Joseph Smith Polygamy Quotes

The Lord gave us power in proportion to the work to be done, and strength according to the race set before us, and grace and help as our needs required. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

If I lose my life in a good cause I am willing to be sacrificed on the altar of virtue, righteousness and truth, in maintaining the laws and Constitution of the United States, if need be, for the general good of mankind. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

24 And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Sometimes the Lord brings us low before he can lift us higher. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other.Not a few things merely, one or two, or half dozen, but many; and it is this fact of many things of similarity and the cumulative force of them that makes them so serious a menace to Joseph Smith's story of the Book of Mormon's origin ~ B. H. Roberts

It was Joseph Smith who taught me how to prize the endearing relationships of father and mother, husband and wife; of brother and sister, son and daughter, mashed potatoes and gravy. ~ Parley P. Pratt

Where doubt is, there faith has no power. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

They were treated as though they were angels sent from God to save them from everlasting destruction - therefore, ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

By proving contraries, truth is made manifest. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

When Jesus sent forth his servants formerly he sent them to preach this Gospel. When the Father and the Son and Moroni and others came to Joseph Smith, he had a priesthood conferred upon him which he conferred upon others for the purpose of manifesting the laws of life, the Gospel of the Son of God, by direct authority, that light and truth might be spread forth among all nations. ~ John Taylor

The revelations which Joseph Smith has given to this people were given to him by Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world; and this people cannot be blessed if they lightly esteem any of them ... For this purpose did He give the revelation on plurality of wives, as sacred a revelation as was ever given to any people, and fraught with greater blessings to us than we can possibly conceive of, if we do not abuse our privileges and commit sin. This doctrine is a holy and pure principle, in which the power of God for the regeneration of mankind is made manifest ... ~ Heber C. Kimball

The most important knowledge in the world is gospel knowledge. ~ Joseph Fielding Smith

The flavor of patriotism depends upon its habitat. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

NO NEUTRALS IN HEAVEN. There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits ~ Joseph Fielding Smith

We cannot be saved until we have risen above all our enemies, not the least of which is ignorance. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Blessed be the memory of those few brethren who contended so strenuously for their constitutional rights and religious freedom, against such an overwhelming force of desperadoes! ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

When we are accomplishing the good, the greatest opposition comes. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

I will prove that the world is wrong, by showing what God is ... God himself was once as we are now and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret ... I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

We're not just building a Temple here, the Lord is building us. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

The laundry has its hands on my dirty shirts, sheets, towels and tablecloths, and who knows what tales they tell. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Meekness,love, purity, these are the things that should magnify us. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

I feel most assuredly that our Father in heaven is far more interested in a soul-one of his children-than it is possible for an earthly father to be in one of his children. His love for us is greater than can be the love of an earthly parent for his offspring. ~ Joseph Fielding Smith

Is it true that dogmatism "means assertiveness without knowledge?" How do you know that the assertiveness is without knowledge? When the eleven disciples asserted that Christ appeared to them in the upper room after his resurrection, and they thrust their hands in the wounds in his side and his hands, was it assertion without knowledge? Their statement is dogmatic, and justly so. True religion is dogmatic. All truth is dogmatic. . . . The prophets were dogmatic, and when they received revelation, had visions and visitations from heavenly personages, they knew it, they were not deceived, and their assertions were dogmatic, righteously so. ~ Joseph Fielding Smith

There is some concern among the Brethren that some of you who are still single may not be moving in the direction of preparing yourselves to seek out and commit to an eternal companion. This applies both to young men and to young women. The greater burden, however, rests upon the young men because in our society it is a responsibility of young men to initiate activities that lead to courtship and to marriage.

The doctrine of the Church is very clear and it anticipates that individuals will be married in the temple and rear a righteous family as guided by the inspired document we call "The Proclamation on the Family." . . .

Speaking of the obligation of men to marry, President Joseph Fielding Smith taught as follows:

"Any young man who carelessly neglects this great commandment to marry, or who does not marry because of a selfish desire to avoid the responsibilities which married life will bring, is taking a course which is displeasing in the sight of God. Exaltation means responsibility. There can be no exaltation without it.

"If a man refuses to take upon himself the responsibilities of married life, because he desires to avoid the cares and troubles which naturally will follow, he is taking a course which may bar him forever from the responsibilities which are held in reserve for those who are willing to keep in full the commandments of the Lord. . . .

