Celestical Marriage, and the Plurality of Wives!

by Jesse Haven

CELESTICAL MARRIAGE,

AND THE

PLURALITY OF WIVES!

BY

JESSE HAVEN,

ONE OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE SEVENTIES

OF THE

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST

OF

LATTER-DAY SAINTS,

AND

PRESIDENT OF THE MISSION

AT THE

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

 

---

 

On the account of the slanderous reports, and scandalous misrepresentations in regard to the doctrine of the Plurality of Wives, and the Celestial Marriage; we have been induced to bring this small Pamphlet before the public, that they may have a better understanding, and more fully comprehend our views on these principles. All we ask of any man or woman is, to examine this, and every other doctrine we may bring before the people, with an unprejudiced mind, then judge for themselves. We do not wish to enforce our views or principles on any one, but peaceably, and quietly, like other christian denominations, preach, and promulgate what we consider to be the gospel of Jesus Christ, leaving every one to judge for himself.

If the doctrine we preach, is truth, man cannot overthrow it, if error, it will come to nought of itself. Let every one be fully persuaded in his own mind, remembering the words of Paul, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”

It has been reported that we believe in a community of wives, a greater falsehood could not be uttered. Such a principle never did nor never will exist with the Latter-day Saints, nor with any people that are led by the Revelations of Jesus Christ.

Those who are continually reporting lies about us,—misrepresenting our doctrines and principles, we leave in the hands of God; kindly inviting them not to forget the words which John heard from the mouth of Him “that sat upon the throne,”—“And all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Rev. 21st.—8th.

It is because there is a community of wives or women practised more or less amongst the nations of the earth, in connexion with other sins, why the Lord is about to destroy the wicked from off the earth, with judgments, as he did Sodom and Gomorrah; and he is now sending forth His servants for the last time to prune His vineyard, calling upon all to repent, and those who will receive and obey the gospel; He calls upon them to come out from amongst the wicked, and be gathered to a place of safety, prophesied of by the ancient prophets, whilst the indignation of the Lord passeth over the earth.

John looked down through unborn time to the present generation, when he declared, “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev.—18th.—4th. This means something more than just separating ourselves from the world by being connected with some Christian Church.

If we are living with and amongst the nations, how can we escape the judgments that await them? But to return to our subject.

That there has been a law revealed, by which a man in Zion, and in Zion only, or at the place the Lord has commanded His people to gather in the last days, can have more than one wife, we by no means deny. This law was understood by the ancient Prophets, Patriarchs, and Apostles, and is under the strictest regulations.

“If the intercourse of the sexes is not regulated in wisdom and purity, the result will be that every consequent branch and order of society will be vitiated thereby.

First make the tree good, and the fruit will be also good. A pure fountain will not send forth bitter streams. A fig tree will not bear thistles,”

This law is not given to gratify the lusts of men, but given for the exaltation of both men and women,—giving to every woman the privilege of filling up the measure of her creation, and lawfully, and honorably, and virtuously obeying the first and great command, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”

The Lord is now gathering out from all the nations of the earth, the honest, virtuous, and pure in heart, and bringing them to Zion. Woman is naturally more virtuous, innocent, pure, and religiously disposed than man, for this reason, more women than men, will receive and obey the gospel in the last days, and be gathered out from the wicked, to a place of safety, called “Zion.”

Therefore the Lord has revealed a law, whereby they can lawfully, honorably, and virtuously obey the great command, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”

On the account of the great destructions that are soon coming upon the inhabitants of the earth by wars and other judgments; the wicked will slay the wicked,—the men will be killed off, while the women will flee to Zion for safety; for the people of Zion, “Shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.” “And it shall come to pass, among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword againt his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety.” This time is near at hand, when it does come, then this prophecy will be fulfilled, “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” Isa.—4th.—1st. What will be their “reproach,” Being Childless, for children will be their glory; and in their great anxity for children, they will be willing to support themselves, if they can only take the name of an honorable man, or in other words, married to him, (for women do not generally take the name of a man unless they are married to him,) and lawfully, and honorably, and virtuously have children by him, that they may fill up the measure of their creation, and take away their “reproach.”

No man among the Latter-day Saints, is allowed to have intercourse with any woman except her to whom he is lawfully married; if he does, he is immediately excommunicated from the Church, and cast off as unworthy the Society of virtuous people. If he has intercours with another man's wife, it is adultery, and both he and she are punished accordingly. Do you ask what that punishment is? Paul has told us: “To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 1st. Corinthians, 5th.—5th.

