The Pros and Cons of Polygamy

Polygamy is the practice where a man is married to one or more wife at the same time. Currently, Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states but not every country. The United States is the only country that bans Polygamy constitutionally and yet still has families living in secret polygamist marriages. These families have had to lie and hide to save themselves from being arrested and broken up from their families. Without the patriarch, most of these women do not know how to survive financially on their own. This affects both the women and their children. Most children are brought up in the polygamist lifestyle do not acknowledge any other way of life. Polygamy causes families to be sheltered and hidden from society, forcing polygamists to create cult like lifestyles. Why should Polygamy still be practiced in the United States?

Polygamy was brought to the United States in 1852 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and was an accepted practice of marriage. The church started to practice this form of marriage earlier in 1843, but most marriages were spread throughout many countries but kept quiet. Joseph Smith was the founder and pushed the “coming out” of polygamy. He “testified an angel with a sword came to him many times and commanded him to practice polygamy or else he would lose his life” (Church History). Joseph Smith had 33 wives and taught Mormons that Jesus Christ himself had been a polygamist. In 1890 however, the United States urged the church to abandon the practice of polygamy, this brought upon the Manifesto. The Manifesto banned the practice of polygamy and those found practicing would be ex-communicated. Many still practicing polygamists decided to form their own path and practice in secret...

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...women. Still families such as the Browns practice the faith today hoping to have other Polygamist families help America understand their choices. Whether it is right or wrong we will never know but Polygamy allows families to share a bond, people can judge whether it is negative or positive, but in the end all that matters is love and togetherness.

Works Cited

Sister Wives (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2011, from TLC: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/sister-wives

Jessop, C (2007). Escape. New York: Broadway Books.

Ndabaykhe, V (2008, January 1). Polygamy in African fiction.

Little, P (2006, September 29). UCLA Law Expert Available to Discuss Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ruling Allowing a Father to Teach His Child about Polygamy. Buissness Wire.

Newswire, P (1998, October 4). Church President Says Polygamy Today Is 'Against Law of God'. Utah, United States.