Polygamy in perspective: Historian reveals plural marriage positives in Logan talk
While much has been said about the heartache of plural wives living in 19th-century Mormonism, these unions could also bring happiness and unusual independence, according to a prominent religious scholar.
During a lecture Thursday before a packed house at the LDS Tabernacle, Kathleen Flake said that often only the negative side of polygamy is emphasized.
“I am always suspicious when I only hear one side of an argument,” added Flake, who teaches religious history at Vanderbilt University.
This suspicion lead her to research polygamy in Utah during the pioneer era, a time when about 25 percent of Latter-day Saints were living “the principle.”
What Flake found would probably surprise many.
Focusing on the writings of Elizabeth Kane, a Protestant who spent time in St. George during the 19th century, Flake revealed that husbands often treated their polygamous wives as individuals, not as “a collective.” Wives who died were deeply mourned, not viewed as simply replaceable. Deep love was not uncommon, but husbands were told to attend to all of their wives without becoming infatuated with one at the expense of the others.
The wives also could form strong bonds. Flake described an account of a polygamous wife crying when recalling the death of another...
Read entire article at HJNews.com (The Herald Journal)
During a lecture Thursday before a packed house at the LDS Tabernacle, Kathleen Flake said that often only the negative side of polygamy is emphasized.
“I am always suspicious when I only hear one side of an argument,” added Flake, who teaches religious history at Vanderbilt University.
This suspicion lead her to research polygamy in Utah during the pioneer era, a time when about 25 percent of Latter-day Saints were living “the principle.”
What Flake found would probably surprise many.
Focusing on the writings of Elizabeth Kane, a Protestant who spent time in St. George during the 19th century, Flake revealed that husbands often treated their polygamous wives as individuals, not as “a collective.” Wives who died were deeply mourned, not viewed as simply replaceable. Deep love was not uncommon, but husbands were told to attend to all of their wives without becoming infatuated with one at the expense of the others.
The wives also could form strong bonds. Flake described an account of a polygamous wife crying when recalling the death of another...