DOCTRINE and COVENANTS

Section 132,
Official Declaration1

Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class

Josephs family theology

A new and everlasting covenant

The new and everlasting covenant (66:2) vs. a new and everlasting covenant (22:1). 132:46; 131:14. The new and everlasting covenant of marriage.

First teaching of eternal marriage

A new idea, Sally, if you and I continue faithful to the end, we are certain to be one in the Lord throughout eternity; this in one of the most glorious consolations we can have in the flesh. W.W. Phelps, letter to Sally Phelps, May 1835

Plural marriage chronology

18311832. First mentioned? 18331836. Josephs first plural marriage (Fanny Alger). 1841. Joseph begins Nauvoo plural marriages; teaches doctrine to the Twelve. July 1843. Section 132 written.
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12 July 1843
Hyrum very urgently requested Joseph to write the revelation by means of the Urim and Thummim, but Joseph in reply, said he did not need to, for he knew the revelation perfectly from beginning to end. Joseph and Hyrum then sat down and Joseph commenced to dictate the revelation on celestial marriage, and I wrote it, sentence by sentence, as he dictated. After the whole was written, Joseph asked me to read it through, slowly and carefully, which I did, and he pronounced it correct. He then remarked that there was much more that he could write on the same subject, but what was written was sufficient for the present. William Clayton, affidavit, 16 February 1874
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Outline of Section 132

132:13. Introduction. 132:428. The law pertaining to eternal marriage. 132:2945. The law pertaining to plural marriage. 132:4648. Joseph Smith holds the sealing keys. 132:4957. Personal instructions to Joseph and Emma. 132:5866. Additional instructions on the law of the priesthood; the law of Sarah.
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Law pertaining to eternal marriage

132:7. Two conditions:
Sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. Administered by authority.

Three case studies:

132:1517. Til death do us part. 132:18. For eternity, but without authority. 132:1925. For eternity, and with authority.

Seeds & eternal lives

Except a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity, while in this probation, by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, they will cease to increase when they die; that is, they will not have any children after the resurrection. But those who are married by the power and authority of the priesthood in this life, and continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory. Joseph Smith, 16 May 1843 (History of the Church 5:391)
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Law pertaining to eternal marriage

132:26. Exaltation despite all sin?
Repentence implied. Only one unforgivable sin; all others may be forgiven.

132:28. The law of the priesthood.

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Law pertaining to plural marriage

Jacob 2:2330. Monogamy is the rule; polygamy the exception to the rule. 132:3436. All things are right if God commands them.

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Circumstantial commandments
That which is wrong under one circumstance, may be, and often is, right under another. God said, Thou shalt not kill; at another time He said, Thou shalt utterly destroy. This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conductedby revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire. If we seek first the kingdom of God, all good things will be added. So with Solomon: first he asked wisdom, and God gave it him, and with it every desire of his heart, even things which might be considered abominable to all who understand the order of heaven only in part, but which in reality were right because God gave and sanctioned by special revelation. 12

Circumstantial commandments
. Everything that God gives us is lawful and right; and it is proper that we should enjoy His gifts and blessings whenever and wherever He is disposed to bestow; but if we should seize upon those same blessings and enjoyments without law, without revelation, without commandment, those blessings and enjoyments would prove cursings and vexations in the end, and we should have to lie down in sorrow and wailings of everlasting regret. Joseph Smith, 1842 (History of the Church 5:13436)

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Law pertaining to plural marriage

132:3739. Examples from the scriptures: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon.

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Josephs practice of plural marriage

Emma Hale Fanny Alger Lucinda Pendleton Louisa Beaman Zina Huntington Presendia Huntington Agnes Coolbrith Jan 1827 Ruth Vose 18331836 Flora Woodworth 1838? Emily Partridge Apr 1841 Eliza Partridge Oct 1841 Almera Johnson Dec 1841 Lucy Walker Jan 1842 Sarah Lawrence Feb 1843 Spring 1843 Mar 1843 Mar 1843 Apr 1843 May 1843 May 1843

Sylvia Sessions
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Patty Bartlett Marinda Johnson Elizabeth Davis Sarah Kingsley Eliza R. Snow Delcena Johnson Sarah Ann Whitney

1842/43 Maria Lawrence

Feb 1842 Helen Mar Kimball Mar 1842 Hannah Ells Apr 1842 Elvira Cowles <Jun 1842 Rhoda Richards <Jun 1842 Desdemona Fullmer Jun 1842 Olive Frost <Jul 1842 Melissa Lott Jul 1842 Nancy Winchester

May 1843
May 1843 Early 1843 June 1843 June 1843 July 1843 Summer 1843 Sep 1843 1842/43

