An American pastor, Israel Ford, has claimed that God spoke to him and his prospective second wife through identical dreams during a 40-day fasting exercise, but did not give his first wife the same revelation at the time.
Ford made the disclosure in a recent interview while explaining how he secured the approval of his first wife, Lydia, before marrying another woman, Shakayla.
According to the cleric, the three agreed to fast and pray about the proposed marriage after he developed feelings for Shakayla, who had become close to the family.
He said Shakayla had frequently assisted his first wife with cooking, cleaning and other household responsibilities, particularly when Lydia was ill.
Ford explained that although he and Shakayla received what he considered divine confirmation, Lydia did not initially receive a similar message.
‘All three of us prayed and fasted about it. We agreed to do a 40-day fast, and in the middle of the fast, God spoke to me and Shakayla. We had a dream on the exact same night,’ he said.
‘The crazy part was He spoke to us and didn’t speak to her (first wife).’
Despite the experience, Ford said he refused to proceed with the marriage without Lydia’s consent.
He explained that his first wife eventually accepted the arrangement after requesting more time to consider the decision.
The pastor also defended his decision to practise polygamy, arguing that he wanted to live according to his interpretation of the Bible.
Ford, who leads LifeWorks Church in Ohio, recently attracted widespread attention after publicly introducing Shakayla as his second wife during a church service.
He maintained that the belief that a Christian man must have only one wife was inconsistent with his understanding of scripture.
The announcement has generated debate among Christians and social media users over marriage, religious teachings and the responsibilities of church leaders.