Polygamy

Utah

no, they are not, polygamy is against the law in every civilized country.

Many Middle Eastern Muslims practice polygamy, as it is permissible by their religion and culture. It is also common among ethnic Africans and in some Asian countries. Some Western Christians also practice polygamy, although it is illegal.

Advantages:

-in societies with a large male:female or female:male ratios this can allow more people to attain the status of married

-allow the production of children when one partner is infertile

-ensures that children will always be cared for (unlikely that ALL parents will die at same time)

-in polygynous marriages, it maximizes the seed-spreading potential of males

-increases amount of family (extended) that can be counted on in times of hardship

-always have a babysitter

Disadvantages:

-perceived 'unfairness'

-social stigma in many cultures

-if both polyandry and polygyny were to be allowed at the same time... marriages could get extremely complicated

It may come as a surprise, but polygamy is not expressly forbidden in the Bible.

That being said, the Bible strongly suggests that God's intention for marriage was the monogamous union of one man with one woman. In the creation narrative of Genesis 2, God creates one man and one woman, saying: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

In Deuteronomy, Moses warns future kings against acquiring many wives (17:17), and the book of I Kings notes that it was King Solomon's love for many foreign women which led to his downfall (11:1-8).

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, marriage is used as an analogy of the relationship God and his people, personified as (one) woman. The analogy would lose its power if it were suggested that there could be numerous wives in the picture.

By the time of the New Testament, the question scarcely needed to be discussed. By the first century, Jews understood marriage as a monogamous relationship. Therefore, the gospels record Jesus dealing with a different problem: divorce. Jesus taught against the practice of divorcing one woman so that one could marry another one. According to Jesus, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" (Mark 10:11-12). If, therefore, it is considered adultery to divorce one and marry another, it follows that marrying another without divorcing the first has the same result.

Later, when Paul is writing to Timothy he specifies that overseers and deacons must be "men of one woman" or "husband of one wife." It is not clear exactly what Paul meant. Although the Greek world had largely abandoned polygamy by that time, it may be that some in Ephesus still practiced it. Perhaps more likely, Paul is stressing that these church leaders should be faithful to their wives, not having extra-marital affairs or divorcing and remarrying.

If God intended monogamy, why didn't he say anything about it in the Old Testament, when there were many ancient Israelites with multiple wives? The Bible is a record of God progressively revealing more and more of himself and his plan. Just as Abraham was not ready to hear everything that God would one day do through his offspring, the Hebrew people were not ready to hear all of the changes God would want in their lives (indeed, they had enough trouble learning to stop worshiping wooden idols).

Additionally, it might be noted that the early Hebrews were in a very different sociological context. The situation was not unlike tribal peoples of Africa in more recent times, in which there are frequent conflicts. Men go to war and are often killed, leaving a very high women-to-men ratio. For the survival of the tribe, men in such contexts take on more wives both to bear children to replace those who were lost, and to see to it that these women were cared for. When missionaries first arrived in Africa and saw the polygamy, some insisted that those who became Christians get rid of all wives but one. This caused an unfortunate amount of conflict, confusion and trouble; the missionaries did not understand that it would be tantamount to a death sentence for the abandoned women with no one to protect and feed them.

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the LDS or Mormon church) banned the practice of polygamy in October, 1890, those who did not agree with this decision left the Church. The dissenters were unorganized for awhile, but organization began in 1912 with Lorin C. Woolley. By 1932 the Council of Friends formed, naming seven high priests and uniting most of the dissenters into a single group. The FLDS name did not appear until 1987, but this appears to be more of a name change, not a reorganization.

Islam is probably the largest religious group in the US that practices polygamy, although most Muslims are not polygamist.

Polygamy exists for many reasons. For most polygamists worldwide, it is simply a part of the culture. Asking this question to them might be like asking you why you wear clothes. It's simply something that they do.

Others are polygamists for religious reasons. Many people believe that God allows and/or commands them to practice polygamy or they are trying to emulate the life of an Old Testament prophet, many of whom had multiple wives.

Another reason is lack of marriageable men. Sometimes a single woman chooses to be in a relationship with a married man rather than be single. They feel it is better to share a husband than have no husband at all.

A final reason is male greed. Some men want to be surrounded by women.

None! The document that revoked polygamy is not officially considered Scripture in the Church. It is called "Official Declaration 1" and can usually be found at the back of the LDS-printed editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.

You can read the entire Declaration online here:

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/od/1

Health rights don't change because of your marital status. Everyone (at least in western nations) has an equal right to receive health care. The difference is that in the United States, polygamist wives are often not able to obtain health insurance through their spouse as part of a family insurance policy, they must do so independently.

Yes. Although most polygamists are not 'anti' Mormon, they are simply 'non' Mormon. The Polygamists who consider themselves part of the LDS/Mormonism movement do not agree with the teachings of the mainstream Mormon Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They generally don't fight or protest against the Church, but both sides do try to draw a line of distinction between their faiths, each believing the other to be apostate.

Polygamy exists in other cultures and religions as well, such as Islam and Christianity. Most of these polygamists are also not 'anti' Mormon, they simply have their own beliefs.

it increases because one man imprenant many wives.

Many children in polygamous households do better than average in school because they have more adults at home to be involved with their education and help with their homework. It all depends on how the relationship with their parents works. Some polygamous families live in combined homes and others in separate homes.

Theme of quest for power

How do I get my testimonhy to you Dr. Dobson? God has done much in my life and He used the many teachings you gave through your books and show Focus on the Family to help me through much difficulty as my background includes physical abuse from my birth mother and other difficulties as well....

Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states. This is a national federal law - no state may legalize polygamy.

However, that does not mean that people in Michigan do not practice polygamy (Just like speed limits don't keep people from speeding). Those who do practice polygamy must keep it secret to avoid being caught by the authorities.

it's called bigamy.

Polygamy is illegal everywhere in the United States due to a federal law. The individual punishment and definition of bigamy or polygamy in Nebraska can be defined by the state.

It is pretty much impossible to count how many polygamists are in Utah because polygamy is illegal and most polygamists try to hide from the government. Their marriages are not legal and therefore not counted, and in the census all parties are considered single parents. It has been estimated that there are a few thousand polygamists in Utah, most of them living in small towns in central and southern Utah, but there are some living in the suburbs of Salt Lake City.

Soral Polygamy is when a man is married to two or more women who are sisters. This is the case with the somewhat well-known Darger Family from Utah, authors of "Love Times Three", in which husband Joe Darger is married to identical twin sisters Valerie and Vicki (he also has third wife, their cousin Alina). You can visit their family websites here: http://lovetimesthree.com/ and http://dargerpolygamy.com/

labour and market for goods and services

no