The Polygamy Trap of the Mormon Faith and Family

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Wendy O
Published April 08, 2006 by:
Wendy O
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Research Paper on Polygamy in Utah and America

Polygamy is the practice of being married to multiple husbands or wives at the same time, and in our society is tied in many cases to the Mormon faith. This was the area that I focused on for my study, and the results I
 found were astounding.

This sub-culture is composed of a known 60,000+ individuals in the . This is an alarming number of men, women, and children, especially because Polygamy is illegal under law. In the , the highest concentration of Polygamists exists in Utah, and there are also large numbers of these families in Colorado, Virginia, and a number of other areas. Globally, Polygamy is legal and is practiced in many Middle Eastern and African countries.

Why is it that there are so many Polygamist families in Utah, and why are they tied to the Mormon faith? "Mormon Doctrine states that in order to enter into the highest heaven that those who enter must live in polygamy." (www.absalom.com/mormon/polygamy/faq.htm) It is a part of the old Mormon belief system that men should have up to seven wives in order to please God. Polygamy was openly lived from 1852 to 1890 in Utah by the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS), the official Mormon Church. The illegal practice of Polygamy in Utah at the time was holding the UtahTerritory back from receiving full statehood. By 1890, Mormon Church President Woodruff signed a proclamation called "The Manifesto" pledging that the Mormons had given up Polygamy in order for Utah to be able to claim statehood (www.polygamy.com/Mormons/Mormon-Revelations-Of-Polygamy.htm). However, Polygamy was still practiced in secret and is still practiced today against the laws of the land. Those that practice Polygamy are excommunicated from the official church (LDS), and are often forced to hide their plural marriages.

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I agree with several comments made about your sources: any paper to be taken seriously must use reliable resources. Anywho.com with words about polygamy (or whatever subject) may or may not contain invented or inadequately researched "information." Stick to authentic resources and official Web sites for Internet research.
'Tis treu what they say about going to the lds.org website. Even though you may not agree with what the website has to say, it will show that you actually did "research" for your research. For example: lets say I want to do a paper on PETA. And I may absolutely hate PETA, but if I get all my info from places like Tyson's Chicken and KFC, and don't even check out the PETA people, or website, my paper would be an automatic C, if not an F. And if it was for business or professional research, they'd tear me a new one!! Just from lack of research. anyways, sorry about my horrible English, but it is now 3:00 AM and I need some sleep!
Yeah, hmmm. As a convert to the church whose parents *freaked* out when I joined, I've read and seen my share of "anti-mormon" literature and media, and unfortunately, much of this article seems to resonate with that sort of stuff. However, the article by Elizabeth Joseph that you refer to is quite interesting, but she's hardly mainstream LDS. Still, she is a polygamist and it's always...something else to hear from the horse's mouth, so to speak. It's not that I think you're attacking the church, per se, but I'm afraid most of your sources might be rather...biased. And wrong. As a practicing member of the church, one who has married in the temple, etc, who has also seen the kinds of website you cite...I think I can say this with some authority. Well, I invite you to read my article on the subject and perhaps--if interested--to read the book I mention. It's not only written by an LDS author, but it's one of the most unbiased books on the subject I've yet to come across. Really.
Opps forgot link http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/857913/what_you_never_knew_about_polygamy.html?cat=34
You might want to read this article about also about polygamy but only a little about LDS polygamy.
I can see in one light how it would be absolutely wonderful to have "someone" at home to care for the young children, run the errands and do those things that one can not do if they work outside of the home. I think in Mormon plural marriages the idea of romance doesn't really exist. The women are subservient to the men. The men are the boss and the women must tow the line. With the story in Texas it's hard to wrap my mind around the idea that a mother could allow a grown man to "marry off" her 13 year old child to a 50 year old man. It's one thing if two 13 year olds want to get married but to force a 13 year old girl to marry & CONSUMATE the marriage in a temple with witnesses is horrific. I hope these reports aren't true but if they are it's no wonder a lot of those women came across as zombies. Imagine suffering through that & being told it's normal.
Wow, for a research paper on "mormon" polygamy I find it strange that you chose not to do any research on the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (www.lds.org) or the "official Mormons" as you call them. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and you have a lot of your facts about this church mixed up. Since most people in the world associate the term "mormon" with this church, you need to be more precise about who you are talking about in this paper. I seriously wonder what grade you recieved for a "research" paper that was so poorly researched.
The information given above is not true. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints known as "LDS" or "MORMONS" and the part when the article says: "in order to enter into the highest heaven, those who enter must live in Polygamy" is false. That is not what is expected to those who enter the highest kingdom. Those who are true mormons will know the answer to what is expected for those to enter into the highest kindom of God because we learn it in church.
A note to my readers...this is by no means meant to offend anyone, it was simply a research paper I had to write for school. I know that this is a hot topic, so please accept my apologies in advance.
I don't understand how polygamy can be illegal. If it is not a legal marriage then isn't it the same as a man having multiple kids with different women? I think we all know that goes on and is legally tollerated. I think polygamy is kept "illegal" out of fear and prejudice.
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