Mormonism: its leaders and designs./ By John Hyde.

THEORETI C AL POLYGAMY.
with a sore curse, even to destruction," if they do thus take
other wives. They have taken them: they will be cursed.
2. The Mormons try to elude all this by the words, "For
if I will raise up seed, I will command you." A. B. does
an abominable thing. For C. D. to do the same, it would be
abominable too. If God were to command C. D. to do it, he
would command an abomination. Wheu God desires to
raise up a godly seed, it will be as Malachi has said, "iHe
made one!" If he were to institute any other method, he
would contradict himself. There can be no evasion; the
Book of Mormon curses them if they do it. Either they
must cleave to their book, in spite of polygamy; or to polygamy in spite of their book. If polygamy be right, then the
book is wrong, and Mormonism falls in its origin. If the
book be right, then polygamy is wrong, and Mormonism falls
in its present position. But whether it fell in the beginning,
or since, it is equally fallen; and men are mad to adhere to
a fallen system.
3. More entirely to enmesh himself, Smith pretended to
get a revelation, February, 1831, in which he says that God
commanded him, "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy
heart, and shalt cleave unto her, and none else; and he that
looketh on a woman to lust after her, shall deny the faith, and
shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not shall be cast
out." (Doe. and Cov., p. 124.) This was the pretended
word of the Mormon unchangeable Lord in 1831; yet in
1838 Smith was cohabiting with several women!
4. In 1842, it began to be whispered at Nauvoo, that
polygamy was a part of the Mormon faith. The Elders
303