I'm sure that this has already been mentioned on here, but my issue is with polygamy.
You are right, this issue has been dealt with before. I must admit I also had my concerns. But concerns stem from different sources. Some stem from a dislike of the practice due to modern ideology that husbands and wives must be madly in love and devoted only to each other. This romantic notion is shared by almost everyone in our culture today including myself. Mostly because of movies and television portraying the euphoria of such a relationship. In reality most marriages start out that way in dating but don't stay that way during the course of the marriage. Hence the current divorce rate. The concept of sharing a spouse is repulsive to most of us for this reason because it just doesn't seem fair.
Anther concern with polygamy stems from the idea that a polygamous husband is simply indulging in his lustful desires and taking advantage of uneducated and weak minded women; seeking out a forum where he can dominate within that arena and subject the females in his harem to his every wish and command.
This would by my major area of concern because I hate everything associated with a man who does this.
However, most concerns come from people who hate it because they would never do it themselves. I don't think I could see myself doing it. I have a hard enough time making my own marriage work with just one woman. Women today are very demanding. In general much more than those of the past. But just because someone could not see themselves doing it doesn't mean they should automatically condemn those who willingly participate of their own accord and desire.
Most women are only satisfied with a monogomous romantic relationship. Others just want companionship and protection. Some are content with being alone. Some just want sex(these usually don't bother getting married.)
But we need to be careful not to judge people in these relationships too quickly. We need to first understand the mindset of the people who engage in it and what reasons they are doing it for. Polygamous relationships made much more sense in a time when women and men had clear cut distinct separate roles. Breadwinner/father and homemaker/wife. The vast majority of women only desired to embrace their roles in these times. The concept of fantastic romantic love was often considered by many no more than a childish pipe dream in those times.
A responsible polygamous man who made the commitment to marry several women instead of sleeping around with multiple mistresses is far more respectable than the typical man today who aims to do just that.
The commitment to marry meant that the parents of the bride to be given away held the man responsible for their daughters providence and love. In a different time in a different culture this idea was respectable.
But today polygamous men are seen as slime. Some definitely are but we should judge them individually and not prejudiced. We should certainly hold promiscuous men of today's age in far less regard than polygamous men. Instead, today's society just accepts it as something "guys just do" if not glamorizing their escapades in hollywood and pop culture.
I realize that this practice doesn't represent the majority of Mormons.
You are right. All "Mormons" in fact do not practice polygamy. People who go on tv as "Mormon polygamist fundamentalists" are not what they claim to be. We are the fundamentalists. Not them. They broke away from us because they failed to follow the teachings of the church.
Glenn Beck isn't helping my view. I wouldn't want him representing my faith, just as I wouldn't want Michael Moore representing it.
I've only heard good things from Glen Beck. But I notice on these boards he's getting roasted. I'd like to hear what statements he's making that are causing these harsh criticisms of him.
One of my Mormon friends recently gave me a dissertation on why polygamy was justified. There was some merit to the argument (fewer men due to war, a woman being widowed, etc...) but does that really translate to the current times?
God has commanded polygamy among his people at select times throughout history. Be it known that our teaching is that polygamy is always a sin unless done in obedience to the command of God through his true prophets. This was the case in old and new testament times and briefly during the formative period of time in our church's early history. The reasons are first and foremost God's reasons. The participants were also chosen by God to live in that generation, He knowing the desires of his children individually(hence the reason we were selected to live in THIS generation). The first reason was to speed the process of populating his church. The other reason was for the protection and providence of widows in a time where frontier life was exceedingly perilous for any person, let alone a single woman, never mind if she had children from her widower.
So no. These reasons do not translate to current times. That is why we don't practice it AT ALL today.
I hope this is a satisfactory answer for you. And thank you for the question.
