MARRIAGE—A DIVINE INSTITUTION, AND DESIGNED TO BE ETERNAL.

Marriage is ordained of God unto man, that the earth might answer the end of its creation, and "Be filled with the measure of man, according to his creation before the world was made;" Doc. & Cov. 49. 15-17.

Outside of marriage the salvation of man would be incomplete: "Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord;" 1 Cor. 11. 11. All the works of God receive the impress of eternity: "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it;" Eccl. 3. 14.

When the Creator joined Adam and Eve together, as the progenitors of the human race, we do not learn that he set any limit to the continuance of their marriage relations. We have no reason to doubt that the gift of Eve, to Adam, was designed to be as eternal as himself.

Man, in his fulness, is a twofold organization—male and female. Either being incapable of filling the measure of their creation alone, it requires the union of the two to complete man in the image of God, for in Gen. 1. 27, it expressly says, that he was created male and female in the image of God. Therefore, without the proper union of the sexes, man would be less than what God created him.

There is a comprehensive significance in, "The Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone;" Gen. 2. 18. It speaks of no particular period of man's life, and has no limit in its application. The entire narrative of the union of Adam and Eve, in the second chapter of Genesis, intimates the designed inseparable relationship between man and wife, in marriage as ordained of God.

Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh;" 2. 23. He evidently well understood this eternal relationship with Eve, when he answered the Lord's question, "Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" and he replied, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat;" Gen. 3. 11, 12.

Here Adam tells the Lord, by way of apology, that in order to keep his commandment, that he and the woman should remain together, he was compelled to partake of the forbidden fruit after her. This is evidently the view the apostle Paul took of the subject: "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression;" 1 Tim. 2. 14.

This inseparable connection between man and wife, in marriage as ordained of God, is further exemplified by the same apostle in Eph. 5. 22-33: "The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church." That is, as Christ is eternally the head of the church, so is the husband eternally the head of the wife. "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church. * * so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh. * * Let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself."

The principle of inseparable connection is fully expressed in Adam's answer to the Lord as rendered in the writings of Moses, translated by Joseph, the Seer. "The woman whom thou gavest me, and commanded that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat;" P. of G. P., page 8.

We further read, on page 13, "In the day that God created man, (in the likeness of God made he him), in the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam." Here we are informed that it required the male and female, united, to make one image of his own body, and that male and female were necessary to form one Adam, who was in the dual image of God his father. We also find by referring again to Gen. 1. 27, that it required the male and female to make an image of God.

The Lord has ever manifested a great interest in the marriage relations of his chosen people and Priesthood, and has protected the sexual relations by stringent laws and regulations. The importance of marrying in the same lineage, as themselves, appears to have been well understood by the patriarchs. For this reason, doubtless, Abraham married a near relation, and sent his servant, Eliezer, to his kindred to obtain a wife for his son, and heir, Isaac; Gen. 20. 12. Chap. 24.

Isaac also commanded Jacob to go to Padanaram, and take one of his cousins to wife; Gen. 28. 1-6. Twice the Lord interfered, in a miraculous manner, to prevent the wife of Abraham from being defiled; Gen. 12. 17-20. Chap. 20. 2, 3. Evidently for the reason that she was the foreordained covenant wife of Abraham, and destined mother of the Lord's chosen people. Israel was forbidden to marry with the Canaanites; Deut. 7. 3.

The Lord gave special commandments regarding the marriage of priests and their families. A priest's daughter that profaned herself was to be burned with fire; Lev. 21. 9. The High Priest was required to take a virgin of his own people to wife; verse 14. The sons of Aaron were commanded not to take a wife that was a whore, or profane, or a woman put away from her husband; verse 7.

"If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die;" Deut. 22. 22. If a man lay with a virgin, in the city, that was betrothed to an husband, they were both stoned to death; verses 23, 24. If a man lay with a virgin not betrothed, and thereby humbled her, he was required to pay her father fifty shekels of silver, and take her to wife, without the possibility of divorcing her; verse 28, 29.

The eighteenth chapter of Leviticus is chiefly occupied with forbidding the unlawful indulgence of the passions. The Nephite prophet, Alma, told his son that harlotry was "most abominable above all sins, save it be the shedding of innocent blood;" Alma 39, 5. Jesus told his Nephite disciples "It is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell;" 3 Nephi 12. 30.

In Doc. & Cov., the passages are numerous in which adultery is forbidden. The Lord has given much instruction to the Latter-day Saints concerning the intercourse of the sexes. They are required to keep themselves strictly within their marriage covenants.

