testing 123 testing 123 this is radio free Mormon on the air broadcasting behind enemy

lines tonight's episode the Mormon polygamy controversy now there is of course a great deal of

controversy that has swirled around the Mormon practice of polygamy since the 1830s but the

specific controversy I'm going to be dealing with tonight has to do with Joseph Smith and whether

Joseph Smith actually practiced polygamy or not for many many years this was the prime difference

between the reorganized church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Brighamite church

of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was on the practice of polygamy the Brighamite faction

maintaining that yes polygamy was from God and did need to be practiced by God's faithful saints

as a mark of their devotion and loyalty the reorganized church on the other hand maintained that no

polygamy was not from God that it was an abomination and that Joseph Smith the founder of the church

never practiced it at all what the reorganized church claimed was that Brigham Young was the culprit

here and Brigham Young came up with the idea of practicing polygamy announced it publicly to the

world once they were safely as he thought insconced in the Salt Lake Valley in 1852 and the reorganite

position was that Brigham Young lied when he said he got this teaching from Joseph Smith this

dispute between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the reorganized church went on for

a century until in the 1980s when the evidence seemed to be so overwhelming to the reorganized that

they caved and finally admitted that yes Joseph Smith did practice polygamy so what's the

controversy anymore he might ask well there were some of the reorganized who did not cotton to

that admission by the church leaders and continued to promote the idea both in writing and in

lectures that Joseph Smith did not practice polygamy in fact Joseph Smith fought against polygamy

and Joseph Smith fought against polygamy is the name of one of the books promoting that viewpoint

since that time there has been a surprising uptick in the number of LDS people or formerly LDS people

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