Understanding
Polygamy
Our mission is to provide the reader with a true,
unabridged rendering of the
Mormon polygamist
lifestyle, past and present.
F.A.Q :Frequently Asked Questions about Polygamy
By John R. Llewellyn,
Why write about polygamy?
The Mormon polygamist lifestyle is a bonafide culture and in the subculture are all the components of a compelling story -- conflict,
drama, intrigue, tragedy, the bizarre, crime, sex, hate, love, murder.
It's a subject I have studied, exposed, and for twenty years lived. It
is a mysterious way of life unique to Utah and the Mormon faith, found
no other place on earth. In the year 2002 people from all over the
world will come to Utah to witness the Winter Olympic Games.
While they
are here some will want to know more about the strange practice of
polygamy. I have portrayed the practice at its worst and as it really
is, a demanding, rigorous lifestyle where few converts like myself ever
last. Of the loyal advocates who do last -- the pro-polygamists --those who believe the doctrines and obey their prophet's edicts -- they
have honey-coated their literature, portraying the polygamist lifestyle
as it ought to be lived and is sometimes lived by an inordinate few.
Should the practice of polygamy be decriminalized?
There is a political movement underway, headed by pro-polygamists and
libertarians, hoping to eventually persuade the Utah State Legislature
to decriminalize the practice of plural marriage. This ad hoc movement
plans to use the 2002 Olympic Games to promote their cause.
Should polygamy in Utah be decriminalized?
YES, if engaged in by consenting adults. In my opinion it is
hypocritical to tolerate or condone homosexuality between consenting
adults and not polygamy. By accepting homosexuality, society is
accepting the love-making practices of homosexuals -- buggery,
fellatio, sodomy, mutual masturbation. If this type of behavior is not
outrageous, why should the normal heterosexual habits of polygamists be
outrageous? In a society where $10 billion is spent annually on
pornography, where mistresses are common-place, and extra-marital
affairs are even more common, it seems ridiculous by today's liberal
standards that adult-consenting polygamy should be made a crime.
NO, unless polygamy can be "de-Mormonized." It is the feigned
priesthood authority that is the primary source of abuse among Mormon
fundamentalists. The Mormon concept of polygamy elevates one man above
all the rest and subjugates the woman. The prophet is the greatest of
all, a religious despot who controls the giving and taking of wives.
Mormon fundamentalists believe that "plural marriage" is a commandment
of God, that once the "principle" is revealed, those who refuse to live
it, will be damned. They argue that plural marriage is the only conduit
to a celestial exaltation and in their pious rhetoric attempt to
abrogate any erotic connotation to the practice of plural marriage.
They say polygamy [celestial marriage] is for procreation, the raising
up of a righteous seed, the making of a progeny superior to those born
under monogamy -- and that lust -- has nothing to do with it. The
despot, the prophet, seer and revelator, the one who claims to be the
only man on earth with the authority to speak for God, offers celestial
exaltation and the license to take plural wives in exchange for ten
percent of the man's gross income. However, if the man is found to be
out of harmony with the prophet, his plural wife is taken away and given
to another. In essence, the woman is married to the prophet's
priesthood, not her husband. It is an extremely lucrative wife-selling
business, in fact, a million dollar business. If you take away the
pious rhetoric, Utah polygamy among the organized groups is the
merchandising of willing women.
Is the practice of polygamy inherently evil?
Approximately 90% of Utah's active Mormon fundamentalists are members
of one of four major organized polygamist groups. Of these, probably
80% belong to the two largest cults, The Fundamentalist Church and
Apostolic United Brethren. At the head of these organized groups is a
prophet who is a virtual demigod, or surrogate god. He controls the
spiritual, sexual, temporal, social and financial well-being of the
group. As long as the laity are in harmony with the surrogate god,
their marriages and salvation are secure.
Organized polygamist groups are cultic in every respect. Hate and
paranoia are used to unify and isolate true believers. Members believe
they are part of the great cause and that their prophet has access to
the one and only truth. They submit to repetitive rituals resulting in
blind obedience and subservience to a central authority. Conformity is
reinforced by inculcating the illusion that they are superior over all
other faiths. The true believers' rewards are god-sanctioned sex with
multiple wives and vain promises that in the next life they will be
kings, priests and rulers of men, literal Gods of their own multiple
worlds, one for each wife.
Polygamous cults pretend to preserve free agency, but in reality they
are institutions that destroy, or conspire to deprive man of his free
agency by making the laity totally dependent upon the prophet and his
priesthood. In that context, the Mormon polygamist cults are evil.
