Do LDS members have to agree to eternal polygamy in their heaven (aka celestial kingdom)?

Question

I was told they don't, by an LDS missionary telling me about the LDS/Mormon church. 

But a Mormon friend of mine who is a lifelong member of the church, insists that LDS do in fact believe and require this of all faithful Mormons. It is what the LDS phrases, Forever Families and Eternal Marriage, explicitly refer to.  

My friend said all missionaries should tell all potential converts this information BEFORE the person is baptized as LDS. He said he knows it isn't always done that way by LDS and he disagrees with that.

He said if a missionary does not do so before the baptism, it's because his LDS church leaders specifically told him not to tell it OR the missionary himself does not know that  the church requires its members to practice polygamy in heaven.

I don't understand how a church can let a missionary convert people, without knowing something like that, or if he does know, to ask him to lie about it. My friend said they don't see it as a lie, because they do eventually tell their members about it.

He also said this is a real problem for faithful Mormons, too, but  he couldn't talk about it with me anymore; as I am a non-LDS member, he risked excommunication from his church simply by having shared what he did with me. 

I am an atheist and do not believe in any doctrine of any church; I do believe in honesty and truth, however, and this is my problem with everything being done and said by everyone concerned here.

As a result of all this, I have been looking into it on my own. I have done much searching in the library, talking face to face with Mormons, non-Mormons, former-Mormons, and anti-Mormons, reading Mormon books online, etc, as well as looking a lot of stuff up online.

 I have come to the conclusion that the LDS missionary is wrong, and my friend is right.

Can anyone confirm for me that:

Faithful Mormons in the mainstream LDS church, must practice polygamy in heaven. They cannot do it on Earth anymore, but in heaven it is expected of them, in perpetuity. Men must marry mutiple wives; women must keep having babies with their one husband, while there. 

The kids they have together then leave their mom and dad's planet, and once married, get their own planet, for their own family to grow up on. Then their kids do the same, and so on, and so on, and so on. Everybody gets their own home planet, and all these planets are what Christian heaven actually is. 

Non-Mormons cannot exist in this celestial kingdom, as it is reserved for Mormons only; other Christians get to go to "normal heaven" where they stay forever as spirits, not real people. The Mormons in the Mormon heaven, however, are actual physical people, they just live forever because they are Gods with God-like powers once they die, and they become immortal.

I know for a fact that my recently converted friends, an extremely devout married couple, professionals both, would resign from the Mormon church and RUN as fast as they could in the opposite direction, if that or any part of it is true. 

For that reason, if I do find that the above is true, I will need to make a decision about whther or not  to tell them. I am leaning toward not, at least not right away. 

I am, however, telling everyone else I know what I have discovered, and sending them links at their request, to the LDS info which states the above.

Plus, I am posting this here, and also engaging in online discussions with Mormons and non Mormons on the subject, and have been doing so for some time. As a non-LDS member, I believe I am ok in doing so, as I have never made a promise to anyone to keep this info a secret.

I did find that polygamy is still practiced on Earth, openly, in breakaway sects of the LDS church in AZ, UT, ID, Mexico and Canada. I also know that the mainstream Mormon church agreed to stop practicing polygamy back in 1890, so that Utah could gain statehood; thus currently, the LDS church excommunicates any of its members who try to practice this rule here on Earth. 

But polygamy on earth is not my concern here, though I do disagree with it in all forms; polygamy in heaven is, and I do really want to know,  yes, or no. True or False. Do LDS members have to agree to eternal polygamy in their heaven, the celestial kingdom?

Please provide links to the sources for your answers.

Kerry · Accepted Answer

Have you noticed that those who are NOT members of the LDS Church insist they KNOW all of the doctrine?    I am a lifelong member, and it NEVER has been taught they we MUST practice polygamy in the eternities.

Admittedly, God will be in charge of things in heaven, and of course it will be UP TO HIM regarding what happens there.  That's a given.  But I have never been taught, never read anything, nor do the prophets proclaim that we all HAVE TO practice polygamy in heaven.   It was NOT practiced by ALL members here on earth when it was.   There were ONLY a few selected brethren who were asked to.  t was NOT done by the general membership.

So, anyone telling you otherwise is trying to keep you away from the truth. whether unwillingly or by deception,

j p · Answer

You must accept that there will be polygamists in heaven like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,  and Moses.  You do not have to be a polygamist yourself to receive the highest degree of glory.  Anyone who says differently needs to read their doctrine and covenants.  You must accept the new and everlasting covenant of marriage but a second or a third marriage is not a higher covenant it is the same covenant.  And just like you don't have to be baptized twice you don't have to be married twice.

