Polygamy

Early versions of William Branham's stage persona did not support polygamy. Though in some cases Branham claimed that the world would be "better off" if polygamy was allowed, he voiced his opinion that polygamy was wrong. While his ministry could attract crowds in the United States, and those crowds opposed polygamy, Branham did also.

The divorce courts of America produce more divorces by our women than all the rest of the nations. The morals in our country is lower, and divorces, than it is in France or Italy, where prostitution's on the streets so... But they're prostitutes; ours is married women trying to live with several men, and several married men trying to live with other women. In the nations where they have polygamy, it's a thousand times better. And yet, polygamy's wrong; we know.[1]

As his popularity in the United States decreased, however, and his popularity in Africa increased, Branham added provisions for polygamy in his doctrinal position. The latest version of his stage persona claimed that the Bible supported polygamy even though it was not legal in the United States. According to this stage persona, polygamy was a Covenant given by God to man:

Then when the double covenant was made by man and woman, through sex, another covenant altogether (not the original covenant, but another covenant), now what’s introduced? Polygamy, in all. Then, after the beginning, polygamy was introduced both in man and in beasts; after the beginning, the fall. God now, secondarily, sets a new nature again, by sex. God created the first without sex. Do you believe that? [Congregation says, “Amen. ”—Ed. ] Now it’s another covenant with nature, He sets it in another order, by sex. Second covenant: one male, many females; one buck deer, a whole harem of does. Is that right? One bull, a whole herd of cattle, cows; one rooster, a yardful of hens. Is that right? One David, after His Own heart, with five hundred wives; with a hundred children born to him, in one year, of different women, a man after God’s Own heart. One Solomon, with a thousand wives. But notice now, it wasn’t so at the beginning, but now it’s “after” the beginning. The woman has done this, then she just becomes what she is now. See?.[2]

William Branham's early campaign manager, recognized faith healer and cultist F. F. Bosworth, was a ranking member of John Alexander Dowie's Zion cult commune in Zion City, Illinois.  Many doctrines William Branham claimed to introduce appear to have either been heavily influenced by or came directly from Dowie.  Like Branham and Bosworth, Dowie claimed to be a faith healer, and specifically like Branham, Dowie claimed to be the "return of Elijah".  Also like Branham, towards the end of his life, Dowie introduced support for polygamy against the will of his wife and son.[3]

While many theologians would agree that the Old Testament included accounts of men who practiced polygamy, most theologians in the United States would also agree that polygamy is not supported by the New Testament -- regardless of the American legal system. This was not Branham's position, however. Branham's final stage persona claimed that polygamy was supported by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament by what he did not say:

in First Corinthians 7:10, notice, Paul commands the wife that is, that divorces her husband, to remain single or be reconciled, not to remarry. She must remain single, or to be reconciled back to her husband. She cannot remarry. She must remain single, but, notice, he never said about the man. See, you can't make the Word lie. "From the beginning," the sex law by polygamy. Now, the Word of God runs true with nature of God, runs in to continuity. See how there is one school went east, and the other one went west, on it? You got to come back to the Truth, to find out what it is. It's always been that way, that's the regular covenant with God from the beginning. First, before the beginning, from the beginning there was just one and one. After the sin came in, then there was one man and a bunch of women; run that way in nature, every animal, and human beings and natural flesh is animal. We are mammal, we know that, all of us, see, and it's all God's nature in continuity.[4]

According to this stage persona, women were created for the purpose of sex. Therefore, Branham claimed, polygamy was "scriptural".

If God could have give His son any better thing than a wife, He would have give that to him. But she is designed to be a sex act, and no other animal is designed like that. No other creature on the earth is designed like that. That's the reason you see polygamy, because of that. That's what brought it in. Now look, in the final analysis, look, there is one Jesus Christ (is that right?), one Man, God, Immanuel. Do you believe that? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] But the members of His Wife are many, see, thousands times thousands of thousands (is that right?), His Wife, the Bride, the Church. You understand now?[5]

In 2011, a polygamist group of William Branham's "Message" cult followers at the Evangelistic Tabernacle in Henry County was exposed on Washington's WUSA Channel 9[6] and the Roanoke Times.[7] Branham cult leader Elwood Gallimore admitted that he slept with multiple women.  According to Armando Trull, reporter for Channel 9, Gallimore believed that he was under attack as other polygamist compounds in Texas were raided by the Federal government.[8]

Viewers watched in disbelief as the Branham cult leader warned his congregation, "They will hate you!" As he stood in front of a picture of William Branham.  Branham, who allegedly supported polygamy throughout his ministry began openly supporting polygamy in 1965.  According to Branham, the "covenant of polygamy" was introduced after the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden lowering the status of women to "become what she is now".  Gallimore defended his beliefs by stating that he was simply preaching the doctrine of Branham and that the Bible "sanctions polygamy"[9]

Everybody says, "Well, they're all sleeping together," Gallimore said of his critics during an interview Friday. "But Sabrina [the teen-ager] goes to one bedroom, Janice goes to another, and whichever one I want to sleep with, I sleep with."[10]

According to the Roanoke Times, William Branham's sons Joseph and Billy Paul Branham denied that their father made these statements.

Billy Paul Branham, contacted Friday by telephone, was stunned to learn Gallimore was preaching polygamy and justifying it with his father's teachings."Two living wives? At the same time?" Branham asked. "That's what we call polygamy. We absolutely do not believe in that."Branham went on to say that Gallimore's interpretation of his father's preachings was "totally the opposite" of his father's intent. In fact, Branham said his father's followers are taught that they can remarry only if a spouse dies.[11]

Willard Collins, who was pastor at the Tabernacle in Jeffersonville Indiana at the time, also denied that Branham made these statements.

Willard Collins is the pastor of Jeffersonville's Branham Tabernacle, which was founded by William Marrion Branham. Collins said Branham was "one of the cleanest-living men" and would never have sanctioned multiple marriages.Branham, Collins confirmed, even refused to marry a divorced person whose former spouse was still alive. Collins had never heard of a wedding like the Gallimore-Simpkins event."That just seems so ridiculous to me," he said. "Is there anything we can do to stop it? I tell you, it's ridiculous, especially connecting himself to Brother Branham."[12]

Confrontation Over Branham's Support of Polygamy:
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PS2o3UoZys
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsryUGfOx_E