Minor nitpick: Polygamy is actually in another mormon scripture called The Doctrine & Covenants (Section 132). It’s actually prohibited in The Book of Mormon (Jacob 2:24-27). Converts are asked to read the Book of Mormon prior to baptism, but are not required or asked, necessarily, to read the D & C. :dubious:
Hm, okay–isn’t there an episode where the Native Americans from the casino are bringing up the fact that the Book of Mormon says that Native Americans were turned red for not accepting Jesus or whatever, and Margene’s like, “Um…” indicating she hadn’t read it? That’s what I was going off of.
The opening scene with Nikki & Cara Lynn was in Union Station, so apparently they took Amtrak, which as far as I know, don’t have metal detectors at their stations (shhhhh, don’t tell Al Qaeda!). In reality, that’s a 3 day journey (via Denver and Chicago), which didn’t seem to jive with the reality they presented of Nikki “surprising” Bill in DC.
Yes, I remember that scene and I think you are recalling it accurately.
To my knowledge, Margene has never converted to mormonism, ever. She got “baptised” into the family, in the Henrickson swimming pool, but she did not, AFAIK
• Take the lessons from the missionaries,
• Ever attend a mainstream mormon church service, or
• read the Book of Mormon.
So… why she might be all gung-ho about polygamy, I can’t say for sure. I think Bill recruited her much in the same way he did with Ana – and again, AFAIK, he has not required any of his wives to convert to mainstream mormonism, FLDS mormonism, or Islam, which is funny and ironic to me, considering that the polygamy in mormonism is scripturally based. There’s more polygamy in the Bible (and in the D&C) than there is in the BoM.
Anyway, I think Margene is in it because of the sense of security, family & community she experiences as Third Wife, not because she’s a True Believer in the principle as it is laid out in scripture. She might be a true believer in the principle, but not because she has a testimony of it, or rather, not because she’s had some sort of religious conversion or spiritual experience. I think it’s just that her family is so fucked up, this is the closest she’s ever come to having a real family who act like they love each other.
Thanks, fiddlesticks–didn’t realize it was a train journey for Nicki and Cara Lynn.
Dogzilla, do Bill and the family read the Book of Mormon, then? Or…what do they base their principle off of? The D&C?
Well, with the exception of Margene, he wouldn’t have to. Barb is/was raised mainstream Mormon and Nikki is/was raised FLDS.
I think all mormon scriptures are used by FLDS and mainstream LDS alike.
Not that I’ve seen any of the Henricksons actually reading any scriptures. I did see a picture of Joseph Smith hanging in Don’s “church” that they go to.
The D&C is considered scripture because it’s considered divine revelation that Joseph Smith received straight from god. (He only translated the golden plates he found; didn’t receive revelation directly, in terms of the BoM.)
All offshoots of mormonism (there are more than you might think) are based on the BoM and consider Joseph Smith to be the first prophet. It’s conflict over the line of succession after JS died that caused some schisms. Brigham Young split to build the mainstream LDS church. JS’s first wife Emma and oldest son (Joseph Jr.) split off to form the Reorganized LDS church, which is now called the Community of Christ (or something like that). I’m not sure who split off to form the FLDS offshoot, but you could find that out on Wikipedia or Google it.
Right, I was thinking of Margene, and then Ana and how they flirted with bringing her into the fold.
You’re to allowedtransport firearms in checked baggage.
Mostly, but not quite. In mainstream LDS belief, there are 5 books of scripture:
The Old Testament
The New Testament
The Book Of Mormon
The Doctrine and Covenants
The Pearl of Great Price
Dogzilla’s right, there have been dozens, if not hundreds of religious sects who claim to be decended from Joseph Smith’s teachings. In 1984, a guy published a book purporting to list all of them (I have the book on my shelf at home, and can get the title if anyone cares). He listed 114 (IIRC), but there have been new off-shoots since then, and he missed a few. Most of the ones he listed are defunct, but it gives you a sense of how diverse the particulars opinions on something like this can be.
As far as the Old Testament - Most sects believe in the OT, but diverge on which version (translation) to use, and it’s contents. IIRC, there were a few early off-shoots that rejected the OT, which is strange, because Joseph SMith and Brigham Young extensively echoed the OT in what they said and did. Joseph Smith did have a revelation (your beliefs may vary) in which he said that the Apocrypha is of God, but has not yet been translated correctly, but can still be used for instruction for an enlightened mind. Accordingly, some small groups claimed accrurate translation and use it. (We Mormons are big on prophets and direct revelation, and anyone who wants to form a new branch on the Mormon tree gets added credibility if they claim to translate something). Joseph SMith also stated that the Song Of Solomon is not a prophetic work, so it is rarely read or referenced in Mormon churches, and some sects have removed it.
Also, in both the NT and the OT, Joseph Smith was working on something called “The Joseph Smith Translation” of the Bible. The JST isn’t really a translation in that Joseph Smith never referred to original biblical manuscripts in Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic. Instead, it is compsed of changes, additions and redactions Joseph claimed were directly revealed to him while studying the Bible. Some additions are quite extensive. Members of the LDS Church (the Salt Lake City centered off-shoot) do not use the JST as we believe it is incomplete. Instead we use the King James Version.
As to the Book of Mormon, almost all groups use it, but a few groups have declared it to be not historical, but an inspirational allegory. A few smaller groups, most notably the Strangite’s, believe they have additional writings that are from Book of Mormon figures, and include those.
The Pearl of Great Price is an anthology of religious writings from Joseph SMith, and it is a mixed bag. It was originally a collection of writings used by missionaries in Europe, and was cannonized late in the 19th Century. Accordingly, not all groups use it, and some sects add other writings by Jospeh Smith, like his Lecture on Faith and the King Follet Discourse.
Finally, The Doctrine and Covenants is really mixed. It is a collection of revelations by modern prophets, including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and others. Most of the larger sects, such as the Community of Christ and the Salt Lake City LDS Church have their own versions based on what revelations they consider to be authentic. I believe the FLDS has their own version.
There, much more info then any of you probably care about. You read it, you can’t unread it.
The upshot is, until they tell us, we have no real way of knowing what the fictional sect on Big Love considers to be scripture.