It comes as no surprise that religious movements change over time. Consider the case of Jehovah's Witnesses and medical practices. As recently as 1967, they considered organ transplants a form of cannibalism. Then, in 1980, they reversed their stance, and declared it to be a matter of personal conscience. The ban on blood, even your own stored for possible need during surgery, was banned. Now, components of blood are permitted, with some estimating that nearly 98 percent of the blood content is acceptable. Will outright acceptance of blood transfusions be the next step? Who knows?

One of Mormonism's most famous shifts is in the practice of plural marriage. One can hardly imagine reconciling statements from Brigham Young with those of a modern prophet. Consider:

The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory because they had blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them. (Journal of Discourses 11:269 (Aug 9, 1866))

Now compare this statement, given on "Larry King Live," as King interviewed President Hinckley on the practice of polygamy:

KING: You condemn it.

HINCKLEY: I condemn it, yes, as a practice, because I think it is not doctrinal. It is not legal. And this church takes the position that we will abide by the law. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, magistrates in honoring, obeying and sustaining the law.

What happened? How did Young's insistence on polygamy as essential to exaltation morph into Hinckley's distancing himself, and his church, from the practice? It's easy to grasp when you are a church that believes in continuing revelation, that God can reveal His will through His appointed servants. In fact, this is precisely how Jehovah's Witnesses describe their shifts -- the will of Jehovah being revealed through their Governing Body, the functional equivalent of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve.

Author Kathryn M. Daynes offers us a study of this gradual shift within the Mormon church -- from the sanctioned practice of polygamy, to the dramatic public announcement of its cessation in 1890, and through post-Manifesto sealings that resulted in a second Manifesto, bringing the period of Mormon plural marriage to an end.

Daynes is Assistant Professor of History at Brigham Young University. In her book, she examines so many interesting subjects, it's hard to pick several for a brief review. As I read, I was fascinated most, I suppose, by the variety of Mormon marriage practices in the studied time period. Her chapter titled "The Nature of Mormon Marriages" documents in clear, readable prose the many ways in which "marriage" was construed among the Latter-day Saints. It was more complex, and more nuanced, than I had imagined.

The author centers her study on the town of Manti, Utah. Remarking briefly on the contemporary Harmston movement, and its very public decline, she focuses on Manti as a town that typifies the characteristics and trends of the Mormon plural marriage system. Certainly she takes a wider view as she discusses the larger issues, but she uses Manti as a template of sorts, a way of focusing on a particular population to illustrate a larger issue.

Daynes treads rather carefully around the issue of post-Manifesto plural marriages. Her treatment isn't nearly as complete as, say, D. Michael Quinn's, but the reader can easily surmise that, despite the ban, sealings continued, with at least tacit Church approval. It would require a "Second Manifesto" in 1904 for the Saints to, as it were, get the message.

Daynes avoids an outright theological discussion of plural marriage. Neither does she really address the issue of changing practices in the context of a church teaching eternal truths. Instead, she studies both the demographics and the sociological implications of the practice with keen attention to detail and a fluid writing style. The book is peppered with anecdotal evidence, personal stories of those whose lives were affected by the Principle.

There's so much more in this book; it really deserves to be read. More Wives Than One is a very good addition to the history of plural marriage within Mormonism. As much as is possible, she distances her own faith commitments from her subject, studying the movement as would an outsider. Her treatment is very fair and comprehensive.

Oh, for the record, I have no problem with continuing revelation. Bros. Young and Hinckley may not agree on the details, but I'm sure they would agree on the authority of the Prophet to lead the Church in whatever direction he feels appropriate. Whether such direction is the result of revelation or simple policy is irrelevant to those who accept the inherent power of a prophet to guide the faithful.

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Jeff Needle
April 19, 2006