A glint of sunlight at the base of a mountainous red rock drew my eyes. Was that it?

Yep, another curve or two and Rockland Ranch came into view. I had never seen anything like it. Disneyland came to mind.

From a distance, tiny house fronts seemed superglued to the base of the sandstone slab.

Up close, it was just as astonishing. The Rock was just as fantastical as I'd been told.

For nearly 30 years, Bob Foster, his sons and others have labored to turn this section of Utah desert into a refuge for when things get, as Bob puts it, ''hectic and bad.''

Bob is an independent fundamentalist Mormon and one of Utah's most colorful characters. His apocalyptic views make him as interesting as his belief in plural marriage.

He spent 20 days in jail back in 1974 after being convicted of bigamy (he has three wives). Back then, Utah apparently had no qualms about prosecuting consenting adults for polygamy.

As he talks about his life, Bob often sounds bemused. When the judge ordered him to jail, ''I about flipped,'' he said.

After his jail stint, Bob went south and began to build his desert refuge in earnest. His wives are all accomplished women, several with excellent jobs. They have lived at The Rock on and off over the years. In the past few years, the community has seen a resurgence in interest in people who like the self-sufficient idealism Bob promotes.

If the country goes to hell, he's ready.

Shortly before our visit, Bob had a close call when a blast went off a little too quickly, leaving his fingers scorched and his face pocked and eyes coated with black powder.

Just another miracle, he said, that he wasn't hurt badly.

One interesting thing happened when Trent and I visited Rockland Ranch. A young kid in a red pickup truck began following us as soon as we pulled off the paved road and headed toward Rockland Ranch.

He kept some distance behind us, but nonetheless was clearly tracking our route. Who was he? We had no clue and were kind of bugged about it.

Minutes after we pulled in at the ranch, the red truck pulled up. The kid jumped out and joined us as we chatted with Bob outside the charity house, which was then under construction.

The young man didn’t say much, he just tagged along as though he was part of the tour. Bob didn't ask who he was either. We figured Bob thought he was with us.

I think at some point I asked Bob if he knew him. He didn't, but told me people were always just showing up like that.

Bob spent some time talking to the kid, who turned out to be a Utah State University student who'd been hiking around the Moab area.

After a few hours, the young man left. ''He'll be back,'' Bob said. God is sending people here regularly to hear how things are.''

Labels: Bob Foster, polygamy

Here is something interesting.

The S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah is looking for brief monologues about family -- any kind of family, including cohabitation, blended families, extended families, motherhood, fatherhood, alternative reproduction, adoption, choosing not to have children, gay people parenting, polygamy and polyamory, elder care, and friendship.

Yes, polygamy.

A news release from the college says submitted monologues ''can take a variety of forms, including prose, poetry, song, etc. They must be under five minutes in length and address experiences and thoughts related to the theme ''New Frontiers of the Family.'' This could include, for example, stories about new family forms, family functions, and new geographic boundaries of the family.

The aim of the call for submissions is to collect stories from diverse women and men with different perspectives and experiences related to the family, intimacy, kinship, and relatedness.

Here is what else you should know:

''A distinguished panel of judges will select monologues with an eye toward representing the range of family stories submitted. Selected monologues can be performed either by the author, or if you prefer, a performer.
Submission requirements:

Deadline: January 10, 2008

Email submissions to: kesslerl@law.utah.edu.
Please put ''Telling Tales on Families'' in the subject line.

Alternatively, mail submissions to: Laura Kessler
S.J. Quinney College of Law
332 S. 1400 E.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Please include the author's name, phone number, and email contact information with each submission. Also indicate if the author is a University of Utah student, staff, faculty member, or a community member.

Selected authors will be notified in late January.

For more information on symposium events, please check the website: http://www.law.utah.edu/special/family-law-frontiers/

Labels: polygamy

A reader pointed out to me that there was another earlier book about the plural wife life (now there is a tongue twister).

Fanny Stenhouse, who was married to T.B.H. Stenhouse, wrote a book in 1875 and then revised it in 1877 under the title, ''Tell It All.'' Fanny's husband owned the Salt Lake Telegram, which was later bought by and melded into the Tribune.

