FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Detailed response to CES Letter, Other"
(→Quick Navigation: rm) |
(→"Brigham Young Sunday School Manual": zina) |
||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
==Response Section== | ==Response Section== | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===="Zina Diantha Huntington Young"==== | ||
| + | {{CESLetterItem | ||
| + | |claim= | ||
| + | |answer= | ||
| + | *Among Joseph's plural marriages and/or sealings, between eight to eleven of them were to women who were already married. Of the eight well-documented cases, five of the husbands were Latter-day Saints, and the other three were either not active in or not associated with the Church. In all cases, these women continued to live with their husbands, most of them doing so until their husbands died. These eternal marriages appear to have had little effect upon the lives of the women involved, with the exception that they would be sealed to Joseph in the afterlife rather than to their earthly husbands. {{ref|katich.1}} | ||
| + | *One of the most well-known of these "polyandrous" marriages was to Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs. In 1839, at age 18, Zina arrived with her parents in Nauvoo after being driven out of Missouri. Faithful LDS missionary Henry Jacobs courted her during 1840–41. At the same time, Joseph Smith had taught Zina the doctrine of plural marriage, and thrice asked her to marry him. She declined each time, and she and Henry were wed 7 March 1841.[48] | ||
| + | *Zina and Henry were married by John C. Bennett, then mayor of Nauvoo. They had invited Joseph to perform the ceremony, but Bennett stepped in when Joseph did not arrive: | ||
| + | …Zina asked the Prophet to perform the marriage. They went to the Clerk’s office and the Prophet did not arrive, so they were married by John C. Bennett. When they saw Joseph they asked him why he didn’t come, and he told them the Lord had made it known to him that she was to be his Celestial wife.[49] | ||
| + | Family tradition holds, then, that Zina and Henry were aware of Joseph's plural marriage teachings and his proposal to Zina. While this perspective is late and after-the-fact, it is consistent with the Jacobs' behaviour thereafter. Zina's family also wrote that Henry believed that "whatever the Prophet did was right, without making the wisdom of God's authorities bend to the reasoning of any man."[50] | ||
| + | *On 27 October 1841, Zina was sealed to Joseph Smith by her brother, Dimick Huntington. She was six months pregnant by Henry, and continued to live with him. | ||
| + | *Joseph Smith and Brigham Young's "mistreatment" of Henry and their "theft" of his family have received a great deal of publicity, thanks to late 19th century anti-Mormon sources, and Fawn Brodie increased their cachet for a 20th century audience. These charges are examined in detail ([http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2006_Zina_and_Her_Men.html here]). For present purposes, we will focus on Zina. She had refused Joseph's suit three times, and chosen to marry Henry. Why did she decide to be sealed to Joseph? | ||
| + | *Henry was to stand as proxy for Zina's post-martyrdom sealing to Joseph, and her sealing for time to Brigham Young. He and Zina separated soon thereafter, and Henry was soon gone on one of his many missions for the Church. (See [http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2006_Zina_and_Her_Men.html here] for a more in-depth analysis of attacks on Brigham and Joseph regarding Zina and Henry.) | ||
| + | |quote= | ||
| + | *When interrogated by a member of the RLDS Church, Zina refused to be drawn into specifics. She made her motivations clear, and explained that God had prepared her mind for Joseph's teachings even before she had heard them: | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | Q. "Can you give us the date of that marriage with Joseph Smith?" <br> | ||
| + | A. "No, sir, I could not." <br> | ||
| + | Q. "Not even the year?" <br> | ||
| + | A. "No, I do not remember. It was something too sacred to be talked about; it was more to me than life or death. I never breathed it for years. I will tell you the facts. I had dreams—I am no dreamer but I had dreams that I could not account for. I know this is the work of the Lord; it was revealed to me, even when young. Things were presented to my mind that I could not account for. When Joseph Smith revealed this order [Celestial marriage] I knew what it meant; the Lord was preparing my mind to receive it."[51] | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | *Zina herself clearly explains the basis for her choice: | ||
| + | <blockquote> | ||
| + | …when I heard that God had revealed the law of Celestial marriage that we would have the privilege of associating in family relationships in the worlds to come, I searched the scriptures and by humble prayer to my Heavenly Father I obtained a testimony for myself that God had required that order to be established in his Church.[52] | ||
| + | Faced with questions from her RLDS interviewer that she felt exceeded propriety, Zina became evasive. She finally terminated the interview by saying, "Mr. Wight, you are speaking on the most sacred experiences of my life…."[53] | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | '''Additional information''' | ||
| + | {{SummaryItemExternal | ||
| + | |link=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2006_Zina_and_Her_Men.html | ||
| + | |subject=Analysis of Zina and Henry Jacobs | ||
| + | |summary=''Zina and Her Men: An Examination of the Changing Marital State of Zina Diantha Huntington Jacobs Smith Young'' by Allen Wyatt | ||
| + | }} | ||
| + | }} | ||
===="Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"==== | ===="Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"==== | ||
| Line 52: | Line 85: | ||
}} | }} | ||
[[File:Brigham the monogamist.jpg|800 px]] | [[File:Brigham the monogamist.jpg|800 px]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | =={{Endnotes label}}== | ||
| + | #{{note|katich.1}}Samuel Katich, [http://www.fairlds.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/katich-a-tale-of-two-marriage-systems.pdf "A Tale of Two Marriage Systems: Perspectives on Polyandry and Joseph Smith,"] Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2003. | ||
===="The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"==== | ===="The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"==== | ||
Revision as of 09:50, 18 July 2013
- REDIRECTTemplate:Test3
| [[../Scriptures Concerns & Questions|Scriptures Concerns & Questions]] | A FAIR Analysis of:
[[../|Letter to a CES Director]] |
[[../Conclusion|Conclusion]] |
A FAIR Analysis of the online document Letter to a CES Director section "Other Concerns & Questions"
- Response to section: "2013 Official Declaration 2 Header Update Dishonesty" [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: "Zina Diantha Huntington Young"[Work in Progress]
- Response to section: "Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"
- Response to section: "The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy"
- Response to section: "Church Finances"
- Response to section: "Tithing"
- Response to section: "Names of the Church"
- Response to section: "Some things that are true are not very useful"
- Response to section: "Criticizing leaders"
- Response to section: "the scary internet"
- Response to section: "Going after members who publish or share their questions, concerns, and doubts"
- Response to section: "Strengthening the Church Members Committee [Work in Progress]
- Response to section: "When the prophet speaks the debate is over"
Response Section
"Zina Diantha Huntington Young"
"Brigham Young Sunday School Manual"
== Notes ==
- [note] Samuel Katich, "A Tale of Two Marriage Systems: Perspectives on Polyandry and Joseph Smith," Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2003.