Polygamy vs. Gay Marriage

So, if you've stopped by recently, you would notice a poll to the right of this post. This will be a regular thing, too. But the last two polls I posted asked "What are you're thoughts on the FLDS?" and "What is your opinion on gay marriage?" In both of these polls, readers were allowed to chose more than one answer.

The two most popular answers for the FLDS question were
"They have the same rights as everyone else." (75%)
"They make us [Mormons] look bad." (50%)

The most popular answers for the gay marriage question were
"It ruins the sanctity of real marriage" (40%),
"They have rights just like every other American." (32%)
"According to God, it is wrong."(20%)

While the responses weren't overwhelmingly one way or the other, we can still see that the majority of visitors to this site feel that the FLDS have more rights than gays. Okay, I'm making assumptions on a grand total of around 50 votes. But it's interesting to see that we approve of rights for polygamists, yet not as much for gays. Of course, the Mormon church has both approved of, and banned polygamy. We feel our Heavenly Father, just like in the Bible, both allows and condemns polygamy. However, the church has never approved of homosexuality, perhaps because we assume the scriptures tell us so.

However, why is it not acceptable to either ban, or allow BOTH? If you rule out one, you must rule out the other. If the people involved are over 18 and consenting, why not?

Many Mormons I know would defend polygamy because it's a "loving" marriage between a husband and his wives, meant to "raise seed unto the gospel." They assume that gay marriage is nothing but a bunch of sodomy 24/7. You can't assume that all polygamist marriages are "loving" just like you can assume that gay or heterosexual marriages are "loving." I ask this to Mormons: Do you even KNOW a gay Mormon?

Personally, I don't. And I am really still on the fence about both issues. I simply don't know what is "right." But if people can be in a happy, fulilling, and loving relationship, WHY NOT?

Here's an interesting site. http://www.soymademegay.com/

Let's try to keep open minds. God has made way for change in the church before, but only if we are ready. There's not room for hate in our church.

RegularMormon - Not so "Normal" lol

Okay, let me introduce myself - I’m just a “Regular Mormon” – (April is more “normal” than I, lol). April was kind enough to invite me to her Blog site to collaborate and make some of my own comments. With her site ironically being named a “Normal Mormon”, and after reading some of her blogs, we have some common attitudes about our Mormon experience and take on things so it only seemed like a fun idea to combine our minds (for good or bad, lol). Where do you fit in – visit April’s blog on “What’s a Normal Mormon, anyway?” Very interesting (and true).

You can visit my website at http://www.regularmormon.com/. The purpose for my site is to allow me an outlet to vent my frustrations on those who criticize the church. I’ve been active in Mormon forums for years and it’s become the same old comment, just a different critic and same old whiny story. It became old repeating myself over and over so I recently developed my own site to get it all out. It’s fairly new – I only have 3 blogs so far but plan on a new one each month. Feel free to email me (mail@regularmormon.com) with any comments, suggestions, complaints, whining, whatever. April is not affiliated whatsoever with my site or comments I make so please leave her out of it if you get ticked off at what I say. If she becomes ticked off she has the power and authority to crush me off this site, lol. Hopefully I won’t cause too much bumps and bruises but you never know. I bark more then I bite.

Okay, so enough with me – I’d actually like to comment on April’s most recent blog on the FLDS issue in Texas. It’s got so I can’t even watch the news anymore. My biggest weakness is watching the suffering of children and the elderly. So I’m kind of torn between the issues of them having to rip out what are now over 500 children from their families. April made some very good points and I don’t want my first post to be of that of disagreement with her, lol, but maybe a different look or point of view at it.

I’m in the Midwest so I’m not around any polygamous communities nor do I want to pretend I know and understand what goes on. What I know is what I hear from the media, which as we know isn’t the most reliable source for a truth seekers. So let me just throw out what I do know – It’s illegal to practice polygamy in the US – so that makes it wrong in the eyes of the government. According to my faith, it’s wrong to practice polygamy today – so that makes it wrong to me. According to what I know of the FLDS religion – they are not practicing polygamy in the strict rules and practices set forth by Joseph Smith and Brigham Young which was received by revelation from God, they kinda made up their “own” rules – so that makes it wrong in my opinion, especially when the profess that they are practicing it the way it was originally, not ture. According to what I also understand – there are proven issues of sexual, mental, emotional and physical child and women abuse going on among the FLDS communities – which is a tragedy in of itself.

Were they right in ripping apart children as young as 5 years old and handicapped form their families? Honestly, I don’t know? Why though is it that the children always have to suffer these kinds of things? I’m glad however that the children are safe now! I’m sad however, especially for the younger children, they don’t feel the security of being with their mother and I’m sure they are absolutely terrified at the moment. I don’t think either way there is any “feel good” answer to solve this. However, rather then to rip away the kids – why not do what the government did to the Mormon Church when they ended polygamy and when others refused to end it on their own? Didn’t the government go after the MEN? They did, hundreds of men and women were arrested and children were taken and placed in foster care. Where are the men in all this at Texas? Rather then using time and resources on separating the children from the problem – why not use the time and resources on separating the PROBLEM from the children – which are the MEN! Let’s end the cycle. Sure, I’m not forgetting about the mothers, I’m certain they are to blame too, at least some of them. But I’m sure there are many mothers especially the younger ones who are innocent in this – a lot of sifting/filtering/counseling to do.

