Commenting
on this, Brian Hales, in response to Fundamentalist misinterpretation of
D&C 132 and John Taylor’s 1886 revelation that command people to “do the
works of Abraham,” wrote:
[B]oth the 1886 revelation and Doctrine and
Covenants section 132 admonish the Latter-day Saints to “do the works of Abraham.” According to LDS scriptures, Abraham did
many good “works.” He sought for the priesthood (Abr. 1:2-3), he presided righteously
over his family, he paid his tithing (Alma 13:15), he kept covenants, he received
revelation (Abr. 3:11), he sacrificed burnt offerings (Gen. 22:13), he was a missionary
(Abr. 1:19), he complied with the commandment of circumcision (Gen. 17:23-26,
Acts 7:8), and he married plural wives by proper authority (Gen. 16; D&C
132:37).
It appears that in order to “do” all of
Abraham’s “works,” male believers would need to be circumcised. In addition,
followers would be required to sacrifice burnt offerings and marry plural wives
by proper authority. However, without genuine priesthood authority, neither
sacrificing (see 1 Sam. 15:22) or plural marrying (see D&C 32:18) can be performed.
Devotees might perform their own freelance plural marriages or perform
self-directed burnt offerings, but those efforts would not constitute “doing
the works of Abraham” because they would not be authorized. The problem with
unauthorized plural marriages was illustrated in 1847 when W.W. Phelps returned
from a mission to the eastern states where he had married three wives
polygamously. His mission companion, Henry B. Jacobs, had performed the plural
ceremonies without authorization from Brigham Young. After hearing the story,
Young addressed Phelps: “You have been living in adultery—[N]o man can have the
2nd women unless he ha[s] the consent of the man who holds the sealing power.”
Phelps was excommunicated and quickly re-baptized after acknowledging his
misunderstanding. (Brian C. Hales, John Taylor’s 1886 Revelation,” in Newell G.
Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster, The
Persistence of Polygamy, Volume 3: Fundamentalist Mormon Polygamy from 1890 to
the Present [Independence, Miss.: John Whitmer Books, 2015], 58-111, here,
pp. 71-72)
In a
footnote for the above, Hales noted:
A few months earlier, Young complained of men
who would enter into plural marriages by virtue of the authority of “some clod
head of an elder” who was willing to perform the sealing ceremony with proper
sealing authority from Brigham: “[A man would] go to some woman that does not
understand which is right or wrong and tell her that she cannot be saved
without a man that he has almighty power and can exalt and save her and . . .
then go to some clod head of an elder and get him to say their ceremony, all
done without the knowledge or counsel of the authority of this church. This is
not right and will not be suffered . . . .They would even try to pass right by
me and go to Jos[eph Smith]. Thinking to get between mine [sic] and the 12.”
Charles Kelly, ed., The Journals of John
D. Lee 1846-1859 (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1984), 80,
entry for 16 February 1842. (Ibid., 72 n. 33)
On this
issue, Elden Watson in his essay Different Thoughts - #10
Fundamentalist Falsehoods wrote:
The Works of Abraham
To an LDS Fundamentalist the
blessings of Abraham can be obtained in only one way, and that is by doing the
works of Abraham, which they equate with entering into the law of Abraham,
which consists of plural marriage. They cite three major sources to justify
this interpretation.
The most frequently cited
reference is from the 1886 revelation to President John Taylor, and the portion
of the revelation they quote in this regard says:
I,
the Lord, do not change and my word and my covenants and my law do not, and as
I have heretofore said by my servant Joseph: All those who would enter into my
glory MUST and SHALL obey my law. And have I not commanded men that if they
were Abraham's seed and would enter into my glory, they must do the works of
Abraham. I have not revoked this law, nor will I, for it is everlasting, and
those who will ENTER INTO MY GLORY MUST obey the conditions thereof.—September,
1886.
Use of this quote to justify
living plural marriage can be found in Truth 2:8, 88, 117, 118, 160, 178, 179;
4:86; 5:95, 188, 232; 6:133, 206; 7:206; 8:14, 15, 185, 227, 254; 9:8, 140;
17:299; 19:49.