From the sacred writings, it would appear that in all dispensations of the Priesthood, the laws regulating this matter have been substantially the same, and have been calculated to strictly guard the issues of life; that all those who would keep them might be "perfect in their generations."

If, on the one hand, what the Lord does is eternal, because he is an eternal and infinite being, then what man does of himself, he being finite, must be limited to this life. Therefore, it is necessary that man and wife, to be eternally united, should be married in the way God has appointed, and by a man whom he has authorized to act in his stead.

It would not be consistent with the character of God, as the spiritual and natural father of mankind, to have no law regulating the marriages of his children, that they might be crowned with the blessings of eternal life and increase.

The Lord brought Abraham forth abroad, "And said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be;" Gen. 15. 5. This was a promise of infinite and eternal increase. If we could count the stars, and grasp infinitude, we might comprehend the result of the promise.

We find that the Lord confirmed blessings to Abraham, and to his seed, by recorded ordinance and covenant. For this reason it is not probable that a blessing of such magnitude, as the sealing upon man and wife the power of eternal increase, is an exception. Abraham, in his own record, translated by Joseph the Seer, says, "I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same." One of these blessings was, "To be a father of many nations, a prince of peace;" P. of G. P., page 26.

Abraham understood that this right could only be bestowed by ordination, by one of the fathers who had received it from the fathers in regular descent from Adam. He states that this right was conferred upon him from the fathers, according to his desire. That this right included the authority to regulate the marriage relations, in the future generations of his children, is evident from the further statement, "I sought for mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of God unto the fathers concerning the seed." That is, he sought for that especial authority in the Priesthood, through which he had obtained the power of eternal increase.

The priest's office was bestowed upon Aaron and his posterity forever, by ordinance and covenant; Exodus 40. 15. Could this have been the case unless his posterity was made an eternal heritage through the everlasting covenant of marriage? This power of uniting husband and wife by an everlasting covenant of marriage, and by that ordinance giving them an eternal right over their posterity, descended from Abraham through the fathers, until Israel, by transgression, forfeited the blessing.

From the sharpness with which the prophet Nathan reproved David, and the statement that the Lord had given him the wives of his master Saul; 2 Sam. 12. 1-12, it is probable that the prophet held this authority.

The great sin of David, apart from the murder of Uriah, was, that he had taken from another man that which the Lord had given him, and stepped outside of his own covenant limits.

Whether the prophet Malachi held the keys of this power or not, he evidently saw in prophetic vision, that it would be taken from the earth, and be restored again, that the broken links of past generations might be welded together. For the Lord said, through him, "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse;" 4. 5, 6. Or as it is rendered in P. of G. P., page 50, "And he shall plant in the hearts of the children, the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."

Evidently a very important part of these promises was, that the children would open up the way of salvation to the fathers, through the ordinances of the Gospel, and through them the broken links of past generations would be connected.

Centuries of darkness passed away in which we hear nothing of the order of the holy Priesthood, or of any saving ordinances for the dead, when an obscure man, Joseph Smith, Jun., appeared in the United States of America, and claimed that to him was committed the authority to open up the Dispensation of the fulness of times, in which all the keys and powers of the holy Priesthood should be restored to the earth.

He professed to be a fulfiller of prophecy, and numerous facts, which have become a part of history, prove him to be what he professed. He asserts that in the temple in Kirtland, Ohio, Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the "Gospel of Abraham," "Saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blest." In this we see the needed preparatory work for sealing, upon men the power of eternal lives, through the everlasting covenant of marriage, through which Abraham sought "To be a father of many nations."

Then at the same place appeared Elijah, and said, "Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands;" Doc. & Cov. 110. 11-16. Thus we see that the way has been opened for the complete reunion and salvation of all the generations or men, through the keys of the Holy Priesthood which have been bestowed upon Joseph Smith, Jun. This is the designed glorious culmination of the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage—the eternal union of the generations of the righteous in bonds never to be broken.

In Doc. & Cov. sec. 128. Joseph, the Seer, gives instructions for restoring the past; in sec. 132, he tells the world how future generations may come forth in unbroken succession, each succeeding intelligence, the heritage of its fathers, worlds without end.

PLURALITY OF WIVES.

Plural marriage is a very ancient institution. Although generally ignored by peoples professing modern Christianity, it is still customary among a large portion of the family of man. Many customs of modern Europe and America are modeled after those of pagan Greece and Rome, instead of after the primitive patriarchs, or after the examples recorded in the history of ancient Israel.

