Polygamy In Latter Day Saints

If you have never heard of polygamy you will and if you had in the past it was most likely due to the hit reality series “Sister Wives” about a polygamist family in the state of Utah. Polygamy is defined as the practice or condition of having more than one spouse at a time. Polygamy is nothing new and has been practice for hundreds of years but it is now seen as an immoral act, and a criminal act in a large majority of the of the world. Now even though polygamy is wide known in certain areas like Africa (South Africa, Kenya), Asia (middle east), etc. Still there are rules that they must abide by and it frowned on in an obese manner in areas like the United States, Australia, and China, because as a society we see it as an unjust act that can not be upheld by any justification but it is permitted in the bible. I support polygamy because I see no fault in the act of a family with multiple spouses.

Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. Polyandry is a form of polygamy where a woman can marry more than one man at the same time, and polygyny is another form of polygamy where a man is allowed to have more than one wife. Polygamy is more known than polyandry. Polygamy is permitted in countries like Australia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Africa, and in other countries like the United States, England, Spain, and Mexico it is not permitted. Many view Polygamy as a sexual desire and satisfaction to be with more than just one man or woman, but for many cultural reasons, man and woman may have more than one wife or husband. As discussed in the video, the meaning of love & polygamy, the positive outcomes of having more than one wife or husband is so they can be provided each other with help.

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.

Most would equate their struggle and first for equality to gay marriage. This is mostly due to so much acceptance of those individuals that do not fit the mold of the typical monogamous man and women marriage. We are far from a city that is accepting of this union or are we? Recently families who practice polygamy have been in the public increasingly. Modern day television series such as the Sister Wives follows a family in a polygamous union who documents their day to day life and the struggle that we mentioned in the previous paragraph. This family lives their life in peace which reverts back to my stance on the issue in which the laws that currently exist around polygamy unions are good as they are. Reporter Amy Robek of the 20/20 news show reported on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints Polygamy Compound in a documentary titled “Secrets of the Mormon Cult: Breaking Polygamy”. This documentary was filmed after the prosecution of the cult leader of the FLDS compound Warren Jeff’s. They got a rare inside look on what life is like within compounds, shedding light to outsiders the daily operations and schedules the sheltered people. What they discovered was these families are hold a lower standard of education, health care, and nutritional values. From

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

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,

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 institution of marriage in Canada has evolved significantly over the years in Canada. Being a very old institution, older than the actual country of Canada, the definition cited in the context of a Canadian courtroom is one that stems from England. In 1866 Lord Penzance articulated that “marriage… may… be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others”, a definition that is unapologetically Christian (Bala, 2009). By 2005, Canada has altered its legal view of marriage to reflect it instead as an acceptance of same-sex marriage. With this progression, naturally, there came a small cry from a minority population of polygamists using this groundbreaking alteration of one of the oldest interpretations

The Supreme Court took on the Late Corporation of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints v. United States in 1890. The case was to decide if the United States had the right to seize donated property from the Late Corporation of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. The case was a six to three decision, led by Joseph Bradley, to take the Mormon Church’s donated property. The Supreme Court did not want the lands owned by the Late Corporation of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints allow the church to spread polygamy, now that polygamy was illegal. The dissent of the case was on the ground that the church had a right to property; it did not argue that the church had a right to religion. The dissent argued that the United States did not have the right

Over time, society changes. That’s simply how humans progress and evolve. The whole of society evolves and alongside it -- morality. Culturally, morality differs completely. What is moral to a western is dissimilar to what an eastern person would believe to be morally correct. Polygamy is considered normal and in most cases elite status in the east, while in the west polygamy is seriously frowned upon morally. This knowledge allows for the transition into whether or not is it ever acceptable to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. Logically, the technicality of the situation is paramount in how the case is viewed. As expected, morality and ethics are also vital components in the decision making process. Let’s start with the basics. A notorious

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.

A rational review of the information available from social research on the subject of polygamy starts with the study of polygamous relationships found in nature. In nature, polygamy is usually the result of three factors: 1) the scarcity of the male species (polygyny); 2) the need for healthy partners to propagate the species in societies where disease or lack of food is a concern; 3) the desire for a partner of higher wealth and/or status. (Golden) In humans, hunter-gatherer and tribal societies have typically been polygamous for all three of these reasons but in our western culture these justifications are rarely relevant. Regarding the first point, in most cultures in our world today (excepting the Chinese where population control has skewed the balance), the population is evenly balanced between men and women, especially in Western cultures. Regarding the need to mate with a healthier specimen, in Western culture, sickness and disease strike the sexes more or less equally. The third factor, the desire for a partner of higher wealth and/or status, is still relevant but the advantages of a polygamous relationship to a wealthy or powerful partner do not necessarily outweigh a more satisfying relationship to a less powerful partner in a monogamous relationship. It’s a matter of choice.

Polygamy is the “practice whereby a person is married to more than one spouse at the same time” (Zeitzen 2008, 3)

Sex, Sex, Sex and more Sex is what many people think of when someone mention well known terms for plural marriages such as Polygamy or Bigamy. According to Wikipedia, “Polygamy exists in three specific forms: polygyny - wherein a man has multiple simultaneous wives; polyandry - wherein a woman has multiple simultaneous husbands; or group marriage - wherein the family unit consists of multiple husbands and multiple wives. “Many people don’t know the stress that comes with having so many spouses living in separate households or even in the same household. Not only is having so many spouses a lot to handle but also the children, and bills. Polygamy goes even deeper dealing with moral standards and spiritual beliefs as well. Seen through state laws, the bible and television based on polygamy you can see that it in deed needs to be stopped.