Why are there so many questions about the Mormon church and polygamy?

Question

I was born and raised Mormon and am actually descended from six of the original twelve. I don't understand why so many people bring up that Brigham Young had so many wives. He was just a man like the rest of us so he can't be expected to act perfect all of the time.

Answer 1

What happen is that people here gets any excuse to bash our religion. And they always do it with the same things: Joseph being false, polygamy, racism, Book of Mormon, garments and "weird" temple rituals. The people that do that are just making themselves look fool and ignorant because they don't really know what they're talking about. All Mormon - related questions posted here in YA always get lots of mean answers bringing up the same things over and over again.

Answer 2

I think that Mitt Romney's campaign for the US Presidency brought Mormonism into the lime light. People want to know if they can trust him to run the country without having the Church be a shadow government.

FWIW, the Church didn't start preaching polygamy until 1843 - 13 years after it was officially organized (6 April 1830). Polygamy isn't an integral doctrine, but temple "sealings" (married for time and all eternity) are.

Answer 3

If you hold a person up as a role model or a hero, you can expect extra scrutiny.

And Mormon-style (well, old-Mormon-style) polygamy is the only widespread alternative model of family structure in United States history. It's the only major deviation from the heterosexual procreative one-man-one-woman ideal that has been dominant in this country since the arrival of Europeans.

Answer 4

People have never really taken the time to learn about it. It is easy to bash something you don't understand. Most people are relying on information they have heard. They are also making the assumption that the way polygamy is practiced now by people who are not members of the church- is how it was practiced then and that is not correct. People just need to start to verify their facts before they start making assumptions. BTW polygamy was NEVER practiced by more than 20% of the membership of the church.

Answer 5

There are so many questions about Mormonism because the Mormon religion is *very* questionable! Why would God, through the angel, Moroni, have Joseph Smith, in the 19th Century, write the Book of Mormon and Doctrines & Covenents/Pearl of Great Price in 17th Century English, ala the KJV Bible?

As for Brigham Young, I leave him to God to sort out!

Answer 6

Hay dude I have been goofing around in this chat room for about a week and I haven't seen 1 question about the Polygamy?! So what is it you really want to know?

Answer 7

Because it is so unusual in almost every other way of life that it is intriguing to folks who have not encountered it. Is that so hard to understand? I mean, I homeschool - when people hear that, they want to know all about it because it is still unusual. When people hear Mormon, it is this unusual lifestyle that stands out most in their minds and so they ask about. Seems perfectly natural to me.

Peace!

Answer 8

Some people can't seem to understand that we don't practice polygamy. They claim to be progressive but are stuck on things of the past.

gw

Answer 9

Because common sense is not so common.
And there are more ignorance than wisdom.

Lastly, hatred is a very powerful motivation.

That is why eventhough the question has been clearly answered and answered, and answered...... there is always people just so ignorant to bring it up.

Answer 10

I think it's because it's not the "norm" for most people & so they are curious.
It also goes against what a lot of people believe about relationships, I for one wonder how fair any of it is to the women.