Polygamy thrives in Utah
Salt Lake City (United States) (AFP) - With 17 of their 25 children still living at home, breakfast is a military operation for the Dargers.
Alina is the first, followed by her "sister wives" Vicki and Valerie, and finally their husband Joe.
The Dargers are members of a polygamous marriage, a lifestyle they say is endorsed by their fundamentalist Mormon beliefs.
Joe married cousins Alina and Vicki in 1990. Ten years later, Vicki's twin sister Valerie joined them, after her first plural marriage broke down. She brought five children with her from that relationship.
The family has lived openly for several years now, even publishing a 2011 book entitled "Love Times Three".
But for a long time, Joe Darger says he worried that he might be arrested under the anti-polygamy laws in effect in the western US state.
"The fear when I went public four years ago, that fear was very real," he told AFP.
"This is a third degree felony... this is serious prison time. My grandfathers were imprisoned, so that was a real impact that we felt."
That fear has lifted for now, following a December ruling by a federal judge that struck down a key part of the state's anti-polygamy law as unconstitutional.
Judge Clark Waddoups ruled that legislation banning "unlawful cohabitation" was at odds with the constitutional right to freedom of religion.
Alina Darger, who herself works as a lawyer on cases involving polygamy, says the ruling was a relief.
"That's been one of the great things about the ruling -- the decriminalization, and the judge saying basically that the state needs to stay out of people’s bedrooms," she said.
"As long as it's adults freely choosing what they want, then I don't feel it would be my place to tell somebody else you can't choose to love who you love."
But what the Dargers see as unwarranted government intrusion, others see as essential for the protection of women and children.
Marion Munn moved to Utah from Britain after converting to a fundamentalist Mormon faith, and says she was part of a polygamous relationship for 18 years.
"The only way that I can explain it is like living with adultery on a daily basis, and having the woman come home," Munn said.
"On top of that you have to smile and pretend that everything's okay because that's part of the culture too."
She now argues that such marriages are inherently unequal, and often aren't entered into freely.
"Certainly within Mormon-based polygamy, it's not really much of a choice, because Mormon scriptures teach a woman that if she doesn't consent to living in polygamy, God's going to destroy her," Munn explained.
"So for me going into it, I didn't personally want to live it, but I felt compelled to as a matter of faith."
While the practice may work for the Dargers, a 2011 University of British Columbia study found polygamy causes greater levels of crime, violence, poverty and gender inequality in communities that practice it.
The United Nations has called for a ban, while polygamy has been at the center of notorious cases such as that of Warren Jeffs, the fundamentalist Mormon leader sentenced to life in prison for child sexual assault in 2011.
The main branch of the Mormon faith -- the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- renounced the practice of polygamy in the 1890s under pressure from the US government.
While some offshoots of the religion continue the practice, exact numbers are hard to come by. Some estimates say that around 40,000 Utah residents live in plural marriages.
Utah's Attorney General Sean Reyes has yet to say whether he will challenge the federal court ruling on polygamy.
The state is also currently fighting to enforce a ban on gay marriage, which was ruled illegal in December by another federal judge.
Polygamy (from Late Greek πολυγαμία, polygamia, "state of marriage to many spouses" or "frequent marriage") is a marriage that includes more than two partners. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygyny; and when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry. If a marriage includes multiple husbands and wives, it can be called group or conjoint marriage.
The New Testament does not specifically address the morality of polygamy. However, in 1 Timothy 3:2, states that certain Church leaders should have but one wife: "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach"; see also verse 12 regarding deacons having only one wife. Similar counsel is repeated in the first chapter of the Epistle of Paul to Titus verse 6, "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly." 1 Corinthians (chapter 7, verse 2) also writes, "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." In modern times a minority of Roman Catholic theologians have argued that polygyny, though not ideal, can be a legitimate form of Christian marriage in certain regions, in particular Africa. The Roman Catholic Church teaches in its Catechism that
"polygamy is not in accord with the moral law. [Conjugal] communion is radically contradicted by polygamy; this, in fact, directly negates the plan of God that was revealed from the beginning, because it is contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who in matrimony give themselves with a love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive."
Polygamy permitted and practiced
Legal status unknown or ambiguous
Polygamy generally illegal, but practice not fully criminalised
Polygamy fully outlawed/abolished and practice fully criminalized
The history of Mormon polygamy (specifically polygyny) began with Joseph Smith, Jr., who stated he received a revelation on July 17, 1831 that "plural marriage" should be practiced by some Mormon men who were specifically commanded to do so. This was later published in the Doctrine and Covenants by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Despite Smith's revelation, the 1835 edition of the 101st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, written after the doctrine of plural marriage began to be practiced, publicly condemned polygamy. This scripture was used by John Taylor in 1850 to quash Mormon polygamy rumors in Liverpool, England. Polygamy was made illegal in the state of Illinois during the 1839–44 Nauvoo era when several top Mormon leaders, including Smith, Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball took multiple wives. Mormon elders who publicly taught that all men were commanded to enter plural marriage were subject to harsh discipline. On June 7, 1844 the Nauvoo Expositor criticized Smith for plural marriage. After Joseph Smith's murder by a mob on June 27, 1844, the main body of Mormons left Nauvoo and followed Brigham Young to Utah where the practice of plural marriage continued.
Critics of polygamy in the early LDS Church claim that church leaders established the practice of polygamy in order to further their immoral desires for sexual gratification with multiple sexual partners. Critics point to the fact that church leaders practiced polygamy in secret from 1833 to 1852, despite a written church doctrine (Doctrine and Covenants 101, 1835 edition) renouncing polygamy and stating that only monogamous marriages were permitted. Critics also cite several first-person accounts of early church leaders attempting to use the polygamy doctrine to enter into illicit relationships with women. Critics also assert that Joseph Smith instituted polygamy in order to cover-up an 1835 adulterous affair with a neighbor's daughter, Fanny Alger, by taking Alger as his second wife. Compton dates this marriage to March or April 1833, well before Joseph was accused of an affair. However, historian Lawrence Foster dismisses the marriage of Alger to Joseph Smith as "debatable supposition" rather than "established fact".
MY THOUGHTS
While there are many pros and cons in the legality of a polygamy marriage, it is still wrong. From the very beginning God created man and He created woman and gave one woman to man. This is the ideal way God intended. If we stray from this ideal then it becomes self and sexual gratification and in itself opens up many more chaotic and immoral situations. How can one man provide for many wives, unless he is rich? Take King Solomon for example in the Old Testament, he had 1000 wives, but history also shows that his kingdom fell as some of his wives were pagan and Solomon strayed from worshipping the One True God.
The morals of today as depicted on television does not help. In my opinion, there are more immoral shows and movies than ones that show a wholesome family life. When man takes the teachings of The Bible out of everyday life, then the demonic and satanic realm steps in.
Sources: http://news.yahoo.com/polygamy-thrives-utah-071640727.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygamy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_polygamy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_polygamy
Tags: polygamy, Utah, immoral, marriage, satanic
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