Martha McBride

Aug 1842 Fanny Young

2 Nov 1843

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Josephs practice of plural marriage

Emma Hale Fanny Alger Lucinda Pendleton Louisa Beaman Zina Huntington Presendia Huntington Agnes Coolbrith Jan 1827 Ruth Vose 18331836 Flora Woodworth 1838? Emily Partridge Apr 1841 Eliza Partridge Oct 1841 Almera Johnson Dec 1841 Lucy Walker Jan 1842 Sarah Lawrence Feb 1843 Spring 1843 Mar 1843 Mar 1843 Apr 1843 May 1843 May 1843

Age
1419

2039
4058

Sylvia Sessions
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Patty Bartlett Marinda Johnson Elizabeth Davis Sarah Kingsley Eliza R. Snow Delcena Johnson Sarah Ann Whitney

1842/43 Maria Lawrence

Feb 1842 Helen Mar Kimball Mar 1842 Hannah Ells Apr 1842 Elvira Cowles <Jun 1842 Rhoda Richards <Jun 1842 Desdemona Fullmer Jun 1842 Olive Frost <Jul 1842 Melissa Lott Jul 1842 Nancy Winchester

May 1843
May 1843 Early 1843 June 1843 June 1843 July 1843 Summer 1843 Sep 1843 1842/43

Martha McBride

Aug 1842 Fanny Young

2 Nov 1843

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Josephs practice of plural marriage

Emma Hale Fanny Alger Lucinda Pendleton Louisa Beaman Zina Huntington Presendia Huntington Agnes Coolbrith Jan 1827 Ruth Vose 18331836 Flora Woodworth 1838? Emily Partridge Apr 1841 Eliza Partridge Oct 1841 Almera Johnson Dec 1841 Lucy Walker Jan 1842 Sarah Lawrence Feb 1843 Spring 1843 Mar 1843 Mar 1843 Apr 1843 May 1843 May 1843

Status
Single

Married
Widowed Divorced

Sylvia Sessions
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Patty Bartlett Marinda Johnson Elizabeth Davis Sarah Kingsley Eliza R. Snow Delcena Johnson Sarah Ann Whitney

1842/43 Maria Lawrence

Feb 1842 Helen Mar Kimball Mar 1842 Hannah Ells Apr 1842 Elvira Cowles <Jun 1842 Rhoda Richards <Jun 1842 Desdemona Fullmer Jun 1842 Olive Frost <Jul 1842 Melissa Lott Jul 1842 Nancy Winchester

May 1843
May 1843 Early 1843 June 1843 June 1843 July 1843 Summer 1843 Sep 1843 1842/43

Martha McBride

Aug 1842 Fanny Young

2 Nov 1843

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The Law of Adoption

An individual could be sealed to someone to whom he or she was not related (typically a prominent Church leader). Ended by revelation, April 1894.

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Josephs practice of plural marriage

Emma Hale Fanny Alger Lucinda Pendleton Louisa Beaman Zina Huntington Presendia Huntington Agnes Coolbrith Jan 1827 Ruth Vose 18331836 Flora Woodworth 1838? Emily Partridge Apr 1841 Eliza Partridge Oct 1841 Almera Johnson Dec 1841 Lucy Walker Jan 1842 Sarah Lawrence Feb 1843 Spring 1843 Mar 1843 Mar 1843 Apr 1843 May 1843 May 1843

Sylvia Sessions
Mary Elizabeth Rollins Patty Bartlett Marinda Johnson Elizabeth Davis Sarah Kingsley Eliza R. Snow Delcena Johnson Sarah Ann Whitney

1842/43 Maria Lawrence

Feb 1842 Helen Mar Kimball Mar 1842 Hannah Ells Apr 1842 Elvira Cowles <Jun 1842 Rhoda Richards <Jun 1842 Desdemona Fullmer Jun 1842 Olive Frost <Jul 1842 Melissa Lott Jul 1842 Nancy Winchester

May 1843
May 1843 Early 1843 June 1843 June 1843 July 1843 Summer 1843 Sep 1843 1842/43

Martha McBride

Aug 1842 Fanny Young

2 Nov 1843

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Problems with naturalist explanation

Ignores Josephs other achievements. Why wait so long to start? Why not just have affairs? He didnt take; he asked. Others commanded to live it, with strict rules.