The second source cited in terms
of frequency is D&C 132:31-35 (or sometimes a smaller portion, but always
containing verse 32):
31.
This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made
unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father,
wherein he glorifieth himself.
32.
Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye
shall be saved.
33.
But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father,
which he made unto Abraham.
34.
God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she
do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This,
therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.
35.
Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, nay; for I,
the Lord, commanded it. — D & C 132:31-35.
Of course “this law” and “my law”
are always interpreted to mean plural marriage. Such references can be found in
Truth 4:227; 5:12, 66, 201; 6:71, 208; 9:18, 175; 17:215; 19:264.
Another favorite quote is from
President Brigham Young. He said (the second paragraph is usually omitted.) :
Monogamy,
or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of Heaven among
men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman empire. That
empire was founded on the banks of the Tiber by wandering brigands. When these
robbers founded the city of Rome, it was evident to them that their success in
attaining a balance of power with their neighbours, depended upon introducing
females into their body politic, so they stole them from the Sabines, who were
near neighbours. The scarcity of women gave existence to laws restricting one
wife to one man. Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced this
order of monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged. Thus this monogamic order
of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine
institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers.
The
Congress of the United States have lately passed a law to punish polygamy in
the Territories of the United States and in other places over which they have
exclusive jurisdiction. In doing this, they have undertaken to dictate the
Almighty in his revelations to his people, and those who handle edged tools,
unless they are skillful, are apt to cut their fingers; and those who hand out
insult to the Great I Am, in the end, are apt to get more than they have spoken
for.
Why
do we believe in and practice polygamy? Because the Lord introduced it to his
servants in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, and the Lord's servants have
always practiced it. "And is that religion popular in heaven?" It is
the only popular religion there, for this is the religion of Abraham, and,
unless we do the works of Abraham, we are not Abraham's seed and heirs
according to promise. — (Brigham Young, JD 9:322, July 6, 1862).
This quotation can be found in
TRUTH 5:268; 6:279; 7:131, 253; 9:18.
Early church leaders such as
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor, Orson Pratt and many others
believed in and lived plural marriage, so they had no difficulty in
interpreting “the works of Abraham” as meaning plural marriage. Therefore, they
apparently did not bother to look further and may not have realized that the
works of Abraham cannot possibly be equated with or even include plural
marriage.
Abraham took Sarai to wife while
he was still in the land of Ur of the Chaldees, and she and his father Terah
went with him into the land they designated as Haran.
2
And it came to pass that I, Abraham, took Sarai to wife, and Nehor, my brother,
took Milcah to wife, who was the daughter of Haran.
3
Now the Lord had said unto me: Abraham, get thee out of thy country, and from
thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee.
4
Therefore I left the land of Ur, of the Chaldees, to go into the land of
Canaan; and I took Lot, my brother's son, and his wife, and Sarai my wife; and
also my father followed after me, unto the land which we denominated Haran.
5
And the famine abated; and my father tarried in Haran and dwelt there, as there
were many flocks in Haran; and my father turned again unto his idolatry,
therefore he continued in Haran. (Abr 2:2-5)
It was in the land of Haran that
the promises were made to Abraham, by which the works of the Father were
continued. These promises are found in Abraham, verses 9 through 11 of chapter
2. I continue the quote from verse 6 for continuity:
6
But I, Abraham, and Lot, my brother's son, prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord
appeared unto me, and said unto me: Arise, and take Lot with thee; for I have
purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear
my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an
everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice.
7
For I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; I
stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the
fire to be my chariot; I say to the mountains--Depart hence--and behold, they
are taken away by a whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.
8
My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand
shall be over thee.
