Monday, August 6, 2012

Joseph Smith; The Reluctant Polygamist

"During the third and final appearance, the angel came with a drawn sword, threatening Joseph with destruction unless he went forward and obeyed the commandment fully."
Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo, paragraph #8
https://www.lds.org/topics/plural-marriage-in-kirtland-and-nauvoo



[1] "In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith", Todd Compton, pp 80-81
Zina remained conflicted until a day in October, apparently, when Joseph sent [her older brother] Dimick to her with a message: an angel with a drawn sword had stood over Smith and told him that if he did not establish polygamy, he would lose "his position and his life."

[2] Hyrum Smith, Elder Benjamin F. Johnson's Letter to George S. Gibbs, 1903
"Joseph was commanded to take more wives and he waited until an angel with a drawn sword stood before him and declared that if he longer delayed fulfilling that command he would slay him."

See Also

There is another account which indicates that the sword may have been a "flaming sword"

"While it was a great trial for Mercy to enter into plural marriage, it was even a greater trial for Mary to consent to it. Truly, it was the most difficult thing both ever had to do. It was equally difficult for Hyrum. The principle of plural marriage was given as early as 1831. Joseph Smith had inquired of God to know and understand wherein He justified His prophets of old as touching upon the principle and doctrine of their having plural wives and concubines. The principle was then revealed by the Lord to Joseph. He was commanded to obey it. He did not immediately comply. Then, according to Apostle George A. Smith, an angel with a flaming sword appeared to the Prophet Joseph and warned him that unless he obeyed it, he would be destroyed."
(Don Cecil Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith, Daughter of Britain: Portrait of Courage [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1966], 154.)
http://deseretbook.com/Mary-Fielding-Smith-Daughter-Britain-Don-C-Corbett/i/5090945

More flaming sword mentions here:
http://mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26067&p=640152

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