Many people are occasionally confused by the apparent contradiction between two verses in latter-day revealed scripture dealing with the principle of plural marriage. These two verses follow:

"Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord." (Jacob 2:24)

". . . wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines--" (D&C 132:1)

The question that naturally arises is whether or not the Lord was pleased with David and Solomon in having a plurality of wives. We will look at this question to see if there is a common principle involved, or specific factors in each case that will lead to harmony between these two seemingly contradictory scriptural statements.

Briefly, the instructions given in Jacob chapter two deal with gross iniquities that some of the people of Nephi had started to engage in during the ministry of Jacob, the brother of Nephi. We do not have a complete explanation from Jacob chapter two of the nature of their iniquities, but it was sufficient to prompt the Lord to declare that the practice of plural marriage was not to be allowed among the Nephites during that time, even though plural marriage had always been a principle practiced by God's people of the House of Israel, and specifically authorized by the Law of Moses. We strongly suspect that the immoral conduct of the Nephites at that time was not merely the "practice of plural marriage," but something beyond the simple practice of plural marriage, or in other words, the manner in which the Nephites wanted or tried to engage in it, or specific sinful acts, which were abominable in the sight of the Lord.

To shed further clarification into any possible "contradiction" between the scriptural verses in question, we feel it is necessary to include into the discussion the following verses also from D&C 132:

38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.
39 David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord. (D&C 132:38-39)

The above verses state that the Lord gave and authorized many wives and concubines to David and Solomon. The verses also state that they both entered into additional relationships that had sinful or abominable aspects irregardless of any consideration of plural marriage. Just as in the case of David and Solomon, it is certain that there were acts of abomination among the Nephites beyond the scope of simple plural marriage that displeased the Lord, prompting him to completely abridge the practice among the people at that time.

Proper living of plural marriage is not an abomination to God; what is an abomination is when men and women commit sex acts that go beyond the the bounds of sexual purity in marriage. For example, it is an abomination to commit sexual acts that abridge or compromise the privacy and sanctity of intimate moments between a husband and one of his wives. A man has intimate relations with each wife in complete privacy, one at a time. Sexual acts that violate this principle and other unholy sexual acts offend God and degrade women and men. Any principle can be degraded and made shameful through manipulation and evil intent, and it was conditions such as this or similar ones that occurred among this particular people in Jacob chapter 2 of the Book of Mormon.

In Jacob chapter 2, neither is there a complete explanation of the "abomination" of David and Solomon. It is true that according to D&C 132:1 David and Solomon were justified in their basic practice of plural marriage, but we can refer to the scriptural account in the Bible to learn what their specific sins were. We stress that their sins over and above plural marriage were what made their own practices abominable and sinful.

In the case of David, there is nothing of any disrepute at all mentioned in any of the scriptures of the Bible regarding David's first six wives: Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Eglah. These women are mentioned in 2 Samuel 2:1-5. David did commit sin, but it was not in taking these honorable wives. David's sin was in lusting after yet another man's wife, and in arranging for that man's death, so that he could take this woman to wife (2 Samuel 11:2-17). That is what brought about the calamity and sin in David's house, and what the Lord considered abominable.

The prophet Nathan, while chastising David for this heinous sin, specifically states that the Lord himself had given him his previous wives:

7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. (2 Samuel 12:7-9)

The last verse above, verse 9, stipulates what David's sin was : it was murder, and taking the wife of the man he murdered. This sin was an abomination, but this sin had nothing to do at all with his previous six wives, which the Lord gave to David, as in verse 8 above.

What about Solomon? Again, nowhere in any of the Biblical scriptures does it state that Solomon committed adultery. There was abomination in Solomon's family relations, but this was not because of plural marriage. The Bible attributes no sin to Solomon simply because of his hundreds of wives. A big part of Solomon's problem was certainly excess, but his sin was specifically because he took to wife women from foreign lands who worshiped strange Gods, and who therefore turned Solomon's heart away from the true God:

1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
2 Of the nations concerning which the lord said unto the children of Israel, ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. (1 Kings 11:1-4)

The above passage is the description of Solomon's sin, and it was not simply engaging in plural marriage. It was permitting circumstances whereby his heart was turned away from the true God towards false Gods. It would have been a sin for Solomon to take only one single wife from a foreign nation forbidden by the Lord, and to have his heart turned by her away from the true God. By the way, the above does state that Solomon's father David had had his heart right with God.

