On Jan 28, 2008, at 5:57 PM, Doug Pensinger wrote: > Dave wrote: > >> Yes, it's amazing how a practice of your Church of roughly 100 >> years ago >> which, by some accounts, was not all that widely practiced, and >> by no means _the_ defining characteristic of the Church) is all that >> most people seem to know about. To some extent, you can thank >> HBO's "Big >> Love", which, like most interest in Mormon Polygamy, seems to be >> based >> on the titillation factor, more than anything else. > > You don't think that polygamy was a major selling point when > attempting to > attract adherents? It's also notable that statehood was withheld > from Utah > long after it was eligible primarily _because_ of polygamy. > Brigham Young, > one of the most prominent figures in the LDS history, had 52 wives!!!
You are right, of course, that men (and I do mean males, not "people") were no less susceptible to titillation in the late 1800s and early 1900s than they are in the late 1900s and early 2000s, and, with hope springing eternal and all that, the difficult realities of having multiple partners may have been harder to bear in mind than the thought of women, women, women. Then again, having dated a Mormon and learned more about the actual and extraordinarily earnest lives led by serious modern followers of Joseph Smith, I am willing to assert that a good number entered into that arrangement because they believed that they were doing God's work on Earth. And a goodly number of modern followers (especially male), are probably tired of this being the only thing most people (think that they) know about their faith. > Personally, I think that what occurs between consenting (emphasis on > consenting) adults (further emphasis on adults) is their own business > and I don't care what they do as long as its within the law. I don't > know how much of the show Big Love you've seen, but as Julia > implied in > her post, it could just as well have been called Big Problems. I > think > that the attraction of the show is good writing, good acting and a > _fascinating_ predicament. Haven't seen the show, but I should say that my employer runs the online community for the show, and among the most popular parts of it seems to be Margene's blog, which seems to center on the more titillating aspects of the arrangement, she being the young-n-sexy member of the trio of wives. > Now I'm off to dinner for the 30th anniversary of marriage to my > one and > only! Congratulations! That's practically like being a grown-up! Dave _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
