The document discusses the history and controversy surrounding Mormon polygamy in the United States. It describes how polygamy was originally practiced by some Mormon leaders in the 1800s but was officially banned in 1890. However, some sects like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) continued the practice secretly. The media helped expose abuses within these polygamist communities, such as underage marriage and the controlling behavior of leaders like Warren Jeffs. Increased media attention on cases like the 2008 Texas raid where over 400 children were removed from the FLDS Yearning for Zion Ranch has put more pressure on authorities to crack down on the illegal practice of polygamy.

1. MEDIA ATTENTION SPARKS THE
BEGINNING OF THE END FOR
MORMON POLYGAMY
English 103
APRIL 11, 2016
DANUTA HOLM
Laura McNally

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Media Attention Sparks the Beginning of the end for Mormon
Polygamy
Forms of Polygamy have been practiced in many cultures around the
world since the beginning of mankind. For population purposes it was a
common theme for tribesmen to take multiple wives. Mormon Polygamy
formed its own set of religious rules with the FLDS Church, or the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in 1932 and was practiced in North America
publicly since 1852(WIKI). This strain of Polygamy was founded on the beliefs
that strongly support a male’s religious right to have multiple wives; it was said
that a man with multiple wives, and multiple children, was closest to
exhalation into heaven. The prophet would choose brides as young as seven
years old. In 1890 Mormons banned Polygamy from the mainstream, however
some believers did not stray (WIKI). Polygamy has been widely controversial,
because of the subjectification of women’s basic human rights, but the FLDS
church has defended it as being well within the rights of religious freedom;
although being illegal in North America it is still being practiced under the
authorities’ radar. The media has helped to crack illegal colonies such as the
one run by Warren Jeffs of Short Creek, Arizona. There is a preconceived and
propagated notion among Mormon Polygamist men that they have the religious
right to control, abuse and dominate their wives and children. It is important
that the public listens to the media’s uncovered stories to understand the
degree of brainwashing in polygamy, so that society can better arm themselves
to bring an end to the abuse of Polygamist wives and children.

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Many Native American tribes practiced polygamy (generally polygyny)[6]
and European mountain men often took native wives and adopted the practice.
Some tribes seem to have continued the practice into the 20th century (WIKI)
(sic). In the 1930s a Mormon prophet, by the name of Joseph Smith, tried to
revamp the biblical testimonies of polygamy by claiming that God urged him to
do so. In the book of Mormon, the Lord told the prophet Jacob “for there shall
not any man among you have save it be one wife: and concubines he shall have
none… for if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will
command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things” (Jacob
2:27-30) (Mormon.org). In 1844 a man by the name of Joseph A. Kelting
recalled his conversation with Joseph Smith, who confided in secrecy that he
had “had a revelation from God which taught the correctness of the doctrine of
a plurality of wives, and commanding him to obey it…” (Joseph Smiths
Polygamy). Kelting believed Smith to be a prophet and vowed to follow him as
his religious leader, as did many others (Joseph Smiths Polygamy). Nobody
knows how many wives Smith actually had, but was likely higher than 30, and
he had at least one wife who was just 14 years old(Ibid). At that time child
marriage was not deemed as wrong, nobody ever fought against it which in
turn made it possible to abuse young women in this sense. Polygamy became
a significant social and political issue in the United States in 1852 when the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) made it known that
a form of the practice, called plural marriage, was now a part of its doctrine
(WIKI). The FLDS was known to marry within their own bloodline, and force

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marriage onto siblings within their communities. After the immense legal
issues that derived from the doctrine president Wilford Woodruff officially
voided it on September 25th, 1890 (WIKI). As so many other laws in our
society are broken every day, so are the laws against Polygamy. With no
publicity the government rarely intervenes with these religious sects and
polygamy is still being practiced in the United States of America and Canada.
Some believe that Polygamy was established to gratify men and their
desires for multiple partners. Women are raised to believe that men are closest
to God, and that they are to serve a man’s every need and want- without
protest- and that doing so is considered to be a religious blessing. It has not
been uncommon for already married men, who practice Mormon Polygamy, to
take much younger brides- brides as young as twelve years of age- such as
Marrianne Jessop, a bride of Warren Jeffs. Often these young girls are
promised away to these older men by their prophets, and given away by their
parents or guardians as an offer to God. Young boys of these types of regimes
are not safe either, though. Due to so many wives being taken there is often a
shortage of women, because of this many boys will be cast out of their
communities and abandoned- this is a term referred to as ‘Lost Boys’ (Borger).
Once these boys are cast out of their communities they are believed to never
reach heaven (Ibid). According to author Stephanie Pappas “the LDS Church
emphasizes the importance of innate gender differences and promotes
traditionally masculine traits for men (e.g., strength, leadership) and
traditionally feminine traits for women (e.g., delicacy, gentleness). Women are

