The Bible has polygamy in it, as do many ancient writings. How many wives did King Solomon have?
King Ramses in ancient Egypt had thousands of children.
in early times, times of the Old Testament, I'm sure that rich men took many wives...
but Jesus changed that all by HIS coming....that is what HIS coming was all about...changing from the stone age hedonistic ways....
Well, so did the lifestyles of Ghengis Khan, Tarmalane, and a whole slew of other pagan rulers. (For some reason, people don't seem to get around citing them as living examples)
Also, so do fLds today.
And I don't think many deem them as any sort of "righteous" exemplaries others are to follow?
Most of the Biblical examples involved people who either weren't known for their whole-hearted trust in the Lord or involved special cases of deception (Jacob) or distrust in the Lord's promise (Sarai-Sarah).
Few men with positively reputations were polygamists (I can think of only Gideon, Caleb and David).
The rest didn't have stellar reps. (With Abraham, we have no confirmation that Hagar was any kind of ongoing wife after she was impregnated). Post-pregnancy, everybody -- including the Angel of the Lord -- referenced her as Sarah's servant -- not as Abraham's "wife."