NAUVOO, Illinois — Joined by Church historians Kate Holbrook and Matt Grow in a worldwide “Face to Face” broadcast, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles answered significant questions of Church history. Following are summaries of some of the topics addressed during the worldwide broadcast Sunday, Sept. 9, from the grounds of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple.

. . .

Polygamy in the early days of the Church

Holbrook said she descends from people who chose to practice plural marriage — one was a seventh wife, one was a first wife. “Their example has taught me to center my life on faith,” she said. “Their example has taught me to keep putting one foot in front of the other and do so prayerfully.”

The instruction Church members have in the Book of Mormon about plural marriage is found in Jacob 2. Monogamy is God’s standard for marriage and plural marriage is an exception that occurs only when God commands it. Holbrook said Joseph Smith was reluctant to practice plural marriage, but he eventually instituted it because he wanted to obey God’s commandment to him. He began to introduce the practice to others in 1841. “They were shocked,” Holbrook said.

As plural marriage was practiced officially for about 50 years “it was always something people could choose,” she said.

While scholars do not know the exact number of those who practiced plural marriage, those who did were in the minority, she said.

In 1890, the prophet Wilford Woodruff issued a manifesto that led to the end of plural marriage. “When some people heard this manifesto, they were relieved. It had been hard for them and they rejoiced,” Holbrook said. “And when some people heard this manifesto, they were devastated and they cried. They had sacrificed so much and they had testimonies of this principle.

Grow said it is important to remember “the vast majority of Latter-day Saints throughout time have lived in monogamous marriages and monogamous families.”

An important aspect of Joseph Smith’s practice of plural marriage was a distinction made between sealings for time and eternity, which involved commitments in this life, and sealings for eternity alone, which only involved commitments in the life to come, Grow said. “We know that some of Joseph Smith’s sealings that appear unusual to us and are difficult to understand, fall into the category of sealings for eternity alone and seem to be about creating links between families in the next life,” he said.

Grow said one purpose of polygamy was to raise up “seed or a righteous posterity.” The extensive family history records of the Church reveal that “20 percent of living Church members descend from those who practiced plural marriage,” he said. “We know that throughout time those families have been a strength to the Church.”

Elder Cook said it clear there was a lot of sacrifice — as well as love and unity — in plural marriages and they taught their children to sacrifice. Those children took the gospel of Jesus Christ across the world through missionary work, he said.

“In the senior councils of the Church, there is a feeling that polygamy, as it was practiced, served its purpose and we should honor those Saints, but that purpose has been accomplished.”

There are still unanswered questions, he said. Elder Cook testified that “we have a loving Heavenly Father who has a perfect plan, that His plan is one of happiness, that we have a Savior who did everything for us. We can trust in Them.”