I’ve tackled two of the big questions asked of Mormons already, and now it’s time to address another biggie – are Mormons polygamists? In a nutshell – we used to be but now we’re not.
For the longer, more precise answer:
Back when polygamy was practiced, it was at a time when many of the men of the Church had been killed by mobs and there were many women who needed protection. The Church would be moving to the Utah territory and all those women would be traveling without the support, physical and monetary, of a husband. Many of them had small children and there wasn’t a way to do it on their own. Some of the most righteous men of the Church were asked to take on additional wives for the purpose of taking care of them. In the year 1890, after the Saints were settled in Utah and things were somewhat calmer, with the mob persecution at an end, the First Presidency put an end to the practice of polygamy and it has not been practiced in the Church since.
Persons who practiced it after 1890 were excommunicated, and the Church has no affiliation with the polygamous groups currently in existence. We have absolutely nothing to do with the fundamentalist religion (most famous for one particular leader, Warren Jeffs).
Now, while it is true that the most righteous of men were the ones asked to enter into polygamy in the early days of the Church, it’s also true that there were those who entered into it with less than righteous desires. Those men abused the principle, did not understand for what it was meant, and basically made a mock out of everything they had been taught. The men who practiced polygamy righteously were not seeking to have a harem, as many have thought, but rather wanted to see to the well-being of the women who needed support.
Related Blogs:
Introduction to the Gospel Questions Series
How Do Mormons Perceive the Godhead?