Many apostates, like myself, become iconoclastic muckrakers. It is my
opinion that any man, institution or doctrine that claims proprietorship
over God should be subject to intense scrutiny, and if found wanting,
their secret and sacred machinations should be exposed.
What does the future hold for polygamy?
The future of Mormon polygamy looks bright. And why shouldn't it? In
1953, Arizona State raided the border town of Short Creek with the
intent of eradicating polygamy once and for all. It was a complete
failure. Since then polygamy has thrived, grown and organized
unmolested. There are currently four United States, theocratic
controlled, incorporated, polygamist communities in Arizona, Utah,
Montana, and one in British Colombia.
The priesthood leaders of these
communities have mayors and policemen that manipulate the law of the
land to enforce priesthood edicts.
Mormon fundamentalism is a subculture of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, a subculture as bonafide as any culture, with its own
literature, heros, customs, communities and laws.
Its roots are deep
and solid. Anthropologists who have studied polygamy in Utah all agree
that it is an established culture, here to stay.
Contemporary polygamist leaders know that it is economically impossible
to prosecute the tens of thousands of polygamists in and around Utah.
They know that in time the current crusade in Utah against polygamy will
wear itself out and the status quo will return. Then it will be
business as usual.
Should Tom Green, the most visual, affable and prolific of Utah's
polygamists have been criminally prosecuted?
Tom Green is an extraordinary, enigmatic individual, very bright,
charismatic, bold, knowledgeable and of course, controversial. He is a
zealot believer in the sacredness of plural marriage and claims
patriarchal priesthood authority to take plural wives. But as smart as
Tom is, he let his infatuation with the media and runaway libido
overpower common sense.
At this writing, New Years Day 2002, Tom is sitting in a cell at the
Utah State Prison. He didn't have to go to prison.
He could be
enjoying the Xmas season at his Snake Valley desert home, a cluster of
beat-up house trailers he calls, Greenhaven, being pampered by his bevy
of child brides. But Tom's ministry, if you can call it that, meant
placing his young wives on display and flaunting his lifestyle before
television cameras. Against the advise of friends and family, Tom
Green, ostentatiously, attracted attention to himself. Members of the
media, with the apparent design to more sensationalize the Tom Green
story, went to law enforcement and asked them why they were not
enforcing the bigamy statutes. The media, whether intentional or not,
orchestrated a collision.
David Leavitt, Juab County Attorney, said that while watching
television in his front room, he witnessed Tom Green confess on
television to a third degree felony. Tom and his family were residents
of Juab County. Consequently, he looked into the history of Tom Green
and found that he was not only a suspected bigamist but a regular
welfare recipient, and that there was "probably cause" to believe that
in 1986, Tom Green committed child rape. The child rape, aggravated by
Tom's apparent fetish for child brides [thirteen, fourteen and fifteen
year old girls] induced Mr. Leavitt to prosecute.
Tom was convicted of four counts of bigamy and criminal non support,
all third degree felonies. In August 2001, Judge Guy Burningham
sentenced him to the Utah State Prison, the sentences to run
concurrently. Now Tom is wading through the muck, dragging his wives
and friends behind him, hoping to beat the child rape charge on a
technicality.
He claims the statute of limitations is in effect and
that he was in "Wyoming," no-a, "Idaho," no-a "Arizona," no-a, finally
making up is mind, he really meant, "Old Mexico" where it was not
illegal to impregnate a thirteen year old. Tom claims that his friend,
brother-in-law and adopted son, Jay Slaugh, reported to the Uinta County
Sheriff's Office that Tom had married a thirteen year old girl. But no
one can find a report. However, unless David Leavitt can show beyond a
reasonable doubt that the report by Slaugh, or any other report, was
not made, Tom is home free. Judge Guy Burmingham is expected to rule on
Tom's motion to dismiss in Jaurary, 2002.
The prosecution and conviction of Tom Green for bigamy brought to Utah
media from around the world. The Salt Lake Tribune rated Tom's bigamy
conviction the fourth most important story of 2001, the church owned
Deseret News rated it sixth.
Should Tom be prosecuted for something that happened fifteen years ago,
especially when the victim of the rape is still happily married to Tom?
Pro-polygamists say no. But taking Tom's erotic propensity towards
pubescent girls into account, what assurance does society have that Tom
will not continue to pursue pubescent girls?
Court records indicate
that Tom was investigated in 1989, 1990 and 1995, relevant to
inappropriate conduct with young girls, but that did not discourage him
from marrying Cari and Hanna Bjorkman. Nor did that discourage him of
attempting to take two other pubescent girls as wives. I think the
question can be answered with another question, can Tom be trusted
around thirteen and fourteen year old girls?
