Tag Archives: polygamy

The Curious Case of Sister-Wives

The other night I stayed up late watching TV because I couldn’t sleep. I ended up tuning into a show called “The Secret Lives of Women.” Apparently the show’s a series and features insight into different aspects of women’s lives. The night I watched the topic was polygamy. I have to admit, other than what I’ve seen from the media, I don’t know much about polygamy. I knew the concept of multiple wives sprung from religious beliefs, but I’ve never understood why any woman would sign up for that type of marriage. (Unless if she was forced into it, like … Continue reading →

Thoughts on Polygamy

With the raid on the polygamist compound in Texas headline news lately, I’ve been thinking about polygamy probably more than I ever have before in my life. The Husbands Watching the news, I’d be led to believe that the husbands in polygamist unions are all abusive, dirty old men who use religion as justification for having sex with young girls. Maybe some of them do. But what about the ones who don’t? What about the ones who have committed themselves to many wives because their religion ordains it and they firmly believe in their doctrines? How do they emotionally and … Continue reading →

Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys – Janet Kay Jensen

Released just today by Cedar Fort, “Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys” was written by author Janet Kay Jensen, who also wrote “The Book Lover’s Cookbook.” Andy McBride is a student at the University of Utah Medical School. While there, he meets Louisa Martin, a young woman who sweeps him off his feet. However, there’s a problem, and it’s a pretty big one. Andy was raised in a traditional LDS home, and Louisa was . . . not. To put it more precisely, she was raised in a little town called Gabriel’s Landing, a fictional polygamous community. To add more … Continue reading →

Gospel Questions: Are Mormons Polygamists?

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 … Continue reading →

In the News: Is Warren Jeff’s Holding other Men’s Wives Hostage?

Wendell Musser was once a good and faithful servant to the “prophet” Warren Jeffs. Unfortunately, while running from safe house to safe house, playing caretaker for eight or nine of Jeffs’ wives, Musser got pulled over and the police questioned him extensively about Jeffs’ whereabouts. He didn’t tell them anything, but it was enough to anger Jeffs. Musser waited a few days to return to the current safe house, to ensure that he was not followed there, but upon his return he found that everyone had moved out. All of the wives were gone –including his own- and his son. … Continue reading →

Defining Marriage: What about Polygamy?

If we decide to re-characterize the traditionally and currently accepted legal definition of marriage, where should we draw the line? Should we also include polygamy? Activists say yes. Forming an opinion on this issue may be simpler if we understand more about it. The simple definition of polygamy is the practice of having multiple spouses. However, this does not clarify the make up of the different types of “poly” relationships. First of all, do you know what the proper term is for a polygamous relationship that does not involve marriage? It isn’t technically polygamy at all. The correct term is … Continue reading →

How Would You Deal with Polygamy?

What if your spouse’s culture or religion considered polygamy perfectly acceptable and one day he or she came to you with the announcement that another spouse would be joining your marriage? While polygamy is illegal in this country, the laws against it are rarely enforced and it is still practiced here. Also, note that “plural marriage” activists are currently trying to include polygamy in any “new” legal definition of marriage. What would you do? Would you even consider the idea, or would you reject it out of hand? Would you try to save your marriage without agreeing to include another … Continue reading →