Justifying Polygamy

First of all I do not use the problems in other people’s lives to justify my lifestyle. I justify my lifestyle choice by

A. We live in America where all men are entitled to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

B. I dare say the life style I live offers more liberty than any other lifestyle in the world and it makes me happy.

C. I feel that my lifestyle is not only a better way of living but also commanded by God.  

Does God intend for us to live Polygamy?

Secondly your right, God isn’t stupid. Which is why he probably didn’t make the mistake of assuming that just because males and females are born at around the same rate then they will procreate equally also. Between lower life expectancy higher death rates higher homosexuality rates and the guys that just don’t want to be married, 31.2% of the male population in the United States never gets married.  

This means that a lot of women, 25.8% of women in the United States to be exact, are just out of luck and out of marriage. Also 9.6% of women are currently widowed?  That’s a whopping 35.4% of American women who are without a husband at any given time. Even if most of those women made a conscious decision not to be married the small percentage of them who want to but cant, allows more than enough women for the few people who actually decide to live polygamy.   

So you see the numbers weren’t lying you just weren’t reading them properly.  As for whether or not God wants man to have multiple wives, we cant just pick up the phone and give God a call to ask him whether we should live plural marriage or not. So its left to each individual person to decide for themselves what they believe is right.  

If you believe that polygamy is not intended by god? Well than don’t live polygamy. Simple as that!  In the same way I believe that God does intend for us to live polygamy so I choose to live it.

This Article was written in response to blissiseasy123’s comment on my last post Before You Condemn Polygamy, Realize This. It was originally intended as a comment but became to long winded and so I decided to make it into a blog post.

So according to Article 3, you can believe whatever you want. And Utah will never prosecute you for your religious beliefs. However being a polygamist and acting upon your beliefs is completely out of the question. Is it just me or does it look like Utah is specifically targeting Polygamy?

It is perfectly useless to tell someone that they can believe however they want but cannot act upon their beliefs.  But claiming to uphold any inhabitant of the states right to religious freedom and then in the same sentence stating that that polygamy is “forever prohibited” is just downright evil.

Penalty for Living Polygamy    

(1) A person is guilty of bigamy when, knowing he has a husband or wife or knowing the other person has a husband or wife, the person purports to marry another person or cohabits with another person.
(2) Bigamy is a felony of the third degree.
(3) It shall be a defense to bigamy that the accused reasonably believed he and the other person were legally eligible to remarry. -76-7-101. Bigamy – Defense-

American Heritage Dictionary defines cohabitation as: To live together in a sexual relationship, especially when not legally married. 

Therefore not only is bigamy illegal and a third degree felony but so is Polygamy, because obviously if you are living polygamy you are cohabiting with other women and therefore a third degree felon.   

Polygamy should be legalOk so we’ve successfully proven that polygamy is in fact illegal. But will Utah and other states act upon this? I think they already are.  Although Mark Shurtleff says that he will not prosecute people for practicing polygamy, I do believe that he is persecuting people for polygamy. And just because he says he won’t prosecute polygamy does not mean that other people wont.  What happens when Utah gets a new attorney general? Or what if he just changes his mind?   

Like a sword hanging from a thread over the heads of Polygamists the threat of imprisonment is ever present. Threatening to cut families apart if ever “the government” was to find out who is living plural marriage.  And so naturally many polygamists withdraw themselves from mainstream society in order to protect the things they hold most dear.  

Then all people hear about polygamy is when the media sensationalizes bad polygamist situations. And so a stigma is placed on polygamy in general, that all polygamists are bad people.  

The laws targeting polygamy are out of date, unfair and unconstitutional.  They are targeting not only a persons rights to practice their religion but also a persons right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness which is guaranteed us by constitution of the United States of America. And they should be done away with.

I find it strange that in today’s culture it is perfectly acceptable for a man to go out courting as many woman as he wants and having any kind of sexual relationship he wishes with as many woman as will allow him to do so.

But as soon as that man decides that he wants to marry those women and care and love for them he becomes a felon.

Is it just me or is there something wrong with this picture?

Do you hate the idea of polygamy because you don’t want to share your husband/wife with someone else?

If so, ask yourself this.

How many people did or will you have sex with before your married?

And how many people did or will your partner have sex with before their married?

I’m sorry to say it but you already shared your spouse with many other people, whether you like it or not.

True we choose to marry and live with several wives, but we do it honorably. And that is a choice that you as Americans should be willing to fight to defend.  I know I am.

It is a very important part of my religion but a part none the less.

 I cant think of a much better way to describe my religion then Joseph Smith did with the articles of faith. The Articles of Faith

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

-Joseph Smith-Polygamy is commanded by god as part of our religion but is not the sum all of what we believe.     

Warren Steed Jeffs has been convicted of being an accomplice to rape for forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old cousin and is facing possible life in imprisonment.

 Warren Jeffs was her only ticket out

Prosecutors said Warren Steed Jeffs, performed the ceremony and forced Elisa Wall into marriage and sex against her will.

The Jurors said they agreed that Warren Jeffs rejected the girl’s pleas and refused to release her from the marriage. “He was pretty much her only ticket out of the relationship,” said juror Jerry Munk, 36. 

Defense attorney Wally Bugden, who told jurors that Jeffs was a victim of religious persecution, declined to comment. 

A new Juror

Over the last three days the jury has deliberated for about 16 hours but On Tuesday morning, the judge replaced a juror with an alternate for undisclosed reasons.

With a new juror in place the deliberations went quickly. She told the other members of the jury what she thought about the case and talks resumed. Her fellow jurors credited her with raising some new points that helped move the group toward the decision. 

Is it possible that the Judge replaced a juror that was pro Warren Jeffs for a Juror that wanted to convict him in order to tip the scales towards convicting Jeffs? 

Do you think this could be used as another means to appeal the case to the state supreme court?  

Was this trial about religion?

“This trial has not been about religion or vendetta. It was simply about child abuse and preventing abuse,” Elisa Wall said in prepared remarks after the verdict. 

“The easy thing would have been to do nothing, but I have followed my heart and spoken the truth,” she said. 

It seems kind of strange to me that they claim this trial is not about religion and yet in the Jeffs trial,Warren the leader of the religion is being prosecuted, but Steed the man who actually did the raping of Elisa Wall has not been charged with any crime.  

What do you think about this peculiar situation?

On Friday September 21 Jane Doe the young woman who filed first a civil and later a criminal lawsuit against Warren Steed Jeffs agreed to the publication of her real name. Elisa Wall and has released two pictures of herself.

The first picture was taken during a trip to Canada about Seven months before her marriage.

The Second picture was taken of her being fit in her wedding dress.

The pictures have been released in order to show people how very young she was when she was married. And they do a good job of that.

Ruth Talks about what it was like to grow up in a polygamist lifestyle and what its like to be living plural marriage. This is a great example of how a polygamist lifestyle can work excellently. I know Ruth personally; she is like a mother to me and am good friends with her son. And what she says about her polygamist lifestyle is absolutely true. You wont find a more loving family anywhere.   

Read about ruths polygamist lifestyle