Your essay "Why should Mormon Polygamy be respected as a sincere belief?"  is a good example of “prejudicial writing”, a well known technique among politicians and their “spin doctors”. Prejudicial writing attempts to “convince” the public into accepting what the writer says without critical thought. In other words, it presumes the public is so gullible the writer’s persuasive comments will be acceptable with impunity as to accuracy or truth.

In this essay, your main theme, while seeming to be an attack upon the Mormon Fundamentalist doctrine of plural marriage, is in reality a call for acceptance of the “political correctness” of modern America’s secular culture.

In quoting Abraham Lincoln, you use a comment he made while he was campaigning, and like all political animals, comments are made to appeal to as may voters as possible. Mr. Lincoln knew his comments about slavery would lose him almost the entire Southern vote and many of the “radical Republican” or “Copperheads”; he needed a “counter balancing” issue that would be acceptable to the vast majority of the American Electorate. The issue he chose was polygamy!

As a scholar of this time in American history, I assume you are well aware, the Utah Territorial government was “corrupt” and its policy of Mormon persecution in full swing. Additionally, apostate Mormon’s such as T. B. H. and Fanny Stenhouse (with others) actively pursued the destruction of the Mormon culture, in the case of Stenhouse because Brigham Young rejected the Stenhouse (Godbeites) economic vision for the Saints. The combination of internal conflict and government persecution led to the greater American perception that the Mormon’s were in rebellion and the easiest proof was the practice of plural marriage. Even the New York Times urged the government to leave the Mormons alone.

 In tying the practice of Aztec human sacrifice as inimical to an “enlightened society”, you make the case AGAINST political correctness. The anthropologists who identify pagan religion as “repulsive’” do so from a position of hindsight and the ethno-central belief that THEIR society is “enlightened” while the ancient societies which believed in  religiously strange practices (to us) thought they lived in an age of ENLIGHTMENT. Thus, these societies persecuted and destroyed any religio-cultural opposition. An excellent example is the “crusade” of the Catholic Church against the Cathars in Southern France.

 Since time immemorial, a certain class of women has been willing to “share” a man for a variety of reasons. Call it prostitution, voluntary concubinage, being a mistress or plain polygamy; it is the way of men and women to share sexual affections with more than one partner. Contrary to your assertion, most of these liaisons have been for the mutual benefit of the parties involved.

I believe modern law enforcement call these women “badge bunnies”. You know how successful these women are at initiating “immoral sexual liaisons with married law enforcement officers. At least Mormon fundamentalists attempt to live their strongly held beliefs in a climate of permanent love and respect.

Again you buy into the “political correctness” of the modern age by asserting that women “All through history women have been manipulated, bought and sold, raped, and both physically and mentally abused by men. Mormon polygamy is just another step in a continuing episode.” This is not to say there are not abuses within marital or sexual relationships but the degree to which you ascribe blame to Mormon polygamy is false history. This is a modern feminist legend which has driven the agenda of “political correctness” and is actively trying to destroy a culture of different beliefs. How sad that you, a self proclaimed “iconoclast” make an “icon” of the feminist agenda.

Mormon polygamy should be considered a “sincere religious belief” for one reason; it is! All the rhetoric to the contrary, all the blame on the priesthood, all the “hand wringing and “oh my, the sky is falling” about the women in Celestial marriage will not alter the fact; Celestial marriage will not go away. Women will find it to their advantage to share husbands. The greater society is better served by eliminating commercial sex and accepting Celestial marriage as a valid and reasonable alternative.

In this way if women and children are abused their willingness to seek protection in the greater society will be an available option. At least we seem to agree on this point.

I look forward to reading your newest book “Mormon Polygamy, Virus of the Mind”. I urge you to remember when you were a “true believer” all was not dark and gloomy as you present today. “True believers” have a right to believe!

Thus it is, Truth will be served,

Mahonri

www.flds.net