Academia, Religion

Marriages Made In Heaven? Stories Claim New Findings On The Marital Status of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith

Hoffman-ChristAndTheRichYoungRuler230px-Joseph_Smith,_Jr._portrait_owned_by_Joseph_Smith_III

For those who love to follow the marriages of the rich and famous, this week was a real doozy. In a new book, researchers are claiming evidence that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had two sons. In the meantime, a new publication on the website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says that Church founder Joseph Smith had as many as 40 wives including one who was only 14 years old.

The findings in the new book “The Lost Gospel,” by Professor Barrie Wilson and writer Simcha Jacobovici seems like something out of “The Da Vinci Code.” It is based on the transcript of an ancient manuscript which tells the story of Jesus’s two sons and his marriage to Mary. The manuscript dates back to 570 AD and written in Syriac — a Middle Eastern literary language used between the 4th and 8th centuries and related to Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. It was written on animal skin or vellum and has been siting in the archives of the British Library for about 20 years after being held since 1847 at the British Museum (which bought it from a dealer who said he had obtained it from the ancient St Macarius Monastery in Egypt). Jacobovici, an Israeli-Canadian film-maker, and Wilson, a professor of religious studies in Toronto, decided to reexamine the text and believe that it contains a missing fifth gospel and confirms not just the long debate marriage to Mary but progeny of Jesus.

The news on the plural marriages of Joseph Smith is remarkable not only for its disclosure but its source. The LDS Church has always been highly reluctant to discuss the status of Smith as a polygamous. However, it was the Church that released the detailed account this month. It is a refreshing openness from the LDS leadership on a subject that has always been a matter of discomfort. The research suggests that Smith took his first “plural wife,” Fanny Alger, in the mid-1830s. There was a distinction drawn between bonds for this life, which included full matrimonial relations, and partnerships that would exist only in eternity in such marriages.

The essay, “Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo,” notes that “[m]any details about the early practice of plural marriage are unknown. Plural marriage was introduced among the early Saints incrementally, and participants were asked to keep their actions confidential. They did not discuss their experiences publicly or in writing until after the Latter-day Saints had moved to Utah and church leaders had publicly acknowledged the practice.”

Researchers believe that most of those sealed for eternity to Smith were between ages 20 and 40. The wives included Helen Mar Kimball, daughter of Joseph’s close friends Heber C. and Vilate Murray Kimball, who was [14.]” It was lawful to marry girls at the age during that period.

As was raised in our Sister Wives litigation (which is now on appeal), the LDS changed its position on polygamy when Utah became a state. In 1890, President Wilford Woodruff, the faith’s fourth prophet-leader, issued the “Manifesto,” which led to the end of the practice. That led to a split and the continued division between the LDS and FLDS, a small group that believes that polygamy is an essential part of the religion. The LDS Church remains opposed to plural marriages.

Source: Salt Lake Tribune

211 thoughts on “Marriages Made In Heaven? Stories Claim New Findings On The Marital Status of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith”

  1. Squeeky, They played Fortunate Son last night @ the Vet Concert. It was put on by liberal elites so playing a song like that was expected. Springsteen, Rihanna and some of the other acts put the soldiers to sleep. They seemed to really like Metallica and Eminem. When I heard the lyrics “I ain’t no Senator’s son” I thought about Hunter Biden all coked up and washing out of the Navy.

  3. Ah barking dog, sometimes you are awfully wise, makes me want t give you a little scratch behind the ear.

  6. You do not need to abandon your own faith to accept the existence of another belief system and to give it some credence. There was a rock band named Credence Clear Water Bible Revival and they brought some high notes to the discussion. Eighth Day Dog Adventists are not a religion based on faith. It is all fact. Look your dog in the eye and tell him that you are going out tonight to visit the cathouse. He will frown and lay down and put his paws under his chin and shake his head. When you decide that perhaps he is right then he will shake and wag. Then you know that you have been given guidance. This is not directly from heaven or from some Microsoft Cloud. This is from a creature put here on Earth to give you guidance. Keep the faith. But if you don’t have one, think about getting a dog.

  9. No, I don’t preach. I’m not into evangelism of any sort. People should believe what they see fit to believe. It’s not my place to push my lack of religious beliefs on them.

  12. @NickS

    Well, I guess it is more fun to analyze somebody else’s propaganda. Plus, with Gruber, they would have to admit that they were either caught up in the net with the other “stupid Americans” or, that they were in on the lying and deception. Good thing there is a therapist or two among them! 🙂

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

  17. @NickS

    I never comment there, either. I just read it when I need a good laugh at hysterical overwrought people. One thing I did notice, is that there one or two good non-partisan articles. Sooo, all the weekend Democratic Party talking points stuff that gets posted here is no accident. It is on purpose. But still, I find it sooo strange that they haven’t hopped on the Gruber Propaganda stuff. That just seems tailor-made for propaganda experts. 🙂

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

Comments are closed.