I say a plan should have been made to go in and have an all out “Shock and Awe” attack on getting these abusive men out of the community, rather then the children. Just an opinion – I don’t think there’s no real good answer, either way, even if no raid was done, the children will have to suffer the most and will have to suffer this the rest of their lives. It’s heartbreaking. :(

~RegularMormon – www.regularmormon.com

Issue – The FLDS Raid in Texas

Many LDS blogs and forums have expressed anger or resentment towards the government for raiding the FLDS compound in Texas and removing all 416 children from their homes and families.

I will spare the details, but basically a 16 year old girl called and reported that she was being sexually and physically abused by her 50 year old husband, which led to the search of the compound and removal of children therein. Google it to find out more…

As LDS ourselves, I am sure many of us are compelled to have sympathy for the families. How could they take ALL the children? As a reminder, the FLDS aren’t considered part of our church. Many non-members generalize and assume all Mormons take part in lifestyles like this. However, this post is meant to describe my utter disgust and disappointment in current church members, as well as those who are members of the FLDS church who are against the Texas raid and support the children being put back into their previous lifestyles.

We like to look the other way, and hope that everything going on in these compounds is inspired of God, or harmless. Or we bite our tongues because of religious rights. No matter how you look at it, there are girls under 15 being forced (albeit brainwashed) to marry 50 year old men, their cousins, men with five other wives, etc… Many men, including leaders in the FLDS church, have been convicted of serious sex crimes. Young women at the prime of the sexual confusion are seduced by men as old as their grandfathers. Young men are weeded out to eliminate the competition for the older men. We all generally know what acts these people hide behind “religion.”

Taking every single child is completely justified and necessary. How are we to determine who was forced into marriage? How are we to know who is being raped? There is no way to know. There is also no way to determine if this single phone call had any merit. However, many people are forgetting that the raid of this compound wasn’t based on one phone call, rather instigated by it. The many illegal acts committed here, protected by the veil of the United States’ legal technicality of “religious freedom” were more than enough to justify it.

So what about the mothers and children? I am sure all the children want to be back with their families – even the abused ones. No child wants to be ripped away like that. I am sure there are plenty of teenage girls who are wishing they could be back with their husbands/fathers even. But what about the ones who aren’t? What about the young girls who are forced to be mothers at 13? What about those who suffer every day watching the husband they love have sex with other women? What about all the others? Will the children readily admit that they want out? No, of course not. Who wants to be ripped away from their family, and persecuted by the only people they know and love. These children are coached by their parents, and therefore even when they want out, won’t admit it to authorities. What about the ones who want to escape, but can’t? We need to give all these children a chance to realize that the only thing they know is illegal.

I am fully in support of the freedom of plural marriage for consenting adults. There’s really nothing we as a country can do about that. However, children are too young to know right from wrong, especially if their parents can’t even tell the difference. Allowing this behavior to go on is simply irrational. We need to give these kids a chance to realize that they don’t have to do this. Taking them all away was the only solution, and will hopefully trigger more investigation.

More Notes on Polygamy

This is a neat website for anyone brave enough to understand historical facts about the practice....plus a bunch of other cool stuff about Mo's.

http://www.mormon-polygamy.org/

The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley stated in October 1998:


“I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. Most of them have never been members. They are in violation of the civil law. They know they are in violation of the law. They are subject to its penalties. The Church, of course, has no jurisdiction whatever in this matter.
"If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. An article of our faith is binding upon us. It states, 'We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law' (Articles of Faith 1:12). One cannot obey the law and disobey the law at the same time.

"There is no such thing as a 'Mormon Fundamentalist.' It is a contradiction to use the two words together."


Mormonism today does not practice polygamy, but neither does it claim that its past practice of polygamy was wrong. The practice was commanded by God through living prophets and forbidden by God through living prophets.

Simple eh?

Polygamy

Here are a few thoughts on the subject:

1) For anyone who is curious, members of our church don't (or shouldn't) believe in the practice of polygamy today.

2) Polygamy was once accepted, and necessary by more than just Mormons.

3) Today, in my personal opinion, it is a horrible and evil practice that enslaves children to disgusting old men, and aids in the unnecessary over-population of the Earth. It has been distorted, and abused.

4) People who aren't LDS, and even those who are, don't seem to understand. Scriptures tell us some things, prophets tell us more things. If you believe in the Bible, you should believe in prophets. When our scriptures tell us that polygamy is acceptable, it's because it was at one point. Even in the Bible it was. When prophets give revelation that polygamy is not needed or acceptable - we should listen. You can't pick and choose what to believe in when the prophet says it plain as day.

5) If you are a member of the church and claim that polygamy is still necessary, and that you have to have MULTIPLE wives to go to the celestial kingdom - sorry - you are sorely mistaken and NOT a member of this church.

6) I am not interested in lists of scriptures that 1) Are from Mormons (or non-Mormons really) giving me reasons why polygamy is great and 2) Are from Non-Mormons giving me lectures on any of the above statements.

7) All other comments and insults welcome.