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not allowed to have leadership roles in the hierarchy and are relevant only to
bear children, take care of the home and support their husbands” (Pappas).
Polygamist girls and women are at a greater risk of contracting HIV/Aids, and
other STDs, when their husbands have multiple partners, and women also
have less power to negotiate safe sex due to the inapt obligation to support
their husbands (Polygamist Marriages). That being said, not all Mormons
practice Polygamy, in fact a large percentage of Mormons believe strongly in
Monogamy after the doctrine was abolished in 1890. Recent media in the last
twenty years has opened the door for women who have known nothing but
Polygamy their entire lives. There have been many women claiming to have
been child brides of men well over four times their ages. As these women are
exposed to the rest of the world they begin to realise that they’ve been
brainwashed by their Polygamist leaders, and are not at all as godly as they’ve
been raised to believe. Through the media and word of mouth, polygamist
women have come to learn that they have different rights as human beings and
some of the things they were coerced to do are widely considered to be wrong;
some of the surviving women have begun to act out and attack colonies run by
religious tyrants- such as Warren Jeffs of Short Creek, Arizona.
Warren Jeffs was once a beloved prophet with concubines in Utah and
Arizona. He has since been sentenced to life in a Texas prison for multiple
convictions of child rape (Hyde). Jeffs held the occupation of principal of Alta
Academy; it’s been noted by former students that Jeffs would sneak up behind
students in class, grabbing them by the neck and whispering things like, “Are

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you keeping sweet or do you need to be punished?”(Hyde). In this era there
was not much for publicity, nor were basic human rights taught in schools-
and especially not in private schools such as Alta. Willie Jessop, the FLDS’ key
legal defender, has since turned away from defending the FLDS. When
questioned about why he abandoned his sect Jessop stated: “Because those
sons of bitches were raping girls in Texas, and they knew it and I knew it,” he
says, “and that battle is still raging today.” (Hyde) Jeffs’ most publicly noted
colonies were based in Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah; he later built
the Zion ranch in west Texas in 2002. The FLDS leadership had total control
over this stretch of desert known as Short Creek; with a combined population
of 8000 it is the biggest polygamist enclave in America. In 2008 Texas police
breached the Zion ranch, which resulted in the removal of over 400 children
(Ibid). Jeffs had a reputation for fancying young girls and in fact had married
several teen brides. One of his brides, Willie Jessop’s niece Merrianne Jessop,
was a mere twelve years old when he consummated the married on a temple
bed, some of his wives were in the same room as this ‘tribute to God’ was
happening (Hyde).
Sects like Short Creek are beginning to gain more attention from the
media, human rights’ protestors and government law officials as Jeffs’ story
unfolds. In fact Scott N. Howell published an article named “Time to end
abuse, welfare fraud in polygamist clans” (Fields-Meyer and Jones).
Additionally, Elizabeth Smart became an incredible advocate for polygamist
women as she gained national fame in 2003 when she was rescued after being

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kidnapped by a polygamist man by the name of Brian Mitchell; he held her
captive with his wife Wanda for nine months in the hillsides of Utah
(Biography). On October 6th, 2003, Thomas Fields-Meyer and Oliver Jones in
Colorado City wrote for People Magazine an article that explained how TV and
other forms of ‘gossip’ are banned in these communities, making it easier for
prophets to control the minds of their followers (Fields-Meyer and Jones). It is
essential that the media continues to expose Mormon polygamist sects in order
to prevent any further abuse of women and children.
Bibliography
Biography.com Editors. “Elizabeth Smart Biography." Biography.com. A&E Television
Networks. 7 April 2016. Web. 7 April 2016
Borger, Julian. “The lost boys, thrown out of US sect so that older men can marry
more wives.” The Guardian. 14 June 2005. Web. 7 April 2016
“Children of Joespeh Smith.” Wikipedia. 27 March 2016. Web. 7 April 2016
Howell, Scott N. Time to End Abuse, Welfare Fraud in PolygamistClans. 6 Feb. 2000.
Web. 7 April 2016
Jesse Hyde. “A Polygamist Cult’s Last Stand: The Rise and Fall of Warren Jeffs.”
Rollingstone.com. 9 Feb. 2009. Web. 7 April 2016
Kelting, Joseph A. “Statement,” Joseph Smith Affidavits, 1 May 1894. 7 April 2016.
“Joseph Smith’s Reasons for Practicing Polygamy.” Joseph Smiths Polygamy.
Copyright 2016 Brian and Laura Hales. Web. 7 April 2016

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Pappas, Stephanie. “Mormon Church Hasn’t Budged on Gender Roles in 40 Years.”
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“Polygamy in North America.” Wikipedia. 3 April 2016. Web. 7 April 2016
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