'' Very talented lady, and a cleverwriter as well,'' Linda said. If all goes well, Utah State University Press will soon be bringing
out a new printing of her original book, so maybe more people can get acquainted with the 'earlier' Fanny.''

And today in the mail I received yet another book purporting to tell the ''real'' story about the polygamous life.

I plan to tackle it this weekend.

Labels: plural wife, polygamy

A columnist at Esquire offers a provocative take on the polygamy debate in the current issue of the magazine, which you can find here .

Labels: marriage, polygamy

A writer for Entertainment Weekly recently asked me about Big Love. Here is our interview.

Labels: Big Love, Entertainment Weekly, polygamy

When I spoke to fundamentalist Mormons for my story on Tom Green's release from prison, an interesting thread ran through some of their comments.

They were annoyed by conditions Adult Probation and Parole wanted to place on Green's interaction with his spiritual wives and with the state's prosecution of crimes that happened years ago -- where there is no typical victim.

One answer: a crime is a crime.

But they asked why the government prosecutes polygamists for underage marriages that occurred long ago and proved to be successful. Wht good is served, they asked, particulary when the groups no longer practice underage marriages -- which Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said appears to be true, too.

Yes, prosecute child abuse, they said, and other crimes.

''We believe in keeping to the law as far as anything like child abuse and fraud and those things that are good laws, but as far as relating to our right to live this principle, that ought not be part of his parole," said Susie Timpson, of the Centennial Park Action Committee, a fundamentalist Mormon group in Centennial Park, Ariz.

''The state tells us it is not prosecuting for bigamy or polygamy, but it is odd that part of his parole is he will not cohabitate with any of his [other] wives. But people can cohabitate with mistresses and girlfriends and whatever they want to do,'' she said. ''It seems kind of sad to me to deprive this family and these ladies who are interested in a husband and father.''

Anne Wilde, a co-founder of the pro-polygamy group Principle Voices, said she would "love" to see a statute of limitations on such prosecutions.

''Let's say after 10 years, if someone were to have married an underage person and that wife is still with the husband, still getting along, there are no other crimes, there should be a statute where the government could not go after that family,'' Wilde said. "They shouldn't be able to drag up something that has turned out to be a good marriage.''

So prosecution would depend on whether the marriage was a success or failure? I am not sure how well that would work.

It is interesting to note that the prosecutions in Arizona over the past year have involved marriages that took place between 1999 and 2002. The case against Warren Jeffs involves a marriage that took place in 2001.

Labels: marriage, polygamy, prosecution, Tom Green

This discussion on an earlier thread is getting so interesting, I've decided to move it here, under its own heading.

I asked readers to respond to a conversation about courting I had had with two different couples. Here's what some have said:


At 7:23 AM, Question said...
While I haven't seen BIG LOVE I do think it has been a positive portrayal for the polygamous subculture if one can ascertain that by the viewpoints of people who have seen the show. We generally see negative portrayals of plural marriage in the mainstream media and HBO, to all reports, is doing a service in this case.

I would suppose that each family has to evaluate which approach is more likely to bring success to them. Acquiring a new wife is a critical moment in the life of a family.
It can either bring great joy and fulfillment or disaster.

It is at the beginning that the husband must take the utmost care, in his role as Patriarch of the family, to discern the spirit of the woman under consideration. It is possible, of course, that things could come together in a speedy manner, it has happened, however, for myself, I would favor a more cautious approach. Patience is a virtue, after all.

One couple told me they preferred that the first wife ''fall in love'' with a woman and then let the husband know about her.

Again this is a matter of personality, what the psyche of the family dynamics indicate.
For myself I find the quote above to be the way I feel is best. This was also the late, great Alex Joseph's method. I think many of us have seen instances where there is friction between wives, now being human it is impossible to always avoid friction, disagreements, etc., however it is in the sense of problematic friction, of feelings of isolation, intense jealousies, etc., that is what I refer to; when the man selects, independently, this can all too often become the situation.

