Not to be contrary, but I’m genuinely curious. How were the Mormon polygamous wives of the past (not the so-called Mormon Fundamentalist groups of today) treated? I know there were a number of reasons that Mormons pre-Removal to Utah (Deseret) were treated badly by non-Mormons, but that’s a different kettle of fish.
None. Georege is smart enough to have a pre-Nup.
I don’t know any details, but I doubt you would find any practices by Mormons in the mid 19th century that you couldn’t easily find in non-Mormon culture with monogamous marriages. Women were just not treated that well in general, and it wouldn’t have been all that unusual for young girls to be married off to someone by their family.
The community needs to protect people against their self-destructive impulses, particularly while they are in love and their judgment may be somewhat impaired. Two mothers-in-law is more than any many or woman can deal with.
Have you read Wife No. 19, by one of Brigham Young’s ex-wives? The book is not particularly accurate, but it makes a LOT of accusations. Ann Eliza Webb Young and other disgruntled Mormon apostates contributed to the U.S. attitude that polygamy was “barbaric”.
From wikipedia:
If the book’s not accurate, why would I consider it an accurate source?
You wouldn’t.
But an angry ex-Mormon chattel wife went on a speaking tour, testified to Congress, and wrote a sensationalized book that got a bunch of dates wrong and engaged in a lot of hyperbole. This contributed to the perception that “the Mormon experiment went badly. Women were treated very badly under that system, and thus it served as a ‘bad example’ when the country came to deciding whether or not to tolerate it,” as Trinopus puts it.
ETA: If you’re genuinely curious about how early Mormon brides were treated, I’ve heard a lot of recommendations for In Sacred Loneliness by LDS author Todd Compton. The book is long and expensive, so I haven’t read it yet.
Hey, that actually sounds like a good read to me, Rhodes. I’ll see if my Dad can dig it up–he has a few friends that are into book collecting.
About the bit about “the Mormon experiment”: Up above a poster seemed to be saying that the Mormon wives were subject to the same treatment as wives in non-Mormon marriages and that, sadly, that wasn’t all that hot. Well, if the LDS women were treated the same as non-LDS husbands treated their wives, then treatment of women is simply a non-issue. The law against it must’ve been used as a cover.
By the way, have you ever read *Deseret or The Principal (I think that’s the name of it)? I thought they were both great reads and they did discuss a number of issues involved with “polygs” as they were called in both books. But, being fiction, I wouldn’t rely on those as accurate portrayals.
I’d be interested in seeing something historical–and not based on the inaccurate book mentioned–that accurately portrayed how LDS women of the time were treated in both polygamous and non-polygamous marriages. Mind you, I’m not a fan of polygamy (and not just because of the “two mothers-in-law” bit mentioned earlier).
Drat. I spelled Principle wrong in the post above. The coding error is just sloppy coding.
if we legalize it, DONALD TRUMP will have less chances to mate
Reviving a thread as a zombie from years ago just to post a dumb attempt at humor indicates that this thread has outlived its usefulness.
Closed.