Healing the Polygamy Wound – Asking Honest Questions About Section 132
💔 Healing the Polygamy Wound – Asking Honest Questions About Section 132
📖 A Wound at the Heart of Our History
There’s no way around it—polygamy is a wound in our history. Deep, old, and still aching.
For years, we’ve been told Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants was a sacred revelation from Joseph Smith himself, a command straight from the Lord.
But what if the story we’ve been given isn’t the whole story?
What if Joseph—the same Joseph who translated the Book of Mormon, who taught “one wife” as God’s law, who called concubinage and sex slavery an abomination—never gave this revelation at all?
I know that’s a hard question. But sometimes hard questions are the only way to heal.
🔍 What the Evidence Really Shows
The Scriptures Don’t Match
Jacob 2:24 – “Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.”
Jacob 2:27 – “For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none.”
Yet Section 132 praises these same men for their plural wives and concubines, claiming they were given those women by the Lord Himself.
If we’re honest with ourselves, that’s a dangerous door to leave open. Because if we say the Lord gives concubines—women kept for sexual purposes without full covenant marriage—then what’s to stop someone from believing any “prompting” that justifies desire?
And in fact, Section 132 goes even further. It teaches that if a man and woman are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, they can go on to commit “any sin or transgression… all manner of blasphemies”—and as long as they don’t murder, they’ll still enter into exaltation (verse 26).
That’s not what the Savior taught. He said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” He warned against adultery of the eyes and of the heart. He lifted women up—not as property or prizes, but as daughters of God.
🧾 The Chain of Custody is Messy
Section 132 didn’t surface publicly until after Joseph’s death.
The men who handled the document—William Clayton, Joseph Kingsbury, and Willard Richards—were already practicing polygamy. New research shows Richards likely drafted and edited the original version. The “authoritative” Kingsbury copy was probably a rewritten copy—not Joseph’s voice at all.
And these weren’t neutral scribes. They were already justifying their own behavior.
⚖️ Joseph’s Voice vs Section 132
Joseph, through scripture, sermons, and his Inspired Translation of the Bible, taught against the very thing Section 132 promotes.
So we’re left with a choice:
Do we follow the voice of Joseph that we know was his? Or the voice that appeared only after he was gone, surrounded by men with their own agendas?
The Lord once said:
“If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; for behold the field is white already to harvest.”(D&C 4:3-4)
Not a word about sealing multiple women. Just service, faith, love, and humility.
💬 Just something to gently think about...
If we accept Section 132 as literal, then we’re also saying the Lord gave men concubines for sex, approved plural partners, and promised exaltation even after all kinds of sin—so long as there’s no murder.
But that’s not the Christ I know.
He taught purity, one heart, one spouse, and “go and sin no more.”
So we’ve got to ask:
Is this the voice of Christ, or the voice of men?
💔 Why This Matters Now
Polygamy is still an open wound. It has caused pain, division, and quiet doubts for generations. And now, we’re spending billions on temples, while Christ taught us to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and visit the sick.
Pretending everything is fine doesn’t make it heal.
The Book of Mormon says “the truth shall make you free.” Maybe freedom starts not by defending a narrative, but by asking honest questions:
Was Section 132 truly from God, or was it written to serve men’s ambitions?
Are we willing to let scripture speak louder than tradition?
What would Zion look like if we laid this burden down and simply followed Christ’s voice?
🙏 A Simple Prayer
Dear Lord,
Help us to love truth more than we love comfort.
Help us to see Joseph, not as a man we must defend,
but as a prophet who pointed us to You.
Give us courage to ask, to seek, and to knock—
and to follow Your voice above every other.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
🕊️ Will You Ask Him Yourself?
The Lord doesn’t fear honest questions. If this stirs something in you, don’t take my word for it. Ask Him. Open the Book of Mormon. Pray. Listen.
He promised:
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (3 Nephi 14:7)
Healing this wound won’t happen by ignoring it. But the Lord knows how to bind up broken hearts—one honest heart at a time.
🌄 What the Nemenhah Records Say Will Happen
The Nemenhah prophets foresaw this. They spoke of a people who would do great works, build great buildings, even claim to serve God—but would no longer hear His voice.
Priests would twist the words of the seer, believing their works made them righteous. But the Lord would allow it for a time. And then—a small flock would hear Him again, and they would gather out.
In the end, the truth will rise. The Lord Himself will set His house in order. But not until there’s repentance, humility, and a return to His path—the Peacemaker’s path.
That starts with listening. Not to tradition. Not to the crowd. But to Him.
❤️ One Last Note
I will never take a penny for sharing these things. This isn’t about profit or proving I’m right. This is about love—love for the truth, and for the Lord who gave it.
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