Polygamy in the Mormon Church

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how the Mormon Church will probably always be identified with the practice of plural marriages, even though it has not condoned the practice since 1890. It looks at how it was accepted by the church and the political, economic, and other factors in the decision to allow plural marriages. It discusses how the future promises to systematically separate the automatic assumption that Mormonism equals multiple wives and how the church will continue to denounce the practice and how the government will continue to place those who practice it in violation of state laws and Mormon doctrine.

From the Paper:

"Many of the early figures in the Bible had more than one wife, and in the beginning Mormons looked to the Bible as a source of inspiration for their belief in the practice of polygamy (Nearly, 2000). But Mormons banned polygamy in the 1890s, and it is against the law in Utah, a state founded by Mormons(Nearly, 2000). Despite that, polygamy still persists there and in some other states(Nearly, 2000). Utah has not aggressively prosecuted polygamists, in part because polygamy is so much a part of Mormon history. Now, a case pending in a Utah court is bringing renewed attention to an old tradition(Nearly, 2000). Last week, Tom Green, who considers himself to be a fundamentalist Mormon, was ordered to stand trial on four counts of bigamy(Nearly, 2000)."

More papers on Polygamy in the Mormon Church:

• Term Paper # 128491 : "Mormonism"
• Book Review # 108869 : "Riders of the Purple Sage"
• Analytical Essay # 146807 : "Mormonism and Christian Faiths"

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