Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?

No. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not practice plural marriage today. Gospel Topics says that since the early 1900s, people who enter plural marriages or promote the practice cannot remain members. Doctrine and Covenants 132, Latter-day Saint scripture recorded July 12, 1843, taught plural marriage and said the sealed would be gods. Official Declaration 1, the Manifesto of 1890, tells the Saints to refrain from any marriage forbidden by the law of the land. Groups that still practice polygamy are not this church.

Key points

• Gospel Topics, Plural Marriage: “No. Latter-day Saints do not practice plural marriage today.” (1)
• Doctrine and Covenants 132:1CloseVerily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines—Doctrine and Covenants 132:1 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source asks why Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon were justified in having many wives and concubines. (2)
• Doctrine and Covenants 132:20CloseThen shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.Doctrine and Covenants 132:20 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source says “Then shall they be gods, because they have all power.” (2) Do Mormons believe they will become gods? stays on that sentence.
• Official Declaration 1 records Wilford Woodruff: the church is not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice. (3)
• The Gospel Topics essay says the Lord’s standing law is one man and one woman, that plural marriage was commanded in the early 1840s, and that Joseph F. Smith’s 1904 statement made new plural marriages punishable by excommunication. (4)
• The church’s style guide says that when people refer to organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that this church is not affiliated with them. (6)

What does Doctrine and Covenants 132 say?

The section heading says verses 15 through 20 teach that celestial marriage and a continuation of the family unit enable men to become gods. (2) Verse 1 is the question Joseph is said to have asked. On that pageCloseVerily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines—Doctrine and Covenants 132:1 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source:

Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines—

that page · English, churchofjesuschrist.org

Verse 19 says that if a man and wife are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise and abide the covenant, they shall pass by the angels and the gods to their exaltation. Verse 20 says then they shall be gods, because they have no end, and then they shall be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. Verse 62 says that if a man has ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him. This is Latter-day Saint scripture. It is still in the Doctrine and Covenants. The church’s current topic says no scripture or revelation teaches that plural marriage is a requirement for exaltation, and that only monogamous temple marriage is necessary for exaltation. (1) The section that taught the practice remains on the page.

The introduction to Official Declaration 1 says the Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that monogamy is God’s standard unless he declares otherwise, and it points to Jacob 2:27 and 2:30 in the Book of Mormon. (3) Jacob is Latter-day Saint scripture. The introduction’s point is that plural marriage was an exception the Lord commanded, and then withdrew.

What did the 1890 Manifesto say?

Official Declaration 1 prints Wilford Woodruff’s declaration of September 24, 1890, accepted in conference on October 6, 1890. (3) He denies the charge that plural marriages were still being solemnized, and he tells the Saints to stop. On that pageCloseWe are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our Temples or in any other place in the Territory.Official Declaration 1 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source:

We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our Temples or in any other place in the Territory.

that page · English, churchofjesuschrist.org

He adds that his advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land. Lorenzo Snow’s motion, printed with the declaration, calls the Manifesto authoritative and binding.

The Gospel Topics essay says a small number of plural marriages continued in Mexico and Canada, and some in the United States, until 1904. (4) In April 1904 Joseph F. Smith issued what the essay calls the Second Manifesto, making new plural marriages punishable by excommunication. Since then, the essay says, church presidents have said members are no longer authorized to enter plural marriage, and that local leaders should bring noncompliant members before disciplinary councils. Gospel Topics says that since the early 1900s a person who enters a plural marriage or promotes the practice cannot remain a member. (1)

What do the church’s essays say about the nineteenth century?

The essay “Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” says the marriage of one man and one woman is the Lord’s standing law, and that by revelation the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to institute plural marriage in the early 1840s. (4) It was practiced under the church president for more than half a century. The essay gives the Book of Mormon reason as raising up seed unto the Lord. Between 1852 and 1890 it was practiced openly, mostly in Utah. The essay says two-thirds of polygamist men had only two wives at a time, and that at the peak in 1857 perhaps one half of all Utah Latter-day Saints experienced plural marriage as a husband, wife, or child.

Gospel Topics, Plural Marriage, says that by the time of his death in 1844, Joseph Smith had been sealed to over 30 women. (1) Some of those sealings were understood to take effect only after this life, and some were viewed as marriage in this life as well. The Kirtland and Nauvoo essay says a footnote’s careful estimates put the number between 30 and 40. (5) It says fragmentary evidence suggests a marriage to Fanny Alger in Kirtland in the mid-1830s, and that Joseph told associates an angel appeared three times between 1834 and 1842 and commanded him to proceed, the third time with a drawn sword. The youngest person sealed to him, the essay says, was Helen Mar Kimball, sealed several months before her 15th birthday. The essay says marriage at such an age, inappropriate by today’s standards, was legal in that era, and that she spoke of the sealing as for eternity alone.

Those sentences are the church’s account. They are not a defense this page adds, and they are not a number this page invents beyond the essay. Who wrote the Book of Mormon? is the separate question of the plates and his death at Carthage.

What about groups that still practice polygamy?

Gospel Topics says some members did not accept the end of plural marriage, and that several small groups split off, forming new churches with their own leadership. (1) Their teachings and practices do not reflect those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Newsroom style guide says that when referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that this church is not affiliated with polygamous groups. (6) On that pageCloseThe term “Mormonism” is inaccurate and should not be used. When describing the combination of doctrine, culture and lifestyle unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term “the restored gospel of Jesus Christ” is accurate and preferred. When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups.Style Guide, The Name of the Church · English, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsOpen source:

When referring to people or organizations that practice polygamy, it should be stated that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not affiliated with polygamous groups.

that page · English, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The current rule inside this church is monogamy. The scripture that commanded plural marriage is still Doctrine and Covenants 132. The Manifesto is the reason members do not live that section now. What is the difference between Mormons and Catholics? notes that both churches teach marriage between a man and a woman, and that Latter-day Saint teaching adds temple sealing and this history.

Frequently asked questions

Can Mormons have multiple wives?

Not in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gospel Topics says people who enter plural marriage or promote it cannot remain members. Doctrine and Covenants 132 taught the practice. The 1890 Manifesto ended it for this church.

How many wives did Joseph Smith have?

Gospel Topics says that by his death in 1844 he had been sealed to over 30 women, some for eternity only and some as marriage in this life as well. The Kirtland and Nauvoo essay’s note says careful estimates put the number between 30 and 40.

Do Mormons have to practice polygamy to be exalted?

Gospel Topics says no scripture or revelation teaches that plural marriage is required for exaltation, and that only monogamous temple marriage is necessary. Doctrine and Covenants 132:20 still says the sealed “shall be gods.” That hope is exaltation, not a present plural household.

Keep reading

• Do Mormons believe they will become gods?
• What do Mormons believe?
• Joseph Smith and Revelation
• Who wrote the Book of Mormon?
• What is the difference between Mormons and Catholics?