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Brighams reaction
Some of these my brethren know what my feelings were at the time Joseph revealed the doctrine; I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty, nor of failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral, I felt to envy the corpse its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin, knowing the toil and labor that my body would have to undergo; and I have had to examine myself, from that day to this, and watch my faith, and carefully meditate, lest I should be found desiring the grave more than I ought to do. You will probably wonder at this, and that such should have been my feelings upon this point, but they were even so. Brigham Young, July 1855 (Journal of Discourses 3:266)
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Lucy Walkers reaction

In 1842, when Lucy was fifteen or sixteen, Joseph told her, I have a message for you. I have been commanded of God to take another wife, and you are the woman. Lucy was astounded. This announcement was indeed a thunderbolt to me. He fully Explained to me the principle of plural or celestial marriage. Said this principle was again to be restored for the benefit of the human family. That it would prove an everlasting blessing to my fathers house. And form a chain that could never be broken, worlds without end. What have you to say, Joseph asked her. Nothing, she replied. Rather than exert more pressure, Joseph backed away. If you will pray sincerely for light and understanding in relation thereto, you Shall receive a testimony of the correctness of this principle. Lucy felt tempted and tortured beyond endureance untill life was not desireable. Oh let this bitter cup pass, she moaned. 22

Lucy Walkers reaction

For months Joseph said nothing more. Then in the spring of 1843, he spoke with Lucys brother William, following the usual pattern of asking for permission from a relative. William told Joseph that Lucy must decide for herself. In April 1843, Joseph spoke again and this time he exerted pressure: I will give you untill to-morrow to decide this matter. If you reject this message the gate will be closed forever against you. Lucy hated that. This arroused every drop of scotch in my veins. I felt at this moment that I was called to place myself upon the altar a liveing Sacrafice, perhaps to brook the world in disgrace and incur the displeasure and contempt of my youthful companions; all my dreams of happiness blown to the four winds, this was too much, the thought was unbearable.
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Lucy Walkers reaction

Facing an ultimatum, Lucy bluntly refused, unless God Himself told her otherwise, and emphatically forbid him speaking again to me on the Subject. Joseph blithely replied, God Almighty bless you, promised her a manifestation, and left.

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Lucy Walkers reaction

After a sleepless night in prayer, Lucy felt something in her room. My room became filled with a heavenly influence. To me it was in comparison like the brilliant sunshine bursting through the darkest cloud. My Soul was filled with a calm sweet peace that I never knew. Supreme happiness took possession of my whole being. Going down the stairs to go out into the morning air, she met Joseph, who took her by the hand, led her to a chair, and placed his hands upon my head, and blessed me with Every blessing my heart could posibly desire. On May 1, 1843, William Clayton married Joseph to Lucy. It was not a love matter, she wrote later, but simply the giving up of myself as a sacrifice to establish that grand and glorious principle that God had revealed to the world. Richard L. Bushman, Rough Stone Rolling, 49192
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Difficulties with plural marriage

Plural marriage as an Abrahamic test?
Heber and Vilate Kimball.

Emmas feelings.

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The sealing power

132:4648.
Bind and loose marriages. Remit and retain sins.

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Priesthood and forgiveness

You always need to confess your sins to the Lord. If they are serious transgressions, such as immorality, they need to be confessed to a bishop or stake president. Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done. Remember, He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Proverbs 28:13). Elder Richard G. Scott, April 1995

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Additional items
132:4957. Personal instructions.
132:4650, 57. To Joseph. 132:5156. To Emma.

132:5866. On laws.
132:5863. The law of the priesthood. 132:6465. The law of Sarah.

Destroyed = cut off.

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Plural marriage in Utah

Made public in August 1852. 2025% of households, 1/3 of adult women.
2 wives 3 wives 4 wives 5+ wives 12+ wives 66.3% 21.2% 6.7% 5.8% <3.0%
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Plural marriage and exaltation

I wish here to say to the Elders of Israel, and to all the members of this Church and kingdom, that it is in the hearts of many of them to wish that the doctrine of polygamy was not taught and practiced by us. It may be hard for many, and especially for the ladies, yet it is no harder for them than it is for the gentlemen. It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at least in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained. Brigham Young, August 1866 (JD 11:26869)

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Federal anti-polygamy efforts

Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act (1862).
Upheld in Reynolds v. United States (1878).

Poland Act (1874). Edmunds Act (1882). EdmundsTucker Act (1887).

Upheld in Late Corporation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints v. United States (1890).
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The Manifesto
Issued by President Wilford Woodruff, 24 September 1890. Sustained as authoritative and binding in General Conference, 6 October 1890.
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Post-Manifesto plural marriages

18901904. Polygamist apostle Reed Smoots U.S. Senate seat refused. President Joseph F. Smiths Little Manifesto, 6 April 1904.
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DOCTRINE and COVENANTS

Next week: Sections 135136

Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class