While these ancient nations were monogamists, the limits of intercourse between the sexes, especially on the part of men, were very indefinite. This phase of society is quite characteristic of the modern nations of Europe and America. While the Christian sects of to-day profess some respect for the patriarchs of Israel, they practically condemn their family relations as corrupt and immoral.

If plural marriage be unlawful, then is the whole plan of salvation, through the house of Israel, a failure, and the entire fabric of Christianity without foundation.

God said to Abraham, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations;" Gen. 17. 1-4.

Here we are informed that God talked with Abraham, told him to be perfect, bestowed upon him the blessings of a numerous posterity, and, as a sequence, future power and glory. If polygamy was contrary to his law, it is remarkable that God should have condescended to talk with and greatly bless a man who had, but a short time before, taken a second wife, while the first was living; a fact of which we are informed in the second and third verses of the previous chapter. If this was criminal, Sarai, the mother of all Israel, was involved in the transgression, for she gave Hagar to her husband for a wife; Gen. 16. 3.

The Lord told Joseph, the Seer, that he commanded, "And Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife;" Doc. & Cov. 132. 34. This is also the testimony of Josephus, the Jewish historian; Ant. B. 1. C. 10.

When Hagar was in distress, on account of difficulty with her mistress, the Lord did not treat her as a profane, cast off woman, but sent an angel to counsel and comfort her, by assuring her that her posterity should not be numbered for multitude; Gen. 16. 8-10.

The Lord further promised to bless Ishmael, the fruit of this polygamic marriage, and said, "I will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation;" 17. 20.

We find that this great and good man, Abraham, whom the Lord especially favored, had concubines: for "Unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son;" 25. 6.

Jacob, the grandson and heir to all the blessings of Abraham, was a polygamist. He served seven years for Rachel the daughter of Laban, but being deceived, and Leah given him instead, he served other seven years for Rachel. Each of these wives had a handmaid, which they gave to their husband for wives; Gen. 29. 18-35. Chap. 30. 3-12.

Moses was conversant with the Lord, and was the great lawgiver of Israel; in his laws especial provision was made for polygamous children; Deut. 21. 15-17. In them polygamy is not mentioned as one of the crimes for which penalties were provided.

Elkanah was a polygamist, yet his son, Samuel, was a great prophet, and judge in Israel. He was born, and lived under the special favor of God.

David, king of Israel, was the chosen of the Lord; 1 Sam. 16. 12, 13. He took Abigail and Ahinoam, "And they were also both of them his wives;" 1 Sam. 25. 42, 43. He "Took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem;" 2 Sam. 5. 13.

We are further informed, that "David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite;" 1 Kings 15. 5. In this passage we have an assurance that David did right in taking all his wives and concubines, except in one instance, for which he was severely chastised. When Nathan, the prophet, reproved him for this sin, he said to him, in the name of the Lord, "I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom;" 2 Sam. 12. 8.

After having repented and suffered for his sin, Bath-sheba was given him for a wife, and she bare Solomon; verse 24. The Lord appeared to this son of a plural wife in a dream, and bestowed upon him great blessings; 1 Kings 3. God gave him "Wisdom and understanding exceeding much;" 1 Kings 4. 29. He was not reproved for plural marriage but for marrying strange wives, who led him into idolatry and wickedness; 1 Kings 11. Many chief men in Israel, to whom the Lord manifested his favor, were polygamists.

The following is sometimes quoted as an argument against plural marriage: "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh;" Mark 10. 7, 8. But "Know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh;" 1 Cor. 6. 16, shows that it has no connection with the subject.

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife;" 1 Tim. 3. 2, and let deacons be the husbands of one wife; verse 12, are supposed by some to limit officers in the church, and by inference all men, to one wife. But when the passages are taken in connection with the context, which is an enumeration of several qualifications necessary for bishops and deacons, there is but one reasonable construction—that these officers of the church should be married men.

The Latter-day Saints believe that all men should marry; Doc. & Cov. 49. 15-17. The Lord is "of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look upon iniquity;" Hab. 1. 13; and says, that "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation;" Deut. 23. 2. Yet the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel were the sons of four wives of Jacob; Gen. 35. 22-26.

Joseph, the first son of Rachel, the second wife of Jacob, received especial blessings; Gen. 49. 22-26. The Lord called to Samuel, the son of a polygamous father; 1 Sam. 3. 4-14. Solomon was the son of a polygamist, yet he was a child of promise; 1 Chron. 22. 9, 10. Jesus Christ was descended from David through Solomon the son of her who had been the wife of Uriah; Matt. 1. 1-17.

The Lord said to Isaiah, "Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins;" 58. 1. This commission was to be faithfully executed; Ezek. 3. 18. Polygamy was common in the Jewish nation, yet none of the prophets reproved them for it; but they were sharply reproved for adultery, whoredom, fornication, and other sins; Jer. 5. 7, 8, 23. Ezek. 22. Chap. 23. 36-44.

History evidences that plurality of wives was generally customary among the nations of Asia, yet it is not condemned in any of the epistles of the apostles, nor does John the Revelator mention it in the letters he was commanded to write to the seven churches of Asia.

Paul mentions nearly every crime, in 1 Cor. 6. 9, 10, but, says nothing about plurality of wives. Every species of commerce between the sexes, outside of marriage, is often mentioned in the scriptures as crime, but plural marriage is never, except on the part of the woman, who is forbidden to marry another man during the lifetime of her husband; Rom. 7. 3.

Had plurality of wives been sinful in man, the inference is reasonable that it would have been equally condemned. Although plural marriage was customary in the days of the patriarchs, some assert that it was done away in Christ. This would seem very inconsistent when he himself was of a polygamous lineage. He was born and filled his earthly mission among a polygamous people, yet, he never reproved them for their plural marriages. There is nothing in the inspired writings to infer that he reproved or did away with either polygamy or monogamy. The following is from the Book of Mormon on this subject: The Lord, through dreams and visions and the ministry of angels, directed a Jewish prophet by the name of Lehi, to leave Jerusalem, 600 years B. C., with his family and others, for the purpose of colonizing America.

It was then a dark period in the history of Israel, as is evident from the Bible history of the times, and from the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon.

The brilliant reign of Solomon had deeply planted in Israel the sins of idolatry and sexual wickedness. His reign was the pride of Israel, and its effects were deep and lasting. It hastened the destruction of the ten tribes, as a people, some one hundred and twenty years before the exodus of Lehi, and at that time was about to culminate in the destruction of Jerusalem and in the Babylonish captivity.

With all his wisdom, Solomon had disobeyed two very important commandments, one especially to the kings of Israel: "Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away;" Deut. 17. 17. The other was to all Israel, that they should not marry into the idolatrous nations around them: "Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son;" Deut. 7. 3. Ezra, chapters 9. 10.

Through disobedience to these injunctions, his heart had turned away from the Lord, and he had been led into idolatry and wickedness. At his death he not only left the influence of his personal example, but, also, a numerous family who, from their great wealth and high social position, must have exercised a powerful and lasting influence for evil, which, with other causes, resulted, in less than three hundred years, in the scattering of the ten tribes among the nations of Asia, and the occupation of their country by strangers, and in less than four hundred years, in the destruction of Jerusalem, and in the Babylonish captivity.

The sexual wickedness which had become prevalent in Israel, and the consequent abuse of the marriage relations, was, evidently, the reason why the Lord commanded that the children of Lehi should have but one wife, for he said to the Nephites, through his prophet Jacob, "This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures; for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son;" 2. 23.

That is, they excused themselves with the example of these kings for breaking the special command of God to them, that they should have but one wife, and like those eminent persons, ran into excess and wickedness, as their fathers had done before them.

To neutralize the evil effects of the bad example of their fathers was evidently the reason why the Lord commanded the Nephites, "For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;" verse 27. Plural marriage would have been whoredom to the Nephites, because the Lord had forbidden it.

That the prophet Jacob foresaw, prophetically, that at some future period this restriction would be taken off is evident from verse 30, "For if I will, saith the Lord of hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things." That is, they were required to limit themselves to one wife, until the Lord should order it otherwise, and by implication, when he instructed them to take more than one wife, it would be justifiable.

In the thirty-first verse the Lord gives a reason for forbidding plural marriage among the Nephites, "For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem; yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands."

These teachings of the prophet Jacob cannot be presumed, even by opposers of plural marriage, to do away with the tenor of the Jewish Scriptures, for we are informed in 2 Nephi 3. 12, that the record of the Jews and of the Nephites, should grow together unto the confounding of false doctrine in the latter-days.

The prophet Jacob could not have intended to condemn a principle on which is based the legitimacy of our Savior, of prophets and patriarchs, and indeed of the whole house of Israel. The words "multiply," and "greatly," in Deut. 17. 17, evidently imply excess and unreasonable indulgence, as in the case of David and Uriah, and in taking strange women, as in the case of Solomon.

