What is the difference between mormon and polygamy

But to this day, mainstream Mormons encounter stereotypes of polygamy. As a scholar of Mormonism and gender and a Mormon myself, I know that the truth about Mormonism and polygamy is complicated and confusing. For more than years, polygamy and tensions surrounding it have defined what it means to be a Mormon — especially a Mormon man. Founded by Joseph Smith in , the Mormon movement from its beginnings offered a unique perspective on the religious role of men.

One of the most influential events in the life of Joseph Smith was the death of his year-old brother Alvin in In , Joseph Smith had a vision of Alvin Smith in heaven. Any faithful Mormon approved by church leaders could perform these sealings. Due in part to this powerful role it gave to men in helping to save the people they loved and brought to heaven, Mormonism attracted proportionally more male converts than any other American religious movement of the time.

In the early s, Smith extended this view of the role of men to include polygamy as it was practiced by Old Testament prophets like Abraham. Of all the Mormon doctrines, none caused as much controversy as polygamy, called plural or celestial marriage within the church. It divided prophet Joseph Smith's own household, caused a schism in his church, and brought the wrath of many Americans down on the Mormons for decades to come.

First Revelations Smith may have received a revelation on polygamy as early as , when he was studying Old Testament prophets and wondering about their practice of having multiple wives. Smith would later assert that the Lord told him such acts were not adultery when done at divine command; multiple women could be eternally "sealed" to the same man. At the time, however, he kept the doctrine secret, although he may have married Fanny Alger, a teenager working in his home, in the mids.

Smith first dictated the revelation about plural marriage on July 12, , though he always denied it outside the Mormon community, and the polygamy doctrine was not publicly acknowledged until Plural marriage was not for everyone -- in fact, at most 20 to 30 percent of Mormons would ever practice it, more among the church leadership than the regular members.

But if commanded to take other wives by God and the church, an obedient Mormon was expected to comply. Smith himself may have taken as many as 30 wives, some of whom were married to other men.

Dissent Smith's revelation was questioned by many of his fellow Mormons. Oliver Cowdery, who had taken down the dictation of much of The Book of Mormon , accused Smith of adultery. When told he should practice plural marriage too, Brigham Young said, "It was the first time in my life that I desired the grave.

One of the wives, Ann Eliza, later sued for divorce and gave popular anti-polygamy lectures before such luminaries as President Ulysses S. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Today, there are many ways to describe relationships. The queer community has embraced many nuances to sexuality, and more broadly, society has been more ready to have conversations about monogamy. While most of the disputes have been peaceful, the most infamous episodes happened in the s when a polygamist named Ervil LeBaron ordered the murders of rival polygamous leaders and others who he thought offended God.

He was shot to death in his chiropractic clinic in Salt Lake City. The Ranch has residents who hail from at least three distinct polygamous sects, plus what are known as independents. Those are people with fundamentalist Mormon beliefs who do not affiliate with a church. Anderson would qualify as one of those. He was born in Mexico to a Mexican mother and American father.

Anderson developed a belief in fundamental Mormonism. He had two wives for a time, but those marriages dissolved. He and his current wife, Clara Anderson, moved to the Ranch in the fall with their six children. Within their household, the Andersons admit the roles are traditional. Sean works in construction and is a part owner of a barbecue restaurant while his wife stays home. Women from the Ranch are weary of the public perception of wives in polygamy as trapped inside a home.

A review of marriage licenses in south-west Missouri shows most residents of the polygamous community marry in their 20s, though a few brides and grooms have been as young as The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Cedar county prosecutor Ty Gaither, one of the locals who refer to the polygamous community as The Compound, said he has not received any complaints about crimes there.

He points out his county is home to multiple religious communities, including Amish and Mennonite. If I had a complaining witness, we would take a look. As they finished lunch, Flint, Michelle and Ruth Anne Laub talked more about some of the perceptions people have of their family. Over the years, some have asked if the community has a relationship to Warren Jeffs , the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison for crimes related to sexually abusing two girls he married as plural wives.

The answer is no; there are no known Jeffs followers at the Ranch. The spouses also discussed the changes they have seen in the community. The AUB leaders in Utah were never pleased with those who moved to Missouri and as a result, the two communities have had little relationship in the last 35 years.