LDS members DO NOT have to agree to eternal polygamy to achieve the highest degree of glory in the kingdom of God.

Thomas M Cherrington the area authority 70 discussed it during an institute course.
The doctrine and covenants does not teach that plural marriage is required but it does teach that marriage is a covenant and those who don't receive the covenant don't get the blessings.
The chapter of "preach my gospel" (the current handbook for missionaries you can google a pdf copy) contains a chapter that contains what the missionaries should study, learn, preach, and believe.  Such a teaching is not in there.  Such a teaching is not in the gospel doctrine manual which is used every 4 years by the church to teach church history.  Polygamy is discussed comprehensively but the requirement that everyone be polygamist is not.  If it isn't in the most basic handbooks or scripture of the church and if the quorum of the seventy is teaching otherwise it is not doctrine of the church.  A book entitled "true to the faith" a kind of brief encyclopedia for new members (you can google a pdf copy) doesn't even mention polygamy.  If it is such an essential doctrine of the church why is it not taught in all of their most basic publications as clear as day?  Why is it that it isn't a question for a temple recommend interview?  How is it that a member like me can serve a mission, go to the temple and participate in every sacred ordinance of the church without once being questioned if I believe in mandatory polygamy?

I will also argue that it never has been a doctrine of the church.  I attended a lecture given by one of the most prominent historians on the subject of LDS church history on the subject of polygamy.  When asked she said that even at the height of the practice it is agreed among scholars that less than 25% of the church practiced it and most scholars believe the number is far smaller (this is scholars both inside and outside of the church).  If something is falling short in the church, especially to the point where 75% of the membership is not obeying the laws and ordinances of the gospel the first presidency of the church goes on speaking tours with the whole quorum of the twelve.  Yet we do not find any historical record of the entire quorum of the twelve regularly touring the inter-mountain west preaching repentance and polygamy.

Seth · Answer

There's a bit of misunderstanding over this.

Back in Brigham Young's day when polygamy was practiced (late 1800s Utah), there was a bit of fiery rhetoric supporting polygamy (usually in response to all the criticism they were getting from the rest of the US) that can sometimes be misunderstood.

Brigham Young once made a quote where he stated that accepting the IDEA of polygamy was necessary for exaltation in the highest level of heaven (in the sense that you had to support your church leaders and all that). But he never said everyone had to actually practice it - even in the hereafter. Which was a good thing - because there was never any more than ten percent of the Mormon population practicing polygamy at any one time - even at the height of Utah polygamy.

The modern LDS Church does not teach polygamy as a requirement for people either now or in the afterlife. They do allow it for people who have lost a spouse and remarry (they can be temple-sealed to both the deceased spouse and the new spouse). Since the LDS Church teaches that marriage is eternal, it stands to reason that some of those marriages at least will be polygamous. But it is not taught as a requirement to get into heaven, and practicing it in life will get you quickly excommunicated from the LDS Church.

However, there are Mormon spinoff groups like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) that take a much more hardline approach and DO preach that polygamy is required to get into heaven (at least the highest level of it). But they are a small minority. The LDS Church represents the vast majority of Mormons, and it does not require it - either in life or after it.

mom of 2 · Answer

False. It is not doctrinal that Mormons will have to agree to polygamy in heaven. 

We actually don't know a lot of things about how things will go in heaven, and your concern about polygamy in the celestial kingdom is one of them. As far as we know, agreeing to polygamy is not a requirement for entering heaven. 

(As a side note, Mormons do not believe the discontinuance of polygamy was just a political move to gain statehood. We believe that the practice of plural marriage is commanded by God at some times and commanded against at others. Look at Jacob in the Old Testament, for starters. We believe polygamy in the 1800s was both begun and ended by revelation from God. The principle is a spiritual principal - always true but only practiced when God commands it.)

Your understanding of Mormon doctrine is incorrect in some areas. If you are interested in getting the fuzzy parts cleared up, I would read the Gospel Principles manual of the LDS church. I believe it provides a really clear and complete picture of LDS doctrine, in the way and language LDS understand it:

http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,11-1-13-1,00.html

That's a lot of reading, so to sum it up: LDS doctrine says that everyone who lives on this earth is resurrected with their body. Those who were not valiant or rejected the gospel live in heaven, although in a lesser degree. LDS who tried their best will remain in families in the celestial kingdom and continue to have spirit children. (It's not a matter of "having to" have children, it's a matter of "getting to" have children. Mormons believe that family happiness is the only real happiness.) 

It is not doctrinal that we will rule our own planets, etc. All we know for sure is that we'll continue to have spirit children if we make it to the celestial kingdom. That's it. That's all scripture tells us. Anything beyond that may or may not be true, but it's all speculation. (See more in chapter 47, 'Exaltation,' in Gospel Principles. It will explain very well what we do know and teach about going to the celestial kingdom.)

