What’s the deal with polygamy and Mormonism?
Polygamy began as a revelation by Joseph Smith, and was perpetuated throughout the time of Brigham Young and several subsequent Church presidencies, until 1890, when the practice was officially stopped. There are many, including many Mormons, who are not aware that the practice of polygamy was a matter of doctrine, not just a social practice. It was taught that the highest level of exaltation was not possible without polygamy, or “plural marriage” as it was usually called. A man could not become a god unless he had more than one wife. Today the offensive nature of polygamy to the culture at large has meant that this particular teaching is not discussed much, and when the Church’s polygamist past is discussed, it’s generally referred to as a social practice, and on a very limited scale, a way of caring for the unmarried women and widows. (This is patently false, and there is an abundance of historical records demonstrate this.) The irony is that while the practice was banned and prohibi
