Forever Families?
Journal of Discourses 3:354; “Elders, never love your wives one hair’s breadth further than they adorn the Gospel, never love them so but that you can leave them at a moment’s warning without shedding a tear. Should you love a child any more than this? No.” – Brigham Young, Salt Lake City, June 15, 1856
Ephesians 5:25-26; “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”
Separating ourselves from the Lord Jesus hardens our hearts. This is a well known fact that has shown itself over and over throughout history.
I recall sitting in a Bible study not long after I got saved and hearing the teacher tell the class that we were going to study those two verses and all I heard was “wives submit to your man”. Oh, it’s a good thing the Lord is patient! I got up and left the classroom at that moment and the teacher followed me. She actually stopped the class! Yikes! The lies of Mormonism I had accepted into my spirit had cemented themselves into a walled fortress around my heart.
With patience from loving Christians providing God’s truth from His word I began to see what God said and what His word meant. Reading passages in context and using a concordance will always provide clarity!
So what does this passage mean?
It means husbands love your wife as Christ has loved you. Does it mean you should only “love” her if she obeys you? That isn’t love – that’s dictatorship.
No person, man or woman, would think of such a thing to say if they had the love of God residing inside them.
1 John 3:14-15; “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”
The “Gospel” Mr. Young was referring to was polygamy. If the woman doesn’t submit to the polygamous lifestyle then toss her and the kids too. This is only one of the many examples of how the leaders of this group felt about women who didn’t conform.
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