Throughout sacred history, the moral condition of marriage is directly linked to the spiritual condition of the people. When marriage becomes corrupted—characterized by exploitation, inequality, or unauthorized plural relationships—priesthood power collapses. But when God’s people return to covenant fidelity and monogamy, priesthood authority regains purity, continuity, and strength.

The Book of Mormon expresses this pattern dramatically through the story of Abinadi, King Noah, and Alma the Elder. The Restoration shows the same pattern in the 19th and 20th centuries—culminating in the end of plural marriage in 1890, followed by the most explosive period of Church growth in its history.

King Noah’s Plural Wives: A Sign of Priesthood Breakdown

The Book of Mormon presents King Noah’s polygamy not as a divine institution but as a symptom of moral and priesthood decay:

“He had many wives and concubines.”
— Mosiah 11:2

Plural wives under Noah were tied to:

• coercion
• priestly corruption
• unrighteous dominion
• spiritual blindness

The priests under Noah used their religious authority to justify immoral relationships. Priesthood titles remained, but priesthood power was gone (cf. D&C 121:36–37). The entire society spiritually collapsed around a broken marriage culture.

Where marriage is corrupt, priesthood authority fractures.

Abinadi: Restoring the Foundation for Priesthood Power

Abinadi’s message was more than moral correction. It was a call to restore the conditions under which true priesthood operates:

• fidelity
• chastity
• equality before God
• protection of the vulnerable

His testimony directly challenged the plural-marriage culture of Noah’s court.
By re-teaching the law of God, he was reinstating the original matrimonial pattern required for divine authority to function.

His sacrifice planted the seeds of a new priesthood order.

Alma the Elder: Rejecting Polygamy and Restoring a Pure Priesthood Line

Alma’s repentance was not merely personal—it was institutional. He fled Noah’s court, abandoning:

• its polygamous structure
• its priestcraft
• its exploitation of women
• its unrighteous dominion

The community he built at the Waters of Mormon was the opposite of Noah’s:

• monogamous families
• equal covenant membership
• priesthood exercised “in meekness and long-suffering”
• no concubines or indulgent households

Only after this marital purification did the Lord restore priesthood power to Alma.

From this monogamous foundation sprang:

• Alma the Younger
• the sons of Mosiah
• generations of prophets and leaders
• the most successful missionary wave in the Book of Mormon

Monogamy → priesthood continuity → spiritual expansion.

Modern Parallel: The End of LDS Polygamy and the Rise of Global Church Growth

The same theological pattern reappears in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

1890: Plural Marriage Officially Ended

• President Wilford Woodruff issued the Manifesto in 1890, officially stopping new plural marriages in the Church.

1904: Strict Enforcement Began

• President Joseph F. Smith’s “Second Manifesto” in 1904 ended any remaining unauthorized plural marriages and established excommunication as the consequence for violations.

This year marks the true administrative completion of the shift to universal monogamy.

From this moment, the Church’s growth trajectory changed dramatically.

Before 1890: Church Growth Was Slow and Constrained

Prior to the end of plural marriage, the Church faced:

• federal hostility
• confiscation of Church property
• disenfranchisement of members
• cultural isolation
• widespread public suspicion

Membership numbers remained modest:

• 1830: ~6 members
• 1844: ~26,000
• 1890: ~228,000

Growth was steady but limited, as missionary work and public acceptance struggled under the shadow of polygamy.

After 1890 (and especially after 1904): Unprecedented Global Growth

Once the Church returned fully to monogamy and aligned with New Testament marriage standards, the impact on priesthood continuity and institutional expansion was dramatic:

Key Numbers

• 1900: ~270,000 members
• 1930: just under 600,000
• 1950: ~1.1 million
• 1980: ~4.6 million
• 2000: ~11 million
• 2020: ~16.5 million

The greatest acceleration of temple building, missionary work, and priesthood organization happened after the return to monogamous doctrine.

The parallel to Alma’s story is unmistakable:

• Purified marriage → stabilized priesthood → explosive growth of the Lord’s work.

Priesthood Continuity Depends on Covenant Marriage

The Book of Mormon and modern Church history teach the same principle:

When marriages are corrupted, priesthood falters.

When marriages return to God’s pattern—one man and one woman, united in covenant—priesthood power flows, revelation increases, and the work moves forward.

Alma could not lead a righteous church while participating in Noah’s polygamous system.
Likewise, the restored Church did not achieve worldwide influence until it fully returned to New Testament monogamy.

Conclusion: When Marriage Is Set Right, the Work of the Lord Accelerates

Abinadi’s legacy shows that spiritual renewal begins with restoring marriage to God’s pattern. Alma’s monogamous community became the seedbed for centuries of prophetic leadership and priesthood power. Likewise, when the modern Church ended plural marriage (1890–1904) and aligned itself with Christ’s New Testament standard, it unlocked the most explosive era of growth, unity, and spiritual influence in its history.

The pattern is the same across dispensations:

**When God’s people return to monogamy,

priesthood authority is purified,
priesthood continuity is preserved,
and the work of the Lord takes off.**