It's no myth that many fundamentalists Mormons still practice polygamy.

Well, then you still spelled it wrong. Her name is Merman.

One wife and several husbands is called polyandry. One husband and several wives is popularly referred to as polygamy, although it should be called polygyny. Polygamy is the "generic" for either of the two.

Why doesn't KElvin's assertion settle it?

Boy, I'm really glad we stuck to discussing basketball on this thread.

Polygamy is having one spouse too many.

Monogamy is the same thing.

Are you channeling JR lately? :D

While they (those who practice polygamy) may refer to themselves as Mormons, they're not. The official Mormon church doesn't not tolerate it and will excommunicate anyone who practices it.

Only Gave Up 21 Home Runs In His Career ...
 

Sorry again about the confusion. The title of my earlier thread was really referring to Alvin Morman, who pitched for the Kansas City Royals back in the late 1990's.

http://www.grandstandsports.com/images/16073.jpg

I didn't realize that Kelvin green was from Utah. It wasn't listed on his Forum profile. I would still like to hear from one of his wives, and then, I'll form my final opinion.

I'm going to assume that you're just yanking Kelvin's chain with your "one of his wives" jest and let him answer that one :D

I find it both amusing and baffling that the Mormons and polygamy myth persists. I'm a Utahn. I frequently joke about it. I love the Oscar Wilde quote that Bob posted above. I often quote my great grandfather who said: "If you've got one wife, she has nobody to argue with but you. If you have two wives, they can argue with each other and you can get some work done." Then there was the colorful old Englishman who told me he could never get into polygamy. But he was all over the serial monogamy thing!

So in the spirit of myth-busting, here are a few basic facts:

* The Mormon church did once practice polygamy.
* In 1890 the church officially renounced, and banned, the practice among its members.
* This angered some members, who left the church and formed their own churches. Many of those refer to themselves as "fundamentalist mormons."
* The Mormon church has no official or unofficial affiliation with these groups.
* Mormons who do begin practicing polygamy are summarily excommunicated. Polygamists wishing to join the Mormon church, even in countries where it is legal and common, must end the practice before joining.
* Outside of the Mormon church, polygamy is alive and well. They live in normal neighborhoods, in compounds, sometimes even whole cities.
* It seems the authorities in Utah and other states have little interest in prosecuting polygamy generally.
* But there have been some rather high profile prosecutions in the past few years. Tom Green, a polygamist who made the rounds on the daytime talk shows a few years back, brought some very unwanted legal attention on himself. Warren Jeffs' troubles and the Lost Boys situation have gotten national attention.

My sister-in-law is from a polygamist family. When she married my Mormon brother-in-law, it caused a rift in her family. A lot of them still don't speak to her. I had a friend in my local officials association who came from a polygamist family. He had some interesting stories to tell on a couple of long drives to distant schools.

I guess as far as myths go, the polygamy thing isn't too bad. It's at least plausible. Unlike the whole business about Mormons having horns. Or the transatlantic tunnel that supposedly ran from Liverpool, England to "the great walled city of Salt Lake."

It's too bad about the tunnel. Otherwise I'd be able to drive the family on a European vacation :D

Tunnel ????
 

I never heard about this tunnel. How much is the round trip toll. My daughter received a Melinda and Bill Gates Grant to study HIV/AIDS at St. George's Medical School in London, UK. I don't like, and I can't afford, flying long distances, and I would love to see her before she comes home in August.

Here's a recent photo. From left to right: Back In The Saddle, rainmaker, and Kelvin green:

http://re3.mm-a7.yimg.com/image/3972822526

You are getting yourself in the same kind of trouble as the OP.

Here's a recent case that occurred around here.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/...ory?id=4151108

Mohave County, Az
 

I spent some time in Kingman Az. I referred to it as Southern Utah. Heavy Mormon influence. Last yeat the big trial about the fundamentalists and sex abuse, happened in Kingman ,Az. There is a town up past the Grand Canyon where the several wives thing is the way it's done. I'm too lazy to research right now but I believe the town is called Cathedral City. there is another one up there. So it is still practiced , just not by mainstram Mormons.

Big problem for the male children that come out of these clans. Kicked out and no support systems, no mainstream social skills,drugs,alcohol, big homeless rate for these kids.

The city of St George Utah ends up cleaning up the mess.

The Mormans dropped polygamy because the rest of America was not going to let Utah become a state. This was the criterion that had to be met otherwise Utah would still be a territory.

I recall hearing a Paul Harvey story that Idaho was originally going to be called Utah.

Sorry, I don't know anything about many-wives.

Polygamy is a problem among Quaker churches in Kenya. I don't know about other denominations. But I do know that Quaker organizations there struggle to come up with a teaching that is acceptable to the consensus. After all, there were some very prominent polygamists in the Bible!

Wow, has this thread strayed off topic, or what?!?