It is a very natural thing for the women to love each other and I would think the odds are much better if the newest lady to join the household comes through the aforementioned selection process.

We are speaking of all time and eternity in a very genuine sense, so make your choices wisely.

FROM ANOTHER READER:

After leaving an abusive polygamous situation, I had a choice: to pursue marriage monogamously or polygamously. I chose to marry polygamously for the second time, because it was the abuse that was wrong and brought unhappiness not the living of "the principle." I have been happily married now for almost twenty years.

This is how it came about. After conversations with his priesthood leaders and his wives my current husband and two of his wives approached me at the conclusion of my divorce to let me know of their interest. I was not interested at first, but after thoughtful consideration and sincere prayer and meditation, at twenty-nine years of age, I accepted courtship...a time to develop a relationship with my intended separate from his large family and a time to let my children and I get to know him and him to know us.

We also spent time in activities which involved all of the families. But the courtship was just that, a courtship, a wonderfully romantic time dining, dancing, visiting and getting to know each other that rivals any storybook romance.

His other wives knew all about me and our "dates", unlike "BIG LOVE", the wives didn't orchestrate the relationship or become involved in our private time, yet they had total confidence in the fidelity of their individual marriages and that he would never be inappropriate with me in any sexual context, because WE were not married and HE WAS.

Now that we are married, I realize that each wife has her own individual marriage and sex life with our husband, separate and apart from the knowledge of the others. He is very honorable in keeping sacred our intimacy. We all know that he has a relationship with the other wives, but it is private and that gives each of us the confidence to act freely affectionate in his presence when we are alone together and discreetly affectionate around each other.

We are careful not to offend each other because we all love each other and this love has grown over time through mutual admiration and commitment to living honorable, Christ-centered lives.

Labels: Courting, polygamy

In case you missed it, here is a very fitting cartoon by Mike Peters. Click on previous cartoon (or search for July 24, 2007, in the archives. It came out on Pioneer Day in Utah, when the state celebrates the arrival of Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley.

Labels: polygamy

Several FLDS members let me know they took exception to a blog I posted a while ago in which I used the term "lightyears" to describe the differences between them and independent fundamentalist Mormons.

Yes, some FLDS are online. Yes, they do follow the news. And yes, a few actually dare let me know what they think.

The post was about a story I recently wrote profiling a suburban polygamous family who identify themselves as independent fundamentalist Mormons.

What independents and groups such as the FLDS have in common is a belief in early doctrines laid down by Joseph Smith, particularly that plural marriage is a requirement to reach the highest degree of heaven. They use many of the same scriptures: The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.

But beyond that, the two types of fundamentalist Mormons are, well, lightyears apart in the way they practice their beliefs.

Independents do not follow any particular leader. They do not separate themselves from society. They don't wear clothing that covers them from ankle-to-wrist. They don't tithe to any one. They don't participate in communal living or belong to a cooperative. Free agency governs marriage, education and decisions about whether or not to follow the lifestyle.

There are no outward clues to an independent's fundamental beliefs.

That's not true of the FLDS, who follow completely different guidelines regarding practice and behavior.

They dress a particular way. They follow one leader and consider him to speak for God. They limit interaction with outsiders. They practice arranged marriages. They are joined in a communal endeavor. They tithe. Those who do not stick with the faith are ostracized. Educational opportunities are limited.

Free agency, from what I can tell, comes second to doing what you are told to do. Can doing what you are told to do be a choice? I suppose. But the consequences are so dire for choosing some thing else entirely, as many of those cut off from their FLDS families will tell you.

One critic wrote this to me: ''Are FLDS so different that we are not 'normal families' living in a somewhat unique relationship? So many people do not realize that we are people. We laugh. We cry. There are times where we are scared spitless. And we love. We are not uninformed about life, and we choose to live our lives in polygamy.

There are as many different ways to live polygamy as there are to live monogamy. There are couples in monogamy who fight, who divorce, who participate in criminal abuse, and who just put up with each other. It is so with polygamists. There are monogamists who love, who are happy, forever-after couples. There are also polygamists who are this way. Life is about choices. What I choose today will shape my tomorrow. It is so with you and every other being on this earth.