“For ages and ages, woman—the fairest and most lovely specimen of the creative power of God—has been the prey of the vile seducer, and the victim of worse than brutal lust; her gushing affection and unbounded love have been sacrificed at the shrine of inordinate licentiousness; and the true end of her creation—to be a helpmeet for man and to “bear the souls of men,” has been neither rightly understood, nor properly appreciated:” but thanks be to God, her day of redemption is near at hand; and the man that will not hold sacred her virtue, be her rank in society what it may, will be stamped with infamy—his name cast out, and not a place found upon the whole earth where he can dwell.

The Latter-day Saints believe in marrying for time and for all eternity; and this ordinance must be attended too in this life, if it is not, husband and wife will be deprived of the privilege of being re-united in the morning of the resurrection, and of enjoying each other's society in the Celestial Kingdom of God: “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the Angels of God in Heaven.” that is, if husband and wife are not married here for all eternity as well as for time, they cannot be in the resurrection, for there “they neither marry, nor are given in marriage:” and this marriage ordinance must be performed by one holding authority, ordained of God and set a part for that purpose, for thus saith the the Lord through His Prophet of the last days; “If a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me, nor by my word; and he covenant with her, so long as he is in the world, and she with him, their covenant and marriage is not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world; therefore, when they are out of the world, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.” Mark the expression, “Ministering Servants,” not "kings and priests unto God, but “Ministering Servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.” “Ministering servants” for those who have obeyed all the commands of God, and have had their marriage covenants ratified, not only for time, but for all eternity, thereby securing unto themselves a re-union with their companions in the morning of the resurrection, and an eternal exaltation in the kingdom of God. While those who, through their unbelief or carelessness, have neglected this ordinance, will not be re-united with their companions in the morn of the resurrection, but will be “ministering servants,” and will “remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity.” That is, every man and woman that desire a full salvation and exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom of God, and desire to inherit the same blessings promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, must have their marriage covenants ratified, not only for time, but for all eternity by one holding authority, if not, they will be nothing more than angels or “ministering servants.” Paul perfectly understood this principle or doctrine, when he said, “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” 1st. Cor. 11th—11th.

The object of this eternal marriage—the reasonableness of it, and why we have a right to believe it to be a doctrine purely holy—having originated in the bosom of the Almighty—ordained and instituted by God for a righteous and holy purpose; perhaps we cannot better explain it, than make a short extract from a discourse delivered by Professor Orson Pratt before nearly three thousand Saints, in the Tabernacle at Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, U. S. A.: on the 29th. of August, 1852.

“The Lord himself solemnized the first marriage pertaining to this globe, and pertaining to flesh and bones here upon the earth. I do not say pertaining to mortality; for when the first marriage was celebrated, no mortality was there. The first marriage that we have any account of, was between two immortal beings, old father Adam and old mother Eve; they were immortal beings; death had no dominion, no power over them; they were capable of enduring for ever and ever, in their organization. Had they fulfilled the law, and kept within certain conditions and bounds, their tabernacles would never have been seized by death; death entered entirely by sin, and sin alone. This marriage was celebrated between two immortal beings; for how long? until death? No. That was entirely out of the question; there could have been no such thing in the ceremony. What would you consider, my hearers, if a marriage was to be celebrated between two beings not subject to death? Would you consider them joined together for a certain number of years, and that then all their covenants were to cease for ever, and the marriage contract be dissolved? Would it look reasonable and consistent? No. Every heart would say that the work of God is perfect in and of itself, and in as much as sin had not brought imperfection upon the globe, what God joined together, could not be dissolved, and destroyed, and torn asunder by any power beneath the celestial world, consequently it was eternal; the ordinance of union was eternal; the sealing of the great Jehovah upon Adam and Eve, was eternal in its nature; and was never instituted for the purpose of being overthrown and brought to an end. It is known that the “Mormons” are a peculiar people about marriage; we believe in marrying, not only for time, but for all eternity. This is a curious idea, says one, to be married for all eternity. It is not curious at all; for when we come to examine the Scriptures, we find that the very first example set for the whole human family as a pattern instituted for us to follow, was not instituted until death, for death had no dominion at that time; but it was an eternal blessing pronounced upon our first parents. I have not time to explain further the marriage of Adam and Eve; but will pass on to their posterity.