"According to modern custom, it is the place of the man to take the ~ Earl C. Tingey

When, as President Joseph F. Smith said, we "catch a spark from the awakened memories of the immortal soul, "let us be quietly grateful. When of great truths we can say "I know," that powerful spiritual witness may also carry with it the sense of our having known before. With rediscovery, we are really saying "I know - again!" ~ Neal A. Maxwell

When a man works by faith, he works by mental exertion instead of by physical force. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting. 17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth. 18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

The Lord takes raw materials, shapes them and refines them. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

The religious literature handed out by the earnest young missionaries in Temple Square makes no mention of the fact that Joseph Smith
still the religion's focal personage
married at least thirty-three women and probably as many as forty-eight. Nor does it mention that the youngest of these wives was just fourteen years old when Joseph explained to her that God had commanded that she marry him or face eternal damnation. ~ Jon Krakauer

Let us this very day begin anew, and now say, with all our hearts, we will forsake our sins and be righteous. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

We are not entirely sure of the meaning of all of the symbolic stones and their placement. Neither Joseph Smith nor Brigham Young said too much about these. Brigham Young said, Figures (symbols) are reduced to reality, and realities are exhibited by figures, and those who have the Spirit and understand, derive great comfort and consolation from that source. ~ Loren C. Dunn

Yes, Joseph Smith did see angels and visions - because he was the instrument in God's hands to restore the same Church of Jesus Christ as existed in primitive times - all of its powers as well as all of its doctrines. Yet sorrowfully, on occasion, some are willing to set aside the precious gospel truths restored by Joseph Smith because they get diverted on some historical issue or some scientific hypothesis not central to their exaltation, and in so doing they trade their spiritual birthright for a mess of pottage. They exchange the absolute certainty of the Restoration for a doubt, and in that process they fall into the trap of losing faith in the many things they do know because of a few things they do not know. There will always be some seemingly intellectual crisis looming on the horizon as long as faith is required and our minds are finite, but likewise there will always be the sure and solid doctrines of the Restoration to cling to, which will provide the rock foundation upon which our testimonies may be built. ~ Tad R. Callister

The keys Elijah restored to Joseph Smith permit our hearts to be bound and each of us linked to those of our ancestors who are waiting for our help. Through our efforts in holy temples here on earth using the authority delegated by the Savior, our progenitors receive the saving ordinances that allow them to enjoy eternal happiness. ~ Richard G. Scott

Salvation cannot come without revelation. Men of the present time testify of heaven and hell, and have never seen either; and I will say that no man knows these things without this. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men. I shall die innocent, and it shall be said of me-He was murdered in cold blood ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with Himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits. (King Follett Discourse) ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

The things of God are of great import; and time, and experience,and careful, and ponderous, and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, oh man, if thou wilt lead a man unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss, and the broad expanses of eternity; thou must commune with God! ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Of course, there can be clear indications that a teacher is not worth paying attention to. A history as a fabulist or a con artist should be considered fatal; thus, the spiritual opinions of Joseph Smith, Gurdjieff, and L. Ron Hubbard can be safely ignored. A fetish for numbers is also an ominous sign. Math is magical, but math approached like magic is just superstition - and numerology is where the intellect goes to die. Prophecy is also a very strong indication of chicanery or madness on the part of a teacher, and of stupidity among his students. One can extrapolate from scientific data or technological trends (climate models, Moore's law), but most detailed predictions about the future lead to embarrassment right on schedule. ~ Sam Harris

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; 28. For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

52 Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

Be wise; let prudence dictate all your counsels; preserve peace with all men, if possible; stand by the Constitution of your country; observe its principles; and above all, show yourselves men of God, worthy citizens. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

I had not been married scarcely five minutes, and made one proclamation of the Gospel, before it was reported that I had seven wives ... I am innocent of all these charges ... What a thing it is for a man to be accused of committing adultery, and having seven wives, when I can only find one. I am the same man, and as innocent as I was fourteen years ago; and I can prove them all perjurers. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.

You will live to see men arise in power in the Church who will seek to put down your friends and the friends of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Many will be hoisted because of their money and worldly learning which they seem to be in possession of; and many who are the true followers of our Lord and Savior will be cast down because of their poverty. ~ Joseph Smith Jr.