Many new exmos don't know that there are hundreds of groups still practicing plural marriage. Polygamists are still attending regular normal wards in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, California and other places throughout the West.

How do I know?

I grew up in a polygamous compound north of Ogden and attended a regular mormon ward. Some of my family married in to that lifestyle and others left it to be mainstream mormons. I left ALL mormonism and I've been an atheist married to a nevermo for most of my life.

How to spot a plyg?

They're just like the other mormons in every ward but usually more extreme. They dress modestly. The men are usually away "on business" or traveling to "take care of relatives in need." The women might live alone with several children or they might live with relatives in the ward.

Why don't mainstream mormons notice polygamists? Because they think the morg gave it all up in 1890. That was the first maifesto. After the second manifesto, most of them stopped marrying multiple wives, but it's still going on today.

I have relatives who attend mormon wards and I know what I'm talking about.

At every exmo convention I meet one or two plygs. They are secretive, but so are most mormons.

The mormon church says they excommunicate polygamists. This only happens when the plygs embarrass the morg. In actual fact, they don't usually ex them because they'd rather look the other way and not stir up trouble.

FLDS is only one plyg group. There are many, many others in every size and each with a leader who runs the group.

Think about the little group with only Elizabeth Smart's kidnapper, his wife, and the kidnap victim. That's a small group but not unique and there are others of every size from two or three members up to thousands.

There's a job for all the undercover exmos and undercover teen unbelievers - sit at the back during SM and see if you spot any of them.

A girl I knew in my old stake accidentally married some guy who was a polygamist. This guy had been a missionary in the area, & that's how they initially met. After his mission he came back, & they started dating. Except it turned out that he was part of a secret polygamist group & already married, even when he was on his mission! My sister said this guy was from the South of all places. I think I had met him once or twice after they were married.

It also turned out that when he was on his mission he had baptized a friend of my sister's. The friend was freaked out that her baptism wouldn't count because of this guy's sins.

Are other members aware that the family are polygamists? If the Bishop is aware of it, you are saying he just ignores this? So, the church just ignores polygamy? Is that because they secretly support it?

They're busy and have other priorities.

The Bishop there knew about the plygs living within the ward boundaries. It was a "single" woman renting a house on our street. The Bishop told everyone in SM that they lived there, that they were not members of the church. He said that if they ever came to church, we should welcome them, with the ultimate hope to get them back into the LDS church. I knew the family by sight, and they never did come to a meeting.
The Bishop stated, as sort of a threat I suppose, that if they had been LDS members, they would be excommunicated.

Check out this "little lie" from the recent Mormonism 101 article put out by TSCC ... Under the "do mormons practice polygamy" question, we get this answer:

"No. There are more than 14 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and not one of them is a polygamist."

On more then one occasion while attending byu-idaho, i had religious professors tell the class that there were kids from polygamous families attending school with us. Because a student has to receive an ecclesiastical endorsement to attend school, I have no doubt that these kids were attending a regular mormon ward.

*a regular mormon home ward is what I meant.

I would assume that their Bishop would have to state which ward/stake they were in, therefore making it clear that they were coming out of a regular "mainstream" ward.

an illegal, abusive, and covert practice.

Polyphobic monocentrism noted.

Not "illegal" if they're not legally married.

And everyone continues to lie.

Holy crap, you made me realize there are polygamists in my ward!!

So what's your point?

As long as no one plans to use what they "notice" in a ward to out these people against their will and destroy their families, you can "spot" them all you like.

In case you hadn't noticed -- you aren't in charge of the choices people make.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 12:51AM by Rebeckah.

If they "out" my family or friends against their wishes there's going to be a problem, I can guarantee that. And that'll be "my" choice.

You can't do anything about it. Also, ever think about the girls trapped in polygamy? They get a raw deal.

It's the polygamy that's destructive.

