Analysis Of Gibson's `` Television Special `` Polygamy On The Christian Family?

In “Mormon Masculinity Changing Gender Expectations in the Era of Transition from Polygamy to Monogamy, 1890–1920,” Amy Hoyt and Sara M. Patterson argue that during the era of transition from polygamy to monogamy, there was a perceived crisis in the lives of Mormon boys. These events together resulted in a change in the notion of masculinity in the LDS church. Their thesis was “..during the period from 1890 to 1920, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) perceived a crisis in the lives of their boys. That sense of crisis lay at the surface of an even deeper cultural upheaval taking place within Mormondom....With the transition from polygamy to monogamy, church members had to construct a new model for understanding marriage, family and sexuality...they were also forced to reconstruct their notions of masculinity (Hoyt and Patterson 72-73).”

Marriage is a social institution that is practiced globally. Traditionally marriages are known to occur between one man and one woman. However, cultural values and time have reshaped and birthed new types of marriages. Polygamy is a type of marriage that is often practiced around the world specifically in Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Polyamorous marriages have been in existence for centuries. Polygamy is classified into two categories, polygyny, and polyandry. Polygyny is the most popular type of polygamy, in this type of polygamous marriage, a man is married to multiple women. On the other hand, polyandry which is the least familiar type of polygamy is where a woman is married to multiple husbands. The intolerance of Mormons in the United States has led to the outlawing of polyamorous marriages. The Morrill Anti Bigamy law of 1862 outlawed the practice of polygamy in the United States. Like many other laws, this law can be overturned. In fact, it should be reversed because illegalizing polygamy is unethical. Polygamy should be legalized because it is unconstitutional for it to be illegal, same-sex marriages and interracial marriages are legal, therefore so should polyamorous marriages. In addition, legalizing polygamy would prevent immigrant families who practice polygamy from being separated and it would also strengthen the feminist movement.

This research will address the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, a sect of Mormonism based in Utah, Warren Jeffs and his cult of fear. Warren Jeffs had control over ten thousands of followers for nearly a decade. Warren Jeffs coerced young girls into polygamous marriages with older men. Jeffs is estimated to have over 70 wives. The media was shunned, and he created a hidden community where polygamy was prized above anything else. In 2007, after there was a two year FBI manhunt, Jeffs was convicted as an accomplice to rape. Warren Jeff's rise to power effort led to his fallout. Even after his conviction his followers believed that he was innocent and held onto his beliefs and practices.

One of the largest struggles for members in the church is animosity of non-members. On one hand, many express their dislike of the LDS church without even knowing what Sacrament Meeting is or the full the title of the “Mormon church” (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). On the other hand, there are a number supposed experts about Mormon doctrine. Some have belonged to the Church themselves at one point, leaving after finding unresolved dissonance between their beliefs and the Gospel. Others are often learned scholars, criticizing the Mormon doctrine to prove their own views. The following paper involves the latter of the two in an analysis of Ezekiel 37:15-17, a Biblical scripture that the LDS Church believes to refer to The Book of Mormon.

No one has ever been able to articulate just what makes a cult, and what makes a religion different. Yet most people, when listing mainstream religions, name Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, among others. These religions have existed for thousands of years and have millions of followers; they have thus earned a degree of respect even from outsiders. However, Mormonism—the tradition of the Latter Day Saints movement—is considered strange, and by some, a cult. In the modern age, many consider its very premise a hoax. Mark Twain criticized the Mormon holy scripture, calling it “chloroform in print” (Turner 229), and Jacob Weisberg (editor of the Washington Post) called Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, “an obvious con man” (Ostling xv). Yet

Despite the stereotype of Mormon women not having any rights living in a patriarchal lifestyle because of their polygamist beliefs, they ironically had more rights than most American women at the time. In the 1800’s, Mormon women and men were both given rights and they both dealt with child rearing (Kane 580). However, in typical American households, it was common for only women to handle child care in family life. Mormon women were involved in many different aspects of life including actions in politics, the economy and social gatherings (580). In an interview with Brigham Young, he said he loved, cherished and supported his wives. He even looked at some of them as mother figures (Greely). Women mattered in their husbands’ lives and were able to make a difference in the community.