9
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure,
and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto
thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and
Priesthood unto all nations;
10
And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel
shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise
up and bless thee, as their father;
11
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in
thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood),
for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in
thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body)
shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the
Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abr
2:6-11)
So, the promises made to Abraham
are:
1. I will make of thee a great nation
2. I will bless thee above measure
3. I will make thy name great among all nations
4. All who receive this Gospel will be called after thy name
a. They
shall be accounted as thy seed
b. They
shall rise up and bless thee as their father
5. I will bless them that bless thee
6. I will curse them that curse thee
7. Thy seed shall have a right to the priesthood
8. In thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed
a.
Blessed with the blessings of the Gospel
b.
Blessed with the blessings of life eternal
These constitute the promises
which the Lord made to Abraham, and which are frequently called the blessings
of Abraham. Now, in verse 14 Abraham makes a comment which is pivotal to the
rest of this presentation. I continue from verse 12 for continuity:
12
Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face
from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have
found thee;
13
Thou didst send thine angel to deliver me from the gods of Elkenah, and I will
do well to hearken unto thy voice, therefore let thy servant rise up and depart
in peace.
14
So I, Abraham, departed as the Lord had said unto me, and Lot with me; and I,
Abraham, was sixty and two years old when I departed out of Haran. (Abr 2:14)
Abraham went from Haran into
Egypt, where he sojourned for nearly 15 years before departing Egypt to
continue his journey to the land of Canaan. After living in a tent in the land
of Canaan for 10 years, Sarai was discouraged at being barren, and gave Abraham
her Egyptian hand maid, Hagar, to be his wife. Hagar was Abraham’s first plural
wife, and Abraham went in to Hagar, and she conceived, and bare Ishmael.
1
NOW Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an
Egyptian, whose name [was] Hagar.
2
And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from
bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children
by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3
And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt
ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his
wife.
4
And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had
conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. (Gen 16:1-4)
The Biblical account gives us
Abraham’s age when his son Ishmael was born to him of Hagar.
15
And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare,
Ishmael.
16
And Abram [was] fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
(Gen 16:15-16)
Now we will presume that it was
only one year after Abraham took Hagar to wife before Ishmael was born. That
would place Abraham’s age at the time he took his first plural wife at 85
years. But Abraham received the promises of the Lord before he left Haran, and
when he left Haran he was 62 years old. That means that Abraham received the
promises of the Lord at least 23 years before he took his first plural wife.
The Lord does not give promises (the blessings of Abraham) 23 years before the
works of Abraham upon which those promises are predicated.
There
is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world,
upon which all blessings are predicated — And when we obtain any blessing from
God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (D&C
130:20-21)
It is therefore impossible that
the works of Abraham included plural marriage. The works of Abraham must be
something that Abraham did prior to receiving these blessings of the Lord.
With the knowledge we now have
that the works of Abraham do not include plural marriage, D&C 132 can help
us determine what “the works of Abraham” actually refers to. To repeat the
quote for re-examination:
31.
This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made
unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father,
wherein he glorifieth himself.
32.
Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye
shall be saved.
33.
But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father,
which he made unto Abraham.
34.
God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she
do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This,
therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.
35.
Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, nay; for I,
the Lord, commanded it. — D & C 132:31-35.
The key statement here is “Go ye,
therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be
saved.” We now know that the works of Abraham cannot include plural marriage,
so what else can the “my law” that we must enter into have reference to?
Excluding plural marriage from the choices, it can only have reference to the
earlier portion of D&C 132 which specifies:
3
Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am
about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must
obey the same.
4
For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye
abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this
covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
5
For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was
appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted
from before the foundation of the world.
6
And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for
the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall
abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.
7
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. (D&C 132:3-8)
This must be “the law” spoken of,
and since it cannot include plural marriage, it must refer to monogamous
celestial marriage. Abraham must have been married to Sarai “through the medium
of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power” in his
day, and it must have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. We are
commanded to do the same, in order to received the same blessings that Abraham
received. Brigham Young specified exactly how this is to be done:
President
Young Spoke to the people 58 minutes. He said that the whole Curse of the Earth
had got to be taken off from the Earth by the Latter day Saints. We have got to
be sanctified & Sanctify all the Earth & we have got to begin by
sanctifying our own hearts first & then spread out. How many of the
Children of this people are Entitled to the Holy Priesthood & the Blessings
of Abraham? All who are born after their parents have received their Endowments
& are sealed & all others will have to be adopted to their parents. All
who want the Blessings of Abram Isaac & Jacob go & get your Endowments
before you get married. Then all your Children will be heirs to the priesthood.