Is it not possible that there are FLDS who are happy? Is it not possible that there are those in my culture who love? Who choose freely their life?"

My response: Of course that is possible. Not just possible, but is the case. My observation of the differences has nothing to do with the how happy or unhappy either camp is. It has to do with how differently they are living their faith.

Labels: FLDS, independent fundamentalist Mormon, marriage, polygamy

Ryan Bell, a blogger who focuses on Mitt Romney, emailed me recently for information about stats and facts on polygamy. I provided what information I could. I thought is blog on the subject was interesting. You can find it at the address below:

http://www.romneyexperience.com/2007/07/02/polygamy-facts/

Labels: Mitt Romney, polygamy

The story that was to run today about a Salt Lake Valley plural family is now online. I'm not sure when it will be in the newspaper, maybe Tuesday. You can read the story at the address below.


http://www.sltrib.com/ci_6276887

Labels: independent fundamentalist Mormon, marriage, polygamy

If you've seen the multimedia piece Trent and I did about the plural family we profile in Sunday's paper, you know it took months of discussion for them to feel comfortable enough to agree to the story.

One reader has already wondered why the man is not named or fully photographed.

The simple answer: fear of prosecution, persecution and possible career damage.

The women in polygamous communities in Utah have taken the lead in speaking publicly about their lifestyle because of that fear.

I have wanted to do a story about a successful plural family for a long time -- since I've covered this beat, actually. But because of those fears, most are unwilling to step forward, particularly with a local newspaper. This family is taking a risk but they feel it is important to show another truth about polygamy.

There are many sad, tragic and awful stories about people who have suffered greatly within some polygamous communities and relationships. But there are also stories of families like this one, for whom plural marriage was an adult choice and is a lifestyle that works.

It is not the whole story; a newspaper article never can be. But it does provide a glimpse into their lives, beliefs and how their family works.

I liked being able to show the diversity, in practice and belief, that exists among Utah's polygamous families. Many polygamists, like this family, are lightyears removed from the mindset and practices, for example, of the FLDS. You might think of it as a spectrum, with this family on one end and the FLDS on the other. Utah's other polygamous sects range between them in their practices.

The family did a good job, at least in my view, of explaining how they think plural marriage causes spiritual and personal growth.

One thing that struck me at each visit to their home was how orderly and well behaved the children are. The children have to be, the husband told me. At an early age, they become independent -- making their own lunches, for instance -- and helpful with their siblings. The women are clearly loving and supportive of one another and fully committed to their beliefs; that said, they are funny, articulate, attractive and engaged in life. They are, in other words, not what most of us expect when we think of a plural wife.

We did not have enough room for all the quotes we gathered in the multimedia piece photograpther Trent Nelson and I put together, so I have posted here two clips in which the wives explain what they hope to accomplish by speaking out.

Click here for the first
audio clip.

Click here for the second
audio clip.

Labels: marriage, polygamy

Trent and I have been working on a story about a plural family for some months. It is finally going in the paper on Sunday. As part of the story we created a multimedia piece which combines photos with the women in the family explaining their lives. It is already online. You can view it at the following link:

http://166.70.44.68/multimedia/pluralfamily/

Labels: Big Love, marriage, polygamy

Writer Sanjiv Bhattacharya has been crisscrossing the state to meet with fundamentalist Mormons, many of whom have welcomed him into their folds with open arms as he gathers material for an upcoming book.

Last week, one plural wife stumbled over a blurb about Sanjiv's book on the Miss Snark blog (misssnark.blogspot.com), which focuses on the publishing world. It said:

NON-FICTION: GENERAL/OTHER
Journalist and filmmaker Sanjiv Bhattacharya's TO BE A GOD: A Journey into American Polygamy, a humorous and compelling study of America's definitions of faith through the stories and facts regarding abuse, incest, forced marriage, and religious fervor within Mormon Fundamentalism, to Hannah Morrill at Simon & Schuster, in a very nice deal, by Frank Weimann at the Literary Group International.

