#1: Correct "I get the sense that although the LDS church does not publicly support polygamy - indeed to the contrary it denounces it.. "
#2: Wrong " ..there is still an undercurrent of acceptance. "
There may be clandestine acceptance by LDS members , but not by the Church hierarcy.
The " Law of the Land " says that polygamy is illegal in this country .
That is why many of the polygamists went to Mexico ,and/or Canada where it is not illegal .
Give me a break. The "law of the land" has -- for quite some time -- said that polygamy was illegal.
(That didn't stop mainstream Mormons from practicing it in the 1860s...now did it?)
Or the 1870s...right?
Or the 1880s...right?
Or even in the 1890s and early 1900s...when another couple hundred ADDITIONAL plural marriages were solemnized [see Hardy's book on polygamy...appendix for specific list by name on that one]
Also...it didn't stop the Lds church from having their "living prophets" all be polygamists until 1945...right?
I meant the the Mormon leadership and their influence on the government of Utah and their influence on law enforcement.
Texas reacted to polygamy, Utah, seems to glide along pretty quietly and calmly.