Polygamy in the Old Testament and Joseph Smith #lds #mormon #bible #polygamy

Introduction

Biblical polygamy is often cited as divine precedent for Joseph Smith’s plural marriages, but the text itself reads more like a cautionary tale than a commandment. When Mormon Stories Podcast host John Dehlin pressed scholars on whether God ever actually commanded plural marriage in the Old Testament, the answer was blunt: no. The patriarchs practiced it, but the narrative highlights domestic warfare, not holy approval. This distinction matters because Smith’s revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 132 explicitly frames polygamy as a divine command, not merely a cultural allowance.

![Image 1: 19th century woodcut illustration depicting Abraham with Sarah and Hagar in a tense domestic scene