The practice of polygamy evolved over the approximately hundred years it was practiced in the LDS church. Here we explore the spiritual, emotional and social impact of polygamy from the Early Utah period through the Manifesto. More personal insights as to how polygamy was practiced just before it was abandoned come from the writings of Dr. Ellis Reynolds Shipp and Annie Clark Tanner.
100 Years of Polygamy Timeline (dates are approximate)
1840-1850 Secret Period - Started in Nauvoo by Joseph Smith
1850-1870 Pioneer Period - Isolated in Utah so able to practice in the open
1870-1890 Underground Period - Increasing persecution by the Federal Government now that the Civil War is over, 1890 Manifesto
1890-1940 Burn-off Period - A handful of marriages are performed until the 2nd Manifesto in 1904. Church stops preaching it and those practicing gradually die off.
READINGS
Gospel Topics Essay: Plural Marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
For an overview of plural marriage read “Plural Marriage and Families in Early Utah," lds.org
There are many books about Mormons practicing polygamy, some of the ones we found most helpful include:
A House Full of Females: Plural Marriage and Women's Rights in Early Mormonism, 1835-1870 Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (Knopf)
A Mormon Mother, Annie Clark Tanner (University of Utah)
More Wives Than One, Kathryn M. Daynes (University of Illinois Press)
Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery (Doubleday)
Mormon Polygamy: A History, Richard S. Van Wagoner (Signature Books)
The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men, Carol Lynn Pearson (Pivot Point Books)
The Polygamous Wives Writing Club, Paula Harline (Oxford University Press)
While Others Slept, Ellis Reynolds Shipp, M.D. (Bookcraft)
See Lesson #2 for an excerpt from Mormon Enigma and see below for attached excerpts from A Mormon Mother and While Others Slept. The last two are from the memoirs of two prominent LDS women who practiced plural marriage towards the end of the 19th century—Ellis Reynolds Shipp and Annie Clark Tanner. Shipp was a first wife and one of the first female doctors in Utah. Tanner was the second wife of J.M. Tanner, who was the President of Utah State University and the Church Commissioner of Education. Before reading the excerpts you might want to get an overview of their lives by reading these short bios:
Podcasts:
For insight into the lives of women who were plural wives in less prominent families, you might be interested in this podcast with Paula Harline who wrote The Polygamous Wives Writing Club (Oxford Press). Harline's book reviews the diaries of twenty-nine women who were neither married to church leaders nor well known themselves.
Also insightful--this podcast with Pulitzer Prize-winner, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, particularly the Q&A section.
Wife #3
Violet Tew Kimball
“I have no one to go to for comfort or shelter. . .” Emmeline B. Wells
Someone else calls you husband.
Father is also one of your titles.
Some bind by law
Some by love.
I would not want to usurp rights or privileges
Of the others,
Or impinge on your measured time.
I have learned to stand alone.
But sometimes . . .
Sometimes when cold,
Sickness and sorrow
Sap my spirit and strength
And I yearn for unproffered comfort,
I feel betrayed.
Would it be a sin
if my load were lifted?
Would nature be wounded
If I could have this craving stilled,
And the love and desire I feel
Be returned?
Mother
I cannot believe
This burden was imposed
By Your decree
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How has the topic of polygamy come up in your lifetime?
2. Do you have family stories about people who participated in polygamy? How did these stories impact your life?
3. What are some of the justifications for the practice you’ve heard? How do these sit with you?
4. Do you see the women who participated in polygamy as heroes or victims?
5. Did you gain any new perspectives from the readings this week?