Mark Twain once quipped that after seeing these lovely Mormon wives, that any man who married more than one deserved a high place in heaven. Better than being a spinster in those days.
IF you really want to know about the problems of polygamy, read the Old Testament. I worked in tribal Africa, and we saw many of the same problems among our people.
Hagar...Leah...Michal...yeah, lots of sad wives who didn’t have their husband’s love...
Of course, in the US, we have “serial polygamy” with easy divorce and, of course, “living together” where the woman has to do all the work of a wife while getting no financial guarantees for her or her children.
Agreed. (Except the ONLY one who ever referenced Hagar as a "wife" was Sarai/Sarah...Even after Hagar had slept with Abram/Abramham -- and we don't know how often that occurred -- they all still referenced her as a servant of Sarai...Abram did...the Angel of the Lord did...Hagar herself did...Moses did...and the apostle Paul did in Galatians 4)
Of course, in the US, we have “serial polygamy” with easy divorce and, of course, “living together” where the woman has to do all the work of a wife while getting no financial guarantees for her or her children.
Yes.
Mark Twain once quipped that after seeing these lovely Mormon wives, that any man who married more than one deserved a high place in heaven. Better than being a spinster in those days.
Most cases, tho, in Utah in the 19th century is that there weren't enough women to go around. Just sayin' for those who get the idea that most of these marriages were "spinster" related. (They weren't)