Deborah Evans Met Aaron Conway and his wife Barb Conway five years ago as part of the religious sect Canyon County Family Society that has existed for 25 years with 120 members, which is part of the Mormon Church which strongly believes in polygamist marriages. Ms. Evans moved in with the Conway’s two years ago, in which time Mr. Conway and Ms. Evans began dating even though he has been married to his wife Barb

Rebecca Musser stated in her book, The Witness Wore Red: The 19th Wife, Who Brought Polygamous Cult Leaders to Justice, “As I learned more about choice, and looked over the extensive evidence in all of the cases I had testified in, I realized that what was happening in the FLDS was human trafficking – both for labor and for sex…the forced acts of labor and sex are the same – the very definition of slavery.” (Musser 99). Musser’s statement illustrates the sad and disgusting truth that is the truth in polygamy and the Jeffs Compound. She was the first women to speak out about the horrors behind the cult doors. With the pressure of having multiple wives, polygamist men look to younger and younger females to marry causing them to break the federal law. (Hamilton) The federal government arrested twelve FLDS members including Warren Jeffs for charges ranging from bigamy to having sex with a minor. (The Polygamists). These arrests led to the national media coverage on the compound, which is exactly what Warren Jeffs wanted. However, the people inside the compound did not feel the same as their fearless leader. In the movie, Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs, Jeffs is seen asking a young girl, with whom he is having sex, if she feels the presence of the Lord in him. (Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs). This crude act of fornication with an unwilling party shows how the followers of polygamy abuse their

Polygamy is a practice of having more than one wife. George Reynolds already had a wife but he married again in order to have a second spouse. With polygamy being banned in all fifty states, Reynolds was convicted of bigamy. However, Reynold stated that the law was unconstitutional on First Amendment basis. He told the court that he was a member of the Mormon Church. The Mormon church had a doctrine that practiced polygamy. He argued that because he was a member of the church, he was expected to marry twice. He told the court he was fulfilling a religious duty. Because he convicted

The Mormons understood that they needed to take a proactive approach in discovering new members, especially in the beginning of their movement. Mormons also had traveling missionaries to spread their message and recruit new members and followers. A final reason that the Mormon religion was able to flourish for years after its inception was its willingness to change their views on polygamy after being pressured by the American public (Scott). The Mormon Church eventually decided they would no longer endorse polygamy. Today, Mormonism is a growing world religion, while there are no Oneida Perfectionists left today and only a handful of practicing Shaker women remain in parts of New England. There are over twelve million practicing Mormons worldwide,

Mormonism is a multilayered religious organization with many faces. The words “multilayered” and “organization” are carefully chosen as they represent the bulk of what we will discuss as we seek to unveil the true essence of the Mormon world as they see it. We will summarize this organization and in so doing we will discover that it was built on human fallacy and deception from its inception. We will then follow with a critical look the claims, doctrines, and documents that frame their beliefs.

Marriage is at the very centre of the most of the communities practicing Mormonism, such as Bountiful located in British Columbia (Campbell, 6). Based on Mormonism, faith helps them to be closer to God and the role of the marriage is essential is achieving this celestial existence after death (Daynes, 5). Usually, polygamy is considered the prerequisite for Mormonism, however, it is important to note that only after the “New and Everlasting Covenant” plural marriages became common (Ryan 218). According to this new view, the celestial existence

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) have long contended to be a form of Christianity, in fact, Mormons proclaim to be the “true” church of Jesus Christ. In recent times, prominent Evangelical, Richard Mouw (former president of Fuller Theological Seminary) has launched a conversation amongst Evangelicals and Mormons in order, to open a dialogue between the two religions. Albeit a controversial issue, Mouw suggests that Mormons have more similarities with orthodox Christianity than differences. In this essay, I would like to argue that, notwithstanding the similarities, according to Mormon doctrine, Mormonism can never become Christian without forfeiting their faith in the book of Mormon, and teachings of its leader, Joseph Smith.

R: However, polygamy was unlawful by the US government, so many Mormons were jailed and some leaders were forced to go underground. A law in 1887 put many restrictions on the church and those who did not renounce polygamy lost their political rights, and the destruction of the Church as an economic

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse and is culturally accepted in many parts of the world, but is illegal in the United States. There are two well known forms of polygamy, both of which are still presently practiced in numerous cultures globally, polygyny and polyandry. These practices take place in societies where it is important to have either more men or more women in a families’ household based on the kind of environment they reside in. This paper is going to take a look at who practices polygamy, the history of polygamy in the United States, and how this kind of polygamous lifestyle affects the children that are the products of these family structures.