Ammon Johnson · Answer

LDS doctrine (true doctrine) is not hidden. Even the sacred (sometimes mistaken for secret) temple ordinances are standard throughout all 130+ temples. If you really have to dig hard for a quote then you are looking for the viewpoint of a man. If it was true doctrine it would have been stated and re-stated. Other than that all the above statements about it not being a requirement are right and describe the reasons far better than I can.

TrishARoo · Answer

I could give you a simple answer, but you'll just say I'm trying to dodge a bullet.  So, here goes...

Polygamy as a requirement in Heaven is thought to be true by some, and untrue by others.  So if I came to you and said it's not a requirement, fully believing it isn't, then I'm not lying.  That being said I have never heard any church leader anywhere declare it to be a requirement.  When polygamy was practiced in the early church only worthy male members and sisters were asked to participate.  Not everyone got to.

What Heaven will be like after we die is a mostly a mystery.  We know some basic things, we'll be judged by God with Christ as our Advocate, everyone will receive a resurrected body, and we will dwell in the Kingdom we earned while on Earth.  Anything after that is a guess.

Simple Answer: God would not force us to Heaven, not into polygamous marriages.

http://en.fairmormon.org/Polygamy/The_only_men_who_become_gods_are_those_that_practice_polygamy

The only reason why people today find polygamy so abhorrent is because it's not socially acceptable.  The Jews practiced polygamy for centuries, up until the middle ages.  50 years ago homosexual relationships were thought to be abhorrent too in our society.  Today, it's becoming more and more acceptable.  Who knows what we think today as gross will be normal another 50 years from now?  Don't judge past generations by our standards and let's hope future generations don't judge us by theirs.

Julymoon · Answer

The LDS answer "God will work it all out in Heaven" only goes so far you know?
The LDS church teaches what is bound (sealed) on Earth is bound in Heaven.
A must read about modern LDS leaders taking on more than one wive for the eternities...
http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/ldsleadersbelievepolygamyinheaven.htm

Brigham Young WHOM the LDS church see's as a prophet, seer and, revelator from God taught.....
Men who become sons of God MUST enter into polygamy
and
Give up polygamy and the Devil will rejoice....
QUOTE:
    "We are told that if we would give up polygamy - which we know to be a doctrine revealed from heaven, and it is God and the world for it - but suppose this Church should give up this holy order of marriage, then would the devil, and all who are in league with him against the cause of God, rejoice that they had prevailed upon the Saints to refuse to obey one of the revelations and commandments of God to them."     - JoD 11:239 (June 3, 1866) 
AND

Give up polygamy and you (YOUNG promises!) will be damned

Now if any of you will deny the plurality of wives, and continue to do so, I promise that you will be damned; and I will go still further and say, take this revelation, or any other revelation that the Lord has given, and deny it in your feelings, and I promise that you will be damned.     - JoD 3:266 (July 14, 1855)

Young taught that polygamy is essential to Mormonism.
See..http://home.teleport.com/~packham/byoung.htm

Not to mention the Joseph Smith said an angel with a flaming sword MADE him practice the polygamy....The HE and EMMA would be killed! How Convenient..

*Did Mormons ever share their wives with other men?

Yes, church founder Joseph Smith taught this practice to other church leaders and he married the wives of several of his followers. In some cases, the husbands did not know that Joseph Smith had married their wives polygamously. Second church leader Brigham Young also married the wives of other men, but the practice eventually went way after Mormons settled in Utah. (See: Sharing your spouse with the prophet)
SEE..http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/polygamy_summary.htm

mormon_4_jesus · Answer

No, we are not REQUIRED to practice polygamy in heaven. 

The Celestial Kingdom is supposed to be a place of just the most utmost, extreme happiness. IF there is plural marriage, it will be in that context. 

And it will DEFINATELY NOT be like the FLDS!

Owens · Answer

1

Marvel M · Answer

If you mean sealings that's not the same as marriage. & what do you mean "Mormon Heaven" & "normal" Heaven? There's one Heaven with 3 degrees of glory. 1 & 2 Corinthians talk about it. The Bible says Christ is the heir of all things meaning all are His and it says those that will be with Him will be joint-heirs with Christ meaning all will be ours just as all is Christ's. We will be glorified like Him. Talking to nonLDS isn't the best move to make since they try their best to twist our beliefs. The reason people that aren't members won't be in the celestial kingdom is because they haven't accepted all of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

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Do LDS members have to agree to eternal polygamy in their heaven (aka celestial kingdom)?

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