Can Utah polygamy survive without religion?
No! -- because religion is the cohesive medium between the man and the
women. Religion more than any other factor cements the relationship.
If Utah polygamy were de-Mormonized, the institution of polygamy in Utah
would shatter and fall to pieces, except for the few who place family
and love above religion.
In the polygamist subculture, love, family and security are by-products
of the relationship. Religious authority takes precedence over all
other aspects of the relationship. This is why polygamist prophets like
Owen A. Allred, Rulon Jeffs and James Harmston feel they have the right
to give and take wives with impunity, and why their gullible adherents
go along with it.
The marriage ceremony should say, "do you take the priesthood in this
marriage as your master and mediator, to honor and obey through time and
all eternity?" Because in essence, the woman marries the priesthood.
Few plural marriages are consummated and stabilized by true love. If
the couple is lucky, affection comes later.
The mood and affection of the woman is contingent upon the husband's
conformity to the priesthood, and many women, especially in the Allred
Group, use that weapon to their advantage. Because love is not a factor
in the marriage, it is easy for a woman to go from one man to another,
which happens often.
Religion is the transcending medium that removes the taboos making
polygamy a sin. People living the Mormon brand of polygamy are in
general decent, law-abiding people. They would not practice polygamy
without the alleged commandment from God and the prophet to take
responsibility.
Religion is a powerful persuader. Nourished by the promise of a future
exaltation, it is religion that persuades women to overcome jealousy
and resign themselves to a life of loneliness, obscurity and poverty.
Disciples of polygamy are conditioned to believe that opposition
(persecution, poverty, discrimination, etc.) is a normal consequence of
living Mormon fundamentalism.
What is there about Mormon fundamentalism that makes it so powerful?
Utah polygamists believe that Mormon fundamentalism is the ultimate
virtue and ultimate enlightenment, and that all power resides with the
priesthood. This belief is so deeply entrenched in fundamentalist
thinking that they have little tolerance for opposing thought, even with
their own flesh and blood. Leaders in the Allred Group have stood
behind the pulpit and condemned their daughters to hell for choosing the
LDS Church over their priesthood.
Polygamist priesthood leaders claim they are infallible, and that when
the brethren speak, the thinking has been done. Pious, audacious
statements of that tripe are designed to separate the true believers
from the doubters, thus unifying the group.
Religion is a powerful tool and Mormon fundamentalism offers the
partisan more rewards than most religions by controlling the
satisfaction of certain hedonistic propensities which society in general
finds aberrant..
Example: Lying, cheating and stealing are permissible if it protects
or enhances the priesthood. Because the priesthood is the only power
that can sanctify marriages, it is permissible to seduce the wife of
another man. A man holding a greater priesthood can claim the wife of
one holding a lesser priesthood. In other words, a man acting in the
capacity of priesthood cannot commit adultery. If the priesthood holder
has his "Calling & Election Made Sure," he cannot sin.
Control over man's celestial exaltation is the priesthood's ultimate
power.
Next comes the life or death of perceived enemies. Priesthood
leaders routinely pantomime the spiritual assassination of enemies. Jim
Harmston, the inventor of the True & Living Church, is the most
innovative in the pretended art of "spiritual assassination." The
practitioners of voodoo jab pins into surrogate dolls, Jim and the other
prophets curse their enemies with prayers. Jim's favorite targets are
apostates and the leaders of the LDS Church. In Jim's pantomimes, he
turns his enemy into unorganized matter and then rockets them into outer
space.
A few self-proclaimed prophets like Ervil LeBaron go beyond the
spiritual and actually murder their enemies. The murder ritual is
justified by the doctrine of Blood Atonement practiced by members of
the early church. Blood Atonement is the shedding of an enemy's blood
to save him from eternal damnation. Blood Atonement is still a viable
doctrine in many fundamentalist groups.
Fundamentalist priesthood fosters intolerance of minority groups and
nonbelievers. This intolerance is a result of the illusion of
superiority. Many Mormon fundamentalists are sympathetic with the
doctrines of white supremacists and have established political ties.
Derogatory remarks towards Jews and Blacks are common place among
Mormon fundamentalists.