The absurdity of the argument that these passages imply that a man should have but one wife, is evident from the previous verse, that the kings of Israel should "not multiply horses to themselves." No one would be so unreasonable as to suppose that the Lord designed to limit the kings of Israel to one horse.

The Lord gave Joseph Smith a very important revelation on this subject. It is contained in Sec. 132, Doc. & Cov. It is entitled a "Revelation on the Eternity of the Marriage Covenant, Including Plurality of Wives."

It commences by stating that the prophet Joseph Smith, Jun., inquired of the Lord, how it was that his servants anciently were justified in having many wives and concubines. The Lord did not answer his question at once, but tells him, in the third verse, to prepare his heart to receive and obey the instructions he was about to give him.

In the fourth verse the Lord said to him, "I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant." We find the general principle involved in that covenant, directly stated in the seventh, thirteenth and fourteenth verses:

"And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these:—All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made, and entered into, and sealed, by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power, (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time, on whom this power and the Keys of this Priesthood are conferred,) are of no efficacy, virtue or force, in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end, have an end when men are dead. * * * * And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me, or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God; for whatsoever things remain, are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me, shall be shaken and destroyed." We find a direct application of this law to the marriage relations in verses 15 and 19: "If a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me, nor by my word; and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world, and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world. * * * And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power, and the keys of this Priesthood; and it shall be said unto them, ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity, and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the Gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever."

The above quotations evidence, that only those who comply with the law will continue in the marriage relations after death; consequently only those who comply with the law can expect a continuation of posterity in the world to come, and the consequent glory and power pertaining to that condition.

The law of the Lord is very plain on this subject. Who can question his right to dictate the marriages of his sons and daughters, that they and their generations may be fitted for his presence?

In verse 29, the Lord begins to answer the question in the first verse: "Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment." "God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife;" verse 34. That is, God commanded Abraham to receive Hagar and commanded his already covenant wife to give her handmaid to him. "And why did she do it? Because this was the law." The reason why Abraham was not under condemnation, is very forcibly expressed in the latter part of verse 35: "For I, the Lord, commanded it." In verses 36-39, the principle is well elucidated, that, in nothing did the ancients sin except in things which they received not of God.

In verse 40, the Lord says to Joseph, the Seer: "I gave unto thee, my servant Joseph, an appointment, and restore all things." And from the tenor of the Revelation, "all things" must include plurality of wives and the eternity of the marriage covenant.

This subject may be readily summed up as follows: If a man has a wife in the world to come, she will be a gift from the Lord, through the covenants he has ordained, and that man is justifiable in receiving all the wives the Lord sees fit to give him, through the authority he has appointed on the earth.

Many elders of the Latter-day Saints have been commanded, as was Abraham, to enter into plural marriage, and disobedience becomes transgression. Hence it involves a religious principle, and becomes a matter of conscience. "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else;" Doc. & Cov. 42. 22, is sometimes referred to as an argument against plural marriage.

If it would admit of this construction, it would not be valid as an argument, from the fact, that the revelation of which it forms a part was given previous to that on the plurality and eternity of the marriage relations, and consequently, before the church was prepared to receive such a revelation. It evidently admits of the construction, that a man may have more than one wife, and yet cleave to none but his wife. That is, it forbids all sexual commerce outside of the marriage covenant.

Bible.

Gen. 16. 1, 2, 3 Sarai gave Hagar to Abraham.

15 Hagar bare Abraham a son.

20. 17 the Lord healed the wife and maidservants of Abimelech.

36. 2 Esau took wives of the daughters of Canaan.

38. 8 Judah said to Onan, go in unto thy brother's wife.

Exo. 2. 21 Moses married Zipporah, daughter of the priest of Midian.

21. 10 and if he take him another wife.

Num. 12. 1 Moses married an Ethiopian woman.

Judges 7. Gideon delivered Israel from bondage through the favor of God.

8. 30 Gideon had three score and ten sons and many wives.

9. 5 Jerubbaal had seventy sons.

10. 3, 4 Jair, a judge in Israel, had thirty sons.

12. 13, 14 Abdon, a judge in Israel, had forty sons.

2 Sam. 19. 5 and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines.

1 Kings 8. 10, 11 the glory of the Lord filled the house.

9. 3 the Lord told Solomon that his prayer was answered.

20. 7 for he sent unto me for my wives.

