 Whatever God requires is right ... even things which may be considered abominable to all those who do not understand the order of heaven.Beginning in the mid-1830s and into the 1840s, as the Mormon people became involved in conflicts with the Missouri and Illinois state governments, Smith taught that "Congress has no power to make a law that would abridge the rights of my religion," and that they were not under the obligation to follow laws they deemed as being contrary to their "religious privilege".Smith may have thus felt justified in promoting polygamy despite its violation of some traditional ethical standards.