Windy Sydney

I was recently asked a couple questions about some statements I made, and I would love to take the time to answer these questions.

Joseph Smith married young girls, he also married women who were nearly 60. Why would he take a 60 year old if he could take all 16 year olds?

Joseph Smith married young girls because he liked young girls. I sincerely believe that he scared these girls (along with their families) that they should marry him or else be damned to hell. Why would he take on 60 year olds? To make it look better, of course. Even the most believing Mormons of his day would look at him marrying woman after woman and assume the worst. By marrying 60 year olds, he made it look like he was actually trying to help these women. I will never believe polygamy was commanded by God. Never. He just claimed it was.

Joseph Smith was polygamous, but those marriages happened near the end of his life around when he was 38. After he was commanded to.

It doesn't matter how old he was, does it? He had multiple wives, and he even hid those wives from his first wife, Emma. If polygamy was ordered by God, why did he feel the need to keep it a secret from Emma?

Since you think it does matter, here are some things I learned about polygamy and Joseph Smith...

It is not exactly clear when it started. Former Church authorities have suggested that his first polygamous marriage was with Fanny Alger, probably in or around 1831. That would make Joseph about 26.

Personally, I think his actions with Fanny were just a good old fashion affair and it probably began in around 1838. That would make Joseph about 32. -John Larson

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He was born in 1805. The Fanny Alger incident was in 1833. That's the first polygamous wife that we know about. He died in 1844. -Winyan

I believe polygamy was a result of Joseph liking the ladies. He had an affair, got caught, and then suddenly had revelation about polygamy to make things okay again. Nothing adds up, nothing. God would never ask anyone to do that to someone they love. I will never buy into that mode of thinking. After all, God doesn't want us to lie, does he?

You say that the church distracts from family time with activities. You always seem to keep out family night on Mondays. Time specifically devoted to family time.

The church does distract from family time with activities. Think about it for a minute. Sure, you have family home evening on Monday nights... but what are you discussing and learning about during that time? Mormonism. Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon. I am sure many Mormon families have family home evening and once in a while just simply have fun together, but most of the time it would be centered around the church.

You go to Church on Sunday... then their are priesthood meetings, as well as other meetings on Sunday. You don't watch television, you spend the entire day focusing on the religion.

Mondays you have family home evening. Again, pretty much focusing on the church. You might play games, or make desserts together... but the whole idea of family home evening is to get your family together and learn more about the church.

Tuesday nights, my brother usually had boy scouts. More church.

Wednesday-- Young Women's and Young Mens. Activities lasted approximately 2 1/2 hours for me when I would attend faithfully. Again, we learned tons of things about the church, and I was taught who I should marry and how I should marry them.

If you hold a calling, you have to put in time to get that work done. You spend your private and free time focusing more on the church... not to mention the fact that you spend your money on it as well... If your calling is something like Relief Society president or Bishop, you rarely have time for anything other than your job and your calling. Bishops usually spend just as much time at their ward that they do at home.

During the summers there are camps for kids to attend...

It literally goes on and on. The church takes up time, and lots of it. I am positive I have left things out here... if I took more time I would add more, but I am working on something else at the moment.

The church did keep blacks from having the priesthood, but the responsibility of the priesthood had also been restricted to certain groups in biblical times. Why God does this I do not know.

I don't believe for a second that God would allow certain types of people to have a "power" over others. There is no priesthood. I don't buy it. God wouldn't play favorites like that, especially over something as silly as skin color or gender. Think about it, why in the world would He do that? There is nothing you could ever say or do to make me believe otherwise. My God wouldn't do that.