That description alarmed some of those who have met with Sanjiv and shared their stories. Didn't they read his newspaper piece on Warren Jeffs titled "The Man With 80 Wives?," later made into a small documentary? He is, after all, a writer who specializes in writing about celebrities. He has a certain tone and voice, which no doubt helped him land the book deal.

Labels: books, polygamy, Warren Jeffs

I asked 18 months ago to be partnered with a photographer so that he or she would have as much familiarity with the people and issues as I did. I totally lucked out when Trent Nelson agreed to take on the task.

He is a terrific photographer and we've proved a good team.

Trent just won an award from the Headliner's Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for a portfolio of pictures he shot on our polygamy assignments last year. He has put them on his blog, which you can access here: Trent Nelson



Scroll down to the June 20 entry.

I also received a second place honor for my ''continuing coverage'' of the subject. One interesting thing: Trent and I enter a series of work independently. Turns out we picked the same stories to enter in the contest.

I will try to get links to the stories posted here on my blog for those who missed them.

Labels: polygamy

Samuel Fischer said he would be putting "every thing on the line" in making a move from Hildale to Lockney, Texas.

''It is a sink or swim proposition for me,'' Fischer said last Friday night during a public meeting in Lockney. He had closed that morning on three homes in Plainview, about 30 miles west. Nothing against Lockney, he said, but he was able to find a home that better fit the needs of his family in Plainview. The other two homes will be for workers who are likely to relocate with him.

In making the move, Fischer said he'd be ''walking away'' from his home in Hildale. Fischer said that an insurer told him last year the home is worth $1 million. ''I won't be getting a $1 for it,'' he said.

The ''dollar'' comment was misleading, since all the homes in the FLDS towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., are owned by the United Effort Plan Trust, which is now under court oversight.

I checked with several ex-FLDS members in Hildale and was told, yes, Fischer's home is probably worth that much. It is a very nice home, one said.

Some in the audience were confused about why he would walk away from a home, why he wouldn't get any money out of it.

Others had obviously heard about the court takeover of the trust.

''Are you leaving because of the trust takeover?'' someone asked Fischer.

''That's a tender area,'' he said. ''I would say the answer is yes.''

Fischer said the state had taken over the trust, once overseen by FLDS president Warren S. Jeffs and other FLDS trustees, because its assets were being funneled off by the church.

''When you look at what they're doing, they're selling off 10 times the assets,'' he said.

He mentioned that a ''good friend" who had a farm that had been in the family since 1953 also was walking away, after the UEP Trust, now run by fiduciary Bruce R. Wisan, has seized its assets to pay a $8.8 million judgement against the former trustees.

''We are not a reactionary people. We are not a warring people,'' he said.

Of course, no one is making Fischer leave. He could stay, but like many FLDS people, that would apparently be untenable.

Labels: FLDS, Lockney, polygamy, Samuel Fischer, Texas

Samuel Fischer had obviously done his homework on Lockney and its main characters.

During last Friday's town meeting, Fischer complimented the town on its schools, praised its 4-doctor hospital and said nice things about its people.

As he read through the questions residents submitted, he came across one from Warren Mathis. ''I've heard a lot about Mr. Mathis from other people,'' Fischer said. And then he added this: ''The people I've never met and never seen know the most about me.''

Warren Mathis, sitting in the audience, didn't appear fazed by Fischer a bit. He didn't flinched -- or change his opinion.

So who is Samuel Fischer? For one thing, his brother is Dan Fischer, founder of Ultradent and the benefactor who has reached out to help teens who have fled or been kicked out of the FLDS community. Their father was Erwin Fischer. I guess I have to say Erwin Fischer did a pretty good job, at least with these two sons, because they are both quite successful.

Samuel Fischer has operated at least five different businesses in Utah. With one of his two wives, he owned the Sew-Rite fabric store in Hildale. It was closed last summer.

Fischer ran a bicycle manufacturing business and, of course, Westwood Products, the cabinet-making business he plans to move to Lockney. His cabinet business caters to contractors working on high-end homeowners. One recently job for a Las Vegas home was worth $300,000, he said. Fischer also said the biggest concern of one customer was that her cabinets be valued at more than $80,000 -- the sum her neighbor had spent on cabinets.