“It is true, that they became fallen, but there is a redemption. But some may consider that the redemption only redeemed us in part, that is, merely from some of the effects of the fall. But this is not the case; every man and woman must see at once that a redemption must include a complete restoration of all privileges lost by the fall.

“Suppose, then, that the fall was of such a nature as to dissolve the marriage covenant, by death,—which is not necessary to admit, for the covenant was sealed previous to the fall, and we have no account that it was dissolved, but suppose this was the case; would not the redemption be equally as broad as the fall, to restore the posterity of Adam back to that which they lost? And if Adam and Eve were married for all eternity, the ceremony was an everlasting ordinance, and they twain should be one flesh for ever. If you and I should ever be accounted worthy to be restored back from our fallen and degraded condition to the privileges enjoyed before the fall, should we not have an everlasting marriage seal, as it was with our first progenitors? If we had no other reasons in all the Bible, this would be sufficient to settle the case at once in the mind of every reflecting man and woman, that in as much as the fall of man has taken away any privileges in regard to the union of male and female, these privileges must be restored in the redemption of man, or else it is not complete.

“What is the object of this union?—is the next question. We are told the object of it; it is clearly expressed; for, says the Lord unto the male and female, I command you to multiply and replenish the earth.

And in as much as we have proved that the marriage ordinance was eternal in its nature, previous to the fall, if we are restored back to what was lost by the fall, we are restored for the purpose of carrying out the commandment given before the fall, namely to multiply and replenish the earth. Does it say, continue to multiply for a few years, and then the marriage contract must cease, and there shall be no further opportunity of carrying out this command, but it shall have an end? No; there is nothing specified of this kind; but the fall has brought in disunion through death; it is not a part of the original plan; consequently, when male and female are restored from the fall, by virtue of the everlasting and eternal covenant of marriage, they will continue to increase and multiply to all ages of eternity, to raise up beings after their own order, and in their own likeness and image.”

Professor Pratt here plainly shows, that if the fall of man brought death and thereby a separation between male and female, and if Christ came to restore that which was lost, He certainly must restore their union, giving them the privilege to be re-united in the morning of the resurrection, provided, they have an eternal marriage covenant ratified and sealed upon them while in the flesh, (for remember, that “in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage.”) If this is not the case, then the redemption by Christ is imperfect and not complete, and Christ has failed in accomplishing his great mission to the earth. No one can suppose for a moment, that Adam and Eve who were immortal beings when God solemnized the marriage covenant between them, were married for a few years, then that marriage covenant dissolved and they live together no more for ever; such an idea would be shocking to the common sense of every man and woman; but as they were immortal when God solemnized their marriage covenant, their marriage must have been eternal. If Christ came to restore what was lost by the fall; He certainly will restore the law of eternal marriage, and as God solemnized the marriage covenant before the fall of man, which marriage covenant was eternal in its nature, and as Christ came to restore all things, God must certainly solemnize this eternal marriage between male and female, either by Himself or by some one ordained and set a part by Him for this purpose; if not, the eternal marriage covenant will not be valid in the resurrection.

Having stated in a brief manner, the object of the Plurality of Wives and the Celestial or Eternal marriage, we leave the subject for the consideration of all who may read this small Pamphlet, hoping that man will remember that the time is near at hand, when he can no longer trample on the virtue of the innocent and defenceless female with impunity.—The Lord has declared that adulterers shall not inherit the kingdom of God, and all whoremongers, as well as liars, shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.

The earth has groaned long enough under the sin of the vilest licentiousness—man has studied how he could seduce the innocent and virtuous, and even exulted in female prostitution, till the cry of the fair daughters of Adam, has entered the ears of the Lord of the whole earth; therefore, He is soon coming out of His hiding place to cut of the wicked, and to bring in a millennial reign of peace, purity, virtue, holiness and glory.

We close by praying Almighty God, that He would have mercy on the honest in heart amongst the children of men; that He would loose them from the fetters of false tradition, that they may be free to receive the truth; that He would remove from their eyes the veil of superstition, that they may behold the light of the everlasting gospel; that He would bring them out of the pestiferous air of priestcraft and bigotry, that they may inhale the pure atmosphere of Divine inspiration and revelation; is our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ; Amen.

 

Cape Town.

---

PRINTED BY W. FOELSCHER, No. 2, CHURCH-STREET.