So, i hear there are people petitioning for the legalization of polygamy in these our grand United States. I've generally always been of the "to each his or her own" mindset (except for certain embarrassing moments as a hive member), and i think i'm on board with polygamy being practiced by consenting, sane adults who, for whatever reason, want to have multiple spouses (spice? like mouses and mice?). I mean, really, i wouldn't mind having another husband or two. Not that my Hubster leaves me wanting more; he's a wonderful partner/friend/lover/co-conspirator but maybe it could be fun and advantageous to have another husband. Oh wait, what the hell am i thinking? One's enough! All i could really want is the occasional fling, and honestly, i'm getting too old to really give a shit about that anymore, anyway. For me, it's more about freedom. Freedom to be who i am and be loved for it is important to me. But i digress....
What i'm really interested in seeing is how the LDS church responds if polygamy is legalized. Will they begin practicing it again, since it was ONLY stopped because it was outlawed in the U.S.? Will it be a commandment to the members of the faith?
Whoo hoo! I can't wait to see how this all unfolds!
Oooh! I just wrote about this! http://lifeofcarla.blogspot.com/2010/09/sister-wives-tlc-show.html
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm in favor of letting people live how they want to, but I'm afraid Mormon polygamy was founded in the notion that a woman's purpose is baby-making and her job is to make babies and obey her husband. If the FLDS version of polygamy was what we were talking about, I'd be fighting tooth and nail to stop it - because in that case it's not just about consenting adults, there's abuse of everyone: adults and children of both genders, the abuse is rampant.
I wonder if legalization would make it different? Obviously they couldn't tell scary stories about the evil outside world who wants to destroy them anymore, because the one thing that makes them unique to the "outside world" is polygamy. Could be the impetus for freedom in those communities.
I think that it would be very unlikely that the Church would re-implement polygamy. I suspect that they would lose a large portion (maybe most) of their membership. My sense is that the topic makes the women in the Church very uncomfortable. I've certainly never heard anyone say they were excited to share a husband in the next life. And, I know men (and women) sometimes want to carry on affairs and seek variety outside of marriage but I doubt many men would want to take on the financial and emotional support for more wives and kids. These aren't frontier days. Even small families can be prohibitively expensive. So, my feeling is that this issue is the one that would force people to really finally evaluate the value of the Church in their lives and the truthfulness of the gospel and I suspect the Church would come up short.
ReplyDeleteOr, maybe that is hopeful thinking and me projecting my own mindset on to other women. I had serious problems with the idea of sharing a husband for eternity when I was a member.
ReplyDeleteI second Carla's concerns. It's one thing to condone polyamory among consenting adults, and quite another to sanction forced and underage marriages. FLDS-style polygamy has caused great harm to women, girls, and "lost boys", and I wonder if pro-polygamy advocates have thought about what safety measures should be in place for legalized polygamy.
ReplyDeleteI think most of the LDS church leaders and members don't want polygamy back, but if it becomes legal, they'll have a hard time explaining why it's not OK from a doctrinal point of view. It's a can of worms they don't want to open up, and there's a lot of speculation in exmo blogspace that that's part of the reason the church fought gay marriage so hard (because they believe their own slippery-slope argument).
ReplyDeleteRegarding legalization: In general, I don't think polygamy is a good idea, however, I think that pushing it underground makes abuses worse. Ultimately, giving legal recognition to the polygamous unions gives legal recourse (and a paper trail) to the women involved. And many (most?) of the people in it really are consenting adults, I think. Thus, I support legalization.
I think the legalization of polygamy is the church's worst nightmare. Like C.L. Hanson said, how would they explain why it's not OK?
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