FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Prevalence of plural marriage in Utah
Revision as of 22:29, 27 April 2016 by RogerNicholson (talk | contribs)
Contents
- 1 Prevalence of polygamy in Utah
- 1.1 Important introductory material on plural marriage available here
- 1.2
- 1.3 Gospel Topics: "Although some leaders had large polygamous families, two-thirds of polygamist men had only two wives at a time"
- 1.4 Question: What was the prevalence of polygamy in Utah and how many wives did most polygamist males have?
- 1.5
- 1.6 Further reading and additional sources responding to these claims
Prevalence of polygamy in Utah
Important introductory material on plural marriage available here
| Answers portal |
| Plural marriage |
|
 RESOURCES
|
|---|
|
Joseph Smith era:
Post-Joseph Smith:
Post-Manifesto–present |
 PERSPECTIVES
|
 MEDIA
|
| OTHER PORTALS
|
Gospel Topics: "Although some leaders had large polygamous families, two-thirds of polygamist men had only two wives at a time"
"Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah," Gospel Topics on LDS.org:
Still, some patterns are discernible, and they correct some myths. Although some leaders had large polygamous families, two-thirds of polygamist men had only two wives at a time. Church leaders recognized that plural marriages could be particularly difficult for women. Divorce was therefore available to women who were unhappy in their marriages; remarriage was also readily available. Women did marry at fairly young ages in the first decade of Utah settlement (age 16 or 17 or, infrequently, younger), which was typical of women living in frontier areas at the time. As in other places, women married at older ages as the society matured. Almost all women married, and so did a large percentage of men. In fact, it appears that a larger percentage of men in Utah married than elsewhere in the United States at the time. Probably half of those living in Utah Territory in 1857 experienced life in a polygamous family as a husband, wife, or child at some time during their lives. By 1870, 25 to 30 percent of the population lived in polygamous households, and it appears that the percentage continued to decrease over the next 20 years.[1]
Question: What was the prevalence of polygamy in Utah and how many wives did most polygamist males have?
Jump to details:
- Question: What was the prevalence of polygamy in Utah and how many wives did most polygamist males have?
- About 15-20% of families were polygamous, and most had only two wives
- The claim that seven wives represents some type of “mainstream” is erroneous
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here
Notes
- ↑ "Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah," Gospel Topics on LDS.org (2013)