The Mormon Polygamy

There are not very many people that practice polygamy and those that don’t practice polygamy do not support it. Polygamist does not follows the norms in society nor do they practice traditional marriage. Polygamy has been documented in the bible, but men like Abraham, or Jacob had two or more wives. Often those that practice this form of marriage are often religious and believe that they will ascend to a higher place after death by reproduction and teaching their children

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).”

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.

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.

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

“Single, Female, Mormon, Alone” Sometimes finding love as an independent, Mormon woman is hard. Nicole Hardy, the author of “Single, Female, Mormon, Alone”, knows this all too well as she describes in her story. Hardy had abstained from sex for much of her life as she was of the Mormon religion which required her to wait until marriage before having intercourse. She lacked in sex and relationships as she was too independent for the “provider” Mormon men that looked to give their wives’ lives meaning.

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.

During the 1870s and 1880s, the plural marriage created a crisis for Mormonism. Bigamy was recognized as an offense by the early English ecclesiastical courts, which considered it an affront to the marriage Sacrament. Parliament enacted a statute in 1604 that made bigamy a felony cognizable in the English common law courts.

The state of Utah also relies heavily on Utah Const. art. III, § 1, in Utah’s Constitution stating “First: -- Perfect toleration of religious sentiment is guaranteed. No inhabitant of this State shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship; but polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited”, and Utah’s anti-polygamy statute, Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-101(1)(2)(3) stating “(1) A person is guilty of bigamy when, knowing he has a husband or wife or knowing the other person has a husband or wife, the person purports to marry another person or cohabits with another person, (2) Bigamy is a felony of the third degree, and (3) It shall be a defense to bigamy that the accused reasonably believed he and the

Any prohibition against polygamous marriage today must likewise meet these stringent requirements of the FRFA, in addition to the earlier Sherbert and Yoder decisions. The compelling state interests that have been identified are (1) underage marriage, child abuse, and incest; (2) subjection of women; and (3) welfare fraud. Yet there are

They are looking into changing the law so it doesn’t affect children from age 12-17 who marry into polygamy. (Canada Polygamy laws upheld, 2011) Recent news has come out that 12 and 13 year old girls were moved from Canada to the US to marry widely known polygamous, Warren Jeffs who now is in jail named. Currently, Jeffs is facing allegation he married the 3 girls through 2004 and 2005 while he was at the age of 48. (Keller, 2011) Consequently, women are highly affected by polygamy due to its tradition of marrying young, abusive relationships and deep jealousy.

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.

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

In return for the ephemeral joys of change, I am sure you are motivated by love, a love that existed well before your marriage and that fate has not been able to satisfy.”