These are a Few of my Favorite Things
Thirty-plus years ago I assumed I was alone in trying to mold something that felt evil into an eternal doctrine that was godly and divine. Today there are countless places to find research, scriptural insights, and confirmation that polygamy is a creation of men, not endorsed by God.
This realization will likely lead to searching other topics, but they are not the focus of this website.*
If you’ve been living under a rock or following Church guidelines to only view correlated materials, you may be unaware of the wealth of uncorrelated material. Here are a few of my favorite polygamy-related websites that rely on scripture, historical research, and logic. They lead me to, not away from God.
132 Problems: Revisiting Mormon Polygamy. Michelle Stone is a sweet, positive, committed sister who uses her gentle demeanor, big smile, lots of apologies, and massive amounts of research to tear down every aspect of this abominable whoredom. Watching her Youtube episodes in order is like watching Clark Kent transform into Superman and save the Church-world from polygamy’s grasp.
Hemlock Knots is a site that lays out the facts with their historical research and scriptures on various topics, including polygamy. Mormon Polygamy Timeline of Events and Reactions to Polygamy are among several interesting posts and videos.
Rob Fatheringham has videos on Youtube that cover church history and present the historical documents. Several look at polygamy.
Iron Rod Podcast helped me realize that the scriptures are key to confirming truth, more important than the words of men or our own feelings. (I wormed my way onto episode 175 which covered Section 132). Thanks to the Uncorrelated Mormonism website for preserving these.
Gwendolyn Wyne has a YouTube channel with scriptures and profound conclusions. An Enemy Hath Done This: The Seed and Weeds of Polygamy gives an overview of her unique view. While some scriptures are vague and may not stand up as definitive proof, the story emerges: as with murder, secret combinations, and other evils, Satan made polygamy a part of his game plan from the beginning.
Teacher in Zion Podcast has one episode on polygamy. It provides a unique way of considering the topic, as do all his early episodes on religious topics. While he refers to some scriptures, I wish he would cite the scriptures in his notes.
Why I’m Abandoning Polygamy. Rock Waterman explained the problem and provided some context back in 2010 when there was less online-research available. I’m not certain of all his conclusions, but I liked the way he said it then and I still like it now.
D&C 132: A revelation of men, not God. This is also an oldie but goodie. Posted in 2015, this was the subject of a rebuttal by FAIR and resulted in the excommunication of the author, Kirk Van Allen. His wife, Lindsay, wrote a response to FAIR’s rebuttal.
Sunday Musings Podcast. Connor Boyack, a man undisturbed by this doctrine (men are often undisturbed by this doctrine), muses about whether Joseph was a polygamist. He covers this hot topic using just the facts. While not actually one of my favorite polygamy resources, it’s one of my favorite podcasts with some thought-provoking insights you won’t hear at Church (yet he remains in the Church, for now anyway).
*Polygamy’s demise, for me, is a red flag that other doctrines might not be what I’ve been taught. But although my certainty about Church teachings has faded, I’m gaining confidence that God has provided clues through the scriptures and the newly available research to lead us toward truth.