Living this Principle Causes Harm

There is strong evidence that living polygamy is harmful to families, which makes it confusing that a family-centered church endorses a potentially family-damaging principle.  

I use the present tense “endorses” because, unless you are a new Church member only exposed to introductory material, you know that Doctrine and Covenants Section 132, which is still part of our scriptures, commands plural wives.  Also, while the Church no longer allows members to live in plural marriages, its temple sealing policies allow multiple women to be sealed to one man with the understanding that those sealings will take effect in the next life.  

By keeping this principle in our doctrine we send the message to others that this is a teaching of god. This message encourages Church members to secretly live plural marriage. It gives added fuel to other polygamous restoration sects to claim that, unlike the LDS Church, they are the compliant followers. Now that I live in southern Utah, I see firsthand that the Church’s plural marriage doctrine encourages this lifestyle.

The historical research today provides a clearer version of accounts that previously painted only a rosy picture of the early Saints’ polygamous lives. But even with that, our view of this practice is based on often-unreliable history and those deceased members cannot be contacted for clarification. A better portrayal of its influence should come from polygamy lived today.

The WomanStats Database is the largest cross-national compilation of data, statistics, and maps on the status of women worldwide (www.womanstats.org) and includes data on polygamy (polygyny). Among the extensive empirical work available from the data, board members Valerie Hudson Cassler and Rose McDermott have summarized some of the findings.

“In polygamous societies, more women die in childbirth. More children are poorly educated. People live shorter lives. Violence against women is more common.

Countries with legal polygamy typically restrict civil rights, limit political freedom, and spend more on weapons than their neighbors. Polygamy also drags down economies. Banning it in countries where it now flourishes, according to one new study, would dramatically increase incomes and levels of saving.

Polygamy masquerades as a benignly alternative marriage form, but it is often based on coercion. If men can take multiple wives, it stands to reason that many men will find none. Polygamy math requires that at least half of young adult men be removed from the marriage market. This is done by discarding boys at puberty, either by physically expelling them from the community or socially ostracizing them. These victims are more likely to turn to crime — or in other cultures, join terror groups or mercenary armies. Meanwhile, the procreation of many sons creates clan networks that undermine the rule of law.

Women are also victims of coercion in the polygamous world. Surveys have repeatedly shown that under normal circumstances, few women willingly choose polygamy. Many who are in polygamous unions, especially young women married to much older men, are trapped in positions of dependency. This is an essential aspect of polygamy, because women with education and financial independence would be more able to leave.

A third level of coercion is that in most polygamous marriage, wives and children support the husband, not the other way around. In wealthier nations, the government and its taxpayers support the wives and children of polygamous men. Polygamy profoundly diminishes paternal investment in children; monogamy maximizes it. In some polygamous societies, men may not be able to name all of their children or even recognize them.”

https://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150823/OPINION/150829788 (For more information: The Evils of Polygyny - Evidence of Its Harm to Women Men and Society by Rose McDermott).

The intent of this research was not to examine our Church history, but rather to understand how the treatment of women affects societies. Some might reason that the horrific results of polygamy practiced today, as exposed by the WomanStats data, should not be compared to the inspired plural marriage practiced by the early Saints. However, when humans are involved, the “natural man” (Mosiah 3:19) can creep into even “inspired plans” so I believe this data deserves consideration relative to our polygamy history.

And whoever the human participants are, this lifestyle comes with built-in problems. At least this was the determination when the Supreme Court of British Columbia considered the constitutionality of Canada’s prohibition on polygamy. In the 2011 decision, Chief Justice Bauman wrote that regardless of the individuals living it, the harms are inherent in the practice.

“The evidence…supports the reasoned view that the harms associated with the practice are endemic; they are inherent. This conclusion is critical because it supports the view that the harms found in polygynous societies are not simply the product of individual misconduct; they arise inevitably out of the practice.”

Chief Justice Bauman also found this way of life is harmful despite the location, religious or cultural context.

“Dr. McDermott’s analysis demonstrates that statistically, the harms of polygyny do not depend upon a particular regional, religious or cultural context. They can be generalized, and they can be expected to occur wherever polygyny exists.”

In the Supreme Court of British Columbia Paragraphs [1045] and [624].

The court upheld Canada’s ban and found "harm" resulting from polygamy, no matter who participates, where it is practiced, or which religion or culture is promoting it. The chief justice found the harm outweighs concerns over protecting religious freedom. Then, in July of 2018, the British Columbia Supreme Court again upheld the polygamy laws from the 2011 case, ruling that a section of the Criminal Code banning plural marriages is constitutional.

Yet contrary to the WomanStats data and the Supreme Court of British Columbia’s findings of a negative, evil outcome for polygamous families, the Church refers to this early Church history lifestyle as the positive, inspired-by-God principle of plural marriage.

Rather than promoting a united marriage that creates the best possible environment in which to raise children, the evidence shows polygamy divides parents, degrades women, cultivates absent fathers, and harms children.  It not only damages families, but damages societies overall.  Would God endorse a plan, like plural marriage, that harms His children?

Addendum, September, 2023: I ran across this research article, Polygamy, the Commodification of Women, and Underdevelopment, Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2021. It provides more reinforcement of polygamy’s harm.