August 19 – Was the Apostle John a Polygamist? John 13:23 “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.”
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Today we’re looking at the Mormon claim the Apostle John was a polygamist. When you can, be sure to share the following info on John with the Mormon you know and assure him/her the Mormon teaching by John Taylor is nothing but a lie.
There simply aren’t any reputable Christian sources making the claim John was a polygamist, and this sounds like the Church made this claim in defense of their own sin. As John stated in the first chapter of Revelation, he was imprisoned because of his testimony of Jesus.
According to GotQuestions.org, the Apostle John “lived in a cave, cut off from those he loved, and was treated with cruelty and reproach.”
The following is a list of factual info on Patmos, allowing us to put things in perspective of what John was experiencing –
Patmos:
An island just off the southwest corner of Turkey in the Aegean Sea that is now known as Patmo.
Roughly 28-30 miles in circumference.
Patmos is where the Romans exiled prisoners to serve a sentence of hard labor when they felt someone was a threat to the peace of the empire. See Ferrell Jenkins’ bibleworld.com.
According to Eusebius, John was arrested by the ruler Domitian, served 18 months, and released under the reign of Emperor Nerva who served from 96-98 AD.
“Patmos” means “my killing” (Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names by J.B. Jackson).
It was a sterile island, meaning it was unable to produce any living thing for sustenance. (See Gospel.org)
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Journal of Discourses 21:163; “We come again to John on the Isle of Patmos, where he had been banished because of his religion. I do not know whether he was a practical polygamist or not; but his religion was very much opposed to the ideas and theories of the people in that day. He was a Christian and he dared to fear God and keep his commandments, and they banished him to the Isle of Patmos, that he might labor amongst the slaves there in the lead mines.” – John Taylor, Salt Lake City, December 7, 1879
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