British Expatriate Network

I know the current official position of the Church of JC and the LDS (Mormons) is that polygamy is not acceptable. But it used to be, and according to a tv documentary I happened across last night (couldn't tell you the name or channel) and a few other press articles I hadn't noted as important at the time, there still seem to be quite a few communities in Utah who consider themselves Mormon and practice polygamy.

My question here is not about the morality of these communities, but simply a practical one -how is it sustainable? Only the men are allowed to take several wives. I haven't found any statistics to suggest that more girls than boys are born to these communities, so where do all the women come from? If the birth rate is roughly 5050 male/female and each man has at least 2 wives, at least half of the men will have none.

I read that young LDS adults are encouraged to be missionaries abroad. Men for 2 years, women for 18 months, and I began to wonder if this is how they do it? Are the men expected to bring home convert wives? or not come back? Why are they sent for longer? I also go the impression that it is more expected of men to go. I didn't notice foreign wives in the documentary i stumbled on, but the LDS member I talk to most regularly is Japanese, converted by her American missionary husband, so it got me thinking.....

Am I missing something obvious in the logistics of all this? How does it work?

/yes I know Japanese Mormons are rare, so does she
//Apparently there are 3 Japanese Mormon families in Ann Arbor
///and everybody who is mormon or japanese knows them
////and so do I , but then I am omniscient, but neither japanese nor mormon

The offshoots that practise polygamy now, kick the young boys out when they start to feel their oats.

From http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter_Day_Saints

"Allegations also have been made that in the four and a half years ending in 2004, the FLDS has excommunicated over 400 teenage boys, some as young as 13, for offenses such as dating and listening to rock music.[citation needed] Former members claim that the purpose of these excommunications is that in a polygamous society these young men present competition to the older men for multiple wives, and that the boys must go. Six such teenage boys have filed a conspiracy lawsuit against Jeffs and Sam Barlow, a former Mohave County deputy sheriff and close associate of Jeffs, for a "systematic excommunication" of young men to reduce competition for wives.[citation needed]"

answer Rosy palm takes care of the rest of them :lol: :lol:

Interesting, thanks, LS. I have also read that some LDS (official and polygamous offshoots) encourage the kids to experience the wickedness so they can reject it -sort of like the Amish Rumspringa. Perhaps there is some truth in this but with a different ulterior motive?

My friend was telling me that LDS communities in Utah are much less strict that those away from the state -there are many comunities where it's OK to drink beer and tea without fear of excommunidation just as long as you don't over-do it. I think these were official LDS communities, not polygamous offshoots, though.

We're planning a trip to Salt Lake City this summer, I guess I'll find out!

Not in Salt Lake City you won't. The idea of Polygamy started as a pratical solution to the issue of grinding a living out of the frontier where there was a high mortality rate amongst young men/husbands and Brigham Young just brought that into mainstream mormonism by telling everyone he was the prophet and God told him that this was the way it was going to be...right thenm, I'll get my coat.

So all Mormons were Polygamists until Utah wanted to be a state...ah sticky point, so the current prophet, cannot remember if it was Brigham Young at the time said "wait, about face, Polygamy is wrong, what was I thinking" the LDS church used the same old "prophet speaking to God" ruse to allow black men to become members of the priesthood in the 70's.

So those who wanted to play the old polygamy card were ex-communicated from the LDS church and the FLDS came about.

I had a friend back in Buffalo who's parents are Mormon - she is not. In jokes about polygamy are apparently all the rage. Anyway, my friend told all about the weird stuff, like the no hot drinks rule and the fact that all Mormons wear sacred underwear. Pretty odd stuff.

Ah we're driving up from the south, I figured we might see "other areas". But I meant about the beer rather than the polygamy.

Is it true that the elders have recently made an about turn on cola, strangely coincident with a large donation from a major beverage manufacturer? Or is that an urban myth?

The official name for them is "garments" and there is a special outlet that they go to. The same place that the Missionaries go to to get indestructible suits. The funny part is, practically every mormon I ever met was spending most of their waking hours trying to find ways to break all the rules without breaking all the rules e.g. Its okay to lay naked with a woman because you aren't having sex !!!!!

The official name for them is "garments" and there is a special outlet that they go to. The same place that the Missionaries go to to get indestructible suits. The funny part is, practically every mormon I ever met was spending most of their waking hours trying to find ways to break all the rules without breaking all the rules e.g. Its okay to lay naked with a woman because you aren't having sex !!!!!

I can't wait for someone to ask Mitt Romney about this in the presidential debates

I found people in Utah to be outwardly very pleasant but inwardly very rude, ignorant, bigoted and just downright nasty.

I'm glad we're not moving there...... shock ...but I still want to go look.....

a christian said to a mormon i think its discusting that you sleep with all those women and dont remain faithfull to one ... you should be bloody well hung ..

the morman replied ..we are . :lol: