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Val,
I disagree with you on your criticism of Hales’ noting that this is a first book from this author. It is relevant to the discussion. Hales excuses some serious flaws because it is a first book and even lays a portion of the blame on poor editing. Not even remotely close to an ad hominem, and actually quite compassionate.
-It is not sporting to refer to this being the author’s “first book.” Not quite ad hominem, but unbecoming for one such as yourself. Your article is well argued and stands on its own without such a petty comment.
-if we assume that an infinite number of males and females go to the celestial kingdom, then there is no “matching” problem, even if the set of females is greater than the set of males. It is trivial to show that in such a case all can be matched 1:1. And since God’s creation goes on forever, this is a reasonable assumption. We also see how easy any discussion of afterlife turns in incomprehensibilities. There’s a reason Nibley rarely spoke of the afterlife in detail.
-The most reasonable explanation for polygamy remains reproduction. It is most likely Young and Kimball et al ‘sanctified’ it in sermons to give courage to the saints in the context of withering persecution from the state as well as the hostility of all neighbors. Mormonism’s numbers today would be far less if polygamy was never instituted, as would be the number of temples, which is the raison d’etre for modern Mormonism.
One issue that any commentary of D&C 132 should expound upon fully is the usage of the word “gods” to describe the resurrected Abraham, Issac and Jacob and others — equating them not as false gods, but with God. (verses 20 and 37)
Other than D&C 121, Abraham 4 and 5, and a few places in the Bible, this usage seems in contradiction to the usage of “God” and “gods” in all other Mormon standard works. See, for example, D&C 20:12, 17, 28. It definitely is in contradiction to the understanding of God by virtually all other faiths.
D&C 132 explicitly is about the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage. But it implicitly is also somewhat about understanding the truth about the “One God” that is a union of beings that includes Jesus but also Abraham and others that do all the works of Abraham.