The price of polygamy

Recent images on television of some 400 children being forcibly separated from their mothers, who are members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) in the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Texas are enough to bring tears to our eyes. At first blush it appears to be another misuse of bureaucratic power wreaking vengeance on a small, albeit misguided, polygamist Mormon sect. What about our vaunted freedom of religion? Why must the children suffer?

My best friend from high school is a lifelong member of the FLDS cult in Colorado City (formerly Short Creek), Ariz. I vividly remember him, some 15 years ago at our high school reunion, winning the award for having the most grandchildren – 67 at that time and counting! I was aghast, but all my Utah Mormon friends were, based on their religious training, thrilled at his family s fecundity.

Before heaping condemnation on the Texas civil authorities, we should take a deeper look at problem of polygamy in general and its impact on children and society. First of all, this isn’t an insignificant problem. More than 30,000 families are openly living in polygamy in and around the state of Utah. For generations, these families, even though bigamy is against the law, have never until very recently been prosecuted by local authorities because of the Utah Mormon Church’s hallowed view of polygamy. While it vociferously denies the present right to practice polygamy, it, with equal vigor, champions the spiritual validity of the doctrine.

Many, both within and outside of the faith community, feel that the question of how consenting adults practice their sexual urges should not be any of our business. However, such unions produce children, and it is the rare polygamous family that, despite its best efforts, can sustain the American way of life without resorting to social welfare help. It is not unusual for polygamous families, with their numerous children, to receive upward of $8,000 per month in social welfare checks. After all, no one wishes to see children starve. Because educational funds are based on children’s needs, the school board in Colorado City became one of the wealthiest in the nation; even having the luxury of owning its own airplane.

It is one thing to be broadminded. But it is quite another when any marital practice means taking money from the commonweal (my pocket) to sustain its existence. The vaunted myth about Mormons, both LDS and FLDS, taking care of their own, is just that – a myth.

In 1844 the larger community, quite outside the law, tried to solve the problem by assassinating Joseph Smith Jr. We now have their prophet, Warren Jeffs, in prison. Neither of these drastic measures seems to have ameliorated the problem. So, like it or not, it comes back to, “What about the children?” I don’t know if the Texas authorities are doing the right thing. But until someone comes up with a better solution it appears they are working at the root of the problem, which should merit our support.