Orson Pratt

“ The President, who is the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator over the whole church throughout the world, and who alone holds the keys of authority in this solemn ordinance, (as recorded in the 2d and 5th paragraphs of the Revelation on Marriage,) —calls upon the bridegroom, and his wife, and the bride to arise, which they do, fronting the President. The wife stands on the left hand of her husband, while the bride stands on her left. The President then puts this question to the wife: “Are you willing to give this woman to your husband to be his lawful and wedded wife for time and for all eternity? ”

“ When Jesus appeared unto the ancient Nephites, in the northern partof what we call South America, He taught them concerning adultery, in these words:— “Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery; ”

“ O, how fearful the responsibilities resting upon mankind in regard to this momentous subject!
It is because of the infinitely important consequences involved in the multiplication of the human species, that God has regulated the same by the strictest kind of laws. He has not permitted an indiscriminate intercourse between the sexes, as among the dumb brutes; but He has ordained Marriage as the only justifiable means through which the sexes can legally “multiply and replenish the earth.” All connections out of the marriage covenant, are unlawful in the sight of God ”

“ But if the parents or guardians freely give their consent, then he may make propositions of marriage to the young lady; if she refuse these propositions, this also ends the matter; but if she accept, a day is generally set apart by the parties, for the marriage ceremony to be celebrated. It is necessary to state, that before any man takes the least step towards getting another wife, it is his duty to consult the feelings of the wife which he already has, and obtain her consent, as recorded in the 24th paragraph of the revelation, published in the first number of “The Seer.” ”

“ No man in Utah, who already has a wife, and who may desire to obtain another, has any right to make any propositions of marriage to a lady, until he has consulted the President over the whole church, and through him, obtains a revelation from God, as to whether it would be pleasing in His sight. ”

“ We answer, let the practices of the thirty thousand Saints in Utah, speak; let strangers who have traveled through our flourishing territory, declare; let the record of the courts of justice bear witness; let the injured females, if there be any,whose character and reputation have been destroyed by the vile seducer, publish their wrongs; let illegitimate children, if Utah affords them, come forth as a public monument of our disgrace; if a house of ill-fame and breadth of our territory, then let the Saints hide their faces in shame, and the sons and daughters of Utah blush before the Heavens ”

“ These persons who suffer unvirtuous thoughts to come into their hearts, and cherish them there for one moment, will find themselves under condemnation; they have broken the law of God; they have become defiled by their wicked thoughts, and unless they repent, the Spirit will depart from them; for the Holy Ghost dwelleth not in unholy temples—and they will be left in darkness, and their faith will die away, and they will be filled with fear, and finally be cast down to hell. ”

“ If you fully understand and appreciate the warnings which you have received, happy are you, if you give heed and obey the voice of the Lord your God, for great shall be your reward, and eternal shall be your glory. ”

“ The Latter-day Saints are under greater obligations than any other people on the whole earth, to keep themselves pure and virtuous before the Lord—to refrain from adulteries, fornications, licentiousness, all unlawful connections, all uncleanness, all fleshly lusts, all unvirtuous and unholy desires, and from all lustful thoughts, and carnal affections; for we have been faithfully warned, again and again, by the voice of that great Prophet and Revelator, Joseph Smith ”

“ If we reject so great warnings, and sin against the great light, how can we obtain forgiveness, or escape the damnation of hell? The Lord our God is a holy and just God—faithful and true in all His words, and will in nowise vary from that which He hath said ”

“ Herein is God glorified, because there are millions of beings who eventually become like Himself, with whom He can associate, and who are capable of understanding and appreciating all the fullness of His glorious attributes, and of acting with Him in the most perfect harmony, in all the magnificent works of Creation. ”

“ The principal object was to people this creation with myriads of intelligent, moral beings, after His own image and likeness, endowed with God-like capacities, and capable of progressing in the grand scale of knowledge and happiness, until they should receive a fulness, and become like God, and be glorified in Him, and He in them, that they might be one in glory, and in power, and in dominion. ”

“ Herein are the dominions of the Almighty enlarged, by the accession of new worlds, people with being in His own form and of His own order. And herein joy, and gladness, and happiness, reign in the bosom of the great Creator, in all their fullness and perfection, because He exercises His infinite goodness in the formation of numberless worlds, people with beings upon whom, if obedient, He bestows all the fullness of His own great perfections. ”

“ And lastly, an indiscriminate intercourse between the sexes would break up all family associations, and destroy the harmony and peace enjoyed in the domestic circle; fathers would not know their own children, and children could not, with confidence, say who were their fathers: such an order of things would be deplorable, and would strike a deadly blow at the foundation of all domestic happiness. ”

“ If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so shalt thou put away evil from among you. ”

“ And, veriy, I say unto you, as I have said before, he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, of if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith, and shall fear: wherefore, I, the Lord, have said that the fearful, and the unbelieving, and all liars, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, and the whoremonger, and the sorcerer, shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. ”

“ If, then the multiplication of human beings add to the dominions of the Almighty, glorifies His name, and gives Him an opportunity of displaying His infinite goodness, it is reasonable to suppose that He would give laws unto mankind, regulating them upon so important a subject—a subject fraught with consequences that are eternal. ”

“ But if any among you harden their hearts, and yield themselves unto the wicked lusts of their flesh, and suffer themselves to be defiled by cherishing in their minds unvirtuous thoughts and unholy desires, they shall speedily be visited by sore judgments, and their names shall be blotted out from under heaven, and they shall be thrust down to hell, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. ”

“ O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hears, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord ”

“ The direful effects which follow unvirtuous associations, can easily be perceived, even though there were no law of God against such evils. First, illegitimate children are thrown upon the world without any lawful protector to look after their temporal welfare. ”

“ Many other dreadful consequences might also be named, as the result of licentiousness, such as jealousies, want of confidence, loathsome diseases transferred to posterity, all of which evils are abhorrent to the feelings of every good man. ”

“ And if any man or woman shall commit adultery, he or she shall be tried before two elders of the church, or more, and every word shall be established against him or her by two witnesses of the church, and not of the enemy ”