Link from wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latter_Day ... th_centuryShortage of wives caused by plural marriage
Richard Abanes argues that polygamy may have caused a shortage of brides in the early LDS community.[19] The New York Times reported in 1860 that church leader Heber C. Kimball stated (in an address to departing missionaries):
Brethren, I want you to understand that it is not to be as it has been heretofore. The brother missionaries have been in the habit of picking out the prettiest women for themselves before they get here, and bringing on the ugly ones for us; hereafter you have to bring them all here before taking any of them, and let us all have a fair shake.[20]
Mormon scholars[who?] dispute the accuracy of the quote[
citation needed], as it cannot be corroborated by a second source such as the extensive (
though incomplete) record of discourses in the Journal of Discourses. FairWiki suggests that it may be a paraphrase of the following quoted statement, which is authentic. [21]
On another occasion, Kimball said "You are sent out as shepherds to gather the sheep together; and remember that they are not your sheep: they belong to Him that sends you. Then do not make a choice of any of those sheep; do not make selections before they are brought home and put into the fold."[22] Critics of Mormonism interpret this to be a statement of "selecting" converts for plural marriages.[citation needed] However, in the paragraph immediately following the above quote, Kimball went on to say:
The principle of plurality of wives never will be done away. Some sisters have had revelations that when this time passes away and they go through the veil every woman will have a husband to herself. I wish more of our young men would take to themselves wives of the daughters of Zion and not wait for us old men to take them all; go-ahead upon the right principle young gentlemen and God bless you forever and ever and make you fruitful, that we may fill the mountains and then the earth with righteous inhabitants.
This would appear to contradict the critics' interpretation mentioned above.
Mormon apologists[who?] dispute that there was a shortage of women, and advocate that polygamy was used at least in part to care for women who did not have husbands or were widows.[citation needed] LDS historians George L. Mitton and Rhett S. James of FARMS cite Brigham Young[23] as encouraging single men to marry, stating that the incidence of polygamy would thus be reduced.[24]
The precise number who participated in plural marriage is not known, but studies indicate a maximum of 20-25% of LDS adults were members of polygamist households. One third of the women of marriageable age and nearly all of the church leadership were involved in the practice.[25]
Bold mine.
From the madb thread:
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 10, p. 110) - Brigham Young
If the above quote from BY came from a source that did not view the church with an eye of favoritism, you would fight it tooth and nail, despite it having actually occurred. The truth is, the high watermark for absolutely callous and unbelievable statements from church leaders is an "11" on a scale of 1 to 10.
The quote you have a problem with;
"The brother missionaries have been in the habit of picking out the prettiest women for themselves before they get here, and bringing on the ugly ones for us"
is clearly present on wikipedia. It is properly referenced. It is maintained on wikipedia, and it will remain in my signature line.
You claim an angel with a flaiming sword threatened to destroy Joseph if he did not take multiple wives. Which is more plausible, Heber having made the the referenced statement, or an angel waving the flaming sword at joseph? With this in mind, what frame of reference are you prepared to use for applications of LDS truth claims that you can also apply to my signature line with equal consistency?
W
