The Persistence Of Polygamy

The second in a three-volume anthology in which top scholars examine the entire range and history of Mormon polygamy.

The first in a three-volume anthology in which top scholars examine the entire range and history of Mormon polygamy.

Fundamentalist Mormon polygamy emerged from LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff's 1890 Manifesto, which ostensibly rescinded the practice of plural marriage among Mormons. This volume explores Mormon fundamentalism from several perspectives. Among the topics considered is the history of mainstream Latter-day Saint polygamy in Mexico, John Taylor's controversial 1886 revelation implying the irrevocability of polygamy, and the rise of fundamentalist Mormon polygamy in the early twentieth century. Other essays provide carefully crafted portraits of fundamentalist Mormon leaders such as Joseph White Musser, Rulon C. Allred, Rulon T. Jeffs, and Warren S. Jeffs. Also discussed is the 1980s schism between the FLDS church and Centennial Park Community, the 2008 Texas raid on the FLDS YFZ Ranch, and modern media stereotyping of Mormon polygamy. Three essays provide personal perspectives on present-day polygamy: a recollection of growing up within a fundamentalist Mormon community, a reading of D&C 132 from a fundamentalist perspective, and an examination of descendants of early Mormon polygamists who embraced fundamentalism. Other areas of research include the changing style of fundamentalist clothing and hair styles, fundamentalist attitudes and practices affecting African-Americans, and the plural wives of fundamentalist Mormon leaders. The volume concludes with a bibliographical evaluation of relevant literature. In this third volume of The Persistence of Polygamy, Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster have assembled seventeen original essays that explore the fascinating history of plural marriage among fundamentalist Mormons-an enduring practice of The Principle.

Fundamentalist Mormon polygamy emerged from LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff's 1890 Manifesto, which ostensibly rescinded the practice of plural marriage among Mormons. This volume explores Mormon fundamentalism from several perspectives. Among the topics considered is the history of mainstream Latter-day Saint polygamy in Mexico, John Taylor's controversial 1886 revelation implying the irrevocability of polygamy, and the rise of fundamentalist Mormon polygamy in the early twentieth century. Other essays provide carefully crafted portraits of fundamentalist Mormon leaders such as Joseph White Musser, Rulon C. Allred, Rulon T. Jeffs, and Warren S. Jeffs. Also discussed is the 1980s schism between the FLDS church and Centennial Park Community, the 2008 Texas raid on the FLDS YFZ Ranch, and modern media stereotyping of Mormon polygamy. Three essays provide personal perspectives on present-day polygamy: a recollection of growing up within a fundamentalist Mormon community, a reading of D&C 132 from a fundamentalist perspective, and an examination of descendants of early Mormon polygamists who embraced fundamentalism. Other areas of research include the changing style of fundamentalist clothing and hair styles, fundamentalist attitudes and practices affecting African-Americans, and the plural wives of fundamentalist Mormon leaders. The volume concludes with a bibliographical evaluation of relevant literature. In this third volume of The Persistence of Polygamy, Newell G. Bringhurst and Craig L. Foster have assembled seventeen original essays that explore the fascinating history of plural marriage among fundamentalist Mormons-an enduring practice of The Principle.

Kirtland, Ohio, was the original gathering place of the Latter Day Saint movement and also the final resting place for over a hundred members of the early church. Burial locations, familial information, and brief biographies of these early members are included.

"Polygamy?" says the mainstream Mormon Church. "We gave that up long ago." Not so, claims noted LDS poet and author Carol Lynn Pearson, who examines the issue as it has never been examined before. Any member of the LDS Church today who enters the practice of polygamy is immediately excommunicated. However, Pearson claims, polygamy itself has never been excommunicated, but has an honored and protected place at the table. It has only been postponed, a fact confirmed by thousands of "eternal sealings" giving a man an assurance that he will claim as wives in heaven the two, three, or even more women he has sequentially married during his lifetime. No such opportunity is available to women. Through her own personal stories, those of her ancestors, and the thousands of stories that came to her through an Internet survey, Pearson shows the power of the Ghost of Eternal Polygamy as it not only waits on the other side to greet the most righteous in heaven, but also haunts the living-hiding in the recesses of the Mormon psyche, inflicting profound pain and fear, assuring women that they are still objects, harming or destroying marriages, bringing chaos to family relationships, leading many to lose faith in the church and in God. Mormon historian and author Dr. Gregory Prince says of The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: "Carol Lynn Pearson has hit a home run in her quest to illuminate both the damage that Mormonism's de facto practice of polygamy continues to inflict, and the route to a better, more humane place. Those who truly hope for eternal polygamy or who resent any call to institutional reform will be upset, but countless others will rejoice that she has shown 'a more excellent way.' "

Today's Fundamentalist Mormons in the American West resist assimilation like their forefathers. Centered on faith, they survive despite efforts to permanently end their cherished plural family arrangements. While some Fundamentalists like Warren Jeffs go rogue and corrupt their beliefs in heinous crimes, most hold steadfastly to a religion they say is biblical and restored by the first Latter-day Saint prophet, Joseph Smith, in the early 1800s. Mormon historians Craig Foster and Marianne Watson present more than two hundred photos and exclusive insights to explain how an estimated thirty thousand Fundamentalist Mormons still venerate a much-debated legacy—despite its difficult challenges—and persist in living plural marriage.