All of the above can be found in tons of books defending Mormon
fundamentalism. In summery, the lifestyle is adventurous, unifying,
pursues a great cause, lays claim to great wisdom and eternal knowledge,
and promises many rewards in the next life, and the only reward in this
life is permission to have sex with many women. The prophet takes upon
himself the responsibility for the polygamist relationship, thereby
freeing the disciple of a bad conscience. Obedience is the key to a
successful polygamist relationship, obedience to the prophet and his
priesthood.
Converts come from the frustrated ranks of the LDS Church. As long as
there is an LDS Church, there will be Mormon polygamists.
What can government do to check the tide of polygamy?
Good question?
In this country a person can worship a yellow dog or believe that in
the next life he will be a pharaoh in Babylon. In America one has the
right to be different, even wrong. There is no law to prevent men and
women from donating money to a religious leader.
We can live in a
commune, participate in bizarre rituals and do other stupid things as
long as we don't violate the laws of the land. So where do you draw the
line? It is not even unlawful for a man to teach his daughter that when
she reaches puberty she must become a plural wife or go to hell.
It is equally lawful to not believe, for example, that Mormonism is a
fraud and not the ultimate enlightenment. Many apostates, unencumbered
by doctrines that subjugate the believer, feel that they have outgrown
Mormonism and that free thinking is the greater enlightenment.
It is not so much the living of polygamy that is malicious, but the
doctrines taught by polygamists that are designed to rob men of their
free agency. For example, women are taught that it is the husband who
resurrects the wife. Some husbands use that absurd doctrine to
manipulate and control their wives. But how do we disprove it when it
is suppose to take place in the next life, if there is a next life?
If we should imprison men for teaching what we believe to be false
doctrine, then where do we stop? Do we imprison Catholics because we
know best? Do we punish children with tattoos and brass rings in their
noses? Do we imprison homosexuals because it offends our morality?
Should we make suicide a capital crime?
The most tragic result of Mormon fundamentalist polygamy is the
brainwashing of young girls, inculcating upon their impressionable minds
the belief that God wants them to become subservient plural wives, and
that their salvation depends upon it. Somehow, society must find a
constitutional way of providing these young girls with an alternative
view so that they can exercise their free agency. In the twin cities of
Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, children are given the choice
of obedience to priesthood or eternal damnation, which is no choice at
all.
Colorado City, Arizona; Hildale, Utah; The Town of Rocky Ridge, Utah,
and Pinesdale, Montana -- all incorporated, priesthood owned, polygamist
cities -- have Sunday schools in which theocratic, polygamist doctrines
are taught to hundreds of girls.
The theocratic controlled kingdom of god taught by the Mormon
fundamentalists is nothing more than another form of totalitarianism.
All power is vested in God's vicar, who is the prophet [mouth piece of
God], seer [one who sees the future] and revelator [the prophet who
knows God's will regarding the inhabitants of this world.] Thank
goodness in this country, a person is able to enjoy freedom from
religion, as well as freedom of religion.
So what is the solution? What can government do? Or better still, was
is government doing, or not doing?
At a Statewide Association of Prosecutors meeting in June 2001, Juab
County Attorney David Leavitt and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff
proposed that the state handle all polygamy prosecutions. David Leavitt
stated that his experience in the bigamy prosecution of Tom Green taught
him that the State is the proper place to pursue polygamy complaints.
Although the State has concurrent jurisdiction, Mark Shurtleff said he
wanted the combined support of all 29 county attorneys. A committee of
county prosecutors was expected to "craft guidelines."
This is an excellent idea, but here it is January 2002 and we haven't
heard anymore about it. Why? Has Mr. Shurtleff lost interest, or is
the proposition in limbo because of lack of support from concerned
citizens?
The proposition is logical. Polygamists are scattered throughout the
state and are often mobile. A central intelligence source monitoring
suspected illegal activities, especially civil rights violations,
makes sense. The Utah State Legislature and Attorney General's Office
have already taken a step in that direction with the employment of Ron
Barton, who has been dubbed the Polygamy Czar. And by the way, Mr.
Barton, is concentrating on child abuse cases and doing an excellent
job.
One way child's rights activists and anti-polygamist activists can
make a difference is by letting their respective county attorneys and
Mr. Shurtleff know they support his proposal.
The bigamy statute should be amended so that prosecutors won't have to
petition a judge to declare a plural wife a legal wife as happened in
the Tom Green prosecution. Under the present statute, the defendant
must be legally married to one wife while cohabiting with another wife.
Tom Green married, divorced, married and divorced hoping to circumvent
the bigamy statute.
The FLDS priesthood yanked their children out of public school so they
wouldn't be exposed to the independent example of apostates. These
children are allegedly being taught at home. The State has the duty to
see that these children are being adequately educated.
