I am curious to know if:
(a) Mormons really do have multiple wives, and if so…
(b) Are they all entitled to healthcare on a family plan on the up-and-up?
Surely there’s a factual answer to what goes on in Utah.
- Jinx
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ended the practice of polygamy before Utah was admitted to the union. A splinter sect, the FLDS or fundimentalist latter day saints, still practice polygamy semi openly in the neighboring communities of Hilldale Utah and Coloradao City Arizona.
AFAIK the LDS doesn’t have a health plan for all its members but I’ll ask a friend who is a member.
A) The church most commonly associated with the label “Mormons,” the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ended the practice of polygamy officially in 1890, before Utah could be admitted to the union as a state. The practice continued on an unofficial basis into the early 20th century; I’ve heard dates as late as the mid-1920’s used as the final end of polygamy in the main church.
B) However, there are a number of splinter groups, commonly called “Fundamentalist Mormons,” who claim that the mainstream Mormon religion has gone astray by banning polygyny and that it is vital to entering the celestial kingdom. Groups like the Fundamentalist LDS church in Colorado City on the Arizona-Utah border, and the True and Living LDS church in … uh … Manti, I think? Anyway, they, and lots of other splinter groups often consisting mostly of one extended family, still practice polygyny today.
In those cases, the men are usually only legally married to one woman, and just claim they are “spiritually” or “celestially” marriage to the other wives. This means that, of course, the other wives and children do not receive health care benefits like the legally married women and their children do. These days, the “plural wives” usually get welfare benefits as single mothers, since very few men can actually afford to support all those wives and children. Welfare fraud of this sort is apparently a huge problem among the polygamous groups, and it’s one of the main reasons prosecutors are taking an interest in going after the groups again (the others being child abuse and exploitation, I think).
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also has a branch in Bountiful, British Columbia, about which the CBC’s the fifth estate did a documentary. Apparently they are considered legally married, because 3 women from Colorado who had emigrated to Canada and married someone in Bountiful won landed immigrant status on appeal.
The question on multiple wives has already been answered. As far as health care, there is no Church-sponsored health care program. Members take care of their own health and insurance needs just like anyone else.
You may be thinking of the Church’s Welfare Program. In times of temporary hardship (unemployment, major medical expenses, etc.) a member may apply to his/her bishop for assistance, either financial assistance from donations for assistance in paying rent/mortgage/utility bills, etc. or in the form of foodstuffs from the Church’s network of farms, canneries, etc. These foodstuffs and other emergency supplies (clothing, blankets, etc.) are also made available for assistance in times of natural disasters, such as this year’s hurricanes to members and non-members alike.
This Welfare Program is not an entitlement program like the Federal Government’s. Members are expected to rely first on their own resources, then their family and extended family, and finally to come to the Church if no other help can be found. Members who receive assistance are encouraged to repay their assistance as they are able, either through donations or work, but are not required to.
I have a feeling that if you tried to include more than one spouse on an Aetna or State Farm application, it wouldn’t work.