I haven't seen this out here. I got it on one of my news feeds.

In Utah, women used to marry young. In particular they married Brigham Young, leader of the Mormon Church. The religious leader had 55 wives by whom he had 56 children before he died, aged 76, in 1877. His followers had similar polygamous marriages.

But scientists have now uncovered an odd fact about 19th-century Mormons: the more women in a household, the lower the average birthrate. In other words, the more sister-wives a Mormon woman had, the fewer children she was likely to produce.

"Although it is great in terms of numbers of children for successful males to have harems, the data show that, for every new woman added to a male's household, the number of children that each wife produced goes down by one," said biologist Dr Michael Wade, of Indiana University.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/feb/27/mormon-polygamists-fruit-fly
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/650241.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2011 08:57PM by Jim Huston.

Sure makes me appreciate the supposed evils of monogamy! LOL

I have had many people defend polygamy with the standard "multiply and replenish the earth" nonsense. As if magically one man could have more children with 20 wives than 20 men with 20 women. This study gives me something to go with the census records proving there wasn't more women than men. It leaves them without a place to go to defend the practice.

"Doctrine & Covenants" 132:54-55, 61-63 (Emma, pay heed, or you're a dead woman, thus saith the Lord):

54. "And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and acleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be bdestroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law."

55. "But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him AN HUNDREDFOLD IN THIS WORLD, OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS, BROTEHRS AND SISTERS, HOUSES AND LANSDS, WIVES AND CHILDREN, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds."

61. "And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse aanother, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else."

62. "And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified."

63. "But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to MULTIPLY AND REPLENISH THE EARTH, ACCORDING TO MY COMMANDMENT, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, THAT THEY MAY BEAR THE SOULS OF MEN; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified."

("Scriptures/'Doctrine and Covenants'/Section 132," official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at:
http://lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/132?lang=eng, emphasis added)
_____


Indeed, the bottom line for the LDS Lord was that polygamy was being implemented in order to achieve a big-time increase in the number of Mormons across the planet:

"[Mormon] Church founder, Joseph Smith, said he received a revelation from God, which is still canonized Mormon scripture as 'Doctrine and Covenants' Section 132.

"In the revelation, the Lord commands him to take virgins 'an hundredfold in this world' for the purpose to 'multiply and replenish the Earth' so 'they may bear the souls of men.'

"This was the only published reason Joseph Smith ever gave for the Mormon practice of polygamy. ('Doctrine & Covenants' 132: 55, 62-63)

"The second church leader, the Prophet Brigham Young, stated that the reason polygamy was instituted by the Lord was so that 'noble spirits which are waiting for tabernacles [bodies] might be brought forth.' ('Journal of Discourses' 4:56)"

("Why Did Mormons First Institute Polygamy?," under "Mormon Polygamy Review," at: http://www.i4m.com/think/polygamy/polygamy_summary.htm)



Edited 20 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2011 01:57AM by steve benson.

"multiply and replenish"...
what a colossal joke, and what a nasty way to justify doing the nasty with as many innocent (or perhaps not so innocent) young women from as many families out to make a "connection" with the (gag) "prophet" as possible!
I don't know who was worse, actually.
And look how many actives today just love to recount their family history: "I'm a direct descendent of {whomever}"; ironic as the scriptures definitely say that God has no use for geneologies!
It's always just been an excuse, face it!

"In other words, the more sister-wives a Mormon woman had, the fewer children she was likely to produce."


Obviously part of Heavenly Father's plan to avoid overwhelming a single household with too many mouths to feed?


Any historical fact uncovered must be seen to legitimize Moism ...

What happens to birth rates when a man marries several women who are already married to other men...?