When Good Saints Ask Hard Questions
🕊️ When Good Saints Ask Hard Questions
A Loving Reply to Common LDS Beliefs
🧱 “We need more temples to build Zion.”
💍 “Jacob 2:30 proves polygamy can still be commanded.”
🗣️ “Modern prophets speak for God—so if President Nelson said it, that settles it.”
📍 “Christ won’t return until we’ve built hundreds of temples.”
These are things I’ve heard from good people—humble Saints who love the Lord and just want to do what’s right. I get it. I used to say the same things myself.
But the more I searched the scriptures—and the more I listened for the voice of the Lord—the more I started to realize:
🛑 We’ve been taught a tradition, not a commandment.
So let’s take a little walk through these common beliefs, and gently compare them to what Jesus and the scriptures actually say.
🏛️ “We need many temples to build Zion.”
I love the temple. It’s sacred to me. But nowhere in the Book of Mormon does it say building many temples is how Zion is established.
What it does say is this:
“The Lord dwelleth not in unholy temples.” (Helaman 4:24)
“There shall be no poor among them.” (Moses 7:18)
Zion isn’t built with tithing funds and contractors.
Zion is built when the people are pure—of one heart, one mind, and no poor among them.
And the Lord also warned:
“They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries.” (2 Nephi 28:13)
“Ye adorn your churches more than ye help the needy.” (Mormon 8:37)
That ought to make us stop and think.
Is our temple-building drawing us closer to the Lamb?
Or just impressing the world?
They shall build sanctuaries with the finest stone and say, “See, we have built unto God,” but He shall not enter in. For He dwelleth not in marble nor gold, but in the low places where the humble bow themselves down to pray. (Nemenhah)
💍 “Jacob 2:30 shows polygamy is still on the table.”
Let’s read the full chapter.
Jacob is rebuking the Nephites for starting to practice plural marriage, and it’s causing sorrow among the women and children. The Lord says:
“There shall not any man among you have save it be one wife.” (Jacob 2:27)
“Woe unto the people… for they shall lead away captive the daughters of my people.” (Jacob 2:33)
And then we get verse 30:
“For if I will… raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.”
And in the Book of Mormon, He never does. Not once.
He calls it an abomination every time.
They shall justify their taking of many wives by the seed of Abraham, and they shall call it a higher law. But I say unto you, they shall fall for their pride and their perversions, for I commanded no such thing.(Nemenhah)
🪞Let’s pause for a second and look closer.
Jacob 2:30 is one of the most misquoted verses in the Book of Mormon.
It’s not saying “Sometimes polygamy is righteous.”
It’s saying “IF the Lord wants to preserve a righteous seed, He’ll give a rare, direct command—but OTHERWISE, stick to monogamy.”
The context is crystal clear:
The Lord is rebuking the Nephites for plural marriage and calling it an abomination.
He says:
“There shall not any man among you have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have none.” (Jacob 2:27)
There’s not a single case in the Book of Mormon where polygamy is commanded by God—not one.
Instead, it’s always tied to sorrow, pride, and downfall.
If we’re using Jacob 2:30 to justify something God called an abomination, we might want to reread the chapter.
🧔♂️ “But President Nelson said God commanded us to build temples.”
I believe in revelation. I really do.
But I also believe what the scriptures say:
“By their fruits ye shall know them.” (3 Nephi 14:20)
And Joseph Smith said:
“A prophet is only a prophet when he is speaking as moved upon by the Holy Ghost.”
We should never blindly follow someone just because of their title. Even Lehi had to leave the religious leaders behind in Jerusalem. Even Alma had to walk away from King Noah’s corrupted priests. Even Nephi had to break away from his own brothers.
In the last days, we are warned:
“Many will say… Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.” (3 Nephi 14:22–23)
They shall say: Lo, the Lord hath spoken through His prophet, but the voice they heard was not Mine. For I speak not by compulsion nor by the riches of men’s works, but by the fire in the heart of the humble.(Nemenhah)
✨ “Christ won’t return until we’ve built hundreds of temples.”
That’s not what the scriptures say.
Jesus will return when there is a people prepared to receive Him—a people who are clean, consecrated, and who hear His voice.
“Blessed are they who shall… rend the veil of unbelief and come unto Me.” (Ether 4:15)
It doesn’t say, “Blessed are they who pour concrete and raise spires.”
The Lord shall come to a city not made with hands, but fashioned by covenant, by sacrifice, and by the gathering of those who walk in holiness. They shall not be many, but they shall shine. (Nemenhah)
💬 Final Thought
Zion isn’t built with buildings.
Zion is built with broken hearts.
Zion isn’t found in marble and chandeliers.
Zion is found in the secret places of the soul, where the Lord whispers to the humble and calls them His.
If the Lord told you today:
“I’m not in the crowd. I’m not in the program. I’m not in the building. I’m out here—calling you to follow Me…”
Would you go?
🙏 A Prayer for Us
Lord, we love Thee.
Help us not to confuse Thy ways with the ways of men.
Help us hear Thee, not just about Thee.
Let our hearts become Thy temple.
Let our lives become Thy house.
And let Zion rise—one soul at a time.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Amen.
📖 SCRIPTURES
Book of Mormon & Bible
2 Nephi 28:13
Mormon 8:37
Jacob 2:27–33
Helaman 4:24
1 Nephi 22:23
3 Nephi 14:20–23
Ether 4:6, 15
Moses 7:18
Nemenhah (selected teachings, no reference numbers)
They shall build sanctuaries with the finest stone… but He shall not enter in.
They shall justify their taking of many wives… but I commanded no such thing.
The Lord shall come to a city not made with hands…
They shall say the Lord hath spoken through His prophet… but the voice they heard was not Mine
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