1 Chron. 4. 5 Ashur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives.

7. 4 for they had many wives and sons.

8. 8 Shaharaim had two wives.

2 Chron. 11. 21 Rehoboam had eighteen wives and three score concubines.

13. 21 Abijah married fourteen wives.

24. 3 Jehoiada, the priest of God, took two wives.

Psalm 45. 9 king's daughters were among thy honorable women.

Isa. 4. 1 in that day seven women shall take hold of one man.

Hos. 1. 2 go take thee a wife of whoredoms.

See Sermon by O. Pratt, J. of D., Vol. 1, page 53.

" " B. Young, " " 1, " 112.

" " O. Hyde, " " 2, " 75.

See Sermon by B. Young, " " 2, " 88.

" " " " " 3, " 264.

" " O. Pratt, " " 6, " 349.

" " Geo. A. Smith, " " 13, " 37.

" " O. Pratt, " " 13, " 183.

" " G. Q. Cannon, " " 13, " 197.

Article, by P. P. Pratt, Mil. Star, Vol. 5, page 189.

History of Marriage among the Jews, Mil. Star, Vol. 13, pages 263, 282, 296, 316, 324, 350, 365, 377.

Milton on Polygamy, Mil. Star, Vol. 16, pages 321, 342.

Article, "Marriage Ritual of the Church of England," by J. A. Little, Mil. Star, Vol. 18, page 177.

Address by P. P. Pratt, before joint session of Utah Legislature, Mil. Star, Vol. 18, page 337.

History of J. Smith, May 16, 1843.

A pamphlet entitled, "On Marriage," by John Taylor.

CONCUBINES.

A concubine "In scripture signifies a wife of the second rank, who was inferior to the matron, or mistress of the house.

"The chief wives differed from the concubines in that they were taken into covenant with their husband by solemn stipulation, and with consent and rejoicing of friends.

"They brought with them dowries to their husbands. They had the government of their families under and with their husbands. The inheritance belonged to the children brought forth by them.

"Though the children of the concubines did not inherit their father's estate, yet the father in his life time provided for them, and made presents to them:

Thus Sarah was Abraham's wife of whom he had Isaac, the heir of all his wealth. But he had besides two concubines, namely, Hagar and Keturah; of these he had children, whom he distinguished from Isaac, and made presents to them;" (see Concubine, Cru. Concor.)

Although Hagar is considered a concubine in the above quotation, yet, according to Cruden's definition, she was a wife of the second degree. She is nowhere called a concubine in the scripture, but emphatically a wife.

"And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, * * and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife;" Gen. 16. 3. That this condition of wifehood did not change the former relations of mistress and servant, between Sarai and Hagar, is evident from verse 9. The angel said to Hagar, "Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands."

That Keturah was Abraham's wife is evident from the fact, that she is called his wife in Gen. 25. 1: and that she was also called his concubine, appears from 1 Chron. 1. 32. That concubine and wife were synonymous terms, further appears from the declaration of Nathan, the prophet, to David, "I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun;" 2 Sam. 12. 11. In the account of the fulfilment of this prophecy, these wives are called concubines. "And Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel;" 16. 22.

The Nephites, whose ancestors colonized America 600 years before Christ, did not forget the custom of their Jewish fathers; for when they broke the special commandment of the Lord to them, by taking more than one wife, they also added concubines; Mos. 11. 2-4.

This custom of taking wives and concubines prevailed among the Jaredites, whose ancestors emigrated to North America from the tower of Babel. It appears to have been abused by a wicked king, called Riplakish, who reigned some 1500 years before Christ; Ether 10. 5. From both the Bible and Book of Mormon, it appears that the custom of taking a plurality of wives and concubines prevailed at a very early period after the flood. It was, however, of antediluvian origin: "And Lamech took unto himself two wives, Adah and Zillah;" Gen. 4. 19. he lived before the flood. It is evident from the "Revelation on the Eternity of the Marriage Covenant," that the Lord anciently gave concubines to good men, as wives, and that only the custom of the country discriminated between them and others: "Abraham received concubines, and they bare him children, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him;" Doc. & Cov. 132. 37. "David's wives and concubines were given unto him, of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me, save in the case of Uriah and his wife;" verse 39.

We cannot presume that the Lord ever gave women to these men under any title, except for the noble purpose of parentage. Concubinage is unknown among the Latter-day Saints. Wifehood, in the fullest sense of the word, is conferred by the marriage covenant. All a man's children are his legitimate heirs, both by law and custom.