I wasnt going to say anything about this essay (it was released a little less than a month ago and it pretty much speaks for itself) but the more I hear people’s responses to it, the more I feel I have to. All over the internet, and a few times on Facebook Ive seen faithful believing members claim that there is nothing new in this essay and that theyve known all about the details of Joseph Smith’s polygamy and furthermore they are A-OK with that information. Even worse Ive seen a few people claim that NOT knowing these things is “your own fault” because the information has been available all along. For anyone who feels this way about this essay I have a few questions. Can you please provide the church approved resources with which you learned the details about Joseph Smith’s polygamy? (Before the essay was released of course) What do you think about God utilizing angels with swords to compel his prophet to secretly coerce teenage girls and other mens wives into marriage, and then to lie about it to the law, to his followers, and to his own wife right up until his death. Would you be ok with your spouse secretly marrying sleeping with others behind your back only to tell you that it was a part of “God’s Plan” when you found out? What if your spouse later revealed that God was threatening you with destruction if you didn’t go along with it? How can you justify Joseph Smith marrying women who were already married to other men, including women whose husbands he sent away on missions? Why would Joseph order the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor and the press it was printed on, which led to his arrest and ultimately his death, because it printed the same information that the church has now admitted is true? If you believe that Joseph Smith only did these things because he was commanded to by God. Why do you worship a God that would do that? A God that sets up a system so harmful to women, so primed to abuse, so profoundly difficult an painful to nearly everyone involved? (Of course you have every right to choose to worship a God that does that, but I wouldnt be proud of it.) I think this essay is important. Sure it tries to sugar coat, and magically justify away some hard things but at least it admits that they happened. That is a good step in the right direction or at least it’s better than what the church has done in the past. It shows that information is harder to control these days, you can’t make things go away as easily as in the past. Whitewashing history is no longer the answer to hard questions. Heres a quote from an online acquaintance that I think sums up what matters about this essay. Two things, Mormon Church: First, You, and any political candidates fielded from your religion need to give up on the line Traditional marriage. Youve lost the right to use that word ever again in any context. Call it Homophobic marriage, or Were just making shit up marriage, or whatever you like, but you dont get to talk about what marriage is and is not in Tradition. Secondly, its great that youve admitted some of the skeletons in your closet, and we all know that every religion has got them. But if youre serious about this, and given the amount of news this generated you should be; how about you actually do something about it. By which I mean, that when you show your image of Joseph and his first Emma on temple square you should also include the rest of the wives; but even better you should include them at their actual ages. Because either you need to fully embrace your founders penchant for coaxing young girls into relationships or you need to decry it completely and distance yourself from it. Simply admitting that your leader left behind a how-to guide for manipulating women isnt something anyone should be proud of in our modern age.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 01:24:40 +0000
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