(Written by Walter Kerr, submitted to the Georgia Mtn. News)
After years of bitter persecution in New York, Ohio, and Illinois, the first party of pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley July 24, 1847. They were part of a group that was driven out by force from the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. The Great Salt Lake Valley was part of Mexico when the pioneers left the city of Nauvoo, and the members hoped that freedom to practice their religion would take place in the remote desert of what would become the state of Utah 50 years later.
One must wonder why there was so much hate for the little church trying to grow. Two reasons for the irritation among the native population where the “Saints” moved in were their political power and their practice of polygamy. The members of the church were very industrious, and where they settled they built homes, farmed the land, and engaged in all sorts of commercial enterprises. The church believed that men could have more than one wife.
The church groups were a powerful force for change. Thousands of converts from Europe enlarged communities and irritated their neighbors who were losing control of their communities. Nauvoo, Illinois became larger than Chicago. People felt that the cities, counties, and the state authorities were losing control to the "Mormons." People did not like the Mormons coming in and becoming a majority of the population.
Some male members of the church had more than one wife. It was a commandment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to allow men to have more than one wife. Christians objected to this. The practice of having plural wives is a practice followed by many civilizations throughout history, including the House of Israel, but Christians had reasons for their belief. In Bible verse 1st Timothy 3:2 it states,” a bishop should be the husband of one wife.”
The Mormons sought religious freedom and Biblical verses justify polygamy. In Jesus' time, men were sometimes supposed to take more than one wife. Jewish law, as recounted in a New Testament story about the seven brothers mentions that when a man dies, his brother should marry his widow. This resulted in many men having more than one wife. David had at least 7 wives. The Bible states that he sinned only with Bathsheba. 1 Kings 14:5 states that "David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." Some modern Biblical translators translate the verse in Timothy as, “a bishop should be the husband of his first wife.”
Mormons believe in honoring and sustaining the law of the land, and when the United States Supreme Court finally declared that polygamy was against the law of the land, the Mormons obeyed. Regardless of what happened before 1847 the dream of freedom is being realized as the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now number over 15 million. To learn about them call 706-851-9066 or key lds.org into your computer.
After years of bitter persecution in New York, Ohio, and Illinois, the first party of pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley July 24, 1847. They were part of a group that was driven out by force from the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. The Great Salt Lake Valley was part of Mexico when the pioneers left the city of Nauvoo, and the members hoped that freedom to practice their religion would take place in the remote desert of what would become the state of Utah 50 years later.
One must wonder why there was so much hate for the little church trying to grow. Two reasons for the irritation among the native population where the “Saints” moved in were their political power and their practice of polygamy. The members of the church were very industrious, and where they settled they built homes, farmed the land, and engaged in all sorts of commercial enterprises. The church believed that men could have more than one wife.
The church groups were a powerful force for change. Thousands of converts from Europe enlarged communities and irritated their neighbors who were losing control of their communities. Nauvoo, Illinois became larger than Chicago. People felt that the cities, counties, and the state authorities were losing control to the "Mormons." People did not like the Mormons coming in and becoming a majority of the population.
Some male members of the church had more than one wife. It was a commandment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to allow men to have more than one wife. Christians objected to this. The practice of having plural wives is a practice followed by many civilizations throughout history, including the House of Israel, but Christians had reasons for their belief. In Bible verse 1st Timothy 3:2 it states,” a bishop should be the husband of one wife.”
The Mormons sought religious freedom and Biblical verses justify polygamy. In Jesus' time, men were sometimes supposed to take more than one wife. Jewish law, as recounted in a New Testament story about the seven brothers mentions that when a man dies, his brother should marry his widow. This resulted in many men having more than one wife. David had at least 7 wives. The Bible states that he sinned only with Bathsheba. 1 Kings 14:5 states that "David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." Some modern Biblical translators translate the verse in Timothy as, “a bishop should be the husband of his first wife.”
Mormons believe in honoring and sustaining the law of the land, and when the United States Supreme Court finally declared that polygamy was against the law of the land, the Mormons obeyed. Regardless of what happened before 1847 the dream of freedom is being realized as the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now number over 15 million. To learn about them call 706-851-9066 or key lds.org into your computer.
RSS Feed