''For the most part, Sam is a real go-getter and all-around nice guy,'' said Ezra Draper, an ex-FLDS member who recently moved back to the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

That's the same thing I heard from several other people.

Fischer said that he and his first wife lost their first two children at birth and were afraid they might never have a family. They adopted two children from a family of nine children and then proceeded to successfully have 11 children of their own.

Fischer said that after that adoption experience, he decided he would never split up siblings if he were presented with the chance to adopt again.

''That always stuck with me, seeing that family torn apart,'' he said. After he and his first wife had their family, ''another family of nine children came up for adoption,'' Fischer said. ''I adopted their mother also. She also needed a home.''

That threw the audience for a loop. ''What does that mean? You adopted her?'' one woman asked.

Fischer explained that the woman's husband had been exiled from the FLDS church for adultery. ''In the media you hear wives are taken away and given to others. This is why,'' he said. ''If a man breaks his vows, in our beliefs, he stands a chance of losing his family.''

It's divorce, FLDS style, and it is something that early leaders in the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught, too.

More questions came from the audience about why the woman couldn't just fend for herself. Fischer said it would be tough for any woman with nine children to get along by herself in today's society.

Fischer said he couldn't very well abandoned his families now.

At one point, as residents kept questioning why he has two wives, Fischer responded simply with, ''I appreciate your beliefs.''

Residents also asked if Fischer's children would interact with their children. He said: ''I hope my children are decent and polite.''

''No, will they mingle?'' the woman persisted.

Fischer let the question slide. The FLDS don't ''mingle.'' But they are not unique in that regard; neither do the Amish or Mennonites.

Another woman jumped up and down trying to get Fischer's attention. ''Mr. Fischer, will you be attending church in Lockney, Plainview or Lubbock,'' she asked.

Of all the questions asked, this was the most disingenous. She knew the answer. Everyone in the room did.

''Probably in my front room,'' Fischer said. The FLDS haven't held group services in a couple years; instead, each family meets individually -- much as other independent polygamists in Utah do.

Besides, what are the options? It's a long way to Eldorado, Texas, where there are other FLDS members.

But she kept on: ''Who will lead your services?" she asked.

''Well, I can't very well have the baby do it. Probably be me, ma'am,'' Fischer said.

Fischer deflected other questions that were designed to provoke.

One woman asked if it was true that FLDS church leader Warren Jeffs was driving a red Cadillac when he was arrested last August.

''I don't know. I wasn't there,'' Fischer said.

''Where is Mr. Jeffs?'' another woman asked.

''He's in prison,'' Fischer said.

''What for?''

''For his religious beliefs,'' Fischer said.

''Is he your boss?''

''I guess you'd have to ask my wife that,'' Fischer said. And then: ''He is my spiritual leader, yes.''

Labels: FLDS, Lockney, polygamy, Samuel Fischer

''Domestic violence services are going to be expanding in rural Utah,
thanks to an effort to help polygamous families. . . . The [$700,000]
gant will allow some services to be expanded statewide while others,
such as increased police patrols, will target those communities.''
--Aug. 31, 2004

''Several audience members said the state is not offering enough aid
to people caring for teens who have left or been turned away from the
polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.''
--March 4, 2005

''Some audience members pressed the state about tax dollars spent
providing services to polygamous families, while others wanted to
know what efforts, if any, are being made to eliminate educational
neglect occurring in the FLDS community at the Utah/Arizona border.''
--March 2, 2006.

''I think we're headed in a perilous direction if we continue to have
such a large number of young people in our midst who are not receiving an education.''
--Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, at the third Town Hall
Meeting on polygamy held April 24, 2007.

These are all excerpts from Salt Lake Tribune coverage of the Safety
Net Committee and public town hall meetings held over the past three
years.

So a question: After three years, has the discussion -- or the response -- moved forward?

Labels: polygamy, Safety Net Committee, St. George

Author B. Carmon Hardy is back with what one reviewer calls the book that should ''supplant all former books as a history of polygamy.''

