Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?

This is one of the questions I get asked all the time while I chat with people on Mormon.org. It's a valid question, and there's a very straightforward answer which we give.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not practice polygamy. One man is allowed to have one wife, and vice-versa. This comes as a commandment from God. Often people confuse us with another church that broke off of our church many years ago, who also call themselves "Mormons." They practice polygamy, and have recently been in the spotlight on the news because of it. Unfortunately, I was serving my mission at the time, and I had so many people tell me that I practice polygamy. (it's funny, even after I would tell them we don't, they keep insisting, as if they know more about the church I belong to than I do! That was always humorous) Their confusion of course comes from the news coverage, with the media calling that group "Mormons." So naturally everyone thinks we do.

The answer, again, is no, we do not practice polygamy. It is true that in the past our church did practice plural marriages, by the command of God. There were times in the past as well during which God approved of one man having more than one wife, such as during the time of Abraham, (see Genesis 16:1-3) Jacob, (see Genesis 29:23-29) Gideon, (see Judges 8:30) and Elkanah (see 1 Samuel 1:1-2) to name a few.

It is interesting to note that God has told us that the commandment is one man shall have one wife. (see Jacob 2:27) He makes an exception to this commandment, however, in certain cases. (see Jacob 2:30)

The best source, of course, comes from one of our Modern Day Prophets, President Gordon B. Hinckley. He stated the following in the November 1998 Ensign:

"I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter.

If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (A of F 1:12). One cannot obey the law and disobey the law at the same time.

There is no such thing as a “Mormon Fundamentalist.” It is a contradiction to use the two words together.

More than a century ago God clearly revealed unto His prophet Wilford Woodruff that the practice of plural marriage should be discontinued, which means that it is now against the law of God. Even in countries where civil or religious law allows polygamy, the Church teaches that marriage must be monogamous and does not accept into its membership those practicing plural marriage."

That is a Prophet of God telling us the will of God in these days. So there you have a complete answer. Do Mormons practice polygamy? No, we do not.

Are Mormons Christian?

Good question, though a lot of the time it confuses me. The name of our church, after all, is The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints... I don't get where they think we're not Christian...

To help, let's define what a "Christian" is. According to Webster's Dictionary, "One who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ."

In case there is any confusion, I will state very plainly that the Mormon Church DOES believe in Jesus Christ. On a more personal level, I personally believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God and performed the Atonement for everyone who has ever lived and ever will live. (the Atonement being His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemany, death on the Cross, and Resurrection from the tomb three days later) He is my personal Savior, and He helps me every day! Not just with forgiving my sins when I repent, but helps me with my sicknesses, sadnesses, anything I need help with! I try to follow His teachings found in the Holy Bible and Book of Mormon as best as I can. I do that because I want to overcome in this life and return to live with Him in the next life!

So are Mormons Christian? Absolutely and most definitely yes!

Is the Mormon Church a Cult?

That's a question I got asked hundreds of times while serving my mission in Toronto Canada. While getting on the bus or on the subway, I had people yell "you're a cult!!!" It happened all the time. In the news we can see many people who think that Mormons are part of a cult. It's a common belief amongst those who are not members of our church.

To answer this, first let's go to the dictionary and find out exactly what a cult is.
"A specific system of religious worship, esp with reference to its rites and deity" (Collins English Dictionary)

Now, that is the official definition of a cult. Under that definition, yes, our church could be defined as a cult. But then, so could every single other church or religious group in existence. So by labeling our church as a cult, they effectively label every other religion and church as cults as well.

Of course, we need to understand that there is a very negative connotation to the word "cult." From what I understand from those I've spoken to, they think we are a "cult" in the negative sense because we are part of a church which has different beliefs than those of other Christian denominations. For example, the fact that we believe in modern prophets. Or that we believe in the Book of Mormon as another book of sacred scripture, or that we have Temples in which we perform sacred ordinances. My problem is that I can't see how any of those things are negative that would cause people to freak out and label us negatively as a "cult." Why the persecution for believing in Prophets, which is God's method He has always used to speak to His people, or for the Book of Mormon, which assists in testifying of Jesus Christ, our Savior, or for having Temples, when God commanded His people many times to build and use Temples?

For some reason, there are people who think our church is an extremist church for believing these things, even when our beliefs go in line perfectly with the Bible. I have been in the church my whole life and have never seen anything extreme, sinister, or evil in any way. We are members of a wonderful church which does so much good for this world and does everything in its power to help people come closer to Jesus Christ and His Gospel. I'm proud to call myself a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

For a much more comprehensive response to this question, see Brother Bott's Blog. He takes a very detailed look at what are some characteristics of cults in the negative sense of the word, and responds to each point. Very well written and an informative read.

Purpose of this Blog

Hello! This is John! I've created this blog because it's too confusing for me to have my normal blog and my responses about commonly asked questions on the same blog. So therefore I created this blog as a support blog for my other one, but focusing on my beliefs!

So all posts on this blog will be related to my beliefs as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Up at the top of my blog there is a tab with other pages for my blog, one of which has a list of links to Frequently Asked Questions about the church. So feel free to explore and read my different posts about the Mormon Church!