There are priesthood owned and managed businesses on polygamist owned
incorporated cities where it is suspected that child labor laws are
being violated.
In 2001 Senate Bill 146 was passed making it a felony for parents or
pastors to condone or solemnize unlawful marriages of minors. The
performance of any polygamist marriage is now a crime – misdemeanor for
adults, felony for minors. But how is government going about enforcing
that law?
Is there a higher rate of child molestation among polygamists than
with society in general?
It would take the unmitigated commitment of all the polygamist groups
cooperating with trained analysts to accurately answer that question.
All one can do is offer an educated opinion.
Half of my twenty three year career as a Salt Lake County Deputy
Sheriff was spent as a detective investigating sex crimes. I wrote a
sex crimes manual, taught at the Utah State Police Academy and gave sex
crime seminars throughout the State of Utah. I participated in a child
abuse seminar at the BYU and was invited to speak to classes at the
University of Utah and Weber State College.
I have accumulated over 180 credit hours at the University of Utah and
Weber State College with emphasis on sociology, psychology and police
science. I have interviewed hundreds of sex crime victims and hundreds
of sex crime suspects. I know what motivates the sex offender and how
he thinks. For twenty years I was a polygamist and associated with the
Allred group, the second largest group in Utah with an estimated 7000
members.
It is my opinion, yes, there is a greater frequency rate of child
molest among polygamists than in society in general. My opinion is
based on my experience and observations as a polygamist, research into
all of the polygamist groups, and the many interviews I have conducted
with apostates from these groups.
In the last ten years, Owen A. Allred has excommunicated three of his
apostolic councilors for allegedly molesting their own children. An
apostolic councilor is equivalent to the ancient apostles of Jesus
Christ like Matthew, Mark and Luke. The latest to be excommunicated is
Gustavo Galindo Palacios who was arrested in November of 2001 on four
counts of first degree felony rape of a child and three first-degree
felony counts of sodomy upon a child. Scuttlebutt in the Allred Group
asserts that the Allred priesthood covered up the pedophiliac act of
these three men until their lasciviousness leaked out and they were
forced to excommunicate.
Apostate women from all of these groups, especially the FLDS
headquartered at Colorado City, have revealed horrid tales of having
been molested as children. Every polygamist group has dozens of tales
about child molest and other sexual misconduct.
On her wedding night, a young plural bride from a prominent polygamist
family began to perform fellation [oral sex] on the groom. The shocked
groom asked her what she was doing. She said she thought that is what
was expected of her. When asked where she learned such behavior, she
said her brothers.
In the case of the young bride, she had about fifteen brothers and
sisters, the same father but different mothers. They were brought up
together, insulated from the rest of society. When the sexual hormones
kicked in at puberty, they experimented with each other. Sexual
intercourse was taboo, but nobody said anything about fellatio.
Another prominent polygamist family has several incidents of
homosexuality among the male siblings. It is rumored that when the
father learned of the homosexual behavior he called upon his priesthood
brethren to council and cure his sons. Priesthood leaders are
automatically experts in all things.
Pedophiles have a tendency to gravitate to those areas where they are
apt to be the least detected and where they come in contact with
children. The pedophile is characterized as having strong feelings of
inadequacy. Children do not detect these feelings of inadequacy. Among
children, the pedophile feels strong and potent. In some instants the
pedophile, while a child, experienced a super satisfying sexual
encounter. As a molester he may be attempting to relive that sexual
experience. The most dangerous pedophiles are the psychopaths, those
who adopt a super god-ego, power over life and death. As with all sex
offenders, fantasy plays an important part in their behavior.
Religion provides habitat for the pedophile. Active church attendance
suggests the pedophile can be trusted. He hides behind his patriarchal
authority and uses priesthood to his advantage. There are many youth
programs like the boy scouts. Missionaries, like soldiers and sailors
in the military, are thrust into a homosexual environment at a time when
their libidos are the most active. At least for the soldiers and
sailors there is a heterosexual outlet, the prostitutes who frequent
military bases.
The problem of sexual abuse within religious institutions is compounded
by the tendency of the clergy to cover-up and cure the offender by
prayer. In the fundamentalist groups, the emphasis on polygamy seems to
act on some men as a destroyer of sexual inhibitions as in the case of
Tom Green. Old men marry young girls. Men marry half sisters, nieces
and step-daughters, mothers and daughters. The pedophile is most apt to
prey on members of his own family where he exercises control. In ninety
percent of the cases, the perpetrator is well known to the victim and in
a position of trust and/or authority.