That comes from someone who has his one bonafides: Todd Compton, author of '''In Sacred Loneliness,'' a chronicle of the wives of Joseph Smith.

The new book is ''Doing the Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy, Its Origins, Practice and Demise." Hardy will be signing copies Friday night from 5-7 p.m. at Benchmark Books, 3269 S. Main Street, Ste. 250, in Salt Lake City. I plan to go.

I've read several chapters of Hardy's book and was enthralled, especially with the footnotes. They are extensive but a terrific source of explanatory detail that really enrich the documentary history he weaves together.

In the footnotes to chapter 9, I learned, for example, that the Oct. 8 edition of The Salt Lake Tribune derisively referred to the 1890 Manifesto advising LDS Church members to cease plural marriage as ''The Pronunciamento.''

The Woman's Exponent, a church publication, described it as a "letter." The Deseret News said it made its point "poorly."

Hilarious.

Here's a question: Is it possible to cover the topic of polygamy in a historical perspective in under 400 pages.

Hardy's book weighs in at 448 pages.

Brian C. Hale's book on fundamentalist Mormons, which has just been issued in final form, tallies 524 pages.

Todd Compton's book? 788 pages.

It is not about polygamy, but for the record Michael Quinn's book, ''The Mormon Hierarchy," contains 720 pages.

Those four books alone practically require their own book shelf. And getting through them? Well, they are not exactly in the tote 'em to the pool category.

Still, I'm reading them. Every single type-filled page.

Labels: B. Carmon Hardy, books, Brian Hale, Michael Quinn, polygamy, Todd Compton

In a few weeks, PBS will air its two-part documentary on "The Mormons." It is slated for April 30 and May 1. The public television crew spent a couple years interviewing and researching the subject.

In a preview posted on PBS' Web site, filmmaker Helen Whitney says she hopes to "take the viewer inside one of the most compelling and misunderstood religions of our time."

I bumped into Whitney a couple summers ago in Centennial Park. I was in town to attend an annivesary commemoration of the 1953 raid. So was she. Whitney spent quite a bit of time meeting with other fundamentalist Mormons in Utah, and they are included in the first program.

That focus, of course, is already raising alarms over at Temple Square.

The LDS Church has posted a statement about the upcoming show on its Web site. Here's a section of that notice:

"A few scholars, including some who appear in the documentary, have seen substantial parts of the program. Their initial reaction: Church leaders and members are extraordinarily eloquent in explaining the tenets of their faith. The film is not superficial, which is often a criticism leveled at television coverage.

"However, some raised concern about what they feel is a disproportionate amount of time given to topics that are not central to the Church's faith. For instance, polygamy comes in for extensive treatment in the first program, including substantial attention to present-day polygamous groups that have nothing to do with today's Church. The time devoted to portrayals of modern fundamentalist polygamy seems inconsistent with the filmmaker's stated purposes of getting inside the LDS experience, and of exploding, rather than reinforcing, stereotypes."

Labels: LDS Church, PBS, polygamy

A Salt Lake City man contacted me recently to see if I would be
interested in a copy of a letter from an LDS Church historian
regarding one of the plural wives of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith.
I said yes, and you can find it at
http://blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/images/letter040407.pdf

The letter is about Helen Mar Whitney, Smith's 25th wife.

Helen was 14 in 1843 when her father gave her to Smith as an ''eternal'' wife, which meant she would be with him the hereafter. Author Todd Compton, who wrote ''In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith,'' says the arrangement was mostly ''dynastic.'' That is, it linked the Kimball family forever to the prophet.

Compton, drawing from Helen's autobiography, writes that the 14-year-old was allowed 24 hours to think over the arrangement. But there really was no other answer but yes. The secret marriage took place in May 1843.

He also writes that Helen soon learned that the marriage was to include "time," too -- she was expected to be Smith's wife on earth as well as in Heaven. Compton doesn't say whether the marraige was consummated. It ended just over a year later, after Smith was martyred.

She was free, then, to follow her heart and within a couple years married Horace Whitney, who later entered polygamy.

Labels: LDS Church, polygamy