Hi. I don’t understand Mormon history. If, according to your founder Joseph Smith, polygamy was fundamental to your faith, why did you change God’s commandment, abandoning polygamy? Why was it changed, if it was a commandment from God?
One Response to “Hi. I don’t understand Mormon history. If, according to your…”
Fernando Duarte
2011-08-01 08:56:16
Hi Carmen. It's not hard to understand what happened. Just as God had authorized polygamy for a few decades in the early years of the Church, he commanded that the practice should be stopped over 100 years ago. As the Almighty, God is free to give commandments and then to revoke them later. For example, he gave the Law of Moses and then revoked it when that law was fulfilled in Christ. Christ also commanded that the gospel not be preached to the gentiles during his mortal life (Matthew 10:5-6), but later revealed through a prophet/apostle (Peter) that the gospel should be preached to the whole world (Acts 10). Many other examples could be cited.
Of course God does not change, but human cultures and circumstances do change. God gives us the commandments we need to thrive in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This can at times lead him to issue a commandment only to revoke it at a later time.
Of course God does not change, but human cultures and circumstances do change. God gives us the commandments we need to thrive in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This can at times lead him to issue a commandment only to revoke it at a later time.