There is no Son has a right to the Priesthood & heirship unless their
parents had their Endowments before they were born. Such must be adopted to
their Parents or they have no right to heirship. Let no youth get married
untill they get their Endowments & get sealed at the Altar. If young men
knew what was for their good they would go hundreds of miles to get married
right before they would do as many have. Our boys who are guided by a right
hand will be mighty men /of God/ in the Earth. (WWJ 6:232, July 13, 1865)
Abraham’s taking a plural wife
was not one of the works of Abraham upon which the blessings of Abraham were
predicated, but rather “This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things,
the promises” which he had already received some 23 years earlier. Abraham’s
plural marriage was a result of the blessings of Abraham, not a cause of them.
Our new knowledge better allows
us to now understand the quotation from John Taylor’s 1886 revelation in its
proper light. It says:
I,
the Lord, do not change and my word and my covenants and my law do not, and as
I have heretofore said by my servant Joseph: All those who would enter into my
glory MUST and SHALL obey my law. And have I not commanded men that if they
were Abraham's seed and would enter into my glory, they must do the works of
Abraham. I have not revoked this law, nor will I, for it is everlasting, and
those who will ENTER INTO MY GLORY MUST obey the conditions thereof.—September,
1886.
Here the covenants and “my law”
which do not change as well as the “my law” that all must obey to enter into
his glory and the “this law” which he has not and will not revoke “for it is
everlasting,” cannot refer to plural marriage, so it has to refer to monogamous
celestial marriage, which is the only choice left. This is the same conclusion
I arrived at through a totally different path in my published examination of
John Taylor’s 1886 Revelation.
The Law of Abraham
It is a common topic among LDS Fundamentalists
that it was necessary for the Law of Abraham to be restored in this
dispensation as a part of the restoration of “all things spoken by the mouths
of all the holy prophets since the world began.” Joseph Musser made good use of
this theme in emphasizing the importance of plural marriage. His favorite quote
in this regard is from President Wilford Woodruff:
The
reason why the Church and Kingdom of God cannot advance without the Patriarchal
order of marriage, is that it belongs to this dispensation just as baptism for
the dead does, or any law or ordinance that belongs to a dispensation. Without
it the Church cannot progress. The leading men of Israel who are presiding over
Stakes will have to obey the law of Abraham, or they will have to resign — Life
of Wilford Woodruff, p. 542. (See Truth 2:179; 5:198; 8:227)
The actual quote in Wilford
Woodruff’s journals is slightly different, which Musser also cites:
W.
Woodruff said He was glad the Quorum of the Twelve & seventies was now to
be filled and said that the reason why the Church & Kingdom of God Could
not progress if we did not receive the patriarchal Law of Marriage was that it
belonged to this dispensation as well as Baptism for the dead and any law or
ordinance that belongs to this dispensation must be received by the Members of
the Church or it Cannot progress. The leading men of Israel who are presiding
over Stakes will have to obey the Law of Abraham or they will have to Stop. —
WWJ 8:126, October 14, 1886. (See Truth 5:94; 11:115; 14:148; 15:136; 16:74,
78; 17:76, 358; 18:56, 195; 19:316; 21:148.)
It is clear from the quote that
Wilford Woodruff equated the Law of Abraham with the patriarchal Law of
Marriage or plural marriage, and from the context, the rest of the First
Presidency as well as the members of the Quorum of the Twelve seem to have had
the same understanding. The point is well taken and because Abraham was
commanded to live plural marriage, it must necessarily be restored in our
dispensation as part of “the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of
all the holy prophets since the world began.” (D&C 27:6; 86:10; see also
Luke 1:70 and Acts 3:21)
But the reference is to those
things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets,
not just Abraham. In the present context we also need to look at the Law of
Lehi.
