I have decided to do as much research as I can on polygamy and I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me out with some of their favorite links, or best incidences. I have done a lot of my own research but I am hoping to find as much info as possible that I haven't discovered yet.

I would also like material from the journal of discourses and the history of the church if that is at all possible. I appreciate any help I can get on this :)

Did you see this thread?
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,763804

wivesofjosephsmith.org is definitely the place to start.

Also can I ask you a favor?

Will you keep track of the best links you find and let me know what they are so I can add them to http://www.mormonprobe.com/index.php?topic=Polygamy? (You can either email me or post them here.) - You can also check to see what links I have so far, but it's a fairly incomplete list.

Just a note if you are willing to "link hunt" for me: For my website I try to avoid providing too many links that are redundant, so I try to pick the best presentation unless they are both providing something unique. Also I shy away from evangelical Christian sites unless they clearly have the best presentation/information - I also give preference to websites that are not asking for money.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 06:53PM by bc.

Absolutely! And I think the main one I'm looking for at the moment is if there is anyway I could get a list of his wives' journal entries from a church approved site (which I don't know if that is possible but they have a lot of the information I need for reference that I can't show unless it is church approved)

I am also enjoying my research because it is giving me my own insight which is nice and I am understanding how it worked better for myself.

Also I actually hadn't seen that thread. Thank you!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 06:56PM by nickson.

Check this thread out:

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,732011,732023

Look for anything where I say "jackpot" among other things.

Also, I know this is a 90 degree turn but you may want to consider watching this with her:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwUTVQ4mfNE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-8BmFwGIc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeMKmnMfNUo
http://www.lds-mormon.com/legacies.shtml

You could also consider showing her some of the stats here - most of which are from VERY reliable sources:
http://www.mormonprobe.com/index.php?topic=By%20Their%20Fruits

Finally you could find the polygamy quotes you like anywhere then do some googling to attempt to find this quotes in approved sources - I find googling using double quotes around exact quotations be be a very effective method of tracking down good sources.

For example I might search on, quotes and all:
"This law of monogamy, or the monogamic system, laid the foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting nature and character under which modern Christendom groans"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 07:11PM by bc.

I'll compile my book list if you want me to. I went to UTLM and bought every book on polygamy with a Signature imprint. The Tanners have done a good job of compiling sources into their own books. Otherwise, the usual suspects, Compton, Van Wagoner, Buerger, Smith, etc.

I also read contemporary criticisms of the church. Bennets History of the Church? is biased, but the basic elements are there.

Anyway, I read pro/con/neutral and decided for myself that the Nauvoo endowment was polygamy driven. The dominos fell fast after that.

Smith's "Nauvoo Polygamy" is a must-have reference.
http://www.amazon.com/Nauvoo-Polygamy-Called-Celestial-Marriage/dp/1560852070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358380359&sr=8-1&keywords=smith+nauvoo+polygamy

It lets you read a lot of it right on the site and that is definitely a great reference!

Not to be confused with The 19th Wife -- which is good but fictionalized. Wife Number 19 is available online.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 11:59AM by Rebeckah.

This is fantastic because I wanted study this in more detail as well.

Hi Nickson....I have done alot of study re: Hildale UT and Colorado City AZ, and the FLDS. I have visited those towns many times. I have a good concept of how Warren Jeffs and the fLDS are products of Joseph and Brigham. In my view, one of the best ways to SEE and UNDERSTAND polygamy in Brighams' chronological era is to visit Colorado City and drive around, shop at the General Store, try to talk to some local folks. What an eye-opening experience! It's truly like going back through a time-machine. Large houses with lots of bedrooms, kids toys littering the dusty, gravel streets; co-operation in building construction and agriculture, stifling control and instruction from the top, a huge 8,000 seat church building, very large schools, women who dress like Quakers, and much more. It's all very amazing (and educational)

My husband, Ed Kociela recently published a book about the world of Jeffs called 'plygs'. It is a fact-based novel based on his 17-year career as a southern Utah journalist. A current columnist for STGnews, he worked 16 years as a reporter, bureau chief, columnist, and city editor for The Spectrum in St. George, Utah. It is amazing to me that all of the research he did and put into 'plygs' is now coming fourth with the investigation in TX. He and his team "followed the money" several years ago and found that Jeffs was involved in many illegal activities not just his yearning of young girls. I am not sure exactly what kind of info you are looking for about polygamy but this book and possibly contacting him might help you get the answers you are looking for. here are the links to the book and to the trailer you might find interesting : http://www.amazon.com/plygs-ebook/dp/B008NRZT1M .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvxvL09uwWo

For starters you can spend a day here:

http://www.utlm.org/topicalindexb.htm#Polygamy

Then read the following:

http://www.amazon.com/Mormon-Polygamy-Richard-Van-Wagoner/dp/0941214796/ref=pd_sim_b_6

http://www.amazon.com/Nauvoo-Polygamy-Called-Celestial-Marriage/dp/1560852070/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358397996&sr=1-1&keywords=nauvoo+polygamy

http://www.amazon.com/In-Sacred-Loneliness-Plural-Joseph/dp/156085085X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358397888&sr=8-1&keywords=in+sacred+loneliness

At that point you will know more about Mormon polygamy than 99% of Mormons.

I just read "Mormon Polygamy: A History" by Richard VanWagoner and about half of Todd Compton's "In Sacred Loneliness". I HIGHLY recommend "Mormon Polygamy". It's a quick read, and very interesting! It's also not heavily polemic (which I find irritating), and gives lots of detail on why and how it was practiced, and the difficulties the church faced in giving it up. The doctrinal 360 is very apparent.

I also read several JOD talks about it. The "JOD gems" link from the other thread was really good for finding JOD stuff. Reading those gave me a much greater appreciation for the people involved and their actual feelings and attitudes. Read BY, Orson Pratt, and Joseph F. Smith, for sure. I plan to read more.

Interestingly, here's what I've found: I have come to believe that the early Mormon polygamists were very sincere and devoted. At least for those whose works I read, they were deeply spiritual people, trying to legitimately practice what they believed, and I feel like the bigoted government truly violated their rights. I don't agree with what they believed, but they should have had the right to practice it! Some of the women from "In Sacred Loneliness" were truly impressive, bold, spiritual, powerful women who deserve to be remembered!

That said, I certainly don't believe that polygamy was given to the Mormons from God. If it were, the incredible sustained deception the church practiced for 14 years would not have been necessary. Also, for many, it was an incredible source of difficulty and sadness- hardly the source of joy the leaders, I think, truly expected it to be.

If anyone disagrees, feel free to explain!

Cheers,
almostThere

I'm actually somewhat torn - a part of me agrees with your sentiment.

However, more of me disagrees. The law should be there to protect the citizens. No matter how devout and how much they believed it, polygamy was abusive to the women & children.

This is a fantastic place to start if research into the personal lives of plural wives is your goal:

http://archive.org/stream/wifenoorstoryofl00youniala#page/n3/mode/2up

It's called "Wife Number 19" and is recommended also by Rebekah above.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 11:51AM by kimball.

Thanks for the link!