Polygamy justification?

[Clark Addison]

only a man called of God, just and holy, would want more than one wife. It is utter suicide.

That is my justification.

I completely agree.

[UtahDan]

My great-great Grandfather was a polygamist. He did NOT enjoy it. He married one woman who had 4 children after her husband passed away. This was not an old guy looking for a thrill.

My great-great grandfather was too. The following list shows his age, and the age of the wife when he married (in inverse order of marriage), also showing the year.

1. 52, 21 (1885, my ancestor)
2. 35, 15 (1867)
3. 32, 15 (1865)
4. 23, 16 (1856)
5. 21, 19 (1853)

There are three other wives, whose marriage dates are unknown, two of whom were four years younger and one of whom was 38 years younger. The two who are four years younger are born in Canada near where he is born so while I don't know, I infer that he married them rather young before his conversion and at least one of them died before be moved west. This may be why little is known of them. The young one was born in 1870 so doing a little extrapolation he probably married her no sooner than 1885, when he would have been in his early 50s and she in her mid to late teens. All the other marriages took place in Utah. I'm going off of family search, I'll have to check the book I have on him at home.

Grandpa didn't live with any of them but rather resided on the second floor of the Logan Temple. I think this is what I would have done too.

Just interesting, and tough to generalize about IMO.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Have you ever heard LDS folk claim that polygamy was necessary/justified for (A) caring for the higher number of women in the Church than men, and (B) increasing the LDS population? We had a couple of MTC teachers give us that reasoning and I ate it up and even used it in the mission field a couple of times. This is some pretty interesting info from Apostle John A. Widtsoe's 1943 book "Evidences and Reconciliations":

(See question #66, near the bottom of the page -- a CTRL+F search for "why did the church" will take you right to it)

http://www.cumorah.com/language/evid...iliations.html


Some background on the book:

Read the church history written by B.H. Roberts. They go through big pains to debunk many of the myths that are circulated(the too many women one included). The reason stated in these histories was that the most spiritual men were required to spread their seed as much as possible to increase the "spirituality" of the church.

[SeattleUte]

Face the facts. Our ancestors were a bunch of poor hillbillies who got mixed up in this weird religious cult that got off in the sticks and took up some primitive sexual and social practices and beliefs. We owe all our prosperity, indeed our very existence to that history, but those are the hard bare bones facts, and they don't lie.

[byu71]

Face the facts. Our ancestors were a bunch of poor hillbillies who got mixed up in this weird religious cult that got off in the sticks and took up some primitive sexual and social practices and beliefs. We owe all our prosperity, indeed our very existence to that history, but those are the hard bare bones facts, and they don't lie.

LOL, speaks volumes.

[Goatnapper'96]

Face the facts. Our ancestors were a bunch of poor hillbillies who got mixed up in this weird religious cult that got off in the sticks and took up some primitive sexual and social practices and beliefs. We owe all our prosperity, indeed our very existence to that history, but those are the hard bare bones facts, and they don't lie.

OK F-wad, what is your title du jour? "Traitor" or "tyrant?"

GET IN THE RING, I WILL KICK YOUR BITCHY LITTLE ASS!

[Indy Coug]

Face the facts. Our ancestors were a bunch of poor hillbillies who got mixed up in this weird religious cult that got off in the sticks and took up some primitive sexual and social practices and beliefs. We owe all our prosperity, indeed our very existence to that history, but those are the hard bare bones facts, and they don't lie.

So what are your descendants going to say about you? I hope there's at least a little something in there about being a touchy-feely missionary.

[KillerDog]

Interesting. Personally, I've never heard the "more women" justification. I've often heard the "more righteous women" justification which I always thought was nonsense. The whole polygamy question is funny. So much about polygamy in the early church is hidden by the Church. I'm curious to see the Joseph Smith papers information on his wives. My guess is that they get sanitized too. I can't deny that I liked having multiple girlfriends...I wonder if multiple wives would be much different. Of course, you would have to keep the wives a secret from each other. Then you would have to keep the money secret from both of them. Then you would have to have a lot of ready and available lies. Never mind, that sounds too hard.

[ERCougar]

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Can we stop the patronizing, "let's put women on a pedastal" nonsense?

I hope women get the priesthood just so that all the pandering and patronizing and BS will stop.

But then our wives will eat us. Like the Black Widow spider.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Interesting. Personally, I've never heard the "more women" justification. I've often heard the "more righteous women" justification which I always thought was nonsense. The whole polygamy question is funny. So much about polygamy in the early church is hidden by the Church. I'm curious to see the Joseph Smith papers information on his wives. My guess is that they get sanitized too. I can't deny that I liked having multiple girlfriends...I wonder if multiple wives would be much different. Of course, you would have to keep the wives a secret from each other. Then you would have to keep the money secret from both of them. Then you would have to have a lot of ready and available lies. Never mind, that sounds too hard.

If you want to read a great book on the topic:

In Sacred Silence: The plural wives of Joseph Smith

Mostly journal entries by/about these women. It is a thick read, but worth the effort.

[jay santos]

I subscribe to the "whoops" theory. I see no reasonable justification.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Interesting. Personally, I've never heard the "more women" justification. I've often heard the "more righteous women" justification which I always thought was nonsense. The whole polygamy question is funny. So much about polygamy in the early church is hidden by the Church. I'm curious to see the Joseph Smith papers information on his wives. My guess is that they get sanitized too. I can't deny that I liked having multiple girlfriends...I wonder if multiple wives would be much different. Of course, you would have to keep the wives a secret from each other. Then you would have to keep the money secret from both of them. Then you would have to have a lot of ready and available lies. Never mind, that sounds too hard.

My dads comment was "I don't understand polygamy because I don't know why anyone would want to double or triple the misery in their lives."

[Fiyero]

1. 52, 21 (1885, my ancestor)
2. 35, 15 (1867)
3. 32, 15 (1865)
4. 23, 16 (1856)
5. 21, 19 (1853)

On a side note, the average life expectancy in 1850 was only 50 years. I don't know marriage statistics but wasn't it more common to marry in teen years then?

[ERCougar]

If you want to read a great book on the topic:

In Sacred Silence: The plural wives of Joseph Smith

Mostly journal entries by/about these women. It is a thick read, but worth the effort.

I heard an interview with Todd Compton once (on mormonstories, maybe?). Really smart and interesting guy. I really need to get around to reading this some time. My MIL still insists that none of these other marriages were consummated. I guess she may be right, but I remember Compton specifically refuting that in the interview.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Either way, I don't need justification one way or the other. We do not believe in the doctrine of infallibility, and I am completely okay with writing that off as a "whoops" thing in the same way I approach the blacks-and-the-priesthood issue.

Self-loather!!!

I am a cafeteria Mormon and polygamy is the boiled broccoli left over from the day before. Ugh... No thanks.