Hi! My wife is from Romania and I have visited there 4 times. What part of Europe are you from?
This is a bit long winded, so brace yourself. For me, I kind of figured it out because the pastor from another church used to conduct a Bible Study for singles on Monday nights. He did a Q&A in his last appearance there, and we all had heads up to write out our questions, and he chose the most frequently asked questions. The first question was whether Adam had a belly button. The second was about polygamy. I listened to his answer and I thought, "Wow! So basically bad things happened to people, but maybe those men felt it was worth it!" I stored that thought away in the back of my mind, Fast forward a few years and I was part of an adult Sunday School class, and other people recognized that I knew the Bible pretty well, so one man approached me and asked me about polygamy. I responded that it is only forbidden for deacons, bishops, and elders. I also said that we must abide by the laws of the land. I told him that says nothing about jurisdictions where it is not illegal though, and I said that is something we need to take into consideration with our missionaries, when they lead someone to Christ. Of course the question came up about how FLDS is doing this, because I was not aware of any Christians that practice this, and I said that they don't get marriage licenses, and then I called into question whether their marriages are valid, and I left it at that. I hadn't really given much thought about having a second wife myself until about 10 years ago. I was at work, and I had to go down to the lab for something, and while I was on my way, I was contemplating how Jehovah's Witnesses often stay in that organization, not so much because of any belief that the organization is adhering to the truth, but because they don't want to lose their family! It hit me that many people blinfly follow their church leadership, because the cost of following Christ is too high. That led me to think about Muslims, and how the Christian doesn't get 72 virgins, and that may be a factor in why they hold fast to Islam, and of course FLDS members can have more than one wife. I was headed back to my desk and I thought, "Man, if I were Mormon, I would definitely switch over to FLDS!" I lamented for a moment that they embrace false teachings, and I thought, "If only there were a Christian denomination...wait a minute! Why isn't there?!?!? I mean, Biblically, as long as you are not seeking the office of bishop, deacon, or elder, there shouldn't be a problem!" And then I thought, "Wow! I can't be the only Christian who knows this!"