There's definitely a possibility with this one family in my ward. He's almost always gone. He's around maybe one Sunday a month. The rest of the time he is "away on business" or "on a business trip."

I'm a bit gobsmacked to think about it. It's possible. They are out of Utah. The wife loves to talk about her family in Utah and all the mutual people she knows with others in the ward.

There are also wife beaters, child molestors, thieves, racists, homophobes, and men with bad combovers.

I fail to understand what the big deal with polygamy is. A change in everlasting church doctrine? One of many.

Other than LDS covering it up, which their financial dealings and racist history far more damaging, I do not understant what the big hubbub is about.

I would think that the vast majority of polygamous relationships are between consenting adults. The church or society really has no business in this, unless they are claiming benefits because they cannot afford the lifestyle.

It's awful like their racism.

Polyphobic monocentrism noted.

It is a big deal to me because of their behavior during prop 8, and how offended mormons get about polygamy jokes and such.

While they still to this cover it up in local wards.

What you are saying is that the same Mormon church that can't keep track of how many times Ann Frank or Adolf Hitler got dead dunked, might have a problem keeping track of how many times the local ward crazies get married?

Yes. I grew up in West Valley and went to Kearns High. My best friend in HS was AUB. There were many of my classmates who's families were sympathetic to the Principle. They were usually easy to spot as they always were modest in dress, with full length sleeves and cuffs to the ankle (And lived as strict as the best mormon kids, but were proud to not be one). I did notice that the ones that I knew of that were still hiding within a Ward would wear short sleeves at times, but those who were "out" always wore the old style full length linen garments, with collar and ties if they were endowed, or dressed to cover it anyways if they were not. (The recent modesty push in the regular SLC church is probably derived from the fanatics that are still hiding in plain sight).

During the late 80's, the fundie culture was subsidized fully by the LDS Church, as many (if not most), of the churches built in the inter-mountain region were built by fundie owned and operated construction companies (and cabinet shops). I know, because I worked for one after my mission. They recruit heavily from disaffected return missionaries. Luckily President Bennett (my former mission president) was a big enough jerk that it made me very wary of all of the crap, and I did not fall for their explanation of why priesthood leaders are sometimes intolerable.

Oh that reminds me of a story. I was at their building in Bluffdale with another friend to watch a play their youth group was putting on (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). After the performance there was a little bit of a ruckus as someone identified a regular mormon in the parking lot, taking down license plate numbers. My friend was so happy we rode with our common friend in the play, as it could have caused her seminary teaching father his job. But alas, when he heard that she had gone to the play, we lost a friend, as she was ordered to stay away from us at all costs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2012 02:49AM by luminouswatcher.

I have a good friend who lives in an AZ border town (Fredonia) that I suspect is s polyg...she started getting all tight lipped and weird about their living situation. I thought they were just having money problems. But then she told me I couldn't visit and I pretty much knew then.

12 or 15 ASSpostHOLES that is.

Oaks is on his second wife

and Nelson is on his second too.

the last polygamist LDS prophet ?

married in 1990 not 1890 Howard Hunter
guess who performed the ceremony?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6mtf1_-rx4

Polygamists would go to the singles dances to find new wives. We ran into a few of them at BYU dances, pretending to be students, but they appeared older, out of style, and, well, like losers.

OK, words mean things. Howard Hunter wasn't a polygamist.

They try to shut down discussion and they only highlight their covert activities within mormon wards.

I hope you aren't lumping me into that apologist category.
Trying to assert that re-marrying after a spouse dies constitutes polygamy or polyandry is simply a demonstration that one has little comprehension of what those words mean.

That being said, I agree that the types of situations one commonly finds among these polygamist communities are repugnant.

Men like to be taken care of properly in life. If a man has 7 wives who each work hard to maintain their home then the man can spend 1 day per week with each wife being pampered, getting all the sex he wants, and living the good life. If he has some expensive hobbies then the bill can be split 7 ways and thus be less burdensome on his women.