Mormons Have Great Family Life - Thanks to Christians

I have often invited Mormon missionaries or Mormon friends into my home. They boast that the Mormon commitment to the family is one of their greatest virtues. And I tell them, “Yes it is, and you can thank me for it.” They give me a startled look and then I say, “let me explain.” In the 19^th century when Mormonism was created and began to form its unique religious culture they practiced polygamy. Mormon prophet and founder Joseph Smith went so far as to say that polygamy was the family model God expected. In fact, God commanded Mormon men to practice it. He called it a “new and everlasting covenant” and, “if ye abide not that covenant ye are damned.” Pretty strong language. But very clear. Polygamous relationships were command by God the Father. Smith died in 1844 but the Mormons continued the practice. Smith’s successor, Brigham Young, had over fifty wives who gave him more than fifty children. The Mormons began to colonize Utah arriving in the 1840s. By the 1880s they had a thriving community and wanted to become a state. But there was one problem. Protestant Evangelicals dominated American culture and politics and they abhorred polygamy. 

The federal government passed laws targeting plural marriage. They criminalized the practice, disqualified polygamists from voting or holding office, and allowed the government to seize church property. Many Mormon leaders were prosecuted, imprisoned, and pressured to abandon polygamous practices.

Lo and behold, Mormon church leaders received a divine revelation. They issued the 1890 Manifesto by President Wilford Woodruff. This declaration advised church members to "abstain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land," effectively banning new plural marriages. While some members continued practicing polygamy privately, the Manifesto marked the beginning of the church’s public rejection of the practice. 

Church leaders and members commonly describe this declaration as being inspired by God, arguing it was a divine commandment received by revelation.

So when I tell Mormon friends I made their family culture possible what I mean is my Protestant Evangelical forefathers forced the Mormons to abandon polygamy at the point of a gun. If they had not what would Mormon family life be like today? What if Mormons were still polygamous? A few years ago, HBO aired a series called Big Love, which depicts radical LDS groups that still practice polygamy. It shows how destructive and chaotic such arrangements can be for families.

I am glad we imposed our view of family on the Mormons. They are infinitely better off because we did.

We are in an era when the Christian view of family is under attack. We must not hesitate to again impose our view of family on the wider society for that society’s good.

We oppose polygamy. We oppose cohabitation—living together like you are married but without the commitment Christian marriage demands. We oppose gay marriage as a slander on the meaning of marriage and harmful in so many ways. See my video on the topic linked below. We oppose “throuples”—three people getting legally married to each other. We oppose the various pagan arrangements that are called marriage. Marriage as defined by the Bible is an enormous blessing. To both husband and wife, their children, and the wider society as a whole.

Thank God for revealing His truth about marriage. We must follow it. Many Mormons have embraced this truth, and it has blessed their lives. It will bless everyone who obeys the God of the Bible in their marriage as well.

More: “The Negative Effects of Gay Marriage”; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M3iGiKKvs0

A new book on the polygamy of Joseph Smith:

https://religionnews.com/2025/05/28/yes-joseph-smith-practiced-polygamy/

Smith’s “revelation” regarding polygamy is found in the most important book of Mormon doctrine, “The Doctrines and Covenants.” The teaching on polygamy is in Section 132