Learning Objectives:
- Understand and differentiate between terms polygamy,
polygyny, polyandry & bigamy
- Understand the reasons for supporting polygamy
- Understand the reasons for opposing polygamy
- Grasping the role of the Church of the Latter Day
Saints
- Familiarity with sources on polygamy
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Terms to understand:
- Polygamy: Marriage in which a
spouse of either sex may have more than one mate at the
same time (It is also knows as plural marriage)
- Polygyny: The state or practice
of having more than one wife or female mate at a time
- Polyandry: The state or
practice of having more than one husband or male mate at
one time .
- Bigamy: The act of entering
into a marriage with one person while still legally
married to another
| Pro
Polygamy |
Against
Polygamy |
Freedom
or religion - a First Amendment right
Right to live one's life as one chooses
Opportunity to fulfill career goals (Elizabeth
Joseph interview)
Quiet time
Eliminates day-care needs
Reduced divorce and abortion rate
Spiritual growth
"Members of the FLDS practice polygamy because they
believe that plural marriage secures their
exaltation in heaven and that the number of wives a
man marries corresponds to the level of glory he'll
achieve" (Associated
Press 9/3/06)
To reach the highest
degree of glory in heaven, a man must have at least
three wives (NPR
5/3/05) |
Renders women subservient
Women must be faithful to one spouse while husband
does not
Women forced to bear many children
Women may become lonely and jealous
Some wives are underaged and not mentally ready for
rational decisions
Documented incidents of child abuse
Documented incidents of statutory rape
Easy to commit welfare fraud
Den for sex offenders
Higher incidence of genetic diseases and death due
to inbreeding
Sisters
may marry the same man, who may be a cousin, an
uncle or even a stepfather.
Some consider polygamy to be rape when it is forced
upon an underage girl.
Some say polygamy is immoral |
In The News:
Warren Jeffs, President
of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, (FLDS) was arrested Monday, August 28, 2006, in Las Vegas.
The church has 6,000 followers.(
NPR.org , "Polygamist Church
Leader Arrested in Nevada"
Retrieved September 2, 2006 )
What are the charges against
Jeffs?
The Salt Lake Tribune Newspaper
describes the charge as follows:
"Jeffs 'encouraged,
commanded or intentionally aided in the rape of the girl,
identified only as 'Jane Doe,' who was between 14 and 18
when the marriage occurred.
In court documents, the victim alleges that Jeffs told her
the union was "from God." During the ceremony, he instructed
the couple to 'multiply and replenish the earth and raise
children in the priesthood.'
She claims Jeffs later rebuffed her pleas to be released
from the marriage, telling her that her salvation was at
stake. "
(article updated 9/2/06)
Counts Against Jeffs:
The Associated Press describes Jeffs' counts: "two counts of
first degree felony rape as an accomplice, accused of
arranging a marriage that led to the rape of an underage
girl." (Norwich Bulletin, "Polygamist's arrest turns
spotlight on isolated sect" Page A1, September 3, 2006)
How did Jeffs become the
leader of the FLDS Church?
"Warren Jeffs assumed leadership of the church in 2002 after
the death of his 98-year-old father, Rulon Jeffs, who had 65
children by several women. Warren Jeffs reportedly took
nearly all his father's widows as his own wives. He is said
to have about 40 wives and nearly 60 children." (Associated
Press 9/3/06 A Community Shrouded In Shadows)
Other sources claim Jeffs has over 50 wives ((NPR
, "Warren Jeffs and the FLDS" 5/3/05)
How many are involved?
"There is no census data on polygamy, but a survey by a
plural marriage advocacy group, Principle Voices of
Polygamy, estimates about 37,000 people are living the
lifestyle in the western United States and British Columbia.
Based on the data, the largest known organized community is
the FLDS, with about 10,000 members in Hildale and Colorado
City.
(Associated
Press 9/3/06 A Community
Shrouded In Shadows). Notice how this figure differs from
the NPR figure above (6,000).
History of
The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints (12
million followers.)
LDS believe Jesus Christ founded a church; however, the
church became corrupt and went off track. Peter the apostle
predicted Jesus would straighten out the church before His
second coming. (Acts
3:19–21).
- 1820:
Jesus straightened out His church
through
the Prophet Joseph Smith. In 1820 Joseph was praying
to see which church he should belong to. God the Father
and God the Son appeared to Joseph Smith and told him to
found the church. Over the next ten years more heavenly
apparitions ensued while he translated the Book of
Mormons..
- On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith founded his
church in New York.
- July 24, 1847:
Pioneer Day: This date is celebrated yearly in
commemoration of the arrival of the first
Latter-day Saint
pioneers in
the Salt Lake Valley. Polygamists came too. They fled to
Utah to escape religious persecution.
- 1857: U.S. troops root out polygamy
in Utah and appoint non-Mormon leaders.
- 1862: Congress passes the Morrill
Act, prohibiting polygamy
- 1879: Polygamy goes to court.
The Morrill Act is upheld
- 1890: The Mormon church bans
polygamy. Utah became a state.
Fundamental polygamists are not
Mormons as the Mormon Church continues to honor the ban
placed in 1890
- 2006: The FDLS
claims God speaks
to and walks with the President
of the, (FLDS), Warren Jeffs.
The
FDLS is
a group which has branched off from the Latter-Day
Saints church.
FLDS claims Warren Jeffs is God's mouthpiece by
which God's will is revealed (NPR
5/3/05 )
=========================================================================
References:
Student
Paper- Polygamy: Tolerance Versus Prohibition
The Salt
Lake Tribune Newspaper - which is
at the heart of Mormon country
http://www.LDS.org - The official
website of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter day
saints (Mormons)
It is an easy-to-navigate site that answers questions, such
as
Tapestry Against Polygamy
http://www.polygamy.org
In support of polygamy visit
http://www.polygamy.com/
Opposing Viewpoints, available through a
paid database subscription.
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