In summary, we feel there is no conflict between the two verses in question, because there was indeed abomination in the acts of David and Solomon, but this was not merely for participating in plural marriage. This is supported by D&C 132:38-39 where the Lord qualifies his approval of David and Solomon's practice of plural marriage to the extent that their practice was within the bounds the Lord had set for them. Anything beyond what the Lord had permitted became an abomination, which is what is referred to in Jacob 2:24.

In the particular age and circumstances of Jacob Chapter 2, the Lord chose to forbid plural marriage. Now however, we are in a different dispensation, the "dispensation of the fullness of times" in which "all things" are to be restored that are celestial principles in order to properly order the family of God and to build Zion. Plural marriage practiced in the correct manner is an eternal principle and a blessing that elevates the participants, and assists them to more rapidly overcome their personal weaknesses. The Lord has given specific instructions in these last days that plural marriage is to be integrally included in the several principles necessary for Zion. It is a commandment. We would like to close this discussion with the following few quotes:

"They accuse me of polygamy, and of being a false Prophet, and many other things which I do not now remember; but I am no false Prophet; I am no impostor; I have had no dark revelations; I have had no revelations from the devil; I made no revelations; I have got nothing up of myself. The same God that has thus far dictated me and directed me and strengthened me in this work, gave me this revelation and commandment on Celestial and plural marriage (D&C 132) and the same God commanded me to obey it. He said to me that unless I accepted it and introduced it, and practiced it, I, together with my people, would be damned and cut off from this time hence forth. And they say if I do so, they will kill me. O, what shall I do? If I do not practice it, I shall be damned with my people. If I do teach it, and practice it, and urge it, they say they will kill me, and I know they will. But we have got to observe it. It is an eternal principle and was given by way of commandment and not by way of instruction." (Joseph Smith Jun., 1843, the "Contributor" 5:259.)

"I wish here to say to the Elders of Israel, and to all the members of this Church and kingdom, that it is in the hearts of many of them to wish that the doctrine of polygamy was not taught and practiced by us. It may be hard for many, and especially for the ladies, yet it is no harder for them than it is for the gentlemen. It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at lest in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained. This is as true as that God lives. You who wish that there were no such thing in existence, if you have in your hearts to say: "We will pass along in the Church without obeying or submitting to it in our faith or believing this order, because, for aught that we know, this community may be broken up yet, and we may have lucrative offices offered to us; we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character and office, etc,"--the man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them. (Brigham Young, 19 August 1866, JD 11:266)

"God has given us a revelation in regard to celestial marriage. I did not make it. He has told us certain things pertaining to this matter, and they would like us to tone that principle down and change it and make it applicable to the views of the day. This we cannot do... I cannot do it, and will not do it. I find some men try to twist round the principle in any way and every way they can. They want to sneak out of it in some way. Now God don't want any kind of sycophancy like that.... If God has introduced something for our glory and exaltation, we are not going to have that kicked over by any improper influence, either inside or outside of the Church of the living God." (John Taylor, 6 October, 1884, JD 25:309-310)

"Some people have supposed that the doctrine of plural marriage was a sort of a superfluity, or nonessential to the salvation or exaltation of mankind. In other words, some of the Saints have said, and believe, that a man with one wife, sealed to him by the authority of the Priesthood for time and eternity, will receive an exaltation as great and glorious, if he is faithful, as he possibly could get with more than one. I want here to enter my solemn protest against this idea, for I know it is false. — Therefore, whoever has imagined that he could obtain the fullness of the blessings pertaining to the celestial law, by complying with only a portion of its conditions, has deceived himself. He cannot do it." (Apostle Joseph F. Smith, July 7, 1878, JD 20:28)