from.
However, my main point was to show that the early Saints called it plural marriage. In this respect, I invite people to read the Journal of Discourses.
Fair enough. I just like to point out when folks rely on sources that rely on sources that rely on unspecific other sources. We have no context or reliability.
I may be going to hell in a bucket, babe / But at least I'm enjoying the ride.
-Grateful Dead (lyrics by John Perry Barlow)
How about throwing the term Spiritual Wifery into the mix.
Wasn't that term used back in the 1830-40s to denote the practice of one married man marrying someone that a higher ranking married man had his eye on?